Full Sails and Following Seas

Im DONE WITH THIS SEMESTER!!!!

2008-05-23T10:59:00.001-04:00

And this is how I feel!

Personal Relationships

2008-05-17T23:48:00.002-04:00

Whelp, its been awhile, but Finals is officially kicking my butt... I really am spending my time preparing all my paperwork and odds and ends for this summer, as well as trying to finish all of my papers and get myself in some sort of state of mind to take the final exams at school.

Luckily the subject matter holds my attention!

Recently its been interesting to see how even with all my study, if I lose the personal relationship with God, it turns into an empty relationship and can lose a lot of its meaning in my life. In the same way, As I try and maintain friendships and study, I realize that our relationships with each other can easily suffer in the same way.

God created us to have relationships that mirror what our relationship is supposed to be with Him. If we are pursuing righteousness in the one area of our life, it then necessitates that we pursue the same in the other. Not only that, but as Lt Col Hal Moore says in We Were Soldiers "Id hope that being good at the one, makes me better at the other."

One of the foundational theologians in my life, Francis Schaeffer, wrote on this in a way clearer than I ever could... His words I think we can all strive for. (You might note a similar writing voice to my own as well!).

"I have said that the last screen in our thinking and in our life must be nothing other than God himself. The last screen, the last point of our thinking, must not be just things about God, it must be a relationship with God himself. The same must be true in our thinking of men. The last screen cannot be anything less than the individual and personal relationship, in love and communication. The command is to love him, not just think about him, or do things for him. We are not to stop with a proper legal relationship- for example, to think of a man as legally lost, which he is, in the sight of a holy God-without thinking of him as a person. Saying this, we can suddenly see that much evangelism is not only sub-Christian, but subhuman- legalistic and impersonal."

This is the crux of the whole issue... God did not give us salvation and justification through some abstract idea, rather He became a man, came to earth and lived among us. Our God is a personal God and has created us the same. We are made for real and personal interaction, fulfilling relationships... We should not only preach the Gospel to each other every day, and every hour as I have already written about before; we must also preach to each other with the love and patience of Christ, our God who loved us so much as to become personal Himself.

Praise God!

the gratitude campaign (full length)

2008-04-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

Words from a childhood hero.

2008-04-19T19:52:00.001-04:00

A Little Testimony.

2008-04-14T21:18:00.003-04:00

Psalm 107:1-3~

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

I think that testimony is an incredible encouragement to the greater community and body of Christ. To share with each other is an amazing way to fellowship and grow close to other believers. Not only this, but it reminds us of the good works that God is continually doing in our lives every day. This and we are able to make sure that the good works aren't forgotten, that God gets all the glory, and that we cannot boast in anything except in God.

Upon my return from training in February I decided that I was done "giving God a way out." I knew I felt called to the Chaplaincy and it had been confirmed in the presence of many who knew me, at many times. So, I decided that I would pray like I actually believed I was called, even though the mission still seems overwhelming at times....

I began to pray and commit in my life in such a way that I couldn't just dip out and go pursue something else. I took God at His word and said "if you've called me here Lord, bless it and make it yours." With this commitment I spent as much time as possible at the Church under some amazing Godly men, Dedicated myself to pursuing my masters and ordination with all of my efforts, and chose to finish all of my training this summer.

All of this left me without a steady income for the time, an inability to fully throw myself into committed ministry at the church until my return from training, and a whole lot of school work.

So my prayer has often been "God, I don't want to be a slacker, but I cant get a two month job, and I'm going to need money" "God I don't feel like reading anymore tonight" or "God, what is the point of the CCPO program?"

Well I'm here to tell you that God is good, and all the time! I just got my third, THIRD, unexpected paycheck from the Navy for misc expenses during my previous training. I had more money on my tax return than I expected. AND I have been really blessed by this set of classes this semester.

God is providing. And its a funny thing... the more I committed, the more time God created for me to do what I really want, and thats praise Him and give Him that glory. How amazing is it that when we go bare before the Lord, broken and tired, he smiles and says "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

God is teaching and leading us all the time. Its the moments when we say "I CANT DO THIS! WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?" that He smiles and says "thats what I was waiting for..."

Let me be clear, I do NOT think that I did something that makes me deserving of an easy life, or that I deserve anything. I also don't want to convey that God is in the business of making much of individuals here on earth. But I do think that God has moved boldly and swiftly to confirm my call to the Navy and that He deserves all of the Glory for that. Life ain't perfect, but God is moving, thats for sure.

Francis Thompson wrote an amazing poem that I think is applicable... "The Hound of Heaven"

Praise God!

Round Two...

2008-04-14T21:07:00.001-04:00

I had to do it

At least theyre not weight lifting......

2008-04-14T21:03:00.001-04:00

This is unreal... the prisoners of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines not only did this dance, but also an amazing version of Thriller, Black Eyed Peas, Queen, The Hustle. Check it out, Highly entertaining!

Sad day in the Premiership...

2008-04-13T14:40:00.002-04:00

Arsenal fell today 2-1 to Manchester United in usual fashion, knocking themselves out of any possible hope of winning the Premiership. Dominating almost the entire game, they had the Lion's share of possession time yet finding themselves unable to score they played on to the loss.

This has been par for the course the entire year. Outplaying almost every team in every game this year Arsene Wenger and his team could never find the back of the net often enough, or in time. Now they finish the Premier season 6 points behind and without hope....

What to do...

Psalm 25

2008-04-10T23:59:00.005-04:00

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5

I have been taking a class on Genesis, as well as reading through Deuteronomy. Its really interesting to think about how the nation of Israel came out of a very real time and place. They wrote very much with the exile in mind. Much of the Old Testament and Jewish focus at the time was trying to explain how if there really was only one God, why they would be going through what they were going through at the time.

At the time there was still a lot of confusion through Judaism. Other gods were being worshiped and there was a hope of a future king that would lead them home. This is still the hope of Jewish people today. It is interesting to think that for a time there wasn't a whole lot of things that necessarily set the Jewish nation distinctly apart. In a time when "My god is better than your god" was the game, Israel was playing a losing battle...

But what set all the questions straight? God came to earth. Christ is the answer to all the doubts and questions. If you wonder if it all seems a little too man made... or if God really did have His hand in all of history. Well Christ came to show that the Law is true and God really is the true God. How amazing that we can put all of our doubts and unbelief on the cross and God will answer them?

He cared enough to come to Earth and clear up the confusion, He cares enough to answer all of our personal doubts as well. so...

...for you I wait all the day long...

Praise God!

Part 3 (Finally!)

2008-04-04T18:20:00.003-04:00

"Our cultural and theological differences and misunderstandings cannot undermine the work we are charged with as brothers and sisters in Christ, for the good of the name of Christ and the Kingdom of God"

OK blog fans, todays the day! We are going to finally wrap this whole thing up today...
My previous statement was a bottom up statement. We shouldnt be different in our pursuit of the Gospel because it is bigger than us and something we should all strive for. Well, this statement is a top down statement.

I will say the statement another way... Because the Gospel is so good, and so worthy, it unites us so that we dont have to work on our differences; they go away when our focus is on the Gospel and that work of uniting is done for us. (I like positive statements much more than negative ones anyways!)

To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. ~Psalm 123:1-2

Just as when Peter was focused on Jesus he was able to walk on water, even amidst the waves, so it is with us. When we look to the Lord we are looking at truth and light. Ive said before that His reality is more real than our own. We are confused and live in the midst of sin here on this side of the return of Christ. When we look to the Lord he has mercy on us, and we are filled with grace. This makes the untruths and lies of our own world pale in comparison to that light.

Notice in Psalm 123 it says we look TILL the Lord has mercy.... not if. It is a promise. God will give us mercy and peace and things that are bigger than the world when we look and wait on the Lord.

This is what we must strive for and preach to each other.
DISCLAIMER- to wait on the Lord does not mean to sit and spin your wheels. No no, the greek is closer to "waiting" on the Lord, that is, serving him as if we had a towel over our arm, our best bow tie on. My mom always told me, its easier to steer a moving ship, and that is the truth. We have to be pursing truth and the word, this is the desire of our hearts. Only then will we find, only then will the door be opened.

So go out! Run after the Lord, learn more, read more, talk more, love more, drink starbucks.... (just kidding about that last one... kinda...). The gospel is free and is there for salvtion! Will it make all of your problems go away? No, but it will make them "light and momentary" thats a promise. But even better, youll get to participate in giving God glory, which is what you were made for anyways, and you will find Joy and fulfillment in that.

And with all that goodness, who has time for racism or insult? Thats all Im trying to say!

Praise God!

Just a great song...

2008-03-27T02:20:00.001-04:00

Enjoy everybody.... Part three coming soon.

Part 2

2008-03-23T23:42:00.003-04:00

"The Gospel should transcend our cultural, theological, and relational norms in our everyday lives"

This was the first statement I left y'all with a couple of days ago. I think that this is the essential element of the Great Commission that Christ left the disciples, and us, with at the end of Matthew. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." ALL NATIONS. God has granted us the gift of Grace through the cross, intended for all groups of people all over the world. This good news is not ours alone... In scripture Israel was the chosen nation of God. We are in the same position as Americans that Asians, Africans, Latin Americans and the rest of the world is in. We have been grafted into the Vine of Christ by Gods love.

This is great news for us, but it also means that we do not have a monopoly on it, nor is it ours to choose to whom it will go, and how it will look. This is far beyond church polity, or the so called "great debates" of our modern church. All of that must be informed by the Gospel itself.

