Stopping to Think

  "Simply telling people what to think in order to be orthodox, and then expecting them to be disciples, is like telling people what they should eat in order to be healthy and then expecting them to lose weight." Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Hearers & Doers, pg 54

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." That makes for a great pintrest quote or opening line to a blog. But does it reflect New Testament reality? The short answer is "yes." Matthew 10:34-39 34  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Mark 8:34-38 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny...

"Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them...When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!'" John 21:20a, 21-22   The Setting Here on the shores of Lake Galilee, Jesus has found 7 of his disciples fishing. He doesn't identify himself to them, but rather asks them a question, "have you caught any fish?" (v5). Which seems rather insensitive, because they haven't. But if you know the story, he more than makes up for this jab to the rib cage. Jesus tells them to let down their net on the right side of the boat, and the resulting haul of fish is overwhelming to the point where they can't get them aboard the boat. Jesus here reveals himself to the disciples. This is One who knows all, who provides , and who is their Lord. But for Peter, Jesus is also something else. Jesus is the all knowing, perfect ...

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene H. Peterson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I always find Peterson worth reading. These chapters are presented as expositions of the Song of Ascents. Perhaps meditations upon the main subject of each song would be a better way of putting it. I often differ with Peterson on particular points of doctrine, yet he has an incredible sense for the feel of the Christian life. His familiarity with the metanarrative of Scripture, the history of Christian doctrine, and the plain practicality of living as a disciple make this book well worth picking up and musing over. View all my reviews

"Whereas disinfecting Christians involves isolating them and teaching them to be good, discipling Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk their lives for the sake of others." David Platt 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. 

Commonplace Monday is a series of post 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. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : Church discipline is almost impossible in the era of the automobile. Carl Trueman

I wanted to take a minute here to plug RMS, or Rural Ministry Seminars . For those in the North Idaho/Western Montana area, this is an excellent opportunity to bring in practical training on topics such as Bible Study Methods, Sacred Music, Peacemaking/Counseling, and  Bible Teaching to your local church or ministry organization. This is ministry headed up by Pastor Jim Hunter of Hot Springs, MT. Other teachers include Dr. Micah Hunter and Jake Cremer. Having sat underneath the teaching of each of these men I cannot more highly recommend this resource to you! Find out more about RMS here: http://rmseminars.vpweb.com/About-the-Seminars.html For those of you not in the Northwest, but looking to expand and deepen your Biblical knowledge, check out their correspondence courses here:  http://rmseminars.vpweb.com/Correspondence-Courses.html

We use the term Christian But what does it mean Do I trust in the Gospel Or some man made dream Do I cling to my Lord For His help every hour Is my fath in His promise To be a strong tower Do I abandon myself Lay my life at His feet Or do I chase after pleasure And my own comfort seek For whom do I live Is the question today Do I serve my own self Or do my Lord I obey Do I have a grand vision For living this life Or am I caught up In just avoiding much strife You see to be Christian Has this as it's goal To live for God's glory For there joy is made whole

Last night over in Harrison, I had the privilege of listening to Wayne Eve speak on Christian "posers." That is to say, those people who are so called "nominal Christians." He went over what a poser looks like, and contasted that with what God has actually called us to.  And as I lay in bed last night afterward, I couldn't get the topic out of my mind, and my thoughts were churning relelntlesy.  I had to get up and open the Word, and God pointed me to Hebrews 10, and what I saw there is what I'm going to write. You see, in Scripture there isn't anyone who could be called a "nominal" Christian. The term really is an oxymoron. Claiming the name of Christ without a willingness to lay aside all earthly things is of no lasting value. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved. It sounds so incredibly easy. But then if you turn back to John 3:36 you will see the unmistakable link between belief ...

Let me open with this disclaimer-I am in no way referring to the physical fitness (or obvious lack thereof) of many Christians. That’s another blog for another day. I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever get to that one, I’ll have to be getting pretty low on subjects to write about. So, if I use the term “Fat Christians,” what am I talking about? Well, if I were clever like Pastor Todd over in Harrison, I’d turn it into an acronym…however, I am not so clever, and am terrible with acronyms. I am speaking rather to the tendency many Christians have to spend all week gorging themselves on “Spiritual food,” and spend no time exercising any of it. I must admit here to a bit of cynicism on my part that really is probably unhealthy and possibly sinful. I find it very easy to poke holes in most anything churches do. The old joke is that Christian firing squads are usually aligned in circles, and the last thing I want to do is be a part of that. I really do have a love both for my home church and ...

So...first post on the new blog, let's kick it off right.  And by kick it off right, I mean post something that most likely will have a lot people disagreeing with me.  But it's something that's been bugging me for quite some time.  I will apologize in advance for it's disjointed nature, my brain is running sub par at the moment, so bear with me. There is no question...or at least there shouldn't be...that our country is having serious problems.  From our multi-trillion dollar financial deficit, to the attacks on marriage and the unborn, to growing threats from foreign powers.  And while I could write a book on the roots of all these problems and the people responsible, I will refrain, because right now it is a different group of people annoying me.  And that is people on the far right, especially Christians, who are missing the point. These are the people getting riled up and throwing fits over the recent court ruling in California overturning the ban ...