his is a re-posting of an assertion I made a few weeks ago...with further external commentary. This time, from a former 'consultant to the Australian Greenhouse Office'.
ecently, while in a first-time (and likely last-time) IM exchange with a young lady (who I've never met in person) from my very own Grace Community Church, I made a comment that completely "freaked her out." Knowing that meeting an axe-murderer is the archetypal fear when encountering potential courtiers over the Internet, I jokingly described myself as such to her. (Though not in the first line or two.)
Despite privately getting a hearty guffaw out of the "clever" wording of my [stupid] joke, I soon realized I'd done a very foolish thing. (I believe the word she used is 'vile'.)
I wish I could say it was the immediate conviction of my Spirit-empowered conscience that brought this realization upon me. But, alas, it was not. It was provided, rather, by a harsh (and just) rebuke from the young lady herself. Whereas she could have simply cut me off right then and there, leaving me to foolishly think I'd scored some goofy "cool points" with my "quirky, engaging sense of humor," she instead hit me where I needed to be hit...right in the spiritual solar plexus.
I owe that lady a debt of gratitude for slapping me back to the reality of human interaction, and all the sensitive Grace it requires!
I doubt you're even reading this, "M_______," but if you are:
Though you're still prolly sore at me for carelessly touching on a topic in a way that came off as needlessly offensive, please accept my sincere thanks for showing me the Grace of a slap across my Sinful face.
or various reasons, my "reading flow" has slowed to a virtual trickle in recent months. But, despite this recent (sad) trend, I was determined to pick up and read a copy of my beloved John's most recent book: A Tale of Two Sons. Boy was I ever satisfied with that choice. This book is choc full of good readin'!
My eyes welled up with tears more than once as I eagerly consumed this brief tome. Christ's brilliant parable explained in this book evokes strong imagery that resonates of a Mercy and Grace far outweighing the sad counterfeits we often observe -- and personally demonstrate -- in our sin-sick world.
Given the current prevailing theological climate, I found particularly poignant the following words of wisdom in the appendix...
Whether the true meaning of this or that symbol is patently obvious or one that requires a little detective work, the point is still the same: Jesus' parables were all illustrative of Gospel facts. The stories were not (as some people nowadays like to suggest) creative alternatives to propositional truth statements, designed to supplant certainty...
Above all, He was not inviting His hearers to interpret the stories any way they liked and thus let each one's own personal opinions be the final arbiter of what is true for that person...
...on the question of whether each parable actually has a single divinely inspired sense and therefore a proper interpretation -- an objectively true sense -- there has never been any serious dispute among people who take the authority of Scripture seriously...
Jesus was a master story teller, but He never told a story merely for the story's sake. His parables weren't word games or do-it-yourself mysteries where each hearer was invited to provide his or her own meaning...
...one central lesson is always the most important feature of every parable and we should focus on that, rather than seeking hidden meaning in all the peripheral details of the story. When you see the key point of the parable, you have the essence of whatever truth the story aims to convey...there's no need to look for multiple layers of meaning or suppose that some deeper symbolism or different dimension of truth has been hidden in the incidental features of the tale...parables aren't allegories, full of symbols from top to bottom. They highlight one important truth -- just like the moral of a well-told story.
At one point during a recent town hall meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Obama said in response to the idea of abstinence-only education:
"Look, I got two daughters -- nine years old and six years old. I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16."
STDis to Punishment :: Punishment is to Unplanned Pregnancy ???
Do I welcome the prospect of this brotha being appointed to the presidency?
s some of you know, I'm currently building my own "from scratch" web site, one with content for a highly targeted audience...a special "niche" of folks with certain common business interests.
The tool I'm using for this is called SiteBuildIt! This software is nice! If you have even the remotest interest in creating a well-visited, profitable web site - for personal or professional use - then I urge you to keep the money you'd pay some fancy-pants web designer and get SiteBuildIt!
