Mish-mash

Things that bug me:

When I'm driving down the freeway, going the speedlimit, in the farthest right lane possible without having to hit my brakes for someone going slower than me - and with TWO open lanes to the right of me - and the guy behind me keeps tailgating, then backing off a little, then tailgating again - like he thinks I should be going faster. I just wanna yell "Go around, moron!!" But that wouldn't be polite, now would it :-)

When I'm listening to a radio program and the talk-show host invites folks with opposing opinions to call in and express their views - promising to be fair and hear them out - then, if they're not quick enough with something that will spark a debate, he hangs up on them!! Just as bad is when someone of some intelligence on the other side of the issue calls in and presents a reasonable, well-thought out perspective and the host doesn't even acknowledge that the guy had a point - even if it's a point reached by reasoning we (the host & I) totally disagree with! It especially bugs me when the host is someone who's opinions I agree with and who's reason I normally admire - like Frank Pastori.

The fly that's crawling on the INSIDE of the window screen in my apartment. (I don't have a fly-swatter). ohhh, he just did a fly-by! erghhh


Things that I cherish:

Time in the Word. More than ever these days I look forward to my mornings - I really don't want to face the day without at least a couple of minutes in prayer and reading a Psalm.

Time with friends. God has generously granted me friendships with some of the most amazing people! Mark, Konrad & Carol, Neil, Josh & Bonnie, David & Lela - just to name a few. My cup runneth over!

Rest. Mostly cuz I just don't get enough these days ;-P

My family. I have the greatest mom & dad. My brother is walking with the Lord and raising his two precious sons to do the same - and he married an amazing young lady who teaches her boys to smile :-) My sister means more to me than she understands - my heart yearns for her to know the relationship with Christ that I have. The same can be said of her husband and 4 children and various grandchildren. I pray often for their full and complete surrender to the Lordship of Christ.

Good books. Apart from the Bible, I'm enjoying some really wonderful texts. Just finishing up Today's Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic - might finish it tonight :-)

Beautiful Music. Classical music just speaks to the sould differently than any other. Been listening to Bach lately - really relaxes & calms :-)

New Blogs

I created three new blogs today!! "Why?" you ask? Well! Lemme tell ya!

The first is for work. I've been mentioning this to my boss over the past several months - that we should have a Blog for the Engineering community we serve - where we can post the technical articles that we publish and where we can recieve and respond to engineering questions.

Ric (my boss) is not all that familiar with Blogs, so hasn't really given me the go-ahead on it. Today, I took the initiative. I knew we were headed that way and I really felt that if he could SEE it, he'd like the idea. Plus, I realized there was a possibility that any reasonable name we might choose for the blog's web address might be taken if we didn't act soon. So I put one together.

I was glad I made this decision because I went through quite a variety of reasonable combinations of our company name and the word "engineer" before I came up with one that was good and not taken!! I made sure the site was as unavailable to the general public as possible, tossed in our most recent tech article, and sent my boss a note about what I'd done - including a link to the site.

Immediately after he saw it, he sent it off to our Manager of Engineering Services and our Exec. V.P. with the phrase "I think this is a great idea" and asked for their opinions :-) *happy dance* :-). The VP says it's a go and the MES will look at it tonight. I'm sure he'll agree it's a good communication tool and want to run with it :-)

The second & third blogs are for my brother's sons - Benjamin & Jonathan. Since I don't live close enough to develop a personal strong bond with them, I wanted to record for them how I view their growing up and things I would say/do if I were there and other words of encouragement and instruction as they grow up. Someday they'll be able to read them. . . . Of course, if I keep up with it, they'll have a novel to read before they're in kindergarten! :-)

I thought about putting blogs up for my other nephews and my niece. I may - but they're old enough by now that we can chat on the phone and they can read *this* blog for words of encouragement & instruction. I also thought about doing this for my grand-nephews & nieces - but that side of the family is so estranged that I don't even know all the names - much less ages or anything else about them. I love them because they're family, but their families haven't worked to keep me close to the kids like Benjamin & Jonathan's parents have.

