Engineer - Ambassador

Moving to Wordpress

2008-04-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

Yup, I'm packing my posts, boxing up your comments, and heading over to Wordpress.com. I have just found that they have some better options and more unique templates to offer for their blogs.

Please update your RSS feeders and the links on your blogs (if you link to me).

My new blog address is http://engineerambassador.wordpress.com/

Stop It!

2008-03-29T14:49:00.004-05:00

Tim Challies posts a funny video with Bob Newhart and then adds some great advice at the end.

Challies writes:

"In the case of this video, though, every time I see it I can’t help but think he’s just a little bit more than funny—he shares some advice that is surprisingly valuable, even if it is both abrupt and hilarious. I keep the video around and watch it every now and again. I think it’s good for me to do so. Sometimes I think that, as a Christian, I can go looking for cures for sin that are long and involved and a little bit mysterious. I can go to friends or pastors or books for counsel and, like the woman in this video, I’m looking for a cure that I can jot down in a notebook and follow step-by-step. I want something I can do twice a day for ten days and watch the sin magically fall away. I want a five or ten step program. Sometimes such strategies work. Often they do not.

In Mark Driscoll’s book Confessions of a Reformission Rev he shares a late-night conversation with a member of his church. This video reminded me of Driscoll’s tale. The man called him in the middle of the night crying and begging for help because he had committed a certain sexual sin yet again. Though Driscoll’s answer was a tad vulgar I think he essentially gave the guy the right one: Just stop it! His counsel to the man was probably exactly what he needed to hear: shut up, grow up, man up and stop sinning. The guy called his pastor looking for a shoulder to cry on but what he got was a lesson in growing up. I hope it wasn’t lost on him.

Some time ago I spoke to a friend about an ongoing sin in his life and tried to show him that the essence of his problem was this: he hates his sin just a little bit less than he loves it. Sure he wants to stop sinning, but even more he wants to keep sinning. And I think he came to agree. My advice was pretty well what Newhart offered the woman in this video: “Stop it!” Are you fighting sin? I’ll pray for you—really, I will. And I’ll recommend that you memorize some Scriptures, some fighter verses, that will help you battle that sin by bringing to mind the promises of God. But I’ll also challenge you to just stop it and to stop it now. You stop sinning by turning your back on it. You do not sit back and wait for God to change you while you remain in your sin. Rather, you join him in the fight, joining your will with His strength. And together you go to war.

I can memorize Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and I can have the whole world pray for me. But there comes a time when forsaking sin, truly putting it to death, requires a decision of the mind and an act of the will. Sooner or later I need to just stop it. And God can give me the strength to do so."

GF Recommendations

2008-03-21T11:30:00.003-05:00

Since I'm off from work today, I wanted to post a little more. Here are some helpful tools as you think about the death of Christ in preparation for celebrating His resurrection on Sunday:

A Good Friday Meditation: Christ and the Meaning of the Universe (by John Piper)

The Intensity of Christ's Love and the Intentionality of His Death (by John Piper)

Later, I hope to listen with my wife to a sermon by D.A. Carson entitled "The Ironies of the Cross." I highly recommend this sermon!

O Come and Mourn

2008-03-21T10:31:00.004-05:00

Words by Frederick Faber (1814-1863)
Performed by Sandra McCracken on Indelible Grace 3: For All the Saints (streaming music)

1. O come and mourn with me awhile,
O come ye to the Savior’s side
O come, together let us mourn,
Jesus our Lord is crucified.

2. Seven times He spake seven words of love;
And all three hours His silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men;
Jesus our Lord is crucified.

CH: O love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act Your strength is tried;
And victory remains with love;
Jesus our Lord is crucified!

3. O break, O break, hard heart of mine!
My selfish love and guilty pride
His Pilate and His Judas were:
Jesus our Lord is crucified.

4. A broken heart, a fount of tears,
Ask, and they will not be denied;
A broken heart love’s cradle is:
Jesus our Lord is crucified.

TAG: And victory remains with love;
Jesus our Lord is crucified!

An Awfully Good Friday

2008-03-21T00:43:00.002-05:00

1 Peter 2:21-25, 3:18
"Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls...For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."

Martin Luther once said that the death of Christ was so real to him; it was as if He died only yesterday.

The above words are powerful, and I am trying hard to do more than read them, instead marvel at them; more than just believe them, but feel them; more than just speak them as truth but to worship because they are true. Such things for me are taking a great amount of effort tonight.

Join me in thinking of Luther's words (with Peter's words in the backdrop). Christ died for my (your) sins yesterday. Because I have deceit on my tongue; because when I am reviled, I revile back; because when I suffer, I threaten and seek to protect myself (just in case God really isn't all that great of a judge); because of my sin Jesus had to die and be separated from God. Because of my lack of righteousness, He had to come and be righteous for me.

In a sense, I crucified Christ because if I wasn't so sinful, He wouldn't have had to suffer and die in order to ransom me.

Because of my selfish decisions, the Son of God had to leave paradise and enter a ghetto, trade His throne for a manger, exchange his glorious appearance for the likeness of sinful rebels, leave the melodies of angels in order to listen to the lies of his newfound "friends," be accused for things he never did, be spit upon, be flogged, beaten and nailed to a cross, and ultimately be forsaken by the very Father who had done nothing but love him from eternity past.

Jesus had to do all of that so that I could take pride in the fact that I stick up for myself when my boss points out one of my mistakes. He had to do all of that so that I could enjoy that lustful look. He had to do all of that so that I could complain about that one guy at my church.

If Jesus had died for me only yesterday, could I dare sin again today?

Why Europeans Refuse to Reproduce

2008-03-16T19:44:00.002-05:00

Peter Robinson:

With just a single exception, the non-Muslim population of every country in Europe now has a birth rate at below replacement levels. (The exception is Malta, and God bless it.) Why, I ask Bruce Thornton today on Uncommon Knowledge, do Europeans so steadfastly refuse to reproduce?

Because, replies the author of Decline and Fall: Europe’s Slow-Motion Suicide, “children are expensive. They require you to sacrifice your time and your interests and your own comfort. If your highest good is pleasure, if your highest good is a sophisticated life, then children get in the way. Why would you spend so much money and so much energy on children if your highest good is simply material well-being? That's sort of the spiritual dimension of the problem."

“The spiritual dimension of the problem.” There are so few children in Europe, in other words, because there are so few believers.

There’s more. (Look for Chapter 4 of 5).

[HT: Justin Taylor]

Spiderwick Chronicles

2008-03-15T21:13:00.004-05:00

Jenn and I snuck out for another date this weekend (thanks to my parents for watching Noah for us this time). We went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles, and I thought it was excellent!

The movie's good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes piqued my interest, and the trailers, along with the favorable rating (PG), sold me.

Spiderwick has the feel of a children's fantasy movie but without the immaturity or simplicity. I was delightfully surprised at the author's creativity and cleverness in developing the characters, the plot (scary and suspenseful at times), and the resolution.

I highly recommend this movie.

A Year Worth Celebrating

2008-03-08T23:06:00.009-05:00

This past Monday, Jennifer and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We had some great food and conversation at deSha's and then sipped on a White Mocha Cappuccino from Starbuck's during the drive home. We are thankful to her parents, who watched Noah and enabled us to go out for a couple of hours.

In some ways it is hard to believe that it has already been a year since I saw my beautiful bride walk down the aisle, but in other ways it's hard to remember who I was or how I was ever happy before we came together.

She is a daily reminder of God's grace and mercy. Less than two years ago we were both praying to God that he would send us someone, telling him that we were ready to be married, but in despair because there were no likely candidates in sight.

Much has changed in a short time. Jennifer sold her house, moved to a new city, took a new job, a new church, is now married to a man that is in love with her, and to top it off, she has a baby (something we totally would not have expected at this point!). She gave up a lot and risked a lot for me, and I am thankful for that. I think that she is thankful as well.

Two years after worrying, we are both resting in God's providence and remembering that we should never have doubted his faithfulness.

I am amazed by Jennifer on a regular basis. She is a good mother. She works very hard and sacrifices a lot for the good of our son. There is little reward for getting up at 2am, 5am, and 8am to nurse a crying baby, but she is diligent nonetheless. Also, as a wife, she is so eager to let me lead her, guide her, and protect her. She trusts me, respects me, serves me, and loves me--sometimes I feel without reason. She hasn't read as many books or listened to as many sermons about Ephesians 5 and other passages on marriage, but at many times she obeys the Lord's teaching better than I. All this while being more beautiful and funny than I ever knew was possible.

Other than the Lord granting me repentance and salvation, Jennifer is the greatest gift that he has ever given to me. For that I owe God my life...and he has commanded that I give my life for hers.

In summary, this has been the best year of my life.

P.S. And on top of all that, she got me two books (this one and that one) as a gift for our anniversary. Could she get any better? Yup...she's also already back to her pre-pregnancy weight! :o)

Spring Forward

2008-03-08T22:51:00.009-05:00

Don't forget to "spring forward" tonight. Move those clocks ahead an hour. I might have forgotten if I hadn't just seen it mentioned on another blog.

Tomorrow should be officially declared Nap Day since we all lose an hour of sleep, and Sundays are already the perfect day for an afternoon nap.

I know my son agrees.

TGIM?

2008-03-07T20:54:00.002-05:00

I recommend that you read Justin Taylor's article entitled "Thank God for Work" (part 1 and part 2). Good stuff here.

Some quotes:

As Americans—and Christians usually aren’t much different—we spend many years and thousands of dollars getting an education, all to prepare us to get a job. Then once we get a job, we spend many years and thousands of more dollars awaiting the soonest time that we can retire! In the meantime—we live for the weekend.

[...]

We need to recover the reformational understanding of vocation: all of life—in every sphere and in every calling—should be lived to the glory of God and in obedience to his Word.

[...]

Christians in the workplace should not be known as “the super nice-guy who is average or below average in his field but who avoids cheating and backstabbing and dispenses good advice around the water cooler and occasionally leaves a gospel track in the bathroom for someone to find.” Rather, Christians should seek to imitate God’s pattern of excellence, working hard to excel in their field.

Also, a couple of months ago, I was really affected by "How Then Should We Work?" It convicted me and caused me to change some of the things I do at work. I read less on the internet now while at work, and when I do read, I am more strict about doing so during my break times (but I am still struggling with this). Yup, there are times when even reading Christian websites can be sinful. Also, I have been getting to work about fifteen minutes early each morning to eat breakfast, instead of getting there "on time" and then eating breakfast at my desk while pretending to work simultaneously.

Learning by Experience

2008-02-27T16:33:00.006-05:00

You can learn a lot by reading and listening. But there are some things that really sink in when you experience them. I am learning some truths more deeply now that I am a father.

Noah cries whenever we change his clothes or his diaper. Why? It's probably because he's disturbed when he is exposed to the bitterly cold 71*F air in his room, and he wants us to know that he is cold. It's as if he doesn't trust us. He doesn't think that we are doing good to him when we change him. He seems to think that if he doesn't scream, cry, and kick his feet during the changing, then we might just leave him there to shiver. In addition, he forgets that his mother and I have always been quick to get him taken care of and covered up as quickly as possible.

Don't get me wrong. I realize he's only an infant with a very simple mind. He doesn't think much about what he's doing. It's just natural for him to get upset and loud when he's not happy. Crying is one of his only forms of communication right now.

But still, I can't help but see some of this from God's perspective--where God is the Father and I am the child. God sees the big picture. When I worry or complain against Him, it is often because I don't see the big picture or understand His plans (and I shouldn't have to understand in order to trust Him).

God knows that what He is doing is ultimately for my good. He doesn't consult me when making his decisions; He doesn't apologize for His actions, and my crying or whining doesn't deter His plan to mature me and accomplish things through me. God has always done what is good for me. He has never, for one moment, stopped loving me or looking out for my well-being. And because Christ is my brother and my friend, the Father will always love me with the same zeal that He loves His only begotten Son.

Noah Pics

2008-02-25T00:34:00.009-05:00

(click on images to enlarge)

Update on Noah

2008-02-25T00:29:00.003-05:00

It appears that many have been anxious for an update on Noah (lots of hits on my stat counter). Time is short, and I've been too busy enjoying time with my new son and his mom. Below is an email that I recently sent to my co-workers. It should suffice as a brief synopsis of the last several days.

Feel free to comment or email for more details.