"But I got no web design skills," you might say. No worries there, homey! These folks really do take the technical sting out of building a fully functioning web site...one you can profit from. And they guarantee it. You'll simply have to click one of the links above or watch the following video to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
y Bible study meets in a very lovely home, perched half-way up a steep hillside overlooking the Silver Lake Reservoir of Los Angeles. Well, I'm told that about every 20 years, they drain this reservoir for maintenance.
For the first time since purchasing it, I used the panoramic function of my (semi-)trusty Kodak Easyshare to capture this significant moment in time...to share easily.
Who knows where I'll be in another twenty years? ...enjoy the breathtaking spectacularity! (Click the pic to go "full-size.")
seriously thought this was a joke, until I realized: it's not.
In case you can't read it, the text says that if you visit the church this Easter Sunday, you can get a free 'Jesus Mii' for your Nintendo Wii. (An additional character you can use in your various Wii games.)
Clicking further through the web site led me to conclude this is a Presbyterian (PCA) church that seems to play fast and loose with the reverence of corporate worship and the purity of Biblical doctrine. No surprise there.
Click the image above to see whether or not that seems as clear to you as it does to me.
...marks the day His hands were pierced. Happy Good Friday to all!!!
n much, much, much lesser news...this week marked the 1st anniversary of my current employment. I'm very thankful for the job I have and think very highly of both my immediate boss and the company-at-large. Despite working from a small satellite office (with only 2 other people), I've experienced tons of grace, generosity & a fair amount of friendly cooperation. It really is a great place to work.
Spiritually, though, it has seemed un-surprisingly like parched earth. Of course, I have wondered about whether or not there are any other Believers. My boss is agnostic and the other gent is a non-practicing Jew. From my own very limited standpoint, it's hard to sift through all the emails to ascertain who else might actually be in The Way.
Well, today, I had a somewhat gratifying email exchange with a co-worker housed in our Texas HQ. She had included a Passion-related passage of Scripture in a public email, to which I responded with an inquiry about her Faith. Following is part of her response:
Yes, I am a Christian. There are NONE in HQ, which I know of...I just try and do my best, when I move around, to find a good solid group of Christians to fellowship with, but it’s not always easy. The lack of them in the Houston office is very hard on me. VERY hard. Their perceptions of what’s “important” in life is very different from what God says is important. The people here make me sad, honestly, when you realize how unhappy most of them are, but they aren’t that interested in chatting with me about anything. Most people in the office know that I’m a Christian. What they don’t know is that most all of them are in my daily prayers.
I later quipped that she seemed unlikely to be attending Osteen's church. That set her off on a bit of a rant:
From what I’ve seen of Osteen, he’s about telling people what makes them feel good, and being non-offensive for the sake of furthering along his church (business) and popularity. My boss...says that he likes Osteen for that reason; he makes you feel good about yourself.
While it’s always nice to feel good about yourself that is NOT what Christ is about. Osteen was asked in an interview a few months ago why he chooses not to have a cross in his church building, he responded with some answer about how it could “offend” some people, and that’s not what he was about.
Do you think Christ cared about being non offensive when he picked a fight, twice, in the temple, or called the religious authorities a brood of vipers? I don’t think so. Joel is all about Joel, and anyone with half a brain that drives by his stadium church should be able to see that. His name is literally in huge lettering all over it. No mention of Christ. Just Osteen.
Yep...seems like we might have a live one, here. I guess time will tell if the true bond of Christian fellowship can grow with this fellow employee...sure hope so.
And so, I've been granted yet another (albeit far lesser) reason to rejoice over the Sovereign work of a Risen Saviour. I trust this weekend we will all contemplate the Richness of Grace Mercifully poured out upon those who Truly Love Him.
orget that old envelope system, enough with the "I keep it all in my head" excuse. If you sincerely want to be faithful to manage the funds the Lord has entrusted you with, then you do need a budget.
What exactly is a budget, you may be wondering? Well, it certainly doesn't have to be some laborious, time-intensive compilation of books and ledgers. No, a budget is merely a tool whereby all the funds under your direct stewardship are effectively monitored. This tool should also be flexible enough to enable you to forecast where you'll be 6, 12 or even 42 months from now, if you desire.
