Living Stones

Magic

2011-05-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a funeral. Oddly enough it was a funeral for people I didn’t know well – to be honest most were complete strangers, including the deceased. How did this happen? Well, that is another story. Nevertheless, it gave me a window that I have not gazed through many a time. To be an onlooker here, at this time, was a gift.

Children and Grandchildren went around recounting stories of a life that had weight and meaning. They made this women come to life and the reverberation of her in their hearts was made to echo for us who were listening. They told of love and care, warmth and wonder. Grandchildren told of personal loss and grandparents who filled shoes of an absent father and an overwhelmed mother. One grandson said, “They gave us magic.” I thought, what a thing to say, what a gift.

Magic, to be enchanted so that those things that could have caused a fatal wound did not (being sawed in half comes to mind). Magic, to make something disappear and reappear again. Something did disappear, their tragedies, and reappeared in the form of delight. A sleight of hand, a distraction, loss turned into gain -- “they gave us magic.” I would say that magic feels much like redemption. Redemption is magical. And redemption, like magic, is supernatural, it is mysterious, it’s spellbinding, it is, like grandma, wonderful.

I thank this family for the opportunity to honor a life that was magical.

Easter

2011-04-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28

¹ Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. 5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. ⁹ And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The Collect

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Good Friday

2011-04-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

A new and living way has been opened to us through Christ.

Hebrews 10: 16-25

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”

17 then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin

19 Therefore, brothers, [3] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Today's Collect

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Maundy Thursday

2011-04-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday of Holy Week

2011-04-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today's Collect

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Week

2011-04-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Robert Webber writes,

The season of Lent officially ends on the Thursday evening of Holy Week. Thursday evening begins what the ancient church called the Triduum, or the three great days. These are the days in which we mark the final events of Jesus’ life. On Thursday night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, spoke the new commandment of love, and was arrested. The service that remembers this event is called Maunday (new) Thursday.

Friday is the day on which Christ was crucified. Today his death is remembered with a number of services such as the Seven Last Words and the Veneration of the Cross. On Saturday during the day, the Lord’s body rests in repose.

The three great days end with the Great Paschal Vigil, a Saturday night service of fire, Scripture readings, baptism, and the resurrection Eucharist. Lent and the three great days are over. Christ is risen.

Alleluia!

Let us take time to set aside this week as Holy. To finish lent continuing to “put off” those things that have impeded our steps to Christ and look with expectation to the Pachal Triduum where we will remember Him who has given us new life.

Today’s Collect

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. -BCP

Palm Sunday

2011-04-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

History

2011-04-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Adam Goodhart was interviewed today on NPR talking about his book 1861. Interestingly enough, as the title indicates, it is only about the first year of the war. He stated that this was to leave the reader with a sense of uncertainty and expectation that was felt during that first year.

"When we think about the Civil War today, we see the entire arch of the struggle — sort of a great epic struggle — ending, of course, with the martyrdom of Abraham Lincoln," he says. "But by taking the one particular moment when everything was uncertain — when everything seemed to change overnight — I wanted to recover that sense ... of not knowing what's going to come next. And people didn't know in 1861 what was going to come next."

We should remember the time when our nation was fragmented and be glad that it has, through blood, been reunited for the greater good.

Kýrie, Eléison

2011-03-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Lenten Prayer

2011-03-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power and idle talk.
But give me rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King!
Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; for thou
art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. - St. Ephrem the Syrian

Sacraments Part 2

2010-12-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

These rites, baptism and Eucharist, are not just "religious things" that
Christian people do. They are essential rituals of our politics. Through
them we learn who we are. Instead of being motives or causes for
effective social work on the part of Christian people, these liturgies are
our effective social work. For if the Church is rather than has a
social ethic, these actions are our most important social witness. It is
in baptism and the Eucharist that we see most clearly the marks of God's
Kingdom in the world. They are our standard, as we try to bring every aspect
of our lives under their sway. - Stanely Haurwas

Sacraments Part 1

2010-12-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

Taken from Peter Leithart's book Against Christianity (Cannon Press, 2003):

This has become one of my favorite citations: when Aquinas considered the "necessity" of the sacraments, his answer cited Augustine's dictum (Against Faustus 19.11) that no religious body or group can exist without signs and symbols. Signs and rites are necessary because Church is necessary, and the Church is necessary because salvation is a restoration of man not just in his individuality but in his social relations. The new creation must take a social form, and since there is no social interaction, common goals and programs, or harmonization of disparate melodies without the use of signs and symbols, common languages, common allegiances, and common participation in rites and ceremonies, so there can be no Church without sacraments. Since there can be no salvation without the Church, since indeed, the Church is salvation, there is no salvation without the sacraments.

City of Wine

2010-12-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Yahweh is disappointed that His vineyard produces no good grapes. He wants wine, but doesn’t get any.
The fruit he looks for is “justice and righteousness.” Hence: Justice is wine.
Instead of the wine of justice, Yahweh finds blood.
So comes Jesus: He sheds His blood in the city of blood, the city of injustice that kills the prophets. He sheds His blood, which becomes wine, so that Jerusalem, the city of blood, might become a vineyard, a city of justice, a city of wine.- Peter Leithart

Old St Nick

2010-12-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today is St Nicholas day, December 6. Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, he is also honored by various Anglican and Lutheran churches. St Nicholas was born 270 A.D. in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He lived in Myra in the county of Lycia where he was a bishop. He was a part of the council of Nicaea, was persecuted under the Roman emperor Diocletion and died on December 6, AD 343.

Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

We as a family look to celebrate St. Nicholas day by giving to someone that has a need. We do this in remembrance of a great saint who was following in the example of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave everything so that we might have life.

Happy Saint Nicholas day!

LIGHTS

2010-12-05T12:27:00.001-08:00

Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine glory of the one who comes to dispel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with brightness of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ. (Sophronius, seventh century

Calvin on Weekly Communion

2010-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

Concerning the Fourth Lateral Council’s decision that the faithful should partake of the Lord’s Supper once a year,Kim Riddlebarger summarizes Calvin's position thusly:

John Calvin’s desire to see the Reformed churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently is well known. Calvin spoke of the decision of the Fourth Lateran Council to celebrate the Supper annually as “a veritable invention of the devil.” Calvin says “it should have been done far differently: the Lord’s Table should have been spread at least once a week for the assembly of Christians, and the promises declared in it should feed us spiritually.”