Jennifer's doctor decided to induce labor [because we were eager and ready to have the baby] and had her admitted to the hospital Tuesday night at 8pm. When we showed up, she started having mild contractions, even before they gave her any medication to speed up the process. Around 10am on Wednesday she started having painful contractions, and we thought it would be a short time later that Noah would arrive...but it was quite a bit later, actually. Jennifer did not start pushing until 6:40pm. An hour and a half later, the doctor decided that it would be too risky for her to push any longer, and he recommended a C-section.

I chose to watch most of the procedure and found it quite interesting. At 8:56pm on February 20, I got to meet my son for the first time. He was 8 lbs-1oz, 22 1/2 inches long (no wonder she couldn't push him out!).

Thank you for celebrating with us. God has blessed our family greatly, and I see Him teaching us many things already through these new experiences. Jennifer and I are enjoying parenting. Noah is actually more cooperative and content than I expected. He is more cute and lovable than words can describe, and that makes all the hard work worth it. I know it defies logic, but I swear that we are happier because we have to give more, sacrifice more, and sleep less.

Baby on the Way

2008-02-19T19:26:00.002-05:00

Jennifer's doctor decided to induce her to labor early tomorrow morning. She will be admitted to the hospital tonight for some preparatory measures. That means that Noah's birthday will likely be February 20. We are excited about meeting him.

Please pray for us.

Matthew Smith is Coming to Town

2008-02-15T21:11:00.008-05:00

Matthew Smith of Indelible Grace will be in Danville, Kentucky on Sunday, February 17. He will be performing at Grace Presbyterian Church at 6pm. It should be muy bueno!

Jenn, Noah, and I are so there...unless Noah decides that Sunday is going to be his birthday...in that case, we're there in spirit and maybe listening to Smith's songs on CD.

I blogged about the last time I saw him in concert.

Foot-Long Hoagie Used as Ruler

2008-02-15T21:07:00.001-05:00

HT: The Onion

Things You Should Never Say to a Pregnant Woman

2008-02-13T22:55:00.003-05:00

My wife posts the "The Top 4 Things You Should Never Say to a Pregnant Woman."

How To Leave a Church

2008-02-13T22:39:00.004-05:00

Thinking about leaving your local church? Mark Dever provides some wise counsel in his book What is a Healthy Church?

Before You Decide to Leave
1. Pray.
2. Let your current pastor know about your thinking before you move to another church or make your decision to relocate to another city. Ask for his counsel.
3. Weigh your motives. Is your desire to leave because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment? If it’s because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?
4. Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships.
5. Be sure to consider all the “evidences of grace” you’ve seen in the church’s life - places where God’s work is evident. If you cannot see any evidences of God’s grace, you might want to examine your own heart once more (Matt. 7:3-5).
6. Be humble. Recognize you don’t have all the facts and assess people and circumstances charitably (give them the benefit of the doubt).

If You Go
1. Don’t divide the body.
2. Take the utmost care not to sow discontent even among your closest friends. Remember, you don’t want anything to hinder their growth in grace in this church. Deny any desire to gossip (sometimes referred t as “venting” or “saying how you feel”).
3. Pray for and bless the congregation and its leadership. Look for ways of doing this practically.
4. If there has been hurt, then forgive - even as you have been forgiven.

Piper: Football & Christ

2008-02-12T23:52:00.000-05:00

HT: Purgatorio

Bear on Bridge

2008-02-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

I'm not the only one who loves climbing on bridges. A few months ago, a bear was found on a bridge near Lake Tahoe, California. Eye witnesses said that the bear was walking along the deck of the bridge, got scared by oncoming traffic, and jumped the concrete railing. Amazing!

Here's the full story.

Quote of the Week

2008-02-07T18:44:00.001-05:00

Intent has no bearing on judging an intentional foul.

-Gerald Boudreaux, Head of Basketball Officials for the Southeastern Conference, trying to explain why UK player Derrick Jasper was called for an intentional foul in the previous UK game, but Georgia player Dave Bliss was not called for an intentional foul in the act of giving Ramel Bradley a concussion and a cut chin.

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:
Jasper foul
Bliss foul

Dever and Acts 29

2008-02-06T18:35:00.000-05:00

Mark Dever, speaking to Acts 29 church planters in Chicago:

Our differences are enough to separate some of my friends—your brothers and sisters in Christ—from you. And perhaps to separate them from me, now that I’m publicly speaking to you. And I don’t want to minimize either the sincerity or the seriousness of some of their concerns (things like: humor, worldliness, pragmatism, authority).
But I perceive some things in common which outweigh our differences—which the Lord Jesus shall soon enough compose between us, either by our maturing, or by His bringing us home. I long to work with those, and count it a privilege to work with those whom My Savior has purchased with His blood, and with whom I share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I perceive that we have in common the knowledge that God is glorified in sinners being reconciled to Him through Christ. This is not taught by other religions, nor clearly by the ancient Christian churches of the East, or by Rome, by liberal Protestant churches, by Mormons, the churches of Christ, or by groups of self-righteous, legalistic, moralistic Christians. And not only do we together affirm the exclusivity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone—we agree on the sovereignty of God in life and salvation, the regenerate nature of church members, the importance of church membership and discipline, ~~the baptism of believers alone~~, the priorities of expositional preaching, and evangelism, the importance of authority and a growing appreciation for the significance of complementarianism. These are not slight matters. And they only fire my desire to encourage you and cheer you on, until you cross that finish line that the Lord lays down for us.

Some context:
Brewing Battle (Christianity Today)
Missouri Baptists vs. Acts 29 (Scott Lamb--SBC pastor in Missouri--blog)

UPDATE 2/9/08: "The original draft contained the words "the baptism of believers alone". Since Acts 29 doesn't make that a condition for participation in their network, that phrase was omitted in the actual address given to the church planters. My mistake. -- MM"

How To Watch the Superbowl

2008-02-02T16:13:00.000-05:00

CJ Mahaney posts his thoughts on Super Bowl XLII.

37 Weeks

2008-02-01T18:54:00.001-05:00

In case you missed it, Jenn wrote an update/summary of the pregnancy a couple of weeks ago.

MLK, Jr. Day

2008-01-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have never listened to the entire 17-minute "I Have a Dream Speech" before. I recommend it.

And John Piper wrote some words about honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. this year.

Bridge Collapse Investigation

2008-01-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

Forensic engineers finally announced what they believe to be the cause of the Minneapolis bridge collapse from this past August. Surprisingly, it turns out that the gusset plates were the problem. They were only half the thickness that they should have been--a design flaw. This was surprising to most. With the bridge being about 40 years old, most thought the bridge failed due to cracking or corrosion as a result of the bridge's age and exposure to the elements.

Gusset plates are used to connect two (or more) steel members together. Each member will be bolted or welded to the gusset plate at their intersection and held in position by the plate.

One gusset plate on the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis before the collapse.

It sounds like more info will be released from the investigation in the coming weeks. For now, here are some recent articles:

AP
LA Times

Why They Don't Serve Popcorn at Church

2008-01-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday my pastor was talking about how Christians so often listen to a sermon the same way that they watch a movie.

What happens when you go to a movie? You sit there for a couple of hours; you listen and watch attentively; you enjoy the experience; you may laugh, cry, get goosebumps, or all three. When the movies is over, you get in your car, you say to your partner, "Yeah, that was a good movie," or "Ehh, I've seen better," and then you go about your normal life. Ultimately, the movie has no lasting effect on you; it's just something you do for a couple of hours every once in a while.

Have you ever treated a sermon the same way that you treat a movie? I know that I have--countless times.

Why has God given us His Word, and why has He appointed leaders within the church to preach and teach His Word to us? Certainly, so that we might know God, that we might examine ourselves in light of Him, that we might then see ourselves for who we really are, and that we might repent where we see need of it--all the while clinging to the cross of Christ and treasuring Him.

When is the last time that you repented of sin? Those who don't repent are either perfect, or they are blind and hard of heart.

This Sunday, if it is not your routine, think about the sermon when you get home (and throughout the week), seek to apply it to your life, to this year, and to this upcoming week (taking notes during the sermon may help). If you are a husband, sit down with your family and discuss it with them and guide them in applying it to their lives. Don't stop at generalizations and basic principles, but get down to the nitty gritty, where the rubber meets the road. Be intentional about pleasing Christ (2 Cor. 5:9).

We must not simply hear sermons, but we must listen and obey. We must ask God to sanctify us through these sermons, and to sanctify this world through us and through our church.

"Take heed how you hear! Don't be cavalier in the hearing of God's Word week after week. If it is not softening and saving and healing and bearing fruit, it is probably hardening and blinding and dulling (See 2 Corinthians 2:16)." -- John Piper, Sermon on Luke 8:4-18

Luke 8:18 (ESV)
"Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

What Evangelism Isn't

2008-01-03T19:30:00.001-05:00

Christianity Today magazine provides an excerpt from Mark Dever's new book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.

Check out "What Evangelism Isn't".

Starting Christmas Traditions

2007-12-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

It certainly does take some effort and planning to make Christ a part of Christmas. When I say this, I'm talking about more than praying before Christmas dinner or drinking your coffee from a mug that says, "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" (though these are both good things).

Making much of Christ this Christmas was an especially important goal for me, as it was my first Christmas as a married man. That means that I have an additional responsibility this year--the responsibility of leading my wife in Christmas worship and starting holiday traditions for my family that will help us to remember and marvel at the incarnation of the Son of God.

Here are some of the things that we did.

1. We made our local church a priority.
We were with our local church every Sunday in December. This even meant us driving an additional 4 1/2 hours over the long Christmas weekend (We were on the road for 14 hours versus 9 1/2 hours had we gone to church in Bowling Green). We went to Bowling Green on Friday, came back to Lexington on Saturday night, and then drove to Paducah on Sunday afternoon. I think that the best way to make Christmas Christ-centered is to make it church-centered (see post from two years ago).

2. We did less shopping this year.
Jennifer's parents had the great idea of drawing names for Christmas gifts and only having one adult buy for one adult on their side of the family. In addition, Jennifer and I set a $25 budget on our own gifts. The result? Our time wasn't consumed with sitting in traffic jams, hunting for parking spots in the same zip code of the mall, or spending lots of money on stuff.

3. We gave more.
Buying less stuff means we have more money to give away. We gave extra money to the Lottie Moon offering to foreign missions; we gave more money to our local church; and we filled a Christmas basket with food and hand-delivered it to a less fortunate family.

4. Worship was a part of our Christmas Day festivities.
Jennifer and I returned to our home on Christmas evening. I read from 1 John and prayed; Jennifer read some quotes by Spurgeon and Augustine; and we sang a couple of Christmas hymns with my guitar accompaniment (Noah kept the beat while kicking in rhythm). Finally, we exchanged our gifts (imitating God, the great gift-giver) with excitement and joy. Jenn got a soft pink robe and a CD. I got a book and a gift card to CoffeeTimes (I have such a great wife!).

What are some ways that you made Christ a part of Christmas this year? I would love to have some more ideas or even hear that we had some things in common.

Who is Scared of Merry Christmas and Who Should Be?

2007-12-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

My pastor wrote the following article and put it on the back page of the church bulletin this past Sunday morning.

Who is Scared of Merry Christmas and Who Should Be?

Richard Dawkins, a self-professed apostle of atheism and author of The God Delusion, who says that teaching your children to believe the Christian faith is a form of child abuse has recently announced that he often participates in singing Christmas carols during the Christmas season. When asked about this apparent inconsistency by the secular media his response was quite interesting.

"So divorced has Christmas become from religion that I find no necessity to bother with euphemisms such as happy holiday season. In the same way as many of my friends call themselves Jewish atheists, I acknowledge that I come from Christian cultural roots. I am a post-Christian atheist. So, understanding full well that the phrase retains zero religious significance, I unhesitatingly wish everyone a Merry Christmas."

The thought of Richard Dawkins singing “Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King” is full of disturbing irony. Nevertheless, a quick glance at the dialogue concerning this matter reveals that many people don’t think this is a big deal at all because of what they observe among Christians. One person writes, “I don't think most Christians find a "deeper" meaning in Christmas than most non-Christians do. The "Christ" part of Christmas is fairly superficial and unimportant. "The holidays" can be celebrated without reference to "Christ" at all.”

At least when the cultural enemies oppose the celebration of Christmas and ban the greeting, “Merry Christmas” we know that they understand something more is involved in Christmas than a winter holiday. Like Herod, they understand that the birth of the promised Messianic King whose rule will cover the earth and know no end is threatening to anyone building an opposing kingdom.

