Sturdy Shoes, et al.

I found a really good and helpful description (with pictures!) of what Paul probably had in mind when he was urging the people in Ephesus to put on the full armor of God.

This. Is Wrong.

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing.

...men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."  1 Timothy 6:3, 5

Same Ol' Same Ol'

You know the old saw: what goes around, comes around.  Or, more Biblically stated: There is nothing new under the sun.  For all of mankind's advances over the centuries and the exponential growth of tech in the last two or three decades, we're not that much better off in terms of the typical human personal difficulties.  Wait - I don't mean difficulties, I mean sinful behavior. 

Our advances have made living on earth better (depending on who you ask), but they haven't made us better.  And this is why the Gospel is always relevant, and always needed, and should always be a priority. In Children Of The Living God, Sinclair Ferguson puts it like this:

"One of the reasons we continue to find the teaching of the New Testament so contemporary is becasue in every age people distort the teaching of the gospel in similar ways."

There you have it.  Scripture is always relevant because men have been and always will be the same. The answer to humanity's problem isn't technological advancement, even though "everything is amazing". The answer is the transforming, life-giving power of the true Gospel.

This Right Here Is Absolutely Wonderful

I may be mistaken - and believe me that's entirely possible - but I think that Michael Gungor's creativity is not widely enough known. The beautiful musical romp below is the perfect vessel for conveying Gungor's lyrical cargo. (Thanks to Chris for bringing this to my attention!)

 

In Which I Quote Something Fantastic

Churches emphasize all kinds of things these days: collecting canned goods, contemporary worship, sending kids to camp, blessing animals (?!?), Sunday School attendance, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the power of positive thinking - the list is long and varied, and the items range from indispensable to indefensible.  The thing is, if the Cross of Christ is not central and foundational to any activity in which a local church engages or to any priority it pursues, and particularly if the Cross of Christ is incompatible with any activity (how about that animal blessing thing?) or priority, then that activity is worthless.

Dan Phillips puts it this way in The World Tilting Gospel:

"Christ and His cross are. . .central to the church of God as well.  Given that God pivots everything on the person and work of Christ, the church of Christ should do the same in its preaching, thinking, worship, and practice.

"To put it bluntly: If we think we have something better to offer, then we think we know something God doesn't know.

"Which. . .dude. Seriously. Whoa.  Think about that."

It's wisdom like that which is helping me to define the work that I do in my own local church, and even my day to day life.

Inspired Fear

"I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me."  Jeremiah 32:39,40

Isn't it amazing that one component of God's sovereign purpose in the life of His beloved is to inspire them to fear Him.  It is plain here that this fear is for our own good (and here we see His glory and our benefit wrapped up together), and it is one of the tools God uses to keep those who are truly His.  Consider these pairings: "I will give them...", "so that they will always fear me...", and "I will inspire them to fear...", "they will never turn away".

God Himself grants us the grace, through fear of him, to persevere in obedience.  And that's a good thing, because we would never find it within ourselves.

Payson of Maine (A Worthy Repost)

Edward Payson, American Congregational preacher from Maine, early 19th century:

"I have sometimes heard of spells and charms to excite love, and have wished for them, when a boy, that I might cause others to love me. but how much do I now wish for some charm which should lead men to love the Saviour! . . . Could I paint a true likeness of Him, methinks I should rejoice to hold it up to the view and admiration of all creation, and be hid behind it forever. It would be heaven enough to hear Him praised and adored. But I can not paint Him; I can not describe Him; I can not make others love Him; nay, I can not love Him a thousandth part so much as I ought myself. O, for an angel's tongue! O, for the tongues of ten thousand angels, to sound His praises."

I know in my own life I have often been dull towards the Spirit of God and the glory of our Savior - still am, at times. But, mercifully, I also know the yearning feeling of wanting others to wake up and with eyes wide open see the beauty of Christ. It's almost unbelievable how many folks can coast through a meeting where the Truth is fervently, earnestly sung about and preached and remain as dull as dirt and completely unmoved. But it doesn't matter; for my part, I want to lift up my Redeemer with all that I am, as best as I can. No, I can't love Him like I ought, but I'm working on it.

What Children Want Most (A Worthy Repost)

Behold, my first grade class (I'm the fella in the blue Star Trek shirt on the front row. Yeah, I'm cool like that):

My first grade teacher passed away last week. She had taught first grade for 37 years. I guess when something works well, there's no need to change it.

I distinctly remember NOT learning how to read in first grade. For me it just "happened". I do remember reading out loud for Miss Hehn (later Mrs. Purdon) about a dog name Spot and how he loved to run, and I remember being so proud. Not proud in the nasty, arrogant way adults are, but the face-beaming, heart-warming way that six year olds are when they've accomplished something. I credit Miss Hehn for that.

