Going fire-balling

Just a little encouragement in your evangelistic zeal from the Prince of Preachers.

What earnestness our theme deserves! We have to tell of an earnest Saviour, an earnest heaven, and an earnest hell. How earnest we ought to be when we remember that in our work we have to deal with souls that are immortal, with sin that is eternal in its effects, with pardon that is infinite, and with terrors and joys that are to last for ever and ever! A man who is not in earnest when he has such a theme as this,—can he possess a heart at all?

On preaching in light of this principle, Spurgeon has the following to say:

That is what you must do with your sermons, make them red-hot; never mind if men do say you are too enthusiastic, or even too fanatical, give them red-hot shot, there is nothing else half as good for the purpose you have in view. We do not go out snow-balling on Sundays, we go fire-balling; we ought to hurl grenades into the enemy's ranks.

The "red-hot shot" this preacher hurled on Sundays has survived to this day and is still being used by God to sink ships of unbelief.

"I don't want to grow up, I'm a postmodern kid..."

Much has been written and spoken of late on the topic growing up. More particularly, discerning Christians have been giving attention to the cultural phenomenon known as adolescence. For an excellent definition and introduction to this topic, I commend you to Sean Higgin's excellent blog. It is encouraging to see men and women of God calling the next generation to maturity and sober-mindedness.

It is surprising to notice, however, that even unbelievers are starting to recognize the harmful implications of systemic adolescence within our culture. An article in an online magazine (note: I have only read the article quoted in this entry, I cannot vouch for the appropriateness of any other content from this source) recently addressed the problem of "Man-child Syndrome" and a perceived "Big [older] Girl Epidemic." I found the following paragraph to be uniquely insightful and pointed.

As Twenge points out, arrested development goes hand in hand with self-absorption: Narcissism "is a very adolescent personality trait. Obviously it means you focus on yourself and what's good for you." It used to be that men had the ego market cornered, but now, Twenge says, "there's virtually no difference between the sexes with regard to narcissism. Most of the change has taken place in girls and women." Basically, women have caught up to men by sinking to comparable levels of adolescent self-absorption.

The focus of this article was primarily on the current tendency for women to behave like girls - whether through their use of slang, dress, or pop culture associations. I found it particularly interesting that the author observes the tendency as an overcorrection in a "postfeminist" generation.

What an opportunity for the youth of the church to heed the well-known words of 1 Timothy 4:12.

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

Do you, you know, like, mean what you say?

After the centerless and circling rhetoric highlighted in my last blog post, I found this video to be almost uncannily ironic. I have heard it said that of all the classes of society, it is the artist who most accurately observes and identifies the condition of society. This is often true because those with an artistic bent are often on the fringes of that society and the closest to a third party observer. Naturally such an advantage is dramatically inferior to the revealed truth of God's word which perfectly describes the condition of man and the world in which he lives.

It is tragic that in a world in which the church is become increasingly apathetic towards the value of Scripture, and the world is becoming increasingly disenchanted with its own postmodernism, there are times when spokesmen from the world sound a rousing call that should awaken the sleeping saint and motivate him to action.

In typical fashion, the church is following along behind the philosophical trends of this world, a few years behind the times, to be sure, but making steady progress. It is popular among certain church movements, the Emergent Church in particular, to eschew propositional truth, doctrinal certitudes, biblical mandates, and a firm conviction on anything other than the conviction that one cannot have a conviction. I suggest that the following video clip might be played in some churches today - as an interesting "cultural artifact" to provoke a "helpful dialog" and encourage the "community of faith" in its corporate "God experience."



Like the fool in Shakespeare, the comedian in this clip has wrapped a jab in a jest. Hopefully that spoon full of sugar will help our culture, and our churches, collectively get its medicine down.

In a generation starting to tire of endless feelings, personal truth quests, and thoughtless tolerance, the church is entering a period of great opportunity for the proclamation of the authoritative and certain gospel of Jesus Christ. In an ocean of indecision, windswept by the gusts of a fickle culture, let those who have a sure salvation point to the erect tower of truth upon which we stand and to which we call the world to come for refuge - for His glory.