Blasphemy

2010-09-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

In a recent article in Christianity today Mark Galli, senior editor of Christianity Today was accused of Blasphemy. Here is a quote from his article Holy Incarnation.

But the real question is whether Christians can ever avoid the charge of blasphemy: "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary; first definition).
In his The Heretical Imperative, sociologist Peter Berger noted that the word heresy is based on the Greek root meaning "to choose for one's self." To commit heresy is to choose one's belief, rather than submitting to the teaching of the tradition one is born into. Today few are born into an unquestioned tradition. In a pluralistic world, each of us must choose our beliefs. Even those who choose traditional, orthodox faith are still choosing, and thus are practicing "heresy." Today, argues Berger, we have no choice but to choose our beliefs, that is, to commit "heresy."
Given the nature of Christian claims about who God is and what he has done in Christ, I wonder whether we also have something like a "Blaspheming Imperative." Or more precisely: Can we ever escape scandalizing people from time to time?

Indefinite Adolescence

2010-08-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Mark Driscoll writes a good article for The Washington Post on American manhood. There are a lot of points that resonate; it is worth the read.

Unlikely Christ Figure

2010-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

One of the first movies I ever saw in the theater was E.T. After seeing it as a 5-year-old boy I was enthralled. I caught E.T. fever and had all the E.T. paraphernalia you could think of, well almost. The basic idea is; I loved the movie. So I was delighted to come across this quote:

"Steven Spielberg's character E.T. is, I think, a genuine Christ figure: recall the themes of preexistence, growth, teaching, miracle, healing, death, resurrection, and ascension. Spielberg denied this parallel, but in my view it is objectively there, even if Spielberg was unconscious of it. The reason is that the human mind has a need for the gospel like that of the New Testament. Those who don't accept the gospel often instinctively give to their idolatrous inventions powers parallel to those of Christ."

---John Frame (P&R 2008) 902

The Reign of Kindo

2010-08-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon The Reign of Kindo about a year ago. I was very impressed with their level of musicianship as well as their infusion of rock and jazz. There sophomore album Rhythm, Chord, & Melody is one of my favorite finds of last year. They just put out their new album this week entitled, This is What Happens. Here is a taste.

Thank You, I Needed That.

2010-08-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Is There Such a Thing as Moral Heroism?

2010-08-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

It is evident from Scripture that there are those things we are commanded to engage in and abstain from . We know that there are clear Scriptural obligations. Are there acts of love that go above and beyond? Since Scripture is our rule for life, in belief and duty, should there be a commandment for every good deed or moral obligation? Frame writes:

"If we are obligated to do something, there will be a biblical command to that effect. If there is no biblical command , there is no obligation. Once we have obeyed all those specific commands, we might imagine, we will be right with God. So it might be possible to codify our obligations fairly concisely. But a number of incidents recorded in the Bible discourage such a project."

He gives the following examples of events in Scripture that would discourage such a "project".

1. The story found in 2 Samuel 23:13-17. King David longs for water from the well of Bethlehem. David's three mighty men valiantly break through the Philistine lines to draw David the water. Frame asks:

"Were these men ethically obligated to perform this action? One looks in vain for any text of the Torah or elsewhere in Scripture that commands such a thing."

2. The example is given of the widow in Mark 12:44.

"The same question can be asked about the widow in Mark 12:44 who gave two small coins, all that she had, to the temple treasury. The law mandated only a tithe. Was she, then, performing a work of supererogation, doing more than the law requires, adding to the work of God? Or was she doing something she was not actually obligated to do?"

3. Barnabas selling his property and giving it to the church, see Acts 4:37.

4. Paul giving the gospel without charge despite the fact that he states it is his "right" to be paid by the church, 1 Corinthians 9.

Back to our original question, is there such a thing as moral heroism? Or, are the actions/good deeds aforementioned obligations? Well, in one sense God may not be asking us to do exactly what those mentioned did. On the other hand, we are obligated.

" Moral heroism is an obligation. Because overall obligation is to be like Jesus: to love as he did (John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:9-12) in his most extreme sacrifice, and to serve others as he served us (Mark 10:45).

---John M. Frame Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008) 196-199

In light of Frame's reflections on love and law--

May we, as Christians look to do extraordinary and excruciating acts of love and service unto Christ; for it is our delight and our obligation.

Under-Realized Angelology

2010-08-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading John Frame's, The Doctrine of the Christian Life. It is Frame's 1069 page opus on Christian ethics. I have been wading through it and it has been most beneficial. As I read through, I thought I would post some interesting/challenging quotes and ideas presented by Frame.

In chapter 15 entitled, "Our Ethical Situation", Frame asks, "how does the Bible characterize our ethical environment?" He states, "there are various levels of facts that we deal with in the world. These include God, angels, human society, individual existence, and nature." Angels, I have to be honest, are not beings I often consider when making ethical decisions. Here is an excerpt:

"Part of the problem is that modern people have lost touch with the supernatural and preternatural. They have become skeptical of any world or any beings beyond those that are detectable by our senses. Christians believe in God, But they have absorbed enough of the antisupernaturalism of modern culture that belief in angels seems foreign to them. It seems that belief in God is hard enough. Why add further difficulty by bringing angels into it? And if God is sovereign, what need do we have for preternatural beings? God is the one who judges and blesses us, sometimes in extraordinary ways. Why are angels important?
But Scripture itself mentions angels over three hundred times. This suggest that we need to take angels into account in our ethical decisions. Being a modern person myself, I don't pretend to have gotten very deeply into the doctrine of angels, but I would cautiously venture the following thoughts."

The main ideas are as follows:

1. "The doctrine of angels rebukes the smallness and impersonalism of our cosmology."

2. "Angels participate in kingdom warfare. The main point here is that we should not base either our hopes or our fears on the empirical situation alone."

