Head of my father's house

A little dose of funny

2011-08-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, "My Mommy looked back once while she was driving," he announced triumphantly, "and she turned into a telephone pole!"

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms?"

A Sunday school teacher said to her children, "We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times.. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?" One child blurted out, "Aces!"

Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved." "Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his Mother asked. "Well, no, Mom… But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.
On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

During the minister's prayer one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, "Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?" Tommy answered soberly, "I asked God to teach me to whistle, and He did!"

When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "And all girls." This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?" Her response, "Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"

Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. "Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer." said his mother. "I don't need to," the boy replied. "Of course, you do." his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house." "That's at our house.." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!"

“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” Mark 10:14-15

While we're on the subject of holy...

2011-08-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Pastor Dustin, for that thought provoking and convicting message on holiness yesterday. What am I talking about, you might ask? Well, get thyself to Avalon Church next week and you won't miss out.

In the aftermath of the message and the challenge issued yesterday I want to reiterate the definition of holy (or hágios in the original ~~Klingon~~ Greek):

specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: as in holy ground
entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred
having a spiritually pure quality
dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion

Given that, I think my first order of business in applying holiness to my life is to stop using the word "holy" to refer to anything or anyone but God. I mean, really, what's so special about Toledo that it needs to be referred to as holy? Or guacamole? Really? How about crap? Do you actually mean to take God's primary attribute, the only one that is repeated when listed (Is. 6:3, Rev. 4:8) and associate it with a pile of dung? As Paul might say, "May it never be!" Although, I suppose if you're one of the people mentioned in Ezekiel 22:26:

Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Then you might be doing it on purpose, but if you're not, consider stopping. There are a couple other words I've been working on using only for God as well:

Awesome. Meaning, showing or characterized by awe. And who or what else is? A pizza? A car? Compared to the Creator of the universe, it seems to me that everything else sort of falls off into insignificance.
Glorious. Oddly enough I picked up the habit of using this word after watching the movie Demolition Man. But I've come to realize lately that it just doesn't apply like I've been using it. After all, can anything you can survive looking at (Ex. 33:20) really be called glorious?

So that's part 1 of my personal holiness challenge: a vocabulary update. After all, "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Mt. 12:37)

What words do you reserve for God?

The bad kind of anniversary

2011-05-02T12:22:00.001-04:00

Today marks one year since my father-in-law died (chronicled here) and we're still waiting for that "time heals all wounds" thing to kick in. Obviously, life has gone on and the world has continued to turn in his absence, but it's still a little less full and happy than it used to be. A few examples:

Christmas ornaments. Mike was well known for hand carving several dozen ornaments every year, and being on the list signified that you had "made it" with him. This project started early in the year, and last year he had only finished carving about sixteen of them. Heather (with a little help from me) finished them off to make them presentation worthy, but having to narrow the list down by 80% was not, in any sense of the word, fun.

A card shortage. Mike sent cards for nearly every holiday somebody made cards for: St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, sometimes even Mother's Day (we did raise several cats, after all). Seeing nothing but bills in the mailbox as these days approached has been an unpleasant reminder of our loss.

No touristy long weekends. "Dad's coming to visit!" used to be Heather's favorite phrase, and she would do her little happy dance as one of his trips came closer. He would always let us drag him all over greater Orlando, let's go here, now let's go here, when all he really wanted to do was spend time with his girl. And as much as it annoyed me at the time when the two of them would make a scene arguing over who was going to pay for everything, I find that I miss having to find new stealthy ways to pick up a check or physically blocking him from handing over his credit card at the ticket office.

I was reminded of a passage I read to Heather a year ago today, while we were trying to keep Mike comfortable at the end:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thes. 4:13-17)

But the real point of that brief theology lesson is found in verse 18:

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

So that's what I'm doing. We'll meet again, Pop.

Channeling John Stossel

2010-11-18T21:06:00.000-05:00

Rev. To NJ Church Leaders: Thou Shalt Not Facebook

Give me a break.

“I’ve been in extended counseling with couples with marital problems because of Facebook for the last year and a half,” the Rev. Cedric Miller said. BECAUSE of Facebook? As in "Facebook made me have an affair." There are roughly 17,000,000,000 sites on the internet offering free porn and instant local hookups, but this is the one that caused your marriage to end.

I wonder if these people are aware they aren't being forced to become friends with their exes. Or that they can hide, or block, anyone they should not be in contact with. Blaming a social networking site for the breakup of a marriage is sort of like blaming the car dealer for a traffic accident. If they wouldn't make this stuff available things like this wouldn't happen.

It's a total copout, and it's really pathetic. There are obviously underlying issues in these marriages that are simply manifesting themselves through this avenue.

On Sunday, [Miller] plans to "strongly suggest" that all married people stop using Facebook, lest they endanger their marriage.

I have a better idea. Learn to use Facebook properly, and explore, maybe through counseling, but definitely through prayer, if there are any problems lying under the surface before you end up in someone else's arms. Don't pass the blame off to some website when it's your own failure to remain dead to sin (Rom. 6:6-7, 12) that's the real cause of the issue.

This life group stuff is kind of hard

2010-11-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

So in all the initial excitement over being invited to start a life group at church (documented here) I seem to have missed the part where there is actual work involved. I mean, really, get a leader's guide, throw a PowerPoint together, and poof - instant successful group. I thought Heather was going to have the hard part cleaning the house and making snacks. Looks like I forgot rule number one - I'm an idiot.

This started to come home for me as I was preparing for the first meeting in my curriculum. I was merrily going through the leader portion, pulling out bullet points, and came across this gem in the instructions (I'm paraphrasing a bit):

Here you will want to do a survey of each book in the Bible, including the major themes and characters, and show maps and timelines of where and when events occurred.

No...wait...YOU were supposed to give me that! That's why I bought the leader's book! The meeting is tomorrow, this will take weeks to prepare. All is lost! Panic! Danger, Will Robinson! Fortunately, the guide also said how much time I spent on this was up to me, so I ended up choosing zero. There's more than enough other material in explaining how we got the Bible and why we believe it to fill an hour, anyway. So, crisis averted.

Figuring that I was so much smarter now, I was going to start the prep work for the next meeting during the off week. That way I wouldn't be caught off guard when the guide told me to write a fifty page thesis to hand out to the group members. Topic two: how to study the Bible.

Are you kidding me? Does Grace to You understand that these meetings are only an hour long? This could take all year. In fact, I'm sure there are college and seminary classes that do take all year to cover this.

Three and a half hours later I had compressed this into twenty-four slides and two pages of presentation notes with questions for the group. And I realized at the end that step one of "How to study the Bible" also should have been step one in "How to facilitate life group" - prepare by praying and asking for help with what you're about to do. Yeah, whoopsie. See rule number one back in the first paragraph.

Then there's the attendance thing. Pastor Jim warned me that life groups are full of people, and people will inevitably disappoint you, as has been evidenced by the several fits and starts with people expressing interest, then suddenly finding schedule conflicts preventing them from coming. Seems that if someone can get twenty people to show up for a candle party at their house, I should be able to get more than two people to consistently attend this. I'm sure that Heather is getting tired of me threatening to shut the group down if we don't get more people. I need to keep reminding myself that the size of the group isn't up to me, it's as big as God wants it to be right now. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though. I should probably say at this point that Daryl and Kelly, I'm grateful for your commitment to the group, and I don't really mean all that about shutting down.

So is there a positive side to this? As a certain divisive political figure might say, you betcha. After all those hours of meeting prep, I know more about how to study the Bible than I ever did. I have two new friends who are teaching me what life in grad school is like. And I have one of my longer blog entries to show for it too.

Next group topic? God: His character and attributes. I think I could spend the rest of my life on this and not run out of material. How am I going to fit that into an hour?

The meeting is in five days. If you'll excuse me, I need to go work on my slides.

Pastor Appreciation Month, late late edition: Skip Fengfish

2010-11-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

I know I'm late. I also don't care.

Skip is the choir director and also runs the homeless ministry at Avalon Church. He also facilitates the Friday morning men's study, Man Alive! and an additional home group/life group. So he's a pretty busy guy.

The primary purpose of Skip's life is to bring Christ to people, and bring people to Christ. This is evident in everything, and I do mean everything, he does. Let's run the checklist from Galatians 5:22-23 and I'll show you, just from my limited experience with him.

Love: this one's pretty obvious. Would anyone voluntarily spend their days in homeless camps ministering to people without love?
Joy: spend a couple of weeks at Man Alive and this one become pretty plain too. Just about every other verse that we cover, Skip will practically burst with joy and amazement at what God has done for us.
Peace: this one might be a little more elusive, especially after the near death of his daughter earlier this year, but it's still there. Ask him how he's doing and the answer will be along the lines of "the knuckles are white but the grip is strong."
Patience: again, spend some time at Man Alive. The reason it takes us six weeks to cover two verses is Skip stays with us until we get it.
Kindness: got this one too. No matter what manner of stupidity you may have engaged in Skip is never judgmental, and never plays the "what were you thinking?" card. It's more along the lines of "OK, let's fix this."
Goodness: every week Skip gets up before 5:00 and makes sure the coffee is brewed and breakfast is out for the Man Alive group. Goodness from him, goodness for us.
Faithfulness: Skip has been married for thirty-three years. I think we can put this one to rest.
Gentleness: Skip can be a little bit intimidating due to his size, and having served in combat we know he's at least capable of being less than gentle. But other than the occasional too-firm handshake that might leave you wondering how you're going to get through the day one-handed, there isn't even a hint of malice in him.
Self-control: see patience. The fact that he isn't throwing things at us on Friday morning and screaming "Don't you get it? It's right there in front of you!" speaks volumes.