An Emerging Question

I recently had the opportunity to hear Doug Pagitt, prominent spokesperson for the Emerging Church movement and pastor of Solomon's Porch Church, answer several questions during a radio interview. I was frankly shocked at what was said. The question emerging in my mind at the moment is, can evangelical Christians consider the Emerging Church movement as a part of orthodox Christianity, or have they drifted too far from the core of our faith? Listen to the contrast between the short clips below by Doug Pagitt and John MacArthur. Oh, and if you are inclined to dialogue or develop a conversation about this idea, please feel free to leave a comment behind...

What is the prime motive of the Emergent Church movement?

To live well in the world with God.

- Doug Pagitt

Listen in to see what that means.

Doug Pagitt (Part 2)

And now for a response by MacArthur on the topic of heaven and hell.

John MacArthur (Part 1)

John MacArthur (Part 2)

Now you've heard it. What do you think? Leave some comments.

Via Pulpit Magazine via Reformed Voices

Santa Clarita made the news today...

While reading the news headlines today I ran across this story of a massive big rig wreck that shut down I-5. It turns out this took place about five minutes down the road from our apartment. Click the pic to see the story and accompanying video.

Back to Narnia...

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Offical Poster via Cinematical

I caught this little poster out in public for the first time today. It looks as though Walden Media, and the folks over at Disney, are taking movie audiences back to C.S. Lewis' mythical land of Narnia again this coming summer. Cinematical, a movie news site, had the following to say:

Directed once again by Andrew Adamson, Prince Caspian is a follow-up to the highly-successful The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- and seeing as you folks shelled out more than $730 million to watch that flick, I'd say you're probably pretty stoked about the sequel.

I for one include myself in the category of "folks" who are "stoked about the sequel." As a young(er) boy, the tale of Prince Caspian became my most-loved book out of the Chronicles of Narnia. I spent many warm summer afternoons with my grandma and siblings adventuring about the woods and creek of my grandparents' home.

I hope the movie captures the themes of manhood, leadership, courage, faith, and loyalty that Lewis so masterfully worked into his book. Though the book, and most surely the coming movie, does not present the gospel which alone saves, its colorful allegory may prove to be a helpful illustration and stimulation unto "love and good deeds" for those princes and princesses who, by way of adoption, serve in the court of the King of Kings already.

Lessons from a Miserably "Lucky" Man

 

Winner reflects on nightmare lottery - CNN.com

This article really caught my attention today. In our bible study we have been going through the sermon on the mount, and our shepherd, Mark, has been organizing his thoughts around the theme: 8 Habits of Truly Happy People.

This article serves as an amazing counterpoint to the words of Christ. In summary, the author describes how Jack Whittaker won an enormous lottery pot, and then watched his life disintegrate around him. It is a tale of the American Dream turning into a personal tragedy. The following quote stood out most poignantly, however, for it belies Jack Whittaker's continued enslavement to money:

"If it would bring my granddaughter back, I'd give it all back," Whittaker said of his jackpot. "But I can't get her back, so might as well keep the money, I guess."

His granddaughter, who was to be the heir of his multi-million dollar corporation, recently passed away as a result of her addiction to drugs.

One final note, Whitaker used to attend church regularly; he stopped. Was he driven away from a loving Christian community by his love for and indulgence in a sinful life? Perhaps that is partially the case. Sadly, and embarrassingly, the answer seems most directly to be the greed of the body of Christ.

Before Powerball, Whittaker and his wife went to church together. These days, he seldom does.

"It's just aggravating, you know. People come up and ask you for money all the time, tell you some kind of a sob story."

Beware the sweet root that bears the toxic bloom. 1 Timothy 6:10

The Greatest of These

The verse is well known. Tucked poetically at the end of Paul’s famous discussion of love in 1 Corinthians 13, the 13^th verse reads;

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Recently this verse came to my mind and impressed itself upon my thoughts for a time. Since another, brighter mind was with me, I turned to my wife and began to converse on the manner and sense in which love was superior to faith and hope. After conversing at some length, we managed to condense our wandering/insightful (mine/hers) ideas into three main observations. Love, we concluded, is superior to faith and hope in that it is uniquely eternal, uniquely definitive of a Christian, and uniquely divine.