For Fathers

Remember, by a most solemn and sacred profession, you are "a man of God." You have a relation and a dignity to maintain; interests confided to your keeping, an honor entrusted to your hands, to which angels cannot aspire.... The thought [should]never be absent from you - "I am a Christian, a man of God, a follower of Christ, an heir of glory, a royal priest. So let me order my conversation that I do not compromise my dignity as a Christian, or dishonor my Father as His child."
- From "The Man of God: Spiritual Religion Explained and Enforced" (1863) by Octavius Winslow

If you are the head of a family, then you are to conside the several relationships yoiu have; and you should know, that in each one of them God has a special work for you to do, and that He expects your faithful behavior.... Concerning the spiritual state of his family; [a man] ought to be very diligent and cautious, doing his utmost both to increase faith where it is begun, and to begin it where it is not. Therefore, he must diligently and frequently bring before his family the things of God, from His Holy Word, in accordance with what is suitable for each person.
- From a sermon by John Bunyan entitled "Christian Family" (1674)

Bretheren, you are ordained of God to rule your own houses in His true fear, and according to His Word. Within your houses, I say, in some cases, you are bishops and kings; your wife, children, servants, and family are your bishopric and charge. Of you it shall be required how carefully and diligently you have instructed them in God's true knowledge, how you have studied to pant virtue in them, and [to] repress vice. And therefore I say, youi must make them partakers in reading, exhorting, and in making common prayers, which I would in every house were used once a day at least. But above all things, dear brethren, study to practice in life that which the Lord commands, and then be you assured that you shall never hear nor read the same without fruit.
- From "The Daily Exercise of God's Most Holy and Sacred Word" by John Knox

Let no huband nurse the notion that he has no responsibility for the happiness of his home beyond providing food and clothing and other comforts. His strong life should be the secure shelter beneath which his wife and children may safely abide. his haracter should be a continual revaling of the love and truth and holiness of God. He should live so that, seeing him day after day, his family shall learn to know the beauty of Christ. He is the priest of his house, and as such should both speak to God for his family and speak to them for God. Through him blessings should come to his home every day.
- From "Secrets of a Happy Home Life" (1894) by J.R. Miller

Oh

That's why I'm tired . . . it's nearly 11:30pm - guess I'd better get some shut-eye! :-)

The Ugliness of Pride

Ever notice how proud some humble people can be? Ever notice how proud you are of your own humility? Recently this has been an "in your face" issue for me. I'll say or do something that's quite in character with my "servant's heart" and immediately the Holy Spirit shows me the hidden motivation for my actions - always my own self- interest - even if I wasn't consciously aware of it at the time.

Game Night

Tonight, like nearly every Saturday night, I had the priviledge & pleasure of gathering with friends for food & fun. Christian fellowship is so sweet. I thought I'd share this idea in case someone else out there likes the idea and wants to implement the same thing with his/her friends.

For over a year now, a small group of us (4 regulars and around 10 who show up occasionally) have gotten together every Saturday night for potluck and games. Each of us "regulars" trades off hosting the Game Night in our homes.

The "host" provides the main course and everyone else brings the extras - side dishes, drinks, dessert and so forth. The host chooses the game for the evening. We've played LOTR Monopoly, Mexican Train Dominos, Killer UNO (one of our favorites), Apples to Apples, and many more. We also alternate out some weekends as "Out Night" - when we all hit dinner and some activity together - miniature golf, a movie, bowling, a day at the beach, and so forth.

Except for Out Nights, we meet at 5:30 p.m., eat dinner and then break out the game. We try to wrap up by 10 so everyone can get home and get a decent nights sleep before church the next morning. Out Night times are determined according to the activity - usually movies are matinees to save $$ and we hit dinner after. Sometimes, if time permits, we'll head over to ice cream or Starbucks for a game of cards. Everyone is encouraged to bring friends.