So there you go. 9 for 9, which is a better average than I can put up. Take Philippians 4:9, replace "me" with "Skip" and you'll be on the right track.

Pastor Appreciation Month, part 3: Dustin Janney

2010-10-14T13:36:00.000-04:00

Dustin Janney is the "Worship and Youth Pastor" at Avalon Church. This means he is in charge of all the music at church and is also responsible for the middle and high school ministry at the church. I heard a rumor a while back that Dustin had been asked to pick just one of these jobs to do, as he was so overworked trying to do both. Apparently whoever asked him that is still waiting for a decision.

Dustin is one of the most unassuming, charming, "aw shucks ma'am" southern gentlemen you could imagine - until he picks up his guitar and starts to sing. Then it's all passion and power. You'd never think that someone as soft-spoken as him could belt like he does until he goes and does it. I've often said that Dustin and Ross Fengfish (our extremely talented piano player) could sell a million albums if they wanted - but then they'd have to go on tour and I wouldn't get to hear them every week. So never mind.

I may not like or agree with all the choices that Dustin makes with the music at church (that's because I'm an old stick in the mud when it comes to contemporary Christian music) but there is no doubt that he believes every word he sings with all his heart. He is a fantastic embodiment of Psalm 57:7-11.

So no matter what the kids in 220 might say about you, Dustin, you're not a dork. You're a valued and appreciated member of my church family.

Also, his wife is hot. I know I'm in trouble for that, and she just might die from embarrassment, but I dare anyone to disagree with me.

Pastor Appreciation Month, part 2: Jim Groves

2010-10-07T14:55:00.001-04:00

Pastor Jim is the Executive Pastor at Avalon Church. This means he handles most of the day-to-day administrative duties, staff management, and a bunch of other not so fun stuff that no one else wants to do. He's also the first one off the bench if Pastor Dale can't preach on Sunday for any reason. When he does take over the Sunday service he likes to do things a little differently, to give you a new perspective on things. Or, as he puts it, "I'm going to hit you in the head with a 2x4." So in that spirit, I'm going to let you look over my shoulder as I write a letter to him.

Dear Pastor Jim,

First of all, I want to thank you for all of your behind the scenes work at church. I know that things would not go as smoothly as they do without the hours of preparation you put in each week. I would also like to thank you for not clipping me with the hand truck before we moved into the church building.

The training and guidance you have provided in getting the life groups started has been invaluable. If it hadn't been for your help I would probably still be "wandering in the wilderness" wondering how in the world I'm going to get this thing off the ground. And now it's poised to become a great outreach of the church, as five of the seven people who are interested do not even attend Avalon. We're going to change lives with this, and I can already see a change in mine just from preparing to facilitate the group.

You have a unique gift in your speaking style, in that it never really feels like a sermon when you speak, but I always leave thinking how powerful and personal it was. I'll never forget the message you gave pretending to be Peter, demonstrating the process of Christian maturation. If a hotheaded blowhard like Peter can reach the point that he writes "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:5) then there really is hope for the rest of us.

As an interesting side note, did you know that when I first started attending Avalon, you approached me four weeks in a row to ask if it was my first time at church? Apparently I blend in pretty well.

One final thought, I wanted to point out that the most powerful part of your testimony (to me, anyway) is that when you talk about what you used to be like, when you were hurtful and a not-so-good husband, I have to take your word for it, because I can't for the life of me imagine that you were ever like that. Again, showing there's hope for the rest of us.

So thank you, for everything you've done and continue to do. I thank the Lord that He allowed me to find Avalon and to come to know you.

Sincerely,

Matt

While I've still got your attention I wanted to tell you that Pastor Jim is one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet - if you "get him." If you don't he'll just leave you confused and wondering how in the world this guy got to be in charge of anything. Which, in the end, just makes it even funnier to the rest of us.

Pastor Appreciation Month, part 1: Dale Brooks

2010-10-05T19:00:00.001-04:00

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. You didn't know that? Maybe you would if you went to church. Why don't you come with me next week and see the man I'm talking about here.

Dale Brooks is the Senior Pastor at Avalon Church. I've been attending Avalon for a little over two years and I can honestly say that I love him, and he loves me right back. He exudes the joy of the Lord and you can't spend a minute with him without smiling. Just prepare to be hugged if you happen to wander within reach of him.

When I started attending Avalon, I used to take my notes from the service and compare them with my "old school" upbringing, my KJV Bible, commentaries, and whatever other theological resources I could find looking for ways he was liberalizing or diluting the message. Basically, I was looking for a reason to stop going. And in all that time I never found one. Pastor Dale loves the truth of Scripture, and that's what he preaches. It's been very exciting to see the church grow both in number and in spirit under his leadership.

Even in the face of great personal tragedy I never saw Pastor Dale's faith dim or even flicker. He truly is one of the rocks upon which the church (in both senses) is built. Avalon has grown to the point that total weekly attendance is now around 800 people, and I swear he knows every person's name, and their children as well. It is simply inspiring to watch him in action.

I went to see Pastor Dale for counseling almost two years ago, when I was experiencing an overpowering sense of insignificance, as I was approaching age 40 and didn't feel my life had amounted to very much. He gave me one of the greatest lessons I've ever learned that night. "Don't attach too much significance to significance," he told me. Just love God, study His Word, pray, and look for opportunities to serve. Significance will come on its own. And look at me now - less than a week from launching my life group, and I got you to read all the way to the bottom of this entry. So, how's that for significant?

Thank you, Pastor Dale, for being like a big neon arrow pointing to Jesus. I appreciate you greatly.

Answered Prayers +2

2010-09-30T20:01:00.004-04:00

Last week at the man alive group Pastor Skip covered the first part of Philippians 4, which contains this gem in verses 6-7:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Then on Sunday a friend of mine, who is attending graduate school to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy, mentions that he has a big pharmacotherapy exam coming up and he's convinced he's going to fail. Well, look what I just covered two days ago. What a coincidence...or not. I shared these verses with him, and started praying. Not that he would pass the exam, but I prayed for calmness and recall, and asked God that when my friend knew the answers that God would show it to him and reward the work he put in learning the material. Every time I thought of him, every time I saw a facebook update from him, I sent that prayer up fresh.

On Wednesday I see an update that he scored 93 on the exam. Yup, the one he was convinced he would fail. And for once I had the right reaction as the first thought I had was to thank God for helping him.

Then today I went to my doctor to get a prescription. After the nurse took my vitals and sat me down in the exam room, she told me the doctor was going to order blood work before giving me the prescription. I don't like blood work, mostly because I don't like getting up early to trudge off to the lab before work, and because the results always come back normal. So as I was waiting I simply asked that we could do this without having to get lab work done. And as soon as I said that I heard the little voice in my head say "OK." The doctor comes in, we have a five minute conversation, and he writes the prescription for me. Afterward the nurse said "No blood work? Wow, aren't you lucky?" Actually, no, there was no luck involved in that. As an added bonus, they gave me a coupon to cover my copay. Heh...Ephesians 3:20-21.

So that's two, just this week. I think I'm on a bit of a roll...dear God, the Powerball is $48 million this week...

The Next Step in the Journey - My Very Own Life Group!

2010-09-09T18:10:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I received a card from my church inviting me to a "special event" at the pastor's house where he would share his vision for the future. When I discovered it was invitation only and not an open house I had to resist a small swell of pride - Pastor Dale likes me! He likes me better than some other people! You know, juvenile crap like that.

Turns out it was less of a sharing session and a little closer to an ambush. Pastor Dale, Pastor Jim, and Pastor Dustin explained that the church was going to put a major focus on creating new small groups (and changing the name to life groups) for midweek meetings, and that everyone there had been invited because they would like each of us to create and lead, or at least host, one of these groups.

Being publicity shy and having the mild phobia of public speaking that comes with being an introvert/geek, I surprised even myself by immediately turning to Heather and saying we need to do this. My only explanation is the leading of the Holy Spirit. I had been thinking that I needed to find a place to give of my time to the church, not just of my money, and now this opportunity is just dropped in my lap. As if I needed more convincing that there are no coincidences.

So now here we are, about to do a recruiting open house at church and a month away from our first meeting. We're going to go through Grace to You's Fundamentals of the Faith series for starters, because 1) I love John MacArthur, and 2) they left me in charge of picking the curriculum.

You don't have to go to my church to come to the group, or go to church at all. A simple desire to want to know God better is all you need. I even started a fancy facebook fan page to keep everyone updated. Feel free to like the page, or contact me by any of the usual means if you want more details.

It's time to earn that "choice and mighty" name I gave myself here.

John 6, part II

2010-09-03T19:40:00.001-04:00

Part I available here.

So, what took so long to get this part up? Well, one answer is I'm a little lazy, another answer can be found in verse 60, which we'll get to shortly.

Picking up where we left off, Jesus was just beginning what has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse. Verse 36 indicates that the crowd still just isn't getting it.

But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.

