T4G Musings, Part 1

By the generous providence of God I was blessed to attend Together for the Gospel over the last 3 days! I had the opportunity to fellowship with great friends and be deeply encouraged in my faith.

I spent the majority of the time with my newest friend, David Ward, who leads worship at Redeemer Bible Church. (FYI, you should check out David's music and Worship Organizer.)

Wednesday for lunch I was blessed to spend time with the pastors of Eden Baptist Church in Savage--Dan Miller and Jon Pratt. Dr. Pratt taught me Greek exegesis at Central Seminary. Over lunch, I learned that Central will be taking on Dr. Pratt as their full-time professor of New Testament Studies. This will be filling a huge gap that had been left by Dr. Bob Milliman. It was such an encouraging time of theological conversation.

Wednesday evening I went out for supper with a dear friend I had met and grown close to in my early days of college in Danville, Illinois--Kirby Myers. Kirby is shepherding a growing church that God enabled him to plant in 2002 in the Indianapolis area. I was also able to spend some time with a very sharp guy that I had only known briefly while I worked at the Open Door Christian Bookstore when it was located in Danville--Scott Gunter. He is a missionary to India working with Pioneers.

Finally, Wednesday evening during the singing I recognized someone from the back of their head who I hadn't seen since last summer--Cory Rintala! We were able to worship together this morning during the first session and briefly catch up.

It is so fantastic to be able to know so many godly friends who are experiencing growing ministries and seeing God's glory be magnified!
Over the next few days I am going to post some of my thoughts on each of the sessions. In the meantime, I'll let you peruse over the stack of books I received for free as an attendee:

In the Hands of an Angry God

This is so important for you to watch.



(Thank you, Kim, for finding this video!)

Disgusting, but Funny

I'm sorry to gross anyone out, but this picture is too funny to not share. It's "Biter Biscuits" at their worst.

Biblical Theology According To Goldsworthy

Evangelical biblical theologian, Graeme Goldsworthy was just here on campus and delivered three lectures on Biblical Theology. For those who read my blog and are unaccustomed to the term "biblical theology", I find a helpful distinction between it and "systematic theology" to be that systematic theology is the organization of all the exegetical data from the Bible into logical categories whereas "biblical theology" is not so much about fitting data into a system, but adjusting our minds to the Bible as a whole storyline in itself with a goal in sight. Tom Schreiner provides a helpful discussion about the difference here.

Men like Schreiner and Goldsworthy are able to more eloquently than me provide helpful definitions of Biblical Theology like this one from Goldsworthy:

Biblical Theology is the study of how every text in the Bible relates to every other text in the Bible. It is the study of the matrix of divine revelation. At the heart of the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God come in the flesh. The nature of the Gospel is such that it demands that it be the center of the biblical message. Biblical Theology is then, the study of how every text in the Bible relates to Jesus and His gospel. Thus we start with Christ so that we may end with Christ. Biblical Theology is Christological for its subject matter is the scriptures as God's testimony to Christ. It is therefore, from start to finish, a study of Christ.

You can listen or read all of his lectures from the SBTS website or simply click on them here:

"The Necessity and Viability of Biblical Theology" (MP3) (PDF)
"Biblical Theology in the Seminary and Bible College" (MP3) (PDF)
"Biblical Theology and Its Pastoral Application" (MP3) (PDF)

Incredible Healing

God has provided Andrew with some astonishing recovery! He is talking which is far more than the doctors had anticipated. He was expected to go through months of speech therapy! Read here about God making the unbelievable believable.

Amazing Grace for Grace

When I read of the grace being given to Andrew's wife, Grace, in the middle of the suffering, I cannot help but weep and repent of my discontent, my unthankfulness, my lack of patience, my greed, and my stubborn and rebellious heart. Be blown away by reading her amazing testimony this morning.

Great Suffering

Back at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnesota there are a couple of dear families going through incredible suffering right now. One in particular has really been at the forefront as the husband, Andrew Mark, has been going through multiple surgeries to remove tongue cancer. He is currently in ICU and not "out of the woods" yet. Would you please pray for he and his family that God would bring him through this very difficult time?