This is not to say that we shouldn't pursue holiness and sanctification in communicating and debating the good and evil in our Church and in our World. Christs sanctifying work comes through our community and our pursuit of Holiness: but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thess 5:21-22. Paul also tells us to warn each other of Evil and Luther encouraged us to preach the Gospel to each other daily. But this is much different from the prejudices that I know I have in my own life, and from the ignorance of being isolated in our own lives, cultures, and local churches.

There is truth in everything. Every religion, every culture, every king and dictator, every liberal spirituality is here under the eye of God and His providence. This is not to say that we should go and eat up everything that is out there, but it is by Grace that we all are living and breathing each day... so we cant just cast aside someone, or some idea, as useless and totally false. The Gospel always has room to work and change people and things. Again I appeal to the testing of everything. Let us not justify heresy and false Gospels, but lets address them and work with them and teach against them with a mind not for defense of pride, but rather that God is doing a good and eternal work here.

We should rejoice in the diversity that God put on this earth. From the plethora of plants and animals, to the changing of the seasons, to the differences of each of us. The people of God once before thought that they could revel in being the same and "figuring it out." Then in Genesis 11 God saw fit to disperse them all over the world with different languages and confusing them, so they would not think they are greater than God.

God loves creation, and it will be good once more, even in all its diversity. The world is the way it is for a reason, diverse, because no one of us has the lock on the love of God. The thing that unites us is the Gospel alone. We are united as brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what that looks like around the globe. That is for next post though...

Praise God!
and happy Easter!

Virginia is for Chaplains

2008-03-19T16:04:00.005-04:00

Well, I almost went a whole month without blogging. Sorry kids... but it wasn't a month, it was almost a month!

I just got back from an amazing trip to Virginia to visit my friend Justin who is a Naval Chaplains Candidate with me. First of all the Appalachian Mountains are absolutely breathtaking. I forget what an amazing creation the Earth is when I am stuck here in the Midwest with no seas and no mountains to marvel at.

Drive highway 501 in a stick shift before you die, thats all I have to say about that.

Also it was very interesting being in Lynchburg. Located right in the heart of the state, it was a distinctly different culture then what I am accustomed to here in Cincinnati Ohio. There seemed to be a church every 500 feet or so, and the gospel is something that is taken very seriously. There is a distinct southern influence and an obvious Baptist one, diverse socioeconomic standings from the backwoods to the socialite elite, and a very interesting diametric between the America of our past, and the future ahead.

Here in Ohio we like to contextualize, teach, work with the Gospel until it is woven into our daily lives (at least thats the idea). There, it is something that is assumed. The Gospel is what it is, and you're either on board or you're not. It was very interesting indeed to see what God has done for His names sake there in relation to what He is doing here.

I have thought a lot about that since then. The Gospel is moving all over the world, and in a lot of places it is moving much more abundantly then in America. I think we know that in the back of our minds, but it really is happening. Not only this, but the Gospel looks differently in different areas. There were some things that I respect about the Baptist theology and polity, and some things that I am uncomfortable with... but it works in the culture they are in. I know that I can say that I am pleased with the growth of the Church in Africa, or China, or its persistence in the South, but its very different when I see it, and when it doesn't look like what I think the church should be. I think that this cultural gospel (which Ive blogged about before) is something that has led to intolerance, poor missionary work, and hypocrisy within the church. It then becomes the gospel beyond the Gospel, which Jesus did not come to do: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17. Jesus came for the Law, to fulfill it, because it was a good and righteous law... He did not come to add to the Law, which is the essence of the cultural gospel.

This made me ask a very important question of myself that I think can benefit us all... Is my foundation in my theology, or in the Gospel? I believe that there is a positive statement we can make, and a negative one regarding this idea. For the former: "The Gospel should transcend our cultural, theological, and relational norms in our everyday lives" and for the latter: "Our cultural and theological differences and misunderstandings cannot undermine the work we are charged with as brothers and sisters in Christ, for the good of the name of Christ and the Kingdom of God".

The gospel transcends all... for this reason:
I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:11-12

I will be blogging about these two statements I made in the next two days to address these ideas and tease them out a little further... Stay tuned, and Happy Easter...

He is Risen, He is Risen indeed.
Praise God!

Reality Check...

2008-02-20T23:28:00.003-05:00

My soul thirsts for God,for the living God.When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 42:2

God certainly woke me up the other day... I came back from Newport and was struggling, and kinda didn't even really know it. Not that the experiance was Earth shattering or super unique, but it was significant.

I loved my time there. I realized my call there. I lived more disciplined and healthy there than I probably ever have...

So I came back and didn't really connect quickly here. Not that its impossible to know what I went through (just ask me, Ill tell ya about it!) but it was a change in my mind and in my lifestyle, which was hard for the people around me to understand. So in this struggle of figuring out how to live, Ive been learning a couple of things about God that I thought I would share as my almost month long absence ends in the blogsphere!

God has been completely reaffirming to me that I am His son. That I have already been chosen by God and that I am saved by the blood of Christ. This is a bigger deal that you might think. There is a deeper reality, a deeper truth here that I think we all need to tap into. We must tap into the reality that God's reality is where we exist, not the other way around. This world and this life isn't something that has to be figured out or achieved or completed. Rather, we exist in a greater reality, a bigger story than the one we live in. Jesus Christ and His work on the cross is the center point of time. God created this whole reality so that the Cross and the Glory of God could be lifted up.

Thats freedom! We live in a truth of salvation and mercy and Grace. The Gospel is such that we can be reminding each other of these truths every day! EVERY DAY!

I'm so guilty of trying to read enough, or think enough, or write enough... so that I can explain God to someone, or have the right study, or preach the right sermon. I can tease myself into thinking that this is pious or noble. But this real reality is such that I cant explain it nearly as well as experience and the Spirit do for each of us continually.

I'm reminded of the young man in Mark 10. He comes to Jesus saying "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth" speaking of not murdering, cheating, lying, stealing... The one that he doesn't speak to is that you shall have no gods before me...

While this man has kept what he thinks is good in his world, theres still something wrong in his life, hence why he would approach Jesus. Then Jesus drops the bomb. "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor...come, follow me".

He drops his head, and without saying a word walks away.

WHAT??? my first reaction is "GO! do it! meet the requirements and come back!!! whats your problem?? how are you just going to walk away????"

This is speaking to something much deeper. Jesus wasn't actually telling him what to do to get to heaven, He was pointing out how this young man's reality didn't line up with that of God's. The man was sad not that he couldn't walk along with Jesus and see the sights... he was sad because he knew that in his heart his treasure was money and not ultimately Christ. You have to get this to get the story... its not that he couldn't just sell the stuff... maybe he could have, but deeper than that Jesus showed him where his reality was off.

God doesn't want us to meet requirements, or to accomplish anything to get into heaven. He wants us to leave the burdens of our mixed up pressures of this world and take on the reality of the substitutionary atonement of Christ. His reality is enduring and the Gospel is that we can be a part of that. Time marches on, and Christ will still come again, and evil will be defeated, whether or not I decide to work out today or not cut that person off in my car.

How free would we feel if we could let go of our jobs, our homes, our securities, even our families and friends. If we could think of them not as security or our comfort, but rather as gifts that will come and go as "the Good Lord sees fit" (to quote o brother where art thou). Thats freedom.

So even if I didn't get picked up for the Navy, or I never talked to those friends from my past again, or if I lost my jeep!?!?? Life would go on, God would be good, and Jesus still has died for my sins. This is reality, not the stresses and sins that we get tied up in thinking is our lives. Remind me of that, every time you see me. Ill try and do the same for you!

Praise God!

When the yelling gets directed at you....

2008-01-30T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hey blog fans,

Lets talk about lessons learned for a minute.

Lesson #1. Dont ever be the odd one out in Military training. Fly in the middle, do your job, and dont stick out untill you know youre role and can lead effectively.

Lesson #2. Always lock your locker

Lesson #3. Pay attention to details. Maintain positive control of yourself and your situation at all times. Look out for those around you. Act like an officer.

Lesson #4. If one fails, the whole fails.

So I, and my roommate, happened to brake lessons 1 and 3 today, and brought lesson 4 out and into the open. We are doing the Damage Control training today and we had to split our company into two sticks for a morning and an afternoon group. My squad and one other are in the afternoon group so after some spring cleaning and chow, we thought it would be a decent idea to take a little cat nap on top of the racks.

No Good.

Senior Chief came on deck and as Dipinto and I came bleary eyed to attention outside our door, Senior got that look in his eye. He asked us why we thought it would be OK, JUST BECAUSE HE WAS AWAY, TO SLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.... WE CLEARLY DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH TO DO, DID WE!?!?!?!

Well he decided to strip every rack on deck and make us remake them all, to specs, in half an hour. We also all had to change from PT sweats to Khaki's and then be on line. Then he found out that DiPinto was our squad leader and gave us a passionate and warrented speech about selfishness and leadership.

It was selfish to think that my sleep was more important than my shipmates finishing their computer work or shining their shoes. It was poor leadership and a bad example to think that we were so squared away that we had nothing else to do.

And worst of all, what if the skipper had come on deck and we were that slow to get online, hell would have been in King Hall in Newport, RI.

Leadership is doing the right thing when no one is looking. Christianity is living a life for a God who is always looking. Not that we have to prove anything to God (because we cant) or that we have to be a certain way (because change comes from the Lord), but we have to know that we are under the Law of Grace always.

