Everybody Hurts

Recently, listening to REM's new live CD brought back a lot of great memories with my dear friend Kenn Rudolph! Staying up all night, going to Taco Bell, singing "Shiny Happy People" along with Michael Stipe--life was so care free back then.

One of my favorite ballads of theirs is "Everybody Hurts" (from Automatic for the People--listen to it here) and is sung live on the CD. The band's frontman, Michael Stipe, often has deep insight into the human condition. On this particular song, the message of human hopelessness comes out loud and strong to me, though I really don't think that was his intention. He, along with the rest of the world, find their hopes in and draw their strength from things that may bring temporary relief, but typically are shortlived:

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go,
'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand.
Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone.

If misery breeds company, and I think it does, then what hope does Michael Stipe, and the rest of the world with him, when they say that when you feel like giving up hold on because your friends are there for you? This is the best the world has to offer (much better than turning to substances, activities, etc.)--to cling to your friends when life is hard. Yet this is only the best they can offer. Taking comfort in the fact alone that everybody hurts, is no hope at all. It is true that everybody hurts and knowing that your circumstance is not uncommon to man (1 Cor. 10:13) is a deep help yet the basis for encouragement in 1 Cor. 10:13 is not found in the fact that others have gone through it. The deep encouragement is from the faith given to them by God Himself through His grace which enabled them to persevere through the difficult depression. The faith is sourced in God Himself as the Ultimate Treasure. He is the Supreme Being who is the only person who is worth putting hope and trust in.

But what is the place of people in our lives, particularly, believers? I think the common thought in the evangelical church today (regardless of your particular denominational flavor, strictness or liberality) is that "fellowship" itself is simply doing things with each other, particularly, hanging out and/or eating. That is the very shallow view of fellowship. In that sense, those outside the Faith, experience the same thing. I think this is a great example of why in the church we must define "fellowship" much more clearly. In "Everybody Hurts" we see a glimpse of one aspect of fellowship (but obviously lacking the Foundation)--the fellowship of suffering, the common condition. However, in the Church fellowship is a multifaceted diamond with the core being the Cross.

While I would love to take the time, to delve into defining fellowship's many facets (and I probably will over time on this blog), a good place to start is what John Loftness has to say about it in the book, Why Small Groups. Take some time to read chapter 2 for free to get a better grasp of what I'm talking about.

Good Children's Bible Story Books

Dr. Al Mohler's blog today talks about two excellent children's books. The second one, The Big Picture Story Bible, I went through with the girls earlier this year after my best friend, Dr. Jeff Rich, recommended it to me. I am currently reading through the first one, The Jesus Storybook Bible, with the kids. Both are excellent and I highly recommend them. Of course, Mohler's recommendation holds a lot more weight!! But for a more personal reflection on the book, my friend Gretchen posted this summer and actually received feedback from the author, Sally Lloyd Jones.

Brandon's Memory

Dave Elias is a friend of mine from work who I've gotten to know over the last couple of years. The last year and a half has been an incredible journey of difficulty for them. Dave and his wife Kari had a little boy over a year ago born to them with a genetic issue called Zellweger's Syndrome. You can read his whole story on their website for him.

Last night on our local Fox station, they aired a story on Dave & Kari and another couple with a similar story. They are raising money presently to help dedicate a room at Faith's Lodge in memory of Brandon. The lodge is a place for families facing the serious illness or death of a child to retreat to for strength and encouragement.

This Saturday, we'll be taking the whole family to the fundraiser and showing our support for Dave & Kari. Take some time to view the Fox story, read about Brandon, and then consider helping them financially towards this memory of Brandon which would bless many other families in the future.

Worship Playlist Added

I've added a new sidebar item today--Sunday's Worship Songs. Clicking on this link will allow you to listen to the songs we will be singing in the coming Sunday at our church for our Gathered Worship time. The worship leader at our church, David Ward, does a fantastic job of bringing our hearts before the throne of God every Sunday. I know I have been blessed tremendously by getting a fresh glimpse of God's splendor Sunday after Sunday and getting the privilege of praising and worshipping alongside our brothers and sisters.

