The Parson's Brain Droppings

The Trampoline of Repentance and Faith

2011-03-23T07:00:00.002-05:00

Darrin Patrick has written an excellent book, "Church Planter". I highly recommend it for every believer, not just church planters or pastors. Read it, apply it to your own life and pray for your pastor! Rather than a full review, I would like walk us through this diagram. (I didn't see any copyright information, so I'll assume I'm safe.)

Repentance and faith are pictured as the rise and fall of the Christian life. In repentance I see my sin for what it really is. I don't excuse my sin or blame someone else, I own it. I turn from my sin, despising it and wanting nothing to do with it. The foundation of repentance is that I am a bigger sinner than I thought. Sin goes deeper in my heart than I realized.

But the bounceback is faith in Christ. I realize that He is a great Savior in spite of my great sin. He is in me and I am in Him. When God looks at me He sees me as a new Creation in Christ. The gospel reminds me that Jesus lived and died for me. I am completely accepted by faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the cycle of repentance and faith in my life. It is the downward fall of a contrite heart and the joyful rising of a hopeful heart.

Notice also the terms "Surface Idol" and "Source Idol". Patrick's approach to idolatry in our hearts is one of the strengths of this book. He is constantly looking at motives. It can be quite annoying, in a very necessary sort of way! The surface idol is the sin as we see it, and as others see it, with the eyes. You might call it sin manifested. The source idol is the root sin, the underlying desire and motive from which our sin springs. Our biggest problem isn't that we have issues with bad works, but that we have issues with bad worship. It takes a lot of prayer and work to get to the source idols in our lives, but the deeper we 'bounce' in repentance the higher we fly in faith!

Don't Be a Don'ter!

2011-03-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

"It isn't enough to be good. Be good for something. The essence of Christianity is not a passionless purity. Don't be a don'ter. Be a doer." Bill Piper

For many Christians holiness is about all the things they don't do, or more likely, all the things they wish they could stop doing. "I would be more like Christ if I could only stop..." This tends to spill over into how we relate to other believers, in that we exclude and include based on what other people don't do.

Back in Ephesians 4:22-24 we drilled down on the pattern of "take off, renew, put on". Take off your old self, be made new in your attitude, put on your new self. (Four sermons here.) Unfortunately, we tend to get stuck in "take off" when it comes to holiness, as if we would be well dressed if we just took off our dirty clothes. Sometimes I just wish my kids would "be good", but what I'm really thinking is "stop it"!

Yes, take off/stop/quit when, where and what God commands. But be renewed in your thinking. Be transformed in your desires. And put on/start/go when, where and what God commands. It's change from the inside out. Aim for passionate doing instead of passionless don'ting.

Mercy Shouts Louder!

2011-03-18T08:48:00.001-05:00

"There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us."
Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

I love these words. There are days when sin seems overwhelming, as if we have reached our limit and God simply has no more patience or mercy to give. This quote is a great reminder of the depth and breadth of the mercy of Christ. It reminds me of Paul's words, "The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more" (Romans 5:20).

God gave us the law so we could know that we are sinners. Where the law abounds, sin will abound. Where people live by the law, they will always have more sin to point out in themselves, but more likely in others. The law can be a dismal place to live. God also gave us the law so we would throw up our hands in surrender and run to Jesus Christ in broken faith. Where there is an increasing awareness of sin there can be an increasing awareness of grace. Or to paraphrase Paul's Greek words, sin migh 'super abound' but grace 'hyper abounds'!

I was reminded this morning of Dr. Layman, a beloved professor from my beloved alma mater. He once pointed out Paul's words "all the more" and illustrated them with the story of blind Bartimaeus from Mark 10 and Luke 18. Bartimaeus used to sit by the road and beg. One day he heard that Jesus was coming and he began to shout "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" He was rebuked and told to be quiet. But he shouted "all the more" for Christ to have mercy on him. And He did.

If your sin shouts condemnation at you today, let the mercy of Jesus shout all the more! If Satan shouts accusations at you today, listen to Jesus shout grace even louder!

Ephesians Extra - Jesus Has the Wheel

2011-03-07T07:00:00.009-06:00

We didn't spend a lot of time on Ephesians 1:11, but it is one of the most amazing, astounding declarations of God's sovereignty, and it is written almost as a passing description of God. Paul tells the Ephesian believers again that they have been chosen by God, and God's choosing was all part of a plan over which He has complete control. God does not make plans and then cross His fingers and hope nothing happens to mess them all up. Because He knows the beginning from the end, He never takes a risk and is never surprised. God's purposes always prevail (Psalm 33:11; Isaiah 46:10). Psalm 119:91 makes the grand, sweeping claim, "all things serve you." Everything in the universe somehow serves God's will. As much as God's enemies hate it and do not intend it, even they fulfill His purpose. As Martin Luther put it, "The devil is God's devil."

God does not co-pilot the universe. Jesus has the wheel - not nature, not fate, not circumstances, not chance. Take some time to sing a song of praise! Thank God that right this very second He Himself is causing everything to work together for His glory and for the good of those whom He has called and who love Him!

Selling Dreams For Small Desires

2011-03-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

Some will sell their dreams for small desires

And lose the race to rats

Get caught in ticking traps

And start to dream of somewhere

to relax their restless flight

Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets and quiet nights

Any escape might help disprove

the unattractive truth

But the suburbs have no charms to sooth

the restless dreams of youth

From the song Subdivisions by Neil Peart

The suburbs are a curious place. Some dream of moving there. Some dream of moving out. Some see the suburbs as an ideal destination, a place they would live if everything worked out for the best. Others see the suburbs as a place to be tolerated until everything works out for better. Neil Peart, drummer for the rock band Rush, seems to understand this. This song calls the suburbs the "mass production zone". It's the place where every need is met within a five-mile radius. It's the paradise of consumers.

But as the song says, the suburbs can be very tough on dreams. Dreams shrink, get misplaced and become disoriented in the endless cycle of consumption and busyness. Big visions get sold for small desires. This helps me pray Ephesians 4:17 for the world around me. I'm praying for the suburbs to let people down. I'm praying for the suburbs' promises to come up empty. And I'm praying for God's people to be there with a glorious, satisfying vision of life in Jesus Christ. I'm praying for churches and neighborhoods filled and flowing with dreams of a kingdom that is the true destination, where every true need is met in Christ the King.

PS/Addendum/Extra/BTW

Neil Peart makes no claim to be a Christian, and if you were to peruse his lyrics you might even find some anti-Christian songs. He has said on numerous occasions, "I am no one's disciple", so his beliefs can be a bit difficult to pin down. But that certainly doesn't mean we can't let him help us pray. Let your radio/CD/Mp3 player lead you to prayer. I confess I have even found myself in tears listening to Willie Nelson sing "Bloody Mary Morning" as I prayed for the people who wake up on Sunday morning with a hangover, once again having been failed by a drink.

PSS Here's the video in all it's 80's glory!

Ephesians Extra: God's Will For Your Life!

2011-02-28T15:05:00.000-06:00

For the Creeksiders who were around when I preached from Ephesians 1:9-10, you got to hear me tell you God's will for your life. I'm sure you're still thanking me! (For those who didn't hear it, you can listen here if you feel so inclined.) I want to offer just a few extra thoughts about God's will, with a little help from Wayne Grudem. "Just as we can will or choose something eagerly or reluctantly, happily or with regret, secretly or publicly, so also God in the infinite greatness of His personality is able to will different things in different ways."

Theologians have for centuries made a distinction between God's secret and revealed will. Deuteronomy 29:29 is one verse that makes this distinction. There are many aspects of God's will that He simply has not revealed to us in detail: how He runs the universe, future events, difficulties, blessings, etc. When God does reveal His will, He does so for the sake of our obedience. (Theologians sometimes call this God's will of precept or command.)

However, in Ephesians 1:9-10, we see God's secret will becoming His revealed will! There was a mystery hidden for generations, and God has made it known. Along the way God gave glimpses behind the curtain, like in Psalm 2:7-9. But now, as Paul Harvey used to say, we know the rest of the story. The day will come when the nations will bow to Jesus Christ. Jesus will bring His people together in His kingdom under His banner.

"Jesus Christ is Lord" is the proclamation we make together. Unity in submission to Christ is God's will for us. Now you know God's will for your life. Glad I could help.

A Well-Known Idiot

2011-02-25T10:03:00.000-06:00

"A well-known idiot is more respected in America than a brilliant recluse. Fame has become the ultimate credibility." Michael Levine

I guess it all started with the advertising pitch, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." I remember seeing that commercial when I was a kid, but I can't remember the actor's name or what he was selling. But my guess would be people bought it.

You see this come to play in every election. You would see it on the shopping channels if you watched the shopping channels.

An actor hits the talk shows, the news or the stage and talks as if he is an expert in government and public policy. He probably isn't saying anything he didn't hear on CNN or Fox, but because he is famous, and probably a hunk, he gets an audience. I would imagine he even gains a few votes for his candidate. At least the candidate thinks he will, or he wouldn't have invited him to the stump.

A famous actress talks about a skin care product as if she is a PhD in Dermatology. She uses a few big words and sounds smart repeating what the manufacturer and the teleprompter are telling her. She sells product by the millions. She's pretty and famous so she must know what she's talking about!

I don't think Michael Levine is saying that every famous person who sells stuff on TV is an idiot. I'm certainly not saying that. And I'm certainly not saying that being a recluse is something to be proud of, no matter how brilliant you are. What I'm getting at is the issue of credibility.

Let me offer an example along entirely different lines from the life of my daughter, Darby. At 8 years old she is constantly starting conversations about Jesus. It started with her peers, but lately she has found herself talking to adults she doesn't even know. But when it comes to the adults, she believes she has credibility issues. (That's my paraphrase.) "I just don't think grown-ups are gonna listen to a little kid."

Credibility is both objective and subjective, so it's a hard thing to get your hands on. Credibility is the quality that makes a person believable. It's trustworthiness gained through character, skill and knowledge. To use Webster's words, it's the quality or power of inspiring belief. In the end, we all want to be believable. We all want to inspire others. So we work and pray for the integrity and knowledge that makes us trustworthy. We labor for the what Proverbs calls a "good name" (Proverbs 3:3-4; 22:1) It comes from love and faithfulness. Credibility doesn't require riches, but a good name is worth far more than riches. If I passionately know and believe in my "product", love the people to whom I "sell", then I would imagine people will be "buying".