Andrew has had an amazing testimony going into this surgery. The way that God has brought glory to Himself through this trial is truly worthy of the adjective--awesome:


Yet, in the middle of this trial, hiw wife, Grace, wrote in her blog that it seems like she is in the middle of the eye of the storm. Please pray that God would continue sustaining her with His grace. Please especially pray that her health would be protected in the middle of the physically draining process.

I have appreciated their godly response to this trial. They have demonstrated through actions and words John Piper's description of why suffering exists:

The Ultimate Reason Why Suffering Exists
The ultimate purpose of the universe is to display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God. The highest, clearest, surest display of that glory is in the suffering of the best Person in the universe for millions of undeserving sinners. Therefore, the ultimate reason that suffering exists in the universe is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering and bring about the praise of the glory of the grace of God.
John Piper, "The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God" in Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006), 89.

Beautiful Scandalous Night

Words by Steve Hindalong, Music by Derri Daugherty
(Originally from "At the Foot of the Cross", Glasshouse Records, 1992)

Listen to this song, Sheet music, p1, Sheet music, p2

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the Holy mountian
Sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flows
For you and for me and for all

At the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous night

On the hillside you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross, justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that pours
From our blessed Saviour’s side

At the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous night

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Fun Times

It's been awhile since I've posted family pictures...

'Bina has taken up smoking while washing the dishes...

Okay, not really!


Boy is crawling now...

Elayna has a new found friend!

This picture is begging for a caption contest! Give us your best shot...

So it begins... the plight of being the little boy brother of three older sisters:

The day we got 10" of snow in Louisville:

Swinging at the park...

Elayna sliding forwards and backwards! How does she do that?

And finally, the smallness and the cuteness...

J.C. Ryle on the Emerging Church

Though written over 130 years ago, this paragraph from the introduction of J.C. Ryle's Holiness seems to be describing the days we live in:

There is an amazing ignorance of Scriptures among many, and a consequent want of established, solid religion. In no other way can I account for the ease with which people are, like children, "tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine." ( Ephesians 4:14.) There is an Athenian love of novelty abroad, and a morbid distaste for anything old and regular, and in the beaten path of our forefathers. Thousands will crowd to hear a new voice and a new doctrine, without considering for a moment whether what they hear is true.--There is an incessant craving after any teaching which is sensational, and exciting, and rousing to the feelings.--There is an unhealthy appetite for a sort of spasmodic and hysterical Christianity. The religious life of many is little better then spiritual dram-drinking, and the "meek and quiet spirit" which St. Peter commends is clean forgotten. ( 1 Peter 3:4.) Crowds, and crying, and hot rooms, and high-flown singing, and an incessant rousing of the emotions, are the only things which many care for.--Inability to distinguish differences in doctrine is spreading far and wide, and so long as the preacher is "clever" and "earnest," hundreds seem to think it must be all right, and call you dreadfully "narrow and uncharitable" if you hint that he is unsound!

May we be people full of grace and truth--showing love and upholding doctrine.

"Be With God"

The link to this wonderful post below is from my friend Charity's blog. There truly is no better reason to want salvation than to want to be with God. He is the Supreme Treasure worth having and there is no other Ultimate Satisfier. What a testimony to the shepherding that is going on in the Harmless's home!

"Be With God"
via In Her Hemisphere by Charity on 3/10/08

Petition for California Homeschoolers

Please read these 2 articles which describe a California Court of Appeals recently published opinion which baldly states that parents do not have a constitutional right to teach their children at home: San Francisco Chronicle Article Los Angeles Times Article

After reading that, please consider signing this petition which is requesting that "the Supreme Court of California depublish the Court of Appeal opinion".

More information on this ruling can be found at the Focus on the Family website.

Dying Daily

Read today in A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent (pp.40-41):

... My love affair with the world was crucified [on the cross] (Galatians 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.") The cross is also the place where I crucify my flesh and all its sinful desires. (Galatians 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.) Truly, Christ's death and my death are so intertwined as to be inseparable.

God is committed to my dying every day, and He calls me to that commitment. (Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.') He insists that every hour be my dying hour, and He wants my death [with Him] on the cross to be as central to my own life story as is Christ's death to the gospel story. "Let this same attitude be in you," He says, "which was also in Christ Jesus . . . who became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2)

. . . When called to do something I don't want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die. ... When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die. ... When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.

