Life's a journey

Piano Virtuoso!

2011-05-18T14:51:00.001-05:00

Her Aunt Wendi should be proud of the intense interest she's taking in the piano! I can see great things in her future. :-)

2 month hiatus

2011-05-03T13:59:00.002-05:00

In some ways it seems longer than that. Facebook has filled my desire to "share" things worth sharing. I don't necessarily like that though. I don't take the time to flesh out my thoughts on topics the way I used to here. But, then again, I haven't really wrote an "opinion" piece in quite some time - even on here. The last time I shared my personal thoughts was August 10th, 2010.

Lately a lot of my "learning experience" have centered around Bridget, and watching her interact with a world that is full of new and different. The concept of our depravity is starkly apparent in a developing child. She wants what she wants when she wants it, and if she doesn't get it soon enough she will continue to make things difficult as she expresses her displeasure.

My first reaction is "where does this come from?", but I know where it comes from. Ephesians 2:3 says "among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

Already, at 6+ months old, she is expressing her desire to control her world - to be master of her reality - to dictate as she sees best. And do you know why it's so hard to be patient, loving, and graceful towards her? Because my heart is bent the same way. When she wants fed NOW, my heart can get frustrated, because I want to read my magazine now. When she needs to go home and go bed, I can get frustrated because I was in the middle of a good conversation with friends. When she wants attention, I can get frustrated because I just want to eat my supper and talk to my wife about the day.

I get frustrated and annoyed because she is imposing on my will. She is dictating to me how things should go, and as her father, I have a responsibility to bend to her needs. I have a responsibility to put her first. My flesh rebels against that. I want to be sovereign in my kingdom. I want to say what we'll do and when we'll do it. My flesh is selfish and self-fulfilling.

The beautiful thing about it all is that God, in His mercy and grace, is using Bridget to show me my heart. He's using Bridget to mold and shape my thoughts and my desires. He's using Bridget to bring me to my knees before Him in a new recognition that I can't be who He calls me to be. Similar to how Bridget doesn't have the capacity as a 6 month old to be what we ask of her. Physically she could do it, but morally she doesn't have the capacity to be selfless, patient, and kind. Physically I have the capability to always respond in a Christ-like manner. I have the physically ability to be thankful for all things. I have the physical ability to show love in response to hurt. Yet I oftentimes don't respond as I should.

I need Jesus. I will never not need Jesus. I'm thankful that He is faithful to keep bringing circumstances into my life which drive me back to the cross and to the truth that my sin is taken care of. It's finished. It's covered. I'm covered. Christ has imputed His righteousness to my account. I can boldly approach the throne of Grace.

I'm so thankful that the Father of Lights saw fit to breathe this little light into my life. As He calls me to be His tool in shaping Bridget's soul, He is in turn, using Bridget to shape me more into the likeness of Christ. For that I rejoice.

Is it easy? No.

Is it always fun? No.

Is it beautiful? It doesn't always feel like it when you're in the moment, but yet it is beautiful. It's beautiful in the ways that it perfectly illustrates different aspects of the character of God. Like a cut and polished diamond as you turn it over in the light and the different points of light sparkle and shine off the different facets of the stone. God's character is perfectly displayed by His sovereign balance of justice and mercy - grace and wrath.

I'm thankful for the tools that God has used in my life to help shape and mold me.

I'm thankful that I can be confident that He will continue His work in spite of me.

May we all do well to dwell more on the sovereignty of our Master as we encounter life in all it's ups, downs, and sideways. Let's remember that He is on the stage for His glory.

Killing my Sin

2011-03-02T08:41:00.001-06:00

The following Blog Post from Desiring God is a powerful way to think about sanctification in the life of a believer.When it comes to killing my sin I don’t wait for the miracle, I act the miracle.

Acting a miracle is different from working a miracle. If Jesus tells a paralyzed man to get up, and he gets up, Jesus works a miracle. But if I am the paralyzed man and Jesus tells me to get up, and I obey and get up, I act the miracle. If I am dead Lazarus and Jesus commands me to get up, and I obey, Jesus works the miracle, I act the miracle.

So when it comes to killing my sin, I don’t wait passively for the miracle of sin-killing to be worked on me, I act the miracle.

Read the rest of the article here

Challenging Changes

2011-02-16T10:18:00.003-06:00

I wrote the following email this morning to family and friends. Since I know I don't have everyone's email that I would like to send it to, I decided to post it here.Good morning all,

It is with a prayerful heart that I type out this email. Heidi & I are sending you this email because you have a special place in our heart. You've all been a part of our life's journey and we're so thankful for that.

Over the last couple of years God has taken us through some rugged terrain. He's had us on mountain tops and He's taken us through dark valleys. Through it all He has been faithful. Romans 8:28-29 have been rock verses for us through it all. (And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.) We're so thankful that we can trust God's promise to work ALL things in our lives to mold us into the "image of His Son". Heidi & I have surely felt that work in our lives. Our prayer is that you have been aware of that work also.

It is with much emotion that we are taking this next step in our lives. After years of prayers, counsel, and seeking the principles of the Word, Heidi & I feel that we must move in faith regarding our church membership. Tonight (2-16-11) Ron Messner will remove our membership from the Apostolic church. We are currently planning on becoming members of Bethany Community Church in Washington IL. We know this decision will be difficult to accept for some of you. We have been praying hard for our family and friends that the Spirit will work in you all to trust Him and His work in our lives. Our reasons for this move in our lives are not easy to summarize as they've been developed over a long period of time and involve many different circumstances, teachings, joys, hardships, and lessons. Our heart is not to pursue ease, comfort, or self, but rather to passionately pursue a deepening relationship with Christ through His Spirit and through His revealed and Holy Scriptures.

We know our decision will bring pain to some of you that receive this email. We pray that, as we've seen God do in the past, He will use our pain to draw us closer to His father heart and teach us how to be more like our Savior. Heidi & I have a heart for our relationship with each one of you who receive this letter. It's our sincere prayer that God would continue to knit us together in Love even if we disagree on some things.

Heidi & I are open to discussion and sharing where we're at with anyone who has a heart towards that. We are willing to communicate as much or as little as you are each comfortable with.

Again, we want each of you to know we love you and are thankful for how God has used you in our lives to grow, shape, encourage, and challenge us.

Love in Christ,
Luke & Heidi

P.S. I'm sorry for those of you who may have gotten this twice. And I know I didn't have everyone's email that I would've liked to have sent it to. Please feel free to share this with our mutual family & friends.

The Entabulator!

2011-02-04T08:06:00.003-06:00

It's not cheap, but once you understand what it does, you'll definitely want one!!

For those of you on Facebook, you'll probably have to go to my blog to see the video. It's worth it. :-) Especially for you engineering types.
Some years back, Rockwell International decided to get into the heavy
duty automatic transmission business and they were getting ready to tape
their first introductory video. As a warm up, the stage crew began what
has become a legend within the training industry.

This man should have won an academy award for his stellar performance.
Now remember and keep in mind, this guy is strictly speaking off the
cuff and nothing is written down. Nothing he says is true, even if you
could understand it. He had NO script! This was a rehearsal for camera,
lighting and stage crew. It's all total meaningless drivel made up as he
goes along.

Parenting

2011-01-11T09:37:00.003-06:00

Can there be joy in realizing that I am powerless to complete a task? What if it's a task I desperately want completed?

In this blog post Paul Tripp explains how and why he finds joy in the impossibility of parenting.It was eleven o’clock on a Sunday night, and I was pulling out of the grocery store parking lot exhausted and overwhelmed. After we had put our four children to bed, later than we had planned, Luella discovered that we had nothing in the house to pack for lunches the next day. With an attitude that couldn’t be described as joy, I got in the car and did the late-night food run. As I waited for the light to change so I could leave the parking lot and drive home, it all hit me. It seemed like I had been given an impossible job to do; I had been chosen to be the dad of four children.
Continue...

Ambassador

2011-01-10T09:27:00.002-06:00

2 Corinthians 5:20 - Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us...

That's a pretty incredible and humbling thought - God is appealing to the world through His people.

An ambassador is…

Ready. An Ambassador is alert for chances to represent Christ and will not back away from a challenge or an opportunity.

Patient. An Ambassador won’t quarrel, but will listen in order to understand, then with gentleness will seek to respectfully engage those who disagree.

Reasonable. An Ambassador has informed convictions (not just feelings), gives reasons, asks questions, aggressively seeks answers, and will not be stumped by the same challenge twice.

Tactical. An Ambassador adapts to each unique person and situation, maneuvering with wisdom to challenge bad thinking, presenting the truth in an understandable and compelling way.

Clear. An Ambassador is careful with language and will not rely on Christian lingo or gain unfair advantage by resorting to empty rhetoric.

Fair. An Ambassador is sympathetic and understanding towards others and will acknowledge the merits of contrary views.

Honest. An Ambassador is careful with the facts and will not misrepresent another’s view, overstate his own case, or understate the demands of the Gospel.

Humble. An Ambassador is provisional in his claims, knowing that his understanding of truth is fallible. He will not press a point beyond what his evidence allows.

Attractive. An Ambassador will act with grace, kindness, and good manners. He will not dishonor Christ in his conduct.

Dependent. An Ambassador knows that effectiveness requires joining his best efforts with God’s power.

Source

Power in Truth

2011-01-05T08:35:00.002-06:00

I read a great article this morning titled "How to Deal with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause".

I provided the link at the bottom, but before I give you the link, I want to share a few excerpts that I found exceptionally compelling. I hope they will inspire you to listen and read the entire sermon.

The great tragedy is not mainly masturbation or fornication or acting like a peeping Tom (or curious Cathy) on the internet. The tragedy is that Satan uses the guilt of these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had, or might have, and in its place give you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures until you die in your lakeside rocking chair, wrinkled and useless, leaving a big fat inheritance to your middle-aged children to confirm them in their worldliness. That’s the main tragedy.

Have you ever wondered what the next verse in Colossians 2:15 means? Right after saying that God nailed the record of our debt to the cross, Paul says, “[God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” This is a reference to the devil and all his demonic hosts. How are they disarmed? How are they defeated? Don’t they prowl around like a roaring lion today (1 Peter 5:8)?

The answer is: They have many weapons. They can do much damage. But they are disarmed of the one weapon that can damn us. The weapon of unforgiven sin. Be sure you see the connection between Colossians 2:14 and 15. In 2:14, it says God nailed the record of our debt to the cross. It’s punished. It’s finished. And in the next breath he says that God disarmed the rulers and authorities. He triumphed over them. Sure, they can beat us up. They can make us see weird things on the walls of our rooms. They can shake your house and cause lying signs and wonders. They accuse you and call you a loser, but they cannot damn you. That weapon is out of their hands. Only unforgiven sin damns. And that was nailed to the cross for everyone of you who despairs of saving yourself and trusts in Jesus.

Justification is the act by which God declares us not only forgiven because of the work of Christ, but also righteous because of the work of Christ. God requires two things for our right standing before him: 1) our sins must be punished and 2) our lives must be righteous. But we cannot bear our own punishment (Psalm 49:7-8), and we cannot provide our own righteousness. None is righteous; no, not one (Romans 3:10).

Therefore, God, out of his immeasurable love for us, provided his own Son to do both. Christ bears our punishment and performs our righteousness. And when we receive Christ as the Savior and Lord and Treasure of our lives, all of his punishment and all of his righteousness is counted as ours (Romans 4:4-6; 5:19; 5:1; 8:1; 10:4; Philippians 3:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

I hope those short excerpts inspired you to go read the rest of the sermon (or listen to it). Plus, the article has hot-links to all the scripture. It's powerful stuff, and it applies to much more than just sexual failure. It applies to any and all sin in our lives.

