What's The Problem?

What is it about children? Here my middle son, Corban, is in the arms of one of Saruman's fighting Uruk-Hai and he is totally into it! No fear!
Me? I was in a hospital room yesterday to visit a lady and I might as well have been a deaf mute!
Why don't we share the Gospel? It isn't fear that kept my mouth shut.
Was it guilt? Did my sinful heart rebel against bringing the law to bear in someone else's heart while mine remains dark and hard? Probably so.
Was it laziness? Am I too satisfied with the status quo that I just put it off until tomorrow? Probably so.
Was it pride? Am I too concerned with other's opinions of me that I don't want to come off as bias or intolerant? Probably so.
Was it ignorance? Do I not know well enough that the soul that sins will die; that all have sinned; that there is no one righteous; that the wages of sin is death? No.
Was it apathy? Do I really care about lost souls? apparently not.
What then is my problem? Me! I am my problem! I cannot blame anyone else... I need help! I need to have the eyes of my own heart enlightened more and more everyday by the life-changing Word of God! I need the Spirit of the Almighty God to give me strength!
I need to humble myself and seek Christ's face! I must see what that Cross is, means, and accomplishes so that I can share it afresh... everywhere!
What is your problem today?
Soli Deo Gloria!

A Sad Story

Today I have a very brief, and sad, story. It is that my computer is now rushing across the country to California for a little medical attention. It will not return for a whole week. therefore, I will not be able to spend time surfing the internet until my little laptop comes back home. Alas, my time is up and I must go to work. We are going try and help people sleep better tonight by making an exact replica of the "Holy Cinna-Mary" over at the good old Cinnabon. Until my little computer returns...

That's Not Fair!

Have you ever thought about why we are so quick to say something’s not fair? I always ask my children “what’s not fair about it?” Usually what they mean is that somehow they didn’t get what they thought they deserved. For some reason they think they have special rights that entitle them to certain privileges.
For example I choose to take one of my boys with me to the store. I can do that because I am the dad and I want to take him with me.
What do my other boys says? "Hey… that’s not fair."
What?!? Fair?
Can’t I make that decision? Sure I can.
Maybe I ask one of my children to help change a diaper. What do I hear? You got it.
"That’s not fair!"
What?!?
I feed them, clothe them and house them. What’s so unfair about that?
Don’t we do the same thing with God? Don’t we know that the Bible says that ‘whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth…’ We need to get off of our high horse and onto our knees.
We need to quit telling Him what we are entitled to and plead with Him to be gracious!

Why Would God Communicate Through a Bun?

I have a hard time with people who give credence to images that appear in objects. I have in my possession photos given to me by (apparently) well-meaning individuals of the Virgin Mary's face in a bank window down in Florida (where they travelled to worship God!!!), a picture of the door to heaven that appeared down in Georgia (while the individual was waiting to hear from the Virgin Mary herself!), clouds that look like angels, and now I read this about a cinnamon bun (from Nashville of all places! Kevin, it has been there for almost 10 years! Why didn't you tell me?) that has the face of Mother Teresa on it!I look and look and look but all I can make out is some sort of Jaba the Hutt looking something or other. Kevin, you are the cinnabon expert now... what do you think? Is God trying to tell us something?

Romans 1:22 becomes more and more obvious to me the longer I live!

I guess the question that we each need to ask is whether or not we have turned to the True Word today ourselves. We might not be getting our message from a piece of old pastry but if it is simply coming from our imagination... how is that any different?

"knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

2 Peter 1:20

Persecution Update

Stacy Harp over at Persecutionblog.com gives us an update on the story we posted on November 2, 2005 concerning 3 young girls who were beheaded by Muslim terrorists. This new report has the testimony of the girl who survived the attack. We really need to grow in our knowledge and understanding of this terrible Muslim culture that is truly growing and threatening our very lives. May God help us to see that the violence of the Old Testament between Isaac and Ishmael is not over yet until Isaac's Descendant returns to bring His peace!