Some of my friends resist the whole notion of keeping a (written) budget by denouncing it as a needlessly cumbersome practice. They say things like: "oh, I know about how much goes in and out of my accounts," or "yeah, we have a pretty good idea of where our money goes." Sadly, many of these dear folks fit the classic "paycheck-to-paycheck" profile. It's hard enough to track funds with the necessary tools, why make it an even more precarious situation by using only your head (or the occasional loose piece of paper).
Again, as stewards of the funds with which we've been entrusted (remember, it's not our money), I truly believe it behooves us to be a bit more organized than we generally want to be. After all, would you handle your boss's money that way?
If any of this makes sense to you, then I urge you to follow the link below to the YouNeedABudget web site. I doubt you'll regret it.
lick here, and prepare to be shocked. (If you don't already know about it.)
...and, if you live in California and have kids in public school, you might want to finally consider that home school alternative. Or a good, solid Christian school.
This past Saturday was Career Day at R_________ Church and I was on the planning committee. I________ went with me. During the luncheon he pulled out the camera you bought him and charged people $1 to take their picture and show it to them. I did not have anything to do with it, in fact I wasn't in the room when he started working the room. At the end of the day he earned $8. He put it in his piggy bank and will make a deposit into his [bank] account this month.
The career day committee will use some of I________'s photos on their website.
Daddy, can I tell you something that happened yesterday?
Sure son.
Elijah and I were playing in his room, and he suddenly got angry and started crying and pushing me.
I'm sorry he chose to do that to you, son. Did you happen to do anything to cause him to want to become angry with you?
No.
Are you telling the truth?
Yes. I went into his room to get something I wanted to play with [we were playing in there earlier] and then he got angry and started crying and pushing me, forcing me out of the room. I found out he was trying to hide some toys that he didn't want me to see him playing with.
I see.
But you know what else?
What's that?
When he did that to me I really wanted to knock his block off! But then, I thought about the pain I feel on my butt when you discipline me, and so I stopped myself and just let it go.
This is especially poignant in light of the fact that some see my son as having a classic case of ADHD. In fact, just last summer a social worker expressed those very words, claiming that, based on his own observation (of less than ten minutes), my son simply didn't have the ability to focus on anything (let alone remember and follow instruction) for more than '6 seconds'. He quite confidently asserted the only effective remedy for this is pharmaceutical intervention. I believe 'drugs' was the term he used.
Consequently, he expressed grave concern over my use of corporeal discipline as a means of correction in the home, citing that his personal observation made it clear any form of physical correction was futile, given the fact that such children simply cannot substantially exercise self-control.
Drugs considered by the psychiatric community as effective at mitigating the "symptoms" of ADHD/ADD have proven detrimental to long-term health. There are even parents vigorously campaigning against their widespread use, due to having lost children to fatal side-effects after several years of sustained use.
Frankly - and far more importantly - there's little evidence better typifying the desire of finite man to trump the infinite wisdom of the Lord's commands than the response of this particular social worker (and, sadly, that of a growing number of his collegues).
Ultimately, this brief but instructive conversation with my son is raw, unsurprising proof of the astonishing superiority of Biblical wisdom over man's. Later, as my son's reasoning continues to develop, he'll better understand what I touched upon later in our talk that day...namely, that my goal for him is not simply wooden obedience to a set of rules, but rather the development of a conscience that is more tuned to the needs of others than to his own sinful cravings; and that is rightly responsive to the righteous demands of an infinitely Holy God.
So, my son whips out another thought-provoking question the other day as we're riding along in the ol' bug. He asks (and I paraphrase slightly, partly for your sake and partly due to the rather swift corruption of my internal "memory files"):
Daddy, why do people celebrate others when they die?
Loaded question? Could be. I answered by explaining how that sometimes when a person dies, people like to show their appreciation for the life that person lived and the things he accomplished. But of course that wasn't enough.
But what if the person never did anything [worth celebrating]?