3. " Angels are witnesses to human salvation. Although angels participate in the redemptive drama, there is another sense in which they are spectators rather than participants. Redemption doesn't extend to them." He goes on to say, "It is our privilege to teach the angels by our words and life."

4. "The doctrine of angels is a measure of the greatness of our salvation in Christ, for salvation lifts us above the angels."
See Hebrews 2:9 and the implications of the church sharing in Christ's exaltation.

---John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008) 253-256

For a further study on angels I would recommend Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them by Peter Kreeft.

Social Work

2010-08-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know what camp you are in when it comes to the millennial debate. If you are pessimistic or optimistic about future events however, I think we can all agree that Christian social action is needed and, probably more of it. If we start talking about Christian social action it may lead to an argument over what form our social action should take?

I grew up in fundamentalism and was later schooled in the reformed tradition, so I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the fence. There are many division nonetheless, here is a challenging quote:

"The movement in the 1970s ad 1980s toward greater Christian involvement in social issues was spearheaded, not by Reformed amils and postmils, but by Arminian premils like Jerry Falwell and Pat Roberson. This is an embarrassment for us reformed people, who like to think that we have a corner on Christian political thought and action, and tend to look down our noses at "fundamentalists" for their lack of a "full-orbed Christian world-and- life view." Of course, fundamentalists like Falwell and Robertson may have been influenced , at a third or fourth hand, by Reformed people like Rousas J. Rushdoony, Gary North, and Francis Schaeffer. But it was the evangelical premils who took the lead in the actual movements for social change, and we should give them credit. Here we see another reason why the church should reexamine its divisions. Full implementation of Christianity in out time requires the gifts given to people in all Christian traditions."

---John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008), 280

Blessed Are The Mourners.

2010-03-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

I can tell you for an eternal truth that troubled souls are always safe. It is the untroubled that are in danger. Trouble in itself is always a claim on love, and God is love. He must deny Himself if He does not come to help the helpless. It is the prisoner, and the blind, and the leper, and the possessed, and the hungry, and the tempest-tossed, who are His special care. Therefore if you are lost and sick and bound, you are just in the place where He can meet you. Blessed are the mourners. They shall be comforted.

Andrew Jukes (1815-1901)

Reflections on Lent

2010-02-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

February 17^th is Ash Wednesday. As I mentioned before, I am not in a liturgical tradition but believe the liturgical year can be a great tool in our sanctification. As far as active asceticism goes, I don’t do so well. Lent, if observed, is a good time to implement the gospel into our lives in a palpable way. Jesus stating that those who would follow him must take up their cross and deny himself (Luke 9:23). Self-denial is not something that is embraced or practiced in our culture. We are people of gross indulgence. We are gluttons for food, television, movies, video games, magazines, and all those things having to do with leisure and recreation. We are better at gorging ourselves then denying ourselves. But the mark of the Christian is, should be, that of denial. Below is a synopsis and good reflection on what Lent is about.

“The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him. Thus it is fitting that the season of Lent begin with a symbol of repentance: placing ashes mixed with oil on one's head or forehead. However, we must remember that our Lenten disciplines are supposed to ultimately transform our entire person: body, soul, and spirit. Our Lenten disciplines are supposed to help us become more like Christ. Eastern Christians call this process theosis, which St. Athanasius aptly describes as "becoming by grace what God is by nature."

LOST

2010-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

Time travel, monsters, pain, joy, ontology, relationships, peril, paradise, personal triumphs, catastrophic failures, unexplained occurrences, religion; just some of the topics you will find on my favorite show LOST. I am very much excited about Season 6, which is the last and final installment of this "time travel odyssey." Creators Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof, and J.J. Abrams have created, what I would consider to be one of the most intricate and perspicacious television show to date. I am not even going to attempt to recap the past five seasons. I will say if you haven’t watched them I would encourage you to do so. We will finally see what becomes of the passengers from Oceanic Flight 815. Lost Season 6 premiers Tuesday, February 2nd at 9PM EST. Below is a stirring recap:

Epiphany

2010-01-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Most Christians I know are not in a liturgical tradition. I personally find this grievous seeing that most Protestants have lost rich Christian holidays and the rhythm that comes from the Christian calender. The liturgical year is as follows:

"The Christian calendar is organized around two major centers of Sacred Time: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, concluding at Pentecost. The rest of the year following Pentecost is known as Ordinary Time, from the word "ordinal," which simply means counted time (First Sunday after Pentecost, etc.). Ordinary Time is used to focus on various aspects of the Faith, especially the mission of the church in the world. Some church traditions break up ordinary time into a Pentecost Season, (Pentecost until the next to last Sunday of August) and Kingdomtide (last Sunday of August until the beginning of Advent)."

Today is Epiphany (January 6th) or three kings day. We are all familiar with the twelve days of Christmas, at least the song. For centuries the church has agreed that there are twelve days of Christmas beginning Christmas day and ending with the feast of Epiphany. The feast of Epiphany is a feast celebrating the 'shining forth' or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Epiphany is the date on which Caspar,

Melchior, and Balthasar, who are variously referred to as The Three Kings, Three Wise Men, or Magi arrived from the east bearing gifts for Jesus. In the story they see the star in the west announcing the birth of the Messiah and then follow the star to see the new king. They bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-7).

My hope is that whatever tradition you are in that you would stop and ponder in you heart God's ultimate revelation in the person of Jesus Christ and thank him for our great salvation on this last day of Christmas.

For Want...

2010-01-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’ Engle, which is the second book in her time travel quintet. In the novel she quotes from

the proverb For want of a Nail. In the book it is used to show how a microscopic creature can affect the fate of the universe, and is the impetus for much of what takes place. Here is the proverb:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

This is a proverb that I have been ruminating on as I begin the New Year. The idea relayed by the proverb- that my seemingly minute attitudes, beliefs, and actions could have catastrophic or constructive effects on my life. The idea in physics known as chaos theory or the butterfly effect viz., that all events are linked and affected by initial conditions.

Proverbs 4:23, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Happy New Year!