How is this even possible? How could anyone have been in the physical presence of Jesus, seen His miracles, and not believed? He expands further on His mission in verses 38 and 39:

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

This brings us to the difficult part of the chapter, where one of the longest-lasting controversies of Christianity still rages. Call it election, predestination, or just the dreaded U in Calvinism's TULIP. There are thousands of pages for and against, Augustinian vs. prescient view, enough to make your head spin if you let it. If you're at all familiar with the debate you've most likely already chosen a side. But verse 44 seems to come down in Calvin's favor: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him" - note that it's can, not may or will or shall. It's a matter of ability, not permission. If God didn't choose you out of death and into life before time began (cf. Eph. 1:4) you will be unable to draw yourself out. Salvation truly is of the Lord.

A very touchy subject and I haven't even scratched the surface of the centuries-old debate. Or, you'll notice, explained any opposing viewpoints. My blog, my rules.

Jesus continues with the bread of life theme through verse 59, and people continued to take Him literally when He said in verse 51 "The bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." So He has to explain again. And again. The thickheadedness and willful ignorance of these people continues to astonish me. But they did capture the sentiment perfectly in verse 60, and I think the NKJV translation totally nails it: "This is a hard saying, who can understand it?" I hope you now understand a little of the difficulty I'm having with this post.

And indeed, by verse 66 the difficulty was sinking in with a lot of people:

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

To the point it may have been down to just the twelve that Jesus chose as His inside group. And Peter, who always fluctuates between knucklehead and genius, thankfully brought his A game in verses 67-69:

So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

Wow. No need to ask if that's his final answer, is there?

The death of my other Dad

2010-05-08T15:29:00.001-04:00

Uncontrollable love. How fitting.

Last Sunday evening, the town of Monson lost an icon, and my wife and I lost a Dad. Michael Kane went to his eternal reward on May 2 after a heroic battle with cancer. I am grateful that Heather and I were able to be there with the rest of the family when it happened, but that certainly didn't make it any easier.

Mike was a lifelong educator who worked at Monson Jr.-Sr. High School for thirty-seven years, proceeding from teacher all the way to principal. After his "retirement" he made a second career at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, and volunteered for pretty much every education cause you could think of, and a bunch more that you can't. He was also one of the finest woodcarvers I've ever seen. The birds, Celtic spoons, and assorted other figures he made for us over the years are among our most cherished possessions, and displayed a little more prominently now.

But I think the most important thing I can say about him was that he was more like Jesus than pretty much anyone else I've known. Giving and kindness were his default settings, so to speak, and whenever someone needed something, anything, his first answer was always yes. Even as his health declined and he had every right to start making demands of people, he continued to ensure that everyone else was taken care of first. I knew Mike for fourteen years (which still makes me the "new guy" in that circle) and while I heard stories of his flashes of temper, which usually occurred when someone refused to carry their weight or was acting strictly for their own advantage, I never actually saw him become angry. How many people have you known for fourteen years that you can honestly say that?

More evidence of what Mike was like came during the visitation time at the funeral home on Wednesday night. That was probably the most emotionally draining experience I've had, to say nothing of the physical challenge of standing and shaking hands for four hours. If that's anything like a political rally I am never running for office. Visitation started at 4:00; at 6:50 I noticed the line was no longer all the way out the door; at 8:15 we were finally able to stop, breathe, and attempt to sit down. To say there was an outpouring of affection doesn't do that evening justice -- this was more of a river, though I think deluge or burst dam would also apply equally. Some of the things I heard that night:

"I was in the class of 1968, Mike was my science teacher. I'll never forget how enthusiastic he was about learning."
"I was in the class of 2001, Mr. Kane was my principal. I'll never forget that he was always fair with us."
"Mike was the only person who welcomed me when I moved to Monson thirty years ago. I'll never forget the kindness he showed me then."
"Mike took our son, who was dying of cancer, to lunch every week. Mike was the only person who wasn't afraid of the machinery he had to travel with. We'll never forget how sweet he was."
"Mike wrote an amazing letter of recommendation for my daughter. I'll never forget how much he did for her."
"Mike was the most important mentor I had in life, and the reason I became a teacher."
(From a former state legislator) "Mike and I worked on several education bills together, his dedication to students was amazing."
"Mike was instrumental in promoting my anti-bullying book and program to the schools. I'll never forget how much he helped me."

I started to notice a pattern, maybe you saw it too. "I'll never forget." Not just empty words or expressions of sympathy, but a promise to all of us that Mike would continue to live in thousands of hearts, minds, and changed lives. Well, I'll never forget either.

I hope I made you wish you could have known my second Dad. I wish you could have known him too -- then you would never forget.

Bye Pop. We'll see you soon.

P. S. There are a couple of newspaper columns about Mike available here and here, there is an obituary with a guestbook here, and the legacy.com guestbook is available here.

My first fast

2010-04-08T16:14:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine loaned me a copy of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster with no explanation other than "I felt led to give this to you." Not that I needed another example, but I immediately began preparing myself for a "there are no coincidences" moment. The book goes through twelve spiritual disciplines and explains how practicing them (without turning them into legalism) can bring you closer to God.

The chapter on fasting had a particular impact on me. I knew that fasting had been done in the past, and I know that it is still practiced today (even by people in my own church), but I had always associated it with some kind of physical or spiritual crisis, sort of like a hail Mary pass to God. Mr. Foster makes the case that this is not true, that fasting can be used regularly to increase your passion for and closeness to God.

John Piper, in the preface to A Hunger for God, says "The weakness of our hunger for God is not because He is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with 'other things.' Perhaps, then, the denial of our stomach's appetite for food might express, or even increase, our soul's appetite for God." Increasing my soul's appetite for God is always a desirable result for me, so I've decided to try what Foster described as a basic fast, going twenty-four hours without food, from lunch one day to lunch the next. The advantage of starting on this timeline is that only two meals are skipped, making it easier for beginners like me not to yield to temptation. And since I have this here bloggy thing, I've decided to take you all along with me. So here we go...

12:15 PM:	Finish a healthy lunch of fruit, yogurt, and cheese. I decide to chase it with some BBQ potato chips and Doritos so I'll have happy memories to fall back on if this turns out to be harder than I think.
2:30 PM:	I feel hungry. I can't actually BE hungry at this point, I think part of me is starting to freak out at the thought of going until noon tomorrow without solid food.
4:30 PM:	Getting the first rumblings of actual hunger now. Unfortunately there's no way for my brain to explain to my stomach the higher purpose of what I'm doing. I think I Corinthians 6:12 is going to be handy for the rest of the night: "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."
5:40 PM:	Arrive home to find the house stocked with enough food and leftover Easter candy to become a humanitarian aid station if needed. The initial wave of hunger is subsiding so I'm not sorely tempted to give in. There's also a spark of clarity forming in the back of my mind. We (I mean personally and the culture as a whole) have way too much...stuff. Not a particularly new or groundbreaking insight, but I'm seeing it for the first time on a very personal level.
7:00 PM:	After a furious internal debate on whether to contribute at the prayer breakfast I attend on Friday mornings, when I won't be partaking in the breakfast, I decide the money is really for the teaching and not the food. So Pastor Skip will be getting his $2 after all. I feel like I'm starting to be guided toward what God wants to reveal to me. II Corinthians 12:9 keeps springing into my head: "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
5:00 AM:	I expected to wake up ravenous and ready to eat everything I could get my hands on but the desire isn't there. I also notice a subtle shift in my mindset, as I don't feel the need to check facebook before continuing with my day.
6:15 AM:	Arrive at Man Alive. Does coffee count? Please Lord, tell me that coffee doesn't count as breaking the fast early. God's answer is that He would let black coffee slide but if I add milk or sugar then it's over. I'm certain He said this just because I'm not yet desperate enough to drink black coffee. I also need to keep myself from judgmental thoughts as I watch all the other men pile bagels and scrambled eggs onto their plates. It does, however, lead me to wonder what kind of sick, food and drug addicted society have we become? And what in the world can I do about it?
8:15 AM:	The hunger pangs are back, but I now know that I have the strength through Christ to see this to the end. It's working! Thank you Jesus, it's working!
12:00 PM:	Acts 10:13

So what did I learn?

I was concerned about getting on an emotional roller coaster as this went on, and a little worried that this would reveal a spirit of anger deep within me. I find the fact that I was able to remain calm during this whole thing encouraging.
Self-denial can actually be a liberating experience. As I looked at my pantry full of food and realized that I was free to walk away without having any, it put a little spring in my step.
My perspective changes in such a short period were amazing. I'm now seeing food, and even possessions in general, in a whole new light.

And, would I do it again? Yes, but I wouldn't make it a regularly scheduled thing and run the risk of making the fast my focus or falling into spiritual pride. I think spontaneous is the way to go.

Thursday, roughly 2,000 years ago

2010-04-01T11:10:00.000-04:00

h/t Marco Fiorentino. Thanks for sharing.

“He Chose You” – by Max Lucado
From The Final Week of Jesus, pp 91-94

“It’s nearly midnight when they leave the upper room and descend through the streets of the city. They pass the Lower Pool and exit the Fountain Gate and walk out of Jerusalem . The roads are lined with the fires and tents of Passover pilgrims. Most are asleep, heavied with the evening meal. Those still awake think little of the band of men walking the chalky road.