First, though the following has often been observed, it is helpful to remember that the dawn of final glorification will also be the final glimmer of the sunset of faith and hope. When expectation becomes fulfillment, there shall no longer be a need for conviction of future reward, nor for trust in biblical promises. Thus, faith and hope, being obsolete, shall end, and love alone shall remain – and remain forever. But longevity alone is not a sufficient merit for achieving the title of greatest. Does the brilliant flash of a shooting star, or the crackling glimmer of a firework cower before the longer-burning light of a small candle? No, for what they lack in longevity they more than compensate for in quality and magnitude, brilliance and splendor. Can a similar comparison be made between love and its companion virtues, faith and hope? I believe that such comparison shall, once again, show love to have a unique superiority over faith and hope.

Throughout His ministry on earth, Jesus emphasized that one characteristic, above all others, was to be true of those who followed Him. One virtue was isolated and exalted so that it over-shadowed all others. Perhaps one might be tempted to think, surely this virtue must be that which, above all, seems most definitive of God Himself – namely, holiness. To be sure, we are commanded to be holy just as God is holy (1 Peter 1:14016). What commandment could be greater! Jesus was once asked by a lawyer, a Pharisee, to name the greatest commandment in the Law (Matthew 22:34-39). His answer was not, Be holy, but rather it was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Exceeding the scope of the original question, Jesus further added the second greatest commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In a list of commandments organized by importance, it is love which occupies at least the first two positions. Faith and hope are conspicuously missing. As a final note on this point, consider what Jesus specifically states will define and identify His disciples in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love triumphs again. But turn with me now, kind reader, to consider what may be the most interesting excellence of love, and that which has most provoked my thinking on this topic – the unique divinity of love.

It seems that, as I look back now, I have assumed that all virtues must be embodied and perfected in God. How could there be a virtue, seems to have been my thinking, that did not first find manifestation in the perfections of the Holy One? If I possess, in any degree, something which is right or good, it must be part of the imago dei, the image of God, which has been given to me. Man possesses a measure of wisdom, righteousness, justice, mercy, love, understanding, will, creativity, joy, and a host of other virtuous characteristics which reflect (albeit poorly) who God is. Since both faith and hope are virtuous, I believe I somehow have always imagined them as being part of the image of God in me. But this simply is not so. God has no faith. God does not hope. Consider the implication of Hebrews 11:1 which says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Here we see faith and hope contextualized together as an assurance of something that is unseen but firmly believed to be coming. It is a definition which is fundamentally contradictory to the nature of God. God does not hope, He causes; He brings to pass; He sustains. He has no conviction regarding things unseen for He has known the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). God does not anticipate, He predestines. Faith and hope, then, are distinctly human in manifestation (though not origin)! They are virtues, indeed, but virtues which are not found in God. Love, however, is a virtue found in God! In the familiar words of 1 John 4:7-8, God is love, and those who do not have love are not of God. It would seem, then, that a logical conclusion can be made regarding the superiority of love to faith and hope. Something which is true of God must surely be superior to something which is not true of God. Therefore, since love is true of God, and faith and hope are not, then love must be greater than both.

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

No prayer too small?

A thought provoked by discussion in my prayer class may be encouraging to others, so I offer it here.
It is often said that one can offer no prayer too small to the Lord, and this is indeed the case. There is no circumstance in life too insignificant to not warrant seeking the glory of God at that time. Our Father who is in heaven has called us to pray without ceasing! However, there is no prayer request so great, so important, so worthy of petition that it can rightly be offered in a self-centered way.
Look hard at the prayers you offer the Lord, listen closely to your words. Do you hear every request being directed to the glory of God, or are they full of personal requests which desire little more than to make your own life easier? Something as seemingly simple as a prayer for a headache can glorify God if you desire the Lord to act on your behalf for the purpose of better fulfilling His will, not your own desires. Conversely, the greatest spiritual endeavor, if offered to the Lord in a way that focuses on self, will bring only displeasure to our Lord.
Pray, then, in this way, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Of Such a Mind To...

Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make {one} wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Who has not read this passage and felt the question begin to tug at his mind, “Why did Adam and Eve do it?” How could these two perfect people do something so bluntly foolish? Perhaps the gracious reader has even gone so far as to imagine that, should he or she have been standing there in the garden, the disaster of humanity would have been surely averted. What simpletons Adam and Eve must have been! What depths of ignorance they must have swum about in to so blindly eat of the forbidden! Yet, pause for a moment and consider…

Adam and Eve, as they stood before that tree, were as yet un-fallen. In complete perfection, and with unhindered use of their minds, they contemplated that fateful meal. What do you suppose went through the mind of Eve as she prepared to take that first bite? Scripture instructs us that she saw the tree to be a delight to the eyes and desirable to make one wise. Consider as well the mind of Adam as he approached Eve, standing there with the remains of what she had already eaten and offering Adam a share as well. What were the thoughts going through his mind? Perhaps he thought that the word of God must have not been meant as he had heard it, for Eve stood there before him alive. Perhaps he thought that if he refrained from the fruit the Lord would strike down Eve, but if he shared in eating the fruit, then surely the Lord would not destroy both of His crowning creations! Their experience with God had shown them His creativity, His power, His love and His kindness – but they had never yet seen His wrath.

A comma, in the English language, is used to indicate a pause in the sentence. Notice the comma between the phrase “and she gave also to her husband with her,” and the phrase, “and he ate.” What volumes could be filled with the thoughts that transpired during the short pause in this verse! Perhaps you, the gracious reader, and I would be shocked to hear the carefully sculpted reasons and justifications concocted by these two. Do you not think that to them, in that moment, the eating of the fruit seemed to be a profitable thing to do? Is it not possible, that in the machinations of their soon-to-fall minds, they composed such arguments as would very nearly convince us to fall again, should we have the opportunity? I assert that the excuse with which Adam and Eve justified the Fall may likely be the most convincing impetus to sin ever to have betrayed a human mind. And this leads me to my point.

No force on earth can lead a man astray as surely and cleverly as his own mind’s work of deception in convincing him that what is wrong is right, that what is naught is substance. No force can claim to be as inescapable either – for where can a man flee where his mind will not be there? What can be done to escape the snare of the mind? How can these mercenary thoughts be taken captive? Be effecting a force stronger still! You may be tempted to object on this point, for I have just stated that our minds are the strongest force for evil on earth, but, as is more likely, you have correctly concluded that there are forces stronger still than what can be found on earth. This force is not some impersonal energy, but is in fact the Living God, manifested in and indwelling the heart of every believer. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God as a sword to discern between the thoughts and intentions of the heart – the inner workings of the mind. With great humility we must subject our minds in earnest to the scouring of the Word. To trust in our own discernment, our own ability to come to truth and excellence, is a woeful impudence. It is a presumption which God neither prescribes nor abides. What may appear in our minds to be a clear, rational and logical course of action often appears to an observer to be as stark a folly as trading the bliss of paradise for a piece of fruit.

'Tis a Gift to be Simple, Tis a Gift to be Free

Ok, today’s entry is decidedly different than the previous entries, but it may yet prove helpful for a few people.

Over time I have developed something of a reputation for free software acquisition. I don’t like paying money for things, and, thanks to the internet, many times I don’t need to. Here is a collection of several programs which are both free and useful/cool. Enjoy.

Don’t like how windows looks? Here are a few options to spice things up a bit.

Stardock
This site features a number of programs, most of which have a free version, which can transform your desktop.
Objectdock – a mac-like dock for the bottom of your screen. (Very cool)
Window Blinds – Changes the look and feel of your windows environment
Desktop X – Completely changes the user interface of windows
Icon Packager – New icons
Bootskin – Want a different picture when your computer boots up?
Blog Navigator – An easy way to keep track of all those blogs (like mine) that you are following.

OSX-E
This site features a number of free programs that will make the everyday desktop of a windows machine look and feel like a Mac. For one program that does almost everything for you, try using Flyakite OSX 2.0.

Artrage
Artrage is a fun paining program that has to be experienced to be appreciated

Opensong
Anyone who works with chord sheets and/or worship song projection needs to take a look at this excellent open source project.

Audacity
Audacity is a nice audio editing program with an open source community working hard to improve it.

Kristal Audio Engine
This is an audio editing program that isn’t open source, so it can’t be universally developed, but it is still good.

Photo Story 3
Want to make good looking, simple slide shows of pictures with music? Check this out.

Gimp
A great program that offers an alternative to Paintship or Photoshop – and it is free!

Trillian
Don’t like having Yahoo, MSN, and AOL all open on your desktop at the same time? Try Trillian which lets you use all three within one interface.