David runs a website you should check out sometime that is aimed at blending the rich history of Reformed hymnody with modern music: ReformedPraise.org.

The playlist on the sidebar uses Rhapsody. If you don't have a Rhapsody subscription, you can get one for free and it will give you 25 songs free per month.

Have Been Perfected, Are Being Perfected.

A friend posted the other day the following excellent question:

How do you handle it when you find yourself sinning in this area? I can relate very well to your words here and I tend to get very discouraged and guilt ridden with the anger I sense within myself...the unexpressed anger even...that I know is there but like you said, by the Grace of God He is keeping me from sinning against others and Him with. Do you ever get discouraged because of it? Is it hard for you as it is me, to believe the Gospel is for yourself in those moments and times where you fail?

This is a real question. This is the kind of question I wish people would just come out and ask. If you're a true believer, these are the kinds of questions you should be asking. This is the kind of transparency that we as believers should have with one another: Admitting to one another that we struggle with sin and that it is so pervasive throughout our inner being, that even when I feel outwardly I am growing in grace, inwardly I face a battle minute-by-minute.

I hope my statement "if you're a true believer" makes you wonder how I can get off saying that. Well, here's how: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 Jn 1:8) John is saying much here.

First, saying that we've got it together is a real crock. The implication is not hidden--we do sin. And telling ourselves we don't isn't getting us anywhere. In fact, it is further underscoring the fact that we are rebels against a Holy God and it is exalting myself above the God who made me and Who brings down the proud.

To do its worst, evil needs to look its best. Evil has to spend a lot on makeup. Hypocrites have to spend time polishing their act and polishing their image. "Hypocrisy is an homage that vice pays to virtue." Vices have to masquerade as virtues--lust as love, thinly veiled sadism as military discipline, envy as righteous indignation, domestic tyranny as parental concern. And this is so whether the masquerade takes the form of putting on an act or making up a cover story. Either way, deceivers learn how to present something falsely, and they exert themselves to make the presentation credible. From Not the Way It's Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

Second, John is not just stating a tautology: "if you lie, then the truth is not in you." I think John is saying something much deeper. Who is the Truth? Maybe this will ring a bell: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." If we are not able to say the same thing with our mouths that God says about us (i.e. confess), then the natural inference is that we have not believed in our hearts what God says about us--that we are sinners. Christ is not in us and we are not in Him if we cannot confess that we are sinners.

But John doesn't leave us to draw these inferences. He puts it more bluntly: "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 Jn 1:10) We are calling God a liar and His Word ("in the beginning was the Word") is not in us.

It may sound like I'm not addressing the question my friend asked. But I am. I am not only saying that people who are unable to confess this way are unbelievers, but the enthymeme should have been obvious: those who are able to confess this way are likely believers. In fact, when I feel this way, to me, it is an assurance of salvation itself. God uses warnings like these in the Bible to persevere me in my faith.

So what do we do when we feel this way. I don't just stay and wallow in that. That's what Satan wants you to do. That old serpent doesn't have any new tricks in his bag. He tries to do what he did at the very beginning--that is, he wants you to not believe the Gospel: that God is good and true and righteous. But that is exactly what John wants the believer to know in his epistle to the believers. He wants them to know that, yes, you will still sin and that sin may be sins completely in the heart (but that's where they all start anyway). But he tells us what to do when we sin. He says that we must believe the Gospel. "But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 Jn 2:1b-2) John tells us what we must do when we know that we have sinned: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn 1:9)

So is it hard for you as it is me, to believe the Gospel is for yourself in those moments and times where you fail? It is hard in the sense that my pride wants me to think that I am so bad that the Gospel can't be enough. That's a lie. Sometimes it is hard in the sense that in my pride I want to think that I am not that bad. That's a horrible lie and I must flee from that because that is a huge warning sign (see above). It is hard in the sense that I am often overwhelmed at the fact that though I am justified completely, I have not been thoroughly sanctified. It is hard when I think about how this battle with sin will go on and on until Christ returns or calls me home. Inwardly we groan as the creation, longing for our ultimate redemption, longing to be saved from this. (Rom 8:22) Our ultimate reward is salvation and we long for it deeply through our very bones. But it is precisely in these moments that we must believe the Gospel. We must believe that:

When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14)

The Golden Compass -- Not a Movie for the Kids

I wish I had more time to sit and write thought-provoking insights about so many things... one example would be this new movie coming out, The Golden Compass. But since others have written about it, I'll let the reader's mind engage the issues while reading the following articles:

• Start with MTV's: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573211/20071031/story.jhtml
• Here's a very telling interview with the author, Pullman, from 2003: http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2003/12/12/1071125644900.html
• LA Times Review: http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/radio/cl-ca-golden28oct28,0,5769364.story

Putting aside the strong desire to comment on several things I read in these, I will simply give you two good questions to ask yourself when attempting to distinguish "safe" fantasy from "dangerous" fantasy:

1. Does the fiction cause the me to root for the good guys or the bad guys? If you find yourself cheering on the villains, you know that the plot itself is subversive.
2. Similar question, but phrased slightly different: Can you actually distinguish who are the good guys and the bad guys? Satan does a masterful job in the Garden of Eden attempting to make God look like the bad guy and he still goes about today blurring the lines.

For a well articulated exploration of fantasy from a Christian worldview, read Dr. Kevin Bauder's 7-part series:

• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part One: Definitions and Questions
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Two: Evaluating Fantastic Writing
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Three: Magic in Fantasy
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Four: Pilgrim's Progress
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Five: The Lord of the Rings
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Six: The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part Seven: The Harry Potter Books

Okay, so I can't get by without asking one more question: If the author says his books are about killing God, is it logical at all to say that his books are not overtly anti-Christian? Ummm... maybe this question should go under the category of "What year was the Battle of 1812?"-questions!

Anger Tends To Murder

Proverbs 25:28 says, "A man without self-controlis like a city broken into and left without walls."

I know what it's like to be ruled by anger. All I have to do is go into the homes in Danville that I grew up in, and find walls with holes in them--some of them of from my own fist. It shames me incredibly. And ask any of my closest friends, especially Audrea. When I used to get angry, I was embarrassing to be around. I was an angry man.

Since I've had children, God has grown me in this area. Audrea pointed it out to me a few years ago. Big mistake. Because then pride went to my head and it got real fat like a zit ready to be popped. Yeah, I know, but I had to come up with something appropriately disgusting! That's how God views my sin--with abhorrence and complete disgust. And what I've learned is that though He has granted me some small measure of self-control, my heart still radiates with anger at times. And when I read a verse like Proverbs 25:28, I'm reminded that were it not for the amazing grace of God, my life would completely fall apart around me. The city of my life with its walls of seeming protection would be thoroughly defenseless, in a shambles because apart from the enabling Spirit of God granting me any measures of self-control, left to myself, I would destroy those around me and myself. I still am an angry man.

You don't believe me. You say, "Oh Paul, you're not a bad guy." Well, Charles Bridges summarizes well what happens to the human heart when left to itself:

(From An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs By Charles Bridges)

The human heart left to itself will wreak havoc and destruction. James tells us that:

4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

Praise be to God, though, for the adversative "BUT". Verse 6 of James 4 gives me much hope and exhortation at the same time--"BUT he gives more grace." He promises that whoever draws near to Him in humility, He will draw unto Himself:

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

God, grant me the grace to be a man of self-control, a man of patience and humility. Be my Rock and Fortress.

The Reaping

When Audrea goes away for a couple days with her mom, I tend to take the time to do stuff that all my girls would not enjoy: eating sushi and any other seafood I can find, working late, not shaving, and watching scary movies. Last time it was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This week I watched The Reaping. The previews had piqued my interest for quite a while and this website convinced me it wouldn't be a movie that I would regret or have to turn off half-way through.