How many sins do I hide and think its OK? Ultimately, Im not squared away, I dont have it figured out. And my soul is laid bare for the Lord to see at all times. Oh! that I could live a life cognizant of my sin and thankful for Grace! What if we had lives that preached, not perfection, but Grace all the time!? Because that is the truth, whether we are hiding in our rooms sleeping, or on our knees before the Lord. The truth of the cross is constant and unchanging.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Be thankful always... Our deeds can preach the Gospel and we should be aware of that. We have cause to only be thankful all the time, We have been forgiven!!!! It is sin that preaches a different Gospel, and the Lord has defeated sin.

We need to be praying, continually.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinth 9:24

Praise God!

The Importance of Language

2008-01-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

Its amazing how context and the use of words can change from place to place. Coming into this world of the Navy, there is a language that is a complete mystery. Abbreviations like you wouldn't believe, different ideas about principles and words, and even new words for the everyday (a wall is a bulkhead, a hallway is a passageway, the floor is a deck).

We have classes everyday with two other groups of people: there are the LDO's which are Limited Duty Officers, and CWO's or Chief Warrant Officers. Both of them are prior enlisted service and know just about everything that there is to know about the Navy. Some of the time they are a great resource to ask questions and get information about something, but when we get into class they just debate all of the information that is being given with words and abbreviations that we, as staff officers, don't really understand yet.

We also get new definitions about things that we thought we understood. As officers we are taught that we have responsibility, accountability, authority. The Navy says that we can pass on both responsibility and authority but accountability can never be passed on to someone else. My roommate and I were thinking a lot about how as Eagle Scouts we learn that responsibility can't be passed on. This is a change of definition.

While the Navy is doing its thing, this is a great reminder of how we talk about and present the Gospel. The difference here is that there is no change of definition, the Gospel IS the definition. This is the truth, the Gospel is always consistent, no matter what we say or how we think of it the Gospel will never change. So, what does this mean for us? It means that the Gospel is something to be pursued and sought after. That truth is life changing, but this side of heaven we will never understand the truth in its entirety. "They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience" 1Tim 3:9

As far as how we present the Gospel to other people, we need to make sure that we don't do what those LDO's and CWO's did to us. We have to speak in a way that the Gospel is accessible to whoever it is that we are talking to. Like Paul said, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinth 9:22. This is the attitude we should have, the Gospel is too precious to be lost on irresponsible presentation.

I pray that we can continue to present the Gospel to one another in a clear and life changing way. I hope that our lives can be living presentations of the Gospel all of the time. I hope that others would see the truth and the change in our lives to the Glory of God. Lets keep talking about words like Grace, Holiness, Righteousness, Love, Glory so that we can continue to understand them better and better, and so that they might become a part of our everyday vocabulary.

How different would our lives look?

Praise God.

Greetings from Rhode Island

2008-01-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Its neither a road nor and island...

I haven't been able to post recently because we are just going going going all the time. We wake up at 0400 everyday (that's 4am for you civilians). Then we go out in the cold and march to the gym to do PT for an hour and a half. Then we double time to Chow. After Chow we have 5 Min to "Brush our fangs, water, de-water, and be back on the line". After that we march or have a class. then Chow. Then all afternoon we have classes, which is the time they use to tear apart our rooms so we have to re-make everything. Then we get yelled at some more, do push ups when we are in trouble. then we go to chow. Then we have one more company meeting followed by ironing, polishing, and washing our clothes. In bed by 2200 (or 10:00) in order to do it all again tomorrow!

Our "drill instructor" is Senior Chief Berkel. He is an amazing man. Very passionate about his job and making staff officers into great Naval Officers. You can tell that he loves his job and the ability to do it. He gives us motivational speeches that are better than Hoosiers. He has seen it all and loves both the Navy and the traditions and Deference of the Navy. He knows how he can best teach all of us, but above all doesn't lower his standard, we just have to meet it. And he knows how to tell us about it. Through a mix of YELLING (WAY TO GO ROCKSTARS, I HAVE A COMPANY WITH PHD's OUT THE YING YANG AND YOU CANT GET YOUR SHIRT STRAIGHT!*%!&%) and sarcasm (your OTHER left SIR.....) he is molding us into a team and into officers. He is a really good guy.

I am learning a ton of lessons about discipline and integrity and Gods calling. But I thought Id share a little story and save those lessons for later...

This is a story that will show you how Senior Chief was before he showed us his nicer side... The one thing, above all else, that we must do is to lock our locker whenever we aren't an arms length away from it. At this point (this was Monday) someone had already left their lock off twice. This made the Senior Chief very unhappy. This was the third time and we walked in from class and knew that we were in trouble... Our gear was all over the hallway and everything had been torn apart. SC was already yelling and he screamed at us to take our raincoats off. After our third time with the jackets he put us up against the wall to do wall sits. We then did three part push ups and jumping jacks in uniform while SC berated us. SC then held us in the down position (you're not allowed to touch the ground) and proceeded to throw a lock down the passageway and slide it in front of us.

All of our hearts sank. I really think it was like when Christ told the disciples that one of them would betray Him, and they must have been shaking inside wondering who it was... All of us were wondering if we were the ones who had forgotten to lock our locker...

He then pulled up our money officer (whose lock it was) and threw all of our chow money for the week ($2024 which was her responsibility to keep for our meals, and was in her locker) on the floor. She started crying when he started yelling about how she betrayed the rest of the team by allowing our money to be out for the world to take. We all felt awful for her. She was then relieved of that duty and we had to wall sit until every last cent was counted. It was quite the experience.

Senior has an extra level of volume when we get in trouble like that, its pretty impressive.

Well, greetings from Naval Station Newport! Ill post again when I can. And I will post pictures soon!

Praise God.

Faith and Belief.

2008-01-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

I am learning lately that Faith isn't exactly what I thought it was. Paul encourages Timothy in both of his letters to "Fight the fight of Faith". I don't think I really ever understood what it means to fight for faith until the last year.

I think I always thought of Faith as just belief. But I really think that belief is totally different. In John it says "I believe Lord, help my unbelief". Yet we are either a people that has faith or does not. I think as I get older (and I think for us all) in my Christian life its less and less just a set of facts or ideas or scripture which is just simply true. That used to be all I needed to believe and it let me sleep at night... "Ive seen this at work in my life, it is scripturally sound, so it is true".

Well as I grow older in my faith, and especially through seminary, I am given more ideas, more facts, more opinions and more things to read. As all of this enters me, I am changed. My faith sometimes has to renegotiate with the information before me.

But there are two good things about this. One, God is unchanging and good. I know that the promises of God are true so even if my facts are off, or what I believe is misinformed a little, It is my faith alone that is credited to me as righteousness. And, two, my faith is not based on ideas or theologies or trivia about the bible, but rather my faith comes from the Lord.

Often in the New Testament faith is accompanied by one of two things in a verse: the Holy Spirit, or fear of God. This tells me two things: One, that my faith comes from God, He chooses to give it to me (Hallelujah!) and it comes from my new, godly, heart knowing the truth that has been revealed to me by the Spirit. Two, that faith doesn't always come after miracles, belief does. We walk by faith, not by sight. I don't need anything or any proof to fight for faith, just prayer. Just like in the story of the paralytic, it is the friends faith BEFORE the healing that gets their friend healed. Now I'm pretty sure that they all believed a whole lot more after that, but their faith was what brought them before the Lord, and the same can be said for us.

Knowing this we should encourage each other that even if we are having a struggle believing the Gospel or truth or even our own salvation, that we are still children of God and that God will persevere and pursue us until we are fully reconciled with Him. And why is that? Because not only are we faithful, but God is ultimately faithful to His people. Think of that!!! If we need proof of God in order to have faith in God, what proof have we given God in order for Him to have faith in us??? none, and yet God is still faithful. So if God is giving us the ultimate example of faith, how much easier is it for us to live by faith in a good and righteous and holy God?

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Tim 6:12

We all need to remember the new heart that we received at our baptism and the confession that was made there... not that I wouldn't fail, not that I would produce so much fruit, but that I believe and confess my faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ...

I pray we can all say with Paul: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Tim 4:7

I'm with a lot of you, it gets harder and harder the older we get in our faith. There is a lot to try and reconcile with. We are bombarded with information that makes it impossible to go back to the days when we could just "believe". But press on, fight the fight, and encourage me, and Ill sure try and encourage you. Ill leave you with the words of Christ:

I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:32

Praise God.

sorry for the lapse blog fans.

2008-01-01T03:24:00.000-05:00

Hey all you Full Sails fans out there. I know its been awhile, but I haven't gone anywhere, yet...

I'm officially done with PF Changs for the time being and I'm getting ready to go to ODS (Officer Development School) at Naval Station Newport (Rhode Island). I'm so excited to go... I cant wait to see the ocean. I'm always a happier person when I am near the sea and I cant wait to spend some weeks near it, not to mention a whole career eventually. All of the different personalities of the Ocean is an amazing reminder both of all the personality traits of God, and the infinity of tomorrows we will experience in heaven, God will never grow old or mundane, just like the sea never ceases to amaze me.

I will be updating pretty regularly on here while I'm away both to update how I'm doing and what I'm learning, as well as my day to day activities and what I'm doing in training for any of you who are interested.

I thought in commemoration of 2008 I would post the top 28 things I am thankful for in 2007. This is not an exhaustive list, just something I'm doing before I go to bed for the first time in 08, so don't over analyse, just enjoy...