They pass through the valley and ascend the path which will take them to Gethsemane. The road is steep so they stop to rest. Somewhere within the city walls the twelfth apostle darts down a street. His feet have been washed by the man he will betray. His heart has been claimed by the Evil One he has heard. He runs to find Caiaphas.

The final encounter of the battle has begun.

As Jesus looks at the city of Jerusalem , he sees what the disciples can’t. It is here, on the outskirts of Jerusalem , that the battle will end. He sees the staging of Satan. He sees the dashing of the demons. He sees the Evil One preparing for the final encounter. The enemy lurks as a spectre over the hour. Satan, the host of hatred, has seized the heart of Judas and whispered in the ear of Caiaphas. Satan, the master of death, has opened the caverns and prepared to receive the source of light.

Hell is breaking loose.

History records it as a battle of the Jews against Jesus. It wasn’t. It was a battle of God against Satan.

And Jesus knew it. He knew that before the war was over, he would be taken captive. He knew that before victory would come defeat. He knew that before the throne would come the cup. He knew that before the light of Sunday would come the blackness of Friday.

And he is afraid.

He turns and begins the final ascent to the garden. When he reaches the entry he stops and turns his eyes toward his circle of friends. It will be the last time he sees them before they abandon him. He knows what they will do when the soldiers come. He knows their betrayal is only minutes away.

But he doesn’t accuse. He doesn’t lecture. Instead, he prays. His last moments with his disciples are in prayer. And the words he speaks are as eternal as the stars which hear them.

Imagine, for a moment, yourself in this situation. Your final hour with a son about to be sent overseas. Your last moments with your dying spouse. One last visit with your parent. What do you say? What do you do? What words do you choose?

It’s worth noting that Jesus chose prayer. He chose to pray for us. ‘I pray for these men. But I am also praying for all people who will believe in me because of the teaching of these men. Father, I pray that all people who believe in me can be one…I pray that these people can also be one in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.’ (John 17:20-21)

You need to note that in this final prayer, Jesus prayed for you. You need to underline in red and highlight in yellow his love: ‘I am also praying for all people who will believe in me because of the teaching.’ That is you. As Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in his prayers. As Jesus looked into heaven, you were in his vision. As Jesus dreamed of the day when we will be where he is, he saw you there.

His final prayer was about you. His final pain was for you. His final passion was you.

He then turns, steps into the garden, and invites Peter, James, and John to come. He tells them his soul is ‘overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ and begins to pray.

Never has he felt so alone. What must be done, only he can do. An angel can’t do it. No angel has the power to break open hell’s gates. A man can’t do it. No man has the purity to destroy sin’s claim. No force on earth can face the force of evil and win – except God.

‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,’ Jesus confesses.

His humanity begged to be delivered from what his divinity could see. Jesus, the carpenter implores. Jesus, the man, peers into the dark pit and begs, ‘Can’t there be another way?’

Did he know the answer before he asked the question? Did his human heart hope his heavenly father has found another way? We don’t know. But we do know he asked to get out. We do know he begged for an exit. We do know there was a time when if he could have, he would have turned his back on the whole mess and gone away.

But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t because he saw you. Right there in the middle of a world which isn’t fair. He saw you cast into a river of life you didn’t request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body which gets sick and a heart which grows weak.

He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends. He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of your own grave.

He saw you in your Garden of Gethsemane – and he didn’t want you to be alone.

He wanted you to know that he has been there, too. He knows what it’s like to be plotted against. He knows what it’s like to be confused. He knows what it’s like to be torn between two desires. He knows what it’s like to smell the stench of Satan. And, perhaps most of all, he knows what it’s like to beg God to change his mind and to hear God say so gently, but firmly, ‘No.’

For that is what God says to Jesus. And Jesus accepts the answer. At some moment during that midnight hour an angel of mercy comes over the weary body of the man in the garden. As he stands, the anguish is gone from his eyes. His fist will clench no more. His heart will fight no more.

The battle is won. You may have thought it was won on Golgotha . It wasn’t. You may have thought the sign of victory is the empty tomb. It isn’t. The final battle was won in Gethsemane . And the sign of conquest is Jesus at peace in the olive trees.

For it was in the garden that he made the decision. He would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.

Hey y'all, watch this!

2010-03-04T10:24:00.001-05:00

Still working on the remainder of John 6. In the meantime, enjoy this.

John 6, part I

2010-02-11T16:40:00.001-05:00

So when I hear John MacArthur, John Piper, and Pastor Jim at my church all talk about John 6 in the same week, I know it's time for me to take a closer look at it.

I think that most people don't get past verse 21, talking about the two miracles early on and glossing over the rest. Well, forgive me as I (mostly) gloss over the miracles to focus on what I see as the real meat of the chapter. We start with Jesus feeding the 5,000 (or 12,000, or 20,000, depending on whose interpretation/commentary you're looking at) in Tiberias. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with that story. Next we have Jesus walking on the water. I like to look at this as another example of God's sense of humor. I can just imagine Jesus telling the disciples "Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you" and catching up halfway across the lake, literally scaring the...well, the bejesus out of them. And I think a lot of people miss the third miracle in verse 21, "So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going." Immediately the boat was at the land; hyperspeed? teleportation? suspension of time? Um, yes.

At this point mass confusion sets in. Only one boat came across the lake; nobody saw Jesus get into the boat, and yet here He is in Capernaum. Verse 25 has the obvious question, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

Rather than explain what He did, or give an answer along the line of "I'm God, you wouldn't understand" Jesus actually lays into the crowd. Not exactly what you'd expect, especially if you were raised to believe that Jesus was the ultimate nice guy. He starts with one of the most important introductions used in the Bible, "Truly, truly" (or "Verily verily" if you're a KJV guy). You always know when "Truly, truly" comes up you'd better stop and get the highlighter, because something important is coming. Verse 26:

Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

In other words, spare me the Rabbi stuff, you're only here for the free food. Yikes! That would probably be enough to make me hang my head and sneak out the back. Fortunately the tone turns more positive immediately in verse 27:

Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.

I will admit that on first reading I was a little confused by this. Being firmly in the salvation is by grace through faith camp, is this telling me I need to work for this food which endures to eternal life? The crowd is clearly on the same page as me, since they ask in verse 28, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?"

Excellent question, and a fantastic explanation of why we read and discuss Scripture IN CONTEXT, and don't twist individual verses into saying what we wish the Bible said. Keep going, the answer's in the next verse.

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Ooooohhhhh. So the work is to believe. John Piper said it best, and if you've heard him preach please use his "excitable" voice in your head: "The labor is faith! The labor is STOP LABORING!" Nobody earns it by anything you do here. See also 1 John 3:23, Romans 10:9, and the ubiquitous John 3:16.

So with that out of the way, the crowd expressed their faith in Jesus, and they all lived happily ever after. Right? More like yeah, right. Remember this is Israel we're dealing with, the same people that were called "stiff-necked" or "obstinate" no fewer than seven times in Exodus and Deuteronomy. The first thing they ask is "What then do you do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"

In other words, Moses fed us in the wilderness, this feeding you did yesterday is small potatoes. Are you starting to see where the obstinate label fits in?

This is the point that I'm glad I'm not God, because this would have been messy. My response would have been something like "I just fed FIVE THOUSAND of you off of one plate, and you're asking what work I perform? I'm about five seconds from going all Old Testament and smiting the bloody lot of you." Now, aren't you also glad I'm not God?

Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, [highlighter time!] I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."

Then everyone understood that it wasn't Moses that had performed that miracle, but God, and they all lived happily ever after. Or not, as verse 34 shows: "Then they said to Him, 'Lord, always give us this bread.'" I'm not sure how clear this needs to be that Jesus is not talking about a loaf of Nature's Own descending from the heavens, but obviously they're not getting it. So Jesus said to them, "Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying?" No, wait, that's my wife. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."

I am the bread of life.

I am the bread of life.

I AM the bread of life.

That's pretty clear. That's my happily ever after. I'm only halfway through this chapter; more to come shortly.

Laminin

2009-11-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

Colossians 1:17: "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

This morning Pastor Skip spoke briefly about laminin. Without getting into too much (or any) detail, laminin is a protein that acts like glue and enables cells to bond to each other. Then he showed us a picture of a laminin molecule:

I'm a little late to the party as this theme has been traveling the internet for more than a year. Apparently I don't keep up with these things like I thought I did.

It probably has no real meaning, and of course this stuff existed well before Jesus was crucified, but I thought it was pretty frackin cool that the substance that "holds all things together" is shaped like a cross.

Translation exasperation

2009-11-24T20:56:00.001-05:00

Well, this was difficult. After more than thirty years I have come to the conclusion that the King James Bible just doesn't work for me.

["You're going to hell" comments in 3...2...1...]

OK, let me explain. What I mean is it doesn't work in trying to do extended readings. After reading Genesis through Job the language barrier was just too much, and I wasn't making the progress I wanted to. Having to refer to the notes to see what a word "really" means and doing an on the fly translation as I went showed me that it was really just pride and stubbornness keeping me in the version I'd always used. There's a saying that is frequently attributed to Winston Churchill, which goes something like "When facts and circumstances dictate a change in my position, I change my position." Well, facts and circumstances dictate.

So what version to switch to? Here's a handy chart showing the options along the literal vs. interpretive spectrum:

Well, that clears everything up. Right?