"Not my will, but Yours be done," Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion; and preaching His story to myself each day puts me in a frame of mind to trust God and embrace the cross of my own dying also.

This book is life-changing--definitely paradigm-shifting for most of you growing up in the same background as myself. Please consider buying this book for yourself and someone you love:

When a Trailer Park is Just Right

This post from the CBMW blog is particularly convicting to me in light of expectations not met in our new home (We have much to be thankful for in it, but it is not all that we had hoped for. Regardless, we are here, we are close to the school, we are in a very nice neighborhood, and I have a great job to help me provide for my family.): When a Trailer Park is Just Right

Ruckman Declares Himself to be "DOS 6.11-Only", Riplinger Writes Book on Subject

via Tominthebox News Network on 3/5/08

Pensacola, Fl - Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, the outspoken defender of the exclusivity of the King James Version of the Bible, declared in a recent article that DOS version 6.11 is "the only true and perfect operating system." In the article, which appeared in the March edition The Sword of Truth magazine, Dr. Ruckman was asked about which software he uses when he writes his books. Ruckman responded by saying,

"I exclusively use Word Star for DOS 6.11. The 6.11 version of DOS is pure and undefiled in every way. Take a look at today's new modern operating systems, and you'll clearly see that they are filled with errors and take away entire functions."

Ruckman, during the interview went on to say that all modern versions of operating systems are inventions of the "Alexandrian Cult," and utilize faulty programming languages.

"There's no need to reference all of these different programming languages" stated Ruckman. "Languages such as C, C+, Java, ABCL/1 and Agora, these are all tricks of Satan to deceive people about the truth and purity of DOS 6.11.

In a related story, TBNN discovered that upon the publication of the article, the controversial author of New Age Bible Versions, Gail A. Riplinger had already written a book on the subject of computer operating systems entitled New Age Operating System Versions. In Riplinger's 914 page book she claims to provide "indisputable proof" that modern operating systems are part of a New Age plot to destroy the purity of DOS 6.11. In the book Riplinger quotes from an interview with Microsoft founder Bill Gates where he says,

"Windows Vista...is...by far...poised...to take over...the world. We at Microsoft believe that...if people...will...just use...our...operating system...that we...will be able...to...turn...them to...the...dark...side."

Riplinger also goes on to demonstrate in her book through the use of multiple charts numerous "proofs of conspiracy" that she claims were "revealed by God" when she was writing the book. In one chart she uses something called "Acrostic Algebra" to show that modern operating systems are evil.

Ruckman went on to state that he also plans to write a book on the subject of operating system versions due out next week.

Note: Listen to this debate between Dr. James White and Gail Riplinger if you want more of a background on this post.

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Young Bibliophiles

Will really loves books, especially of late. After reading about Gretchen's March Reading Challenge, Will couldn't decide which book would be best for him to get into. Instead he decided he would just get into them all: Closeup and Perspective

Resting In Forgiveness

What do you do when you feel stagnant spiritually?

A couple of days ago a friend of mine shared some struggles with me in an email, and with his permission I thought I would share those and my response to him for your own personal encouragement:

Paul, … I’m struggling with learning more and more about God's holiness, seeing more and more of his sinfulness, and then, in my own power, trying to change, and then failing, and then turning to sin (lust, food, laziness, etc...) for comfort. … When I ask God to forgive me and I ask for and try to repent, I don't see/feel/believe/know the forgiveness that has been given. I am not resting in God's forgiveness, I don't try to grow in His strength, I'm not sure how to do that. I know it in my mind, but I don't know it in my heart. I seem to be stuck in this spot, and I think I have been for awhile, but am now starting to realize it.

It was so encouraging to see his honest transparency! I completely understand and identify with his struggles. Lately, I have felt like the busyness of the holidays and the craziness of the move have sidetracked me. The reality is—that previous sentence is blame-shifting in disguise. More accurately it should be worded: I have pursued the busyness of the holidays and focused more on the craziness of the move than on the cross of Christ and applying His gospel to my life.