But the situation is far more bleak when someone looks around and concludes that the greeting “Merry Christmas” has about as much content as “What’s up?” This has happened because the church has not preached to the watching world the awe and wonder of celebrating the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Richard Dawkins can stand and sing “Joy to the world! The Lord is come” devoid of holy awe partly because he has seen so many Christians model the same practice.

I hope and pray that the words about Jesus, the light and Savior of the world, that will spill off of Dawkins lips this Christmas season will capture his heart and fill him with awe, wonder, and worship. But I am convinced that this is much more likely to happen if he first sees the hearts and minds of Christians captured by the glory of the incarnation of the Christ. May no one who observes your celebration of the incarnation of our Lord during this season conclude that “The “Christ” part of Christmas is fairly superficial and unimportant.” Richard Dawkins will sing more than he believes this Christmas do not let the same be said for you.

Merry Christmas,

Pastor David

The Public Library

2007-12-29T11:53:00.001-05:00

I am a big fan of books. I am an even bigger fan of free books.

Maybe you already realized this, but your local public library let's you borrow books and read them for free. For some reason, I've never really taken advantage of that opportunity.

The Lexington Public Libraries even have a lot of the books that I want to read--namely, Christian non-fiction books. I was pleasantly surprised by the books that they offer in this category.

Books by John Piper

The Passion of Jesus Christ

Don’t Waste Your Life

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

Books by Francis Schaeffer

A Christian Manifesto

The God Who Is There

How Should We Then Live?

Others

Our Sufficiency in Christ by John MacArthur

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson

Simply Christian by NT Wright

Jonathan Edwards: A Life by J. Marsden

Why I am a Christian by John Stott

Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by RC Sproul

Fifty Key Christian Thinkers by Peter McEnhill

Also, the LexPubLib has a few books by a fiction author that I’ve heard some great things about: Flannery O’Connor

Trusting Promises, Not Providences

2007-12-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

"Trusting Promises, Not Providences" by Jon Bloom

This morning my assistant, Bryan DeWire, found out his father, who 24 hours ago seemed in fine health, didn’t make it through emergency heart surgery. This afternoon, my wife called me in tears to update me on a very difficult day trying to raise and teach 5 young children. Very different, yet real and painful experiences of God’s providential reign in lives of Christians I love.

Also this morning I read this sentence in a pamphlet titled, “Honey Out of the Rock,” by Puritan Thomas Wilcox,

“Judge not Christ’s love by providences, but by promises.”

Experiences are very powerful. They often feel more powerful than promises. So it's tempting to interpret prosperity and ease as God’s blessing and tribulation as God’s displeasure. And sometimes they are. But often they are not.

Actually, what we see all the way through the Bible is the Lord training his disciples to trust his promises more than providences. Think of Abraham and Sarah waiting for Isaac, or Jacob losing Rachel, or Joseph in slavery and prison, or Job’s suffering, or David running from Saul. Think of Lazarus and the heartbreak of his death and the constant tribulations of Paul. And of course Jesus set the ultimate example by looking to the joy set before him as he endured the cross (Heb 12:2).

Strange, isn’t it? In the Bible pain is often the path to unspeakable joy and prosperity is often an obstacle to it. What’s going on?

Simply, God wants us to treasure what we can’t see more than what we can.

“For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18).

And we find out that it’s pain more than prosperity that makes us look for what our eyes can’t see, and long for a satisfaction that doesn’t exist in this world.

So Thomas Wilcox’s advice is worth heeding. For those of us who are experiencing a bitter providence, Wilcox goes on to say,

Bless God for shaking off false foundations, for any way whereby He keeps the soul awakened and looking after Christ; better sickness and temptations, than security and superficiality.

Wow, That Was Easy

2007-12-16T21:34:00.001-05:00

Apparently Family Christian Bookstores now have their own version of the Staples "Easy Button".

Great! (sarcasm)

As someone else put it, this is not on my Christmas list.

[HT: Burtonia]

Grudem On Adoption

2007-12-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

Paul explains that this status of adoption as God's children was not fully realized in the old covenant. He says that "before faith came, we were confined under the law...the law was our custodian [or guardian] until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith" (Gal. 3:23-26). This is not to say that the Old Testament completely omitted talk of God as our Father, for God did call himself the Father of the children of Israel (Ps. 103:3; Isa. 43:6-7; Mal. 1:6; 2:10). But even though there was a consciousness of God as Father to the people of Israel, the full benefits and privileges of membership in God's family, and the full realization of that membership, did not come until Christ came and Spirit of the Son of God was poured into our hearts, bearing witness with our spirit that we were God's children.

[...]

It is possible that God could have creatures who are spiritually alive and yet are not member of his family and do not share the special privileges of family members--angels, for example apparently fall into that category. Therefore, it would have been possible for God to give us regeneration without the great privileges of adoption into his family. Moreover, God could have given us justification without the privileges of adoption into his family, for he could have forgiven our sins and given us right legal standing before him without making us his children. It is important to realize this because it helps us to recognize how great are our privileges in adoption...When we begin to realize the excellence of these blessings, and when we appreciate that God has no obligation to give us any of them, then we will be able to exclaim with the apostle John, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" (1 John 3:1).

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1st Ed., p.737, 739

The Reason for God

2007-12-15T12:11:00.001-05:00

I am excited about this new book by Tim Keller. Keller has a great understanding of the gospel, a unique way with words, and--according to DA Carson--the unique ability to talk intelligibly to anyone about the gospel and the Christian life.

From Publisher's Weekly:

"In this apologia for Christian faith, Keller mines material from literary classics, philosophy, anthropology and a multitude of other disciplines to make an intellectually compelling case for God. Written for skeptics and the believers who love them, the book draws on the author's encounters as founding pastor of New York's booming Redeemer Presbyterian Church. One of Keller's most provocative arguments is that "all doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs." Drawing on sources as diverse as 19th-century author Robert Louis Stevenson and contemporary New Testament theologian N.T. Wright, Keller attempts to deconstruct everyone he finds in his way, from the evolutionary psychologist Richard Dawkins to popular author Dan Brown. The first, shorter part of the book looks at popular arguments against God's existence, while the second builds on general arguments for God to culminate in a sharp focus on the redemptive work of God in Christ. Keller's condensed summaries of arguments for and against theism make the scope of the book overwhelming at times. Nonetheless, it should serve both as testimony to the author's encyclopedic learning and as a compelling overview of the current debate on faith for those who doubt and for those who want to reevaluate what they believe, and why."

From Amazon.com:

The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?

Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.

Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? Shouldn’t the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be “right” and the rest “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

The book is due out February 14, 2008

Prince Caspian

2007-12-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

The trailer for Prince Caspian is out. This sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is scheduled to premier in theaters in May 2008.

I am looking forward to seeing it.

Retracting Indulgences

2007-12-12T13:27:00.001-05:00

I have deleted my earlier post on indulgences and the Roman Catholic church. I misunderstood and misrepresented the BBC article that I linked to. Apparently, the indulgence is earned and not payed for (as was the case during the time of the Reformation). I apologize for the first post.

An article from The Catholic News Agency states:

The first way to obtain the indulgence is to visit the following places in Lourdes between December 8, 2007 and December 8, 2008, preferably in the order suggested: (1) the parish baptistery used for the Baptism of Bernadette, (2) the Soubirous family home, known as the 'cachot,' (3) the Grotto of Massabielle, (4) the chapel of the hospice where Bernadette received First Communion, and on each occasion they pause for an appropriate length of time in prayer and with pious meditations, concluding with the recital of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, ... and the jubilee prayer or other Marian invocation."

[...]

There is also a provision for those who are unable to fulfill the previous two ways of obtaining the indulgence. Those who "through sickness, old age or other legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain the Plenary Indulgence ... if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, on the days February 2 to 11, 2008, in their hearts they spiritually visit the above-mentioned places and recite those prayers, trustingly offering to God, through Mary, the sickness and discomforts of their lives."

Fear Not the Compass

2007-12-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey Overstreet, in a Christianity Today article says, "Many Christians are concerned about the upcoming release of The Golden Compass. Here's some good advice for how we might respond to it all."

Some quotes from the article:

Should Christians be afraid of The Golden Compass?

Mercy, no. Let's not be afraid. Discerning, yes. But not afraid.

God is not threatened by Philip Pullman. And people who stop to think through Pullman's story, and how he "refutes" Christianity, will see what a feeble "attack" against Christian belief it really is.

[...]

Do Pullman's stories pose a threat to children?

Yes, if … And that is a very big "if."

Pullman's trilogy poses a threat if our children read these books without any discussion about the claims made by the characters in the story, or without any parental guidance. The stories pose a threat if their parents and teachers are not reading the books too, and participating in the experience, talking about what the storyteller is doing.

They also could pose a threat if parents forbid these stories in such a way that the child becomes fascinated by the forbidden book.

[...]

Is Pullman overrated? Is he a good storyteller?

Pullman is an amazing storyteller, with one of the most formidable imaginations since J.R.R. Tolkien himself. I was enthralled by The Golden Compass when I first read it: Colorful characters, fanciful creatures, a strong sense of mystery, and a compelling story about young and vulnerable characters being oppressed and abused by adults.

[...]

Okay, maybe we shouldn't boycott and complain. But what should Christians do?

These recommendations come from my humble opinion, and you're welcome to disagree.

Essentially, don't behave in ways that the Magisterium in Pullman's books would behave. You'll just make his stories more persuasive, by confirming for the culture around us that Christians only really get excited when they're condemning something.

Instead, respond with grace and love. And truth. Admit that, yes, Christians have committed grave sins in the name of Christ, and that those shameful misrepresentations of the gospel have made many people fearful of, and even repulsed by, the church. But Christians have been called to serve the oppressed, proclaim freedom for the captives, bring healing to the sick, to seek justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly, and to bring good news of "great joy." And by God's grace, many are living out that calling. They paint quite a different picture than what Pullman has painted.

Finally, educate yourselves and equip your kids with questions—lenses, so to speak—that will expose the problems in these stories. (Worried about padding Pullman's pockets by investigating the books? Fair enough. But there's always the library.)

What questions might you and your kids ask as you read Pullman's books? Some suggestions:

If we cast off all "authority" and set up "free will" as the ultimate source of guidance, where will that get us?
Has the world shown us that the human heart is a trustworthy "compass"?
Does free will lead us always to the right choice?
If the heroes accept the "truth" of the alethiometer (the compass itself), aren't they letting themselves be guided by just another source of truth—another "Authority"? But didn't the story tell us "Authority" is bad and we should only follow our own hearts?
If there are "many truths," then aren't these heroes being as self-righteous and wicked as the oppressors by demanding that their version of the truth is better than others?
What is so inspiring about the battle between the bears? Hasn't this story led us to a place where it's just "survival of the fittest" all over again? Should we really hope that the world falls into the hands of the strongest fighter, rather than into the hands of love?

Read the whole article.

Packer on Adoption

2007-12-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading the long chapter entitled "Sons of God" in J.I. Packer's Knowing God. Lots of good stuff here. This is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read.

Some quotes:

The aspect of his character on which God laid the most emphasis in the Old Testament was his holiness...The constant emphasis was that human beings, because of their weaknesses as creatures and their defilement as sinful creatures, must learn to humble themselves and be reverent before God. Religion was "the fear of the Lord."

[...]

But in the New Testament we find that things have changed. God and religion are not less than they were; the Old Testament revelation of the holiness of God, and its demand for humility in man, is presupposed throughout. But something has been added. A new factor has come in. New Testament believers deal with God as their Father...And the stress of the New Testament is not on the difficulty and danger of drawing near to the holy God [as in the OT] but on the boldness and confidence with which believers may approach him: a boldness that springs directly from faith in Christ.

[...]

Our first point about adoption is that it is the highest privilege that the gospel offers--even higher than justification.

Packer then concludes with some questions that we should all dwell on and use to examine ourselves again and again.

Do I understand my adoption? Do I value it? Do I daily remind myself of my privilege as a child of God?

Have I sought full assurance of my adoption? Do I daily dwell on the love of God to me?

Do I treat God as my Father in heaven, loving, honoring, and obeying him, seeking and welcoming his fellowship, and trying in everything to please him, as a human parent would want his child to do?

Do I think of Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord, as my brother too, bearing to me not only a divine authority but also a divine-human sympathy? Do I think daily how close he is to me, how completely he understands me, and how much, as my kinsman-redeemer, he cares for me?

Have I learned to hate the things that displease my Father? Am I sensitive to the evil things to which he is sensitive? Do I make a point of avoiding them, lest I grieve him?