Actually I just wanted to throw that chart up for fun. Those of you that know me personally know I'm rather "old school" in my beliefs, which naturally draws me toward the word-for-word side of the chart. And thanks to the Bible app from YouVersion I have on the iPod, I've been test driving translations and landed on the NASB. Nice phraseology, easy (easier) reading, and preserving as much as possible the original structure. Plus, it's hard to go wrong with the translation Charles Stanley and John MacArthur preach from.

And one more entry in the "there are no coincidences" file, the day after I decided to make this change the MacArthur Study Bible went on sale at gty.org. Thank you, Lord, for $7 markdowns!

A video interlude

2009-11-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Follow Me from Recycle Your Faith on Vimeo.

This video was shown in my church yesterday and presents a pretty good spiritual challenge. What does it really mean to follow Jesus? I can tell you it involves a lot more than blowing the dust off your Bible on Sunday morning and sitting in a service for an hour or two. How are you following? What adventure are you on?

A letter from Charles Stanley

2009-11-10T21:10:00.002-05:00

I received the monthly mailing from Charles Stanley today, and it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I don't think I can explain it properly, so I'm just going to repost the entire letter right here.

Dear Matt,

Have you ever noticed that some verses of Scripture seem easier to memorize than to put into practice? I certainly have. In fact, some of the passages that I love the most appear very difficult to live out.

A verse that immediately comes to mind, especially during the Thanksgiving season, is I Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." The word "everything" is challenging because there are situations when I do not feel particularly grateful. Perhaps you have experienced similar circumstances. There are troubles we face that negatively affect every aspect of life – stealing our joy and focus away from the Savior.

There have even been times over the years when I've walked out onto the platform as the church service began and my heart was somewhere else. I was as prepared mentally and spiritually as I could be to preach the message, but emotionally I was struggling with some devastating issue.

It was through those moments that I experienced something extraordinary. As the orchestra played and the choir and congregation began to sing, my heart would respond to the words of those hymns. Giving thanks changed my focus from the difficulty I was facing to God's awesome character, provision, and love. Suddenly my troubles did not seem so overwhelming.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you discovered how powerful and freeing it is to give the Lord thanks even in the most difficult situations? When you submit to God – taking a leap of faith and praising Him even though everything seems contrary – He blesses your obedience (Heb. 11:6).

Perhaps you are facing something that seems too difficult to overcome, and you have no idea why God is allowing it. No matter what spiritual battle is before you, voice your gratitude to the Father. Because it is when you take your eyes off the problem and focus on Him that you realize He's already given you the victory. The challenge is in keeping an attitude of gratefulness and appreciation.

Throughout the years, I've found that the best way to maintain a thankful heart is to recall the truth of God's Word – specifically all the great privileges we receive when we trust Jesus as our Savior. Although our loved ones, good health, and a successful career are excellent things to thank Him for – they may let us down at one point or another. But His promises never fail and always give us reason to rejoice.

Therefore, the first thing we should give thanks for is Christ's gift of salvation. Through His death and resurrection, our sin-debt is paid in full and we are granted the privilege of an intimate relationship with the Father. No matter what trial we face, it will never be as big as the problem Jesus overcame for us on the cross. And because He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), we know that His wonderful presence and resurrection power are always available to us (Eph. 1:18-23).

Second, we can voice our gratefulness that nothing can separate us from God's love and forgiveness (Rom. 8:31-39). Our heavenly Father cares for us unconditionally – that is His character (I John 4:7-10). Unfortunately, the storms of life can cause us to doubt how much He loves us. They may even tempt us to respond in a manner that does not fit who we are as His children. Yet even at this very moment, God offers us His love and wants to shower you and me with His grace. In response, we should turn our hearts to Him, repent for falling short of His best, and thank Him for loving us so faithfully.

Third, the Father is worthy of our praise because He always hears and answers our prayers. We have the awesome privilege of talking to the Lord about anything that burdens our hearts – knowing that He doesn't grow tired of listening to us. And what is truly awesome about our God is that He is sovereign and knows every detail of our circumstances. He is not only able to help us overcome the issues that concern us but always understands the very best way possible to do so.

Finally, we should give thanks because we know that God has a will, plan, and purpose for our lives that He will accomplish if we obey Him. Hardships, temptations, and tests will touch each of us – no one is immune from them. But we can know for certain that the Lord allows difficulty in our lives for a reason – even when we don't understand why (Rom. 8:28). To us, trials may seem to impede our progress or undermine our dreams. But God uses them to mold, shape, and conform us into the image of His Son. Therefore, submit yourself to the Father and thank Him for His wisdom, being confident that He will accomplish His purposes for you.

As you face challenges in the days, weeks, and months ahead, I pray that you will remember to give the Father praise in every situation and find I Thessalonians 5:18 more rewarding every time you live it out. May God strengthen your heart with thankfulness and fill you with joy as you continue to seek and serve Him faithfully.

Prayerfully yours,

Charles F. Stanley

Book review: The Jesus You Can't Ignore

2009-10-04T16:29:00.000-04:00

The Jesus You Can't Ignore

John MacArthur

"This book will reinvigorate your intimate understanding of the Savior. Verse by verse, John MacArthur unpacks the conversations between Jesus Christ and the leaders of his day. MacArthur's conclusions about the Jesus we have ignored are unmistakable and bold. In these pages, you'll see a vivid portrait of the Messiah as he is rarely seen: declaring truth without apology, with clarity and love...to the offense of many who heard him."

That is a big, in-your-face promise from the inside flap of the book. Does it deliver? Let's take a look.

The theme of the book is all the conflicts that Jesus had with the religious leaders of his day, and the fact that there were plenty of times where Jesus was not "nice" to them. This is quite a contrast to the popular portrayal of Jesus, which has Him as meek, mild, compassionate, and tolerant to a fault. And indeed, He was all those things, except when it came to people dishonoring His Father. That's when this other side of Jesus came out.

Dr. MacArthur takes great pains from the beginning of the book to point out that combativeness should not be our primary tactic, and confrontations such as those in the book should be reserved for teaching that clearly violates the truth of scripture. "Many disagreements are so petty that it would be utterly unprofitable to engender strife over them." (p. xi)

MacArthur spends considerable time discussing the "postmodern" or "postevangelical" church, which seems to define itself by its lack of conflict and acceptance of all ideas and beliefs. Personally I haven't been exposed to this new movement, sometimes called the Emergent or Emerging Church, so I find it confusing that churches would not consider the Bible to be absolutely true or allow unorthodoxies inside all in the name of "consensus." Dr. MacArthur hints that some of the largest churches in America have fallen into this trap, which I find quite disturbing.

Wait, what about Jesus? Isn't this book about Him? Yes, once we get past the prologue and introduction. Starting from the first major public appearance of His ministry, the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem during Passover, we see that Jesus did not come purely to be nice, or to build consensus. We see, through chapters such as "This man speaks blasphemies", "Breaking the sabbath", "Hard preaching" and "Unpardonable sin" that Jesus not only aggressively defended the truth of His message, but He frequently instigated conflicts with the religious leaders by doing and saying things He knew they would find offensive.

This is quite a change from the "Jesus was a pacifist" attitude that seems common today. So what are we to learn from this? How are we to follow the example left by Jesus? MacArthur is quick to point out in all of the documented incidents that He is attacking only the false teaching, not the people themselves, at least until the very end when they are too far gone to recognize the truth. And He was never combative over minor differences or uncertain things, only when the authority of scripture was called into question.

I think the whole philosophy of the book can be summed up in a couple of paragraphs from p. 171:

So let's be absolutely clear about this once more: Jesus' harshness with the Pharisees does not give us an unrestricted license to deal roughly with others every time we happen to disagree. Gentleness should characterize our relationships with people, including those who persecute us (Luke 6:27-36). Love "suffers long and is kind...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7). Those are general rules that should be paramount in all our interaction with others.

Nevertheless, Jesus' constant friction with the Pharisees does show that conflict is sometimes necessary. Harsh words are not always inappropriate. Unpleasant and unwelcome truths sometimes need to be voiced. False religion always needs to be answered. Love may cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), but the gross hypocrisy of false teachers desperately needs to be uncovered — lest our silence facilitate and perpetuate a damning delusion. The truth is not always "nice."

So there you have it. Be nice, until it's time to not be nice. But always make sure the truth is behind you.

Overall rating: OUTSTANDING

Pastor Skip and the men's breakfast

2009-10-02T13:31:00.005-04:00

My church has been holding a men's breakfast on Friday mornings. They did a few during the spring, and I thought it was a pretty good idea, but every Thursday night I would think about what time I needed to get up in order to be at church at 6:15 and decide to go next week. After a break during the summer they resumed last week, and rather than make an excuse I just forgot to go.

So I decided this week would be different. I picked up a flier at church and kept it out to remind me every day that I was doing this. I set the alarm back to 5:00 and promptly hit snooze when it went off. You've heard that God works in mysterious ways? Today He worked through two hungry cats that jumped on the bed, thrilled at the prospect of an early breakfast and forcing me to get up. And I am so happy that I did.

Once again I can't express my gratitude to God that He has assembled such an amazing group of people at Avalon Church. Pastor Skip, who also runs the homeless ministry and is the choir director, was our host. His topic was the importance of relationship over religion. That it's not what you do here that determines where you spend eternity, it's your relationship to God. He read three of the most unsettling verses in the Bible, Matthew 7:21-23:

²¹"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²²"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
²³"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"

This can be quite bothersome to people who believe in works salvation. As Skip explained, "knew" in the Biblical sense describes a personal, intimate relationship, with that of a husband and wife being the prime example. So when Jesus says "I never knew you" He's not saying "I don't know who you are" but "I never had a personal relationship with you; you never trusted Me to redeem you." And all the "good things" you did during your life count for exactly nothing against that.