The High Cost of 'Free' Valet Parking

No, I am not writing about predestination vs. free will either (like the Calvinist Gadfly is. Isn't that a great blog name by the way?) I am following up a post by Daniel Randle over at Christ and Culture on tipping (and he is not talking about cow tipping either).

It seems that I might be one of the last people on earth to not know the truth about tipping. While I was a pizza delivery 'guy' in high school I never learned the finer art of tipping. (All I knew was that if someone didn't tip us... we let the 'new' guy deliver that one!) I had no idea that there was some form of code for this process. I have always tipped well at restaurants (except at Sonic, do they count?) but then I entered into the realm of valet parking.

We drive an old church bus (full of our children) and my wife seldom, if ever, allows anyone to enter it (something about the smell and airing our dirty laundry). In fact if I were to imply that someone might be riding with us in our bus (or heaven forbid driving our van!), everything in it gets a complete interior overhaul! So I haven't had the opportunity to be exposed to this new-fangled thing called valet parking. The one time I did I did it all wrong! I posted it on Daniel's blog. Here is the entire post:

"Yeah so there I was at the hospital (for child # 7 or 8) right next to the sign that said 'free valet parking'. I hop out of the car with my family of 10 and hand the keys to my 1989 Ford 15 passenger van (old church van!) to the kind valet. When I return to the parking lot it is pouring down rain and I am so thankful for the 'free valet service'! He brought our car.... I loaded the family up and drove off. How was I supposed to know that the look on the valet's face was something other than disgust at the weather?When I told my little brother about this (he valeted for Opryland Hotel) he flipped out. In my defense... free still means free right? How are we supposed to know? Thanks for helping me out!"

I didn't get much help from the posters on Christ and Culture. I still don't get it. My little brother tried to convince me that it was the 'right' thing to do but then again I think he has an alterior motive (He is a valet parker. Can anyone say: conflict of interest?). Besides if you have seen some of the things that I have seen, would you valet?


Anyway, as I considered the situation in hindsight. I thought of several tips that have become my modus operandi. I give you 2 of them:


Tip # 1: "Don't eat yellow snow." This tip has served me well over that past 35 years. I think this is the best one to offer.

Tip # 2: "Don't breathe under water." This also has kept me alive and kicking and I believe it has helped numerous other individuals in the past (as they are still alive the next time I see them. It is so helpful to them that they want to share the wealth by letting the 'new guy' help me out!)

For what it is worth, I think that we need to be much more careful to comunicate exactly what we mean. Words can be so confusing. As a matter of fact, maybe we ought to consider some of the things that we, as Christians, say to our friends and family. Things such as "good luck", "you sure are/were lucky!", "today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit (James 4:13-15)", or "go in peace, be warmed and filled (James 2;15-16). Let's watch our words and do our best to communicate the glorious good news of Christ and His Word!Soli Deo Gloria

The Guilty Flee!

Proverbs 28:1 is a verse that I have quoted time and time again to my children: "The guilty flee when no one pursues."

It is like a movie drama where the lawyer is pressing the witness to betray her husband and then, out of the blue, she admits to the crime herself! This happens all the time. What yourself next time you get really defensive. What is your reaction to?

In this article a German man was so overcome by the guilt of his evil activities that he thought that a virus, a computer 'worm', was actually a real email from the government. What did he do? He confessed! Why did he do this? Because he knew the law that has been written in each of our hearts and his conscience accused him (Romans 2:15).

How terrible it is to carry this weight around, always fleeing and always worried that you might be exposed for what you really are! It reveals to me the unbelievable benefit of the cross of Christ toward us!

Hebrews 9:13-14 tells us that ...if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

What a promise! There is no 'how much more might the blood'. The blood of Christ will purify our conscience from dead works! Oh Lord... thank you for your purification and the covering of your blood! Help us to serve you more and more in the purity of your Life and in the power of your Spirit!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Christmas and the New Camera!