(Aahh...feel the brain matter begin to stretch.) "Well, son," I say, "that's a good question, and you're right by recognizing that a lot of people don't really accomplish things that might be considered "great" by others. However, sometimes the people who knew them still want to express their thankfulness for the blessing of having known them by celebrating their lives."
At this point, of course, I'm internally exulting in the thoroughness of my answer. And, of course, my exultation typically came too soon...
But daddy, that seems like worship, and only God should be worshiped.
Huh. Needless to say I had to bring my 'A' game on that one, as I certainly want to foster a strong sense of the unique right God has to be worshiped above all things, without needlessly downplaying the appropriateness of certain human celebratory traditions. Accordingly, I did my best to explain the difference between worship and the simple honor and appreciation we express for the earthly things with which He's blessed us...like the enjoyment and wonder incited by the life of another human being.
Finally, after a bit more explanation, this seemed to satisfy him...for now. We'll see if this line of questioning ever re-surfaces. I'm sure nearly every subject unfolded for my son will need thorough "re-unfolding," once he's reached the "next level."
Well...my days in single-daddy mode are certainly never boring. And what a very great privilege (and weighty responsibility) I have to guide my young son into a sound and ever-widening understanding of all the Lord's handiwork!
UPDATE: No longer seeking a trade! ...found out I can get what I'm seeking at Best Buy, of all places. So there you have it. But thanks for considering.
Gentle Reader:
I've got $75 in gift card value from a MAJOR electronics retailer (just the first letter would give it away) which I'm willing to trade any honest, trustworthy citizen for the equivalent value from a certain MAJOR department store (signified by a Bull's Eye).
If you got what I'm lookin' for, and are open to a quick and honest trade, please let me know, ASAP. (Tryin' to make that MAJOR Holiday deadline. (c:)
Okay, ladies and gents, prepare yourself for a bit of a challenge to (your, our) conventional thinking. Not of the theological variety, though it could certainly accord with good theology (depending on your level of critical thinking). This one's about the education of our children...one subject on which I've done a fair amount of difficult reflection.
You home school moms may find this especially poignant (certainly if you're like my friend Angela, the army private-turned-eager home school mom who now teaches Latin to at least one of her four sons).
Following is a brief excerpt (followed by a link to the full article) of something written by a 30-year veteran of several public schools on the isle of Manhattan in New York.
I taught for thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan, and in some of the best, and during that time I became an expert in boredom. Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you asked the kids, as I often did, why they felt so bored, they always gave the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn't seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren't interested in learning more. And the kids were right: their teachers were every bit as bored as they were.
Boredom is the common condition of schoolteachers, and anyone who has spent time in a teachers' lounge can vouch for the low energy, the whining, the dispirited attitudes, to be found there. When asked why they feel bored, the teachers tend to blame the kids, as you might expect. Who wouldn't get bored teaching students who are rude and interested only in grades? If even that. Of course, teachers are themselves products of the same twelve-year compulsory school programs that so thoroughly bore their students, and as school personnel they are trapped inside structures even more rigid than those imposed upon the children. Who, then, is to blame?
Okay, so, I'm going to just post some words here that you may or may not agree with. I certainly don't agree with everything expressed. But, I do confess that it this moment in time, it has a certain appeal which I simply chose not to resist. Perhaps I'll take it down if I get enough protests from my more conservative Siblings. (If you feel the need to Rebuke me, be my guest...my contact info is to the right...)
This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining...about what *%@#$!*s guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on...who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny...their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style...
...for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends...
...I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed...and what I have learned from talking to friends...the only conclusion I can form is that many girls...claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me”...But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.
So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys...the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society...
(Here's the author's entire rant. WARNING! This guy's decidedly un-Saved, which means the excerpt posted here is significantly cleaner than what awaits you at the above link. Read at your own risk...)
~ 11/7/07 UPDATE: 'If it's on your heart to do so, please pray that the Lord will provide Erin with an opportunity for a job interview for a contract position and that the Children's Hunger Fund may even consider sponsoring her. Time is of the essence for Erin to get employer sponsorship and/or some work ASAP. Thank you, saints!' -Friend of Erin's, Julie Cha ~
Harder still at affordable prices!