1) Gods Word

2) PF Changs flexible schedule

3) John Piper

4) Dr. Whitford, my reformed professor.

5) Pilot G2 Pen (thanks for that Kev)

6) The Oaks Community Church

7) Kyle Jameson

8) The Ohio State University

9) The Navy and Marine Corps

10) Gods Call

11) Coffee

12) Reading

13) My Jeep

14) The Sea (and Psalm 107)

15) Jazz Music (and the Blue Wisp)

16) Grandpa Eddie

17) Swartzel

18) My parents patience and shelter this year

19) Tanqueray

20) Golf

21) Martin Luther

22) Chipotle

23) my new Banjo (and my Martin!)

24) Blake, for showing me truth

25) A trip to Arizona

26) United Theological Seminary

27) Hooded Sweatshirts

28) the PCA

Baseball Sadness

2007-12-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

It is a sad day for baseball... Well I guess I should say its a bad day for me.

The sad day for baseball was the day the Mitchell report came out confirming the drug culture that was going on in our beloved American pastime. Many names were in the report, some big, some not so big...

but one bigger than them all...

Hal Morris.

Dude was first base for the Reds from 1990-1997 and then 1999 after a year with the Royals. And now all of a sudden you can find him on what I believe is page 4 of the Mitchell report.

Now for all of us Reds fans out there we all have our favorites, Ive had the conversations many times: "Chris Sabo was the MAN" or "Barry Larkin will always be my hero" or "Reggie Sanders had a home run at this one game I went to..."

You can talk to older Reds fans with Bench, Dibble, Foster.
Kids talk about Dunn, Griffey, or Arroyo.
Everyone in the 513, 937, or 859 area codes loves Pete Rose.

Well my guy was Hal Morris. And it still will be. The guy made me love baseball. He threw me a ball at one of my first games on his way back to the dugout. My roommate in college got an autographed 1991 Card of him for me. AND I still have that baseball.

But when I saw his name, my heart dropped a little.

So like I said... Baseball sadness.

On the lighter side...

2007-12-12T00:14:00.001-05:00

This is funny, end of story...

Christian Liberties. (getting on my soapbox...)

2007-12-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

We must be very careful how we preach today... In a market and results driven society people judge Christians by their results. This is a very difficult and precarious position to be in as people charged with preaching the Gospel.

It is quite easy to call a Christian a hypocrite. We dont have everything right, we dont know all the answers, and we never live up to the charge Jesus gave us to be "Perfect as the Father is perfect". It is easy as maturing Christians and leaders of the church to encourage and look for change within the people that we are pouring our lives and the Gospel into. This can be OK, because Christ did come to redeem us and make us new. In addition it is OK to encourage and teach sanctification in the life of the believer, it is promised and it is a benefit of life in Christ. The problem comes when we dont properly teach that sanctification does not grant us justification, and that is an important distinction to make. Grace alone, through faith alone is the only thing that grants us justification from sin through Christ.

When we look for and teach sanctification alone, we need to be careful not to give a new law. People may be looking for a checklist or rules to follow to be a good Christian, but those were given, and they are unattainable apart from Christ. In the sermon on the Mount, Christ taught the true spirit of the law, "You have heard it said... but I tell you that...". Christ came and elevated the law to make it the perfection that God necessitates. We cant be perfect, we've already blown it both on our own and through the inheritance of original sin.

Now Christ taught us that he came to fulfill the law. His righteousness was imputed to us and our faith is then credited to us as that righteousness. This is the only law that there is, the law of the truth and love of God. That law is fulfilled in Christ. He did it for us. This is Grace! We are justified WHILE WE WERE (and are) STILL SINNERS!!!!!! To give people a new law is only to add rules that God didnt give us. That is not grace. You dont have to be anything other than a believer in Christ to take part in Grace. Paul tells us that we cannot add anything to the law, and that we can only listen to the Gospel that he has given us... even if an angel comes and preaches a different Gospel between now and the return of Christ, we are not to acknowledge it. Jesus also said that a false teacher would do better to tie a stone around their neck and jump in the sea than face judgement for their teaching. Christ cares a lot about the Gospel that gets preached.

Now, dont get me wrong, people who are careful with how they live are doing a great thing. But we cannot expect it for the salvation of people. Not only this, but we can help be redemption for people in Christ. There are lots of rules out their for Christians: Dont listen to most music, Dont play sports, Dont dance, Dont drink, Dont smoke. But what does this say to people? That you have to be perfect to follow Christ? Thats not a very attractive set of rules for lost people... Christ said that He came to make all things new, also Paul said that all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial. This is true. My drinking or not drinking, or insert whatever there, doesn't affect my faith in Christ. I can sin in drunkenness and irresponsibility, and we can do this anywhere, too much football or an obsession with a championship, the difference between dancing to hook up or dancing to music, on and on... But as Christians we can also show people who drink to live, how to enjoy a drink in fellowship and responsibly.

In this way we can show people, through Christ, how to live to their Joy and to the Glory of God. That is the Gospel. Instead of giving them a new law, the Gospel transforms and informs how we drive on the highway, sports stars, dancing and music, drinking, and everything else in our lives. What is better to hope for? an end to football? or a league of football players living their lives and playing to the very most of the gifts they've been given? We can have the same hope and joy in redeeming responsible and worthwhile consideration of everything in our lives. Lets not make new laws and rules, but instead live lives that are constantly being evaluated with the Gospel in mind so that we might transform and worship God in every single thing we do.

That is truly what it means to be a light in the world.

Praise God.

How do we know Beauty?

2007-11-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

And where do we miss it?

Read this article in the Washington Post. Its long, but very worth it.

A brilliant musician, in a world that's way too busy. If you want more of Joshua Bell get his essentials CD or his Beethoven's violin concertos both are amazing works. Great for romantic dinners, writing papers, and appreciating a man that I swear has 4 hands and two violins.

Run in such a way as to get the prize.

2007-11-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

It is amazing how much the hymn in the previous post speaks to both the reality and thanks I feel in my life right now. God is so good to reveal to us, in His time, what changes He desires for us, and His true character and face.

If you re the reading type, check out chapter 16 of J.I. Packer's Knowing God. It is entitled "Goodness and Severity" and it is brilliant.

"Earlier in Romans, Paul addressed the self-satisfied non-Christian critic of human nature as follows: "God's kindness leads you toward repentance"... "You... pass judgement on them and yet do the same things" - yet God has borne with your faults , the very faults which you regard as meriting his judgement when you see them in others, and you ought to be very humble and very thankful."

Its hard to realize that I don't love God as I ought, or give Him thanks as I ought. But the Grace of God is that He loved us first... and while we were still sinners. I don't have to try and fix all of my faults to make God love me, God already loves me. Now I just have to go about loving Him more.

Paul wrote to Tim "pursue righteousness". The Bible is literally saturated with language telling us that we should thirst for God, that we should treasure the kingdom, that we should run the race in such a way as to win. Most of all we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength... These are active participles. We need to be doing them. It is true that the work on the cross is complete, we add nothing to it. But, we should be pursuing our God.

I know I for one am tired of being lazy. Who's with me?

It truly is like training for a race. The more we pray, and reject sin, and try and set a Godly example of Christian freedom, the easier it will be to get up the next time we fall. God wants us to be soldiers for him, but believe me, being a soldier is not an overnight transformation. You learn to salute, you learn rank, you learn to shoot, you learn tradition and history. In the same way we have to run after learning to worship, learning to learn from those more mature, learning to fight sin, and learning the Bible.

God chose us, and God loves us. And now that He has given us truth, lazy is the only word to describe not running after it. Like the hymn says (and Jeremiah) , our heart is deceitful, God is truth.

Ill let Dr. John Piper finish this up...

Therefore, I conclude that Jesus' demand to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength means that every impulse and every act of every faculty and every capacity should be an expression of treasuring God above all things. Jesus warned that this most important of all demands would be widely forsaken in the last days. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold" (Matt 24:12, NASB).
Beware lest your love for God grow cold in these days. Remember, we will love him to the degree that we know him. And remember that only Jesus can make him known in truth and fullness (Matt 11:27). Therefore, look steadily at Jesus and pray that he would reveal God as compellingly beautiful. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

Praise God.

Gadsby Mondays

2007-11-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

795

Mighty enemies without,
Much mightier within,
Thoughts we cannot quell or rout,
Blasphemously obscene;
Coldness, unbelief, and pride,
Hell and all its murderous train,
Threaten death on every side,
And have their thousands slain.

Thus Pursued, and thus distressed,
Ah! whither shall we fly?
To obtain the promised rest,
On what sure hand rely?
Shall the Christian trust his heart?
That, alas! of foes the worst,
Always takes the tempter's part;
Nay, often tempts him first.

If to-day we be sincere,
And can both watch and pray,
Watchfulness, perhaps, and prayer.
To-morrow may decay.
If we now believe aright,
Faithfulness is God's alone,
We are feeble, fickle, light,
To changes ever prone.

But we build upon a base
That nothing can remove,
When we trust electing grace
And everlasting love.
Victory over all our foes
Christ has given with His blood,
Perseverance he bestows
On every child of God.

(1Peter 1:2, 2Tim 2:19, 1Thess 5:24)

Identity

2007-11-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

Its strange how we all have an idea of who we are and what we look like to others. That idea is probably different from everyone else's perception, and is probably worlds apart from God's look at who we are and what defines us.