Men

2009-11-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

I am in a guys group that meets weekly. The topic that we have been discussing over the past couple of months is the topic of masculinity. I have come to find that this topic viz., the topic of gender is crucial to how we understand ourselves, our culture, and our individual roles/function. In our culture we have largely lost what it means to be distinctively male and female. The lines have been so blurred, that it would seem that they can be synonymous; the old adage, anything you can do I can do better. Due to this lack of distinguishing, who we are and how we ought to live out our gender, we find ourselves in a plight.

I counsel many men who have been or are abusive. I counsel many men who are incredibly passive. I counsel many men who are addicted. I counsel many men who are scarred. And I see a generation of men who are largely lost in a big world, grasping for direction and security in the face of their own insecurity. I interact with so many men who say, "I have no idea who I am."

I have compassion on this generation of men who seem to be bearingless, without proper functioning fathers to forge a path, I was one of them. However, we do not only need compassion, we need a good kick in the tail.

I came across this video. No matter what you may think of it or his delivery; I feel it is a strong prophetic voice speaking into what I see is a desolate landscape of American masculinity.

Cranmer

2009-10-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a good article entitled, Thomas Cranmer: God Must Intervene for Salvation, by Justin Holcomb. Thomas Cranmer is one reformer who seems to be a bit overlooked. The article is informative in giving some information on Cranmer but also in its challenge to think about what drives us. Here is a great excerpt:

In an interview about Cranmer, Ashley Null summarizes powerfully humanity's problem:According to the Thomas Cranmer's anthropology, what the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies. The mind doesn't direct the will. The mind is actually captive to what the will wants, and the will itself, in turn, is captive to what the heart wants. The trouble with human nature is that we are born with a heart that loves ourselves over and above everything else in this world, including God. In short, we are born slaves to the lust for self-gratification. That's why, if left to ourselves, we will always love those things that make us feel good about ourselves, even as we depart more and more from God and his ways. Therefore, God must intervene in our lives in order to bring salvation. Working through Scripture, the Holy Spirit first brings a conviction of sin in a believer's heart, then he births a living faith by which the believer lays hold of the extrinsic righteousness of Christ.

It is a helpful excerpt underscoring a reality that many are not attune to, which is, that our will and heart drive us more than our thinking. It is our passions that get the best of us and it is our minds that attempt to expunge our guilt (justify). This is not to say that we don’t employ our minds, to the best of our abilities, saturating it in truth, the truth of Scripture, to combat our passions that can set our lives aflame. However, as Cranmer has suggested, it is primarily a supernatural act of the Spirit that works in us not only to justify but also to sanctify.

Collision

2009-09-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Collision comes out October 27th and should prove to be a good movie. The movie is a debate between journalist/ atheist Christopher Hitchens and Pastor Douglas Wilson.

John Piper interviews Doug Wilson about the upcoming Collision movie.

In addition, here is the new trailer:

"Collision: Hitchens vs. Wilson" - EXCLUSIVE 13 minute preview from LEVEL4 on Vimeo.

Armistice

2009-08-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Mute Math just released their second album Armistice. Armistice is defined as, "an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce." The Album title is a window into the bands life prior to making the album. Evidently the band was about to break up before writing this album because of disagreements. You can read the full story here: http://www.myspace.com/mutemath

I have to say after listening to the album a couple of times, I think it is quite good. I think they have definitely evolved as a band. They continue to be a great blend of organic and electronic. The melodies at times soar, the beats are driving, and at times the music is just beautiful; the song Lost Year; mainly piano and Paul Meany's dynamic voice is a good example. As far as a band that is still creating good Rock and looking to be innovative, Mute Math is definitely one of those bands.

I am thankful for bands who are taking their craft seriously and are looking to be progressive in the arts.

So all that to say I recommend this album!

Global warming is the new religion of First World urban elites

2009-07-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

The Canadian oilsands industry has been getting a rough ride in recent months in the U.S., where many politicians have lined up to urge restrictions on imports of Canada's 'dirty oil.' California is moving to a low-carbon fuel standard, big-city mayors have targeted oilsands as a driver of global warming, a

Photograph by: Tim Fraser/Calgary Herald, Canwest News Service

Ian Plimer has outraged the ayatollahs of purist environmentalism, the Torquemadas of the doctrine of global warming, and he seems to relish the damnation they heap on him.

Plimer is a geologist, professor of mining geology at Adelaide University, and he may well be Australia's best-known and most notorious academic.

Plimer, you see, is an unremitting critic of "anthropogenic global warming" -- man-made climate change to you and me -- and the current environmental orthodoxy that if we change our polluting ways, global warming can be reversed.

It is, of course, not new to have a highly qualified scientist saying that global warming is an entirely natural phenomenon with many precedents in history. Many have made the argument, too, that it is rubbish to contend human behaviour is causing the current climate change. And it has often been well argued that it is totally ridiculous to suppose that changes in human behaviour -- cleaning up our act through expensive slight-of-hand taxation tricks -- can reverse the trend.

But most of these scientific and academic voices have fallen silent in the face of environmental Jacobinism. Purging humankind of its supposed sins of environmental degradation has become a religion with a fanatical and often intolerant priesthood, especially among the First World urban elites.

But Plimer shows no sign of giving way to this orthodoxy and has just published the latest of his six books and 60 academic papers on the subject of global warming. This book, Heaven and Earth -- Global Warming: The Missing Science, draws together much of his previous work. It springs especially from A Short History of Plant Earth, which was based on a decade of radio broadcasts in Australia.

That book, published in 2001, was a best-seller and won several prizes. But Plimer found it hard to find anyone willing to publish this latest book, so intimidating has the environmental lobby become.

But he did eventually find a small publishing house willing to take the gamble and the book has already sold about 30,000 copies in Australia. It seems also to be doing well in Britain and the United States in the first days of publication.

Plimer presents the proposition that anthropogenic global warming is little more than a con trick on the public perpetrated by fundamentalist environmentalists and callously adopted by politicians and government officials who love nothing more than an issue that causes public anxiety.

While environmentalists for the most part draw their conclusions based on climate information gathered in the last few hundred years, geologists, Plimer says, have a time frame stretching back many thousands of millions of years.

The dynamic and changing character of the Earth's climate has always been known by geologists. These changes are cyclical and random, he says. They are not caused or significantly affected by human behaviour.