Funny that Skip would speak about this the first time I went to the breakfast, after all the posts I've done on this topic over the past few months. Coincidence? I think you know how I feel about that too.

So thank you, Pastor Skip. I don't think I'll need the cats to help me make next week's breakfast.

The conversion of Matthew

2009-09-28T20:21:00.005-04:00

No, not me. I mean that Matthew.

Let me set this up a little bit. Jesus at this point has moved the "headquarters" of His ministry from Nazareth to Capernaum and has just healed the paralytic who was lowered through the roof by his friends. See Matthew 9, Luke 5, and Mark 2 for all the details. As He left the house after the healing (and a very nice verbal thrashing of the Pharisees) He came across Matthew and called him.

What I love about this is all the synoptic gospels record this event in exactly the same way:

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow Me." And he rose and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9)

And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow Me." And he rose and followed Him. (Mark 2:14)

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow Me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him. (Like 5:27-28)

Wow. Try to imagine the power in just a glance from Jesus. Leaving everything, he rose and followed. I've heard of the doctrine of irresistible grace, but this really pounds that concept home. Even more amazing was that Matthew was a tax collector for the Romans. This office was essentially legalized extortion (imagine the IRS subcontracting to Tony Soprano) and anyone holding that position was considered a traitor to the Jewish people. So the fact that Jesus chose this reviled, contemptible man to become one of His closest associates shows that nobody is beyond redemption.

His conversion, while spiritual in nature, was no less of a miracle than the healing of the paralytic that immediately preceded it. His response was completely opposite to that of the Pharisees, who were the religious "experts" in Israel. Matthew yearned to be free from his sin, they could not even admit they were sinners. Yet another example of "religion" leaving people in total darkness and confusion.

So what will (or did) you do when the call comes?

"Follow Me."

The obligatory 9/11 post

2009-09-11T13:01:00.003-04:00

Thinking back to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I was led to re-examine the reasons behind the attacks. When you dig past the psychology, the political talking points designed to whip people into a frenzy, the cultural differences, and whatever other explanations people try to apply, what everything really boils down to is this:

"I'm right, and you're wrong."

That's the message we were supposed to receive eight years ago. And while I was considering this binary, black/white, right/wrong worldview I was reminded of a message I heard a while back that there are only two religious systems in the world: those based on human achievement, and those not based on human achievement. When everything else is stripped away that's what we're left with - either you can earn salvation based on something you do, or you can't.

No matter what your feelings are regarding such a black and white view, the fact remains only one of these choices can be right. So if it's works based, which set of works is it? Do I only need to be a "good" person? Can I eat ham? Do I go to confession? Kneel and pray at specified times of the day?

Which leads to even further confusion. What happens if I miss a day of prayer? What if I'm killed in a car wreck on the way to confession? How do I know what acts are good, bad, or indifferent? What's the good to bad ratio that gets me into heaven?

More importantly, who decides all of this? A bunch of guys in funny hats? I mean, who died and made them God?

On the other hand, if salvation is not based on anything I can do for myself, what do we have?

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Rom. 10:9-10)

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— (Eph. 2:4-5)

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified...I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Gal. 2:16, 21)

I could go on (and on). Getting back to the original point, who's right and who's wrong? The guys in the funny hats, or the creator of the universe? This is a choice you need to settle now, because we all saw eight years ago that life can end literally in the blink of an eye.

Purpose vs. Providence. Or, why serendipity is crap.

2009-09-01T18:40:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking lately about the two aspects of God's will, which I always knew as purposeful and permissive. Purposeful being things that God makes happen, and permissive being things that God allows to happen, always with the purpose of displaying His sovereignty. One day recently as I was listening to my podcasts I heard a new term for God's permissive will: providential. While the word itself was not new to me, applying it in this way was: all of mankind's free will decisions, inexplicably, miraculously weaving themselves together into the completion of God's plan.

So it was with this in mind that I realized, much like an episode of Lost, that there are no coincidences. One example that came screaming home to me was how I reconnected with God and found my church. My wife, who works for Weight Watchers, was working at a meeting with another woman who happened to be married to the Youth Pastor at Avalon Church. She had invited us to join her a few times, and when we finally accepted I knew I had found my new home.

So, where's the serendipitous part? Well, in order to work for Weight Watchers you must have gone through the program. Which means you had to be heavy at some point. We were; and we would not have had any success if we had not done the program together.

Basically, if Heather hadn't been working with Brooke, if Heather didn't work for Weight Watchers, if we hadn't gone through the program, I wouldn't be where I am today spiritually. What I'm really getting at is if I had been able to control what I ate back in 2003 none of this would have happened. Coincidence? Random occurrence of the universe? That sounds about as likely as an explosion at the printing plant resulting in a perfectly formed dictionary.

God is always orchestrating events in your life to bring you closer to Him. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes (as in my case) it takes years to see the effects. But there's nothing coincidental or serendipitous about it.

Lord, I apologize.

2009-08-25T21:00:00.001-04:00

I've had a bunch of great ideas for things to put on here, things from church, from the podcasts, from the books I've been reading, and because I didn't bother to write anything down or put the entries up in time, everything's just gone.

So Lord, I apologize that I won't be able to share these things unless I have a remarkable recovery of my memory. We'll just have to find some new things to share. As soon as I figure out the iPod keyboard so I can make a note while I'm away from the computer.

Why I like Pastor Dustin

2009-07-28T12:30:00.003-04:00

This week at Avalon Church the guest speaker was Dustin Janney. Dustin is the music leader and the Youth Pastor at the church. I'll admit it always felt a little weird to refer to someone who just turned 30 and could pass for 25 if he needed to as "Pastor Dustin" but after this week I have no more issues using the title with him.

Pastor Dustin spoke about the presence of God, how there is nowhere you can go where His presence is not, and that His presence is real whether you are aware of it or not. He spoke about signs we have experienced the presence of God, and explained that if you are not experiencing freedom, you are not experiencing the reality of God's presence.

I had never heard him deliver a message before (at least without a guitar in his hands) but always thought he should be given his chance to put on the "big pants" and grab the microphone. Being the Youth Pastor and spending most of his ministry time with middle and high school students, his style is naturally geared toward them. What I liked best was that he did not try to change that style or the message to fit the main service. Based on the phrasing he used and the anecdotes he chose, it felt like he was addressing a group of students. But when you get right down to it, aren't we all students after all? Anyway, the passion he has for God and His truth was so clear in that short time he had, it changed my whole perception of him.

I don't think I can properly express how grateful I am to God that He has assembled so much talent at Avalon Church, and that I get to experience it every week. I'm looking forward to having you sing for us again next week, Pastor Dustin, but I also hope you have more chances to teach us through the spoken message. Also, I'll never think of TooJay's garlic chicken pasta the same way again.

"Pastor Dustin." Yeah, that doesn't feel strange at all now.

Why I like Pastor Jim

2009-07-26T17:01:00.005-04:00

During Pastor Dale's month of reflection and recovery (see here), we have had a succession of guest speakers in the church. Last week the Executive Pastor, Jim Groves, gave the message. Pastor Jim is the usual "backup" and has filled in several times before, always with good results. Last week, again, was no disappointment.

Pastor Jim spoke about Peter's journey from an impetuous young follower who thought he might show God what's what to the apostle who was, literally, the rock on which the modern church was founded. The best part, though, was that he did it in the first person, speaking as Peter. He relayed the story from Matthew 16 when Jesus rebuked Peter for denying that he would be crucified, explaining the mindset and what he may have been thinking. And he relayed the maturity found in I Peter, written with thirty more years of life experience behind it.

The point he was really making, especially with the "Get thee behind me, Satan" found in Mt. 16:23, was that while believing in God is good, we also need to just believe God. That's the home of true faith - just believe God. And the whole thing, with Pastor Jim speaking in first person, as though Jesus had just been standing next to him a few minutes ago when this happened, never really felt like a sermon.

That's when it struck me, why I'm always so moved and appreciative when Pastor Jim speaks. He doesn't preach, he just talks. I know most of you don't see the difference, but when he's done speaking I feel like I've just had an entire conversation with him, even though I never got to talk. It's a little frustrating that I don't have the words to adequately describe the experience, but I'll tell you what you can do - follow this link:

http://www.avalonchurch.org/sermon_browser/sermon_detail.php?id=329

And take a listen. Tell me if you hear what I hear.

Scripture vs. Science

2009-07-21T20:57:00.004-04:00

Inspired by a very interesting conversation with a very interesting coworker.

Increasingly there seems to be conflict between the world of religion and the world of science. We are told that the Bible represents a pre-scientific world view and are faced with a choice between the facts of science and the fantasy of scripture. This conflict partially stems from the fact that science frequently oversteps its bounds - instead of being a method of discovering knowledge it has become an all encompassing world view. In truth, there are only conflicts between science and the Bible when science begins to speculate on origins and destinies. But those things are not subject to observation and experimentation, which brings the entire discussion into the world of religion.