I also remember that I felt safe in Miss Hehn's class. I knew she loved me, and I trusted her. First grade was completely comfortable for me. Even at her funeral, the eulogy spoke of the countless times her students called her "mom" or "grandma" because she was such a comforting presence in class that they forgot where they were. I love and admire Mrs. Purdon for that.

In my church setting, I am a teacher. I am also a father. I guess the two are somewhat interchangeable, or should be. And what I've learned being a father and a teacher is that a most effective vehicle for delivering a lesson, whether in math or morality, is a loving heart toward the child being taught (we can talk about teaching adults another day...) I owe this, at least in part, to Mrs. Purdon as well.

Some time ago I read that if you're a father, your children's self-image is primarily derived from how they think you feel about them. I don't think I could agree more.

What children want most is to know that an adult loves them (oh, and by the way, discipline is included under the heading of love). I'd like to say "parents" in place of "adult" but there are so many kids who have no parents, or at least parents who will ever really love them. But I guess if I were to boil this down to something targeted at a male audience, I'd say that a child only wants to see their father smile at them.

I ask myself (ask yourself): When does my day brighten? My hope soar? My heart sing? When I remember that my Father smiles at me - that the One who chose me before the foundation of the world and sought me out and saved me through Christ loves me constantly and consistently and with infinite care.

Miss Hehn loved me and I thrived in her class. I'm trying my best to love my sons and help them to thrive. My Savior loves me and when I let myself believe it, I thrive.

A Fair Summary (A Worthy Repost)

Reading through a biography of Charles Spurgeon, I came across a fabulous quote which was a scribbled letter from Spurgeon to a friend during the very busy and toll-taking period of the 1850's: "Friends firm. Enemies alarmed. Devil angry. Sinners saved. Christ exalted. Self not well."

Spurgeon definitely had his priorities in order, and even though he himself was spent and suffering, it was life and energy given for the right purposes. I like his summary, and pray that my life could be described the same way someday. For now, I must deal with my pride and tendency toward self-preservation.

The Proper Use of Sin (Repost)

"They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day." 2 Kings 10:27

It's been a rough, tough, busy week. The vagaries of life have shaken me up and have, unfortunately, given me opportunity to demonstrate my sinful nature. I've been pouty, angry, unloving and selfish. Even so, I believe the Lord has been gracious and helped me to grow in spite of myself.

When Jehu and his posse cleaned up the Israeli countryside by razing the temples of Baal and annihilating the priests of Baal, they were completely thorough. The Scripture above is the best ending I can imagine for this religious cleansing. It's the end of all idolatry and false teaching. Down the toilet.

What on earth, you may ask, does this have to do with having a hard week? Well, it's comforting for me to know that someday my sinful proclivities are going to end up the same way as Baal and his prophets. In a steaming pile.

I hate my sin. I love my Savior. And I smile knowing that day by day, He is defeating sin in my life and assigning it to the ash heap.

Saved Through Fire

I've seen the photograph before. It's an iconic image from the Vietnam War. When you look at it, you cringe and you're startled at the terrible, horrible consequences of war. You naturally think, "what an evil world we live in." Some would question the presence of a loving God in a world where children, helplessly caught in the middle of men's wars, are brutally burned by napalm.

But then you read the story of the girl in the photo. Her name is Kim Phuc. She is a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, and her story is one of peace.  I never cease to be amazed at how and who our God saves, and the compassion He shows to corrupt human beings.  Even Kim needed a Savior, and He found her.

Read the story of "Napalm Girl"

The Smell of Books

What have you read lately that you really enjoyed? More specifically,what book have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  I really want to know...

I love the smell of books: new books, old books, used bookstores.  Reading is such a tactile experience with the all the different kinds of paper, cover textures and book thicknesses.  I love dog eared pages and pages I get to crease for the first time.  Some of my books are like old friends (only they can't loan me money...)  Reading online or even Kindle books is a comparatively sterile undertaking.  There's just a huge difference between working through a good book and snacking on internet articles.

Ironically, I read a nice, brief article online a while back about how tech tends to atrophy our attention span when it comes to reading, and I think you should read it, too: 

How Internet Habits Can Cripple Book Reading

The article uses an illustration from the world of exercise to encourage more diligent effort in reading.  I'll do the same thing.  Anyone who works out has noticed that the first set of a weight lifting routine is typically tough, even if the weight is light.  With each successive set you continue to add weight, however, until you reach your "max" for that workout. What is interesting, as well as gratifying, is when you drop a little weight after reaching that max, you find that it's much, much easier to lift than your very first set which was much lighter.  You want to be stronger? Lift longer, lift heavier. Same with reading.

So what's the solution for online atrophy? Can the internet? I don't think so.  The key is to be sure to we keep exercising our reading muscles.  Maybe we'll tackle "proper diet" later...