As you can see from the images, my friend, Erin "Wooyeon" Park, is a talented artist. She's also going through some seriously hard times, financially.
So, if you feel at all inclined, please let a brotha know you might be interested in purchasing (or commissioning) any of her art. She assures me she's affordable, and doesn't price her work "pretentiously." And because of her tentative immigrant status, she's also in need of a corporate sponsor of her green card 'ASAP'.
I couldn't resist posting this "addendum" to my earlier post. It's an excerpt from another related sermon, in which the pastor further describes what a solid church looks like. I admit that at one point, I nearly cried.
The Truth is so beautiful to those who - by God's Power - love and embrace it...
Some people today think the church is a...is a place for unbelievers to come. I don’t believe that. There’s not one word in the New Testament that says a church service is to be designed for an unbeliever...not one word. That’s right. We don’t design church services for unbelievers. We don’t gather together for evangelism, we gather together for edification and worship and we scatter for evangelism. We don’t collect to preach over and over and over and over the simple gospel to figure out a way how to entertain unbelievers. That is not the purpose of the church gathering. The church gathers in order that it might corporately worship God and stimulate each other to love and good works. And it might be edified and accountable for the truth that it’s hearing and then it scatters to touch the world.
In 1 Corinthians there’s a very interesting comment the Apostle Paul says. And I think most people don’t even know it’s in there, you just kind of look past it. He’s looking at the Corinthian church which is just total chaos. He says, “Look...verse 23...if you’re whole church gets together and everybody speaks in tongues, what will happen if an unbeliever comes in?” Now isn’t that an interesting statement? He says, look...if you’re having church and everybody is speaking in tongues, what’s going to happen if an unbeliever comes in? You know what first hits me about that? The whole point of church isn’t for unbelievers. But imagine, one of them might even come...an unbeliever might come. It’s possible. I mean, it’s not as if it was the plan, right? You say, “What are you going to do if an unbeliever shows up?” Like what an odd thing, but it might happen. We don’t meet for unbelievers. If the unbeliever comes in and you’re all doing that, he’s going to say the people are out of their minds, everybody speaking in tongues. But if all are prophesying... What does that mean? That doesn’t mean some esoteric ecstatic experience, that means if you are declaring the truth of God, if they come in and someone is teaching the Word and declaring the Word, then an unbeliever is going to come in and he’s going to be convicted by the devotion of everybody to the Word of God and he’s going to be called to account by everybody, the secrets of his heart are disclosed and he falls on his face and worships God and says, “Wow, God is here.” You don’t...you don’t have to create some kind of a comfort zone for unbelievers and try to attract them to the church. But if they come and they eavesdrop on your worship, and they eavesdrop and they hear the Word being powerfully taught and there’s no power like the Word, sharper than any two-edged sword, and they see that you all submit to the Word and you’re all worshiping God, he’s going to fall on his face and say, “God is here. This is incredible.”
A few Sundays ago, some of you were there on Sunday night, I think it was before school started, a young man came into the baptistry, he was homosexual, dying of AIDS and said, “I wandered in the back of this church all alone.” And he said, “John, the first thing you did was stand up and you read the Psalm...a Psalm I never heard in my life.” And then he rattled off ten verses verbatim which he had memorized out of that Psalm. And it was about the chains being broken and the prisoners being set free and those who are on the edge of death being given new life. And he said the tears began to race down my face and I sat through that service and I watched a people who worshiped God and I heard that God was a delivering, healing, restoring, freeing God. And at the end of that service I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Three weeks ago. He said, “I not only have not had a homosexual encounter,” and they have sometimes as many as five a day, “but I have no desire for that and never had since the moment I gave my life to Christ.” We didn’t create a service for homosexuals to make homosexuals feel loved and comfortable. A homosexual eavesdropped on the power of the Word of God and the corporate worship of God’s people and he fell on his face to worship God.
All rss from this site
Print this article
Webmasters ! Get this feed on your site