Polar ice, for example, has been present on the Earth for less than 20 per cent of geological time, Plimer writes. Plus, animal extinctions are an entirely normal part of the Earth's evolution.

(Plimer, by the way, is also a vehement anti-creationist and has been hauled into court for disrupting meetings by religious leaders and evangelists who claim the Bible is literal truth.)

Plimer gets especially upset about carbon dioxide, its role in Earth's daily life and the supposed effects on climate of human manufacture of the gas. He says atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at the lowest levels it has been for 500 million years, and that atmospheric carbon dioxide is only 0.001 per cent of the total amount of the chemical held in the oceans, surface rocks, soils and various life forms. Indeed, Plimer says carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, but a plant food. Plants eat carbon dioxide and excrete oxygen. Human activity, he says, contributes only the tiniest fraction to even the atmospheric presence of carbon dioxide.

There is no problem with global warming, Plimer says repeatedly. He points out that for humans periods of global warming have been times of abundance when civilization made leaps forward. Ice ages, in contrast, have been times when human development slowed or even declined.

So global warming, says Plimer, is something humans should welcome and embrace as a harbinger of good times to come.

Peaches, Strings, and Straw

2009-06-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to an orchard with my small group. It was deemed our "summer day". During this time of year peaches are in season in addition to Tomatoes, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Green Beans, Squash & Cucumbers, and this is what they had. If it was peach they had it. Peach salsa, peach ice cream, peach slushies, and it was all delicious. I got my peach slushy, sat down on a bale of hay, and listened to a bluegrass band, after eating three peaches. The Little Mountain Boys, as they called themselves, consisted of an upright bass, a mandolin, steel guitar, acoustic guitar, and a banjo. In this moment all was right with the world. There is something to be said about the hillbilliy way of life, not very complicated and not bogged down. It feels more connected to me. It felt less pretentious, stripped down, and obviously slower.

Enjoying and drinking in is something I don't do enough. Thinking of this striped down, country way of life where people of the past and people here, without digital entertainment, share earths good food and the pride of their work, their own crafted music, and conversation. If all things are road signs as it were, to heaven, this was a good pointer and opportunity to again get in touch with my own longing, not for the Appalachian mountains, but for the city of God.

Thank God for peaches, strings, and straw.

Missing Link?

2009-05-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Christine Dao writes:

Scientists and media outlets around the world are praising “Ida,” the primate fossil hailed as the long-sought-after “missing link” in the human evolutionary theory.
In a major public relations campaign, Ida was unveiled in New York City yesterday, May 19, 2009, and will make a stop in London May 26 before returning to its owners at the University of Oslo’s Natural History Museum. BBC1 will air a documentary based on the fossil the same day as its UK unveiling, and Little, Brown—publisher of the popular Twilight fiction series—put out a book about the find today. Even Internet search engine Google posted a special banner in Ida’s honor.
But despite the hype, a whirlwind of questions still surrounds the discovery. First, the environment in which the fossil was kept for 20 years is unclear. Ida, who bears the technical name Darwinius masillae in honor of this year’s 200^th anniversary of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s birth, was found in 1983 by an amateur fossil hunter at Germany’s Messel Pit. He kept it in unknown conditions before deciding to sell it through a dealer two years ago.
Second, the purchaser’s stated motivation for obtaining the fossil seemed to emphasize business over research. University of Oslo paleontologist Jørn Hurum nicknamed the fossil “Ida” after his own small daughter and told UK news outlet The Guardian, “You need an icon or two in a museum to drag people in…this is our Mona Lisa and it will be our Mona Lisa for the next 100 years.”¹Hurum purchased the fossil for an undisclosed sum from the dealer based on seeing only three photographs and not the actual fossil, a “huge gamble” that suggests pressure to make some kind of return on the university’s investment.
Third, the fossil was hailed as humanity’s missing evolutionary link before the technical details of the find were published. This strategy effectively prevented the scientific community from evaluating the data and possibly calling a halt to the campaign on account of the fact that Ida has no transitional features and is therefore irrelevant to the evolutionary hypothesis of human development. Paleontologists are speaking out, but their voices are thus far being drowned out by the hype. Richard Kay from Duke University told Science that “the data is cherry-picked.”²
Ida, though an amazingly well-preserved fossil, will prove to be another Lucy, Java Man,Archaeopteryx, Confuciusornis, Pakicetus, and Eosimias. It will undoubtedly join the growing collection of fossils that were once thought to be missing links, but that upon further study turned out to be extinct creatures with no transitional features.

Update: “Revolutionary” Fossil Fails to Dazzle Paleontologists

Supremacy

2009-04-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

On March 30th President Barack Obama addressed Turkish parliament and stated that the United States is not at war with Islam. Albert Mohler posted a great response to Obama's statements. I have taken some excerpts from his blog in an attempt to dispel pop cultural naivete concerning the compatibility and reconcilability of world religions, namely Christianity and Islam.

Islam is, in effect, the single most vital competitor to Western ideals of civilization on the world scene. The logic of Islam is to bring every square inch of this planet under submission to the rule of the Qur'an. Classical Islam divides the world into the "World of Islam" and the "World of War." In this latter world the struggle to bring the society under submission to the Qur'an is still ongoing.

This ambition drives the Muslim world -- and each faithful Muslim -- to hope, pray, and work for the submission of the whole world to the Qur'an. Clearly, most Muslims are not willing to employ terrorism in order to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, it remains the goal.

I heard an interview this past week on NPR where the interviewee stated that Islam is not a threat to society and poses no harm to western civilization. Moreover he stated that those within Islam who are violent have misinterpreted the Qur'an. Although the latter statement may have some warrant it does not detract from the fact stated above, that Islam is still about world domination. Whether those adherents to Islam believe that this comes from conversions or violent means.

The Judeo- Christian belief is also a belief in world dominion. The difference in the Christian worldview is that the earth will be ruled by Christ and his Saints. Jesus is coming back and waging war on his enemies. His wrath will be poured out on his enemies. Christians are about world domination, bringing the rule of Christ to all peoples in all places though the gospel.