May God be glorified in and through His people.

Excellent TED talk on "How Great Leaders Inspire Action"

2011-01-03T13:04:00.002-06:00

I thought this was a great first post of 2011. I'd love to hear my readers thoughts on this guys speech.

For those of you on Facebook who can't see the video, here's the link to my blogpost.

Sorry

2010-12-21T09:55:00.004-06:00

I'm kind of sad that this blog is languishing. There have been more than a few times in the past month and a half where I wished I had something to say - something to share, but I've been surprisingly short on ideas lately.

Maybe this is fatherhood.

Maybe this is lack of sleep.

Maybe those two are related somehow.

Yeah, probably.

Here's a picture of my peanut. :-) I'm not going to lie...she's pretty darn sweet. And yes, her eyes are huge.

Another entity I can blame for my lack of posting recently is Facebook. I've found that it's much easier to share an interesting blog post I read or a video I find on Facebook than it is to craft a blog post around it. Plus it reaches a few more people. (especially now that most people have probably quit reading this regularly)

Here are a few links I've shared on Facebook lately, for those of you who aren't my Facebook "friends".

How to Build Up Bible Knowledge In the Church

A Bitter Harvest (on relationships)

The Shortest Distance Between Points

And last, but certainly not least, Heidi & I are excited about being able to attend a Paul Tripp Parenting Conference hosted by Grace Presbyterian in Peoria. I helped design the Mechanical Systems in their new building too, so it'll be neat to experience it full of people.

Here's a short description of Paul Tripp Ministries.

That's it folks. That's all I got this morning.

Peace & Love

Prayer Answered by Crosses

2010-11-05T09:01:00.001-05:00

This poem by John Newton touched me this morning. How true is this? Does this cause you to be more tentative when asking for growth and sanctification? Should it?

Prayer Answered by Crosses
By John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow  
In faith and love and every grace,  
Might more of his salvation know,  
And seek more earnestly his face.

‘Twas he who taught me thus to pray;  
And he, I trust, has answered prayer;  
But it has been in such a way  
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that, in some favoured hour,  
At once he’d answer my request,  
And by his love’s constraining power  
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel  
The hidden evils of my heart,  
And let the angry powers of hell  
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own had he seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe,  
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,  
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this? I trembling cried;  
Wilt thou pursue this worm to death?  
This is the way, the Lord replied
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I now employ  
From self and pride to set thee free,
And break they schemes of earthly joy,  
That thou may’st seek thy all in me.

This is powerful truth

2010-10-06T13:25:00.003-05:00

This is a powerful message from Paul Tripp entitled "Broken Bones Hymns". I know it's a little longer than the usual "quick read blog post", but it's packed with Biblical insight and powerful truths to mold our thinking.

"I don't understand Election"

2010-09-21T16:32:00.001-05:00

Paul Washer very gently and pastorally explains the doctrine of Election to a questioning student.

Do you want enough?

2010-09-20T08:25:00.003-05:00

I know I've been doing a lot of "re-posts" lately from other blogs, but I've just been really challenged and encouraged by this stuff. It's great. Someday maybe I'll have some original thoughts again. :-)

This one is from Desiring God again. Here's the link if you just want to read it off of their website.In John 6 a large crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus. But when they find him, instead of welcoming their “seeking” Jesus says to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. (John 6:26, 27)

A little later on in the chapter, he purposely offends them with his “hard sayings” so that many turn away and no longer follow him. But weren't the crowds coming to the right source of blessing? Didn’t they believe that he could and would heal them and give them bread to eat?

They did, and he certainly had the power to do it, but the problem was that that was all they wanted. They didn’t join the disciples in saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).

The Israelites who fell in the wilderness had this same kind of "faith". They believed in God enough to complain to him about their dry tongues, but they lacked a thirst for righteousness.

The sort of faith that pleases God—real faith—is the kind that is created by him through the hearing of the gospel (Ephesians 2:8, 9). It rests in Christ alone and hungers and thirsts for righteousness. It is the kind that, when calamity strikes, results in worship and comfort that our “redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). It is the “peace that passes understanding.” This sort of faith causes us to cry out for mercy knowing we are sinners in need of the righteousness that only One could purchase for us.

By faith we hunger and thirst and are satisfied (Revelation 21:6). By faith we are comforted that all things, no matter how painful or sweet, will work together for our good, reaping eternal benefits that are so wonderful that they can’t even be compared to our grief (1 Peter 1:6, Romans 8:28). True faith believes that God is good and rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

If as Christians we are called to endure difficult trials and yet always receive temporal blessings like health and safety, our peace could not rightly be called the “peace that passes understanding”. It would actually be quite reasonable.

If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are you! (Matthew 5:6)

Trusting in the Sovereign

2010-09-08T10:06:00.002-05:00

I read the following article this morning on the Desiring God Blog. I was encouraged. I hope you are too. Author: Paul TrippDo you ever struggle with God's sovereignty? Do you wonder why he has ordained for you to face the things you face? Are you ever tempted to doubt his goodness or question his love? Or do you experience rest of heart even when your relationships are messy and your circumstances are difficult? The following words are about where the rest can be found.

I did it again and again when our children resisted our instruction and correction. I did it again and again when they debated a command or questioned our plans. I did it again and again when they opposed our authority and quested for self-rule. I did it again and again for two good reasons.

To begin with, my wife and I had brought children into this world who thought they didn't need us! Like us, each of them at some point fell into believing they were far more knowledgeable and capable than they really were. Like us, they often assumed that their intentions were noble and their plans were sound. Like us, they tended to think they were capable of determining what was best, even when they lacked important information and experience. Like we often do, they simply felt they were in possession of a better way.

But there was a second reason I did it again and again. Our children were too young to grasp the abstract, strategic, and often theological purposes underlying my instruction. Even if I explained everything in as age-appropriate a way as I could, they would still have no actual understanding. They just did not yet have the categories or the capacity to grasp the parental logic behind the plan or command.

So I did the same thing again and again. I would kneel down in front of them at eye level and say, "Please look at Daddy's face. Do you know how much I love you? Do you know that your Daddy is not a mean, bad man? Do you know that I would never ask you to do anything that would hurt you or make you sick? I am sorry that you can't understand why Daddy is asking you to do this. I wish I could explain it to you, but you are too young to understand. So I am going to ask you to do something—trust Daddy. When you walk down the hallway to do what Daddy has asked you to do, say to yourself, 'My Daddy loves me. My Daddy would never ask me to do something bad. I am going to trust my Daddy and stop trying to be the Daddy of my Daddy.'"

God does the same thing with you, over and over again. He meets you in one of the difficult hallways of your life, kneels down before you in condescending love, and asks you to trust his loving and wise rule, even though you don't have a clue what he is doing.

He knows there are many times when your life doesn't look like there is anyone ruling it, let alone someone wise and good. He knows there will be times when you will wish you could be the author of your own story. He knows that at times you will be overwhelmed by what is on your plate. He knows that his plan will confuse and confound you. And he knows that real rest cannot be found in understanding, because, like my children, there are things, as a limited human being, you simply do not have the capacity to understand.

Real rest is found in trusting the Person who is in control of the things you don't understand.

He is willing to have the conversation with you again and again, and he has made sure that his Word assures you of his rule again and again. (For just a few examples, see 1 Chronicles 29:11-12, Psalm 103:19, Psalm 115:3, Proverbs 21:1, Isaiah 46:9-10, Daniel 4:35, and Ephesians 1:11.)

Encouraging reflections

2010-08-20T06:15:00.002-05:00

I was encouraged this morning by the following:A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. 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.

The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE.

source

Patience

2010-08-13T10:19:00.002-05:00

This is the daily devotional from Grace to You. I thought it was both timely and potent."Love is patient" (1 Cor. 13:4).

We usually think of patience as the ability to wait or endure without complaint--whether it's with people or circumstances. But the Greek word translated "patience" in 1 Corinthians 13:4 refers specifically to patience with people. It literally means "to be long tempered," and speaks of one who could easily retaliate when wronged but chooses not to.

That kind of patience is a spiritual virtue reflective of God Himself (cf. Gal 5:22). It can't be duplicated on a purely human level. But for Christians, it's to be a way of life. Paul said, "I . . . entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love" (Eph. 4:1-2).

God Himself is the supreme example of patience. Peter said, "[He] is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). Those who reject His grace are despising "the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience" (Rom. 2:4).

In the Greco-Roman world of Paul's day, retaliating for a personal insult or injury was considered a virtue. Non- retaliation was interpreted as a sign of weakness. Our society is much the same. Our heroes tend to be those who fight back with physical strength or litigation. But that isn't God's perspective, nor was it Christ's in praying for His killers, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

As you consider your own patience, remember that retaliation isn't always blatant and forceful. It's often subtle--like withholding affection from your spouse when he or she has wronged you, or withdrawing from a friend who has hurt you. But godly love never retaliates. It cares more for the feelings of others than for its own.

Remember the Lord's patience toward you, and allow His Spirit to produce similar patience in you.

Great article on Grace!

2010-08-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

Here's an excerpt to entice you to click the link and read the whole thing. :-)Grace is the most transformational word in the Bible. The entire content of the Bible is a narrative of God's grace, a story of undeserved redemption. By the transformational power of his grace, God unilaterally reaches his hands into the muck of this fallen world, through the presence of his Son, and radically transforms his children from what we are (sinners) into what we are becoming by his power (Christ-like). The famous Newton hymn uses the best word possible, maybe the only word big enough, for that grace—amazing.Read the rest here.

Relationships

2010-08-10T10:57:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately, specifically in a Christian context. Personal relationships are one of the most difficult, and at the same time, the most rewarding aspects of life.

This post isn't going to be well thought out and cohesive, because my thoughts are not that way right now.

Here are a couple of questions I've been asking myself.

1. Why are we so quick to assume we can correctly gauge others' motives and intents? When in reality we can barely get a firm grasp on our own personal motives and intentions.Jeremiah asks this question in Chapter 17 vs 9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

He then answers his own question in vs 10: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins..."

I know I need to fall on my face before the Lord and pray as David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked [NASB says hurtful] way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.2. Why does it hurt so bad when people make wrong assumptions about my motivations and intentions?When I'm doing something I feel right doing, and someone criticizes me for it, why do I want to lash out in defense? Why is my natural flesh reaction to immediately assume I know their heart and their motives behind their criticism of me?

Isn't the best way (maybe the only way) to get to know someone's motives and intentions to establish relationship with that person. The deeper the relationship goes, usually, the more clearly we can see their hearts.I'm not sure if this is Biblical here, but I really make an effort to assume people's motives are good until I have strong reason to believe otherwise. It's proven very beneficial in my relationships to remember how diverse our experiences are as Christians. Our Sovereign God has taken all of us down very unique paths. We exist in the body of Christ to share those experiences with each other and to refine each other in the journey.

That process is a painful one sometimes, and sometimes it's a beautiful one.

My call here is for us to recognize that process as it's happening and not neglect to be thankful for it in all it's difficulty and beauty. We are called to Love one another, but let's remember that Love is not exclusively about good feelings. It's about making choices that are for the good of others, not necessarily ourselves. God loves us enough to discipline us, not just hold us when we cry.

Peace & Love

A Passion for the Supremacy of God!

2010-07-31T12:06:00.002-05:00

Over the last couple of days, I've listened to the following two sermons entitled "A Passion for the Supremacy of God".