We received a digital camera from my family this year for Christmas (and yes I opened it as soon as we got it!). We have been wanting one for so long now. When I was in college at the Art Institute of Atlanta I loved photography. When the first 4 children were younger I took way too many pictures. Then life happened and the camera was too much to handle with the rest of our children so no more pictures (not to mention the expense of film and development!). Anyway... I have started to wear that tool out! We have hundreds of pictures already. You can see some of our handiwork in the graphic above. (I wish I could've added more 'Christian' decor but it was a late night and I am kinda rusty at the graphics business).

Soli Deo Gloria!

Christmas Craziness Continues

Here we go again. Do you remember my post on believing in Santa? Well this morning on my way to the office I heard about a new situation in Dallas where apparently a Richmond Elementary Music teacher dispelled the myth to one of her students! Oh the horror!

The tragedy, to me, is the parent's responses. One parent, a Micheal Millett, complained: "When you take a 6-year-old and tell him, you got to spend how much time to get him to believe again? The damage is done,"

Is this crazy or what? I'd say both! What is the big deal anyway? Why does this teacher deserve to be called "the Grinch who stole Christmas from all of these children?" I mean... really. What is Christmas about anyway? (I happen to think that this is kinda funny though)

I am getting sick and tired of it to be honest. Its like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and even Easter also. How much of our excitement for these days is real and how much of it is contrived by the Hershey's and Hallmark companies? To me it seems as though these days are just another ploy of the mass marketers. Of course I am simply another conspiracy theorist.

Can't we get over all of this 'stuffitis'? Can't we return to loving the Lord with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves?

Oh Lord... Help us to 'be' what you have made us to be 24/7! Help us to get our eyes off these things that so easily ensnare us and to run to Christ!

He isn't a Tame Lord!

As Kevin already posted, we saw the first installment of the Narnia Chronicles on Sunday. I was satisfied with the movie. I must be honest, I was worried that it would be too 'Lord of the Rings.' It wasn't. I liked the whole thing.
I will add that I, like Kevin, feel a sense of something missing in Aslan. He seemed too....

TAME!

I think I am going to meditate on this for a little while and post something about how we treat Christ the same way. If you have any ideas please comment.

I Finally Made It!

Time sure flies when you are having fun doesn't it? I just returned from one of the most significant times in my life: graduation from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The past 7 years have been a gracious blessing. My initial concern over what I had heard about Southern was more than corrected. I can never express my gratitude for the godly, wise, and tactful instruction that I recieved.

Drs. Wright, Wills, Ware, Gentry, Dever, Cabal, Mohler, Akin, Polhill, Beougher, Waggoner, Schreiner, Plummer, Moore, and Nettles, along with countless fellow students have been used by our Lord to open my eyes to the beautiful wonders and dear doctrines found in His Word.

I just want to say a heart felt thank you to each one of you. You have been a blessing to me and God be praised for His faithfulness to each one of us!

He is not a tame lion...

Well if you couldn't guess, this is going to be about the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I am just now returned from the theatre and I'm going to write what I think about the movie before Steve can. We went to see it together, but I'm the only one with computer access right now. Mu Ha Ha!!

The movie was amazing; there is simply no other way to put it. I had heard from several people that it was very good, and surprisingly true to the Christian themes. Not only that, it also kept fairly well to the books although there were a few times I just tried to ignore what I was seeing. I enjoyed it immensely.

Just one brief thought before I go. I might write more about the movie later if I have time, but I really just wanted to make sure I wrote something before Steve tonight. Aslan was a very diffiult character for me. He is such a Christ figure, and there are several times in the movie where it is very evident, and moving. Perhaps because I know who Aslan was representing I feel this way, but i wish there was some way that the movie could have conveyed the sense of awe and majesty that C.S. Lewis presented in his books. don't get me wrong, the movie does an excellent job with Aslan, and the other animals as well. It is also evident that Aslan is the most powerful figure in the movie, however there is simply no way to express visually the sense of presence that one feels in reading of Aslan. In the books, it is so very easy to imagine Aslan as big as a house at times and as cuddly as a little teddy bear at others. unfortunately, that sense cannot be expressed quite properly in cinematography. Because of Aslan's importance as a character, and an allegorical reference to Christ I found it hard to look at him fairly in the movie.