Do I look forward daily to that great family occasion when the children of God will finally gather in heaven before the throne of God, their Father, and the Lamb, their brother and their Lord? Have I felt the thrill of this hope?

Do I love my Christian brothers and sisters with whom I live day by day, in a way that I shall not be ashamed of when in heaven I think back over it?

Am I proud of my Father, and of his family, to which by his grace I belong?

Does the family likeness appear in me? If not, why not?

God humble us; God instruct us; God make us his own true children.

Cumberland Falls

2007-12-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

My wife and I went to Cumberland Falls State Park back in late October for a short, romantic get-a-way. With Jenn's third trimester only a few weeks away at the time, I wanted to get in a trip before our life completely changed.

It was such a great weekend--everything I had hoped it would be.

The beautiful autumn view from our room.

I risked my life to snap this shot of the Falls from above.
You'd better enjoy it!

A pregnant woman next to a pregnant tree?

Every man in the world should be jealous of me.

I've Been Elfed

2007-12-01T00:10:00.000-05:00

My wife is so excited that it's Christmas time that she decided to "elf us."

Maybe we should use this for our family Christmas card too.

Fences and Legalism

2007-11-20T21:54:00.000-05:00

Zach Nielson posts a good quote from Jerry Bridges (Transforming Grace, p. 124):

I think my parents' pool hall fence was appropriate. But there is a lesson in my experience for all parents: Don't focus on the fence. If you erect a fence for your children - for example, in regard to certain movies or television programs- be sure to focus on the real issues, not the fence. Take time to explain and re-explain the reason for the fence.

If you decide, as my parents did , that you don't want your children going to the local pool hall, explain why. Distinguish between playing the game itself - which has neither negative nor positive moral value - and the atmosphere you are trying to protect them from.

For all of us, it may be good to have some fences, but we have to work at keeping them as just that - fences, helpful to us but not necessarily applicable to others. we also have to work at guarding our freedom from other people's fences.

Some of the fences in our respective Christian circles have been around a long time. No one quite knows their origin, but by now they are "embedded in concrete". Although it may cause conflict if you violate one, you must guard your freedom. To paraphrase Paul, "Stand firm in your freedom, and don't let anyone bring you into bondage with their fences."

I'm not suggesting you jump over fences just to thumb your nose at the people who hold to them so dearly. We are to "make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19). Use discretion in embracing or rejecting a particular fence. but don't let other coerce you with man made rules. And ask God to help you see if you are subtly coercing or judging others with your own fences.

[HT: Justin Taylor]

It's A Boy

2007-11-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

I would like for you all to meet my son, Noah Wesley.

Below is an email that I sent to several friends a few weeks ago.

Friends,
Jennifer had an ultrasound today, and we found out that our baby is a BOY. Yay! He wasn't shy or modest. Within the first ten seconds we knew that he was a boy. ;)

Personally, I was hoping to have a son first. That way our other kids (God-willing) can have a big brother to protect them. Plus, I am looking forward to playing rough with him, teaching him to play sports, and raising him to be a godly man.

The ultrasound showed that everything appears to be healthy. The brain looks good; his heart has four working chambers, and everything else appears to be developing well. During the ultrasound, I certainly realized that there is so little that we can do to ensure our baby's well-being. For the last 4 1/2 months, our little baby has been growing and developing properly. It is amazing, with all the things that could go wrong, that everything turns out right. God has been gracious to us and used his sovereign power to give us a healthy baby boy. He has done for us, what we could never do for ourselves--a recurring theme throughout life.

Jennifer and I are really looking forward to meeting Noah Wesley in February.

Blessings,
Noah's dad

Now, here's an updated picture of the hot mama.

She is in her 27th week and is doing well overall. She's very tough and very sweet all at the same time. She's already such a good mom, and I'm looking forward to seeing our Noah bring out the best in her.

Civics Test

2007-11-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

How well do you know your American Civics? My friend Kyle posted this a while back, and I really enjoyed the quiz. It reminds me of the old Academic Team days in school.

Take the test here, and then post your score in the comments section. I got an 80%.

Comments Are Now Enabled

2007-11-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

Comments are now enabled. Now, let's see if that gets used.

My class at UK is almost over for the semester (I plan to take Prestressed Concrete next semester). So I should have some more time to post and refer you to better posts. Be sure to visit this site frequently (i.e. click out of your RSS feed reader and give me a hit).

"Are you Saved?" "Ask My Neighbors"

2007-11-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

This is great! I was reading in Christian History and Biography magazine (a brother of the more famous Christianity Today) this weekend and found this short article in their Fall 2004 issue (thanks to Luke, my father-in-law).

The typical Anabaptist emphasis on showing, not just telling, one's faith remained strong. When Brethren evangelist Rufus. P. Bucher was asked by a stranger in a railway station, "Brother, are you saved?" He replied that since he might be prejudiced on the question, his interrogator should go ask his wife, children, and neighbors. "I'll be ready to let their answers stand as my own."

The Obituary of a Hard Drive

2007-10-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

I have recently been having some serious trouble with my desktop computer. So I transported it to my friend Nick and asked him to take a look at it--knowing that he is both very smart and very generous with his computer skills.

Unfortunately, I received the following statement in an email this week:

"After a long and fruitful life, [Wes'] hard drive gave up the ghost, on October 1st at 12:15 a.m.

The hard drive went into hard drive failure weeks prior, demonstrating the fated "click of death". Upon transplanting to another PC, it was demonstrated that it was indeed dead. After a nice freeze in [Nick's] freezer (safely wrapped in a Ziploc bag to prevent condensation on the corpse), the hard drive was resurrected at approximately 11:15 p.m. on September 30th. This period was short-lived, as the "click of death" began again at 12:15, when the hard drive met its maker.

It is survived by its CPU, motherboard, DVD drive, and CD drive. Also surviving the hard drive is 17 GB of data - Wes' entire "My Documents" folder including pictures, music, documents, etc.

It was a good hard drive."

I think this might be the first time that I have laughed at death.

Jesus, I'm Not In Love With You

2007-09-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

John Stackhouse has stopped singing about how he's "in love with Jesus." I'm pretty much tired of the categorical "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs too.

Read "Jesus, I'm Not In Love With You".

[HT: Justin Taylor]

Remembering 9/11

2007-09-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

This is a post from Tim Keller's son's blog:

Below is a speech that particularly resonates with me on multiple levels. First, it was a talk delivered by dad to 9/11 victims’ families and national dignitaries (Bush, H. Clinton, Bloomberg, Pataki, Giuliani, etc) about suffering and what they can do with their very personal suffering that still exists. It impacted me because I saw concisely in the sermon the power the resurrection has to those suffering. Secondly, it was a talk given at an interfaith memorial (8min long) and therefore as a student currently studying presentation to multiple audiences, I was impacted at both the kindness he had towards the “resources” of other faiths, but also the honesty and clarity that he still spoke from his own convictions. This is the way, to affirm others, and still not lose the distinct Gospel voice that we deem so powerful in today’s society. Lastly, while many others would have used the pulpit in front of so many political figures to espouse either their own political views, or some well meaning yet ill-timed alter call type message- dad focused on those suffering and in pain and tried to speak to them in their loss of their loved ones with the message that there is a God, the God, who knows exactly what it feels like and can therefore relate to them in their pain. Way to go dad.

Below is the transcribed version of the sermon done by individuals at the White House who also apparently liked it.
-Michael
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE AND PEACE
FOR 9-11 VICTIMS’ FAMILIES
Ground Zero/St Paul’s Chapel Tim Keller
Sep 10, 2006

As a minister, of course, I’ve spent countless hours with people who are struggling and wrestling with the biggest question - the WHY question in the face of relentless tragedies and injustices. And like all ministers or any spiritual guides of any sort, I scramble to try to say something to respond and I always come away feeling inadequate and that’s not going to be any different today. But we can’t shrink from the task of responding to that question. Because the very best way to honor the memories of the ones we’ve lost and love is to live confident, productive lives. And the only way to do that is to actually be able to face that question. We have to have the strength to face a world filled with constant devastation and loss. So where do we get that strength? How do we deal with that question? I would like to propose that, though we won’t get all of what we need, we may get some of what we need 3 ways: by recognizing the problem for what it is, and then by grasping both an empowering hint from the past and an empowering hope from the future.

First, we have to recognize that the problem of tragedy, injustice and suffering is a problem for everyone no matter what their beliefs are. Now, if you believe in God and for the first time experience or see horrendous evil, you rightly believe that that is a problem for your belief in God, and you’re right – and you say, “How could a good and powerful God allow something like this to happen?”

But it’s a mistake (though a very understandable mistake) to think that if you abandon your belief in God it somehow is going to make the problem easier to handle. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Letter from Birmingham Jail says that if there was no higher divine Law, there would be no way to tell if a particular human law was unjust or not. So think. If there is no God or higher divine Law and the material universe is all there is, then violence is perfectly natural—the strong eating the weak! And yet somehow, we still feel this isn’t the way things ought to be. Why not? Now I’m not going to get philosophical at a time like this. I’m just trying to make the point that the problem of injustice and suffering is a problem for belief in God but it is also a problem for disbelief in God---for any set of beliefs. So abandoning belief in God does not really help in the face of it. OK, then what will?

Second, I believe we need to grasp an empowering hint from the past. Now at this point, I’d like to freely acknowledge that every faith - and we are an interfaith gathering today – every faith has great resources for dealing with suffering and injustice in the world. But as a Christian minister I know my own faith’s resources the best, so let me simply share with you what I’ve got. When people ask the big question, “Why would God allow this or that to happen?” There are almost always two answers. The one answer is: Don’t question God! He has reasons beyond your finite little mind. And therefore, just accept everything. Don’t question. The other answer is: I don’t know what God’s up to – I have no idea at all about why these things are happening. There’s no way to make any sense of it at all. Now I’d like to respectfully suggest the first of these answers is too hard and the second is too weak. The second is too weak because, though of course we don’t have the full answer, we do have an idea, an incredibly powerful idea.

One of the great themes of the Hebrew Scriptures is that God identifies with the suffering. There are all these great texts that say things like this: If you oppress the poor, you oppress to me. I am a husband to the widow. I am father to the fatherless. I think the texts are saying God binds up his heart so closely with suffering people that he interprets any move against them as a move against him. This is powerful stuff! But Christianity says he goes even beyond that. Christians believe that in Jesus, God’s son, divinity became vulnerable to and involved in - suffering and death! He didn’t come as a general or emperor. He came as a carpenter. He was born in a manger, no room in the inn.

But it is on the Cross that we see the ultimate wonder. On the cross we sufferers finally see, to our shock that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. And so you see what this means? John Stott puts it this way. John Stott wrote: “I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the Cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?” Do you see what this means? Yes, we don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, but we know what the reason isn’t, what it can’t be. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it. And therefore the Cross is an incredibly empowering hint. Ok, it’s only a hint, but if you grasp it, it can transform you. It can give you strength.

And lastly, we have to grasp an empowering hope for the future. In both the Hebrew Scriptures and even more explicitly in the Christian Scriptures we have the promise of resurrection. In Daniel 12:2-3 we read: Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake….[They]… will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and…like the stars for ever and ever. And in John 11 we hear Jesus say: I am the resurrection and the life! Now this is what the claim is: That God is not preparing for us merely some ethereal, abstract spiritual existence that is just a kind of compensation for the life we lost. Resurrection means the restoration to us of the life we lost. New heavens and new earth means this body, this world! Our bodies, our homes, our loved ones—restored, returned, perfected and beautified! Given back to us!

In the year after 9-11 I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was treated successfully. But during that whole time I read about the future resurrection and that was my real medicine. In the last book of The Lord of the Rings, Sam Gamgee wakes up, thinking everything is lost and discovering instead that all his friends were around him, he cries out: "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead! Is everything sad going to come untrue?"

The answer is YES. And the answer of the Bible is YES. If the resurrection is true, then the answer is yes. Everything sad is going TO COME UNTRUE.

Oh, I know many of you are saying, “I wish I could believe that.” And guess what? This idea is so potent that you can go forward with that. To even want the resurrection, to love the idea of the resurrection, long for the promise of the resurrection even though you are unsure of it, is strengthening. I John 3:2-3. Beloved, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope purify themselves as he is pure.” Even to have a hope in this is purifying.

Listen to how Dostoevsky puts it in Brothers Karamazov: “I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, of the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; and it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify what has happened.”

That is strong and that last sentence is particularly strong…but if the resurrection is true, it’s absolutely right. Amen.