I've found them to be paradigm shifting, challenging, and worshipful. I really hope you'll take the time to sit down in a quiet place, listen to them, meditate on them, and be as encouraged by them as I was/am.

God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him!

Passion for the Supremacy of God Part 1
Passion for the Supremacy of God Part 2

In part one he lays the groundwork for the main message. In part two he defends the thesis against common arguments using contextual scripture.

I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on it after you've listened to them both. Are there any other objections to his thesis you can think of that he hasn't already addressed?

God Bless!

A Healing Miracle!

2010-07-25T07:33:00.002-05:00

Jordan Schroeder is breathing deeply, singing praises, and casting his jewel filled crown at our Sovereign's feet! We prayed for a miracle of healing and the Lord delivered. It was not delivered in a pretty package with a warm fuzzy card, but it was delivered exactly in the way God intended and it brought praise, honor, and glory to His awesomely deserving name! Praise Him!

Jesus took Jordan home around 9:30ish Saturday night. Let's put a hedge of prayer around Katelyn, her girls, and her family. Pray that Satan will not be allowed to whisper lies in their ears, but rather that Jesus will declare truth, peace, and love. May they feel the warm embrace of our Savior.

We weep for the occasion...Jordan will be missed. We will miss him at our young couples Bible Study. We will miss his passion for Christ. But one thing is certain. He would not choose to come back to this sin infested and broken world.

May we all be called to remember that this world is not our home. Christ went to prepare mansions for us, and He will call us there one day! Oh for that glorious day. May our eyes be turned to the fields that are white for harvest.

God Bless.

Why Should Preaching Include Systematic Theology?

2010-07-21T13:42:00.004-05:00

I thought this was a great condensed defense of why Systematic Theology is important.1. Systematic theology is necessary in order to understand the text. When a text refers to God, or man, or sin, or Christ, or the church, or faith, you are in grave danger of distorting the meaning of those concepts unless you know what the whole Bible teaches about them—unless you know the Bible’s systematic theology. Also, without systematic theology you lack a crucial tool for defending against false interpretations of texts. In order to rightly interpret a verse in light of all of Scripture and defend a true interpretation against false ones you need systematic theology. Does Matthew 16 declare Peter to be the first pope? Well, that chapter does not say exactly. How you put together the rest of Scripture will affect how you then read Matthew 16 and answer that question.

2. Systematic theology is necessary in order to preach the gospel. Every expositional sermon should include the gospel because no text has been fully expounded unless it has been related to the gospel (through “biblical theology”). Yet in order to preach the full gospel you must preach what the Bible teaches about God’s holiness, our sin, Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, and our need to repent of sin and trust in Christ. Apart from a biblical summary of each of those things—that is, apart from systematic theology—none of those things make sense. Systematic theology is necessary in order to preach the gospel.

3. Systematic theology is necessary for spiritual growth. In order to grow in trusting God, a Christian needs to know what God is like. In order to grow in holiness, a Christian needs to understand the nature and offense of sin, as well as what God has done to save us from sin by sending Christ to die. This doesn’t mean that every Christian has to pore over thousand-page books, or even that every Christian has to understand the technical vocabulary of systematic theology. But it does mean that in order to grow spiritually every Christian needs to grow in his understanding of what the Bible teaches about God, sin, Christ, faith, and the duties of the Christian life. This comes through reading Scripture, synthesizing it, and applying it to our lives.For a definition of "systematic theology", click here.

Miracle of Thinking

2010-07-16T11:49:00.002-05:00

Copied and pasted from this blog.

It is amazing how consistently the New Testament refers to the depravity of the individual by mentioning the debasement of the mind. In Ephesians 4 Paul describes those who are outside of Christ in a string of clauses that regard the intellectual faculty of a person– “in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Eph. 4:17-18, italics mine).

Outside of Christ, something is messed up in how we think. This grave condition of our minds is countered by the transformation that occurs in God’s salvation of sinners. Paul calls it the “renewal of the mind” and he prays for its effect (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10; cf. Eph. 5:10; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9; Phlm 6).

The implications are glorious. I think that what it means at the most basic level is that thinking is a matter of the life transformed by the gospel. Thinking rightly is not about intellectual giftedness. A person’s main problem with messed up thinking is not their IQ, but alienation from their Creator.

Thinking and theology–thinking about God–is utterly miraculous. In order for it to happen Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree. The smallest reception in our heads of God’s truth is miraculous enough to leave us bewildered and intoxicated by grace until we’re speechless. What do you have that has not been given? What do you know that has not been purchased for you by the blood of Christ?

It is for this reason alone that a kid who bombed his SAT’s can still look forward to a conference on the subject of thinking. Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God is not a conference for academicians, but for those who have been radically transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rubbish, that's what we should count it as.

2010-07-15T08:27:00.003-05:00

Phillipians 3:8 - More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

Do you? Do I?

Is Paul able to count all things as rubbish just because he suffered the loss of those things? Can we still have "all things" and count them as rubbish?

Paul admits that losing all those things caused him suffering, so did he not count them as rubbish until after he lost them?

What do I need to lose?

What do you need to lose?

What does it mean to "gain Christ"? Once we're saved, have we gained Him and now that part's done?

What say ye?

Pockets of Grace

2010-07-09T08:42:00.001-05:00

This short documentary touched me. There is so much pain - so much hurt - so much brokenness in this fallen world. And yet, there are God's people scattered throughout this sharing His love and showing His grace. Here's Lindsay's story.

People of the Book

2010-07-08T11:26:00.001-05:00

We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God's inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters…

There is no salvation from sin and guilt and condemnation and hell apart from faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; 1 John 5:12). And there is no other authority besides the Scriptures to show you who Christ is and to give you his Word. So don't leave the Bible, children. Don't leave the Bible, young people. Don't neglect the Bible, dads and moms. Don't ignore the Bible, single people. Under God, the "sacred writings," the Scriptures, are the greatest treasure in the world. They alone make us wise unto salvation through Christ. O don't neglect this Book!

Sovereignty

2010-06-24T08:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, I've been gone a long time from this blog. It's almost been a month.

I recently read a couple of quotes on the sovereignty of God (a favorite topic of mine), and I wanted to share them and hopefully get some feedback from my readers.

The following quotes are from the Desiring God blog. The first one relates to God's sovereignty in salvation, and the second relates to God's sovereignty in everyday occurrences. We do not cause the new birth. God causes the new birth. Any spiritually good thing that we do is a result of the new birth, not a cause of the new birth. This means that the new birth is taken out of our hands. It is not in our control. And so it confronts us with our helplessness and our absolute dependence on Someone outside ourselves. (Finally Alive, pg. 27)

The painful things that come into our lives are not described by God as accidental or as out of his control. This would be no comfort. That God cannot stop a germ or a car or a bullet or a demon is not good news; it is not the news of the Bible. God can. And ten thousand times he does. But when he doesn't, he has his reasons. And in Christ Jesus they are all loving. We are taught this sovereignty so that we will drink it in till it saturates our bones. (A Sweet and Bitter Providence, pgs. 136-37)So what do you think? Are these quotes supported by scripture? If you disagree with these quotes can you think of scripture that contradicts these thoughts? For more resources on this topic see here.

Go Lead!

2010-05-28T11:00:00.002-05:00

Some solid marital advice from John Piper.

"So yes, we husbands need to hear things we're blind to—like reminders that she likes ice, and that the kid needs orange juice not grapefruit juice—and we need to then lay it down and stop sulking and being self-pitying and go lead."

Love that challenge!

For facebookers who can't see the video: http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2010/05/go-lead.html

Say hello to Bridget Ann!

2010-05-25T09:02:00.005-05:00

Psalm 139:14 - I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
Heidi & I went to her 20 week appointment yesterday, and we were blessed to find out we're having a little girl!
Introducing Bridget Ann Knapp!

It looks like she's a thumb sucker. :-) She's measuring in the 59 percentile, so if she keeps growing at this rate she'll be approximately 8lbs at birth. Heidi thinks that sounds plenty big. :-) We continue to appreciate your prayers and praises for a healthy little girl!

Genesis 30:22
Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.
Psalm 71:6
By You I have been sustained from my birth;You are He who took me from my mother's womb;My praise is continually of You.
Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Psalm 139:13
For You formed my inward parts;You wove me in my mother's womb.
Isaiah 44:24
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,"I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by MyselfAnd spreading out the earth all alone,

We serve an omnipotent and sovereign creator!

Complete Sovereignty and My Personal Sin

2010-04-27T07:47:00.002-05:00

If God is completely sovereign over the universe,then why do I need to live a holy life? If God really wanted me to, wouldn't He just "make it happen"?

To Rent or Buy?

2010-04-21T10:47:00.002-05:00

Wondering whether you should rent or buy?

Here's a really neat tool that will show you which is better from a strictly monetary perspective. Of course there are many other considerations, other than monetary, when you're making this decision, but there aren't interactive graphs for those. :-)

Enjoy

Powerful Truth

2010-04-20T16:53:00.004-05:00

This is super powerful truth when dealing with the really hard times and circumstances in life.

If you can't see the video go here:

My Conscience is Captive...

2010-04-19T13:03:00.001-05:00

On April 17th, 1521, Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms under the charge of heresy. A pile of his own writings was set before him, many written in critique of the Roman Catholic Church, and he was asked to either defend or revoke them.

Luther was uncertain about how to respond, so he asked for more time. It was granted. He would appear before the Diet again the next day.

Luther's differences with the Church of Rome had been the result of his own careful study of Scripture. He had read things in the Bible that were at odds with many of the doctrines and practices of the Church in his day, and his conscience under God had become burdened to speak about them.

So he wrote. He originally intended his writing to help return the Church to a more biblical form of Christianity, not cause a split. But few heard him that way. Instead, for most, at least among the religious and political leaders, his cries sounded more like the ringings of rebellion.

On April 18th, when Luther reappeared before the Diet to give his response, his examiner, Johann Eck, restated the question (with some prologue):

Martin, how can you assume that you are the only one to understand the sense of Scripture? Would you put your judgment above that of so many famous men and claim that you know more than they all?

You have no right to call into question the most holy orthodox faith, instituted by Christ the perfect law-giver, proclaimed throughout the world by the apostles, sealed by the red blood of the martyrs, confirmed by the sacred councils, defined by the Church in which all our fathers believed until death and gave to us as an inheritance, and which now we are forbidden by the pope and the emperor to discuss lest there be no end of debate.

I ask you, Martin—answer candidly and without horns—do you or do you not repudiate your books and the errors which they contain?

Luther had his response:

Since then Your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God.

I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.

(Quotations from Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton. Paragraphing added.)

* * *

Are divisions Biblically necessary?

2010-04-16T08:57:00.002-05:00

1 Corinthians 11:18-19 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

I'm not at all suggesting that we try and create factions in the body of Christ, but rather, is it God's design that a church have a certain amount of divisions for the purpose of exposing false Christians? - Christians who may look (and even act) the part, but are not truly born again.

What do we cling to when divisions are evident among us? Where do we look for answers? Do we look solely to the Word for it's wisdom, or do we think that our wisdom and what we value, personally, has some say in the matter?

I've found it good to consider these verses.

Free Shipping

2010-04-06T11:59:00.003-05:00

This is a pretty neat tool, if you buy much stuff from Amazon.

If you spend more than $25 on one order from Amazon, they'll give you free shipping. This website allows you to type in the dollar amount you need to spend to get your cart up to $25 and then shows you a list of things that are exactly that amount on Amazon.com

http://www.filleritem.com/

Piper and Warren

2010-04-01T09:33:00.005-05:00

Odd bedfellows? Perhaps not as much as you'd think.