Occasionally I go through funks where I don’t have the accompanying emotions that normally go along with my private worship or even public worship. I typically press on through them telling myself that “it’s a phase” and the emotions will return—just keep doing what you’re doing. And to some degree that is usually true. As I thought over my friend’s email and asked God to give me an encouraging word for him, I have realized that in these “phase” moments I should think about the root causes of why the emotions aren’t there. I know that emotions result from the affections of my heart and the affections my heart stem from what I know and believe. So I ask myself, what is it then, that of late I have been knowing and believing that would result in loving things other than the God Himself that would result in feeling distant from Him?

Part of the “problem” has been that over the last week I have seen more and more of my own sinfulness as I have been reading a book that Audrea gave me for Valentine’s Day: A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love. Check out what Milton Vincent has to say about the effect of exposing ourselves to the Gospel on a daily basis:

It was while rehearsing gospel truths in Romans 5-8 that the Apostle Paul was moved to speak of his struggle with sin and exclaim, “O wretched man that I am!” While reviewing God’s abundant saving grace on another occasion, Paul was prompted to confess that he was “the foremost” sinner of all.

Likewise, the deeper I go into the gospel, the more I comprehend and confess aloud the depth of my sinfulness. A gruesome death like the one that Christ endured for me would only be required for one who is exceedingly sinful and unable to appease a holy God. Consequently, whenever I consider the necessity and manner of His death, along with the love and selflessness behind it, I am laid bare and utterly exposed for the sinner I am.

My problem is that I have often stopped at this point in realizing the depth of my depravity and the infinite deservingness of punishment. Wallowing in this state results only in a muddier pig. If I stop short of the Gospel, I actually will tend to go back into the mire more, not with the mindset of antinomianism, but simply choosing not to focus on the reality of my union with Christ. Vincent continues though and describes what happens when we don’t stop short:

Such an awareness of my sinfulness does not drag me down, but actually serves to lift me up by magnifying my appreciation of God’s forgiving grace in my life. And the more I appreciate the magnitude of God’s forgiveness of my sins, the more I love Him and delight to show Him love through heart-felt expressions of worship.

So I’ve seen that a focus on the Gospel applied to me has a direct correlation to the my affections and my ability to communicate those affections in my own private worship and my ability to participate in public worship. As I am overwhelmed with the breadth and depth of my sin and its infinite character, and then counter that with the breadth and depth of Christ’s righteousness and its infinite character applied to me not by any merit of my own (obviously), my affections begin to change dramatically. The resulting effect is that since I am loving God more and more for what He has done for me through His Son, my love for the things of the world (the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, etc.) becomes less and less.

I want to encourage all of you to keep on fighting in your pursuit of holiness. The effect of learning about your sinfulness and God’s holiness can be depressing, but it can also be joy-producing. It’s funny that what my friend said he is not doing (“I am not resting in God’s forgiveness”) is exactly what Vincent earlier in his little book says to do:

The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. I never have to do a moment’s labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness and ministering God’s amazing grace to others.

The gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine.

May God continue to grant you the grace to rest in Him more and more!

Larry Norman, 4/8/47 - 2/24/08

God greatly used this man's music in my life and many of my dear friends. Take some time to learn about Larry's story and his incredible influence on Christian music.

http://www.larrynorman.com/news/022408.html
http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2008/02/larry-norman-home-with-lord-for-me-to.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/news/2005/larrynorman.html

What Is Eaten In One Week Around The World

Update since original post:
Some friends have asked me where I got these pictures. A good friend of mine, Cory Rintala, emailed them to me. When I was queried about their origins, a little googling unearthed this info: The photos are from a book called "Hungry Planet" by Pete Menzel. You can find out more about his photo essays on his website and through this article from NPR's Michele Norris.

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

---

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
(note the nutritional content on this table!)
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

---

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

---

Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

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Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

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Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

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Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

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Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

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Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Yet More Help with Baby

Thanks again, Jim! These are my favorite!

via Cold Fusion Guy by Jim Peet on 2/15/08

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More Help with Baby

These keep getting better and better! Thanks, Jim!!

via Cold Fusion Guy by Jim Peet on 2/8/08

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Help with Baby

I'm really not sure what the big deal is with the last one...

via Cold Fusion Guy by Jim Peet on 2/7/08

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The Things We Want

I apologize ahead of time for this long post, but it has been a long time coming to this point...