I don't want to take the time to write a review, but if you're in the mood for something fairly scary and thought-provoking, this one is a sure bet. Near the end, the plot takes a twist I didn't see coming at all which at first I found a little corny, but still 3 days later, I'm not sure I've figured it all out!

The plot of the movie is about a town that seems to be experiencing the plagues of Egypt but being carried out by the hand of Satan instead. The main actor is a former ordained minister-turned-atheistic science professor who makes it her life ambition to prove so-called miracles as natural occurences. This particular town in Louisiana (interesting trivia: the film was made in Louisiana right during the middle of Katrina) has a science teacher who has asked her to come down and doing her typical job of proving them wrong. That's all I'll give you...

I do recommend watching the brief liberal documentary on the extras menu. The point of the documentary is to present natural explanations for the plagues instead of the supernatural intervention of God Himself. The first half spends its time giving a "scientific" explanation for each plague. Then at the half-way point, the narrator underscores that this would all be speculation unless one could show that there is a basis for the explanations actually found in the text of the book of Exodus itself. Which is very true. However, it takes the standard attack mode against the Inspiration of the Bible and brings in Terrence Fretheim (an early open theist from here in town) to explain the "evolution" of the books of Moses. While he does not go into detail explaining the JEDP theory (which undergirds the comments), there is a broad statement that "no scholars today think counter to this" which is essentially an insult to many members of the Evangelical Theological Society who would not hold to that theory.

Near the end of the documentary, they point out that through the book of Exodus, the author is leading to the Passover. They say that because the Passover is the main point the author is trying to get across, there is latitude for embellishing the truth. Fretheim says, "The concern is not as sort of historiographer, or some modern university professor seeking to find exactly what happened in some ancient time. The concern is to convey to every new Israelite audiences the religious importance of these events--that God has been involved on behalf of the Israelites in leading them out of Egypt."

I however have a real problem with this and you should too. If faith is a hope based on an objective reality, then the evidence which reveals the source of your faith should be completely reliable otherwise it's not worth putting faith into it. So if I read a text that says God is sovereign, omnipotent, holy, omniscient, righteous, wrathful, just, and loving, wouldn't I want that text to be wholly true. If, as this seminary professor says, the details of the text are basically made up, then the whole shooting match should be scrapped. It's not worth it.

But I, however, believe:

in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

Keep this in mind always, but especially if you watch this movie!

Summer 07 Highlights

Recent Portraits

back to the drawing board...

Well, it's time to wait for another offer to come in on our house. I spoke with our realtor yesterday and he informed me that the buyer changed her mind about purchasing any home and has decided to stay with her parents for the time being.

I personally think this was a wise decision on her part. Even though I know very little about her situation, I do know that she was borderline on getting her financing and according to our information, if she was to purchase the home even at our competitive price she would have been stretching herself. Even though it's her own decision, I wouldn't feel comfortable selling our home to someone who is the epitome of the kinds of buyers that have brought this market to this place it's at now.

For those of you who prayed along with us for her--thank you. Please continue praying for us though that we would soon receive an offer that would be solid and reasonable. I know that nothing we pray is too large for our God. This morning, in Transforming Grace, I read the following encouraging hymn by John Newton:

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare:
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.

Cuties

I wish I could've caught this with a sharper image but I didn't realize the blurriness until I downloaded it... at any rate, I caught the prince and princesses watching a movie together tonight:

Offer Update

Something Audrea and I have consistently done in our real estate transactions is to pray for the people on the other side of the table and for the other parties involved (lenders, realtors, attorneys). Our realtor just called me and said that though the offer is still on the table, the buyer is really unsure about buying at this price range. The reality is that the difference between our offer and their offer is a difference of $70 per month. For many people that is not a huge difference, but it may be for this potential buyer. Please pray that God would grant them grace to have good wisdom in this decision.

Choices Have Consequences

offer update

Just a quick update... the offer we received on Saturday was absurd and even asinine. That's what happens when buyers think that because it's a "buyer's market" they can do whatever they want. Of course, it never hurts to ask and they did.