Mathew 28:18, And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in [2] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Every square inch of the globe belongs to Christ. It is our goal, as it is the Muslims to subdue the earth-except our subjugation is through gospel means to the glory of the Son of Man (Daniel 7). In no way are these views reconcilable or compatible and neither is any other view that would state otherwise.

Coexistence is a pleasant thought however, concerning our religious ideologies it is, frankly, an impossibility.

St. Patrick- A man to be esteemed.

2009-04-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

I just read a biography on St. Patrick by Philip Freeman. Patrick was a man who devoted his life to the spreading of the gospel. We celebrate him every year on the day that historians think he may have died. However, St. Patrick's day has nothing to do with the man, his passion, or his mission, which is sad. He is a man to be esteemed as he lived and died bringing the gospel to the people of Ireland.

In A.D. 410 Germanic Visigoths sacked and burned Rome. This event

marked the end of a 500 year reign by the Roman Empire spanning, what was then much of the modern world. Just prior to this event in the last 4th century a boy named Patricus was born to a local Roman Decurion and his wife. Patrick was born into a family of prominence and had all of his needs taken care of. His father was not only a magistrate but also a deacon and his grandfather a priest. In spite of Patrick and his family's social standing when Patrick was 15 years old something tragic happened. Patrick who lived in Britain under Roman rule was kidnapped out of his villa by Irish raiders who sold him in Ireland as a slave. Although a tragic event here, in Ireland, is where Patrick began hearing the voice of God in dreams and visions and consequently, had a spiritual awakening. After six grueling years tending sheep under harsh conditions on the Irish countryside, he had a dream from God telling him to go to the coast where he could escape back to Britain, and this is exactly what he did. However, after returning home the Lord continued to speak to Patrick and called him back to Ireland to be a missionary to the very people who enslaved him.

Patrick brought the

gospel to Ireland and was a profound missionary. Patrick would set up churches in small towns, combated the Druids and their paganism, converted sons and daughters of kings, and had a large following of women slaves. Patrick devoted his life to bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. In the context of the Roman Empire Ireland was thought to be just that. It was believed by some in the empire to be a cold, almost inhabitable wasteland. It was here that Patrick gave his life.

Patrick in his own words:

"I declare in truth and with joy in my heart-before God and his holy angels- that I have ever had any motive in my work except preaching the good news and his promises. That is the only reason I returned to Ireland-a place I barely escaped alive."

My favorite prayer attributed to Patrick:

"Christ protect me today.

Christ with me/ Christ before me/ Christ behind me/ Christ below me/ Christ above me/ Christ to the right of me/ Christ to the left of me/ Christ where I lie/ Christ where I sit/ Christ where I stand/ Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me/ Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me/ Christ in every eye which sees me/ Christ in every ear which hears me."

"Patrick gave his life to the people who had enslaved him until he died at 77 years of age. He had seen untold thousands of people convert as between 30-40 of the 150 tribes had become substantially Christian. He had trained 1000 pastors, planted 700 churches, and was the first noted person in history to take a strong public stand against slavery."

Patrick is indeed a man to be esteemed in a long line of men who faithfully have preached the gospel and, with us are a part of the communio sanctorum (communion of saints) namely, the saint alive and dead who make up the single "mystical body" of Christ.

Dirt

2009-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” Martin Luther

A friend of mine has provided me with some land to try my hand at husbandry. It is not a huge plot but seems to be just the right size for a novice like myself. There are some profound lessons that have come while I have been planting, digging, and tilling these past few weeks. These lessons have come in thinking about my solidarity with nature in worshiping, waiting, and responding.

Romans tells us that man is without excuse in the final judgment because the creation speaks clearly of the Creator; Romans 1:18-20 says,
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Creation reflects the beauty of its Creator, it is a form of revelation. I also am commissioned to bring revelation, the revelation of God’s good news to the ends of the earth. Psalm 19:1, “the heavens declare the glory of the Lord.” It is my primary occupation to make known the glory that creation is “pronouncing.” I am in collaboration with nature and the created order, we are of a similar task.
I share with creation in the worship of the creator and the reflecting of his majesty.

We worship together.

In addition to this I am linked to creation in waiting to be redeemed. Romans 8:19 & 21, For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 21, That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God “Every created thing animate and inanimate, awaits the splendor of this freeing this revealing of God’s adopted son’s, because the universe itself is to be freed from the shackles of mortality and enter upon the liberty and the splendor of the children of God. And all of nature will acknowledge in praise and adoration its creator.”

We Wait Together

God is the prime mover he is the ultimate masculine he initiates both in life as creator and in salvation as redeemer. So in relation to him we are all feminine, we are responders, and so is the soil. It is feminine; it waits to respond to seed that is sown. She is called mother earth. She is a responder to the sowing and work of the husbandman. She is a responder, like us, to the creator and as it is our mandate to rule over her, to subdue her, she responds to us. The new age movement calls the earth our mother, as if we are birthed from her and her alone and this is to be rejected for sure. However, there is a truth that from her, from the dust, we have been created. As I crouch in the dirt I look at the very substance from which man was formed. And dirt man was until, God initiated and sowed life into Adam; Gen 2:7, “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
In relation to Salvation Jesus said in Jn 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

He initiated, he chose us, that we might, like the soil, bear fruit; he sowed his life and spirit in our hearts.

We Respond Together

Scripture connects us, Isaiah 64:8, But now, O Lord, you are our Father;  we are the clay, and you are our potter;  we are all the work of your hand. As well as 2 Corinthians 4:7 stating that we are earthen vessels that are inhabited by the power of God. To quote a line from Jacob Zachary, "we are nothing but souls in God thirsty bowls of divinity and dust."

I am more connected to her then I think about and probably can imagine. We are connected. I am to Glorify my creator with her and through her as we await our mutual redemption and re-creation.

“Blessed are those who get the joke.”

2009-03-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished Frederick Beuchner's book and found it to be very good. This post is based on this book. If this post strikes your interest I would encourage you to check it out.