Over the last 3 or 4 months, Audrea and I have been seeking God's wisdom on what we should do about our house situation. We have had our house on the market since March 2007, have had around 65 showings, and only one offer but that fell through because of finances. Due to the shift in the economy--major drop in house values--we now are facing an upside-down mortgage (i.e. we owe more on it than what we could sell it for.) We knew that selling our house was going to be difficult to do financially and as far as we could see, we wouldn't have enough cash to give over at a closing if we did sell our house (yes, we would have to write a check to get rid of our house).

In that time, we had been approached by 4 different individuals about various, potentially lucrative business opportunities. On each of those, I had no desire to pursue them. Only a sense of "need" seemed to be a driving motivator. However, on the last opportunity, we talked with many individuals whom God has blessed with much wisdom. Each of those individuals told us a strange phrase, "Don't make a decision based on money." When trying to understand what they meant, the best clarification came when my father-in-law said, "Imagine all things being equal and no financial crunch, what are the benefits of pursuing this opportunity--spiritually?" The only thing I could see is that it would take us further away from our goal of going to Southern Seminary, and worse, would further distance me from the longer term goal of full-time pastoral ministry. That convinced me not to pursue the final opportunity either.

In thinking about all of the potential options on the table for us, a new option presented itself: Move to Kentucky and rent a house instead of buy a house. In the meantime, our house in Minnesota can be "staged" for just the right presentation and can be shown at any time with no impact on our family. In addition, in the meantime, I can take at least one class per semester on campus while we wait for the house to sell. Once the house sells in Minnesota, I'll decrease my working hours back to part-time and go back into the swing of seminary full-time. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful employer who has told us that they want me to continue to be a Skyline employee and will send work my way from Green Bay. (There is also some potential for an onsite contract in Louisville, but otherwise it would be from my home office.)

Over the last 3 weeks then, we have been searching for a house to rent in Louisville in the neighborhood of the seminary. Our friends, Josh and Gretchen, have been such a wonderful blessing to us by being our eyes-and-ears-on-the-ground. We lined up 3 properties for them to go and tour for us. They would take pictures and video and then post them online for us to review. We recognize this was a sacrifice of time on their part and have sworn to repay them in Krispy Kremes and Starbucks. We are so grateful for their help!

We found a wonderful bungalow with a large yard and empty lot next door, plenty of room to live, work, and homeschool, and a very nice couple who own the place. There is a room for an office/library (for my library that has quickly become the size of a standard church library!), a partially finished basement where we will setup a little schoolroom to teach the children in, and a decent size dining room to have company over.

On February 11th, Berger Allied Moving Company will be coming and loading a truck (we're doing all the packing now) and will head off towards Louisville. We'll leave then and arrive there sometime between the 14th and the 16th. We are overwhelmed at the fact that we have less than three weeks to finish packing, but are incredibly excited! Though we will now be 9 hours from mom and dad Walther (this is one of the difficult and sad things about the move), we will now be within a 3 to 4 hour drive of almost all of other family members (including most of my brothers and sisters!). Savannah's favorite part is that we will be 90 miles from her Uncle Rick and Aunt Karen Elliott who just happen to own a farm with horses!!

I close with an image of my mother's father--Harold Graves--and a little note that my mom found one day tucked into a book. We don't know who my grandfather intended this note to be for, but all of us children have adopted it as a note to us personally. We know that God is the source of our satisfaction in life. And the things we want (like homes, schools, money, family, toys, etc) will not in themselves ultimately bring us satisfaction in life. (The satisfaction we do derive from them are mere tastes of the goodness of the character of God Himself.) When we find our delight in God Himself, we will be truly satisfied!

The Goof on the Roof, and the State of Contemporary Masculinity

Men, get off the roof and get on the stick being who God wants us to be!

 

 

 

 

The Goof on the Roof, and the State of Contemporary Masculinity

via Gender Blog by Owen Strachan on 1/23/08

Owen Strachan is a former intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and is presently a Ph.D. student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in historical theology.  He and his wife live in Highland Park, Illinois.  You can read more of his thoughts on biblical masculinity at his blog. - David Kotter

I was reading the Sunday edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal when I came across this news nugget in the sports pages (I googled it to find out more). Apparently, some guy in Baltimore (he doesn't deserve to be named here) camped out on the roof of a Baltimore bar as a publicity stunt until the Ravens, the city's football team, either broke their nine-game losing streak or fired their head coach. The stunt crashed when the ex-wife of the man called the police due to the man's failure to pay multiple years of child support.