I have my foot in so many worlds that sometimes I get caught in between them all. It is dangerous to be able to lose identity and wonder who we are. I have so many ideas of who I am and what I look like, but even that changes from situation to situation and place to place. I have friends that know me as funny, or smart, or an ass, or irresponsible, or responsible. Trust me, my resume and my file at the DOD looks a whole lot different than if you meet me at a bar, or if I'm serving you at Changs.

For God it is sin, and (praise God) Jesus that defines who we are. We are given that new identity in Christ that I, by comparison, rarely define myself by. If I'm home for the night, or having to move away from Columbus to Dayton, or Dayton to a Naval Station, my real definition never actually changes. Yet I miss friends, come across people who don't know me as I would like the people surrounding me to know me, and act differently.

Not only this but I can define myself through the people around me as well. Then girls, friends, coworkers, all people I have no sacramental (marriage) or familial ties to. God has called me unto himself, and my family, and also to bear witness to the resurrection for whatever situation I happen to be in. Not to commit myself to things that are temporary, not letting the dead bury the dead, or even seeing every need as a calling.

I work hard to project an image or meet people a certain way. All of this effort to build myself up as an alter of praise, because it makes me feel good. Yet, where does Joy come from? From worshiping God as He is to be rightly praised. That is what my time should be spent doing. I am quite sure that if this was the case, I would find brothers and sisters in Christ and I would cherish those relationships. I would find joy more abundantly in trying to figure out how to Glorify God's name instead of my own, and my purpose would be fulfilled.

Sin sucks, it seriously gets in the way.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1Peter 1:3-5

Knowing God by seeking to know God

2007-11-13T13:27:00.000-05:00

Its a funny thing, that the God of the Universe would move so that we could know Him. An infinite unfathomable God gave us both Jesus and the Holy Spirit so that we could know and love Him better.

Without the movement of God toward us, we would never be able to know or see Him. Forever veiled in our own sin and destruction we would never experience Glory without God showing it to us. Paul said "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinth 13:12).

Paul then prays for us that "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power" (Eph 1:17-18). Now there is quite a lot of stuff to unpack in that prayer, but notice that he prays for us to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know God. Also that he finishes these verses noting that we only believe by the working of God's great power.

The knowledge of God is really nothing that we can strive for or study or take pride in. Rather it is a gift of grace, fully given to us in the form of Jesus Christ on earth. All we can do is pray for wisdom and revelation and allow the Spirit to move in our lives. We need to remember that it is a gift to know God and we should rejoice in it; not compete with it. We should use this gift to help others to understand the Gospel and Grace of God. Its not knowing God, its seeking God that fulfills our purpose here on earth.

Knowledge should spur us on to fruit and community. The apostle ends the 13th chapter is 1 Corinthians by encouraging us:

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Praise God.

I promise I will write a serious blog this week...

2007-11-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

BUT FOR NOW GO BROWNS!!!!! All the abysmal years of being a fan are paying off (at least a little). Way to go Brownies!

He's trying to be a plane...

2007-10-31T19:33:00.000-04:00

Sorry, Im a nerd, I thought this was funny... Get it? He's a plane for Halloween.

In case you wondered what the Navy was up to. (pt 2)

2007-10-24T17:12:00.000-04:00

This time the Navy has responded in a big way to the fires in California. Offering most or all of its base fire trucks and personnel the Navy is also joining the fight with H-60, CH-47, and Ch-43 helicopters to help join the fight. Also Air and Navy reserve and Active C-130s are all being used to help battle the 11 fires that are still out of control in the San Diego area.

All Navy personnel have been ordered to live on ship in order to use the base housing for shelters as well as the gyms on base being set up with cots and partitions for families to live in. The Marines at twenty nine-palms are on standby to help battle the blaze as well as 500 other Marines volunteering to help with the brush clearing and firefighting.

Pray for everyone sacrificing so much (some their lives) to battle these fires.

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes @ Abbey Road

2007-10-24T17:00:00.001-04:00

What an amazing and chilling rendition. Makes me want to smoke a clove...

Cross Culture Gospel.

2007-10-10T19:45:00.000-04:00

Today I had a very interesting conversation with the dean of academics for a consortium of seminaries that offer urban ministry classes. At first I was very skeptical about the classes just being something that were practicals and not very gospel or scripture centered. When I actually spoke to him one on one it was a much different story.

He ended up being very interested in my future ministry to Marines and Sailors and the cultural interactions that will occur there. Assumptions that will be made, ignorance's that will go unaddressed if I don't address them, and an assumption that will be made that those people are evil as a defense mechanism resulting from the obligation to kill. We talked a lot about how the troops there on the ground don't only need personal counseling for the things they see and have to deal with, but they need help into a totally different worldview. A worldview that allows them to struggle with how they interact with the natural population there and the struggles that they deal with. This would make a much more effective soldier, peacemaker, and diplomat from the lance corporal all the way up to the officers in the back.

Then I realized that we can all use this perspective switch, whether its on the ground in Iraq with an M-16 in hand, or in the streets of Middletown with a paintbrush... Its not that we need to conform to culture, or that we need to peg or box in exactly what it is Middletown is all about. Rather, we have to be equipped to understand the differences we encounter and have the peace of knowing God is ultimately at work and our work apart from Him is worthless. Even when we catch a vision for ministry or a city or our lives, it will never be the whole picture. We have ourselves in a culture and a world that we've created and we need to be aware of that. My good friend Jonah said that wherever two people are together they are creating a culture. When all of these cultures are interacting (especially in a church) we need to be aware not just of what our mission and purpose is, but we need to be observant enough to know what is changing in us, and where God is changing them as well. Its in these rough edges of ministry that the Gospel is going to move most abundantly.

Francis Schaeffer says that all of us, in our cultures, are creating a metanarrative for ourselves. A lens through which we see the world. Based on this we find truths and patterns that we are comfortable with. This isn't bad, but its not the REAL total absolute truth. None of us knows that. Only God has His eyes on the whole truth of the real metanarrative. Let our prayers be saturated with the trust of the sovereignty of God. Let's observe each other and be cognisant of how God is really moving in our ministries and interactions. And let's not sweat the small stuff, God is good, Scripture is true, and we have been chosen to worship together with all the saints for the rest of eternity.

Praise God.

Marine Corps Drill Instructor AMBUSH

2007-10-05T17:14:00.001-04:00

I thought some of you might like to see this... The first person to walk into the door is an Officer. That recruit posted in the foreground makes the mistake of not addressing the officer. You may notice that this wasn't the right thing to do...

How lucky are we???

2007-10-01T00:19:00.000-04:00

There will come a time when a WWII story will never again be told from the first person. How amazing to be handed the world they lived in and learn from their wisdom.

US Office of Personnel Management Federal Investigative Services

2007-09-30T01:37:00.000-04:00

The FBI is investigating me.

So Ive been talking with a few of my friends and its led to some random thoughts.

It's very strange to have a government agency with all of the resources in the world looking into my life. Even though I have nothing to hide from as far as the government is concerned, it is a bit disconcerting to have someone scrutinizing every aspect from every time period in your life.

Now all of a sudden I realize that God can see far beyond anything the FBI could ever research or identify. Its pretty crazy to think how perfect my life seems on paper. My friend Pruett and I often joke about being the All-American boys. I drive a Jeep, am an officer in the Navy, am helping to start a Church, graduated from one of the largest universities in America, blah blah blah... but none of this means anything compared with the definition I get from being a co-heir to the kingdom of Christ.

Not only this, but God can see infinitely far into my life. Into the idols and things that dishonor Him. God can see into the things that I hide even from myself. Things that make me nervous about the FBI should make me a whole lot nervous about God. Except for one thing. The FBI expects to find an all-American boy who is fit for service and leadership in the US Navy; God came to me when I was (and am) broken and lonely, unknowing of everything I was created for and meant to be. God, full of Grace, and infinitely wise as He is, chose me and brought me into His kingdom.

These are things that I cant really articulate completely clearly, but I never realized how big an idol it was in my life to be what it was I thought I needed to be. I, at some level, thought that I could be what God would want me to be in order that He would be happy with me. I pray that God would remove these idols from all of our lives, and that His kingdom would continue to change the world in a way that would allow us to rest in Grace, true Grace that brings us Joy in Christ.

Enjoy it. Learn Joy in the peace and Grace of Christ. Live in it. Share it. That is the Gospel, and the mission that Christ gave us to accomplish. Its not an image we're supposed to live or an argument we're supposed to win, but rather a Sovereign Joy that we are supposed to rest in. I pray that we can.

Gadsby Mondays

2007-09-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

1055

Come, ye souls, by sin afflicted,
Bowed with fruitless sorrow down;
By the broken law convicted,
Through the cross behold the crown!
Look to Jesus;
Mercy flows through him alone.

Sweet as home to Pilgrims weary,
Light to newly-opened eyes,
Flowing springs in deserts dreary,
Is the rest the cross supplies;
All who taste it
Shall to rest immortal rise.

Blessed are the eyes that see him;
Blest the ears that hear his voice;
Blessed are the souls that trust him,
And in him alone rejoice;
His commandments
Then become their happy choice.

But to sing the "Rest Remaining,"
Mortal tongues far short must fall;
Heavenly tongues are ever aiming,
But they cannot tell it all;
Faith believes it- Hope expects it
But it overwhelms them all.

(Hebrews 4:3)

This may be my favorite one yet... I thought this would be a good one to post as I enter into my reading week and attempt to recharge. I love the last verse, even in our greatest hopes and expectations, God WILL overwhelm everything we could ever imagine. What a promise...