Herbert Spencer was a non-Christian scientist who died in 1903 and was best known for coining the phrase "survival of the fittest." His greatest achievement, though, was his discovery of the categories of the knowable. That is to say, everything that exists fits into one of five categories: time, force, action, space, and matter.

With this in mind, take a look at Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning [time], God [force] created [action] the heavens [space] and the earth [matter]." No conflict with science there! The real test you are facing is not whether science is "right" but it's as simple as do you believe the Bible? Not what somebody says about the Bible, but what the Bible actually says? Take into account that the Bible does not say when creation took place, simply that it did. You can't get through the first two chapters of the Bible without facing this test repeatedly.

Now, the statement that may shock some folks: there is no such thing as creation science. Because there is no scientific way to explain creation. It was a brief series of monumental supernatural events that cannot be explained by science. Science is based on observation and there were no witnesses to creation. Science is based on verification by repetition and creation cannot be repeated. So any attempt to explain or prove creation by scientific means is bunk.

Let’s say you were in Galilee the week after Jesus fed the five thousand men, plus women, plus children, the loaves and the fish and you wanted to know where in the world did He get that ability to do that? How did He do that? How did He feed those people with loaves and fish, how did He do that miracle? And you decided that you were going to go up there and you’re going to interview all those people and you’re going to ask them about what they felt while they were eating it and how it was digested and any experiences that they might have had after having that meal. It wouldn’t do any good if you were in the process of that investigation trying to figure out how Jesus made fish and bread out of nothing. You see, that is analogous to the issue of creation. You can observe the way things are now but that doesn’t tell you anything about how they became what they are. Creation cannot be understood any other way than by believing the revelation of the creator. And that’s your first test when you open your Bible.

So, having rejected the Bible and God's authority, science had to come up with something to explain how we got here. Evolution is simply mankind's latest attempt to suppress our innate knowledge of God and the fact we are accountable to Him. Yet evolution has never been observed or verified through repeatable experimentation. Here I am speaking of macro evolution, a change in kind, not simply a change within a kind. Yes, there is a difference. Yes, that difference is enormous.

As for the age of the universe? I don't know, but I'm in the "young Earth" camp. Maybe six thousand years, maybe ten thousand, I'm not really picky on that. The Bible doesn't give a date, so I'm not going to force one on it. All the different arguments about the age of the Earth from both camps come from the fact that the great flood in Genesis messed up our ability to determine the age of things that existed before the flood. Again, an event that is not repeatable.

So, again, the question for everybody is, do you believe Genesis 1-2? If not, where does the Bible start being true? Chapter 3? Chapter 4? Maybe in Exodus?

Some things simply cannot be proved by man, and all man's attempts to prove them have resulted in failure.

A better way to pray. But first, a joke.

2009-07-07T20:52:00.005-04:00

A man is getting concerned about his son, who is reaching adulthood but still doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. The man calls the preacher for advice.

"We'll give him a little test," the preacher says, "and he'll tell us what he wants to do without knowing it."

The preacher goes into the boy's room and puts four items on his bed: a Bible, a dollar bill, a bottle of whiskey, and a dirty magazine. He explains to the father, "We'll watch through the window and see what he picks up first. If it's the Bible, he'll be a preacher, praise God. If it's the dollar, he'll be a businessman, which is still good. If it's the whiskey, he'll be a lazy no good drunkard, and if it's the magazine, he'll be a worthless skirt chasing womanizer."

They head outside when the son comes home and watch through the window. The boy takes a look at the items. He picks up the Bible and puts it under his arm. He takes the dollar and puts it in his pocket. He picks up the whiskey and takes a swig while admiring the centerfold in the magazine.

"Lord help us," says the preacher, "he's going to run for Congress!"

Like my earlier joke, it would be funnier if it weren't so true. Which leads me into the real point I want to get to. The relationship between a Christian and the government has been weighing on me recently. Beyond the standard platitudes of render unto Caesar, blah, blah, what is my real responsibility?

See, I have deep, fundamental philosophical differences with the current administration, and I have not been quiet about them. But it's been suggested to me that our duty to God is to pay our taxes and be model citizens. I don't take this to mean unquestioning agreement with the government, nor does it outlaw working within the law to stop or change policy. But I've been concerned lately that airing my disagreements may cause me to be perceived as an angry, complaining nut job. And that would most definitely hurt my testimony for Jesus.

So rather than spend my time pointing out the flaws of our never-perfect government or praying for "deliverance", I've decided to pray both for our current elected leaders to have wisdom, and also for God to raise up candidates for office that understand that being elected to office and placed in authority is a divine privilege and one of the highest forms of service to Him. What if we all prayed for that? Would it be possible that on a future ballot there would be a candidate you would actually be proud to vote for, and remain proud of afterward? How refreshing would that be?

Good thing I got that Congress joke out of my system first.

One final word on Nehemiah

2009-06-30T12:07:00.002-04:00

I finished Nehemiah last night and found a couple more reasons to like the guy. After the walls of Jerusalem were completed, he saw that the law regarding the sabbath was not being obeyed, and vendors were working and selling on the sabbath. So he ordered the gates to be closed, and the vendors then set up outside the gates. Uh uh, no you didn't. In 13:21 we see Nehemiah's response to this:

But I warned them and said to them, "Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

Nice. Very diplomatic with "I will lay hands on you." Then we see the law forbidding Jews to intermarry being flouted, and things get really nasty in 13:25:

And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Do not make Nehemiah angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

My Pastor had me fooled

2009-06-28T15:45:00.004-04:00

My Pastor, Dale Brooks, experienced a personal tragedy this past April in the passing of his wife Leigh Anne. While I did not know her well I know that she was full of love and the joy of Jesus, and her death had an enormous impact on a large number of lives.

Pastor Dale did not preach the next Sunday; I'm sure that nobody expected him to. But he was back the week after, and I was sure he was just putting on a front so everyone would think he was OK. But week after week he continued to preach powerfully, and over time I became convinced that maybe he really was OK.

How was this possible? How could he just get back to work like that under these circumstances? How could he be such a rock? How can I be just like him if something like this happens to me? What am I missing in my relationship with God that I can't even conceive of reacting this way?

Turns out, my first impression way back was right. Fortunately for me, Avalon Church, and most importantly Pastor Dale, the church elders saw through this and perceived he was not dealing with Leigh Anne like he needed to. Accordingly, they have told him to take the month of July off to grieve and spend quality time with Jesus. Pastor Dale admitted today that this is the best thing, that he had wanted everyone to think he was OK when he really wasn't. We all indicated our love and support for him, and everybody cried. I mean EVERYBODY.

This isn't any kind of warning or probation that reflects on his performance; on the contrary the elders took this action to ensure Pastor Dale is around as long as possible. I'm thankful to God today that the elders had the discernment to recognize the hurt beneath the smile, and the courage to take this action before it had the chance to turn into something else.

Enjoy your time, Pastor Dale. Just no more pretending when you come back, OK?

Nehemiah, ancient superhero

2009-06-25T21:10:00.003-04:00

In reading the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem I was impressed by the way he always stood firm and unwavering in the face of opposition. Through ridicule, false charges, the threat of attack, he just kept working on the walls. My favorite part was in chapter 6, when death threats were made against him and Shemaiah asked him to hide in the temple. His answer in verse 11:

But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in."

Turns out Shemaiah was working for the bad guys and trying to lure him into a trap. Well played, Nehemiah. I think this verse also has a great modern context as we hear stories of terrorists hiding in mosques because the military won't blow them up. Perhaps if this were posted on the door of all those mosques our war on terror would have turned out differently.

Am I confusing you?

2009-06-24T19:16:00.002-04:00

I realize that some of you reading this may not be part of the "family" and I may be using too much insider language in the posts. So, in an attempt to remedy that, let me make you an offer.

Is there anything you're wondering about? Do you want to know what I believe, or why I believe it, or what in the world I was thinking when I posted something? Drop a comment, shoot me an email (mattowenfl@gmail.com), or find me on Facebook using the link on the right.

Just like Weight Watchers, this is a judgment free zone. There are no stupid questions. Let 'em rip.

A great and glorious phrase

2009-06-22T12:52:00.003-04:00

I was having a conversation about biblical history the other day, why the books are in the order they are in, etc., and the conversation turned to the dates the Old Testament books were written. Eventually, I ended up explaining the difference between B.C. and A.D. and how 1450 B.C. came before 1410 B.C. using the concept of a number line, and negative and positive numbers. But in explaining where the change from "negative" to "positive" occurred I used this analogy:

"Jesus is the hinge on which all of human history turns."

I never thought I'd be able to use that phrase in a conversation. I almost cried at having a legitimate opportunity to finally say it. Thank you Jesus!

Pastor's business card

2009-06-22T12:42:00.002-04:00

Got this one from Mom via email.

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out his business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

Remember when the funniest jokes were the clean ones?

They still are!

The payoff. The big, fat payoff.

2009-06-21T21:20:00.003-04:00

My mother is having surgery next month and on the phone tonight she expressed some growing concern over the situation. I pointed her to Joshua 1, which contains several instances of God telling us not to be afraid, and contains this absolute gem in verse 9:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Thank you Father! Thank you Jesus! If I hadn't been reading on my own, if the only time my Bible ever got touched was carrying it to and from church on Sunday, I would never have been able to offer this encouragement to her. As Charles Stanley has said, "If you want to get something out of the Bible on Sunday, read it on Saturday. And Friday. And..."