If Gays Marry, Then Why Not...?

2007-09-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

Well, yet another state has allowed homosexuals to "marry." Maybe we should start doing something...

Check out Justin Taylor's post (quoting Francis Beckwith) entitled "Public Philosophical Interrogation, Street Theater, and Marital Nihilism."

Sounds like a great idea to me.

The Gospel In Praying With My Wife

2007-08-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

It's quite common for me to reach for my wife during times of prayer. This may be as simple as holding her hand. Other times, I may put my arm around her, and then she will often lean her head on my shoulder as we pray together.

A few weeks ago I had a sudden realization as my wife and I bowed our heads at church, embracing each other as the pastor led us in prayer. I started remembering that our marriage is a symbol of the gospel. Then I realized what the Father might see when a Christian prays. There is Jesus, the husband, putting his arm around a Christian, the bride. There is Jesus, God's beloved and righteous Son; and whomever he embraces, whomever he associates himself with, is also loved by God with the same intensity and the same faithfulness. Can you imagine how powerful that is?

It doesn't matter if you have been slacking on your "quiet times" lately; it doesn't matter if it's been a while since you did evangelism; it doesn't matter if you've had a good week or a bad week. If you are united to Christ through faith, you're in. You have access to Almighty God.

Hopefully, my marriage will often give others and myself an accurate picture of the Gospel.

$3 Worth of the Gospel

2007-08-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

Justin Taylor has posted the following quote over at his blog:

From D. A. Carson's Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians:

I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.

Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.

I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.

I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.

I want ecstasy, not repentance;

I want transcendence, not transformation.

I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.

I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.

I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please. (pp. 12-13)

Read the whole post at Between Two Worlds.

Unleaded Gas and Depravity

2007-08-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

Originally posted on November 28, 2005:

I’ve said some of this stuff on a couple of occasions to some friends in conversation, but here's my long thought-out analysis of how the recent jump in gas prices reminds me that our view of sin is relative.

I remember about 8 months ago when gas surpassed the $2/gallon mark for the first time ever in Kentucky. I remember driving to work one morning, passing a nearby gas station, and then feeling my jaw literally drop after seeing the recent price increase. I was shocked. In the coming weeks gas prices continued to climb, each record-breaking price soon replaced by a new record-breaking price: $2.50/gallon, $3.00/gallon, eventually plateauing at $3.09/gallon here in August--more than $4.00/gallon in other parts of the country!

Thankfully, though the prices have started to decline over the last couple of months. After seeing gas prices over $3/gallon, soon $2.50/gallon seemed like a bargain and gave me reason to top off my gas level while the gas was so “cheap”--even though I still had a half of a tank in my car. Just a couple of weeks ago I celebrated the fact that gas finally jumped below the $2/gallon and even posted about it. This weekend I bought gas for $1.91/gallon. Woo hoo!

Yet I find this rather intriguing. A year ago, I would have complained about gas being $2/gallon. Yet, today I am celebrating the fact that the price is so “low.” Factually speaking, two dollars a year ago had essentially the same value that it has today—inflation isn’t that drastic. Yet, at one point in my life, two dollars was a rip-off for gas, and today it is a bargain.

However, if a Venezuelan citizen, who only pays about $0.10/gallon in his native country, came to America he might still pity us for being forced to pay such outrageous prices. On the contrary, a person from Canada might have never fretted over those gas prices. That isn’t very expensive to him. Funny how perspective is everything.

The same is true with sin. This is why Paul warns us not to compare ourselves with ourselves. Rather we must look to God’s standard. For he is the one who judges (2 Cor. 10:12,18). God says, “Be holy, as I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:16, Lev. 11:44,45).

Does a fish have a concept of wetness? Perhaps a fish will look at a group of seaweed below him on the ocean floor and call it “wet,” while thinking himself to be relatively “dry.” However, humans know that both fish and seaweed are wet because we sit up here outside of the water, in the air.

I am afraid that I am in a similar situation. I’m so surrounded by sin and so accustomed to it, that I’ve lost my sensitivity to it. I don’t feel it so much anymore. What sins did I commit yesterday? My mind is blank, honestly. I know that I am a theoretical sinner, but it’s hard to put my finger on specific sins here lately. You know what that means? It’s hard to put a finger on exactly why I still need Jesus to be my Savior.

Still, I know I am a sinner. I at least messed up that one time last week. And if I being evil can sense the intensity and seriousness of my sin to some degree at certain moments in my life, what must it really look like to a holy (sacred, set apart, uncommon) and righteous (pure, perfect, clean, completely good) God who isn’t down in the water with the fish, but is up out of the water on dry land looking down on the poor confused creature who thinks that he’s dry. Dry!

Today, I am content with gas prices because they are relatively low. Unfortunately, I am also content with the sin in my life. Yes, it is relatively low compared to the lives of many of my co-workers, family members, and friends. The first kind of contentment may cost me a few extra dollars, but the second kind of contentment robs me of joy and brings the loving discipline of my Heavenly Father upon me.

Hyper-Calvinism, Geography, and Linguistics

2007-08-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

Justin Taylor has reposted something kind of fun over at his blog. Check out "Hyper-Calvinists v. Hyper Calvinists; Armenians v. Arminians."

It's not any heavy reading. It's mainly about getting down the proper lingo when discussing the two basic views on soteriology (how God saves people). Personally, I got a couple of laughs out of it.

Bedtime Song

2007-08-11T09:21:00.001-05:00

I have a feeling I might be singing and playing this song in the near future.

We're Pregnant!

2007-08-11T08:22:00.000-05:00

Jennifer and I have a baby on the way! We are so excited that God has been gracious to us and blessed us with a child. The due date is February 21.

Jennifer found out on her birthday. How cool is that! We were both at home when Jennifer took the pregnancy test, but I was on the phone and didn't know that she was taking it. She had to wait around for a few minutes to tell me the news. I'm sure the wait seemed like an hour though.

When I got off of the phone, she said that she had a present for me. "What?!" "It's her birthday," I thought. "Why would I be getting a present on her birthday?" She had me sit on the bed and close my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, she was holding this strange white plastic stick....what is..."Oh my goodness! Are you serious?!"

Yup. That explained her dizziness and tiredness from the previous couple of weeks.

So, Father's Day came just a few days after we learned the great news. I got my first ever Father's Day card--pretty cool--and we traveled to tell my family and her family in person. Thankfully, both sides of the family were close together that day. Both of the dads enjoyed the surprise present and everyone else was equally shocked but happy for us. Jenn's mom even screamed (a soft scream) in excitement.

Today, Jenn is about 12 1/2 weeks pregnant. We got to hear the heartbeat about ten days ago. What a beautiful sound!

Here is the hot mama in her first maternity shirt.

Lots of other changes are going on in our life too. I begin taking a graduate-level class at UK in a couple of weeks: Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design. I may pursue a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering. Not sure. I can only take one class per semester though; so, we'll just take it one class at a time and see what happens.

Third, Jennifer and I are in the process of buying our first house together. Very exciting. And God blessed us with a great deal on the house. We got the house for a fair price, and we got a fantastic mortgage deal. We shopped around and decided that one bank had the best deal around: 6 5/8% (decent rate for this market) and only $299 for closing costs (instead of the usual $2000 or so). We get there and find out that we qualify--I'm still not sure why--for a 5.99% rate and $0 for closing costs! Cha Ching! I guess that's more money that we can afford to give away.

God is good!

Death of Death Intro

2007-08-06T00:51:00.000-05:00

J.I. Packer's introduction to a new publishing of John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ can be read in its entirety at the Gospel Coalition's website. Very good stuff...even in the intro [HT: Steve McCoy].

A quote:

"Now the real nature of Calvinistic soteriology becomes plain. It is no artificial oddity, nor a product of over-bold logic. Its central confession, that God saves sinners, that Christ redeemed us by His blood, is the witness both of the Bible and of the believing heart. The Calvinist is the Christian who confesses before men in his theology just what he believes in his heart before God when he prays. He thinks and speaks at all times of the sovereign grace of God in the way that every Christian does when he pleads for the souls of others, or when he obeys the impulse of worship which rises unbidden within him, prompting him to deny himself all praise and to give all the glory of his salvation to his Saviour. Calvinism is the natural theology written on the heart of the new man in Christ..."

This reminds me of a previous post of mine--The Arminian Prayer (February 12, 2006):

From Charles Spurgeon's sermon, "Free Will--A Slave"

You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer - for the saints in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free-will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying,

"Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not-that is the difference between me and them."

That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that. Ah! when they are preaching and talking very slowly, there may be wrong doctrine; but when they come to pray, the true thing slips out; they cannot help it. If a man talks very slowly, he may speak in a fine manner; but when he comes to talk fast, the old brogue of his country, where he was born, slips out....Do I hear one Christian man saying, "I sought Jesus before he sought me; I went to the Spirit, and the Spirit did not come to me"? No, beloved; we are obliged, each one of us, to put our hands to our hearts and say-

"Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made my eyes to o'erflow;
'Twas grace that kept me to this day,
And will not let me go."

Structurally Deficient Bridges in KY

2007-08-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

Do you suffer from gephyrophobia? That is, are you afraid of bridges?

The Lexington-Herald Leader has an article on the overall condition of the bridges here in Kentucky. Read "4000 Bridges Have Problems."

Thoughts on the Minneapolis Tragedy

2007-08-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

As a structural engineer, I am especially concerned and intrigued by the recent tragedy in Minneapolis. Also, I'm pretty sure that Nick and I drove over that bridge just 10 months ago while we were there for the Desiring God Conference. Personally, I have no idea what could have happened. Engineers far more intelligent than I share the same state of cluelessness until further investigation. Just the way it fell and failed is an anomaly. There was no warning--no significant cracking, twisting, or buckling, as steel usually shows months, if not years before breaking in such a manner. And annual inspections on the bridge, twice as much attention as most bridges receive, only showed usual signs of aging--nothing that would warrant any kind of urgent repairs. (Yes, the bridge was labeled "structurally deficient," but that isn't necessarily as bad as it sounds, nor is it uncommon to drive on a bridge with such a rating.)

As a follower of Christ, I am also intrigued at how things like this fit into my theology, my worldview, and how tragedies give me an opportunity to speak about God and the gospel.

Links to some excellent stuff:

1. Video by Desiring God about the Tragedy.

2. "Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed" by John Piper

3. " 'Lest You Be Consumed'--The Tragedy in Minneapolis" by Al Mohler (with some great quotes by Johnathan Edwards)

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Monergism T-Shirt Contest

2007-07-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

Monergism.com has announced the winner of their T-shirt design contest. I really like this design. Look for it on sale in the near future.

Priceless Truth: $5

2007-06-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

Desiring God will soon be selling all of the books in its bookstore for only $5 (with no limits). Wow, what a deal! Consider taking advantage of this generous offer on Wednesday and Thursday (June 27 - June 28).

A Little Mistake for an Engineer

2007-06-23T12:31:00.001-05:00

A picture sent to me recently by my father-in-law:

And, no, I didn't design this bridge.

Hand Yourself a Gospel Tract

2007-06-23T11:28:00.000-05:00

Today I went to the coffeeshop to read. Surprisingly, I ended up reading in a gospel tract that I received at last year's Desiring God Conference. Did you know that gospel tracts aren't just for unbelievers?

Really the tract is more like a pocket-sized book. It's got over forty pages in it. The tract is published by John Piper's posse and is entitled For Your Joy. I grabbed it because I haven't been thinking about the gospel as much recently as I should be.

So I read in the booklet, and I didn't learn anything new. Don't feel sorry for me though. I was reminded of stuff that I already know. And that's just as good, sometimes even better! That's one of the great things about God and the gospel. It's not enough to know the facts (in your head), but you have to understand them (in your heart), feel them (in your gut), rejoice in them (with everything that you are), and let it flavor everything that you do and say(when you lie down and when you rise).

So here are some quotes from this dense little booklet that inspired me...

If God were not just, there would be not demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is just and loving. Therefore, his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.

His law demanded, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut. 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is--dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn't God.

Therefore, sin is not small because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted.

[...]

I have heard it said, "God didn't die for frogs. So he was responding to our value as humans." This turns grace on its head. We are worse off than frogs. They have not sinned. They have not rebelled and treated God with contempt of being inconsequential to our lives. God did not have to die for frogs. They aren't bad enough. We are. Our debt is so great only divine sacrifice can pay it.

There is only one explanation for God's sacrifice for us. It is not us. It is "the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7). It is all free. It is not a response to our worth. It is the overflow of his infinite worth.