Not For Sale

2011-02-24T08:47:00.000-06:00

I listened to this book in my car, so I wasn't able to take any notes. (Not that I haven't been known to jot down a note or two while driving, but I'm trying to cut back.) This book contains lots and lots of numbers regarding human trafficking. Maybe I've been living in a hole, but I found the statistics surprising and shocking. I simply had no idea of the extent of human trafficking. The number of children enslaved in factories and the sex trade all over this world is disgusting and heartbreaking. And by "all over" I mean everywhere, from Asia to the United States. At times I found myself crying as I drove. Other times I found myself wanting to strangle a pimp or evil factory owner. It took me a while to finish listening to this book because I had to take breaks. It was just that hard to hear.

This book gave me new insight into what the Bible means when it talks about "the world" (Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:18-21). We live in an evil age that is under the sway of the evil one. There is a corrupt, unjust world system under the control of Satan and his forces, and it is more multilayered and multifaceted than we realize. As John Piper puts it, "This is what we are up against. Not to be aware of it, not to be stunned by it, is to be very vulnerable to it." As I listened to Not For Sale, it hit me time and again just how evil this world can be. People trying to free slaves constantly run into layer after layer of corruption and injustice at so many levels of society: corrupt police, mayors, governors and on and on. Officials at every level have sold themselves for money and power, and the fact that lives are ruined means nothing to them. This truth gave me greater appreciation for agencies like International Justice Mission, whose work "secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression." The barriers to justice they face on a daily basis seem insurmountable, but their diligence and faithfulness are truly inspiring.

Life Structure Meat Bones

2011-02-18T07:56:00.000-06:00

"Life precedes structure. Structure is for supporting life."

I'm not sure where I got the quote for today, but it's been in my quote rack for several years. I haven't studied much about how God puts together the human body in the womb, but it would probably be a good guess that the skeleton is not the first part created. The skeleton probably comes along when it has something to form and support. The same is true in the church or any other organization. Structures, systems, organization or whatever you would like to call them are there to support life and movement. I once heard someone ask the question, "Would you rather try to organize an unorganized movement or try to get a dead organization moving?" In other words, the choice in the question is between life without structure or structure without life. Choices aren't always this cut and dry, but if I had to chose I would go with the first.

We have been talking a lot about systems at Creekside Church, and I'm quite excited about it. There is a common understanding that there is life and health, that we have a movement that needs structure. I have learned that trying to bring structure where there is no movement seems to frustrate people. But systems where there is life enhance, facilitate and give shape to the life that God has given.

The Action Bible

2011-02-16T07:45:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for a great book of Bible stories for your child, especially a son, The Action Bible would be a great choice. The Action Bible does not contain the actual text of the Bible, but Bible stories. At over 750 pages there are a lot of stories! We got Karsten The Action Bible for Christmas, and he did what the kid in the video does on The Action Bible website! He is already halfway through the book.

The Action Bible is illustrated by Sergio Cariello, who has been an illustrator for Marvel and DC Comics. The illustrations have that sort of feel. His work is amazing. Old stories that you've heard or read a hundred times take on new life. Under the "Meet the Artist" tab there are several interesting videos in which Cariello explains his approach to illustrating. He talks about bringing the action to life like he would in a regular comic, only these are "stories with eternal value".

Ephesians Extra: Repeating the Same Prayer

2011-02-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:17-19 begins with the words "I keep asking". Paul made the same requests of God on behalf of the people he loved and was thankful for, and he prayed those prayers repeatedly. He apparently felt no pressure to be "original" in his prayers. In this, he followed the lead of His Savior who was not "original" on the cross when He prayed the Psalms.

Why pray the same prayer over and over? Some prayers will never be answered fully on this side of heaven. We will grow in our understanding of the prayer as we pray it and we will see growth in the answer. Paul prayed that they would grow in knowledge of God, hope, His inheritance and His incomparably great power. I will never come to a place in my life when I will be able to cross those items off my list of completely answered prayers! The prayer at the top of the list, knowing God, easily gets crowded out by other requests. But Jesus said in John 17:3 that knowing God is the very essence of eternal life, so I would do well to keep that prayer at the top of my prayer priorities.

Find some Scripture to pray for yourself and the people you love. Pray it repeatedly. Let them know you're praying it. And watch yourself and them grow in the answer!

Ephesians Extra - Redemption Future

2011-02-08T07:25:00.000-06:00

I spent an entire Sunday morning talking about redemption from Ephesians 1:7. The redemption story is that I was on the blocks in the slave market of sin. I was living out my slavery to sin every day. I was a captive to this master. I was owned by sin. Jesus Christ came to the slave market and paid to set me free. The price paid was His blood! The One who never sinned died to purchase me out of sin. I have a new Master.

But what about verses like Ephesians 1:14, where Paul writes of the Holy Spirit being a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession"? Ephesians 4:30 also speaks of being sealed "for the day of redemption". In both instances redemption is a future event. What gives? One of the best clues is found in Romans 8:23. Paul tells of how we "who have the "firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." We talk about salvation past, present and future. I have been saved (justification), I am being saved (sanctification) and I will be saved (glorification). We can speak of redemption in the same way. The day will come when redemption will be completed with our release from the captivity of our earthly bodies. Our glorification will include a new suit of clothes! (See 1 Corinthians 15:35-55)

Every time the Holy Spirit bears fruit in your life He is not only making you more like Jesus now, He is promising you that one day His work will be completed! Every time you are amazed by the life-giving work of the Spirit in your life, remember that it's only a deposit. The full inheritance is yet to come! The Holy Spirit is God's down payment or "earnest money" to guarantee that He WILL finish His work. He is the engagement ring that tells us the wedding is coming. The Holy Spirit bears the fruits of joy and peace, but He also helps us to groan with waiting and anticipation.

A Supernatural Faith Worth Believing

2011-02-04T08:25:00.000-06:00

"The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no supernatural power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts." Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932)

I may be mistaken by what the world wants to see in God's people, but I think Chadwick was on to something. I think the world really wants to see a people who are different - awake, alive, full of sacrificial love. This is far more than just being naturally good or nice. This is a supernatural, life-transforming work of God. Look at the three things Chadwick says might gain applause:

"Rationalized faith": There is a difference between explaining the faith away and explaining it to death. It is in the latter sense that Chadwick means rationalized. Christians may decry postmodernism with its tendency to relativize the faith. But the answer is not a modernism that has every apologetic 'i' dotted and every doctrinal 't' crossed. The answer is a faith that is both rational and real, making sense and changing hearts.

"Socialized church": By this I take him to mean a church whose identity is based in its involvement in solving social ills - feeding the hungry, stopping human trafficking, political reform, etc. All of these are good if they are a fruit of the gospel and not a root of the gospel. Help an unemployed man get a job and you have done a good thing and the world might applaud. Help him get a job as you help him encounter Jesus and the applause may not be so loud.

"Moralized gospel": The gospel is not just Jesus helping you keep the rules. Jesus did not live, die and live again just so you could do five things to be a better spouse and know five secrets to better time management.

Much more could be said, but maybe Chadwick was just explaining 2 Timothy 3. There we read of people who love self and love stuff and who have a form of godliness but deny its power. These people want a godliness that is enough to get them the approval of others but not enough to make them do anything too crazy. Take a moment to pray for the church you are a part of and the churches in your community. Pray that they would be places where people are encountering Jesus and His grace and truth are transforming lives. Pray for preachers who will do more than get people to their sermons and its points. Pray for preachers who will get people to the Bible and its Author who convicts and converts. Pray for a church full of lives that can only be explained by supernatural intervention.

Full of Life Application & Pleasant Surprises

2011-02-02T07:00:00.002-06:00

Seeing as how there are currently 180 reviews of Eric Metaxas' Bonhoeffer on Amazon, I would like to simply share a few of the many applications and pleasant surprises I received from Eric Metaxas' "Bonhoeffer".

When Bonhoeffer is described, one of the first words most often used is ‘scholar’. That is an appropriate label. The pleasant surprise was learning how much he loved teaching and mentoring kids. One of his first paid ministry positions was working with children. He started with a small handful of kids and the group grew quite large. Years later he mentored a group of underprivileged teenage boys, even taking them away for weekends to his family’s country home.
There is a lot of fascinating German history in this book. For example, I knew Martin Luther's influence in Germany was deep and long-lasting. I had no idea just how much so! For example, with his translation of the bible into German, Luther united a nation with many dialects into a people with one language.
It seems there was always somebody in his life whom he was showing and telling the truth. And someone seems to have always been doing the same with him. He was always both a Paul and a Timothy.
Truth must not be just defended and proclaimed. It should be loved and meditated upon. It was Bonhoeffer’s practice to spend extended time every morning simply meditating on one or two verses of Scripture. As a teacher he required his students to do the same. This created a deep well of truth in his life from which he would often draw in the spur of the moment and in demanding situations. His love for Scripture and his belief in its relevance came out in his advice to his students: “A truly evangelical sermon must be like offering a child a fine red apple or offering a thirsty man a cool glass of wather and then saying, “Do you want it?””
Bonhoeffer’s relevance for today cannot be understated. Metaxas writes of Bonhoeffer’s second trip to America: “Reflecting on the American church scene, he was fascinated that tolerance trumped truth.” Bonhoeffer wrote in one of his letters from the states: “Hence the American tolerance, or rather, indifference in dogmatic questions. A warlike encounter is excluded, but so too is the true passionate longing for unity in faith.” A casual look at the American church scene would surely reveal a similar attitude today.
I knew that Hitler was a wicked man, but I did not know the extent of his wickedness. I also did not know that he had been planning his atrocities for many years before he came to power. Bonhoeffer saw Hitler’s evil early on and was a courageous voice in opposition. Oftentimes he was nearly alone in his courage.
Lastly, Metaxas describes Bonhoeffer’s understanding of guilt and freedom in the life of a Christian. “Bonhoeffer knew that to live in fear of incurring “guilt” was itself sinful. God wanted His beloved children to operate out of freedom and joy to do what was right and good, not out of fear of making a mistake. To live in fear and guilt was to be “religious” in the pejorative sense.”