Claim the promises of the Bible. Make them your own, because they are yours. But before you can claim them you must find them! So what are you doing here? Open your Bible, then come back and let me know what you found in the comments.

God's sense of humor

2009-06-18T18:58:00.003-04:00

Some people wonder if God has a sense of humor. I don't have to wonder, because God likes to play jokes on me. For example, every time I mow my lawn and go to blow the clippings off the sidewalk, the wind blows back at me so the clippings all fly back toward me. No matter which way I turn to blow them, the wind follows me. After a couple minutes I'll stop, turn my eyes up, and say "OK, very funny, do you mind if I finish this now?" Then the wind dies down and I can get the clippings where I'm supposed to go. And I always get an image of Jesus chuckling to Himself, saying "that never gets old!"

You can also find some rather pointed sarcasm from God in Numbers 11:18-20:

¹⁸And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out of Egypt?"

"Here, you want meat? I'll give you so much meat it will come out your nose. You'll hate meat by the time I'm done with you." That never gets old!

Solomon, the original king of bling

2009-06-18T18:45:00.003-04:00

II Chronicles 9 gives some details about Solomon's wealth and power. Solomon is generally accepted as the wisest and wealthiest man in the history of ever. He had five hundred shields made of solid gold to be used for decoration, his throne was ivory overlaid with gold, the steps to the throne had carved lions on either side - pretty flashy stuff. But verse 20 actually made me laugh:

All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

When I read that I pictured Solomon on his throne, maybe with oversize sunglasses and a clock (or sundial) hanging on his neck, saying "Ain't no thing, all my cups are gold. Silver ain't nothing."

And all that because when God offered him anything, he asked for wisdom rather than money or power. What would you ask for?

A blind spot?

2009-06-15T12:50:00.003-04:00

Neal Boortz just stated on his show that people who believe creation rather than evolution have a "blind spot" and choose to ignore reams of scientific evidence, in order to believe a story that was made up by church leaders who only wanted to maintain power over their congregations.

This is the same man calling people who believe the "reams of scientific evidence" supporting global warming crackpots and lunatics.

Listings of frauds and intentional hoaxes that at one time "proved" evolution can be found here, here, and here, for starters. Scientific evidence showing the Biblical account of creation to be false can be found, umm...well...nowhere.

So believing a book that has never been proven wrong, that needs no missing link to complete the chain, that showed knowledge of scientific principles thousands of years before they were "discovered" by man, means I have a blind spot. And believing every new fraud passed off as evidence supporting your belief system means your vision is perfect. Really? I'm the blind one here?

I still can't believe I did this

2009-06-14T14:46:00.002-04:00

I use an FM transmitter with my iPod touch to listen in the car. The other day I was listening to Charles Stanley speaking about having the heart of a servant, and right when he was getting to the main point, really getting ready to drive it home, I started to get some pretty severe static on the radio.

Naturally, I assumed this was Satan trying to keep me from hearing something important, so out of instinct I raised my hand to the radio and shouted "begone, evildoer!"

Wouldn't you know it, the static went away as soon as I did that. I may never know for sure if I really performed an exorcism on my radio or just happened to drive out of range of whatever was interfering, but the timing was just too exquisitely perfect to ignore.

Praying for America

2009-06-12T15:27:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine sent me a great link about (not) praying for America, available here.

Then in my daily reading I came across II Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Call it serendipity, an act of the universe, or complete random chance if you will. I call it God trying to tell me something.

I've heard that verse quoted at least a hundred times, and always in the context of restoring America to what it used to be, and either receive His blessing or avoid His judgment. But having just read that article I realized that it is not applicable in the case of America. It's "my people, which are called by my name" and not "my people, who call on my name." There is only one "people" who are called by God's name, and that's Israel. Meaning this verse has exactly nothing to do with America. In fact, if you go back one verse you will see that God is actually saying if He causes a drought, or swarms of locusts, or disease, the promise of verse 14 kicks in. I just don't see the application to the moral or spiritual state of a nation.

Better to pray that you are living inside God's will and that He will use you to accomplish His purpose. Given that there is no place in end times prophecy for the United States, I think we are actually witnessing the unfolding of His will in the modern decline of America.

Built to Last

2009-06-10T18:52:00.002-04:00

II Chronicles 1:3 - "...for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness."

I totally missed this the first time through, but finally realized that Moses built the tabernacle during the wilderness wandering, which took place from about 1450-1410 B.C. Here in II Chronicles Solomon is going to build a temple to replace the tabernacle. Solomon began his reign in 971 B.C., making the tabernacle nearly five hundred years old and still in use. Not bad for what was essentially a large tent, designed to be disassembled and transported repeatedly.

They sure don't make them like they used to.

The Unpardonable Sin

2009-06-09T07:57:00.002-04:00

I have heard people say that they cannot go to heaven or be saved because they have committed an unpardonable sin. This makes me curious what that sin might be.

Adultery? Murder? Those seem like good choices. Until we see in I Samuel 11 that David committed both of these sins in rapid succession. Verse 27 tell us that "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." But nowhere does it say that David had done an unforgivable thing. He was punished, yes, but he was forgiven.

I would suggest that the only unpardonable sin is dying while still rejecting Jesus. So if you're still alive (and hello, you're reading this) it is not too late to seek forgiveness. Whatever you think you've done, I can pretty much guarantee there's someone who did much worse than you and found forgiveness in God's grace.

On second thought, there may actually be an unpardonable sin - striking out looking with two outs and the tying run on third base. That's a conversation for another day.

I am a warrior. And I am not alone!

2009-06-08T14:07:00.004-04:00

These guys have absolutely nailed what I'm trying to express here.

Special thanks to Jose Medina for the link.

Is church boring?

2009-06-08T12:28:00.003-04:00

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps.

"Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.

"The front row, please," she answered.

"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."

"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired.

"No," he said.

"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Good," he answered.

This would be a lot more funny if it were a lot less true. While I do not suffer from boredom at my current church, I have in the past and that's part of what kept me away from church for so many years. Is your church suffering from a lack of excitement? Does it just seem like a ritual, it's just "what you do" on Sunday?

Try Ephesians 2 if this is true of you. vv. 4-7:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immesurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Wow! Also vv. 13-14:

But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

Maybe you can be the jolt of excitement your church needs.

Can the Bible be TOO easy to read?

2009-06-05T06:45:00.002-04:00

I've been using a King James Version pretty much my entire life and still have trouble with some of the words and phrasing. Fortunately I use a Scofield Study Bible, which has so many notes, references, and explanations that I don't need to turn to an external source to clear anything up. But this means that if I sit down to read, I can get through two or three chapters in fifteen to twenty minutes.

My wife recently purchased a Bible, and at my recommendation we bought an English Standard Version, because I had found it very easy to understand and like that it's a word for word translation of the best of the original language texts. Yesterday I gave the ESV a try for my regular reading and found in I Chronicles that I was able to blast through eight chapters instead of the usual three.

So that got me thinking: if you don't need to slow down, check a word's meaning, or really think about what a verse or passage is saying, can you miss an important concept or principle? Should the Bible be just a little confusing to make you stop and consider what's being said?

I have no idea. I just know it felt kind of weird reading so quickly, almost like I expected a divine speeding ticket.

Meditation

2009-06-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalms 46:10)

I've been working through a backlog of Charles Stanley's podcasts, and around the middle of May he did a series on the benefits of meditation. Not the stereotypical, cross your legs and chant kind, but the open up the Word and focus until you get it kind. He gave six essentials for effective meditation:

A season of time
Stillness
Seclusion
Silence
Self control
Submission

A season of time - basically, have you made time for God? Is He on your calendar every day? If not, are the people that do get your time more important?

Stillness - turn off the phone, the tv, the iPod. Stop everything else and focus. This is the most difficult part for me, as even with no outside distractions my mind will sometimes refuse to slow down.

Seclusion - no excuses here. Jesus was the biggest public figure of His time, constantly surrounded by people, and still managed to retreat for some private, intimate time with the Father.

Silence - don't do all the talking during prayer time. Remember Isaiah 30:15, "in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." How can you expect an answer to your prayer if you won't stop talking long enough to get one?

Self control - here, you have to admit that you need to deal with some things in your life. This is the second hardest part for me, and I imagine this is what it's like to say "Hi, I'm X and I'm an alcoholic." Paradoxically enough, any increase in our self control is a reflection of how much we have surrendered to God's will.

Submission - all the prayer and meditation in the world won't make a difference if you have a rebellious spirit. If you don't intentionally submit yourself to God, your relationship can't grow and you will never know His best plan for you.

So, the challenge: try this for a week. Block out a time. Make an appointment to be with God, and only with Him. If you apply these six principles, my guess is you won't want or be able to stop.

Why "Choice and Mighty"?

2009-06-03T16:01:00.001-04:00

Just to explain the title here: as I've been reading the Old Testament I've also been gaining a great appreciation for the literary constructs used by the King James Version. When I came across I Chronicles 7:40:

All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes...

I was just completely blown away by the phrase "choice and mighty men of valour." My other Bible, an English Standard Version, says "approved, mighty warriors." Which is still nice but just doesn't soar like the KJV.

And all this got me thinking, what does it mean in today's world to be choice, or approved, and mighty? That's what I aim to find out.