Picasa
This is a terrific photo organizer!

Hello
Hello is a great instant messenger designed primarily to send pictures back and forth. It is integrated with Picasa.

Grouper
File too big to email? Start a private fire-sharing group with your friend and send it with this handy program.

Rainlender
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a program that puts your calendar on your desktop in a small and unobtrusive way and links with Outlook or iCalendar? Look no longer!

Microsoft Reader
In conjunction with the next link, Microsoft Reader will put thousands of books (many, many classics) at your fingertips – for free!

Massive e-text library
Those books I talked about, a bunch of them are here.

Online Bible
Need to study the Bible on a budget, try this program or the easier to use (but slightly less functional program below) one below. I use both of these in seminary. 

E-Sword
Nicely laid out Bible software. They also have a version for the Pocket PC!

Evernote
This cool program imitates OneNote for Microsoft and provides a virtual notepad that instantly saves, catalogues, and chronologically organizes any comments, lists, pictures, or anything else you can copy and paste.

OpenOffice
Tired of using Microsoft Office? Want to try something different – for free? Give OpenOffice a try and enjoy the recent benefits of the just-released version 2.0.

Spybot
This spyware program is still on of the strongest on the web. Use this tool to clean the sneaky web critters from your computer.

Antispyware
What does Microsoft do when people complain about too many viruses? Well, for one thing they buy an anti-spyware company, work the program code over to work well with windows, and then release it for free. This is perhaps the best spyware program I have used so far.

Wax, Winmorph, Wink and Frameserver
If you enjoy tinkering with images (like blending them with other pictures, animating them, etc.) then you need to check out these programs.

3Planesoft
Awesome screensavers. Seriously. (They have a nag screen after about a minute, but they are still cool anyway.)

Starsiege Tribes
Ok, two entries for all you gamers out there. (Note: I play these very little, so I don’t know what potentially objectionable material may be in them.)
This is a little online game that is pretty simple. Strap jet packs to the backs of robot-alien people things, give them guns and turn them loose.

America's Army
If you have a high end machine with good graphics capabilities, give this free game from our very own U.S. government a try. You even get to go through a version of boot camp.

Mario 3 - Mario Forever and Bod Blob
Mario – plumbing at its finest.

Genesis IV and Landscape Explorer
Want to generate 3D landscapes or integrate geographical data with maps? This is your cup of tea.

Konfabulator
Everybody loves widgets, here’s a whole bunch.

Now3D
3D modeling at its cheapest.

PearPC
With this program you can actually install MacOSX on a PC. True, it comes with limited functionality, but hey, it’s still kinda cool.

Google Earth
For those who have yet to check this software out, its time you took a look. VERY COOL!

Firefox and Thunderbird
Lastly, here is a link to Mozilla’s very famous web browser and mail utility.

Why the years fly by...

Who has not heard of, or experienced a unique phenomena in which time appears to move faster the longer one lives. The man of 70 watches years move by seemingly like a torrent, while the child of 4 feels as though time were barely moving at all. Why is this so? A mystery indeed. Perhaps, however, the gracious reader will find this musing a thought-provoking attempt to guess at the enigma.

I assert, as the thesis for this discussion, that our conception of the weight of time (an active consciousness of the passage of time and the events concurrent with that passage) is fixed in regards to every man’s experience of it in the present, and fixed in a man’s recollection of time in the past. Allow me to clarify this. My theory is that the actual experiencing of each moment is similar to every man at every age. Constrained to remain stationary for a period of five minutes, both the old and the young will watch the movement of the clock and experience the tedium of the wait with an equal sense of that time. Long-term memory, however, is different. Imagine that our sense of time is a fixed weight, as I postulated in my thesis. For the sake of illustration, imagine that each man has a weight-consciousness of 10 TW (time weight) pounds. For the child of 10, each year of his life has the equivalent of 1 TW pound in his memory. For the man of 50, the space of a year only bears the weight of 1/5 of a TW pound. To the older man, then, each year is less weighty in his memory. As one minute of time represents a smaller percentage of a man’s life, it has an equally smaller percentage of weight in his mind. This effect is further compounded, according to my theory, by an accompanying phenomenon of memory highlight retention.