We responded with a counteroffer coming down only a little bit (we're already listing the home at a price less than what we paid for it 3 years ago). Their realtor said we wouldn't hear from them until at least Monday. When we hear more, we'll let everyone know.

finally... an offer

It's 7:25 pm and in about a half-hour our realtor will be showing up at our door with the first offer we have received on this home. There are two things I really appreciate our realtor, David Cohen: 1) He works very hard as a realtor by thinking way outside the box in terms of marketing and 2) He is so even-keeled. He called me this afternoon and said in his usual flat tone, "Well, they're going to fax us an offer today." The reason I appreciate that is because he wants us to be realistic about everything. He warned me before he saw the offer to not be surprised if these buyers low-ball us unbelievably. Like 8K to 15K below our asking price. Keep in mind, our current list price is $100 less than what we paid for the home in 2004.

Yet we have resigned ourselves to losing money on this. We know that we really want to move to Louisville and have been trusting and waiting on God all along. So please pray for us that we will have wisdom tonight and over the next couple of days. It also sounds like if this offer is accepted they will want a fast closing. We're not sure what that means, but David did say to prepare your family for much stress.

Tripp: "Why I Hate To Wait"

I am so with this guy... Paul David Tripp on his blog has this poem about waiting:

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

I hate to wait,
I have places to go
I have people to see
I have things to do.
I love me
and I have a wonderful plan
for my life.
I hate to wait.
I don't like obstacles
in my way
or people that disagree
or processes that take too long.
I hate to wait.
I don't like lines
or traffic
or delayed appointments
or tardy people.
I hate to wait.
I wake up everyday
with an agenda.
I know
what I want to accomplish.
I know
how I want it done.
I know
where I want it done.
I know
when I want it done.
I know
who I want to do it.
I know
why it has to be done this way.
I hate to wait
because
I am the one having to wait.
I don't mind
that you have to wait
but I don't want to have to
wait with you.
I hate to wait
because
I tend to put myself
in the one place
I am never supposed to be
and
I tend to want to be
the one thing
I should never crave to be.
I hate to wait because
I want to be
in the center of my universe
and I want to be
my own sovereign.
When I forget your plan
When I lose sight of your will
When I begin to think
that my life belongs to me
When I fall prey to
the delusion
that I am wiser than you
and
my way is better than yours
Then I hate to wait
and
I curse the obstacles in my way.
But you are sovereign
and you are
Good
and loving
and gracious
and kind
and mighty,
filled with compassion
overflowing with mercy.
You bought me
with the price of your Son.
You forgave me
and the cost was his death.
For all my attempts
at independent wisdom
and
self-sovereignty
the truth is
that my life does not belong to me.
So
once more I fall to my knees.
Once more I open my hands
and
give my life back to you
and say
"You do in, with, and through me
what you think is best
and
I will follow
and when
your wisdom and grace
require it,
I will be willing
to wait.

View article...

Your Salvation Is Secure Because of the Infinite Dignity of Christ

The other day a dear friend was describing a very intense spiritual battle he went through after going to bed the other night. Horrible thoughts and lies were assaulting his mind and simply would not stop whatever he did. He prayed earnestly for grace, he worked hard at battling, he recognized it all as sin and was calling it what it was. Yet in spite of all of that battling against the temptations, Satan came to him and told him the worst lie of all: "You're not a believer. If you truly were a believer, these temptations from the flesh would have left you by now. You must not hate your sin--you must actually be cherishing your sin. And since that is true, you must not be believing the Gospel. In fact, your sins aren't even covered since you're not a believer. The death of Christ was not applied to you because the elect will persevere in their faith--and what kind of perseverance is this when your mind is swirling?"