Reading to Finish or Reading to Be Changed?

2010-06-17T12:00:00.002-05:00

I love to read. I love that my kids love to read. This blog is really just me sharing what I read. This is the second year of my effort to read my age in books every year. Last year I made it, but this year is looking doubtful. Lately I've noticed a bothersome tendency in my reading: I'm reading to get finished instead of reading to get changed. (I was introduced to this idea by Jeremy Kingsley, with whom I went to college. I didn't know Jeremy that well, but I've listened to several of his messages through the Columbia International University podcast.) Now obviously everything I read isn't going to result in earth-shaking life transformation. Sometimes I read just for fun. But I usually read to learn and in learning to be changed. Yet I have found myself reading to get done instead.

I often look to see what percentage read number on my Kindle
I delight in checking off the boxes on my Bible Reading Plan
I often scan to see how many chapters I have left, even of a book I'm enjoying.
Every time I add a book to my 2010 Books Read document I count to see how many I've read

I'm wondering why I do this because I'm a bit frustrated with myself! At heart it probably comes from my sinful desire to depend on my works to satisfy God and justify myself before Him and people. I want to check lists in order to feel like I have done my spiritual, intellectual and social duty. Other than preach the gospel to myself, I'm wondering what I need to do.

Do I need to slow down, meditate more and not worry about quantity?
Do I need to regularly remind myself that Bible is about relationship, which cannot be "checked off"?
Do I need to get rid of the plan and the list?
Do I need to put a piece of tape over the percentage read number on my Kindle?

A friend of mine once told me, "Next year you will be the same person you are now except for the places you go, the people you meet and the books you read." That's not the whole story, but there's some wisdom to that. I'm praying that I'll not start putting people and places in check boxes and on lists too!

The Law of the Farm & My Heart

2010-05-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

In the previous post I talked about the law of the farm, that we simply cannot "cram" when it comes to how we use our time. A farmer would never survive if he procrastinated on sowing seed and then tried to "cram" a crop in August, hoping to reap a harvest in September. I've been thinking about how this same principle as it applies to my heart, especially in relation to the Apostle Paul's words from Galatians 6:7-9:
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
I wonder how often I try to "cram" the fruit of the Spirit after spending more time sowing to the flesh? Do I think I'm pulling one over on God by doing this? A pastor with whom I once served used to say, "A lot of Christians spend Monday through Saturday sowing to the flesh and then go to church on Sunday and pray for crop failure." Paul says sowing to the Spirit requires perseverance and faith that God will cause fruit to be born in my life. I really want love, joy, peace, patience, etc. in my life and I pray that God will give me grace to apply the law of the farm to my heart

How College & Seminary Did Not Prepare Me For Life

2010-05-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

My years at CIU and SEBTS were amazing times in my life. I cannot imagine where I would be without the people and truths that I encountered during those years. I was changed while I was there and prepared for what came after. But there is a way of approaching any education that leaves us unprepared for life. In First Things First Stephen Covey talks about "The Law of the Farm":

"In agriculture, we can easily see and agree that natural laws and principles govern the work and determine the harvest. But in social and corporate cultures, we somehow discmiss natural processes, cheat the system, and still win the day. And there's a great deal of evidence that seems to support that belief."

Covey goes on to talk about "cramming" in school - goofing off during the semester then spending all night before the big test trying to cram a semester's worth of information into your head to spit back out on paper the next day. He goes on to talk about how this simply would not work on the farm. A farmer could never put off planting in the spring, waste time all summer, then rip up the soil and throw in some seeds in the fall and hope to get a bountiful harvest before winter.

"Cramming does not work in a natural system, like a farm. In the short term, cramming may appear to work in a social system. You can go for the "quick fixes" and techniques with apparent success. But in the long run, the Law of the Farm governs in all arenas of life."

In college and seminary cramming wasn't my usual mode of operation. Yes, I did some cramming and it wasn't too unusual for me walk into a quiz or exam with study notes still in hand! But it was rare for me to be completely unprepared for a test. Nonetheless, when I graduated from seminary, I felt a bit lost. I was a pastor while I was in seminary, but for 7-8 years of my life someone had been telling me what to read, what to study, when to turn things in and when the test would be. Suddenly, no one was doing that. I had a sermon due every Sunday morning and I couldn't turn it in late and get a letter grade off! But other than that, I had to figure out how to manage my time on my own. I consider it providential that I was reading "First Things First" at about the time I got out of seminary. I have not applied it to nearly to the degree I wish. But I have often maintained or regained my equalibrium by returning to those principles:

Weekly connect to mission, roles and goals
Check my system for projects and things to read or review
Plan the week accordingly by putting in the 'big rocks' first
Adjust in the moment as needed
Weekly review.

I am in serving in a new place. I am in the process of figuring out my roles here and what the 'big rocks' are. I am trying to figure out what this will look like in my weekly and daily routine. It hasn't been an easy process, but my hope is that by laying this groundwork now I will reap great rewards later.

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus

2010-04-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

I won't be giving a full review of D.A. Carson's latest book, "Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus". I am almost finished reading it and it is full of powerful truth. Carson has obviously spent a lot of time pondering and savoring the cross and resurrection of Jesus. On every page I've encountered truths that cause me stop and say "Thanks, God" or "I never looked at it that way before." This book is well worth your time. Buy it and read it and your heart will be glad you did.

Free Book*

2010-03-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

Right on the front cover Pastor Brian Tome reveals his agenda for Free Book*: "I am fanatical about freedom. And I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book." In an effort to come at the reader hard, Tome spends the first couple of chapters making lots of extreme statements just to let the reader know how fanatical he really is. Frankly, he got off on the wrong foot with me, coming across as rather proud of just how free he is. I kept finding myself asking, "Did he really mean that?" or "Did he really need to say that?" For instance, Tome likes beer. I have no problem with that. But that seems to be his favorite liberty to flaunt, so he brings it up on a number of occasions. (The second most mentioned freedom is riding his Harley without a helmet.) It's as if he has a particular group of people in mind whose skin he is trying to get under. This group he calls the "Bible Thumpers" and most of the time they are an easily spotted straw man. I'm not sure how many times he contrasts his freedom to the bondage of Bible Thumpers, but it's more than I could have counted on one hand. The statement that bothered me the most was his claim that "we don't need another book about the cross. But another book about freedom? Yes." I'm wondering how he thought he could write a book about freedom in Christ without the cross being a central theme. (See Colossians 1:22 and Hebrews 2:15 for starters.)
After the first couple of chapters Tome settles down and offers a few valuable chapters. In the chapter titled "Evicting the Squatters", Tome uses the imagery of letting squatters make themselves at home in your backyard as an effective metaphor for how Christians allow sin to make itself at home in our lives. The chapter "Blahs, Break, Blues and Blessing" was also quite insightful. In it Tome uses the Iraelites' progression from slavery in Egypt to victory in the Promised Land to show how believers can progress through these four B's. In "When Grace Meets Truth" Tome unpacks these twin attributes in the life of Jesus and shows the need for both in both abundance and balance in the Christian's life.
There were times when I really wanted to make this book a five-star recommendation. But there were simply too many one-star moments for me to be able to do this. I say this as one who could stand to experience some of the freedom Pastor Tome writes about, not as one who has gone further down the road of liberty than he has. I truly believe when he has walked down that road a little longer himself, Tome will be able to rewrite this book and be just as fanatical about freedom but a lot more wise in how he expresses it.

Changed Lives Through Preaching

2010-02-23T07:00:00.001-06:00

Andy Stanley’s “Communicating For a Change” is one of the best books on preaching I’ve read. I use his relational outline every time I preach. In this book Stanley states his goal for every sermon: “To teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles and truths of the Bible. I want people to do something different, not just think about it.” The important thing is what people do with what they hear. He states, “We need far less information, far more application, far less explanation and far more inspiration.” If you’ve ever listened to Andy Stanley preach, he certainly knows how to be applicable! I feel no need to correct Stanley on this one, but I would make an addition.
How I preach with this goal in mind comes back to how I believe life transformation happens. Does it happen by being told to do something and how to do it in simple terms? Does it happen by following application points or steps? That would certainly be part of it. However, taken too far this can ruin preaching and will eventually the listeners. Given a steady diet of "application by steps and points" preaching (my words, not Stanley's), the hearers will begin to expect the preacher to just tell them exactly what they need to do and how to do it. And oftentimes he will oblige, and rightly so. But what if he doesn’t? Are the listeners off the hook for application? Has the preacher squandered the moment for life transformation? But there is a greater deficiency I would like to point out.
James tells us that the person who hears God’s word and does not do what itself is involved in dangerous and foolish self-deception. (James 1:23-25) By all means, when I preach I want people to do something different as a result. But I also want them to be different. James also tells us that before we can rightly apply the word we must continually “look intently” into the God’s word. To look intently is to fix your gaze with careful inspection. Our hearts must be inclined in the direction of the word (Psalm 119:36). I must love what I study. (Psalm 119:59). I must love the word I preach. Those who listen must love the word I preach or be on their way to doing so. Because what I love will have my attention, and what has my attention will change my life. I will be transformed into the very image of that which has my attention. That’s what 2 Corinthians 3:18 is all about. The Holy Spirit changes us as we behold the glory of God. When I preach, people should be able to see that the Bible is full of glorious truth and is far more amazing and wonderful than any movie they will ever see or any video game they will ever play or any of the other million things towards which their hearts are inclined. Life transformation will not just happen in Nike fashion, by just doing it. If that’s all I have in my preaching, I will be lending a hand in the creation of moralistic deists. Life transformation happens when I love the glorious truth and when my attention is captured by seeing in it the glorious God who wrote it.

Is This Where Procrastination Comes From?