I understand that this last term may be confusing, but permit me to define it briefly. By memory highlight retention I refer to what immediately enters a person’s mind in response to the question, “What have you accomplished in your life thus far?” Perhaps even the gracious reader is at this moment having a series of memories stretching back to childhood. My theory is that in the formation of memories, each man has a fixed number of memory highlight spaces in his mind, and these are updated and replaced as life experience indicates throughout the period of his life. One analogy for this idea is the function of RAM in modern computers. RAM (or Random Access Memory) is a fixed amount of memory, relatively small, which holds a information that is recalled frequently. Should a piece of information stored on the hard drive become more important that a piece of information in RAM, a switch occurs. The information of lesser value in RAM is sent to the hard drive, the piece of information of greater value on the hard drive is sent to RAM. I theorize that our minds are similar. At the earliest stages of life, many events have enough importance to occupy that space of our minds which is nearly instantly recalled if desired. As life continues, significant events begin to replace less significant ones. (This is perhaps a divine mercy, what burdens would each man bear every day if all of life’s woes were instantly recalled continuously every day!) For a child of 4, the highlights of his life will be culled from those years which he remembers well (perhaps the previous two years) and therefore each year will have a large percentage of memories occupying space of the mind I have called memory highlight retention. For the man of 60, there may be entire years without memories that come instantly to mind. This phenomena, in conjunction with the weight of time principle in the previous paragraph, works to give the illusion that as time passes the years move quicker. The passage of time, obviously, is in reality unchanged – but the weight of each moment in the mind of the individual is less and less with the passage of each new year.

That people are aware at some level of this illusion is apparent in the fact that it would not be uncommon to hear an elderly individual assert that they have had a “long day” (i.e. the present-tense experience of time has not changed) but, in the same conversation, also hear that “this year has just flown by” (i.e. the weight of this year in my memory is much lighter than was the weight of a year when I was younger). I hope that I have not confused the gracious reader entirely, but that I have perhaps sparked some thought. If you have managed to follow my thoughts thus far, I offer you one more.

How does this principle relate to God? I venture to the extremes of supposition on this point. If a person’s perception of the weight of time is inversely proportionate to the length of that person’s existence, then think what this would mean about God! As an infinite being, a minute of time would represent an immeasurably small percentage of His existence. To God, then, time would have virtually NO weight at all! Indeed, 10,000 years to us would seem to have the same weight to God as might 1 day. Or, if all time is to God weightless, 1 day for Him might as well be as 10,000 years for us.

Intrigued? Then please respond by leaving a comment and allow me the pleasure of hearing your thoughts.

Some tips on sailing

James 1:2-8
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.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A ship upon the sea is certain to weather storms. Rough winds, rolling waves, and sheeting rain are simply a part of sailing. A wise captain of a vessel, whether that be an ocean liner or a canoe, will learn to handle storms properly. Our lives can be compared to this.

We sail across the white crests and swells of life, not without aim, but towards that Promised Land to which our Savior has called us. Making for His safe harbor we constantly seek to keep our prow oriented by the compass of Scripture and look ahead longingly towards that shore which might at any moment be suddenly visible on the horizon.

Jesus also waits for us to arrive, and our arrival will occasion great celebration. This mutual desire that we reach our destination prompts our Lord to allow our vessel from time to time the privilege of encountering a storm.

This thought may sound odd. How can those trials, or storms, of life be counted as a privilege and a gift from heaven? Simply put, a ship needs wind to sail. Ponder with me how storms may be a blessing or a curse.

When a storm begins to form to our stern, how can we respond? In general, there are four courses we may take. One course is to ship sails and try to wait it out. This approach is at once easy and difficult. True it takes little effort to cease our striving, to stall in our spiritual growth and simply try to keep our heads low until the storm passes. However, what a terrible beating our vessel will often suffer while in the midst of the winds and waves! Also, storms are of different lengths, and some last for a very long time. How sad to have suffered so long only to emerge from the storm and be still where you were, or even blown off course!

A second response is to turn rudder and head back. Cutting back through the storm is done at the peril of two possible hazards. Either the ship will make it successfully through the storm but find itself greatly set back and with much sailing to do before it can regain the lost ground, or the ship may be caught in the clutches of the storm and suffer great damage.