Remind yourself of the gospel today, afresh and anew...for your joy.

Salt of the Earth

2007-06-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

Steve McCoy puts up lots of good stuff over at his blog. This one I'm just going to copy entirely since it's short. Steve quotes John Stott:

God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad. And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt?

John Stott in The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p 65.

The Best Three Months

2007-06-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow will be exactly three months since Jennifer and I were joined together in holy matrimony. I can honestly say that it has been the best three months of my life. Marriage is such a blessing and a joy! Jennifer is such a blessing and a joy! Everything that I wrote back on February 21 has come true and is even better than I expected, by God's grace.

I don't mean to imply that life is perfect. We are both sinners, and marriage has brought along the opportunity for me to fail God in different ways. But where sin increases, grace increases all the more. I have felt God teach me things that I couldn't have learned before. A friend recently wrote to me in an email, saying, "Glad to have you in the exclusive club of people who are receiving the sanctification that only comes through marriage." I am starting to realize that more and more as time goes by.

As I often tell people who ask, "Marriage is great! I highly recommend it."

Another Good Onion

2007-04-12T18:40:00.000-05:00

Tiger Woods reveals he is Zach Johnson (click here for the rest of the funny, yet untrue story).

Relient K

2007-04-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

"We should get jerseys, 'cause we make a good team. But yours would look better than mine, 'cause your out of my league." -- Relient K, "Must Have Done Something Right"

I've been enjoying their latest album Five Score and Seven Years Ago. Their previous album MMHMM was very good, and now they are on a roll.

An Ardent Love

2007-04-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

JOE THORN POSTS:

This morning I was reading one of David Clarkson’s sermons on the death of Jesus, “Christ’s Dying For Sinners.” He spends a lot of time explaining the nature and meaning of the death of Jesus. Afterwards, he focuses on the death of Jesus as the greatest demonstration of his love for sinners, and how the Father’s and Jesus’ love for us should result in our love for him (1 Jn. 4:19). Today, let Clarkson help you consider Jesus’ ardent (passionate) love for the unlovely - that’s you and me.

Such was his love to us, a love strong as death. Death itself could not give any check to it, he would love us through he died for it. Many waters could not quench it, the sorrows of death could not extinguish it, nor any floods or sufferings abate the fervour of it, though all the waves and billows thereof went over him, and seemed to overwhelm him. Oh, can we be content, that our love to Christ should be weak and remiss? No; let us have such an affection for other things, the things of the world; let us love them as though we loved them not. But let us not so deal with him who loved us so as to die for us. Let it be a greater shame and affliction to us, that we have so little love for Christ, than that we have little worldly wisdom, little wealth, little power, little interest, little respect, or little of any thing that men naturally desire. Let little in any thing be more tolerable to us, than little affection to Christ… Kindle this love by all means. And that it may kindle effectually, bring it to the flame, lay your hearts under the serious consideration of this love of Christ; if this will not influence them, they are hearts of stone.

He loved you more than he did the sinning angels; they tasted not of redeeming love, this runs out in full streams to sinful men.

He loved you more than that which is dearest to you, and which naturally is most loved. He loved you more than riches (2 Cor. 8:9), more than honour and repute (Phil. 2:7), exposed himself to scorn, reproach and shame.

More than the comforts of life: he became a man of sorrows, and lived a life of sorrows, afflictions, and sufferings.

More than his own blood (Rev. 1:5).

More than his life: he “counted not his life dear,” but laid it down as the price of your redemption (Mt. 20:28).

More than blessedness: would be made a curse (Gal. 3:13).

More than his own body: he gave up that to be scourged, pierced, wounded, crucified, hanged on a tree.

More than his soul (Is. 53:10).

More than himself (Gal. 2:20; 1 Tim. 2:6). When he had no greater thing to give, he gave himself.

After all this, shall any thing, any person whatever be loved more than Christ, or equally with him?

First of all, this helps me celebrate the weekend of Resurrection Sunday. Second, it reminds me and clarifies for me the Scripture: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25).

God of Wonders

2007-04-07T07:26:00.000-05:00

Justin Taylor has a good post entitled "God of Wonders." Check it out.

Death and Sin

2007-04-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

Death is one of those monumental forces in life. I’m reminded of that once again upon the recent death of a friend’s mother.

Your whole life, you know that you will eventually die. You know that your friends and family members will eventually die. For those special people in your life who are older than you, you know it is very likely that you will witness their death, even attend their funeral. Amazingly, the realization and expectation of death does not make it easier (or much easier, at least). Even when you see the death of a loved one coming, and it occurs over a period of months or years, such as someone dying from a terminal disease, death is a very painful and sorrowful thing. I know; I lost my grandfather to cancer a couple of years ago.

At time like this, I am reminded of the account of Jesus and Lazarus. I’m sure you know the story well. Lazarus goes from sick to dead before Jesus gets there to heal him, and Lazarus’ family is mourning and weeping by the time Jesus arrives in town. Most of us as kids loved to choose that one verse as the one we would memorize for the week: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). The Son of God cried when he got back to town and found that Lazarus was dead. Why is that?

I’ve often found it a little perplexing that Jesus didn’t try to comfort everybody and offer reassuring words like, “Hold on now. No, need to cry. I’m going to raise him from the dead here in a minute.”

Jesus knew what he was about to do. Still he wept.

I think Jesus did sympathize with his friends Martha and Mary (sisters of Lazarus). That was probably part of the reason for the tears, but I think there’s more to the story. Some preacher (I can’t remember who) proposed this other idea, and I think it is an incredible insight.

Jesus created the world (Col. 1:16). He knows exactly how the world was when it was first spoken into existence, back in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. Initially, all of creation was in harmony, all created things glorified God, and there was no frustration—notably no death. It was a beautiful thing! It was paradise! Man ruling over the world while enjoying the company of His Ruler. Man dwelt with God and God with man. This is how Christ wanted it to be when he created the world.

But Adam chose something else. Adam and Eve stopped trusting God for a moment. They believed the serpent instead of the serpent’s Creator. They thought that maybe God was trying to hide something from them, trying to keep something from them, trying to take away from their happiness. They thought that maybe God didn’t really care for them as much as He said He did.

Why would they think such a thing? God had always been good to them. He had always given them what they needed. He had blessed them and given them authority over the world. He had even given them Himself. He dwelt with them and talked with them. God was the perfect ruler over them.

Why would they doubt the perfect, omnibenevolent, omnipotent God? It doesn’t make sense, does it? Sin is always illogical and irrational. But Adam sinned. His actions wrecked the world. The world started falling apart. Sin became contagious and addictive. God no longer ruled people’s heart, sin did. God no longer dwelled among men, sin, instead was all around. People no longer schemed about how they could work the earth and enjoy the promises of God; they worked the earth for their own gain and schemed and created ways to serve sin and gain the pleasure it promised instead.

I think this was on Jesus’ mind as he wept over Lazarus’ death. “It’s not supposed to be this way. It’s not supposed to be this way,” perhaps Jesus thought as he wept.

I remember seeing my own grandfather near the end of his life. Cancer had changed him into a totally different person. The cute, happy, friendly, generous and fun-loving old man was now wearing a diaper and yelling at his son because he didn’t take care of him like he ought to (even though my dad had done such a great job of caring for him). I remember seeing my grandfather in that state and becoming enraged. Not angry with my grandfather, but angry at sin…angry at Adam. In my anger I began to curse Adam in my head. He was to blame for all of this. His sin had caused all of this. What a jerk! He deserved to be roasting in hell, and at that moment I was wishing he was there.

But Adam isn’t the only person who has ever sinned. So have I. So have you. Everybody has contributed to making this world suck. Everybody has contributed to this world being filled with frustration and depression, cancer and old people coughing up blood, babies dying before they are given a me and tsunamis killing hundreds of thousands of people. Just by being a sinner in this world, you have made it a bad place to live.

Do you see how horrible sin is! Please stop it. Please stop sinning! Please stop doubting God. If you know of any sins in your life, repent today. Stop sinning! It’s not supposed to be this way!

Yet even though I say these things with tears nearly in my eyes, I know that tomorrow I will make myself the hypocrite.

For “I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25 (ESV)

Love Your Neighbor

2007-03-29T18:44:00.000-05:00

Some students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary handed out water this week to homosexual protesters on the seminary's campus.

For more info on the story check out Denny Burk's blog.

Prayer: The Lecture and the Lab

2007-03-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

From the back of our church's worship program a few weeks ago:

Little Johnny was a bright young man in third grade who decided that he wanted to play baseball. He was on the honor roll at school and knew that he could learn the game. He studied every nuance of the game: the rule book, mechanics, and strategy. Johnny got baseball players to quiz him on his knowledge of the game. Everything he had learned was truly impulsive.

When tryouts came he just knew that he was the most well prepared boy on the entire field. The coach called him in to hit and as the pitch came toward him his mind raced through every one of the mechanics he had learned and whiff, he did not even come close to the ball. The second pitch came and whiff. The third pitch came and whiff again. Next the coach sent Johnny out in the field to catch fly balls. The ball was hit and Johnny said to himself, okay, drop step and do not back peddle, get behind the ball, and as he was thinking, the ball landed on the ground and thud.

The coach called Johnny over and said, “I just do not think you are cut out to play baseball, Johnny.” Johnny replied, “Yes, I am. Ask me any question, and you will see I know the answer…” The coach grinned, knelt down beside Johnny and said, “Johnny, in playing baseball it is not ultimately abut what you know; it is about what you do that really counts.”

As we come to the close of an intense focus calling the church to prayer, please remember it is ultimately what you do that really counts. If the result of our study is that you know more about prayer but do not pray more, then the whole effort has been a failure. Johnny wanted to play baseball and you probably want a more fruitful prayer life. But nobody really learns how to play baseball without doing it and now one really learns about prayer without doing it. It is the doing that really counts.

John Laidlaw said, “The main lesson about prayer is just this: Do it! Do it! DO IT! You want to be taught to pray. My answer is: pray and never faint, and then you shall never fail.” I hope and pray that our focus on prayer has equipped and encouraged you to actually pray. A prayerless church does not really believe the things that it professes no matter what activities and ministries it is involved in. God is more ready to answer our prayers than we are to offer them to Him. He is the God who can answer before we call (“It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24)

Pray, Pray, Pray,

David

The Voice of God

2007-03-27T19:35:00.000-05:00

John Piper says that he heard the voice of God the other day...

The Love of Christ is Rich and Free

2007-03-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

So we are going to have a couple of songs sung at the wedding this Saturday. It was a challenge to find a song that creatively links marriage and romance to the relationship between Christ and the church. Jennifer and I decided on "The Love of Christ is Rich and Free." I heard this song on Indelible Grace's third album, where it is sung by Derek Webb.

Derek Webb sings most of the good songs that I know of which intertwine the gospel, Christ's love for the church, and the symbolism in marriage (spelled out near the end of Ephesians 5). Of the Webb songs about the church, "The Love of Christ is Rich and Free" was pretty much the only one that didn't say "whore" along with other potentially offensive words. I really enjoy Webb's bold and abrasive lyrics in songs like "The Church" and "Wedding Dress," but they are not appropriate for a wedding.

Anyways, I have posted the lyrics below to "The Love of Christ is Rich and Free" (via the RUF Hymnbook). If you haven't heard this song, find some way to listen to it (i.e. get the CD, come to my wedding, etc.).

Honestly, I didn't like the song much the first dozen times that I heard it. However, once I read the lyrics while listening to the song and preparing for a wedding simultaneously, I could see more clearly the beautiful message contained within (that's why we are having a printed lyric sheet included with the program at the wedding). You can tell the song was written a couple centuries ago, but I think that putting some effort into listening really makes the understanding more precious.

"The Love of Christ Is Rich and Free"
©2001 Same Old Dress Music (ASCAP). Words: William Gadsby. Music: Sandra McCracken.

1. The love of Christ is rich and free;
Fixed on His own eternally;
Nor earth, nor hell, can it remove;
Long as He lives, His own He’ll love.

2. His loving heart engaged to be
Their everlasting Surety;
’Twas love that took their cause in hand,
And love maintains it to the end.

CH:Love cannot from its post withdraw;
Nor death, nor hell, nor sin, nor law,
Can turn the Surety’s heart away;
He’ll love His own to endless day.

3. Love has redeemed His sheep with blood;
And love will bring them safe to God;
Love calls them all from death to life;
And love will finish all their strife.