2010-02-21T06:56:00.000-06:00

Procrastination today creates urgency tomorrow. And sometimes I like it. In "First Things First", Covey (unbeknownst to him?) puts his finger on a principle right out of the Sermon on the Mount. "When urgency is the dominant factor in our lives, importance isn't". The Kingdom of God, wherever it may manifest itself, is the first thing. 'Important' doesn't do it justice. Covey writes about the addiction to urgency that comes from allowing the urgent to crowd out the important or first things:

"Some of us get so used to the adrenaline rush of handling crises that we become dependent on it for a sense of excitement and energy. How does urgency feel? Stressful? Pressured? Tense? Exhausting? Sure. But let's be honest. It's also sometimes exhilarating. We feel useful. We feel successful. We feel validated. And we get good at it."

So if the kingdom of God is the daily important, first thing, then procrastination just may be my attempt to put the kingdom of God off till tomorrow. (Of course, that's assuming my daily priorities are a relflection of me seeking the kingdom first, but that's another post.) Then I get the rush of of accomplishing something urgent
tomorrow that should have been important today. I reduce the kingdom to an unimportant, last minute task rather than the first thing that makes everything else in life make sense. Procrastination is the drive to the dealer's house today. Urgency is the drug tomorrow.

The Clock and the Compass

2010-01-12T14:37:00.000-06:00

In "First Things First", Stephen Covey points out a contrast that explains some of my trouble in figuring out if I had a "good day" at work.

"Our struggle to put first things first can be characterized by the contrast between two powerful tools that direct us: the clock and the compass. The clock represents our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, activities - what we do with, and how we manage our time. The compass represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction - what we feel is important and how we lead our lives. The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the clock and the compass - when what we do doesn't contribute to what is most important in our lives."

If my wife asks me when I come home from work, "Did you have a good day?", the clock and compass is probably in my mind when I answer her. There are days when I get a lot of items checked off my task list, but at the end of the day I wonder if everything I checked really connected to my purposes as a pastor. There are other days when the quantity of work doesn't seem to be much, but what does get accomplished connects with the core of my calling. These are satisfying days. When clock and compass connect, the end of the day brings a really good kind of tired.

Big Truths for Young (and Older) Hearts

2009-12-18T16:32:00.002-06:00

The first night I was reading "Big Truths For Young Hearts" I said to Kelly, "I feel like I'm sitting in my seminary Systematic Theology class and the first two rows are full of fifth graders." Dr. Bruce Ware is a theology proffesor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and this material is adapted from the material he teaches his seminary students. It also comes from conversations had while on long vacation car trips with his family and from bed-time lessons with his two daughters. It would be a rare theologian who could manage to teach such big, deep truths on the level Ware does. Ware does a great job of arranging the material and he covers the same topics you might find in a huge theology book such as Erickson's or Grudem's. This book could very easily be used as a resource for a Bible Study or Sunday School Class with Middle School age and up. As a pastor, I would dare say the average church member as never read a book on Systematic Theology. I would not hesitate to point the adults in my church to this book. Like a good book of theology should, I was led to a place of awe on many occasions as I read. These truths are for any heart, young or old.

The Bible Opened to Suffering People

2009-11-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

It only makes sense that if much of the Bible was written by suffering people, then suffering people would have insights into the word that non-sufferers would not. This was true for Bunyan. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Bunyan to sit in his prison cell and read Paul's letters that were written from prison.

"I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now [in prison]. Those scriptures that I saw nothing in before were made in this place and state to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now. Here I have seen Him and felt Him indeed.... I have had sweet sight of the forgiveness of my sins in this place, and of my being with Jesus in another world.... I never knew what it was for God to stand by me at all times and at every offer of Satan to afflict me, as I have found Him since I came in hither."

The Smell of Affliction

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Piper writes about Bunyan's suffering and how it influenced his writing. It has caused me to wonder what my preaching and teaching would smell like if someone were to listen to it a few hundred years from now.

"The smell of affliction was on most of what Bunyan wrote. In fact, I suspect that one of the reasons the Puritans are still being read today with so much profit is that their entire experience, unlike ours, was one of persecution and suffering. To our chipper culture this may seem somber at times, but the day you hear that you have cancer, or that your child is blind, or that a mob is coming, you turn from the light books to the weighty ones that were written on the precipice of eternity where the fragrance of heaven and the stench of hell are both in the air."

Bunyan Preached the Gospel to Himself!

2009-10-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

As I've preached through Ephesians, on a number of occasions I've encouraged people to "preach the gospel to yourself". Years ago I struggled with debilitating doubt and still struggling with pride. I still struggle with both pride and discouragement. I have found that the gospel is the remedy for these and many other ailments. Bunyan experienced an extended time of wondering if he had committed an unpardonable sin and "feeling hopelessly damned." His remedy was to preach to himself the gospel of God's free, justifying grace.

"One day as I was passing into the field ... this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, "The same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8. Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons."

Bunyan's Perspective on Affliction

2009-10-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

I've been teaching through Psalm 119 and the last few sections have had a lot to say about affliction. In "The Hidden Smile of God", Piper confronts those who say God has no part in or plan for evil done to us. He quotes Bunyan:

"It is not what enemies will, nor what they are resolved upon, but what God will, and what God appoints, that shall be done... And as not enemy can bring suffering upon a man when the will of God is otherwise, so no man can save himself out of their hands when God will deliver him up for his glory... We shall or shall not suffer; even as it pleaseth Him... God has appointed who shall suffer. Suffering comes not by chance or by the will of man, but by the will and appointment of God."

I seem to have an easier time resting in God's sovereignty over suffering when the suffering is the result of 'natural' causes rather than the result of another person's actions. I pray that God will give me the kind of faith Bunyan had in his prison cell.

Pastoring a Suffering Church

2009-10-26T16:01:00.000-05:00

I've been reading "Pilgrim's Progress", one version for myself and another to my kids. I also read 1 Peter 4 this morning. I'm also a pastor. Those three things came together and made this passage from Piper's "The Hidden Smile of God" quite sobering. In 1684, Bunyan wrote a book, "Seasonable Counsel, or Advice to Sufferers" for his congregation. This was just before a time in the history of England when over 300 Puritans were hanged and more than 800 were transported to Barbados. Hundreds more were fined, flogged or imprisoned.

"The need for this "seasonable counsel" was not theoretical. Some of his parishioners had already been imprisoned with him. The threat was so real again that Bunyan deeded over all his possessions to his wife Elizabeth in the expectation that he might be imprisoned and made to pay fines that would take all his possessions. It was no exaggeration when Bunyan wrote, "Our days indeed have been days of trouble, especially since the discovery of the Popish plot, for then we began to fear cutting of throats, of being burned in our beds, and of seeing our children dashed to pieces before our faces.""

I've tried to imagine what it would be like to look out from the pulpit at a congregation with these kinds of concerns. I've tried to imagine the worry and fear they would be battling. I know I preach to worrisome, fearful people on a weekly basis, but the situation Bunyan faced makes mine feel like a walk in the park.

Do I really want to be humble?

2009-09-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I assume the apostle Paul was born again and soon thereafter he was a fully sanctified super apostle. Of course I know that's not true, but it's easy to read of his faith in action and just assume he was always like that and didn't really struggle that much with sin and self. But Paul had to be made humble the same way the rest of us are made humble - through difficult situations and people. God even gave Paul a thorn in the flesh, a "messenger of Satan to torment" him, in order to keep him from being prideful. Paul prayed for it to be gone, but God had a purpose in the thorn. God was showing Paul the sufficiency of His grace and the pathway to humility. So rather than continuing to pray for the thorn to be gone, complaining about the thorn, or simply enduring the thorn, Paul actually rejoiced in it. For Christ's sake, he delighted in whatever would lead to humility.

Murray writes of two stages Christians pass through in relation to trials and humility:

"In the first he fears and flees and seeks deliverance from all that can humble him. He has not yet learnt to seek humility at any cost. He prays for humility, at times earnestly; but in his secret heart he prays more, in not in word, then in wish, to be kept from the very things that will make him humble."

In the second stage we believe that it is in difficulties that Jesus Christ is revealed to us. The believer longs to know Jesus and knows that only His presence can expel pride:

"A clearer insight was to be given to Paul in the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish every desire to seek anything in ourselves, and will make us delight in every humiliation that prepares us for His fuller manifestation."

I don't believe following Jesus can be broken into tidy "stages" that, once reached, becomes our permanent home. These are more like attitudes or mindsets than stages. But I do believe Paul's attitude can become that of any believer who understands that the grace that sanctified Paul is the grace that sanctifies us. God still uses the same kind of circumstances. I need to pay more careful attention to when my attitude is opposing my prayers and my actions reveal that I don't really want to be that humble!

Humility & Bearded Dragons

2009-09-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

Several years ago a friend gave his son a pet he had been asking for - a bearded dragon. It was a pretty cool pet. Watching it eat crickets was quite entertaining, as was watching his son (italics) hold it! But it was also a lot of work to take care of a bearded dragon. The work took some of the fun out of owning a bearded dragon. My friend said something to me one time that I will never forget: "My son liked the idea of having a dragon; he just didn't like actually having it." He's an insightful dad! Eventually the bearded dragon grew so huge they had to give it to a zoo. But the principle has stuck with me. I think it applies to me and humility.

It seems that most of the time I really like the idea of being humble. It's actually becoming humble that a don't like too much. Years ago Murray pointed out this tendency.

"Oh, beware of the mistake so many make, who would fain to be humble, but are afraid to be too humble. They have so many qualifications and limitations, so many reasonings and questionings, as to what true humility is to be and to do, that they never unreservedly yield themselves to it. Beware of this."

That sounds a lot like me. I want to be humble; I just don't want to become humble. I don't want to go through the trials and relational difficulties that God uses to develop humility. Only when I am willing to gladly accept the one in order to get the other will I know what it is to be humble.

Faith & Humility, Humility & Faith

2009-09-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Murray writes: "As we see how in their very nature pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance, we shall learn that faith and humility are at root one, and that we can never have more of true faith than we have of true humility."

Faith is passive. By faith I rest in and depend upon God. It is an act of humility to place myself in the hands of God. I will only stand by faith if I am willing to kneel in humility. But the opposite is true as well. I can never have more of true humility than I have of true faith. It is an act of faith to humble myself, allowing God to take care of exalting me. It is an act of faith to humbly and joyfully accept being treated badly, knowing that God will take care of doing me good. It is an act of faith to humbly fall to the ground and die as a single seed, trusting that God will use it to produce many seeds.