Yet a third response to storms is to steer at a right angle and try to get out of the storm as quickly as possible. This approach is dangerous and hurtful, obviously, for it necessitates that the ship steer erratically, not guided by the compass of Scripture which alone can guide the vessel safely, but by the inclinations of the storm. Should the escape attempt be successful, it may take a great while before the ship even knows how far from its course it has drifted, let alone make progress again.

Finally, the fourth and best method for dealing with storms is to hold the wheel firm, open the sails full, and trust in the One who sent the storm that the winds will be for your good and not evil. Remember, He has promised you every resource you need to survive, and not just to survive, but to live a life of abundance. Should you feel the hull of your vessel quake beneath you, fear not, for God has supplied what you shall need. Sometimes this will come by a strengthening of your vessel from the inside, a reinforcing of those timbers and planks which keep everything together. At other times He will cause another ship, stronger and more experienced than you, to sail up alongside you and aid you through. In all cases, however, He who loves His own to the end will never let you shatter and sink. If you trim your ship like this, what great speed you will make towards your goal! What endurance you will produce to give you the strength needed to complete your journey!

My brethren, when the storm breaks upon you, trust Him! The winds are not to destroy. The winds carry you home.

While driving this morning...

Today asserted itself in a fashion such as California is wont to have in the fall from time to time. The sky was full of clouds, like a billowy whipped topping spread out to each horizon. As I drove down I-5 towards seminary the sun had begun to warm the backs of some clouds and created a mottling of pale yellows and blue-edged grays. I thought to myself that a day is much like a fire – born in pale yellows and dying in fierce reds as of smoldering embers. Against this backdrop every road sign, power line tower, and roof ridge stood sharp against the sky as though their shapes had been knifed into the heavens and the distant night air allowed to shaft through the rift.

Alone in my thoughts and in the enjoyment of this view, I found myself suddenly drawn to a singular shape in the clouds ahead and just to the left of my direction of travel. The gently smoothed clouds were here disturbed. Like a gentle river which, when scraped over shallow rocks, creates eddies and whirls before regaining its composure, the sky had in this place a similar appearance. It seemed as though something just above it was eager to break through. And then I was overtaken by a sudden longing.

Oh to have seen my Savior break through those clouds this morning! I was somewhat surprised at how fully and deeply this desire gripped me. Staring into those clouds I was reminded of how dearly we as believers in Jesus are to hold the hope of His return. Do you find yourself looking skyward with the knowledge that one day those heavens will bend, tilt and sway beneath the weight of their Creator as He arcs from heaven to earth, not as a humble child, but as a conquering King? Do you find yourself anxious to ascend into the ether above to there join with He who loves you best that He might take you to where you shall most truly and forever be at home, a land in which righteousness may dwell? Think on Him often today, let your heart be glad knowing that His coming is soon! Let not the troubles of this day create such a cloud over your countenance that joy can find no vestige.

I backed my car carefully into a parking space along the wash beside the seminary. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder and straightening my tie, I stepped out into the rain which was falling. I walked the space of 300 yards or so between my car and the seminary building wondering how long the rain would hold up. Soon, I knew, the clouds and rain would be gone. There are already doomed – destined to be burned away before the heat of the noonday sun. And so shall all clouds of sin and death, of pain and hurt, of frustration, sickness, and sorrow be burned up one day – doomed to be seared from the life of every believer by the loving heat of the Son.

My Time and God's Time

Today I begin what shall grow into a short series of entries related to our conception of time and heaven.  To lay before you the question up for consideration today, I ask, “Is God outside of time?”  To this question may be added those which necessarily arise from it and color it.  Did God create time?  What is God’s relationship to time?  Would not time, if God exist within it, thus become a constraining or limiting influence on God and wrest His sovereignty and omnipotence from Him?  I do suggest that the solution to these questions may be quite simple, and yet perhaps outside the scope of thinking to which we are currently accustomed.

My thesis shall be that God is indeed not outside of time, nor within it, but that God is Himself of such a nature that He may be said to be time.  How can this be?  Permit me the time to expound upon this assertion.  First, let it be said that God is identified to be those things which so characterize and proceed from Him that they are inherent to His Person.  As examples I refer you to those passages in Scripture which state that God is love (I John 4:8), just (Deut. 32:4), holy (Lev. 11:44), etc.  There is another attribute of God which is so simple and essential that it can be overlooked or under-estimated, that is the attribute which God Himself chose to represent Him before Pharaoh in Egypt.  God is the I Am.  God is.  He exists, He has always existed, and He always will.