Genesis chapter 17 tells us the story of a geriatric couple who were childless. Two oldies that stopped dreaming a long time ago. What it would be like to have kids? And now, in their late nineties, what it would be like to have grandchildren. Their dreams filled with youngsters who would sit in their laps to hear their stories. Children who would fill their home with laughter and run and play at their feet. The sound of laughing, and playing children didn’t seem to be in the cards for these two old folks. The embarrassment; living in a time where having children was such an honor and such a sign of favor. Yet, in spite of all their wishful thinking, and all of their hopes, Sarah was today like she had been yesterday, barren.

But this is not the end of the story. In their old age they have a visitor, an angel as a matter of fact. He comes baring news, ridiculous news actually, the news that Sarah will actually conceive. This news, so ridiculous that we are told Abraham fell on his face laughing. He did not give just a little belly laugh; he falls on his face knowing how incredibly preposterous a hundred year old man having a baby is. The Lord appeared again some time later we are told in Genesis 18 and Sarah overhears the Lord talking about this, wore out women, as she calls herself, having a child. What is her response? She laughs! When asked why she was laughing, she denies it, and the Lord says no, you did laugh. And because this is all so ridiculously funny, these old bags having a child, they wind up naming him Isaac, which means laughter-- “And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”

We are apart of this promise to Abraham. We are the heirs as well—“ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:29). So you see, their joke is our joke as well because it is just as ridiculous that God would send his only son to die for lowly sinners. It is the unbelievable news that in our state of hopelessness, in our tragedies, when we are at out wits end and we are done hoping and longing that God steps in and makes us laugh with delight. In the midst of our sinful tragedy we can laugh because we are among the redeemed, we have been brought in on the joke, “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles “ (1 Corinthians 1:23). It is this lunacy that saves us , this foolhardiness is the power of God. It is a fairly tale that God will come for us his bride, breaking into our existence and take us away to his kingdom.

Blessed are those who get the joke!

Leithart on Lent

2009-03-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

I saw this post and thought I would share it.

Lent is a season for taking stock and cleaning house, a time of self-examination, confession and repentance. But we need to remind ourselves constantly what true repentance looks like. “Giving up” something for Lent is fine, but you keep Lent best by making war on all the evil habits and sinful desires that prevent you from running the race with patience.

Going through the motions of Lent without turning to God and putting our sins to death is hypocrisy, and few things rile our God so much as hypocrisy. “Rend your hearts and not your garments,” Joel says.

So: During this season, don’t just give up soft drinks; mount a concerted campaign against impatience. Don’t just put aside your favorite TV show; subdue your anger. Don’t just fast; kill your self-centeredness.

This doesn’t make Lent a season for gloominess and defeat. On the contrary, during this season we celebrate the victorious suffering and death of Jesus, and we should enter the season trusting in the Spirit of Jesus, who subdues our flesh and molds us to the image of Christ.

Lent is a season for joy also because it is a motif in a larger composition. The rhythm of the church year follows the rhythm of the Lord’s day service. Each week, we pass through a small “Lenten” moment in our liturgy, as we kneel for confession. But we don’t kneel through the whole service, and in the same way we don’t observe the fast forever.

Jesus tells us to fast with washed faces and anointed heads, that is, to fast as if prepared for a feast. We fast properly when we fast not only in humility but in hope; we keep the fast when we fall before God full of repentance but also full of confidence that our Great King will raise us up.

Zeal

2009-01-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

The kind of religion that God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless "wouldings"-those weak inclinations that lack convictions-that raise us but a little above indifference. God, in his word, greatly insists that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and that our hearts be engaged vigorously in our religion:

"Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

-Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746)

Guitar

2009-01-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

One of my passions is music, particularly good guitar playing. Since Michael Hedges, a number of players have been pushing the envelope- attacking the instrument in unconventional ways, particularly honing in on tapping. Here are some guys, Eric Mongrain and Andy Mckee who are quite impressive. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I have.

"O" NO...2009

2009-01-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

We are rolling into January and we, by now, are getting into life as usual. I had some friends tell me that they are ready to get back into the routine after taking holiday respite. For myself however, I am never that thrilled about the routine.

So what is your resolution? What is going to make life better for you this year? What thing or things did you get disgusted with last year and have embarked on changing this New Year? Have you started out of the gates with resolve and tenacity to not let those things entangle you again? The bad news is, we are failures. The old adage that, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” rings true. How many people never lost any weight, or failed to keep it off? Or continued to be nasty to their spouse or, fill in the blank, after swearing that this year would be different? Look at the cover of “O” this month; the queen of estrogen motivation herself is a prime example.

I like the idea of New Years resolutions. But, I think we can miss the point that this is our everyday call. That resolving anew is the rhythm of our lives. We can put it into many different biblical terms like: putting off the old man and putting on the new, taking up our cross daily, renewing our minds, etc. Our sacramental call to worship is that we follow that very pattern. We die, we bury the old man, and we rise with newness of life in resurrection power. This is the pattern of the Lord’s Supper, this is the reality of baptism, and they both speak to our identity as the “New Man.”

I want to resolve to do this daily, knowing like a child I have an inability to advance my own cause apart from the help, direction, and resources of my heavenly Father. May we all find the grace and help we need to “put to death and put away” those things that are earthly in us (Colossians 3:5-8) this year and all the years that we tarry.

I'll Do It Tomorrow...

2008-12-30T22:53:00.001-08:00

In my struggle to not procrastinate, and this is my struggle- these are welcome words to both encourage and challenge me. I hope they do the same for you.

"No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow.
It is only when they are behind us and done,
that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards,
and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.

Accomplished, they are full of blessing,
and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us.
Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility,
and hindering our communion with God.

If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink,
go straight up to it, and do it at once.
The only way to get rid of it is to do it."

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Peace

2008-12-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas again and I am hoping everyone got all the things that they wanted. In the midst of a declining economy, with the threat of a recession and continued recession, I wonder if it has slowed our consumeristic stride? There seems to be such a drive to buy, spend, and live life like there are no warnings. The surgeon general’s warnings don’t stop most of the hoi polloi from tobacco use and it doesn’t seem as if the recent economical red flags will slow our drive to purchase more stuff. Well, with tobacco use it is an addiction, and so is our consumerism

In our hearts there seems to be a refusal to “stop and listen to the music.” The music that may be playing a melody of loneliness, or boredom, broken relationships, shame and contempt; we all have our songs. If we stopped buying, cooking, laughing, drinking, acting, eating, recreating etc, we would hear the inner clamoring-and then what would happen? We would have to face “IT.”

