Stopping to Think

  I'm working on a sermon for this coming Sunday out of 1 Samuel 15. I did an overview last week of chapters 13-15, focusing on what I take to be the main point: Saul's descent, highlighted by repeated failures to obey the voice of the Lord. So the thrust of the sermon, then, was that you and I are to take Saul as a warning, that failure to obey God altogether, or even to "obey" on our own terms, is a dangerous course to take. The end of that way is death. Instead we are to see that obedience is better than sacrifice. To listen to God's voice is better than the fat of rams. There is no act of service or outward penitence or sacrifice which replaces the simple, humble, heart posture of obedient service. Listen, obey. Hear, do.  But how can we be sure this will pay off in the long run? Why is it worth it to bear fruit in keeping with repentance? Can we actually trust God to reward those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11)? God Unchanging The emotional importance of...

  Preface:  This isn't "writing" per se, this is the first of three posts that will be lesson outlines from the VBS our church is conducting this week. The titles are,  Where Did I Come From? , Am I Important , and How Can I Be Okay? My hope in sharing is that if you work with kids, or simply are interested in answering these questions for yourself, you will be edified. How Can I Be Okay? Gold bean bag Do you ever feel broken? Like something inside of you just isn’t right?  The last couple of days the kids have been working on a verse, Gen 1:1, In the beginning, God created… The Bible starts not with people, not with some slog beginning with an immense hydrogen explosion, but with God. A speaking God. A God who speaks life into being What did God call his creation? Very good ( v31 ) Part of that very good creation was an image-bearer: people Kids, who made everything? God! So, who made you? God! So, who’s the boss? God is! Right, God is the boss. And he gave people a...

"[Christ came] to 'save sinners'; -not to open a door for them to come in if they will or can; not to make a way possible, that they may be saved; not to purchase reconciliation and pardon of His Father, which perhaps they shall never enjoy; but actually to save them from all the guilt and power of sin, and from the wrath of God for sin: which, if He doth not accomplish, he fails of the end of His coming." John Owen Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

"The key to faith's power is that it embraces the future grace promised by God, and is more satisfied with this than with the pleasures promised by sin--even if it costs us our lives." John Piper Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably (at least on occasion) contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally Posted on Facebook as, "A few thoughts on God and us." November 12, 2009 at 2:24am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back So this is mostly just writing to myself...but honestly most of what I write is, I comprehend and process better if I have to put things into words....

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally Published on Facebook as, "I just felt like writing..." April 14, 2008 at 2:24am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back I don't know why. I don't really feel like I have anything to say, but maybe some intelligable gibbersh will come out. I guess I'll talk about core gro...

In his book, "Til We Have Faces", C.S. Lewis uses one of the most captivating phrases I have ever come across: "The stench of holiness." I want to briefly explain why this phrase has been gnawing at me for over a year.  I grew up in church and I've owned a Bible since I was a very small child. I've read the Bible quite a bit over the last 18 or 19 years; even that intimidating section at the front which we refer to as the Torah (though I spend less time there than I ought). However, the problem one has when reading any part of the Bible, but especially parts discussing the sacrificial system of the Israelites and other nations, is that I am a 21st Century American. That is to say, there is a rather wide culture gap between my world and theirs. And what this phrase from Lewis did was awaken my senses to the reality of their world. How easy is it to read over and over about the blood of sacrifices being poured out on the altar, of cows and sheep and pige...

A brief thought here. God never says "love yourself," "accept yourself," or "I think you're wonderful." He says, "You're made in My image, which makes you valuable beyond belief. You are also desperately wicked and broken and deserve to be under my wrath in hell forever. But I love you. Not because you deserve it. You don't. You don't deserve my love or anyone else's. But I choose to love you. I sent my Son to die for you and reconcile you to myself. I'm better than self-love and self-acceptance, and I'm better than love and acceptance from others. I am the greatest person and reality in the universe, and if you will embrace me as your greatest treasure, you will come to see that your need for approval elsewhere isn't actually a need. It is a desire that will shrink until one day, when I perfect you, it will be gone." Check Romans 3, 5, 8, and 9. This is important. Self-love is one of Satan's biggest ploys ...

Before we dive in, I think a slight preface is in order. I try not to comment too often on current events, for a number of reasons. First of all, I spent several years of my life totally wrapped around what was current, and the reality of this age is that what is current today is obsolete tomorrow. Even stories that get run for a week or more will be long forgotten by this time next year. Why become wrapped up in what is transient? Secondly, it is often hard to see enough of an issue to make intelligent comment upon it when the issue is still upon us. There are more reasons, but those two will suffice for now. So why am I writing now? Well, I am angry. Last week Michael Sam was taken in the 7th round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly homosexual player to have had this honor. Unless something goes terribly wrong in training camp or preseason, he will become the first openly homosexual man to play in the NFL. This of course is no small feat considering the hyper-testost...

1 Peter 1:12 “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” Where is the awe? I often become discouraged when I look at the lives of the Christians around me, and eve more so when I examine my own life. I look at what Scripture calls us to (holiness, see 1 Peter 1:15-16) and compare that with reality, and this is a recipe for disappointment. I read and hear the accusations from the world of hypocrisy in the church and often am left with nothing but, “yep. You’re right. We’re hypocrites.” This despairing and judgmental attitude is usually sinful, and honestly I wouldn’t suggest trying it out. It puts you on the fast track to depression. But it does give me pause to consider what some of the causes of worldly, hypocritical, disingenuous Christianity are. As I have been studyi...

God said what? "Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom." (Jeremiah 3:2) Here, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, God chastises his people. And he does so in a way that many church folk (or anyone) might find offensive. He calls them whores. Coming across this as I read in my devotions this morning did not exactly bring a case of the warm fuzzies to my heart. It called me out, forcing me to look at the sin in my life, and it furthermore reminded me that this is not an uncommon use of language for God. The use of marriage and sexual metaphor to explain the covenant relationship of God to his people, and the way in which his people violate that covenant, is found throughout the Scriptures. Ezekiel 16 being perhaps the most notable case. There God explains his calling of Israel unto himself, ad...

What happened to me posting more often? When I first began putting together these thoughts, one of the top news headlines was the story of NBA player Jason Collins "coming out of the closet", announcing to the world that he is gay. The responses to this were, of course, varied. There were many who applauded his "courage", many who shrieked in disgust- others simply shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Who cares?" What I would like to do is examine each of these responses in light the Apostle Paul's letter to the 1st Century Roman church, and conclude by presenting what I believe ought to be the Christian response homosexuality. Romans 1:25-27, 32 "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natur...