A number of people have asked about John Piper's decision to invite Rick Warren to the national "Desiring God Conference". Here is a 12 minute clip from last night's "Ask Pastor John" session where he addresses that question and explains why he thinks it will be good for Rick to come.

If you can't see the video, you can check it out here, or here.

Ron Paul: What If...

2010-03-31T13:30:00.001-05:00

http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2010/03/ron-paul-what-if.html

Art of the Steal

2010-03-25T11:33:00.002-05:00

Really intriguing article about an ingenious thief.

The plane slowed and leveled out about a mile aboveground. Up ahead, the Viennese castle glowed like a fairy tale palace. When the pilot gave the thumbs-up, Gerald Blanchard looked down, checked his parachute straps, and jumped into the darkness. He plummeted for a second, then pulled his cord, slowing to a nice descent toward the tiled roof. It was early June 1998, and the evening wind was warm. If it kept cooperating, Blanchard would touch down directly above the room that held the Koechert Diamond Pearl. He steered his parachute toward his target.

A couple of days earlier, Blanchard had appeared to be just another twentysomething on vacation with his wife and her wealthy father. The three of them were taking a six-month grand European tour: London, Rome, Barcelona, the French Riviera, Vienna. When they stopped at the Schloss Schönbrunn, the Austrian equivalent of Versailles, his father-in-law’s VIP status granted them a special preview peek at a highly prized piece from a private collection. And there it was: In a cavernous room, in an alarmed case, behind bulletproof glass, on a weight-sensitive pedestal — a delicate but dazzling 10-pointed star of diamonds fanned around one monstrous pearl. Five seconds after laying eyes on it, Blanchard knew he would try to take it...

Does Theology Really Matter??

2010-03-19T10:34:00.002-05:00

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2010/03/does-theology-really-matter.html

Still Face Experiment

2010-03-16T08:37:00.003-05:00

Interesting stuff.

http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2010/03/still-face-experiment.html

Bibles to the Persecuted Church

2010-03-01T07:52:00.002-06:00

This is a really cool site my cousin made me aware of. Check it out. Add your "click-a-day". :-)

http://www.thebiblesite.org/

Spend some time clicking around the site. Read about how it works, and raise your awareness of the persecuted church.

Bloom Box

2010-02-22T14:04:00.003-06:00

A lot of high profile people are getting their hopes up. Could this be for real? My momma always said "If it's too good to be true...it probably is."

If you can't see the video, here's the link: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n&tag=api

Abraham Piper talks of his father

2010-02-18T14:29:00.001-06:00

A touching speech.

Here's the url if you can't see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqww88CpBHo

Ephesians 1

2010-02-05T09:27:00.003-06:00

Wow, I haven't gone this long without posting in a long time. :-)

I'm thankful for something this morning.

You know what I'm thankful for?

I'm thankful that Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians.

I've been reading the book of Ephesians several times lately, and it's just so rich. There are so many comforting promises of God. It's just so uplifting to dwell on promises like, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places".

When you read that does the word "every" sink in for you? Every spiritual blessing, every one of them, God has chosen to bless His people with.

And then there's promises like this: "In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight".

I love the word "lavished". He didn't just pinch out a little grace for us. He lavished us with it.

Then there's the prayer that Paul tells the Ephesians he's praying for them. It goes like this:

17. that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18. having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19. and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20. that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23. which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Did you catch those power words in there? Glorious, immeasurable, great, far above

This is such an awesome prayer to pray for a body of believers. He's calling down God's blessings upon them. Paul's asking that God "may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him"

You know what, just in case I've inspired you to read slowly through Ephesians 1, here's the full text. :-)
Greeting
1.Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2.Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4.even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5.he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6.to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7.In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8.which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9.making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10.as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11.In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12.so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13.In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14.who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15.For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16.I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17.that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18.having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19.and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20.that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21.far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22.And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23.which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.That's good stuff right there.

Peace

Poignant

2010-01-16T08:21:00.005-06:00

Here is a poem that does a wonderful job of praising our Father in truth. Read through the poem. Think about what it's saying. Then, scroll down a little more and watch the video I posted there. I'll write a little more after the video.

All praise to the name of the savior who reigns.
He’s taken our blame, embraced all our shame,
He’s raised from the grave so his fame we proclaim.
Salvation by grace through faith in his name.

All praise to the name of the savior who reigns.
He’s taken our blame, embraced all our shame,
He’s raised from the grave so his fame we proclaim.
Salvation by grace through faith in his name.

Jesus, the beautiful and blessed Son,
Immutable, majestic one
Who was resurrected from the grave
for the depraved.
He paved the path for some
Place faith in His passion, son
Be saved from the wrath to come.

He’s fabulous, His status is immaculate
I’m lacking the vernacular to adequately capture His glory.
Incomparable, unconquerable, all powerful, unstoppable
Absolutely phenomenal.

No obstacle He can’t navigate.
He’s God and so He fascinates.
With Him it’s impossible to exaggerate.

Lord of all continents,
Source of all consciousness,
His compliments are the consequence of His accomplishments
Every sphere of life, He’s the Lord of it
And every other power is either fraudulent or subordinate.

At first we snubbed Him,
Now His vessels of mercy love Him.
Your highest thought is infinitely unworthy of Him.
Beyond vocabulary His actions vary,
His wrath is scary
All His adversaries are imaginary.

He has no competitors.
Ask Nebuchadnezzar, bro
He’ll mess you up, have you eating grass,
You can bet He’s amazing.

He takes in blatant, flagrant vagrants, breaks them, remakes them, and shapes them
to hate sin.

Jesus!
There’s no better name!
That’ll never change and He’ll forever reign while we spread His fame.

So all praise to the name of the Savior who reigns
He’s taken our blame
Embraced all our shame
He’s raised from the grave so His fame we proclaim
Salvation by grace through faith in His name!

All praise to the name of the Savior who reigns
He’s taken our blame
Embraced all our shame
He’s raised from the grave so His fame we proclaim
Salvation by grace through faith in His name!

Now scroll down to see a short video. Well worth your time to listen to the whole thing, and you need to listen to the whole thing to get the whole message.

For those of you on facebook, who can't see the video, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPZlzDTdSsE

Surprised?

Many people would be.

God forgive us for our prejudices, for our "respecting of persons".

God, help us to remember that you are the ultimate in creative capacity, and man thinks up nothing that God has not thought of. Man just twists the beautiful and uses it to consume upon his lusts in sin.

This is how the genre we've labeled "rap" is meant to glorify our Creator God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Thoughts?

Piper Preaches at Angola Prison.

2010-01-12T16:42:00.003-06:00

Powerful sermon delivered to lifers and death-row inmates at Angola State Prison. If 48 minutes of sermon seems too long to watch, it's not. This is powerful stuff.

For those of you reading this on facebook and can't see the video, here it is.

On CSPAN?

2010-01-08T08:07:00.002-06:00

Guess what. They're not on CSPAN. They are behind closed doors. This isn't abnormal, but it just goes to show that it's business as usual in Washington. I'm so tired of business as usual.

Go here to find contact information for your congressmen. Let them know you don't want this healthcare bill to strip away any more of our liberties. Let them know you want open and transparent dialog, and broadcasting the debates would be a good first step.

Here's the link to the video up top in case you can't see it on facebook.

A Water Droplet @ 2000 frames per second.

2010-01-07T09:32:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5bsQ_YDYCI

Move Your Money

2010-01-06T09:57:00.002-06:00

http://moveyourmoney.info/

People all over the country are choosing to move their money out of bigger banks and into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions that generally avoided the reckless investments and schemes that helped cause the financial crisis.

Fueled by the personal initiatives of thousands, it’s a grassroots effort that has the potential to shift power in the financial system away from Wall Street and to Main Street.

Check out the video, read up on what inspired the idea, connect with others through Facebook and Twitter and then use the tools and links provided to find a community bank or credit union in your area.

But does this have any chance of succeeding??
Read here.

My Bible

2010-01-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

This is from James MacDonald's blog.This is my Bible.

I am who it says I am. Matthew 5:16
I can do what it says I can do. Philippians 4:13
I am going where it says I will go. John 14:3

God’s Word is milk for my soul. 1 Peter 2:2
God’s Word is seed for my faith. Luke 8:11
God’s Word is light for my path. Psalm 119:105
God’s Word is power for my victory. Hebrews 4:12
God’s Word is freedom for my life. John 8:32

When I read God’s Word it brings me joy. Jeremiah 15:16
When I study God’s Word, it keeps me from shame. 2 Timothy 2:15
When I memorize God’s Word, it purifies my heart. Psalm 119:11
When I quote God’s Word, it defeats my enemies. Ephesians 6:10, 17
When I meditate on God’s Word, it brings me success. Joshua 1:8
When I abide in God’s Word, it gives me confidence. John 15:7

I am a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ!
You might be able to quickly read down through the list above and nod and say to yourself, "Yep, I believe all those." But do you? Really? Do you live like it? Do I?

What would be different in your life, if you really believed and acted on just the first two?

How would your Bible Study habits be different if you really believed and acted on 4 through 8?

Let 2010 bring us a renewed vigor to yearn to know God better through the study of His Word and the application of it's principles.

God Bless

Tear-jerker

2009-12-31T10:08:00.003-06:00

If you've got the time to read it all, this is a heartwarming story about a coach who didn't give up, and a church motivated to show love. It's worth it.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Somewhere between home and the football field, Christian Swain's driver's side window short-circuited. This had better not be an omen, he thought. He'd waited his whole life -- all 33 years -- to be a high school head football coach, and he didn't want his first season to be a clunker. He kept pressing the electric buttons inside his beat-up gold '99 Ford Taurus, but the window stayed stuck wide open. As he turned onto Interstate 5, the wind stung his face. Good thing it was summer.

He drove onto campus and parked next to a stadium with no stands. The school -- Roosevelt High in north Portland -- was a notorious bottom-feeder located in the poorest part of the city. It had no cheerleaders, no marching band, no press box and, as far as Swain could tell, no quarterbacks. But still three months away from opening night, the coach had reason to believe he could pull this off. He had grown up just east of campus, on the wrong side of the bridge himself, and he knew if these kids were anything like him -- hungry, a little nuts and searching for a better life -- he could win a game. Maybe even two.

When the school hired him last January as campus monitor -- i.e., to keep peace in the hallways -- Swain was curious to know why the team had just gone 0-9. At that time, he had just applied for the head-coaching job and was desperate to read the pulse of the school. From his career as an undersized middle linebacker at nearby Lincoln High in the mid-'90s, he remembered Roosevelt as having tough, reputable teams. Built in 1923, the school resembled an East Coast prep academy complete with a picturesque bell tower. He had always seen potential there. Little did he know the place was rotting from the inside out.

Continued...

Change Blindness

2009-12-30T14:44:00.003-06:00

In visual perception, change blindness is the phenomenon that occurs when a person viewing a visual scene apparently fails to detect large changes in the scene. For change blindness to occur, the change in the scene typically has to coincide with some visual disruption such as a saccade (eye movement) or a brief obscuration of the observed scene or image. When looking at still images, a viewer can experience change blindness if part of the image changes.

Here are 10 examples. See if you can find what changes in all 10. I got them all except the sail boat one. I can't figure that one out. http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~rensink/flicker/download/

For more info see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_blindness

*EDIT: Nevermind! I managed to get the sailboat one. :-)

Big Numbers

2009-12-22T09:34:00.002-06:00

http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/12/big-numbers.html

What a talent!

2009-12-17T09:40:00.003-06:00

I can barely get a goblet to make a noise, let alone play Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy!

