prayers and thanks

I feel as though my prayer life as of late has consisted of only gratitude. We have two Hondas that are nearing 600,000 miles as a dynamic duo [neither have AC at the moment either]. We just bought this house and still have many more nights of labor to put into it. We have no clue how to fix it all either. The funds are tight. The days are long. The summer has already promised to prove itself chaotic as far as calendars are concerned. And the best part of all of this though is that I am convinced it's normal.

Everybody has stuff on their plate. Relationships. Finances. Jobs. In-laws. Schedules. Church. Kids. Whatever. Who am I to complain or act like some victim. I must be and I get to be grateful. At first I was really mad/sad that I wasn't praying as much for others or ministries or whatnot. Actually, I still am. But.... God has so brought peace to me when I realized that this season of appreciation-saturated prayer is a wonderfully humbling thing.

I love what some of the old Puritans used to say about prayer. They were known for this lovely axiom: "Pray until you pray." Meaning, be with Him until you are no longer thinking about it and concentrating on it, but you just are. You're thanking Him. You're pleading with Him. You're trusting His word. You're confessing. You're happy in Him. That's what I see when I read the prayers of Paul. That's how I long for it to be for me too.

"Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" [1 Ths 5.16-18].

NT Wright prying into the mind of a 1st century Jew regarding the kingdom

What then is central to the understanding of the kingdom? That which we saw a moment ago: the Jewish expectation of the saving sovereignty of the covenant god, exercised in the vindication of Israel and the overthrow of her enemies....

If Pilate was still governing Judea, then the kingdom had not come. If the Temple was not rebuilt, then the kingdom had not come. If the Messiah had not arrived, then the kingdom had not come. If Israel was not observing the Torah properly, then the kingdom had not come. If the pagans had not been defeated and/or flocking to Zion for instruction, then the kingdom had not come....

Most modern scholars who have attempted redefinitions of the kingdom have considered such essentially Jewish ideas to be already moribund, and have passed them by on the other side, anxious to avoid contamination as they hurry to worship at the shrine of intellectual respectability.

PiPER ON CHESTERTON [for his 134th birthday]

Here.

GRACE PAiNTS.

Eddie is a man's man. He is a true blue construction dude. He has what I would call a gentle, yet dignified mullet that sometimes wishes it was a rat-tail. Eddie has a gut that proves his wife can cook. A funny thing about Eddie is that, if he wore a pair of Umbros, you would likely consider his voice feminine. But because he is a good ol' boy, it is just kind of high-pitched.

The best part about Eddie though is his outrageous joy and love for Jesus. He's always happy. He's always rejoicing. He told me that he and some others left his Free Will Baptist Church about a year ago because of some tough issues. They have started meeting and fellowshipping together on Sunday mornings. I'm pretty darn sure that Eddie and I aren't on the same page on some of the finer points of theology. But I've never really thought about it. His glad concern for knowing Jesus and wanting others to know Him far outweighs what he thinks about predestination and the millennium. I tell you all this about Eddie to say this....

Grace paints with broad strokes.

We often think that grace must look a whole lot like us because we do Christianity the right way [though we'd never say that]. When in reality, there is a great beauty in the diversity of grace's ripple effects. How dare those of the pew-sitting and organ-only flavor accuse our Pentecostal brethren of forgetting to take their ADD pill when they were given their grace pill. How dare those who flaunt their "perfect doctrine" look down their noses at those who only submit to 37 of their 39 articles of faith.

We are the body. They will know we are His by our love for one another. Thank you Lord for my friend and yours, Steady Eddie.

beautiful and hilarious

what i was thinking atop my 20-foot painting ladder today...

Should it mean anything to us that God knows that He is all-knowing?

The objectivity of subjectivity makes me subjectively cherish the objective.

Thinking is hard. Thinking about thinking is a bit harder.

how to learn Greek by singing

In my spare time I have written songs for both the Greek and Hebrew alphabets. Actually, it was while I was driving 2 hours back and forth to seminary. The Greek song was for my mama so she could learn it and the Hebrew song was for me. It was reggae and had a pretty sweet groove.