O the courage to stop, to tune in, to tune in to our heart, hurts and addictions-not keep life on autopilot and take up courage; courage that comes from believing in the man who was tortured and bloodied on a cross. Jesus who the prophet Isaiah spoke of saying, that by his stripes we could be healed.

I hope the baby in the manger is your healer. May we stop, for God’s sake, and our own, to allow Jesus the baby, the man, the bloodied sacrifice, the risen King, to come into our clamoring hearts and bring PEACE.

Love has come and peace is here….

Amen

"Horton Hears a Who" ( A Tale of Human Dignity)

2008-12-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching "Horton Hears a Who." My son has the story book, which I purchased for him some time ago, however, I failed to recall the story and its profound message until I saw the movie. "In the storybook version of "Horton Hears a Who," famous children's author Dr. Seuss tells the story of a community of microscopic people called "Who's" who live in "Who-ville". The world is a tiny, yet technologically advanced community of people living on a dust-speck. The jungle elephant Horton has excellent hearing that alerts him to the presence of the people, and he promises to protect them from danger." The antagonist of the story, Sour Kangaroo, embodies the empiricist view with the motto, "If you can’t see, hear or feel something, it doesn’t exist.” Sour Kangaroo is on a mission to destroy the clover (where the Who's live) and bring down Horton, due to the fact that she believes Horton's beliefs and efforts to preserve the Who's are a "nonsensical game." Horton, to his accusers retorts, “A person’s a person. No matter how small” In the midst of abuse and much peril (long story short) Horton prevails and even Sour Kangaroo becomes a "believer" by the end of the book/movie.

The adage "A person is a person no matter how small" is the major motif of the movie. There are some pro-life groups that have used this statement as their unofficial phrase. We don't know Mr. Theodore Geise's (Dr. Seuss) intentions in writing the book. Either way, the "Screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul emphasize the book’s value as an allegory about religious belief."
The book indeed is an allegory about religious beliefs and a window into that fact that we, no matter how small, have been created in the Imago Dei. I would strongly recommend this movie.

Joy to The World

2008-12-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

We have a King, he has come and inaugurated his Kingdom, He will return to gather his people. Joy to the World, our Savior reigns! We have this blessed hope:

Titus 2:11-15a, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
15 Declare these things...

Let us indeed make this declaration one to another.

"No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found."

-Isaac Watts

No Wonder.

2008-12-14T06:53:00.000-08:00

It seems as I continue to get older my internal excitement for things tends to be less potent. But my two sons are beginning to bring me to the school of wonder. I wanted to share one of my favorite Chesterton quotes as we continue to "grow old."

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Sacramental Channels

2008-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

As Christmas draws closer we begin to sing about Emmanuel (God with us) and hear about the reality of the incarnation. The incarnation-Jesus who embodied in the flesh God himself. The most amazing expression of love; that God would descend into his own creation, put on flesh, and in bodily demonstration show us that he doesn't despise matter, but rather, weds divinity and flesh in Christ. This incarnation a precursor to our own incarnational reality. That God would not only send his son wrapped in flesh but, at Pentecost, he would use us as a receptacle for the Divine. He sent his Spirit to dwell in those who would be born again. This reality is not only known through the idea/reality of the incarnation but also can be thought of in terms of sacrament. "The sacramental view of reality affirms that Spirit can be and is encountered in and through material forms." The two main forms ordained for us in Scripture are those of the Lord's Supper and Baptism and in taking part in Baptism and the Eucharist we experience the presence of Christ. To say it another way,"sacramentalism is the belief that God works through physical things to effect our lives. What sacramentalism declares is that there is nothing outside of God's strength. There is no more of an ultimate spiritual declaration than this: God can use whatever he wants to speak to us, change us and work in our lives, even physical elements transformed by grace." The Westminster Divines stated it like this, "God in his ordinary providence, makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at his pleasure" (WCF 5.3).

We are those, if we are Christians, that have been "transformed by grace." We have come into, through faith in Christ, a union with him. We know as Christ prayed in Jn 17: 21, "that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me." Moreover, Paul in Galatians 2:20 states that he no longer lives but "Christ lives in me." And through this mystical union we become "Sacramental channels"; a people in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit charged to bring the presence of Christ to others. So we as Christians are "sacramental" in the sense that he or she is a channel for the Presence, a medium through which Love Himself can flow."

May we keep Christ's presence in the forefront of our reality and look to do the same in the lives of others.

Living Stones (A Threefold Perspective)

2008-12-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

I am excited about blogging and have been inspired by some good friends of mine to start.

So why the title, Living Stones? Taken from 1 Peter chapter 2:4-6, Peter calls the Christian a living stone and he calls the collective body of Christ living stones. He speaks explicitly about our identity as well as our function as believers. In relation to our identity, "chosen and precious." In relation to our function, we are, personally and collectively, being built up, we are a priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices through Christ, who is the chief cornerstone.

Explicitly and Implicitly I believe this passage speaks to three intertwined realities that we must come to terms with. This passage includes you, the individual, living stone; it includes "you yourselves" the people of God as a whole, and God.

In verse 1, Peter says that we are to want spiritual milk so that we can grow up. Growing up comes with proper understanding. Calvin in Institutes of the Christian Religion book one chapter one says, "without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God." He goes on to say that all wisdom we posses needs to be twofold : knowledge of God and ourselves. God's Spirit, Sacrament, his Scriptures, his creation etc, impart to us "knowledge of God." However, other than God who or what gives us an understanding of ourselves? Community, the other stones that support us and make up, vs. 9. a chosen race, the royal priesthood, a holy nation.

We need a proper understanding of ourselves and it is my firm belief that this can not be done apart from others. No man is an island unto himself and no man can see himself aright apart from community. It takes the exposing eyes of others to help our myopic predisposition. To be able to see ourselves and God we need God's other chosen and precious stones.