Sometimes we get non-believers and it is a great opportunity to "lifestyle witness" as we live out our Christian relationships in front of them. Right now we have one Catholic young lady that comes occasionally. Please pray for Angelic's salvation.

Tonight we had tacos and played two new games I picked up on a whim . First we played Zathura. I loved the movie and the game is right in line with it. It's a bit juvenile, yes, but it was still fun . It was really short - only about a half hour. After one round of that, we broke out Pirates of the Caribbean - DVD Treasure Hunt. Now that was a great game! And I'm not just saying that because I won - which I did .

Truth - follow up

Last year I wrote about something the pastor of my fellowship group said that disturbed me. (click on the title of this post to go to that entry). Since then I've thought about the issue, meditated on it, tried to reason it out or make excuses for what I believe to be very wrong theology.

Last Sunday one of the leaders in our church who was preaching in place of our pastor said the same thing - that God's love for his children can change. He, however clarified it just a little, stating that it was not God's saving love that changes. He didn't go into detail because the statement was only part of a point he was making on another topic.

So I've been thinking about it. I *know* God does not change. I know He will always love me - He loved me while I was still His enemy - before He brought me to faith - so I have no fear of loosing that. On the other hand, love is an emotion - and it, like all other emotions, can wax and wane and can be displayed in number of different ways depending on a variety of factors.

For example, there is one whom I dearly love - at one point, I thought we would be married. He did some things that changed my love for him. I still love him, but in a completely different way now - and now I know we will not ever marry - that romantic love for him no longer exists in my heart. But I still love him - as a brother, as a friend, as a precious child in the Lord.

Another example, I have/had (depending on how you look at it) a dear friend who married a girl I absolutely adore. We used to be very close, but there was an issue that came up between us. I did everything I could to set things straight, but they no longer choose to be in my company. I still love them both - dearly - but my love has changed from one which aggressively pursues keeping the relationship vital and growing, to one which accepts the barrier and waits and prays for the Lord to work toward the changes required for restoration.

So, I guess, to some extent, it's possible for God's love for me to change. I sent an email to my pastor today to ask for some teaching on this matter. I'll let you know what he says :-)

Words in Worship

Music has always been important to me. I've heard it said, and can attest that, for me at least, it is "the language of the soul." I believe it's important - nay, essential - to think through the words of the songs we sing or listen to - because they are speaking to our inner being - to the deepest parts of us. And so I want to share with you a song that speaks to my soul - I urge you to think through each word carefully and to plumb the depths of the truths contained therein:

And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me - who caused His pain - For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father's throne above. So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free. For O, my God, it found out me!
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray - I woke, the dungeon flamed with light!
My chains fell off! My heart was free!
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

No condemnation now I dread; Jesus and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own.
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

(by Charles Wesley)

If you're not in awe of the Savior's work on our behalf - go back, read it again slowly and think about each phrase till you are struck by the weight of it.

Prayer

Something I've always struggled with, especially as a strong believer in the total sovereignty of God, is the purpose and power of prayer. I know the Scripture teaches it's required and that it has power, but I couldn't really see how that worked out logically, so it's been a struggle.

Today I finished a sermon series titled "Four Corners." The series looked at 4 essential aspects of a successful Christian life: Witnessing, Bible Study, Fellowship, Prayer. Each is more than worthy of a Blog entry, and I hope to do that soon, but tonight I want to focus on Prayer as that was most impactful.

Pastor Nelson took an unusual passage of Scripture to unlock the purpose and power of prayer - Genesis 18:17-33. Maybe it's looking at this subject from a fresh passage and perspective that really opened my eyes this time. I can't really re-type his whole message here - though I wish I could, it was so very very good! But I will give you the four points he brought out and how they impacted me.

1. Prayer does not bend the will of God, it is generated by the will of God. God knew from the beginning that He was going to Sodom & Gomorrah not only to judge the evil there, but also to rescue Lot and his family from the midst of it.