To facebook readers, facebook does not import html, so you'll have to go to my blog for the video.

God is ALWAYS good.

2009-12-08T09:08:00.002-06:00

Powerful powerful powerful video demonstrating right thinking in the middle of great trial of life. This pastor just found out he has a brain tumor and needs surgery. He recorded this video for his church before he went.

http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/?p=363

Non-interventionist

2009-12-03T08:48:00.003-06:00

Ron Paul gets to ask some questions about our foreign policy decisions in light of Obama's decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan.

If you're on facebook and can't see the clip, go here: http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/12/non-interventionist.html

Obedient walk

2009-12-01T14:07:00.003-06:00

Actress Sandra Bullock says meeting Leigh Anne Tuohy, who she portrays in The Blind Side, showed her there really are some Christians who "walk the walk."

Read the rest of the article here:

And since facebook doesn't import html, here's the link: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=792418

Optogenetics

2009-11-16T13:08:00.002-06:00

Easy to read article about precise two way communication between brain and machines. Really interesting stuff. It would enable things like a prosthetic limb user to be able to move the prosthesis and feel what it was touching.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/mf_optigenetics/all/1

Empty Words

2009-11-13T16:18:00.000-06:00

Slow Down

2009-11-11T13:48:00.002-06:00

An excellent article to make you think about what you take for granted.Pearls Before Breakfast
Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out.

By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007; Page W10

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play...

Faith and Knowledge - Functional Opposites??

2009-11-03T08:19:00.004-06:00

Greg Koukl, from Stand to Reason, wrote an article in his newsletter this month addressing the word "Faith" and it's Biblical meaning. I've posted his introduction below with a link to the newsletter. It's an excellent article and well worth your time.
In an odd sort of way, Christians have abetted atheists in their efforts to cast doubt and even derision on believers. Here’s how.

Atheists have tremendous confidence that science will continue its record of silencing superstition. As knowledge waxes, foolishness wanes. Consequently, there’s no need for sticking God in the so-called “gaps.” Science will fill them soon enough.

Atheists are buoyed in their confidence by what they consider an inverse relationship between knowledge and faith. The more you have of the first, the less you need of the second.

Faith is merely a filler for ignorance. As knowledge increases, silly superstitious beliefs are discarded. As science marches forward, ignorance will eventually disappear and faith will simply dry up.

Simply put, faith and knowledge are functional opposites. The only place for faith, then, is in the shadows of ignorance.

Ironically, this same perspective has been promoted by Christians themselves. “If I know that God exists,” they challenge, “or that Jesus rose from the dead, or that Heaven is real, then where is room for faith?” Note the same inverse relationship between knowledge and faith held by atheists: Faith and knowledge are functional opposites.

This view is obviously false if you pause to think about it. The opposite of knowledge is not faith, but ignorance. And the opposite of faith is not knowledge, but unbelief. It’s certainly possible to have knowledgeable faith and ignorant unbelief.

More importantly, the knowledge vs. faith equation is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, Scripture affirms just the opposite. In this month’s Solid Ground, I lay out the case that biblical faith is based on knowledge, not contrary to it. Once you see the textual evidence, I think you’ll agree that faith and knowledge are compatible, shoring up our confidence in the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Link to newsletter:
http://www.str.org/site/DocServer/11-12_SG_2009.pdf?docID=4181

E=mc^2

2009-10-27T09:55:00.003-05:00

Here's an excellent and understandable article explaining E=mc^2 and what that means for renewable energy sources. It's a little long, but well worth it.By William Tucker

Understanding E = mc2

Ed. note: A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hearing William Tucker speak at a conference in Washington, DC. His explanation of E = mc2 was the best I had ever heard. Even better, Tucker explained how Einstein's equation applied to renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro. His lecture was a revelation. It showed that the limits of renewable energy have nothing to do with politics or research dollars, but rather with simple mathematics. During a later exchange of emails with Tucker, I praised his lecture and suggested he write an article that explained E = mc2 and its corollary, E = mv2.

To my delight, he informed me that he'd already written such an essay and he agreed that we could publish it in Energy Tribune.

I love this essay. And I'm proud that Tucker has allowed us to run it.

-Robert Bryce
http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=2469

Economy

2009-10-23T08:20:00.001-05:00

I think I've posted this before, but I just ran across it again today. I had to repost it. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Pre-birth

2009-10-01T14:38:00.001-05:00

Stunning pictures from the book "A Child Is Born".

If you're on facebook, here's the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2009/sep/30/unborn-children-health-pictures?picture=353625255

Are learning the Biblical languages important?

2009-09-25T08:16:00.001-05:00

Westminster Seminary professor Elizabeth Groves on why learning the biblical languages is so important:

What would you change?

2009-09-21T16:22:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine sent me an email a few days ago that really got me thinking.

None of us who attend a church would claim to have found the perfect denomination (or non-denomination) right? I mean, as long as it's made up of the people it's going to have room for growth. So that's where the question starts. Here's what I was asked:What do you believe are the key areas of [your church's] doctrine or culture which need the most biblical clarification among the general membership? In your opinion, what doctrines or practices seem to be most widely misunderstood (from a biblical standpoint), and yet strongly held?

In other words, if you could hand a typical member a one-page tract that would gently challenge their thinking from the Scriptures in a few key areas, what would you hope to see addressed in the tract?So, let me pose that question to you, my reader. Is there any thing you would address?

Or maybe you've found the perfect church.

I'd love to get lots of feedback in the comments, but most of all I want to challenge you to think positively critical. I want to challenge our sense of complacency in church attendance. Think about how you could make your church better. Because that's where it starts.

Or maybe you think we shouldn't ask these kinds of questions. I'd love to hear from you guys too. Let me know why you think what you think.

Peace

Does believing in Sovereignty really matter?

2009-09-17T08:12:00.003-05:00

I found comfort in this article this morning. Hopefully you will also. Remember, if you're reading this in facebook, the HTML formatting doesn't import well, so it may be easier to read here: http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/09/does-believing-in-sovereignty-really.html

10 Reasons Why Believing in the Sovereignty of God Matters

September 16, 2009
By John Piper

Read this article on our website.

What we mean by the sovereignty of God is captured in paragraph 3.2 of The Bethlehem Baptist Church Elder Affirmation of Faith. The dozens of biblical passages used to support this paragraph are found in the online version.

3.2 We believe that God upholds and governs all things—from galaxies to subatomic particles, from the forces of nature to the movements of nations, and from the public plans of politicians to the secret acts of solitary persons—all in accord with His eternal, all-wise purposes to glorify Himself, yet in such a way that He never sins, nor ever condemns a person unjustly; but that His ordaining and governing all things is compatible with the moral accountability of all persons created in His image.

Why does it matter whether we believe this? Ten reasons.

1. The good news of God’s substituting his Son for us on the cross depends on it.

“Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27–28)

2. The perseverance of the saints in the fear of God depends on it.

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:40)

3. Progress in holiness now, and the final perfecting of the saints in the end, depends on it.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13)

“But you have come to Mount Zion . . . and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22–23)

4. The assurance of God’s final triumph over all natural and supernatural evil depends on it.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:9–10)

5. The comfort that there is a wise and loving purpose in all our calamities and loses, and that God will work all things together for our good, depends on it.

“Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. . . . Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (Lamentations 3:32–38)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

6. The hope that God will give life to the spiritually dead depends on it.

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

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

7. Well-grounded expectation of answered prayer depends on it.

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. . . . For the promise is for . . . everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38–39)

8. Boldness in the face of seeming hopeless defeat depends on it.

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” (2 Samuel 10:12)

“Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.” (2 Chronicles 32:7)

9. Seeing and savoring the revelation of the fullness of God’s glory depends on it.

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ . . . What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power . . . [acted] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy?” (Romans 9:20–23)

10. Praise that matches the fullness of God’s power, wisdom, and grace depends on it.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. . . . We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 115:3, 18)

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” (Psalm 96:4)

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is an anchor for the troubled soul, a hope for the praying heart, a stability for fragile faith, a confidence in pursuing the lost, a guarantee of Christ’s atonement, a high mystery to keep us humble, and a solid ground for all praise. And oh so much more. O Lord, turn this truth for the triumph of your saving and sanctifying grace.

Confident and comforted with you,

Pastor John

Responsibility, Inability, and Grace

2009-09-08T09:27:00.006-05:00

If you're reading this in facebook and the chart doesn't make sense, read it on my blog here: http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/09/responsibility-inability-and-grace.html

Responsibility, Inability and Grace

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me..." - John 6:37

John Hendryx

The truth of God's word is honored not in holding exclusively to one truth to the exclusion of another truth, but in believing the whole counsel of God. The Bible plainly teaches that man is responsible to repent and believe the gospel just as it plainly teaches that he is morally unwilling and unable to do so. These two seemingly contradictory assertions can be reconciled when we understand that even the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Christ who justifies sinners, belongs to us, not by nature but by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness. The Apostle Paul says, "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). And again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8).

Furthermore some teach that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his regenerative grace, we believe, will and desire, but do not confess that it is by the work and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we even have the faith, the will, or the desire to do all these things; If we make the assistance of grace depend on our humility or obedience but don't agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, we then contradict the Scripture which says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10).

The following chart shows that the Bible clearly teaches both man's responsibility to believe the gospel and his inability to do so. The third column helps us to understand how those whom God has set his affection on infallibly come to faith, in spite of this inability and, most of all, how this gives all glory to God in the work of salvation: Augustine once said, "God bids us do what we cannot, that we may know what we ought to seek from him."

(This chart is loosely based on a chart by Lamar McKinney)

The Responsibility of Man

The Inability of Man

Monergistic Grace of God

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matt. 11:28

No man can come to me, . . .

John 6:44a

. . . except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:44b

...whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16

...men loved the darkness rather than the Light...and will not come into the light...

John 3:20, 21

.."But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

John 3:21

Note: there are, indeed, those who come to the light -- namely those whose deeds are the work of God. "Wrought in God" means worked by God. Apart from this gracious work of God all men hate the light of God and will not come to him lest their evil be exposed.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Isa 55:6

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Rom 3:11

. . . I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

Rom 10:20b

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ...

1 John 3:23

"...the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

Romans 8:7

you do not hear, because you are not of God.

John 8:47

"...and these whom He called, He also justified;

Rom 8:30

...and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 13:48

God...commandeth all men every where to repent.

Acts 17:30

...the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him

John 14:7

"...if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth."

2 Tim 2:25

. . . whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev 22:17b

So then it is not of him that willeth, . . .

Rom 9:16a

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,. . .

Ps 110:3a

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isa 45:22

. . . Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:3a

. . . The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest . . . see that Just One, . . ..

Acts 22:14

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:12

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Cor 2:14

But as many as received him, . . . were born, not of . . the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:12-13

. . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, . . .

ROM 10:9

. . . no man can say that Jesus is Lord . . .

1 Cor 12:3b

. . . but by the Holy Ghost.

1 Cor 12:3b

. . . make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, . . ?

Ezek 18:31

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: . . .

Jer 17:9

A new heart also will I give you, . . . and I will take away the stony heart . . .

Ezek 36:26

"If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Matt 19:21

"Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Matt 19:23

"Then who can be saved?" And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matt 25b-26

"God knoweth we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requireth no more than he giveth, and giveth what he requireth, and accepteth what he giveth." - Richard Sibbes

The Altar Call

2009-09-01T08:53:00.004-05:00

An excellent brief video outlining the concept of the altar call, the decisions for Christ, and the historical church. It's a relatively new concept and a damaging one. However, it's so embedded in evangelical Christianity that many of you are questioning if you should even watch this video based on what I just wrote.