God Lawsuit update...

2007-09-22T15:34:00.001-04:00

For those of you who were entertained by the last post I put up, now there's more.

Apparently the district clerk for the court said that two responses were filed by God.

God apparently told the court (in an official legal document) that since He is above all powers, immune from earthly laws, the court lacks jurisdiction for the case.

God apparently also said "I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you,"

One of the filings was apparently filed by someone (or something) outside of our world... "This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here—poof!" said the county clerk.

State Senator Ernie Chambers Sues God...

2007-09-19T00:52:00.000-04:00

I found this on the Drudge Report and it was just too good...

Senator is suing God to show the absurdity of the court system and the fact that the court is obligated to hear any case that comes in.

Here are some of the highlights:

"The lawsuit admits God goes by all sorts of alias, names, titles and designations and it also recognizes the fact that the defendant is omnipresent.In the lawsuit, Chambers said he's tried to contact God numerous times."

"Chambers lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in Douglas County Court, seeks a permanent injunction ordering God to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats."

"The suit also requests that the court, given the peculiar circumstances of this case, waive personal service. It said that being omniscient, the plaintiff assumes God will have actual knowledge of the action."

I love it.

Gadsby Mondays

2007-09-17T11:13:00.001-04:00

768

Come, ye humble sinner-train,
Souls for whom the Lamb was slain,
Cheerful let us raise our voice;
We have reason to rejoice.
Let us sing, with saints in heaven,
Life restored, and sin forgiven;
Glory and eternal laud,
Be to our incarnate God.

Now look up with faith and see
Him that bled for you and me.
Seated on his glorious throne,
Interceding for his own.
What can Christians have to fear,
When they view the Saviour there?
Hell is vanquished, heaven appeased,
God is satisfied and pleased.

Snares and dangers may beset,
For we are but travellers yet.
As the way, indeed, is hard,
May we keep a constant guard.

Neither lifted up with air,
Nor dejected to dispair;
Always keeping Christ in view;
He will bring us safely through.

(Revelation 5:9-10)

WHO DEY???

2007-09-16T16:38:00.000-04:00

CLEVELAND THATS WHO....

Happy Birthday to me. Thanks Cleveland, Best way I could have started out my 23rd year.

2007-09-14T16:55:00.000-04:00

The definitive list of why fall is absolutely incredible...

1) Ohio State Football
2) Ohio State Tailgating
3) Hot Carmel Apple Cider from Starbucks
4) Hooded Sweatshirts and Shorts and Birkenstock
5) Football
6) Top Down, Windows Down, Heater on full on my Feet
7) Stars
8) Sleeping with it Cold, but still wanting to get up in the morning
9) Ohio State's Campus
10) Color on the trees
11) Birthdays and Thanksgiving
12) Pickup Games of Backyard Football
13) Sleeping through halftime and the third quarters of Pro Games
14) Oktoberfest by Sam Adams
15) Pleasant Evenings
16) Pumpkin Spice Latte
17) Blue sky's, that are somehow different in September and October
18) Playoff Baseball
19) Taking a Blanket with you wherever you go for the evening.
20) Ryan Adams (Maybe not a fall thing for you, but for some of us it is)
21) Counting Crows too
22) And Dispatch
23) Running as far as it takes to clear your head
24) My yearly dive into a CS Lewis book
25) Grilling out
26) Fall Golf
27) Does anyone else miss being excited for School to start?
28) And being able to get a new pair of shoes for the first day of school?
29) Ohio State Football Roadtrips
30) That every city is a little softer in the Fall
31) (More to Come...)

A little review.

2007-09-08T12:18:00.000-04:00

This semester I am taking "the History and Theology of the Reformed Tradition" I'm doing my reading for day two of class and thought I would post a couple of interesting definitions of what the reformed tradition is and its impact on history.

This is for all of you who are sick of or confused with the 5 solas of dort and TULIP.

"The Reformation was above all a positive proclamation of the Christian gospel. It never depended negatively upon its opposition, for it was first of all a protest in the sense of making a solemn declaration."

"The protestant reformers thought of themselves as engaged in the reformation of the people of God according to God's Word... According to the popular rhetoric of the market place, when a Lutheran was asked where his church was before Luther, he replied with the question, where was your face before you washed it?"

"At least nine identifiable motifs have significantly shaped the Reformed style of being a Christian:
The Majesty and Praise of God
The Polemic Against Idolatry
The Working Out of the Divine Purposes in History
Ethics and a Life of Holiness
The Life of the Mind as the Service of God
Preaching
The Organized Church and Pastoral Care
The Disciplined Life
Simplicity (or as Calvin puts it, lucid brevity)."

This is, in conjunction with TULIP and the solas (and most importantly the Word of God), really what reformed theology is all about. The ultimate mission of joining God in Him getting His Glory. The reformation is about these nine things as well as representing a million other of God's truths, not just some militant view of the predestination of God. So if you haven't given it a lot of thought, or have been turned off to it in the past; read a book, talk to someone who's passionate about it, or just pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Above all, thirst for a true and deeper knowledge of God. Beat importunately upon the Word, as Luther did, until God reveals Himself to you in a way that changes your life and your heart.

It's another quiet night

2007-09-04T23:06:00.000-04:00

Feel the ground against my back,

Count the stars against the black.

Hmmm I miss another Gadsby opportunity and quote Dave Matthews instead. Oh well. The most beautiful thing about being a Jeep owner in Southern Ohio is being able to drive in the late summer with the doors off and the top down in the middle of night and stop abnormally long at stop signs to look up at the stars.

How small am I?!?!? Every little point of light a billion billion miles away, some from stars that are presently dead, we are just to far away to know yet. And then there's the waining crescent moon. Even that is farther away than I can fathom, and yet I become accustomed to these things in my life and forget the sheer magnitude of them.

I stay far too busy in my life and the first thing I lose is my sense of awe. I know everyone has looked at the stars in their lives, its hard not to be amazed, but when was the last time it happened? When was the last time that you zoomed so far out of your life that the universe seemed to envelop you? When the vastness of East to West put you in your place?

And here's the real kicker, Why does that make us feel at ease?

Because there is something infinitely good about things unimaginably bigger than us. When is the last time that you felt, saw, and prayed to God who is big enough to surround all of your problems and distractions and give you comfort.

"But [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens." Hebrews 7:24-26.

"He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure" Psalm 147:4-5

My other thought was that many of these stars are the same stars and constellations that Luther, Calvin, Bonhoeffer, and Edwards would have looked at. It reminded me of the eternal priesthood of believers that we are a part of in Christ. We will someday feast with all those who are saved, and not only those on our latitude, but Augustine, John of Damascus, Paul, et al who didn't see the stars we look at here, but knew the light of truth that we claim.

God's vastness is an amazing and necessary truth in my life, and when it isn't, things grow appropriately out of proportion.

One more un-theological quote to end the night...

If you've never stared off into the distance, then your life is a shame. ~Counting Crows

When things just dont go to plan.

2007-08-29T21:02:00.000-04:00

So I don't really know where I'm going to go to school next semester, I don't know who will eventually ordain me, and I don't know very much Hebrew...

Pretty much every plan I thought I had to get from here to the Navy is COMPLETELY up in the air. That's unsettling. Or is it? Who am I to plan something and expect those results over God. I'm in a fairly precocious place of knowing that God's way and plan are infinitely more glorifying and beneficial than my own plans, but I'm still uncomfortable with not knowing how exactly God will have me fulfill my call.

Its like watching a movie when you still don't really know if the main character will hit the home run, or get caught, or get killed by the murderer, and yet you still know that the story has to end well or a bunch of movie producers would have never backed it.

In this case its my life though, which adds to the apprehension.

Packer has written some truth that has helped me cling to biblical truths over my own need for fulfillment and comfort: "...the same wisdom that ordered the paths which God's saints trod in Bible times orders the Christian's life today. We should not, therefore, be too taken aback when unexpected and upsetting and discouraging things happen to us now. What do they mean? Simply that God in his wisdom means to make something of us which we have not attained yet, and he is dealing with us accordingly."

If you're feeling anything like I am in your life know this... God's reality is way more real than what we think we know. Read more Old Testament, God has dealt with the saints with a wisdom that is beyond our understanding since the beginning of time. Abraham, Jacob, Job all had to deal with things that they did not understand at the time, but are the foundation of the faith because of what God wanted from them.

God has a plan, trust that above all.

"God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2Corinthians 1:4).

Gadsby Monday's

2007-08-27T19:51:00.000-04:00

893

If guilt pursue thee with its cry,
And would to prison hale;
To Jesus Christ, the Surety, fly,
And he will give in bail.

If hope, that used thy soul to cheer,
Now leaves thee dark as night,
And neither sun nor stars appear,
Yet wait for morning light.

Still look to Christ with longing eyes,
Though both begin to fail;
Still follow with thy feeble cries,
For mercy will prevail.

What if he drop no gracious smile,
Or bid thee leave his door?
Yet still knock on, and wait awhile;
He must receive the poor.

He tarries oft till men are faint,
And comes at evening late;
He hears and will relieve complaint:
'Tis ours to pray and wait.

(Habakkuk 2:3)

I even have culture in my anti-culture...