(Rabbit trail: It occurs to me as I'm writing this, that really, Lot was the only one of his family with any obvious sense of righteousness. Those that were saved with him were simply benefitting from God's mercy toward Lot. Much like the U.S. is blessed not because of its overwhelming godliness - duhh - but because God blesses and protects His children - the unbelieving are recipients of the overflow of God's grace and mercy poured out on the believing. . . .)

Anyway - the point is, God's will was not moved to save Lot by Abraham's prayer - rather, Abraham was moved to prayer by God's will to save Lot. It's interesting that Lot is the primary concern in this intercessory dialogue, but his name isn't mentioned once (more on that later).

2. Prayer should be persistent. Reference also the parable (can't recall the reference right now) of the neighbor pounding on the door till he gets what he's asking for. I like the way Tommy said it, God "delights" in persistent prayer. We should be like a dog with a bone - don't stop gnawing on it till it's done. Tommy said a true person of prayer is one who comes consistently and persistently before the Lord with a matter and doesn't let go of it till it is answered.

He also likened the person who prays occassionally or sporadically with someone who considers God as a genie - someone you come to only when you want something. That one left a few bruises on my heart for sure!

3. I'm not exactly sure what the title for this point was, but here's the gist: A person who knows the God of the Bible, knows how to pray. They may not always know *what* to pray, but the how will come naturally. Worship/Praise/Supplication will come from a heart that understands the character of God and will align itself to that reality.

The sequence goes like this: God determines something - God moves in the heart of His child to bring that Believer to prayer in this matter - the Believer prays with an intelligent understanding of God's character - God moves to accomplish His will - God is glorified by the participation of His child in accomplishing what He had determined to do.

This is really the point that got me. Did you catch that last line? "God is glorified by the participation of His child . . . ." When we do not pray, we rob God of glory due to Him! Herein lies the motivation for prayer - that we may humbly accept God's invitation to participate in the execution of His will in this world so that He might be more greatly glorified.

Throughout Scripture we are taught that we participate in God's dealings: "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it..." God elected, God called, God completes the sanctification process. We participate by answering that call and then through study of the Scriptures and application of its truths to our lives.

What an amazing God we serve! He is completely and totally sovereign, yet He chooses to allow us, the foolish and oft unfaithful, to work alongside Him in the accomplishment of His will!! Herein is the greater glory for Him - that He should condescend in such a way and that He would delight in doing so!

4. The last point was ever so comforting. Prayer is not dependent on the words of our mouth. Earlier I noted that Lot's name is not mentioned throughout this intercessory dialogue. The prayer of Abraham's heart - something too precious for him to speak outloud, is that Lot should be spared. God knew this going in to the conversation. Tommy referenced the passage (again I'm blank on the reference - sorry about that) where we are told the "Spirit intercedes for us with groanings".

The old saying "Be careful what you pray for - you just might get it" has, I believe, seeped into the common Christian concept of prayer. We feel we must watch our words ever so carefully - don't just pray that they'll be saved, pray that they'll be saved from their sin or God might just save them from bankruptcy or something instead! Sounds riddiculous, I know - and that example is a bit extreme - but I've heard this basic sentiment hundreds of times from Christians.

When we pray - as when Abraham prayed - God listens to our HEART. The Spirit brings before God the things we are not even sure how to express - and God hears those prayers - counts them as precious - and answers according to His sovereign will.

God is a good and kind and gracious and gentle and loving God. We are fortunate to serve such a Master :-)

Generational Blessings

I have a cousin, about my age, who has a couple of boys, Andrew & Daniel, (not sure how old, but out of high school, I believe) who are ministering with their grandma & grandpa in Tokyo this month! Andrew is keeping a running journal of their time there - complete with pictures. I encourage you to read - it's really wonderful to see young men serving the Lord from youth!! My cousin raised these kids right! ;-)

Here's the link: http://anamericanintokyo.blogspot.com/

My theological score :-)

You scored as Reformed Evangelical. You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die. Reformed Evangelical 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Fundamentalist 57% Neo orthodox 57% Emergent/Postmodern 46% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Classical Liberal 29% Modern Liberal 7% Roman Catholic 4% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com