4. He loves through every changing scene,
Nor aught from Him can Zion wean;
Not all the wanderings of her heart
Can make His love for her depart.
(Repeat chorus)

5. At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;
In endless bliss, His own shall prove
The blazing glory of that love
Which never could from them remove.

The love of Christ is rich and free. Amen!

Countdown: 10 Days

2007-02-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

10 days until the honeymoon...I mean wedding. I haven't had a chance to post many thoughts on all that stuff, but now I do...so I will.

I am really excited about being in love and getting married. Not just because of sex (although that is a big part of it). I'm excited about having a helper. Life is busy, and it's hard to do so much stuff by yourself. I'm excited about not being alone (Gen. 2:18-24). I'm excited about having a best-friend who won't get too busy to hang out and won't move away. I'm excited about having an accountability partner (even during the times that I won't want one but need one). I'm excited about having better food for supper. I'm excited about having a cleaner home. I'm excited about hanging girley picture frames and ornaments with my new manly 16-Volt power-drill. I'm excited about representing Christ and the church. I'm excited about having regular Bible-studies and prayer times with Jennifer. I'm excited about becoming a father sometime in the next few years. All this and so much more has been running through my mind recently.

God is rich in mercy. Countless times throughout my life I have broken His laws and joyfully disobeyed His commandments. Although knowing what is right, I have chosen wrong. Although knowing what would make God the happiest, I have chosen what would make Him the angriest. I have put my own desires above His. God has been merciful and gracious, and I have thanked him with my rebellion and my blasphemies.

All of this is true. More true than you realize, or even I realize. I deserve to be gnashing my teeth in the Lake of Fire, pleading to have but a drop of water on my tongue, completely shut off from the presence or the grace of God.

Yet, that is not at all where I am. I find that God is rich in mercy. He is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. He is kind, forebearing, and patient.

Here I am--a wretch who has been treated like a son. I am in love and about to marry a beautiful and godly woman who loves me. Oh, how powerful is the blood of Jesus that a sinner such as I could be treated in this manner! Glory be to God, who finds it pleasurable to give us the opposite of what we deserve.

Brrr-eautiful!

2007-02-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

Well, once again, Steve McCoy has inspired me.

For the last few weeks it has been insanely cold here (temperatures reaching the single digits on several occasions), and we have had at least a half-dozen snow showers (kind of unusual for KY--it barely even snowed here last winter). Although this weather has made me, at times, feel bitterly cold, my eyes have enjoyed the beautiful scenery that comes with bitterly cold weather. I have especially enjoyed my drives to and from work recently--so much so that I left the house about forty minutes early last Friday morning in order to take some pictures while on my way to work (kind of Steve-McCoy-esque).

Friday morning, I stopped at three different locations, jumping a fence at each place, in order to get close enough to snap these beautiful shots with my camera. My first stop was at a golf course. There was a beautiful hole alongside of a frozen pond. Unfortunately, the sun hadn't really come out yet. Therefore, lighting was pretty bad. When I slowed down the shutter speed, the pics just got blurry. I guess I need a tripod. Is that right? I don't know. Anyways, you won't see any pics from my first stop. Maybe I can get it next winter.

Thankfully, none of the property owners yelled at me, nor were any police called with a complaint of a tresspasser (as far as I know). Below are my amateur pictures with a mediocre camera. But I guess you gotta start somewhere.

It was so amazing how the fog just hovered over this creek. I've never seeen anything like it. But strange things happen when it's only 7^F outside.

Genesis 1:2 comes to mind: "...and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

These scenes were beautiful--much more than the photos show. Of course, water has always amazed me--whether flowing, standing, or frozen. Sometimes I even design bridges over the stuff. ;)

God's creation is wonderful. He is always telling of His great glory, even if we will not.

Humility

2007-02-14T17:37:00.000-05:00

Humility is lowliness of mind, the opposite of pride and arrogance. It belongs to the essence of experimental religion. Bates calls it “the peculiar grace of Christians, the parent and nurse of other graces, that preserves in us the light of faith and the heat of love; that procures modesty in prosperity and patience in adversity; that is the root of gratitude and obedience, and is so lovely in God’s eyes, that ‘He giveth grace to the humble.’” A lowly spirit is the opposite of a lofty one. True humility is an inward grace based on a view of our own guilt, weakness, vileness, ignorance, and poverty, as compared with the infinite excellence and glory of God. It is one of the most lovely of all the traits of a child of God. It is opposed to all ostentation. It not only hides other graces of the Christian from the gaze of self-admiration, but it hides itself also. Its aim is not to be thought humble, but to be humble.

- William Plumer, Vital Godliness, pg. 250

[HT: Joe Thorn]

Science and Religion

2007-02-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

National Geographic interviews Francis Collins (Head of the Human Genome Project and also a Creationist)

[HT: Challies]

Challies on America

2007-01-31T19:34:00.000-05:00

Tim Challies (a Canadian) posts "Things I Hate About America." I found it both humorous and informative to hear things from his perspective--distorted as it may be. ;)

Don't Waste Your Workday

2007-01-31T18:59:00.000-05:00

I've read the book before, but I found the excerpt below to be a refreshing reminder from John Piper (via Justin Taylor's blog post):

From a chapter by that title in John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life:

We can make much of God in our secular job through the fellowship that we enjoy with him throughout the day in all our work.
We make much of Christ in our secular work by the joyful, trusting, God-exalting design of our creativity and industry.
We make much of Christ in our secular work when it confirms and enhances the portrait of Christ’s glory that people hear in the spoken gospel.
We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning enough money to keep us from depending on others, while focusing on the helpfulness of our work rather than financial rewards.
We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money with the desire to use our money to make others glad in God.

The Art of Engineering

2007-01-24T22:18:00.001-05:00

"Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance."

- Dr AR Dykes
British Institution of Structural Engineers

The Bruised Reed

2007-01-07T00:37:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have been reading The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (published by Puritan Paperbacks). Honestly, it has been a tough read—partly because the language is old and partly because Sibbes was much smarter and more sanctified than I when he penned it in the early 17^th Century. Still, it has been worth the extra effort. For understanding even a fraction of what is written by a Puritan is to find extraordinary nourishment for the soul.

This is a book for those who are suffering, feeling weak and bruised, and struggling with doubts (doubting their salvation, doubting God’s love, etc.) in the midst of great trials.

Sibbes’ remedy: in a tender voice he reminds the reader of the gospel and its implications.

I am mainly reading this book so that I can comfort others who are suffering, weak, and doubting. Still, the book’s insights into the gospel would make it of value to anyone.

Some quotes:

We must acknowledge that in the covenant of grace God requires the truth [presence] of grace, not any certain measure; and a spark of fire is fire, as well as the whole element. Therefore we must look to grace in the spark [ times of weakness] as well as in the flame [times of strength]. All have not the like [same] strong, though they have the like [same] precious, faith (2 Pet. 1:1), whereby they lay hold of, and put on, the perfect righteousness of Christ. A weak hand may receive a rich jewel. A few grapes will show that the plant is a vine, and not a thorn. It is one thing to be deficient in grace, and another to lack grace altogether. God knows we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requires no more than he gives, but gives what he requires, and accepts what he gives: ‘If she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtle doves’ (Lev. 12:8). What is the gospel itself but a merciful moderation, in which Christ’s obedience is esteemed ours, and our sins laid upon him, wherein God, from being a judge, becomes our Father, pardoning our sins and accepting our obedience, though feeble and blemished. [p.36]
[...]

Under this gracious covenant, sincerity is perfection. [p. 37]

Sibbes compares the weak Christian to a smoking flax [wick of a candle]. The wick is so weak that the candle can barely be considered lit. Yet, if it is smoking, then there must be fire there. One characteristic of this smoking wick is that “sparks by nature fly upward.”

As it was kindled from heaven, so it must carry us back to heaven…Where the aim and bent of the soul is towards God, there is grace, though opposed. The least measure of it is seen in holy desires, springing from faith and love…Hence desires are counted a part of the thing desired, in some measure. But these desires must be (1) constant, for constancy shows that they are supernaturally natural, and not enforced; (2) directed toward spiritual things, such as to believe, to love God, not because of a particular emergency, in that one thinks one might escape some danger if one had grace, but as a loving heart is carried to the thing loved for the sake of some excellency in it; (3) accompanied with grief when the desire is hindered, so as to stir us up to pray: ‘Oh that my ways were directed that I might keep thy statutes! (Psa. 119:5); ‘O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me (Rom. 7:24); and (4) such desires as drive us onward still: ‘Oh, that I might serve God with more liberty. Oh that I were more free from these offensive, unsavoury, hateful lusts!’ [p.43]

Why would you be rid of this sin which you say that you have repented of? Is it for your own reputation's sake? Is it that you don't want to be known as "that type of sinner." Do you worry more about what other's will think of your sin than about what God himself thinks? True repentance is fueled by a love for God and a desire to be like Him.

God accepts our prayers, though weak, because we are his own children…By prayer, we learn to pray…Pray as we are able, hear as we are able, do as we are able, according to the measure of grace received. God in Christ will cast a gracious eye upon that which is his own. [p.51]
[...]

What God says of Jereboam’s son is comforting, ‘He only shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel.’ (1 Kings 14:13), though only ‘some good thing.’ ‘Lord, I believe’ (Mark 9:24), with a weak faith, yet with faith; love thee with a faint love, yet with love; endeavor in a feeble manner, yet endeavor. A little fire is fire, though it smokes. Since thou hast taken me into thy covenant to be thine from being an enemy, will thou cast me off for these infirmities, which, as they displease thee, so are they the grief of my own heart? [p. 52]

May God grow the smoking wick to a mighty flame. May the bruised reed grow to be a mighty branch, for His glory.

Engagement Pictures

2007-01-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

(click image to enlarge)

Without doubt, God's greatest blessing to me in 2006 was my bride Jennifer. We are due to be married on March 3, 2007.

Below is a link to our engagement pictures that were taken on December 1 at Western Kentucky University's campus and the Old College Street Bridge in Bowling Green.

Picasa Photo Album

The Year in Review

2007-01-01T12:58:00.000-05:00

Two thousand and six, anno domini, was quite a memorable year for me. It was certainly not a year without doubts, disbelief, lukewarmness and other sins. Yet, God bestowed many blessings upon me and proved himself faithful once again.

In March, a Chinese girl was baptized in our church after trusting and following Jesus. I was one of many who got to speak with her about the gospel prior to her conversion. She is now back in China as a self-funded missionary (a.k.a. regular Christian). In May, I was a groomsman in my good friend Nick's wedding. In June, I took an amazing trip out West and saw many parts of America that I had not seen before (posts 1, 2, 3). In July, I began falling in love with Jennifer and became engaged to her in October. In August, I learned that my brother and his wife were going to have their first child, thus making me an uncle for the first time (their daughter is due to be born May 9, 2007). In September, I traveled to Minneapolis for the Desiring God Annual Conference. I also received a series of salary raises at work this year.

Of course, we must praise God and obey him no matter what blessings he does or does not give; yet we must also recognize his obvious goodness when he bestows it. Just as surely as he ordains our sufferings and trials (which are also blessings in one sense), he also ordains a time to answer our cries for help, relieve our sufferings, and respond to our supplications for blessing, comfort and joy.

"For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:11-13

In 2006, I have felt God's Spirit sanctify me--easing my struggle with some sins, opening my eyes to new ones, and helping me to be more compassionate with others who sin in different ways than I. His church has spurred me on to love and good works (even new good works that I had never attempted before).

I am growing more aware of the truth that Martin Luther spoke of when he said:

"The Bible is alive. It speaks to me. It has feet. It runs after me. It has hands. It lays hold of me."

And I have many times sang to myself the opening line from the great hymn:

"Oh love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe."

My God will not let me go. It is an amazing feeling to be a child of the Perfect Father who is rich in mercy and steadfast love. He continually blesses.

I do not claim to fully understand his ways; I cannot always justify or explain his actions; I cannot say that I am always without doubt. For He does as He pleases, and that does not always bode well with my sifnul flesh, my imperfect understanding of Scripture or my finite mind. But I continually see a pattern in my life. I am happier when I obey his word and cherish the gospel, and I find myself lacking joy when I disobey. I find the world making less and less sense when we forget his Word. Continually, I find myself needing to return home to my God, his Word, and his Church.

I hope that 2007 will be marked with obedience to my God--my King, my Father, my Husband, my Shephard--yet, not to earn his favor and his blessing, but because I have already received it by the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Smith on "Come Thou Fount"

2006-12-28T20:42:00.000-05:00

Matthew Smith has posted some thoughts on his recent recording of the hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." He briefly talks about getting it to sound suitable for his most recent album. But I also enjoyed his thoughts on one of the verses.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.