So let's get this straight. This guy cares so much about the Ravens that he will sleep on the roof of a bar for weeks--in the bitter Baltimore winter--but he can't rouse himself over a multiple-year period to pay his child support? This is a situation for which no comment is worthy.

However, this is a blog, and I want to write, and you expect me to do so, and so I will. This little episode, I think, shows a great deal about the state of manhood in the current day. We have here a man so devoted to his sports team--his hobby--that he does not even support his child. This is an extreme situation, but does it not tell us something about men in the current day? We are so interested in games--the fixation of boys--that we neglect the things of men. This man is a particularly depressing spectacle, but he is one of many men in the current day who idolize games and pastimes and who neglect the basic duties of manhood, the responsibilities upon which love is held constant, children are cared for, and societies are built upon.

Not many Christian men will take their love of games to the extent that this man did. However, a story like this should cause men who very much enjoy sports--men like me--to take stock of the extent of their passion for games. It is not wrong to enjoy sports; sports can be a good gift to us if held in proper perspective; but we Christian men, who have families and churches and jobs, should take care that we do not allow sports to dominate our waking hours. We should make sure that our families come way before our pastimes. Most of us should probably turn the television off for a number of hours each week and dig in to the Word, play with our kids, and serve our churches. We cannot allow sports and games and hobbies to devour our lives, our homes, our families, as they do for so many men in America today. We have a family to lead, a wife to love, and a Lord, a Savior who gave His blood for a kingdom cause, to magnify.

 

 

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Will on Keys

Yesterday, Will took his first stab at playing the piano. Here's a recording of his first opus.

3-Year Old Hermeneutics

This week for morning devotions with the children, Audrea was reading in the book of Numbers to the children. Numbers 11:1-3:

And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

After she was done reading, she had the two younger girls draw a picture of what the story was about and then tell her what they learned about God and about themselves. Savannah was to write a paragraph doing the same.

Sometimes in seminary, people get so deep in the thick of learning how to interpret the Bible that they totally "miss the forest for the trees." It's very common for guys to absolutely miss the whole point of a paragraph. When I hear a sermon like that, I think to myself, "Did he think about the big picture?" Typically, God is trying to tell us one major thing. That's the point of hermeneutics--the science of interpretation--to learn how to get the point! And in preaching, the key is to get to the point!

Tonight when I reviewed the girls' school work after supper, I realized that those guys (and I know that I've been one of them at times!) need to learn how to see the point and get to the point! Elayna, my youngest daughter, put the lesson of this paragraph from Numbers quite succinctly:

"They complained and they got fire."

Sinéad's Theology

A good chunk of my favorite music to listen to comes from the good folks across the pond in Ireland. Of course at the top of my list is U2, but cohabitating with Bono and the boys you'll find Van Morrison, The Cranberries, Clannad, and Enya. And then there's Sinéad O' Connor. Her voice to me at times has that haunting wail that I seem to just associate with Irish laments. Last June, Sinéad came out with a new 2-disc album called "Theology." The whole thing is completely original music and how is a seminary student to pass up a CD with a title like that?!

On her website about the recording she comments about the influence of prophetic scripture on her lyrics: "I read Isaiah and took the lines from it that I liked and adapted them so they rhymed. My desire was not to use anything that perpetuated the myth of a God character being angry and aggressive."

This probably sounds very strange to those of you who aren't accustomed to reading stuff from the liberation or feminist theology camp, but I've had the opportunity to interact with that kind of writing and when I come across these comments, my first reaction is always, "huh?"

How can you say that God is not angry or aggressive when you read things in the same book she was looking at such as Isaiah 5:25 where it says: "Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still."

Or, Isaiah 9:17, "Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still."

Or, Isaiah 54:8-10, 16-17, "'In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,' says the Lord, your Redeemer. 'This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

It is texts like these that make it extremely evident that God is an aggressive God of anger but is also a God of deep, compassionate love. Yet, I do understand that we all come to the text with presuppositions. So if you come to it with a system of thought that begins with the proposition that God is whoever you want him to be, or the proposition that Christianity as we have it is the result of a patriachal-dominated tradition where the "truth" has been manipulated by men to fit their chauvinistic desires, then you'll come to entirely different answers in your exegesis.