You'll Get Used to It

2009-09-19T18:43:00.000-05:00

Edward Bloom left home after high school graduation and there was only one road out of his hometown. That road passed through the town with no name. Those who were meant to leave home were able to pass through unharmed. Those who weren't stayed forever, unable to go forward or move back. The town with no name was always enveloped in fog with a light rain falling. Edward walked through town with a man named Willie. Willie described the dampness as a kind of residue. The residue of a lot of dreams.

"We have our share of rain," Willie said, "but you get used to it."
"Everything here seems sort of . . . damp," Edward said.
Willie cut him a glance. "You get used to it," he said. "That's what this place is all about, Edward. Getting used to things."
"It's not what I want," he said.
"That, too," he said. "You get used to that, too."

I wonder how many people whom I encounter in an average week are living a life that they have learned to "get used to"? It's the opposite of a life of hope. Followers of Christ can have the kind of hope that causes people to ask them about it and can be ready with a a gentle, respectful answer when asked. (1 Peter 3:15)

Sin, Grace & Humility

2009-09-14T15:00:00.003-05:00

"I fear that there are not a few who, by strong expressions of self-condemnation and self-denunciation, have sought to humble themselves, and have to confess with sorrow that a humble spirit, a "heart of humility," with its accomplishments of kindness and compassion, of meekness and forbearance, is still as far off as ever. Being occupied with self, even amid the deepest self-abhorrence, can never free us from self."

If humility is not merely thinking less of self, but thinking of self less, then Murray has hit the nail on the head. This goes along with a Tim Keller article I read some time ago in Christianity Today. He writes that humility, or "blessed self-forgetfulness", does not come to us by thinking a lot about humility. It comes by meditating on the grace of God. I'm starting to see that when I grasp just how amazing the grace of God is I will be humbled, and in that humility I will be more likely to be gentle, patient and loving towards others.

The Proud Pharisee Within

2009-09-11T10:26:00.002-05:00

In Luke 18 Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed "about himself" and thanked God that he was not like "this tax collector" while reminding God of how often he fasted and his consistent tithing. The tax collector stood at a distance and couldn't even look up to heaven, but beat his chest and cried out to God saying, "have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus tells us it was the tax collector who went home justified before God, because "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Andrew Murray's writes about this text with keen insight into the deception of pride in its many layers:

"Just when we are most anxious to have our heart the temple of God, we shall find the two men coming up to pray. And the publican will find that his danger is not from the Pharisee beside him, who despises him, but the Pharisee within who commends and exalts... Yes, even when in the temple the language of penitence and trust in God's mercy alone is heard, the Pharisee may take up the note of praise, and in thanking God be congratulating himself. Pride can clothe itself in the garments of praise or of penintence."

Praying for Humility?

2009-09-09T12:00:00.001-05:00

I have often heard it said that one should not pray for patience, since the only way to grow in patience is to be placed in difficult situations in which patience is required! Murray writes of this same sort of thing with humility. I pray for it, but I am often frustrated by my lack of humility when the difficult situation calls for it. Murray has encouraging words for those who are are likewise discouraged:

"But let us not be discouraged! Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love."

What a wonderful attitude to keep in mind in every conversation. May God graciously write this on my heart!

Humility & Holiness

2009-09-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

Andrew Murray writes: "The one infallible test of our holiness will be the humility before God and men that marks us. Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness."

The problem comes in my attempt to apply this principle. It seems to stem from wanting to be able to examine myself and know just how holy I really am. But if humility is the best test for holiness, then the problem is that humility doesn't want to be examined. The moment I fix my eyes on humility it vanishes. So I am left to test for holiness by somehow measuring it, and I'm not sure how to do that without being a proud legalist. So maybe I don't really need to know how holy I am? Maybe I just need to fix my eyes on the Holy & Humble One?

Christ's Humility & My Salvation

2009-09-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

For a while now I have been pondering the words of Philippians 2:8, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross." While walking the earth Jesus Christ had always told death what to do. He raised the dead with a word. He spoke and death obeyed. On the cross Jesus humbled Himself and obeyed what had always obeyed Him. He submitted to that over which He had authority. I owe my salvation - past, present and future - to the humility of Christ. I love Andrew Murray's words: "His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility."

Andrew Murray's Start on Humility

2009-09-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

I am enjoying Andrew Murray's "Humility", if 'enjoy' can be used of a book that is convicting you at every turn. Murray basically defines humility as an attitude of dependence. He calls humility the "glory of the creature". This is how he puts it:

"God is the ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting One, who upholdeth all things by the word of His power, and in whom all things exist, the relation of the creature to God could only be one of unceasing, absolute, universal dependence."

I think this is a good place to start. Murray will later unpack the attitude we usually associate with humility, that of being self-forgetful. But he starts with the relation of the creature to its Creator, and that is one of dependence. The essence of pride is independence, and once I have chosen that I have opened the door for every sort of sin. In contrast, Murray calls "the place of entire dependence on God...the root of every virtue."

A Family Guide to the Bible

2009-08-26T15:59:00.007-05:00

When I first cracked opened Christin Ditchfield's "A Family Guide to the Bible", I thought I was holding something along the lines of "Talk Through the Bible" or Henrietta Mears' classic "What the Bible is All About". To be honest, I was wondering why the need for another book in this category. But as I perused the chapters, I realized this really is a "family" guide. Ditchfield has written her family guide in very user-friendly fashion. I could read this to my 10-year old daughter and she would get it.

The book begins with chapters on the history, authority and message of the Bible. It ends with chapters on how to study the Bible, a "Where in the Scritptures You'll Find..." chapter that directs the reader to various Bible heroes and "verses to help you..." and a chapter of Bible maps. In between is the heart of the book - a book by book survey from Genesis to Revelation. For each book Ditchfield lays out the usual facts about the book's author, audience, setting and story, which is a brief description of the plot. She gives five more categories of information that are quite helpful for teaching and application.

The Message: This is generally the longest section on each book. This gives a fairly thorough but to-the-point summary of the book. It ends with a "Key Verse or Passage".

More on This Story in the Bible: This helpful section gives each book's place in Bible history and connects it the rest of Scripture.

Words to Know: This is a family friendly addition that defines some of those difficult words we come across in the Bible. For example, the words to know for Malachi are 'covenant', 'profane' and 'refiner's fire'. Who couldn't use an easy definition of those words?!

Did you Know?: Ditchfield offers an interesting scientific, historical, cultural or doctrinal tidbit.

Making the Connection: This section connects the Bible book to an issue in contemporary society.

Think About It: This is a short devtional based on a particular verse or theme from the book.

Obviously, this book has a lot to offer parents and teachers who are trying to bring the Bible down to the family level. This book would be a welcome addition to your reference shelf for when you are preparing to teach on a particular book of the Bible, either in your family or in a kid's Sunday School class. You could even use it to teach a Bible Survey in those settings.

For more on this book and more book news, head over to Crossway's fantastic book blog!

A Grief Observed

2009-08-04T10:19:00.006-05:00

I finished C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" several days ago and I've been thinking about it quite a bit ever since. This book is a collection of notebook entries penned by Lewis after the death of his wife. In the introduction Madeleine L'engle writes, "I am grateful to Lewis for having the courage to yell, to doubt, to kick at God in angry violence. This is a part of grief which is not often encouraged." When I first encountered Lewis' yelling and kicking, I was not thankful. I was uncomfortable. I didn't want one of my heroes in the faith talking to and about God like this. I wanted him to grieve with sure and steady faith. My discomfort with grief and all that it brings with it was being revealed. As I finished the book I was grateful to have had my own faith poked and proded and my heart exposed.

I would offer one recommendation to anyone reading this book. Try to read it in one or two sittings. In doing so you will be able to better see the process of Lewis' grief. You will see that as the process of mourning unfolds there are still questions and doubts, but there are also honest admissions of immaturity and self-pity. You will see how Lewis looks back at earlier entries, written in deep darkness, and sees them more clearly as the sun was beginning to rise. His willingness to deal with his own questions and doubts is refreshing as he comes back to the same, solid truths that he held before and is able to approach them with eyes more widely opened by grief.

What He Must Be if He Wants to Marry My Daughter

2009-07-31T06:03:00.002-05:00

In the very first sentences of "W.H.M.B.i.H.W.t.M.M.D", author Vodie Baucham lays out his goal for this book. Baucham seeks to kill two birds with one stone by laying out for parents a picture of what they should be looking for on behalf of their daughters and seeking to produce in their sons. I found that Baucham kills more birds with his stone. This book also helps men who are already husbands and dads be better at both. Baucham begins by laying out his vision for multigenerational ministry. This section is a great read! Thinking multigenerationally can be discouraging and sobering in its downside, but the upside is encouraging and hopeful. After a chapter explaining dad's role in the process, Baucham spends the rest of the book explaining the picture of a children-loving, Christ-follower who is prepared to lead like Him as a provider, protector, prophet and priest. Baucham is careful to say that parents should not be looking for a young man who is perfect, but who at least understands these traits and is moving in their direction. When you read this book, do not skip the conclusion! I found the author's insights into race and marriage quite valuable. This book is a Swiss Army knife of sorts - multifunctional and well worth owning!

Not Your Average Ministry Training!

2009-06-20T16:25:00.000-05:00

Yun describes some of the subjects in their missionary training school:

1. How to suffer and die for the Lord.

2. How to witness for the Lord. We teach how to witness for the Lord under any circumstance, on trains or buses, or even in the back of a police van on our way to the execution ground.

3. How to escape for the Lord. We teach the missionaries special skills such as how to free themselves from handcuffs, and how to jump from second-storey windows without injuring themselves.

Perspective on Government Persecution and Missions

2009-06-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

"We have also come to understand that the past thirty years of suffereing, persecution and torture for the house churchues of China were all part of God's training for us. The Lord has perfectly fitted us to go as missoinaries to the Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu worlds."
So Yun does not pray against the Chinese government. He prays for Chinese Christians to learn to endure and be pleasing to God. "There is little that any of the Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu countries can do to us that we haven't already experienced in China."