Friends, this is where the rubber meets the road. When the Deceiver comes and tells you that Christ was not enough, you must fight back with Scripture. And when God speaks, the Truth will destroy the lie. You must remember that Christ was a Sufficient Saviour. Hebrews 5:4-9 makes this very clear that Jesus made our salvation eternal because of His Infinite Worth: v9 "And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him"

God required a death that would satisfy His Just Wrath. A simple man would/could not be enough because his life was worth only one and his punishment would only have temporary effect. My sin against an infinite God takes on infinite consequences. So Christ the Messiah Saviour needed to be a man of infinite worth--which He was: at the incarnation God became man without unbecoming God. He became fully God fully man. This produced a Man who would be of Infinite Worth--of a dignity higher than any man, any priest, any High Priest. The death that He died was worth a greater value than the combined blood of all the bulls and goats ever sacrificed or ever could be. This is why Paul says in Romans 8, that no one can condemn ("Who is to condemn?") because "Christ Jesus is the one who died." No one was worth enough except the One God-Man who lived the perfect life and was perfection in Himself. He died and eliminated all condemnation for all who are elect in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:1).

I've faced that spiritual battle my friend has, and believe me it is scary. And trust me, it won't be the last time that Satan tries to tell me that lie again. It will happen again. And guess what? It will happen to you, if it hasn't already. I've been listening to Piper's Hebrews series on my daily drive. Today I was blown away by a comment he made mid-way through: "All hell is gonna break lose on you one of these days..." Listen to that link. He underscores what I'm trying to say here: Your salvation is secured because of the Infinite Dignity of our High Priest--Jesus Christ. Fight the unbelief with the power of God--the Word of His Power.

The folly of the fool and the Idol Factory

It has been a very crazy month for us and I want to post an update of pictures and things we've been doing but in the meantime I want to share this little incident from my life...
 
Yesterday on my drive to and from work, I listened to the C.J. Mahaney "Idols Factory" message from the NA conference. What a blessing! I thought to myself how I can tweak one my own messages called "Feeding On Ashes" to incorporate some of the things he talked about. I thought about my friend who is experiencing the devastation on his marriage that he brought upon himself through adultery and how I could further encourage and exhort him with that sermon. And I thought about my children.
 
The pathetic thing is, I didn't think much about myself. Today I had one of those well-deserved smack-down-from-the-Holy-Spirit moments that helped bring home the message to my heart...
 
So when I got into work today and logged in, I tried to start Rhapsody (subscription music service) to enjoy listening to some tunes while hammering out some new code. When it wouldn't let me login because of some error, I started an online chat with the Rhapsody support. What ensued appeared to me to be a perfect example of incompetency in customer service and technical support. 
 
Essentially, my account credentials got messed up, the help desk guy reset the password, that didn't work, and then he suggested that I just wait for a little bit and then maybe it would work. I got "frustrated" with him and said some really cocky, sarcastic comments and then left him feedback indicating I was unsatisfied. It seemed to me he didn't know what he was doing and as a last ditch effort told me, "Just wait and it may fix itself."
 
The interesting thing is that I copied the text of the chat session because I was intent upon contacting the Rhapsody customer service to report an unhelpful employee and then to demand that I get some immediate technical help. About a half-hour after the chat session, I tried logging in with the new password and it did work. Then it hit me--I was worshipping something. I read back over the text of the chat and had these observations:

• Listening to Rhapsody while I work (oftentimes Sovereign Grace music!) is a good thing--it's a blessing/gift from God to enjoy.
• Wanting things to go smoothly is not a bad desire either.
• However, I elevated that desire to an idol.
• I acted upon the idolatry of my heart and reacted angrily (euphemizing it initially in my mind as "sarcasm" and "frustration") with him.
• I assumed he was an idiot and had planned on making his job even more miserable by contacting Rhapsody again.

...
 
What a fool! No patience, no gentleness, no self-control, no kindness, and clearly no humility. What a self-righteous Pharisee! Another deep irony was that I had just listened to a sermon the previous morning by R.W. Glenn about hypocrisy and love. Well, maybe it wasn't such a deep irony: God used both sermons to expose the sin of my heart. God providentially arranged that I would listen to those sermons which would prepare my heart and give me new eyes to see the sin more clearly.

---

Make your little one a shining star! Shine on!

Striking Images from NPR of the Bridge

There are some incredible shots on the Minnesote NPR website. Amazing...