I have now resolved that I need to get some connections and get paid for my Hebrew alphabet song because apparently someone just came out with something about singing NT Greek. Zondervan will do anything for a Christian buck.

Truthfully, it looks pretty fun.

my wife's uncle

My wife's uncle went to Bob Jones. My wife's uncle went to Oxford. My wife's uncle is now a Catholic priest. We have good talks. He is a good man. 

Go here and read his lovely, fun discourse on good ol' southern preachin.

our humble abode

Finally.

We closed the first week of May and have been taking loads over there nearly every day. Two small Hondas can't hold that much.

There has also been some manual labor required and several loads of nonsense to the dump.

We have painted a bunch as well. There was already a blue/green kind of theme in the house, so we painted our room Tranquil Bay. Paints have the coolest names.

Of course we are going to keep that satellite dish up there. 

Our neighbor Larry has been mowing our grass. He is the man. I think he mows his own grass twice a week. He smokes a pipe when he's on his riding mower.

Gee, it's fun to get the mail.

We also like our wood-burning fire place and $3-mirror from a garage sale. 

The backyard has a really tall and pretty tree-canopy that we love. This comes with free mosquitoes as well.

The last guy who lived here left a 1968 record player. I'm pretty excited about that. The only record he left us was "For Those of You About to Rock, We Salute You" by AC/DC.

Here's a good shot of part of the living room, Sara's favorite painting, our $40 Salvation Army love seat, and the bathroom way in the background over my right shoulder. 

We are very grateful and daily humbled that God has given us this place. I'm so scared of ever clinging too tightly to any earthly thing. I'd like to say that I would be like the Hebrews in 10.32-34 and be happy if some of my stuff got swiped because I know I have a better and lasting possession. We know that this is a gift from Him. And we pray that He would use it for His sake.

And with those hopes, we love our new crib.

CALViN and LUTHER ON BAPTiSM [for john paulling]

Calvin:

From these words, John 3.23, it may be inferred, that baptism was administered by John and Christ by plunging the whole body under water. Here we perceive how baptism was administered among the ancients; for they immersed the whole body in water.

Luther:

The term baptism is a Greek word. It may be rendered immersion, as when we plunge something in water, that it may be entirely covered with water. And though that custom is now abolished among the generality [for even children are not entirely immersed, but only have a little water poured on them] nevertheless, they ought to be completely immersed, and immediately drawn out. For the etymology of the word evidently requires it.

evolution revelation

This is probably not thought-through enough, but it just kind of hit me the other day. Please let me know if it's off a little.

Evolution is primarily [maybe "only"] held to as a theory in countries that were founded on some sort of Judeo-Christian basis. This gives them a frame of reference to react against and deconstruct. They would say that this fits perfectly in their schematic of things slowly adapting to their environment. These random mutations in the mental realm just so happen to birth a self-aware theory of Darwinism only in post-Christian cultures. Evolution flaunts its own weakness if it must depend on that which it despises and opposes. Again, they would say that all my assertion is doing is clarifying what they hold. However, their point can only be heard from within the context of their doctrine. My accusation comes from looking at their system as a whole. Thus, they have some explaining to do [along with some Big Bang, fossil, and epistemological clarifications].

I haven't seen Ben Stein's "Expelled" yet, but heard that it's good. Maybe it'll make me think more about this.

unto them, a son is born

Our friends Jeremy and Heather just had the cutest little man-child. His name is Gabe and he is a big 10 days old. Here you can see how much fun he has clinging to his father's right breast.

Redemption from the New Perspective? Towards a Multi-Layered Pauline Theology of the Cross

Here.

we got to pray just to make it today

These are means I have either witnessed, experienced, or heard through the grape vine that the Spirit uses to strengthen His children in prayer. Feel free to add your own because I'd love to know. Gracias.