Bbbbbappptismmmmm

2009-06-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yun tells of the first baptisms he performed:

"The only safe way was to cut a hole through the ice on the river and baptize the new believers in the freezing water during the night while the police were sleeping. On many occasions we baptized hundreds of people in the rivers and streams of southern Henan. Sometimes the Lord did a miracle so that nobody felt the freezing water. Some even commented that the water had felt warm!"

I have yet to meet anyone that desperate to be baptized!

Evangelizing Desperate Souls

2009-06-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

"God poured His Spirit out to many desperate souls. Like thirsty men in the desert, they gleefully drank in the water of God's Word. Even though I was just a teenager, the Lord enabled me to lead more than 2,000 people to Jesus in my first year as a Christian." (p.40)

When God crosses the paths of desperately thirsty people with that of a young man who has given 100% of himself to the kingdom of God, amazing things happen.

Memorizing God's Word

2009-06-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

After getting a Bible in answer to prayer, Yun travelled to another village where a group gathered to hear what he had to say. He had never taught and he didn't even know what it meant to preach. "I could only recite the Bible from the chapters I had memorized, so I recited the entire Gospel of Matthew out loud, from chapter 1 to 28."

When he opened his eyes, people were repenting with tears. They pleaded for him to stay and give them more. So he recited the first twelve books of Acts.

He was only 16 years old.

Enter For a Chance to Win BibleWorks 8

2009-06-12T11:51:00.001-05:00

Go to the Cal.vini.st blog and enter for a chance to win the latest version of BibleWorks!

What if you couldn't buy a Bible?

2009-06-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

As a teenage boy, Brother Yun wanted a Bible desperately. He had never seen or touched one. He didn't know anyone who knew what a Bible looked like. He was desperate enough to get a glimpse of a Bible that he walked many miles to the village of a man who had spent 20 years in prison for his faith. The old pastor told him, "The Bible is a heavenly book. If you want one, you'll need to pray to the God of heaven. Only He can provide you a heavenly book. God is faithful. He always answers those who seek Him with all of their heart." Yun returned home and every evening for over a month he prayed the same prayer, "Lord, please give me a Bible. Amen." No Bible appeared.

Yun returned to the man's house and begged for a glance at his Bible! He was told he needed to fast and weep. "I went home, and every morning and afternoon I ate and drank nothing. Every evening I ate just one small bowl of steamed rice. I cried like a hungry child to his heavenly Father, wanting to be filled with His Word. For the next one hundred days I prayed for a Bible, until I could bear it no more. My parents were sure I was losing my mind." (p.28)

I have several Bibles on my shelf. I can get online and find thousands of translations and versions of the Bible for purchase. Even in the small town where I live I could drive 10-15 minutes in several directions and buy a Bible.

I'm wondering if I would pray like Yun did if all of my Bibles were to disappear and I had no way to buy one.

Summer Reading Program!

2009-06-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

My kids always participate in the Summer Reading Program at the Rainbow City Public Library. This year they have one for adults. You can read about it here. So I've changed what "I'm Reading" to reflect the books I checked out today, one of which I'll be hearing.

The Inspiration of Martyrs

2009-06-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

"On 1 September 1901, a large ship docked in Shanghai Port. A young single lady from Norway walked off the gangplank onto Chinese soil for the first time. Marie Monson was one of a new wave of missionaries who, inspired by the martyrdoms of the previous year, had dedicated themselves to full-time missionary service in China". ("The Heavenly Man" p.19)

Inspired by martyrdoms, Marie Monson went to China and stayed over 30 years. Not being overly concerned with making a good impression on the Chinese church leaders, she preached a straightforward message of repentance and the fires of revival swept throughout the villages of central China wherever she went. That's what can happen when martyrs inspire you to go, not stay.

Leaving a Legacy

2009-05-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

From the last page of "Agape Leadership":

"Although Chapman wanted no one to revere him, his love touched so many people that fame became his legacy. Charles Spurgeon called him "the saintliest man I ever knew". By the end of his life, Chapman was known worldwide for his love, wisdom and compassion. He had become so well known in England that a letter from abroad addressed only to "R.C. Chapman, University of Love, England," was correctly delivered to him!"

You may be wondering why you have not heard a lot about R.C. Chapman or have never heard of him at all. Because Chapman wanted people to dwell on their Savior, not on his life, he purposely destroyed almost all of the letters he had received. Because of this far less is known and written about him than about many of his contemporaries, men like Hudson Taylor, J.N. Darby and George Mueller.

R.C. Chapman on Self-Discipline

2009-05-26T13:37:00.000-05:00

"God holds us accountable for what we have, and not for what we have not. If I have only ten minutes to read the word, do I employ those ten minutes according to my accountability?"

"Daniel made prayer and meditation of the Scriptures the chief business of his life; yet, if we consider the circumstances in which he was placed, we shall see that few ever had greater obstacles than he in the way of seeking God."

Vision & Evangelism

2009-05-25T13:34:00.000-05:00

To a young missionary heading for the field R.C. Chapman said: "Keep low, look up, and press forward."

"If we act only because our path is clear of difficulty, this is not faith. Faith acts upon God's word whatever the difficulty; and to walk by faith brings highest glory to God."

Love Does Not Envy

2009-05-23T13:00:00.001-05:00

"How great a victory was that which Jonathan must have gained over himself, when he rejoiced to see David raised above him! He discerned the mind of God in David, and had so learnt to delight in God, that he did not see in David one who was to outshine him, but another faithful man raised up for God and for Israel." R.C. Chapman

Hospitality

2009-05-22T13:00:00.002-05:00

R.C. Chapman was well known for his hospitality. He regularly opened his home to missionaries and people in need of a haven. Those who spent just a couple of days in his home would talk for the rest of their lives about their stay and the impact Chapman had on them. These are a couple quotes from the chapter on hospitality in "Agape Leadership".

"All who labour for Christ shall receive great wages for little toil."

"What is most precious in the sight of God is often least noticed by men."

Forgiving & Blessing Others

2009-05-20T13:00:00.002-05:00

"To forgive without upbraiding, even by manner or look, is a high exercise of grace - it is imitation of Christ".

"The best testimony that Stephen bore was his last: not when preaching and working miracles, but when he pleaded for his persecutors; for then he most resembled the Lord Jesus in patience, forgiveness and love."

"If I have been injured by another, let me think [to] myself - How much better to be the sufferer than the wrongdoer!"

R.C. Chapman, taken from "Agape Leadership"

What Does the Bible Say About That?

2009-05-18T11:51:00.004-05:00

With 340 topics, "What Does the Bible Say About That?" has a lot to say about a lot! Each topic fits on one page with a brief commentary, a Scripture reference or two, an admonition and a practical application. Obviously, one page is not enough to say all there is to say about the topic, but it is a good start. My oldest daughter was intrigued when she first looked over the Table of Contents, and I have found her looking at the book a couple of times. One word of warning: This book is aimed at kids aged 8-12. There are a few topics that I have come across for which the younger ones may not quite be ready. As with any book like this, read it for yourself before reading it to your kids. This book could be a valuable addition to the supper table or any other devotional time, or could serve as a reference when a child asks "What does the Bible say about ____________?"

Chapman on Humility & Unity

2009-04-20T15:11:00.002-05:00

"Humility is the secret of fellowship, and pride the secret of division"

"Pride nourishes the rememberance of injuries: humility forgets as well as forgives them."

"When mutual intercession takes the place of mutual accusation, then will the differences and difficulties of brethren be overcome."

Rebuking Like God

2009-04-13T15:20:00.002-05:00

"In reproving sin in others, we should remember the ways of the Holy Spirit of God towards us. He comes as the Spirit of Love; and whatever He rebukes, He wins the heart by mercy and forgiveness through Christ." RC Chapman

A Delivery System for Grace

2009-04-11T12:57:00.002-05:00

1. The freedom to be different

2. The freedom to be vulnerable

3. The freedom to be candid

4. The freedom to make mistakes

When these four freedoms are weaved together with love, purpose and hope they form the matrix for Grace-Based Parenting.

Kids' Needs That Grace Can Meet

2009-03-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

Kimmel writes that children have "three driving inner needs":

1. A need for security

2. A need for significance

3. A need for strength

These needs are met by giving your children love, purpose and hope. "If we've done our job adequately, our children should leave our homes with a love that is secure, a purpose that is significant, and a hope that is strong."

More Alternatives to Grace-Based Parenting

2009-03-19T11:53:00.003-05:00

Image-Control Parenting

"This is a checklist method of parenting that is part of the seduction of legalism. Image-control parenting assumes that people will know you are a good Christian parent raising nice Christian offspring by your church attendance, the way you dress (or don't dress), the way you cut your hair (or don't), the words and expressions you use (or don't use), the schools you attend (or don't attend), the movies you see (or don't see), the amount of Scripture you can quote, the version of the Bible you read, and the kinds of treats you give out for Halloween (if you participate at all).

The problem with this form of parenting is not in the things these parents do or don't do. For the most part, these are well-meaning people trying to make good choices, but they make them for the wrong reasons!"

High-Control Parenting

"High-control parenting happens when we leverage the strength of our personality or our position against our children's weaknesses to get them to meet our selfish agenda. This form of parenting is fueled by a combination of toxic fear, toxic anger, toxic bondage, toxic shame, and toxic strength... What makes it so difficult to address is the fact that the last people to see themselves as parenting this way are the very parents who are most guilty of using it as their primary mode of overseeing their kids."

Duct-Tape Parenting

"These families are usually running on empty...and too focused on the immediate rather than the permanent. Rather than figure out how to fix their parenting issues, these families cope by patching their problems."

Life-Support or 911 Parenting

"These homes are much like the duct-tape families but with the added feature that a particular crisis is dominating their focus."

Some Alternatives to Grace-Based Parenting

2009-03-12T14:55:00.002-05:00

Fear-Based Parenting

“We’re scared of Hollywood, the Internet, the public school system, Halloween, the gay community, drugs, alcohol, rock n’ roll, rap, partying neighbors, unbelieving softball teams, liberals and Santa Claus.” The result can be that your fears determine our strategy for parenting. Fear-based parenting is the surest way to create intimidated kids.