He is not a character who can be bound on video, but should roam free in the mind. He is, after all, not a tame lion.

[Update:] Over at Matt Hall's blog, he has written a post about this as well.

Santa War!

I saw this over a the lameworldview blog this morning. I just thought it was rich!

We had a pretty good conversation this past weekend with one of my (5 year old) twins. Katie insisted that she believed in Santa Claus! We watched Polar Express last month and she is willing to go to the mattresses for ol' St. Nick!

Silly or not... It really challenges me when I realize how easily my children are duped!

Lord, open our eyes that we might see wodnerful things from your law! Psalm 119:18

Witches and Russ Moore

Well, after deciding that most anything I ever have to say is not nearly as interesting as my betters, I submit this very interesting weblog by Dr. Moore. To make it more interesting, make sure you follow his link to the site where the witches bash him. His point in the article is a poignant inspiration to me as I prepare to be a father in 2 short months.

Also, seeing as my brother can't stop harping on the evils of Christmas and 'ol Mr. Claus, Dr. Moore talks about what he thinks about the season here.

Free at Last! Free at Last!!

So I looked down the blog and saw that the last time I posted anything was almost a month ago. It seems like it could have been last year, and I can't believe it has been such a short time. However, after a very busy end to the semester, I am happy to say that I am free of school for the next eight months, and am so excited about it. The only class I have to take is math (why does a theology major take math? not sure about that one.) But that means I'm free to read whatever I want to read, without anyone forcing books on me that are a waste of time. Who knows? Maybe I'll dabble in a little Hebrew, fool around with some heresy; man, the sky's the limit! (just kidding about the heresy, and hopefully not kidding about the Hebrew). More importantly, maybe now I will have some time to tend to this blog, and keep Steve from going in over his head. However, I won't make any goals, because I hate reading other peoples' goals and then never seeing them come to fruition. So, I guess we will just have to see. And with that, I'm off to Cinnabon to make a little extra Christmas mula! (after all, Santa likes that kind of stuff doesn't he Steve?)

What Was He Thinking?

This article reminds me of this blog.

The foolish father must be proud of his little girl! I wonder if he thought he was 'lucky' or if he considered himself fortunate. God was very gracious to allow him to survive!

Reading about the 7-year-old daughter I thought about that dad who killed a 5-point buck in his daughter's room.

Lord, help me to think better! I think of all of the stupid things I have done and must bow my head in wonder! I think of all the things that You have done to allow me to bow my head in wonder and I wonder!

You Don't Believe in Santa?!?!

This time of the year I tend to feel more and more guilty about not decorating and 'doing' the whole Christmas thing. Doesn't it surprise you to experience the impact that culture has over us?
Amy and I felt... how do I explain it...we felt deceptive.
When our oldest daughter and son began to understand us, my wife (Amy) and I just couldn't shake the feeling that we were LYING when we spoke to them about Santa. We didn't have any big emotional confession but the truth wouldn't leave us alone.
How is it that we place so much emphasis on these fairy tales (Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, etc) and even Christians will aggressively defend the propagation of them? What is going on?
It reminds me of an article I read a couple years ago about a Florida teacher who inadvertantly exposed the lie of Santa Claus. You would have thought that she had exposed the children to pornography or taught them the appropriateness of cussing. How do we explain our infatuation with and our defense of these fairy tales? One of the parents said that her child was destroyed!
Destroyed!?! Isn't that sad?

When will we emphasize belief in Christ over 'belief' in Santa?

I found this article today. Betty Lynn Black does a good job explaining her perspective on Christmas.