1. Read D. A. Carson's book on the prayers of Paul. The intro and Ch 1 were worth the book to me.
   
2. Use Operation World to pray more intentionally for the nations and God's global mission. I like using the book.
   
3. Tie your prayers to the Scriptures.
   
4. Pray out loud. It helps you focus.
   
5. Pray with other believers.
   
6. Buy a house.
   
7. Have a baby.
   
8. Get married.
   
9. Maybe, possibly, occasionally write it out in a journal or something. Sometimes this helps me focus.
   
10. Realize that as believers, we get to fellowship with each member of the Godhead. I know that sounds weird. So, read John Owen's book about communing with God.
    
11. Set aside specific time to pray. Distractions will dominate your puny motivation if you don't deliberately set aside time for it.

hmmm

Why do I feel strangely saddened about this?

the paradoxical fruit of the gospel

This is from Tim Keller's recent book.

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to died for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

a midnight ramble

I just got home from a pastor's conference in Louisville, KY. It was good fun all the way around, getting to be with some of the boys and my dad too. Some of the guys who spoke did an ok job, but as usual, Dr Piper tore it up.

He preached on how the supremacy of Jesus should create radical sacrifice in the lives of ministers. I feel like when he speaks at these pastor's conferences he stands up there as an unmuzzled prophet. It was theologically, spiritually, emotionally, and practically overwhelming. It was like you couldn't even take notes or glance down at your Bible, but you knew you were being summoned to live and die in a manner past your capability. Terrifying and glorious at the same time.

There were a few lines he quoted from Isaac Watts that were particularly sweet and powerful:

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?

Other conference highlights included 5000 voices, one grand piano, and really old hymns. RC Sproul actually brought an excellent word as well. He explained the curse motif in the atonement from Gal 3.10-14, Dt 27-28, and elsewhere. Download and enjoy.

the Johannine word of the day

Well boys and girls, the word of the day is PARAKLETOS.

This word is only used 5x in the NT and each time it is used by John [Jn 14.16, 14.26, 15.26, 16.7, and 1 Jn 2.1]. In John's gospel, it always refers to the Holy Spirit. In 1 John, it refers to Jesus. Some translate it "Helper" [NASB and ESV], "Counselor" [NIV], "Advocate" [NLT and NEB], and/or "Comforter" [KJV]. If there was one word that could encapsulate all of these translations, that would be the best one to use. This is why you might hear the Holy Spirit referred to as the Paraclete.

Greek generally uses two words that mean "another" ["allos" and "heteros"]. "Allos" means another of the same kind; "heteros" means another of a different kind. This is where we get the word "heterosexual" from. For example, in Gal 1.6-7 Paul is perplexed that the Galatians are leaving the gospel for a "heteros" gospel. He says that because it is a "heteros" gospel, it is really no gospel at all.

So, knowing that Jesus is our PARAKLETOS in 1 Jn 2.1, Jn 14.16 says that the Holy Spirit is an "allos" PARAKLETOS. This means that it is not merely a job description of the Holy Spirit to comfort and help us, but it is part of the character of the whole Godhead to be with and beside His own.

dead cow

The first cheeseburger came from heaven to earth in Louisville, KY in 1934 at Kaelin's Restaurant. Not only is this place still open, but I have high hopes of partaking in some medium-well goodness there next week. This has been called into question by saying that some yahoo in Pasadena, CA made the first cheeseburger in 1926, but that has to be wrong since I'm going to Louisville next week and not Pasadena.

beauty

What is it that makes morality moral? And what is it about truth that makes it so truthful? Why is beauty beautiful? Is it really in the eye of the beholder? It has to be somehow, right?

Morality is reality that corresponds with how we relate to each other. Truth is reality that interacts with our minds and intellects. But I think beauty is that bit of reality that satisfies the senses.

Plato's theory of beauty [in "Symposium"], Aquinas' stress on knowing as a part of beauty, Alberti, Shaftesbury, and all others who have contributed to thinking about beauty... all of their thoughts point to a design behind beauty that necessitates both pleasure and relationship for the one who calls beauty beautiful. But what if there was a singular Source that caused beauty to happen? What if that source was not only the means, but the end of beauty?