If you're reading this on facebook, it doesn't import video's from my blog, so here's the link:
http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/09/altar-call.html

Healthcare Truths

2009-08-27T08:35:00.003-05:00

If you're reading this on facebook please go here: http://lrknapp99.blogspot.com/2009/08/if-youre-reading-this-on-facebook.html to read it on my blog so all the links are available. Thanks!

August 26, 2009

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Make no mistake: there's a strong, unrelenting push to destroy what remains of private health care in this country.

And now congressional leaders are attempting to overcome their scheme's plunging approval numbers by manipulating Ted Kennedy's death to create support for a “legacy” health care bill.

Our representatives and senators are eager to get back to Washington and away from the tremendous grassroots opposition to health control.

Which means it's time for us to turn up the heat.

Click here to get contact information to write, call, and fax Congress to express your outrage at their plans to finish taking over what remains of private health care. And be sure to sign our "Stop the Government Health Care Scheme" petition.

Health control propagandists claim that we are defending the status quo of a "failed" private sector by opposing their latest scheme.

However, their bill cements the status quo in health care: continuing (and expanding) government intrusion.

Protectionist regulations have decimated competition in health insurance at the local level, and the vast, complex tax code has subsidized employer-provided high cost health care. The FDA, in the name of consumer protection, has restricted the supply of drugs from home and abroad. And individuals are barred from shopping across state lines for health insurance.

Watch this YouTube video to see a ER physician describe how the government obstructs the supply of health services.

Does any of that really sound like the free market at work to you?

Government-manipulated health care is bankrupting this country. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are drowning in tens of trillions of dollars worth of unfunded liabilities and red ink, yet the response from Congress is to propose more 1,000+ page bills that will move our health care system perilously close to other nations' statist care.

You know as well as I that this unfair plan is doomed to be a fiscal nightmare comparable to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that Congress-created HMOs are notorious for denying care to control spiraling costs.

Our nation has seen enough big government schemes, especially in medicine. President Obama is right about one thing: it's time to take action.

It's time to let the free market work.

Click here for contact information for the House and Senate in order to demand real reform. In addition to contacting your representative and senators, be sure to campaign hard for health freedom at your local townhall meeting.

Urge your representative to fight to allow individuals to shop across state lines for insurance, curb the authority of the FDA to prevent Americans from going outside the country for cheaper medications, and enable individuals to purchase their own health insurance without being taxed for doing so.

Tell Congress to give Americans control over their health care by giving them control over their health care dollar via tax credits and deductions similar to those outlined in Congressman Ron Paul's Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act (HR 1495).

Ask your congressman to protect privacy rights by allowing patients and physicians to opt-out of any government-mandated or funded system of electronic health care records, and to repeal the federal law creating an "unique patient identifier" by adopting the policies contained in Congressman Ron Paul's Protect Patients and Physicians Privacy Act (HR 2630).

In the meantime, we can push for reform of our respective state's competition-destroying mandates on private insurers. These simple, common-sense reforms would immediately alleviate the costs of health care without adding to the exploding national debt.

And if you are able, please donate to Campaign for Liberty today so that we can educate Americans on a true free market health care system and defeat this latest health control scheme.

Don't let the proponents of Obamacare sell you on the notion that we need the government to save us from the mess that government made. Click here to demand that Congress support legitimate health care reform!

In Liberty,

John Tate

President

P.S. Campaign for Liberty is committed to fighting this health control scheme and Congress' other attempts to further shred our Constitution, but we can't do it without your continued support. Please contribute to Campaign for Liberty today to ensure we can not only defeat big government's plans for our lives, but also champion the principles of freedom, peace, and prosperity.

Jesus is All the World To Me.

2009-08-24T08:01:00.002-05:00

Is he? Is he really? I was reading the "Kaeb Family" blog this morning and she had posted this story. It really touched my heart. What a great challenge as we start this week!

“The state-run convalescent hospital is not a pleasant place. It is large, understaffed, and overfilled with senile and helpless and lonely people who are waiting to die. On the brightest of days it seems dark inside, and it smells of sickness and stale urine. I went there once or twice a week for four years, but I never wanted to go there, and I always left with a sense of relief. It is not the kind of place one gets used to.

“On this particular day I was walking in a hallway that I had not visited before, looking in vain for a few who were alive enough to receive a flower and a few words of encouragement. This hallway seemed to contain some of the worst cases, strapped onto carts or into wheelchairs and looking completely helpless.

“As I neared the end of this hallway, I saw an old woman strapped up in a wheelchair. Her face was an absolute horror. The empty stare and white pupils of her eyes told me that she was blind. The large hearing aid over one ear told me that she was almost deaf. One side of her face was being eaten by cancer. There was a discolored and running sore covering part of one cheek, and it had pushed her nose to one side, dropped one eye, and distorted her jaw so that what should have been the corner of her mouth was the bottom of her mouth. As a consequence, she drooled constantly. I was told later that when new nurses arrived, the supervisors would send them to feed this woman, thinking that if they could stand this sight they could stand anything in the building. I also learned later that this woman was eighty-nine years old and that she had been here, bedridden, blind, nearly deaf, and alone, for twenty-five years. This was Mabel.

“I don’t know why I spoke to her—she looked less likely to respond than most of the people I saw in that hallway. But I put a flower in her hand and said, ‘Here is a flower for you Happy Mother’s Day.’ She held the flower up to her face and tried to smell it, and then she spoke. And much to my surprise, her words, although somewhat garbled because of her deformity, were obviously produced by a clear mind. She said, ‘Thank you. It’s lovely. But can I give it to someone else? I can’t see it, you know, I’m blind.’

“I said, ‘Of course,’ and I pushed her in her chair back down the hallway to a place where I thought I could find some alert patients. I found one, and I stopped the chair. Mabel held out the flower and said, ‘Here, this is from Jesus.’

“That was when it began to dawn on me that this was not an ordinary human being. Later I wheeled her back to her room and learned more about her history. She had grown up on a small farm that she managed with only her mother until her mother died. Then she ran the farm alone until 1950 when her blindness and sickness sent her to the convalescent hospital. For twenty-five years she got weaker and sicker, with constant headaches, backaches, and stomach aches, and then the cancer came too. Her three roommates were all human vegetables who screamed occasionally but never talked. They often soiled their bedclothes, and because the hospital was understaffed, especially on Sundays when I usually visited, the stench was often overpowering.

Mabel and I became friends over the next few weeks, and I went to see her once or twice a week for the next three years. Her first words to me were usually an offer of hard candy from a tissue box near her bed. Some days I would read to her from the Bible, and often when I would pause she would continue reciting the passage from memory, word-for-word. On other days I would take a book of hymns and sing with her, and she would know all the words of the old songs. For Mabel, these were not merely exercises in memory. She would often stop in mid-hymn and make a brief comment about lyrics she considered particularly relevant to her own situation. I never heard her speak of loneliness or pain except in the stress she placed on certain lines in certain hymns.

“It was not many weeks before I turned from a sense that I was being helpful to a sense of wonder, and I would go to her with a pen and paper to write down the things she would say. . . .

“During one hectic week of final exams I was frustrated because my mind seemed to be pulled in ten directions at once with all of the things that I had to think about. The question occurred to me, ‘What does Mabel have to think about—hour after hour, day after day, week after week, not even able to know if it’s day or night?’ So I went to her and asked, ‘Mabel, what do you think about when you lie here?’

“And she said, ‘I think about my Jesus.’

“I sat there, and thought for a moment about the difficulty, for me, of thinking about Jesus for even five minutes, and I asked, ‘What do you think about Jesus?’ She replied slowly and deliberately as I wrote . . .:

I think about how good he’s been to me. He’s been awfully good to me in my life, you know. . . . I’m one of those kind who’s mostly satisfied. . . . Lots of folks wouldn’t care much for what I think. Lots of folks would think I’m kind of old fashioned. But I don’t care. I’d rather have Jesus. He’s all the world to me.

And then Mabel began to sing an old hymn:
Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all.
He is my strength from day to day,
Without him I would fall.
When I am sad, to him I go,
No other one can cheer me so.
When I am sad He makes me glad.
He’s my friend.

This is not fiction. Incredible as it may seem, a human being really lived like this. I know. I knew her. How could she do it? Seconds ticked and minutes crawled, and so did days and weeks and months and years of pain without human company and without an explanation of why it was all happening—and she lay there and sang hymns. How could she do it? “The answer, I think, is that Mabel had something that you and I don’t have much of. She had power. Lying there in that bed, unable to move, unable to see, unable to hear, unable to talk to anyone, she had incredible power.

Here was an ordinary human being who received supernatural power to do extraordinary things. Her entire life consisted of following Jesus as best she could in her situation: patient endurance of suffering, solitude, prayer, meditation on Scripture, worship, fellowship when it was possible, giving when she had a flower or a piece of candy to offer. Imagine being in her condition and saying, “I think about how good he’s been to me. He’s been awfully good to me in my life, you know. . . . I’m one of those kind who’s mostly satisfied.” This is the Twenty-third Psalm come to life: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Audit the Federal Reserve

2009-08-14T07:54:00.003-05:00

Please take a few minutes to look through the following website. It lays out the case for giving the Congress the authority to audit the Federal Reserve. Right now, there are trillions of dollars of our tax-payer money that we don't know where it went or how it was spent because the Fed is an independent entity from our elected government. That independence is, in some respects, a good thing. It keeps monetary policy from being controlled by politics (somewhat). However, when the Fed refuses to give a full account of what they're doing and how they're distributing our money, it's time to look a little deeper. Not mention I think their monetary policy has been disastrously horrible the last several decades.

http://www.auditthefed.com/

by the breath of His mouth

2009-08-13T09:14:00.004-05:00

Psalms 33:6
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

We serve an awesome mighty God. Ponder on the fact that all that was discussed in that video was made by the breath of our all mighty God!

I stand humbled and amazed.

p.s. For those of you reading this in facebook, I put a link to the video in the comments.

The church

2009-08-11T09:57:00.003-05:00

Before I get into this post, I want to point you to the Schroeder's blog here: http://jkschroeder.blogspot.com/ They also have a caring bridge site here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jordanschroeder
They're great ways to stay updated on current prayer needs.

I recently received a thought-provoking email from a friend. What could we do we do well as a denomination? What could we improve on? Do you agree with the author?I thought I would share some of these thoughts by Kim Riddlebarger. I think he hits on some great points that get us thinking about the church, its purpose, and what is really important. This is not an entire article, but rather a few excerpts.

--

"Like water running downhill, [lowest common denominator churches] have taken the line of least resistance. They settle for the lowest point so as to be most attractive to all. Sadly, all these same churches now look alike and sound alike. They are no longer divided by doctrine or their histories. The only real difference among them is in the programs they offer....The focus of the church of the lowest common denominator is me. The sermon is about problems I face. The music is music I like. The church service is designed to entertain me. That explains why they all look and sound so much alike. Somehow, God got lost in all the talk about my felt needs. The theology of the church of the lowest common denominator is utterly man-centered. It is all about me—or at least that's how I am made to feel....

The solution is to take the focus off me, and put it back where it belongs, on God. Instead of the church of the lowest common denominator, a...church should be the church of the highest common denominator. But what does a church of the highest common denominator look like? It looks like this—it is a church where the theology, worship and evangelism is God-centered, not man-centered.

In a God-centered church of the highest common denominator, God is the evangelist, not the minister, and where every member is an ambassador of Christ. Instead of adopting an unbiblical “seeker” philosophy, in which the church “dumbs-down” its worship service, supposedly, to reach non-Christians...Christians are to take very seriously what the Bible says about “seekers.” They don't exist! According to Paul “there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11). Rather, our confidence is in the God who seeks sinners!