Evangelical Behavior-Modification Parenting

This strategy “assumes the proper environment, the proper information, the proper education, and the absence of negative influences will increase the child’s chances of turning out well.” Behind it may be two flawed assumptions: “(1) that the battle is primarily outside the child; and (2) that the spiritual life can be transferred onto a child’s heart much like information placed on a computer hard drive.” The child’s heart is left out of the equation.

Fight the Big Ones!

2009-03-05T13:06:00.002-06:00

The language is early 19th Century, but I've been giving this quote from Chapman some thought. I think there is some merit to his thinking.

"Give yourself to attacking the filthiness of the spirit more than the filthiness of the flesh - pride, selfishness, self-seeking, etc. - these are the ringleaders; aim at them. While you are occupied in gaining the victory over little sins, great sins will be occupied in gaining the victory over you. When great sins are overcome, little sins fall with them."

It's February and I'm already behind in my Bible reading

2009-02-25T16:20:00.002-06:00

In "Agape Leadership", R.C. Chapman may have the reason why:

"The great cause of neglecting the Scriptures is not want of time, but want of heart, some idol taking the place of Christ. Satan has been marvelously wise to entice away God's people from the Scripture. A child of God who neglects the Scriptures cannot make it his business to please the Lord of Glory; cannot make Him Lord of the conscience; ruler of the heart; the joy, portion and treasure of the soul... If the Bible be used aright by anyone, it will be to him the most pleasant book in the world."

I guess I can't blame it on Leviticus.

Preach Christ or Live Christ?

2009-02-24T08:44:00.004-06:00

"There are many who preach Christ, but not many who live Christ. My great aim will be to live Christ". R.C. Chapman

Chapman said this when he was a young man in his early 20's. Soon after he became the pastor at Ebenezer Chapel, where he was the pastor for almost the rest of his life. He preached his last sermon just before his 98th birthday! So he was not drawing a false dichotomy, as if he could not both preach and live Christ. But he sought to live the message he preached, and that was the power behind his pastorate.

Some things are the same at every level of society

2009-02-17T21:54:00.004-06:00

"The room was soon filled with a motley assemblage, from the old gray-headed patriarch of eighty, to the young girl and lad of fifteen. A little harmless gossip ensued on various themes... A few of the worshippers belonged to families hard by, who had got permission to attend, and who brought in various choice scraps of information, about the saying and doings at the house and on the place, which circulated as freely as the same sort of small change does in higher circles."

"Uncle Tom's Cabin"

"Agape Leadership" Quote

2009-02-16T13:07:00.003-06:00

"There are mysteries of grace and love in every page of the Bible: It is a thriving soul that finds the Book of God growing more and more precious." RC Chapman

No More Six Year-Old Son

2008-05-31T21:18:00.002-05:00

I just tucked in Karsten and prayed with him. I told him this would be the last time I ever tucked a six year-old boy in bed, because tomorrow night he would be seven. He seemed kind of sad about that. He prayed, thanking God for his mom & dad, for Karis & Darby, for Tybee & Melas. He asked God to send missionaries to people who don't know Jesus so they could know Him. I prayed and thanked God for how great it had been to have a six year-old son and prayed for Karsten to love God even more when he is seven and to be wise and courageous. I hugged and kissed him goodnight and I went downstairs in tears. I'm going to miss my son of six and I really don't want to waste a single day of seven.

The Five Stages of Workplace Tribes

2008-05-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

This is a fascinating article from the Gallup Management Journal. The Five Stages of Workplace Tribes Anybody with experience in a medium to large company knows exactly what these researcers are talking about. I have a little more than an inkling as to how it looks in the church.

Satan's Double Lie

2008-05-20T06:04:00.003-05:00

Here is what he, coming as an angel of light, may say to the church:
"The average human being is fairly slow, culturally encrusted. People like things that are palatable and light. So be palatable and light. And for goodness' sake, don't go into the primitive stuff - the blood of Christ or the realities of lostness throughout eternity."

Here's what he says to the uncoverted:
"You're too smart for the gospel. Look at how so many of its trappings are second-rate knockoffs of the real stuff you can find around you in theater, in deeply thought-through books, in higher education. Notice how much more of your mind is demanded even in your daily work than at church. You're ahead the way you are."

So between these two lies he goes about his business. The church buys into the simple-minded smoothed over approach; the world continues its assumption that there is, after all, a certain thinness to Christianity. In the middle of this gulf there stands the Savior, asking both the church and the world for entrance and holding out only one truth to each.

From Best, Unceasing Worship

Defining Worship

2008-05-12T09:07:00.002-05:00

Here's how Harold Best defines worship, and why.

Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do, and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing God.
Four observations:1. It involves the entire human race.
2. The words about a chosen or choosing god are meant not only to articulate two fundamentally contrasting theological positions taken within the body of Christ, but also to depict the confused condition of lostness itself.
3. The definition stresses the reality and foundational importance of continuousness. That is, worship does not stop and start, despite our notions to the contrary.
4. The term 'coninuous outpouring' particularly stands out. 'Continuous' implies relentlessness. It is the opposite of periodic or sporadic. 'Outpouring' is used to describe how one person relates to another. Many other words like serving, giving, befriending, revealing, sacrificing might have been used. Best chose 'outpouring' because it implies lavishness and generosity: when I pour something out I give it up; I let it go. God continually outpours within Himself and toward man made in His image. Man made in God's image is continually outpouring as well. Mankind was not just made 'to' worship or 'for' worship, but was made worshipping.

Nasty Evangelical Hijackers!

2008-05-05T07:20:00.001-05:00

So who exactly was flying this particular plane when the evangelicals "hijacked" it? And who else actually has someone listening to them?
Prayer Day 'Hijacked' by Evangelicals, Critics Say - washingtonpost.com

I know who is chosen!

2008-04-24T11:06:00.001-05:00

This morning in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 God told me who the elect are! "...from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel."

There you go. There's no need to thank me or send a check. We know whom God has chosen because they are the ones who believe the gospel. I wonder, if we all proclaimed the gospel more would we find there are more chosen people than we thought there were?

Evidence of God's Good Judgment

2008-04-17T10:57:00.002-05:00

Sometimes in the midst of trials I tend to question the goodness of God's intentions. In 2 Thessalonians 1:5 Paul writes to the church, "all this is evidence that God's judgment is right". He wrote this one verse after writing about the "persecutions and trials you are enduring". So what was it about being attacked by their enemies and going through major difficulties that showed them God knew what He was doing? In the midst of it all he could say of them, "your faith is growing more and more, and the love everyone of you has for each other is increasing."

The rightness of God's judment is not displayed through a lack of persecution and difficulty, but by our trust in Him and love for others in the midst of them. Our hearts are not consumed by the trials, but are instead turned outward to loving others and trusting that God is making us worthy of His kingdom and will one day set everything straight.

Finding it hard to love people?

2008-04-15T09:41:00.002-05:00

"Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other." 1 Thessalonians 4:9

That's an amazing truth to make mine in prayer. May God Himself teach me to love. When I teach, may God Himself be the teacher. If He doesn't do the teaching, I will never really learn to love.

The Family on Mission

2008-04-14T10:32:00.005-05:00

For about 24 years Ray & Marti Williams have been on the mission field, and Grace Bible Church has supported them for all of those years. They were at Grace yesterday and during the Sunday School hour they described a family on mission.

The family must be on mission together. Dad is courageous in his leadership and sacrificial in his servanthood. Mom's attitude sets the tone of the home.
Knowing the mission will not happen by accident, there is purpose and intentionality. Someone else will give the family an agenda if it's agenda is not clear.
Dad & Mom live the mission and are verbal in their faith, so the kids see their example and hear the Biblical principles behind what they do.
Hospitality is crucial to the mission.

Ray gave me some food for thought with this: "The church will evangelize as well as our families do."

A Ministry That Is Not a Failure

2008-04-10T10:29:00.006-05:00

According to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6, Paul's ministry to the church at Thessalonica was not a failure because he -

ministered with God's help
told God's gospel
did it all for God's pleasure

It would have been a failure if he had -

made his appeal based on error and impure motives
flattered people as a mask for greed
labored for man's pleasure

Some "Unceasing Worship" Thoughts

2007-12-20T06:42:00.000-06:00

I thought it might help me get back into a blogging mood if I regularly shared some of what I'm reading. Right now I'm reading Harold Best's "Unceasing Worship", which I would highly recommend. Here's a quote worth chewing on from Chapter 1, which has the provocotive title "Nobody Does Not Worship":

"We begin with one fundamental fact about worship: at this very moment, and for as long as the world endures, everybody inhabiting it is bowing down and serving something or someone - an artifact, a person, an institution, an idea, a spirit, or God through Christ. Everyone is being shaped thereby and is growing up toward some measure of fullnesss, whether of righteousness or evil. No one is exempt and no one can wish to be. We are, every one of us, unceasing worshipers and will remain so forever, for eternity is an infinite extrapolation of one of two conditions: a surrender to the sinfulness of sin unto infinite loss or the commitment of personal righteousness unto infinite gain. This is the central fact of our existence, and it drives every other fact. Within it lies the story of creation, fall, redemption and new creation or final loss."

50 Top-Selling Christian Authors

2007-10-04T14:36:00.000-05:00

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association has a list of the 50 bestselling Christian authors. (At least that's what they call it; I counted only 48. Go figure.) You may or may not recognize many of the names. I don't have the time or energy to say much about it. It appears to be very thin on theology and heavy on 'self-help'.

Doing GTD & Praying for Allen

2007-10-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

David Allen's book "Getting Things Done" has helped me a lot. I keep his workflow diagram on my desk all the time. He has sold well over half a million copies of the book and there are a bunch of websites devoted to helping people put it into practice. His devotees have practically made 'GTD' into a word that will appear in the dictionary someday! However, I had no idea that Allen is a minister at the Purple Rose Ashram of the New Age. Yes, you read that correctly. "Wired" magazine has an article/interview with Allen that is quite eye opening.
Getting Things Done Guru David Allen and His Cult of Hyperefficiency

Seals, Activists & Baptism!