2007-08-26T21:23:00.000-04:00

JI Packer digresses:

"The Christian's instincts of trust and worship are stimulated very powerfully by knowledge of the greatness of God. But this is knowledge which Christians today largely lack: and that is one reason why our faith is so feeble and our worship so flabby. We are modern people, and modern people, though they cherish great thoughts of themselves, have as a rule small thoughts of God. When the person in the church, let alone the person in the street, uses the word God, the thought is rarely of divine majesty

... We are poles apart from our evangelical forefathers at this point, even when we confess our faith in their words. When you start reading Luther, or Edwards, or Whitefield, though your doctrine may be theirs, you soon find yourself wondering whether you have any acquaintance at all with the mighty God whom they knew so intimately."

I have had some great conversations with some great reformed men this weekend, I also have had some challenging conversations at school with people who don't know God in the same way that I do, and that the scriptures show.

Here's the difference.

The men I respect I gain fellowship with in our cry to know God in His most Glorious. We are on our knees repenting of the fact that we are so sinful, and that He is so Great. This is how fellowship was supposed to function. The idea that we would come together and rip away our own glory in haste to give it to God, and then even repenting again. ANYTHING to give God more glory.

The other people I talk to become confused. They are confused because they have never even caught a glimpse of the Glory of God, and therefore have missed the mark for what they were created for. This is so sad. To question the simple fact that I will do anything to learn the truths of scripture, and give all the glory to God is amazing to me. If were not living for that, then we are living for ourselves, and Ive learned what a disappointment that is...

Run after God. Repent every hour. And above ALL: know that he is more abundant, more glorious, and more majestic than you could ever fathom. This is what makes Him triumphant over sin and this is what makes Him most Holy. Desire to know that, ask for that knowledge. It is a joy to know.

Amen.

Gadsby Mondays

2007-08-20T15:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry I missed last week guys, that's my fault. But, you do have to admit I have been writing on this thing like a gangbuster...

80
Blessed are the sons of God,
They are bought with Jesus' blood;
They are ransomed from the grave
Life eternal they shall have.

God did love them in his Son
Long before the world began;
They the seal of this receive,
When in Jesus they believe.

They are justified by grace;
They enjoy a solid peace;
All their sins are washed away;
They shall stand in God's great day!

They produce the fruits of grace,
Clothed in Jesus' righteousness;
Born of God, they hate all sin;
God's pure seed remains within!

They have fellowship with God,
Through the Mediator's blood;
One with God, through Jesus one,
Glory is in them begun!

Thought they suffer much on earth,
Strangers to the worldling's mirth,
Yet they have an inward joy.
Pleasures which can never cloy.

(Romans 3:24)

2007-08-16T19:03:00.000-04:00

First of all, Hebrew quizzes make me forget everything. Which is kindof a bummer. But thats ok, we will move on.

The great news of today is that once I make the move fully to the PCA I don't have to take a Hebrew exam for my ordination! It makes me want to do a little dance and say a prayer in Hebrew! I love learning this and even just having the beginnings of translation it has opened a lot to me about the Hebrew texts and the Old Testament.

In other news, I am a for real officer in the Navy now and have been learning about the burden of a call and what that means in my life. Everybody has been so encouraging as far as the Navy now that I'm in. It was really a fun ceremony and everyone was so excited. It was great to know that I have a ministry that I am called to and that there is a need there that God will use me to fulfill somehow.

Its made me consider the situation that I am in now. We are to be content and thankful in all things. So Ive been praying that God would show me how He is going to use these three years between now and when I will finally be able to go full time military. Ive learned that Middletown is not my burden, the Navy is. Francis Schaffer says that "not every need is a calling" and thats something that is hard learned for all of us Young Life formers...

I AM called to serve faithfully and selflessly at the Oaks with my time there. But I have the freedom of being able to serve under Kevin and assist Him in the burden that he has been given; not me... I have had two people in my life very accurately point out that the burden there is not mine. How great is that? I feel free to not worry about the things that I have no control over and just do everything I can to be the best assistant to kevin I can be, and run the soundboard to the best of my ability, and to encourage, and to follow, but not take on something that God doesnt have for me.

Im growing more and more excited for what God is going to be doing with the Oaks, with Middletown, and with me in the coming years. But lets all take joy in what the Lord has us doing. Our identity comes not from how much or little we serve in a great church like the Oaks but rather as sons, daughters, and co-heirs in Christ. That should lead us to greatness, greatness in sweeping the carpets, or handing out service bulletins, or prayerfully offering communion. Not only that, but we can be a community that promotes unity in Christ. My prayer is that the Oaks is a big group of people who are serving in everything they do to the BEST of what God has given them. Lets flee from selfish pride of wanting to be more noticed then we are, flee from gossip, and from all the false idols that have infected so many Churches across America. God will move in Middletown and Im all about joining Him in what He's doing...

Ensign Michael Luallen

2007-08-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the big day. I finally commission as a full Naval Officer. It has been the biggest nightmare ever with paperwork, physical assessments, Secdef approval, and miles of other red tape, but I'm here.

I thought I would take the time and reflect on what Ive learned, and what it means to me to be a minister and officer in the worlds finest Navy.

1) The advocacy of Christ is largely disregarded in my own faith, and the faith of the affluent American church.
There is no other boast we have save that Christ is our advocate. To serve others and shoulder burdens for the long term, to truly lay down our lives, permanently, is something that has been lost in the church. With all my frustrations with the government I had two incredible chaplains fighting for me and representing me, and asked only that I would serve our sailors in the same way that they were serving me. I am given rank not for my own good, but that I would have the power to do good for others and represent the lowest seaman apprentice who feels as though his voice was lost. We all have that power in Christ.

2) I am called for a purpose, Gods purpose.
In all of my roadblocks to becoming an officer I learned that I was doing this not for the glory of the uniform, or the comfort of the government benefits, but rather because I was called to minister to sailors and marines. It has meant everything to know my calling and my purpose. It has given me strength and resolve at school and through work. I pray that I will remain faithful to the mission that God has put on my life and that He would finish the work that He has started in me. I feel so blessed to be called and have a purpose and it is my prayer that God reveals to all of his elect what their purpose is. If you don't know now, you will, so take heart, because we all were created to fulfill the will and ends of God.

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

3) I am a part of something larger than myself and my wants.
October 13, 1775-Navy Birthday. John Paul Jones- Father of the American Navy. November 11, 1775- Marine Corps Birthday. Chesty Puller- only Marine to receive 5 Navy Crosses. Bloodstripe- Red stripe on Marine uniforms to symbolize the blood of those who died at Chapultepec...

I could go on with information I have to know for OIS. But needless to say I'm serving something that is beyond myself, my nation, or my era. When I put on the Navy Uniform I represent something bigger than myself. More importantly, when I put that cross on my collar I represent the most important thing of all. The redemptive work of God in the world. I am a part of a priesthood of believers across time. God has ordained me (and all believers) to go and preach His word and has promised that He will be with us always in that mission. This isn't about me, so I will go where God wants me to go.

4) Spiritual warfare is real, and is happening now, all over the world.
Sailors, Marines, chaplains, doctors, and civilians all over the world are being confronted with sin that we are isolated from on a daily basis. Sin that isn't personal, but is a result of a fallen world. They cry out and struggle with things unimaginable to me and most of us here in the states. I fear being there, I fear seeing kids being hurt, I fear having to pray for a fallen Marine and not knowing who he was or anything about him, and I fear the truth that I dont understand on this side of the cross that I must give to his buddies. God must be bigger than we can imagine because Ive heard the stories of unimaginable and unexplainable sin. As much as I fear those things, it is that fear that makes me run to God, which I wish I did more anyway.

God MUST be bigger than we can fathom. Because he deals with this sin. He is redeeming His creation. And His Kingdom WILL come and will be on earth as it is in heaven.

Praise God.

Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

2007-08-10T23:05:00.000-04:00

Life is good. Ive been so blessed in a million ways, and several big ones recently. I study, I read, I pray, but something still wasn't totally right for me. I was missing something in the equation, God wasn't as big as He should be...

Enter C H Spurgeon.

"But to finish this delineation of a presumptuous man- Pride is the most pregnant cause of presumption. In all its various shapes it is the fountain of carnal security."

Carnal security. That is exactly what I was overlooking. Why is it that the moment things are going good, the need to take control kicks in and we fall? In a single word, pride. Spurgeon highlights three specific types of pride: pride of talent, pride of grace, and pride of privileges.

What is it that would ever make us believe that we deserve, earned, or are owed the things that we have in our life? Even the knowledge of Grace and God are given to us through the mercy and wisdom of God through His son. Oh that we would boast in Christ alone! How differently would we look if instead of pride in our very DNA we learned to give God his glory in all things.

We are secured in Christ alone. Through no other fount are we restored. I pray that God would just remove this pride that is so deeply ingrained in me, but that it is here is to His Glory as well. Be on guard, hold each other accountable from this corruptible sin. Our church is not ours, our salvation is for God, and our blessings are gifts.

To even think that my studying, reading, and praying would buy me justification in the eyes of God is the most egregious display of pride I could have. We must preach the Gospel to one another constantly and be on guard for the sin that can cause us to fall.

I pray that we would rejoice in the fact that God has removed this sin from the church. That He is more powerful than even my own deceitful heart. And that all the Glory is His.

In case you wondered what the Navy was up to.

2007-08-09T01:04:00.000-04:00

United States Naval Divers from Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 preparing to enter the water at the site of the Bridge collapse at I-35.

These highly trained divers are experts at high current, confined space diving. They have been called in to remove wreckage for investigation, cars, and the bodies of those deceased in the collapse.

This is Americas finest. Pray for them and all of our Sailors, Marines, and Soldiers around the world.