How does God seek sinners? He seeks them through his preached word (Romans 10:14)! Therefore, a growing...church is a word-centered church. A church of the highest common denominator is a church where the word of God is preached....It is a place where the promises that God makes in his word are trusted and diligently sought....the minister is not an entertainer but a preacher....not a motivator, but a man of prayer. He is not a manager, but a student of God's word. The members of such a church likewise attend to the word. They read it, they learn it, and they teach it to their children.

[It] is a church where the law is preached in all its terror, the gospel in all its sweetness, and where the Christian life is centered in gratitude for all that God has done for us in Christ. The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper will be prominent, since these are holy signs and seals for us to see, and which confirm in our hearts the faith produced by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the word. These are the “techniques” God uses to move sinners to repentance and to confirm the saints in the joy and comfort of their salvation. Programs are fine as they serve and support the preached word and sacraments. But they can never replace them. Why? Programs are about me. Word and sacrament are about God."

Prayer for the Schroeders

2009-08-07T11:14:00.004-05:00

This is a call to prayer. Below is a picture of Jordan & Katelyn Schroeder and their two little girls. The email is from Jordan's sister and explains the need for prayer. Katelyn had the following verse posted to her facebook account this morning:Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.Will you join me in praying that verse into their life today?

From: Lindsey Getz
Subject: Jordan
To:
Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 4:19 PM

Jordan & Katelyn ended up meeting with the doctor today. She told them Jordan has Stage 4 cancer because the cancer is not just in his pelvis but has moved to his lungs (as shown on the PET scan). Chemotherapy is still a treatment option, but the doctor thinks his cancer is incurable (and gives him two years to live). They meet again with the doctors tomorrow to go over all of the results, determine next steps, etc.

Our God is a big God...so keep praying for a miracle of healing. Please keep our family in your prayers...especially Jordan & Katelyn and their two girls (Jaycee & Arawen) as they face the difficulties ahead.

Linds

Amazing...Grace

2009-07-21T08:16:00.003-05:00

This video touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. The Lord brought to my mind a picture of me in the bottom of a slave ship called SIN, and Christ, to show His mercy and grace, reached down into the filthy stinking bowels of that ship and pulled me out. But He didn't stop at just pulling me out of this filth. He immediately put the most beautiful white robe over my shoulders and declared me righteous before the Creator God of the Universe.

It is here I stand, the only place I could stand - beneath this robe of righteousness - trusting in God's promise of sanctification. God forgive me when my flesh pulls me back toward the filth of that ship.

John Newton, the author of the song in the video said this: "I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. Yet I can truly say, I am not what I once was."

And to that I say Amen.

May God use this video to touch you like it touched me.

Paul's authority

2009-07-20T12:06:00.007-05:00

Here is an excerpt from a sermon by John Macarthur. He's talking about Paul's authority and therefore the scripture's authority. There are a couple of links at the bottom.So Paul says, "I'm a divinely appointed apostle." Now, I want to just take a minute, because I think this is so extremely important. I hope you realize that the message of the apostles is the inspired Word of God as we have it in the New Testament, and that we are to be subject and submissive to the word of the apostles. They are the authority that speak in the behalf of Jesus Christ. And this is extremely important.

I met a man at that conference at Forest Home who said to me, after I had spoken about the apostle Paul and given some information about the things that Paul said regarding sin, he said, "Well," he said, "of course, you have to remember that not everything Paul said is relevant." And he said, "Of course," he says, "I just don't buy everything he said." Well, at that point, you see, you're doing exactly what the false teachers did in Galatia. You're stating that Paul has no right to speak authoritatively. And Paul says, "Wait a minute. I'm an apostle. I have been commissioned to speak authoritatively for Christ. These aren't my words. They're his."

So Paul insists, then, that he has credentials to speak because he is an apostle by title, and his apostleship was not conferred humanly, but it was conferred by God through Christ. The very God who raised Jesus from the dead gave him his right to speak. He is no secondhand apostle. In Galatians 1:11, look what he says. "I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." He's saying, "What I'm telling you no one ever taught me. I got it straight from Christ Himself." And that, beloved, is what an apostle is.

And so Paul states his authority through his title and through the manner in which he was chosen. Thirdly, he states his authority through his association. He says, "And all the brethren who are with me, unto the churches of Galatia." And this is kind of an inference rather than a direct statement. But you'll notice, while calling himself an apostle, he calls the rest of those with him brethren. He's distinguishing himself clearly from the others.

He is happy to associate with them. He unashamedly adds them to the list to...really, he says, "They're writing along with me. They agree with what I'm going to say." But at the same time he gives himself the title apostle and gives them the title brothers, showing that there is a great difference. Now, let me say that this is so very important, people. There is a tremendous difference between the brethren and the apostles. I hope you understand that.

So Paul establishes his authority as an apostle. Let me add a footnote, because I think it's important. The modern radical theologian, like would be illustrated by the young man that I mentioned, who said that you don't always believe what Paul said. This man says this, and you need to watch this. The radical modern theologian says that the apostles were just, now watch it, they were just first century witnesses to Jesus Christ. And they wrote what they thought as they witnessed the Christ event.

We are 20th century witnesses, and our witness of Christ as we look at Him active in the world today and as we look over history in the past, our witness is just as good, and some say it's better, because we have more information. In other words, they are equalizing us with the apostles. C.H. Dodd, who has done some very serious and helpful writing in many areas of Biblical commentary, says this, "Sometimes I think Paul is wrong, and I have ventured to say so." Now, that is a typical radical modern liberal view, that the apostles were just witnesses. They wrote their own thoughts. And you and I are witnesses of the Christ event. We can write what we want. So the Bible may or may not be that significant.

But Paul would deny that with every breath in his body. He was called of God, not by man or men, by Jesus Christ, God the Father, and he is set apart from the brethren in the churches. He is not what they are. He is an apostle. He is a special messenger, chosen by God. And what the apostles said was what Christ really wanted to be said through them.

In John 13:20, talking about these disciples and apostles, Jesus said, listen to this tremendous statement, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. And he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me." He says, "I'm going to send you out, and whoever receives you is receiving me. You go in my place." In John 14:26, He said to the apostles, "The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you." Did you get that?

A lot of people want to apply that verse to all the Christians who live today. Well, you could in a secondary and a very general sense, but that verse was meant for the apostles. "He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you," means, "I'll give you the information you need to write the New Testament. They had a very special and a very unique place. And so we reject the radical, modern, liberal view that they're just a few guys who had an opportunity to see these things, they wrote what they thought and our testimony is just as good.

Another interesting view is the Catholic view. The Catholic theologian says that the church wrote the Bible, and that these guys were just officials of the church. And you know what's so significant about that? They say the church wrote the Bible, and these guys were just officials of the church, which means that the church, any time it wants, can add to the Bible. And that's why, in the Catholic church, tradition is equal to Scripture. Because, since the church wrote the Bible, anything the church wants to say can be added to the Bible.

It doesn't say Paul was an apostle of the church. Paul was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. They received their authority not from the organization but from God Himself. It's divine. It's not ecclesiastical and it's not human. It's divine. It was God who accredited him. Now, listen, beloved, we find something very important here, and that is this. It is the question of Biblical authority. Our lives are to be subject to Jesus Christ as He speaks through His apostles. And what He says through Paul is really authoritative as if Jesus said it.

I remember a man who was really a strange kind of a guy. And he was the same guy that I think I told you about, sold everything and got ready for the Lord to come in a certain year. And he always carried a red-letter Bible. And I don't like red-letter Bibles. In fact, I don't like them at all. But anyway, he always carried red-letter Bibles. You know why I don't like a red-letter Bible? Why do you think that what Jesus said is any more important than what Paul said? Why should that be in red? Every bit of it was written by God Himself. Well, this guy said to me, he said, "I only believe the part in red." That's exactly what he said.

Listen, the part in black, written by Paul or Peter or James or John or Jude or the writer of Hebrews, that is just as important as if Jesus said it. Why? Because He did say it, through them. Biblical authority, our lives are to be subject to Jesus Christ speaking through His apostles. The proper authority is not vested in human opinion. It's not even vested in the consensus of the church. It's vested in apostolic authority. And when the early church got together, they studied the apostles' doctrine. You know, I make no apology for believing everything Paul said. I make no apology. Paul does not write as one commissioned by the church. He speaks for Jesus Christ. So his authority is established.Here's the transcript of the entire sermon, and here's the audio link.

Audit the Fed - the senate version

2009-07-16T11:44:00.001-05:00

http://www.ronpaul.com/2009-07-16/audit-the-fed-bill-now-has-13-co-sponsors-in-the-senate/

Check it out.

Joy?

2009-07-15T10:08:00.004-05:00

James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What's your heart response when "encountering various trials"? Do you praise God for the endurance producing nature of the trial? Do you cling to the promise of a "perfect result". Do you lean forward expectantly to coming one step closer to being complete in Christ - lacking nothing?

Our flesh wants to run from trials - hide - avoid - squirm out from under them. Our natural inclination is to see trials as negative obstacles to our comfort. The fewer trials we encounter the better.

Too often that mindset leads us down un-Biblical paths. It leads us to the path of conformity for comfort's sake. It leads us to compromise truth. It leads us to compromise love. It leads us to compromise the Gospel.

Let us heed the words of Ephesians 5:20(always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God...)in all things, but let us be especially mindful to be thankful for the trials.

We serve a Sovereign God who is in complete control, and He is good. Let that thought never be far from our minds.

Peace

Who has bewitched you?

2009-07-02T11:19:00.002-05:00

Galatians 3:1-4
1. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified ?
2. This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith ?
3. Are you so foolish ? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh ?
4. Did you suffer so many things in vain -if indeed it was in vain ?

How many of us would dare to stand and say, "It was through a work I worked that brought me to salvation."? Hopefully none of us.

Yet how many of us fall into the trap of thinking we can be perfected by the flesh? Do we think that by looking a certain way, talking a certain way, or praying a certain way that we can be perfected by that? Do we lose sight of the glorious grace of Christ that drug us out of the filth of sin and instead begin trusting again in the works of our flesh?

Paul used extremely strong language in confronting the Galatians about this problem. Have you confronted your heart about this?

Our receiving of the Spirit to salvation is completely a work of Christ and our sanctification toward perfection is also completely a work of Christ. Let us, today, fall before him in Worshipful gratitude for bestowing on us, and working in us, a gift we do not deserve.

Ephesians 2:8-10
8. For by grace you have been saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ;
9. not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

2009-06-25T08:15:00.005-05:00

"I'll check for my test results one more time before I leave", I thought to myself as I clicked on the website for the 3rd time that day.

This is what came up.

Current Request Status

Official test results will be mailed by CTS subject to licensor approval

Request Date:

1/2/2009

Request Status:

Closed

Special:

Exam Location:

PEORIA

Overall Exam Results

Pass

Deficiency

Exam Name	Exam Date	Grade
Fundamentals of Eng.	4/24/2009	Endorsed
Princ. and Practice	4/24/2009	Pass

What that screens says is that I passed my Professional Engineering Exam and am now a licensed engineer in the state of IL!

All praise and glory go to God. I was less-than confident of a positive outcome. The test was much harder than I anticipated.

I still get a little giddy looking at that word "pass".

Big thanks to those of you who were praying for me back in April as I went to sit for this exam.

God Bless!

Can Government do a better job with Health Care?