Yet, all that being said, the CD is worth listening to and enjoying for her incredible talent. It's also fantastic to see her exploring the issues and wrestling questions, even though not providing any answers: "'Theology' seeks not to offer immediate answers or a universal panacea; but instead provokes timely and thoughtful questions from an artist who is still pushing herself and inviting her audience to come with her."

The most interesting lyric I want to leave you thinking about is this from "Out of the Depths":

I've heard religion say that you are to be feared,
but I don't buy into everything I hear
And it seems to me that you're hostage to those roots
that were made by religion and not by you.
And I'm wondering whether you'll ever get yourself free.

It's so clear that along with everyone else, Sinéad is longing for untainted religion. Yet when we present the Faith we have, it must be separated from the system of religion that has been developed over the millenia by corrupted sinful men. It won't be until the Judgment that all the wrongs of history are avenged, that the curse is lifted, and things are then the way they're supposed to be. Until then, as C.S. Lewis put it, "Nothing is yet in its true form."

Survival of the Fittest

I've been reading Darwin on Trial over the last couple of weeks for a Philosophy of Religion class at Southern. The current chapter is analyzing the argumentation of natural selection. I couldn't help but think of one of the funny Far Side strips in my collection:

Grace Instead of Grace

In John 1:16, the Apostle says that from the Word-made-flesh we received χαριν αντι χαριτος. This phrase has been translated in almost all of the modern translations as "grace upon grace" or "one blessing after another" (NIV). The KJV gets it right here--"grace for grace". Gramatically, the preposition should be translated as "instead of." As I was reading this morning, D. A. Carson argues convincingly that it should be translated that way and addresses the common objections to his viewpoint. It's worth the time to read his comments on vv.1-18.

Essentially, John is saying that in the law, we had been given grace; but in Jesus Christ we have received even greater grace. Whether or not you agree that there is a Covenant of Grace lying behind all of the covenants given, you must agree with this: God is the God of All Grace. When Moses asked God to show Himself to him, he said this: "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."

While it sounds good and is theologically true to say "grace upon grace" or "one blessing after another", it seems as Carson puts it, "to miss the point." v17 comes along and explains what "grace instead of grace" means by starting the whole verse with the "for". "Because" in the law we received grace, but in Christ we have received even greater grace.

Say what you want about the TNIV (which most of its criticisms are deserving from what I've read), but it gets this particular verses translated right on the nose: "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given." Isn't it amazing to be called a child of God, the God who will continue to abound in grace forever and ever?!

Bring Nothing But Christ

Read this book: The Works of Augustus M. Toplady

Fundamentalism and Moon Boots

One of the primary reasons why I strongly wish to identify myself with so-called Conservative Evangelicals and less and less with Fundamentalists is their focus on separation. As my good friend, Cory, has summarized their mentality: "It's just you and me, brother, but I'm not so sure about you."

I was listening to Sara Groves yesterday and thought that she expresses poetically what I think the outcome of a separatist mentality breeds:

"To the Moon" by Sara Groves,
from the "Add to the Beauty" CD

It was there in the bulletin
We're leaving soon
After the bake sale to raise funds for fuel
The rocket is ready and we're going to
Take our church to the moon

There'll be no one there to tell us we're odd
No one to change our opinions of God
Just lots of rocks and this dusty sod
Here at our church on the moon

We know our liberties
we know our rights
We know how to fight a very good fight
Just get that last bag there and turn out the light
We're taking our church to the moon
We're taking our church to the moon
We'll be leaving soon

Of course, if you're an astute fellow, you may be inclined to think this posting itself is a bit of hypocritical behavior: He's wishing to separate himself from Separatists because of their insistence on separation.

But I should be clear on this: I do not wish to "separate" from my dear Fundamentalist friends in the sense of ostracizing, rather I'm wishing that if I have to be pigeon-holed into a label, then please don't put the "Fundamentalist" label on me. By God's grace, I'll never abandon my friends in that camp. In the last three years, I've developed friendships with men that I will always be bouncing ideas and questions off of.

This Is So Like My Mom!