Does this not mean that He is outside of time then?  No!  Much to the contrary, in my opinion, God is the existence by which all other existing things are measured and compared.  It is against His eternal progression of existing that we have our context (i.e. our concept of time) for existence.  God is time, and all other existing things are given the grace to co-exist for the amount of “time” and in the manner which He deems best.  Allow me to illustrate this.

The passage of every student through high school involves taking a class called World History.  It is the study of what has happened, in chronological order, upon this planet for the duration of recorded history.  The study is divided up evenly into basic units of measurement – the year and the day primarily – which can be used to define the existence and length of each significant event discussed.  The revolution of the earth around the sun, and of the earth about its axis, then, is the standard from which we extract the idea of “time” and apply it to the happenings of our lives.  It is at this point that some theologians interject, “Aha!  There it is as plain as can be.  The movement of the earth defines time, and the earth is created, therefore at the creation of the universe and the setting of it in motion was time born.”  This is a conclusion that occurs too soon.  Trace your thoughts further along the line and a different conclusion begins to take shape.  Our lives are defined chronologically by the movements of the earth, but what about the earth?  It has its definition of existence defined by the creation of the universe and its sustaining forces.  And what of the universe?  It has its existence defined by that which created it and sustains it – namely, God.  Just as our love is an echo of that attribute which exists truest and first in God, so the progression of our existence (what we call time) is an echo that issues from, is governed by, and finds its substance in the progression of God’s existence.

God, then, is time.  His existence is linear in the sense that His existence was, and is, and will be.  God undertakes tasks which occur, are completed, have consequences, and lead to further action.  Consider the story of Christ.  Christ, according to Scripture, was born at the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4).  His life was lived out until His crucifixion and resurrection were complete, at which time He returned to the Father having finished (John 19:30) what He came to do.  This interjection of God into the affairs of man is a tremendous burden to any theories placing God outside of time.  The theory which states that God is completely separate from “time” poses the question, how, then does He exist with a progression of purposes which are accomplished.  Do the angels and other heavenly beings also exist separate from time?  How then did they come to conspire, fall, and be judged?  The theory which supposed God to exist at all times equally (a time version of omnipresence) creates the horrid prospect that for eternity Christ hangs on the cross as truly as He reigns in heaven.

To conclude this lengthy meandering of thought, a few last words are appropriate.  This is a theory, and as such is not doctrine.  This is a supposition made more from logic than any other source.  Those who disagree are not to be labeled as heretics or simpletons, and I welcome any thoughtful rebuttal to this essay.  I do believe, however, that God is not diminished or limited in any way by saying that He is not outside of time, because I believe His control and authority over all things is affirmed by the notion that the progression of God’s existence is the essence of what we call time.  Perhaps there is more to be said, but I shall leave that up to my patient readers in their comments, for I am out of time.

"To blog or not to blog," this has been my question for some time now. Should I join the ranks of frenetic angst writers, perturbed pundits and various other representatives of the literate world, or should I avoid adding yet another voice to an already deafaning
roar? Obviously I have chosen the latter.

So, what moved me to begin blogging? Well, to be honest, the reasons are primarily selfish. I need to write more, and blogging has made writing cool again. Since beginning my arduous career at the Master's Cemetary, I have found frequent occasion to sympathize with that pathos-troubled American poet and story-teller Edgar Allen Poe when he penned the following lines at the opening of his well-known poem The Raven,

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore..."

I have on occassion, while thus engaged in poring over some tome, felt the gentle tapping, not of a Raven, but of some pitiable thought begging to be formed and freed from the obscurity and tormenting activity of my mind. Since a number of these thoughts have begun to collaborate, and the sum volume of their will has risen to a level of mild distraction, I have finally and fully acquiesced to their desires.

Now that the Pandora's box is open, what may be found to issue from it? Well, my patient reader, it is my wish that the words of this blog shall impart grace to the reader, whether through the provacation of Godward thought or the sheer enjoyment of levity. Your comments are welcome and requested, assuming they are appropriate.

And thus it begins...