2009-06-19T09:37:00.002-05:00

Listen to the man. He has very informed and well researched opinions. This is a subject that's worth having an opinion over.

Burning Cash

2009-06-18T10:13:00.002-05:00

The amount of our money the government has spent on this financial crisis is mind blowing.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/bailout-costs-vs-big-historical-events/

Audit The Fed

2009-06-17T10:53:00.002-05:00

The Federal Reserve has loaned out and given away Trillions of dollars of tax-payers money in the last several months. This has been done quietly and without much media coverage. They have very little oversight and even less transparency in their dealings. And they are not required to disclose who they give this money too. After watching this video, please sign this petition to encourage your representative to support the "Audit the Fed" bill that's working it's way through Congress.

Ron Paul introduced this bill to Congress in February with the following speech: Madame Speaker,

I rise to introduce the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar. Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hard-working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big-spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation.

Serious discussion of proposals to oversee the Federal Reserve is long overdue. I have been a longtime proponent of more effective oversight and auditing of the Fed, but I was far from the first Congressman to advocate these types of proposals. Esteemed former members of the Banking Committee such as Chairmen Wright Patman and Henry B. Gonzales were outspoken critics of the Fed and its lack of transparency.

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations. While the conventional excuse is that this is intended to reduce the Fed’s susceptibility to political pressures, the reality is that the Fed acts as a foil for the government. Whenever you question the Fed about the strength of the dollar, they will refer you to the Treasury, and vice versa. The Federal Reserve has, on the one hand, many of the privileges of government agencies, while retaining benefits of private organizations, such as being insulated from Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Federal Reserve can enter into agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments, and the GAO is prohibited from auditing or even seeing these agreements. Why should a government-established agency, whose police force has federal law enforcement powers, and whose notes have legal tender status in this country, be allowed to enter into agreements with foreign powers and foreign banking institutions with no oversight? Particularly when hundreds of billions of dollars of currency swaps have been announced and implemented, the Fed’s negotiations with the European Central Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, and other institutions should face increased scrutiny, most especially because of their significant effect on foreign policy. If the State Department were able to do this, it would be characterized as a rogue agency and brought to heel, and if a private individual did this he might face prosecution under the Logan Act, yet the Fed avoids both fates.

More importantly, the Fed’s funding facilities and its agreements with the Treasury should be reviewed. The Treasury’s supplementary financing accounts that fund Fed facilities allow the Treasury to funnel money to Wall Street without GAO or Congressional oversight. Additional funding facilities, such as the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility, allow the Fed to keep financial asset prices artificially inflated and subsidize poorly performing financial firms.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would eliminate restrictions on GAO audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to enhanced scrutiny. We hear officials constantly lauding the benefits of transparency and especially bemoaning the opacity of the Fed, its monetary policy, and its funding facilities. By opening all Fed operations to a GAO audit and calling for such an audit to be completed by the end of 2010, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act would achieve much-needed transparency of the Federal Reserve. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. More Info

Learning 'bout Lazarus

2009-06-02T08:27:00.002-05:00

I have heard the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead so many times I though there was nothing left to learn.

Last night I told/read the story to my 4th grade class at VBS. It's amazing how much more you can get out of a story when you have to teach it. I can't say I really "learned" anything new, but the story just came alive to me in ways it hadn't before. I experienced the story more than I ever have. I felt the pain of the mourners. I saw their confused looks as Christ called a command to a dead man in a dark cave. I saw the incredulity as Lazarus, bound in grave clothes, came staggering out. I sensed their hesitation when Christ commanded someone to unwrap him. Would've I have been the first to move help Lazarus out of his wrappings?

Praise God for the truth of His Word!

2 Years of Wedded Bliss!

2009-05-27T14:51:00.003-05:00

It was two year ago today that I watched Heidi walk down the aisle and took her to be my wife! She's been more of a blessing to me than I ever could have imagined. I praise God that He brought her into my life and placed in each of us a love for the other. As I think back over the past two years, I know that my prideful stubborn self could not have achieved the beauty our time together has shown. All glory and praise to God our father for placing in us a supernatural love and patience toward each other. Not that it's been a perfect love or a perfect patience, but, thank God, He's refining us more every day. I look forward to many wonderful years together as we grow towards our Savior's likeness.

I love you Heidi Knapp.

Beautiful Mind

2009-05-18T14:54:00.002-05:00

Stephen Wiltshire has been called the "Human Camera." In this short excerpt from the film Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory.

Psalm 139:14 - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Preaching

2009-05-13T08:29:00.001-05:00

I recently read an article by John Piper explaining what he means by the word "Preaching". Here are several quotes that struck me.-The preacher's job is to minimize his own opinions and deliver the truth of God. Every sermon should explain the Bible and then apply it to people's lives.
-The preacher should do that in a way that enables you to see that the points he is making actually come from the Bible. If you can't see that they come from the Bible, your faith will end up resting on a man and not on God's word.

-Preaching is also exultation. This means that the preacher does not just explain what's in the Bible, and the people do not simply try understand what he explains. Rather, the preacher and the people exult over what is in the Bible as it is being explained and applied.
-Preaching does not come after worship in the order of the service. Preaching is worship. The preacher worships—exults—over the word, trying his best to draw you into a worshipful response by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-I standing vigilantly on the precipice of eternity speaking to people who this week could go over the edge whether they are ready to or not. I will be called to account for what I said there.

-That's what I mean by preaching.

Landscaping

2009-05-08T07:33:00.005-05:00

This is what my wonderful wife did Wednesday, on her day off. It makes our house look so much more "homey". :-)

Building Feat

2009-05-01T13:19:00.003-05:00

Life has an interesting slide show on the construction of the Empire State Building.

Things above

2009-04-28T11:04:00.003-05:00

Colossians 3:1-4 NASB
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

We had our young couples Bible study last night on Colossians 3. I was drawn to the commands in verses 1 and 2. Keep seeking the things above...Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Our thought processes drive our motives, and our motives drive our actions. How often do we get caught up in horizontal earthly thoughts and end up making decisions with the wrong heart motives?

Christ never once lost his eternal perspective. His thoughts were always focused on the Father. He never once acted out of earthly/fleshly motive.

As I see how far short I fall from this standard, I'm drawn to verses 3 and 4. My life is hidden with Christ and when, in the last days, he is revealed in glory, I will be there with him!

What an awesome promise to come right after such a high calling. Let's remember that it is only Christ who can work out such a high calling in our hearts and give him all the glory honor and praise for any and all our spiritual successes.

Kids!

2009-04-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

They say the darndest things!

Plug for Alan

2009-04-22T17:22:00.000-05:00

My friend Alan recently started back to graduate school to get a master's degree in social work in order to work with troubled children and families. As a result, he will not be able to keep his full-time job, but work part-time instead for the next two years. In an effort to try to supplement some income, he has started his own business that he can manage during his free time. A part of his business is hosting an online store for exclusive Amway Global products along with many regular name brand products from partner stores such as ACE Hardware, Barnes & Noble, Dell, and Office Depot.

He is looking for people that would have interest in setting up an online shopping account for his store (no cost) and consider purchasing some of the products. There is a wide variety of products to choose from. Some that you might shop for on a regular basis, such as snack bars, juice, bottled water, laundry detergent, tissue paper, skin care, etc... and others that might be just for special occasion shopping like wedding and baby gifts.

If you are interested in checking out the store, you can go to www.quixtar.com and browse it. If you like what you see or have any questions, drop Alan an email at alan_banwart@yahoo.com and tell him you would like a free online account. Alan also mentioned that if anyone sets up an account and place an order by the end of the month, they will be placed in a drawing to receive a $50 gift certificate to the store. Thank you for considering this opportunity.

Just Do Something

2009-04-21T11:36:00.001-05:00

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will

Get your copy

About the book...

Hyper-spiritual approaches to finding God's will don't work. It's time to try something new: Give up.

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction.

But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something.

At 128 pages, it is a concise treatment on a topic of interest to us all.

What people are saying...

"God told me that He wants you to read this book. Actually, that is one of the many mistaken notions about God's will that Kevin DeYoung wants to correct."
--Collin Hansen, Editor at Large, Christianity Today

"The truth is that God is more committed to showing you His will than you are to discovering it. This book shows that discovering God's will happens not as we 'let go and let God,' but as we trust God and get going."
--Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor, New City Church

“DeYoung explains so well what Oswald Chambers wrote a century ago, ‘Trust God and do the next thing.’ Sadly our wrongheaded search for the elusive ‘will of God’ often prevents us from doing both. This book will help correct that problem.”
--Gerald L. Sittser, Professor of Theology, Whitworth University

Get your copy

Fishing weekend

2009-04-21T08:23:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I had a fun weekend. I caught a 5lb and a 5lb 6oz bass with in 15 minutes of each other. The fact that they both hit on a top water was icing on the cake.

Good times in Taylor.

Created by the Breath of God

2009-04-14T08:59:00.004-05:00

Click on the picture to enlarge. Then click on that picture to enlarge further.

Colossian Prayer

2009-04-06T10:58:00.006-05:00

The Lord spoke to me about balance this morning as I read in Colossians where Paul speaks his prayer for the church at Collosae. Balance and purpose.9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.Paul prays that they may be filled with "knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and understanding.

Why?

What's the benefit of having those things?

The benefit comes in living a life that's fully pleasing to God as we bear fruit in our good works. Then it comes full circle back to increasing in more knowledge of who God is.

We don't use our fullness of knowledge to feel content in our understanding, but rather to go out and walk a walk that pleases God. We could go out and walk in a manner which mimics "fully pleasing to God", but unless we're walking with knowledge we're not "fully pleasing". Knowledge pleases God as it's used to walk in His footsteps, and then it comes full circle back to increasing in the knowledge of God - continuing His refining process.

And as that process cycles through in our lives, may we find ourselves strengthened with every iteration according to His glorious might, and may we grow in our thanksgiving to the Father for His qualification of us to share in the inheritance.

We serve an Awesome God. May God impart to us a hunger to know who He is.

Confused Seasons

2009-03-29T08:50:00.002-05:00

I think someone forgot to CC old man Winter when we switched over to Spring. Spring tried to hold the snow off for as long as possible with steady rain, but sometime last night Spring relented and Winter took over.

AIG - "I quit"

2009-03-25T10:23:00.003-05:00

Anyone remotely following the unfolding AIG bonus payment scandal should definitely read this article. It's a great reminder that there are people and faces behind all the corporations. Are we almost always too quick to judge?It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:...

A Piper Plea

2009-03-23T14:14:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine emailed me the following post by John Piper. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Do you agree with Piper's take on Bible Study? Are you currently reading books or taking a class on or about the Bible? Would you recommend it? Can you think of Scriptures that would contextually support or detract from what Piper's saying here?A Plea for Heart Devotions and Head Study
Posted: 22 Mar 2009 11:20 PM PDT
(Author: John Piper)
This is a plea that all of you would build into your lives both personal devotions and purposeful study of God's word.

Both:Daily prayerful meditation seeking personal application of God's word to your own heart and life.
And:Regular study in a class or with a book where the (living or dead) teacher has seen more than you have and can give you insight in 30 minutes that might otherwise take you ten years to see.
The reason I plead for both is that without a book or a class about what some part of the Bible means and a teacher who is ahead of you, your devotions will probably flatten out at a low level of insight.
Year after year you will go over the same biblical ground and find it as perplexing as before. There will be little advance in understanding. This will tend to take the heart out of devotional reading, because the lack of growth cannot sustain the joy.
Seek out preaching, books, and classes which take you further in grasping what various books and texts in the Bible mean.