2007-09-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

This amazing baptism story was told by Mark Driscoll over at The Resurgence. I know it's a little long for some attention spans, but it's really too good to pass up. Lord, please give us more great baptism and salvation stories!

Friday we had our annual summer baptismalooza. This year we had the craziest thing happen. Our crew showed up at Alki beach where Seattle was founded in 1851 to set up sound, light, and video. But, there was a baby seal that had been left on the beach by his mom. So, the baby seal sat there for many hours on the sand in the EXACT place that we were supposed to set up for our big baptism. Next thing you know the media was out covering our dilemma, animal rights activists were showing up, and according to federal law a large perimeter was set up around the seal to ensure no one got close to it. So, our set up crew prayed for a bit that the seal would leave, and when it did not they moved a few hundred yards down the beach and worked frantically to get things ready in time. To make matters worse, there was a volume limit that was to be imposed upon us during our worship set because apparently cute baby seals are also sensitive to loud noises and worship bands. But, just as we were getting ready to sound check, the baby seal went back in the water and swam back to his mom. This allowed us to have our event as planned. And, the Sovereign Seal brought a lot of media attention to our baptism which stuck around to cover the event on everything from newspapers to television and radio. The night was amazing as we had roughly 3000 people out in the park, and baptized over 220 people (we lost count) that included some folks who gave their life to Jesus on the spot.

The Voice of the Martyrs

2007-09-28T07:05:00.000-05:00

I would encourage you to go to The Voice of the Martyrs site and sign up for their weekly e-mail updates. If you are anything like me, sometimes you need a bit of an eye-opener. This morning's e-mail once again lent me some perspective to my own life and some reality to the prayers I pray. Here's just a little excerpt from today's prayer alert for a pastor in China, who can no longer walk on his own and will likely die in prison if he is not released soon:

"He still has four years remaining of the seven-and-a-half year sentence he received after his arrest in 2004. He already had previously spent 12 years in prison for his faith during five separate detentions. He experienced harsh torture, including electric shock, during his previous prison terms. Pray for Pastor Zhang's healing and for his release from prison. Pray the Holy Spirit will encourage him and that his testimony will draw nonbelievers into the knowledge of Christ."

Don't Stare at the Sun

2007-09-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Lately I've found my self singing Mute Math's "Stare at the Sun".

Then yesterday morning I was reading Job in "The Message" and came across Job 37:21-22, which is about staring at the sun and God's splendor. "The Message" describes God's "golden splendor" as His "terrible beauty". That's an awesome description of God.

Then today's Astronomy Picture of the Day has us staring at a hole in the sun.

John Piper's Message at His Grandaughter's Funeral

2007-09-27T10:53:00.000-05:00

I really appreciate his ability to grieve not just for himself, but through the grief of others.

What I Said at My Granddaughter’s Funeral :: Desiring God

Pray for the Pipers

2007-09-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

John Piper's grandaughter, Felicity Margaret Piper, was delivered stillborn on Saturday night. He tells about it here. Please pray for that family.

Dean's eBible.com Javascript

2007-09-20T16:57:00.000-05:00

Just in case Dean changes the layout, here is the instruction site for adding back the eBible.com lookup information: Here!

And here is the code that should be inserted:

<script src="http://ebible.com/api/ebibleicious?mode=mouseover
&translation=NIV&related_topics=0&key=EBIBLE_DEMO&v=1.0" type="text/javascript"></script>

Swap out the "EBIBLE_DEMO" with the API key given at eBible.com.

Focused?

2007-02-27T10:45:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been reading books and listening to messages about focus. I've been thinking about focus a lot. Howard Hendricks said, "The secret of concentration is elimination". As one who sometimes struggles with concentration, (OK, I struggle a lot with concentration!) it isn't just the difficulty of keeping my mind on a task. It's the difficulty of eliminating tasks that someone else could do in favor of doing only what I can and should do that will bring the greatest benefit to my family, the church and me.

So here's some questions about focus I've been asking, in relation to this blog:

If I were really focused would I be posting more to this blog?
If I were really focused would this blog exist at all?
If this blog truly should exist, what should its focus be in order for it to be the most fruitful?

I'm hoping to have these questions answered in the next week or two.

Not only was he a Southerner...

2007-02-02T06:12:00.000-06:00

...but he was also exalted in the eyes of the people. Verse seven of Joshua says something that could be a bit troubling, depending on how it comes about. "And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses." If the Lord is doing the exalting, then a good thing is happening. That's a sign the leader is humble and obedient and the Lord is doing great things. If the leader is doing the exalting, a bad thing is happening. That's a sign the leader is prideful and/or insecure. The priests were the first to stick their toes in the water. They stood on dry ground looking at a huge heap of water while the whole nation walked through the riverbed. The people had to trust that the heap wasn't going to fall on them. So there was faith all around. But Joshua was the one who heard some really audacious instructions from the Lord, believed the Lord was trustworthy, and gave those instructions to the people. They followed and were amazed by the Lord's power and the nation thought Joshua was great. That was a good thing because it was greatness achieved the right way.

Joshua Was a Southerner

2007-01-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

I'm reading in Joshua 3 and I come across these verses:

"Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground."

When I saw those words I knew Joshua had to be from The South. Who else would call all of that backed-up water up a "heap"? I could just hear him, "Hoooowdy boys, look at that heap of water! That's some pile of water, ain't it!"

And I realize that only God can make a heap of water. I've piled a lot of stuff in heaps in my life, but I've never managed to pile water in a heap.

How many different ways would I be sinning?

2006-12-27T08:29:00.000-06:00

We had a ton of garbage out front by the road and it was chewed open and scattered all over the yard two or three times by the neighbors' dogs. If I went to these neighbors' homes and ripped open their garbage bags and scattered the garbage all over the yard, how many different ways would I be sinning? Would it totally ruin any opportunities for sharing the gospel with them?

The Creative Spirit

2006-12-15T14:04:00.000-06:00

Early this morning I was reading from Luke 1 in The Message. Mary asked the angel exactly how she was going to give birth to one called "Son of the Highest", seeing as how she had "never slept with a man". The angel responded, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you." When I read that I immediately thought of Genesis 1:2, and how the Spirit of God was "brooding" or "hovering" over the formless, dark world. Then God spoke light and the Word made light. So when the Father sent the Word into the world as flesh, He did so by the brooding/hovering power of the Holy Spirit. I began to think, not only is God the Creator, He is also amazingly creative. I tend to be a little more comfortable with His role as Creator, since that seems to be mostly past tense. When I think of Him as creative, I realize that He is not going to work according to my tame script and is going to do "more than I ask or imagine." That can be a bit scary, but I find myself praying, "Father, may the Holy Spirit brood over my life and may Your Word creatively transform my heart as only You in Your expansive wisdom and power can!"

Lower your head and run: Part 2

2006-11-29T14:13:00.000-06:00

As I listened to Charles Stanley talk about obeying God and leaving the consequences to Him, I realized that I had heard him say the very same thing way back in the late 80's. I've also heard his son Andy say the very same thing. Obviously this has been a continuing theme in his life for many years and he sought to instill it in his son. This has led me to ask myself a few questions many times lately. Is there a particular truth or encouragement that my kids will one day use to sum up my life? If I could pass on one sentence to my kids, knowing that it would change their lives and they would pass it on to their kids in some form, what would that sentence be?

Lower your head and run!

2006-11-20T10:46:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Drive 2006 Conference at North Point Community Church. I thought I would do a few posts about some of the amazing messages I heard. I took a ton of notes, so I'll have to pare them down a whole lot.

Charles Stanley spoke on the last morning of the conference. He told the story of getting on a bus as a kid and going to visit his grandfather. His grandfather was an evangelist and Charles felt the need to go and just listen to him. One thing his grandfather told him was, "If God tells you to run through a brick wall, just lower your head and run and God will make a hole in the wall for your head." Charles said that on the way home he realized what his grandfather was telling him: 'Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.' I was very challenged and encouraged as he told us that God assumes full responsibility for my obedience and He works on behalf of those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4). "Omnipotence is on the side of obedience."

Stanley went on to tie this in to conflict, specifically to pastors and conflict in the church. The tendency is to run and hide from conflict, to allow it to distract us and destroy our focus. But Stanley encouraged us to run towards conflict while allowing God to take care of the consequences. "If I run from conflict, when will I stop? Runners never make an impact. There is not enough conflict in the world to defeat the power of God!"

Why am I doing this?

2006-11-15T12:48:00.000-06:00

That's the question I've been asking for a couple of weeks now, since Byron kind of convinced me that a blog would be a neat idea. I don't remember why he said it would be, but it sounded close enough to a good idea then. Now I'm asking myself again why I should do/have a blog. (I don't even know the correct verbs for blogging!) I looked around for just a few minutes and found there's a blog for almost everything. There's at least one blog by a Martian and blogs in a bunch of languages. There are blogs about art of every sort, from music to mosaic to photography to watercolor painting. There are blogs for birdwatchers, horse riders ('horsists'?), dog lovers and cat lovers. There are blogs for food lovers, including but not limited to, ice cream recipes for vegans. There are blogs devoted to sports, from surfing to fishing to hockey (soccer on ice with sticks). There are blogs devoted to bicycles, shoes, karaoke, the FBI's most wanted, poetry, movies, fitness and on and on and on and... I saw blogs that were profound, and some that tried to be but weren't. I saw some that were full of awful untruth, and the author didn't know it or didn't care. I saw some that were rather goofy, and I'm not sure if they meant to or not.

Most of all, I saw lots of blogs that haven't been updated in months. And lots of blogs with entries that are entirely too long, much like this one. So, I'm asking myself lots of questions. Who is going to read this? Do I even have an audience that cares about my ruminations? Could it be used for evangelism? For sharing ideas about church stuff? Could it be specifically for people at the church I pastor, sort of a "What's the pastor thinking about today and what's on the church calendar?" kind of thing? I honestly do not know the potential. For now, I'm just going to drop whatever's my brain's been chewing on and hope that someone will read and chew and drop some ruminations and so on.