"That lyric says so much—it’s honest about who I am and how often I want to run away from God, yet it doesn’t suffer from the delusion (as so many Christian songs do) that it is up to me to fix the problem. It cries out to God to seal my heart, knowing that only he has the power to save me from myself."

Read the whole post here: All I Owe: "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"

Me, Myself and I-Beams

2006-12-28T20:31:00.000-05:00

A 115-foot steel "I-beam" being put into place under US Highway 421 in Lexington.

Roebling Suspension Bridge

2006-12-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

View from the top of the south tower of The Roebling Suspension Bridge, including the Cincinnati skyline.

I wish that I were the one who snapped the amazing photo above (it was taken by a co-worker). Unfortunately, I haven't climbed on this bridge--yet.

The Roebling Suspension Bridge, named after its designer John Roebling, was completed in 1866 and was the prototype of Roebling's most famous bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge of New York City. For more info on Cincinnati's Roebling Bridge: click here.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Guys

2006-12-12T11:23:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so it's been a while since I last posted. I've got a lot to say, just not much time to say it. I've been busy Christmas shopping; doing some volunteer work; planning a wedding and a new life for after the wedding, etc. I'll clean out the cobwebs on the blog here and post some more this week--I hope.

Over at GirlTalk they have posted some suggestions by CJ Mahaney on Christmas gifts for guys. Personally, I thought these were some good ideas.

The other day, I saw on TV where some girly magazine had an article on the "Top 5 Christmas Gifts that Guys Dread." The main one that I remember was a scarf. Ladies, you may think that the man in your life doesn't wear a scarf simply because he doesn't have one; and since he doesn't have one, he needs one. No, there's a different reason why he doesn't wear a scarf.

BibleBelt Blogger

2006-11-11T22:50:00.000-05:00

I've started reading some at BibleBelt Blogger. I found this blog through the website of The Lexington Herald-Leader (our local newspaper). The blog is authored by Frank Lockwood, and his writing basically pertains to any news involving religion or spirituality relevant to Kentuckians. I like it because I get to read some different perspectives on the subject, specifically the perspectives of those in my city. Commenters on the blog include a wide variety of people: nonreligious, Catholic, Protestant, liberal, conservative, etc.

I left my first comment tonight after reading the post below.

From BibleBelt Blogger (Nov. 11, 2006):

"Rosie O'Donnel Denounces Radical Christians"

An al-Qaida leader in Iraq reportedly mocked President Bush this week and vowed to kill more Americans in the Middle East. "We haven't had enough of your blood yet," a man identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir said on a taped message obtained by the Associated Press. Mr. al-Muhajir said he has 12,000 volunteers who have vowed "to die for God's sake."

But it's Jesus freaks in Jersey, not Islamic jihadists in Iraq, that seem to worry comedian Rosie O'Donnell. She recently said that“radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like the United States.”

Question of the day: Are "radical Christians" a threat to the United States?

My comment:

I think that "radical" can be a good or a bad thing. The Jesus of the Bible (the real Jesus, I believe) was quite radical. To the Pharisees he was radically compassionate and loving to the poor and outcasted sinners. This was a good radical, although offensive to some.

To his followers, Jesus was radical. He called them to stop trusting in their own works (obeying the Law) to earn God's favor; instead to trust that Jesus would earn their salvation for them. Jesus still called them to obey and be his witness in the world, but not in order to earn salvation; rather because they had already receieved it by grace (a gift). That is a good kind of radical.

David Koresh, the Pope during the Crusades, etc. all have their "radical" actions condemned by the very Bible that they quoted (i.e. bad "radical"). So the question is "are these 'radical Christian'" interpreting the Bible correctly?"

Then the real problem becomes clearer: O'Donnel doesn't like the God of the Bible. Instead, she seems to have created God in her own image (Genesis paints the picture in a different order). Her "God" likes the things that she likes and hates the "sins" that she hates. Her "God" submits to her will and her preferences. She then gets mad when someone else's God disagrees with her God. I don't think that's very tolerant. ;)

I believe the one true God has told us concretely what is good and what is sin. I must submit myself to His authoritative Word--the Bible--and that will result in good for the world, because God is good.

A Resurgence of Family Worship

2006-11-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

Pastor David Prince of Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky (the body of which I am a part) recently had one of his articles published at Mark Driscoll's website/blog (The Resurgence). The article is about family worship. Check it out: here.

The article was especially relevant for me as I am preparing for marriage and preparing to be the head of a household. After March 3, I will be responsible for the spiritual well-being of my wife, Jennifer. Sometime after that, if God blesses us with children, I will be responsible for the well-being of even more souls. This is both exciting and humbling.

Pastor David also preached on this subject recently (with Deuteronomy 6:4-9 for his text). The sermon can be downloaded here: "The Power of Everyday Talk."

Ministries of Mercy

2006-11-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

I found this webpage/resource entitled "The Bible on the Poor." It gives a lot of Scripture concerning the poor and needy of the world.

The different sections are:
God's Concern For the Poor
God's Commands Concerning the Poor
Blessings on Those Who Serve the Poor
Consequences of Not Serving the Poor
Biblical Attitudes for Believers Toward the Poor
God's Identification With the Poor

Prov. 14:31. He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him

Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.

God identifies himself with the poor!

The college ministry at my church buys food for homeless and needy people every Monday night at a McDonald's near downtown Lexington. We feed about fifteen people on average every week (but as many as thirty on a few occasions). Some get their food, thank us and leave. Many others hang around to talk though. They have nothing better to do. I have nothing better to do either (although I have to remind myself of that sometimes).

It's been a great time! I really love these people. That amazes me. I know most of their names. We talk about all kinds of stuff. Thankfully, the gospel also comes up a lot. Sometimes I get to share bits and pieces. Sometimes I get to summarize the entire Bible for them and share the whole gospel. Many have been interested. Unfortunately, many more seem to be innoculated (that is, they've had just enough Christianity to be immune to the real thing). I know that great things are going to come from this ministry though. The Scriptures guarantee it.

I recently bought Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller. It gives a more thorough insight into these types of ministries. I haven't read it yet, but am excited about eating its pages soon.

2006-11-05T02:43:00.000-05:00

"The Bible is alive. It speaks to me. It has feet. It runs after me. It has hands. It lays hold of me."
--Martin Luther

2006-11-01T21:37:00.000-05:00

Proposed ceiling mural for a smoking lounge

"Prayin' For Ya"

2006-10-31T21:27:00.000-05:00

I’m such a liar! Has anyone else ever told someone, “I’ll be praying for you,” and then not prayed for them a single time after that? I’ve noticed that it is not uncommon for me to do that, and I hate it. (Now, if I’ve told you recently that I’ll be praying for you, don’t assume that I didn’t pray for you. I don’t always lie.)

Just recently, a co-worker, who is not a Christian, had a relative pass away. While he was off from work to be with his family, a sympathy card was being passed around the office. Each person wrote an encouraging note to him. Of course, me doing the Christian thing, I wanted to write a note that would both encourage him and cause him to think about the one true God. So I simply told him that he and his family would be in my thoughts in prayers.

Funny (funny strange, not funny haha), I didn’t forget to pray for myself any last week—not one single day—but I completely forgot to pray for my co-worker and his family. Oh, if only I loved my neighbor as much as I love my friggin’ self! Heck, I’d be making progress if I just cared for some people as much as they think I care for them.

It’s so easy to do “evangelism” and not care for the person that your words are aimed at. It’s so easy to do “encouragement” and be a big fat liar. I’m pretty sure God isn’t satisfied with that though.

Thankfully, Jesus was a good at praying for people and good at encouraging people without being fake. Thankfully, Jesus really loved his neighbor like he loved himself. Thankfully, his good deeds were imputed to me. Thankfully, I need not repent in order to earn God’s favor. Thankfully, I repent because I already have it.

50 Potential Bestsellers

2006-10-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

A clever post over at purgatorio (following Christianity Today's posting of The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.")

Check out "50 Potential Christian Bestsellers."

A sample:

1. Your Best Life Now Book of Martyrs
6. Baldness , True Humility - The Saga of C.J. Mahaney’s Failed Hair Transplant
12. Pretty Good People in the Hands of an Ambivalent God

So after reading the list, I called TBS, and they verified that it's "very funny." Go there.

Saint Joseph

2006-10-20T19:19:00.000-05:00

You supply the caption.

Who's Captivating Whom?

2006-10-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

Man, I keep hearing about lots and lots of girls reading Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of the Woman's Soul by Stasi Eldridge. It is really popular, but, based on reviews and testimonies by many people that I respect, it seems to be contaminated with bad theology and poor logic--similar to her husband's book Wild At Heart.

Reviews on Captivating:
Who's Captivating Whom? by Donna Thoenes (Resurgence.com --asociated with Mark Driscoll's ministries)

Review of Captivating by Susan Verstraete (associated with Jim Ellif's ministry)

Review on Wild At Heart:
"Is God Wild At Heart?" by Randy Stinson

What Is That to You? You Follow Me!

2006-10-12T14:39:00.000-05:00

Many of us are frustrated when we compare ourselves to others. This guy knows God so much better than I. This guy has such great faith. This guy knows so much. I read the same Bible he does and I got so much less from it. Why has God blessed them so much more than me?

Justin Taylor quotes John Piper below. Good stuff.

Quoting Justin Taylor:

John Piper's reflections on John 21:18-22 and the DG conference are worth quoting at length:

So I was refreshed by Jesus’ blunt word to me (and you): “What is that to you? You follow me!” Peter had just heard a very hard word. You will die—painfully. His first thought was comparison. What about John? If I have to suffer, will he have to suffer? If my ministry ends like that, will his end like that? If I don’t get to live a long life of fruitful ministry, will he get to?

That’s the way we sinners are wired. Compare. Compare. Compare. We crave to know how we stack up in comparison to others. There is some kind of high if we can just find someone less effective than we are. Ouch. To this day, I recall the little note posted by my Resident Assistant in Elliot Hall my senior year at Wheaton: “To love is to stop comparing.” What is that to you, Piper? Follow me.

What is it to you that David Wells has such a comprehensive grasp of the pervasive effects of postmodernism? You follow me.
What is it to you that Voddie Baucham speaks the gospel so powerfully without notes? You follow me.
What is it to you that Tim Keller sees gospel connections with professional life so clearly? You follow me.
What is it to you that Mark Driscoll has the language and the folly of pop culture at his fingertips? You follow me.
What is it to you that Don Carson reads five hundred books a year and combines pastoral insight with the scholar’s depth and comprehensiveness? You follow me.

That word landed on me with great joy. Jesus will not judge me according to my superiority or inferiority over anybody. No preacher. No church. No ministry. These are not the standard. Jesus has a work for me to do (and a different one for you). It is not what he has given anyone else to do. There is a grace to do it. Will I trust him for that grace and do what he has given me to do? That is the question. O the liberty that comes when Jesus gets tough!

I hope you find encouragement and freedom today when you hear Jesus say to all your fretting comparisons: “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Learning to walk in freedom with you,

Pastor John

DG Conference Downloads

2006-10-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

The audio from this year's Desiring God Conference available for download. You can get the messages in their entirety (each is at least an hour long) or you can just listen to the excerpts. All of them are excellent!

David Wells

Voddie Baucham

Tim Keller

Mark Driscoll

D.A. Carson

John Piper

[Big thanks to Justin Taylor and Desiring God Ministries]

The Onion

2006-10-12T13:36:00.000-05:00

I read my first edition of The Onion newspaper while in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. My friend Nick was surprised that I had never even heard of it. Now I'm sad that I've been missing out all this time. However, this was the first time that Nick had actually seen The Onion in printed newspaper form. Apparently, they have their headquarters in Minneapolis.

Basically, it's a newspaper that tells a bunch of half-true or just-plain-silly stories, often incorporating current news headlines, with the intent of being stinkin' hilarious. They are very good at their job. Nick was driving through Wisconsin, and I was in the passenger seat in tears while quoting parts of this article to him--I think that's why they call it The Onion.

I recommend:
"Experts Predict No NL Team Will Go Deep Into Playoffs"
"Nation Sickened By Sight of Happy Young Couple" (very relevant for me)
"World's Youngest Person Born"
"Proud Cystic-Fibrosis Foundation Doesn't Need Your Charity"

[Caution: Some of the articles are PG-13]