That they would know that their sacrifice for our nation pales in comparison to the one who has sacrificed for them.

That they would find peace, courage, comfort, and constancy in the advocacy of Christ.

That they would fight first for the Kingdom of God around the world, secondly for their families, and then for our flag.

That they would be granted protection from stray bullets, IEDs, and other unknown hazards.

That those who have fallen would have sacrificed for a real advancement of peace in the warring regions of the world.

For hope, in a joy in Christ, one that no sorrow can shake, and no other happiness can compete with.

Gadsby Mondays

2007-08-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

76
There is a period known to God
When all his sheep, redeemed by blood,
Shall leave the hateful ways of sin,
Turn to the fold, and enter in.

At peace with hell, with God at war,
In sin's dark maze they wander far,
Indulge their lust, and still go on
As far from God as sheep can run.

But see how heaven's indulgent care
Attends their wanderings here and there;
Still hard at heel where'er they stray,
With pricking throrns to hedge their way.

When wisdom calls, they stop their ear,
And headlong urge the mad career;
Judgements nor mercies ne'er can sway
Their roving feet to wisdom's way.

Glory to God, they ne'er shall rove
Beyond the limits of his love;
Fenced with Jehovah's shalls and wills,
Firm as the everlasting hills.

The appointed time rolls on apace,
Not to propose but call by Grace;
To change the heart, renew the will,
And turn the feet to Zion's hill.

(Psalm 102:13, 110:3, Ezekial 34:11-16)

What a final verse... How great the power of God, that he would have dominion over sin, death, and my heart is the greatest blessing of all. How amazing and aweful is the effectual call of God!

The Assumed Miracles

2007-08-03T20:49:00.000-04:00

I was reading "On the Incarnation" by Athanasius and he really brings it home concerning the need for the cross, why the cross was perfect, and why God had to come to earth in the first place (in bodily form, God is always over his creation).

I was struck with the awesome fact that GOD, our God and creator... became a man!?!?! How awesome and great is that miracle alone??? GOD became a MAN! That shouldnt happen! Why would God do that?

THAT is what love is.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8

Ive definately been taking it for granted what a miracle that is, and how great our God is. BUT, it gets better... GOD, that same God we were talking about before, not only became incarnate...

...He died.

Wrap your head around that.

August is for Augustine

2007-08-01T12:30:00.001-04:00

Well actually that's not true, August is for Augustus Caesar... but this will work for my purposes. I am currently reading the Confessions and have been thinking a lot recently about what it will be like to be before the King with nothing but the truth of our sin and the imputed righteousness of Christ before us. How scary and awesome is the love of Christ!!!

Augustine has a great prayer to God concerning the reality of our sin:
"The house of my soul is too small for you to enter: make it more spacious by your coming. It lies in ruins: rebuild it. Some things are to be found there which will offend your gaze; I confess this to be so and know it will. But who will clean my house? To whom but yourself can I cry, cleanse me of my hidden sins, O Lord, and for those incurred through others pardon your servant?"

The reality of our sin is such that we can do nothing apart from Christ which will please the Father or bring him the Glory that we were made to give to Him. I must admit this scares me immensely. I know the hatred that God has for sin and for the sin in my life.

In 2 Samuel 6 you can see this in the death of Uzzah. All he did was try and right the falling ark of the covenant. But it is the very audacity that we might approach the holiness of God on our own that results in the wages of sin, death...

Oh how great is the advocacy of Christ! That we could go before the Father and be able to point to Christ for our righteousness! That Christ died for you (and me) and all we need is Faith in God. This is love... that God would give His only son.

Repent! for the kingdom of God is at hand. Christ has come and He lives today. He reigns and there will come a time when he will come again. When we are before the Father we will know our sin in full, but we will know that it was all placed on the cross. Enter into that knowledge now! Because if we are really here to give God His glory, lets do it as His righteous people. As co-heirs with Christ.

Its hard to love Baseball AND the Reds...

2007-07-31T23:42:00.000-04:00

Here is the situation Reds fans.

Lose 3 of 4 to the Marlins.
Win 3 of 4 to the first place Brew Crew.
Blow the rubber match 0-6 against sweet Lou's Cubbies.

We have an interim manager who replaced a fully capable Jerry Narron.

And now the trade deadline has come and gone with our only deals being minor league mix-ups and worthless changes to our middle relief (remind anyone of a certain trade with one Sean Casey?).

OK, now that we're all caught up (knowing that some of you may very well have lost interest in this season) Lets talk about what we have, and what the league had for us.

Eric Gagne to the Sox for two outfielders and a left hander... First of all doesn't Eric hold some sort of record for consecutive saves? oh yeah, best of all time... wait a minute, WE need a closer. And we could have given up two outfielders (Dunn and Griffey) and we DID give up a very dialed in Pitcher in Lohse.

We could have had Scott Linebrink (a very experienced Right handed reliever) from the Padres for yet again Kyle Lohse and two minor leaguers. But instead of getting Scott Linebrink for the same trade we get Minor League Matt Maloney? Anybody know what HIS ERA is? nope? Didn't think so...

Scott Proctor of the Yankees. Heres a little nugget, led the league with 83 appearances last year... that would probably be helpful with a struggling bullpen. all we needed to give up was a 3rd baseman. WE have one of those! and he's lazy and slumping at the plate... we also have people to replace Edwin if he were to go! But wait. why would the reds pick up a pitcher we can USE?!?! that wouldn't make sense...

Can YOU pitch relief? We could use you....

Gadsby Mondays

2007-07-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

Ive decided that we all need a little 1800's in our lives so Mondays will be dedicated to one of Gadsby's Hymns in order to enlighten your mind with the truths of God.

Why, you may ask? Ill let William Gadsby himself answer that:

"To be employed with solemn pleasure in singing the praises of God with the spirit and with the understanding also, is a blessing peculiar to God's elect... It is one thing to have the ear charmed, and another to have the heart engaged in this most delightful part of God's worship in his church below. 'Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound.'"

569
The Father, in eternal love,
His heart upon Zion did set;
Her name he enrolled above;
Nor will he fair Zion forget,
He chose her in Jesus his Son,
And gave her to him for a wife;
Who freely accepted the same,
Though knowing she'd cost him his life.

He saw her polluted with sin,
Enveloped in debt and distress;
Determined her heart he would win,
Engaged to save her by grace,
He took all her debts and her woes,
And for her was surely made sin;
He fought and he conquered her foes,
And with him she shall live and reign.

(Ephesians 5:25-27, Jeremiah 31:3)

Repent, because a functional savior wont save...

2007-07-29T19:24:00.000-04:00

I was in our membership class today and lopes gave a quote that really got me thinking...

"You will always give money effortlessly to that which is your god." -Tim Keller

I realized that I really want people to like me. I spend money truly effortlessly on other people all the time and I think that this is because of a couple of different factors: my gifts, my insecurities, and my view of God. Let me explain.

I think that all of us will see God a little differently because of how we are wired. Some of us will struggle with things more than others, some of us are more gifted at some things than others are, and all of this leads to what we naturally run to God for, and where we will most abhorrently sin.

For myself I know that God has gifted me with discernment and knowledge so that I can help others best glorify Him (probably why I'm called to the Chaplaincy). Now this is all well and good until I realized that with those same gifts I end up secretly (often without knowing it myself) wanting to be my own version of Dr. Phil, glorifying myself with the knowledge and humor and patience that God has so graciously given to me. My gifts I keep as my own. So I run to God as my own savior, advocate, and redeemer; but, then dont trust that HE is moving in others lives through me for His glory, not by me for mine.

I think that our sins and our gifts are strangely connected. We need to watch how we are using the gifts that God gives us and constantly giving the glory to God. I truly believe that the more we pray for God to reveal Himself to us, and the truths of our own hearts to us, it will lead us to more authentic repentance and a true stronghold of the Kingdom in our own lives and within the communities around us. It is analyzing our strengths, weaknesses and view of God within the biblical context of the gospel that will allow the truth of the cross and the Glory of Christ to come most abundantly into the world.

This is the essence of repentance and Gospel renewal. That Christ would be glorified.

The Obligatory First Post

2007-07-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

So I figured after all the talk around the fire with the boys Id throw my own two cents into the discussion. It is a litte strange for me to have a forum where I can say (resposibly of course) anything I want, when for so many years I have been training my thoughts and my speech to be selective and seasoned with salt. I had to do some serious reflection as to why I even would want to start posting online: Are my thoughts even that important? Do they need to be? Who am I trying to impress? What is is exactly that I am trying to prove?

Well I dont really know if I have the answer to that, but I have done some serious reflection on Gods intent for our words and how we discuss the finer and more important things in life. And while I could probably write a lengthy book on ideas such as the Spirits revelation, the purpose of theology, our resposibility for our brothers and sisters with the dialogue we have, I think for now Ill just stick to wisdom.

Job 13:5 has been a worthwhile verse for my life: "Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom" also James 1:19: "Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear."

So often do I speak when not knowing all the information, act out of emotion, and rush in the panic of losing sight of God. I forget that God IS working all things to His good; whether I choose to join Him in that or not at the moment, I often lose the wisdom that only God can afford. The wisdom that bears the fruit of Love, Patience, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Ultimately I know that the fewer my words, the more room God has to be great. So my prayer for this blog would be that my wisdom would increase in that the discussion could occur, but that it would be seasoned with salt. That the Lord would use this to further His kingdom and Grow me in spiritual maturity.

So hold me to it.