This story is great! It so sounds like my mom. I know she pulled a similar stunt (of course not advertising it) with my brother when finding a cooler of beer outside his window then dumping it all down the toilet. It also reminded me of the time my car wouldn't start and had to get to work. I called my dad and asked him to take a look at it when he got home from work. When he drove it up to work and gave me the keys, I'll never forget him asking, "Whose cigarettes are those in the glove compartment?" "Uhh... those are my friends. I think he left them there." (Sorry, Brian, you were my scapegoat!) I'm sure he didn't believe a word of it but interestingly left it alone.

The funny thing is--if I ever would buy Savannah a car (which I probably never would) and find some illegal substance (or alcohol if she was under 21)--I'd do the exact same thing (except for the humiliation part)! What do you think you would do?

 

 

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Tough love

via Cold Fusion Guy by Jim Peet on 1/9/08

'Meanest mom on planet' sells son's car

Excerpt:

After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone -- by placing an ad in the local newspaper.

The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."


Comment: Way to go Mom!

 

 

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Big Will

Here's Big Will at 6 months in a 12-months outfit. Audrea was pulling out 12 mos outfits today to find ones that fit him and many of them were too tight! When I came home from work he was sporting a pair of 18 mos jammies from Grandma Connie.

Christmas 2007

We have been so blessed this year by all of our family on my side and Audrea's! Here are few of the pictures. You can view the whole album here.

Deer Video

Here is the video I put together of the deer we've been watching in the backyard. In the bleakest time of year, God still provides for their needs. How much more great is the Father's love for us!

There and Back Again

We're here in the Wisconsin Rapids area celebrating Christmas and New Years with Audrea's parents and her brother and his wife, Jared and Stephannie. Yesterday we gave each other our gifts and were overwhelmed by each other's generosity! One of my very special gifts was from Audrea--she gave me special edition hardcovers of The Hobbit and the whole Rings trilogy.

Today Jared, Tom, and I went out to get a new batch of firewood and stacked it up for hours more of enjoyment! They always get a great deal on some aged oak at a price I wish I could get in the Twin Cities--$50 per face cord.

I remembered to pack boots, hats, and gloves but then I forgot to pack snowpants. When we were in Danville, Tom and Bev got about 14 inches of snow dumped on them. Then yesterday we got at least a couple more! So on our way to Green Bay to pick up Jared and Stephannie from the airport we swung by the consignment shops to pick up some snowpants to keep here at grandma's. Savannah was able to go out and and enjoy the snow along with the family of deer that I caught hanging out by the back window. Then she enjoyed a long snowmobile ride with her grandpa and Jared and Stephannie.

Unfortunately I have not been able to put up pictures of all these festivities because I forgot to bring a USB cable to suck the pictures off my camera and my laptop does not have an SD slot. Maybe I'll figure something out in the next couple days...

There

We're here! We got in yesterday just in time to sit down and eat with almost all of my brothers and sisters (Karen and Ricky were unable to come because Ricky's a workaholic and doesn't like us.) (Those of you who don't know the Fullers very well need to know that the previous parenthesis was a blatant lie and very typical of Fuller facetiousness--we love Ricky and wished he could be here but know that he will buy us all of kinds of presents to make up for it next year!) And though the wives agreed to not get presents for all the kidlets, some of them changed their minds at the last minute and blessed us with an abundance of fun stuff to keep all of them busy for the next week!

This morning we worshiped at First Baptist and were blessed to see many of the friends from growing up. Tonight we're going to Calvary to hopefully see many other great friends!

Half-way There

Well, we made it half-way to Danville...

Audrea and I stayed up till 2am last night wrapping presents and preparing for our vacation. Then about 8am we heard exclamations of joy and then a little 3 year old came down the stairs and right up to the bed and said, "Daddy! There's a stocking in my bed!"

After spending a relaxing morning opening presents and enjoying breakfast together and a nap to get in an extra hour of sleep, we piled into the van and hit the road. We drove from Maple Grove to Madison through very thick fog and after 2 hours of errands and bad traffic in the Twin Cities and 5 hours on the road, we settled into our hotel room.

We'll sleep in till about 8am tomorrow and then head down to Danville. Megan was going to be flying into Indy tonight but got held up in Atlanta so she won't be in till tomorrow. Pray for her flight and that our van would not act up tomorrow.