Friday, February 29, 2008

In Christ Alone

This is an amazing worship song with Christ-centered and Gospel-saturated lyrics! I had never heard this song before attending our church. It has quickly become one of my favorite worship songs.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

God is the Gospel!


God is the Gospel! This is a devastatingly powerful title.

Recently while at the Desiring God conference, Piper made the statement (paraphrase) that he thinks that the most important book that he has written is “God is the Gospel.” I’ve been pondering this statement as of late because Piper has written several tremendously important books (including the foremost in my opinion: Desiring God, The Pleasures of God, and Future Grace). Considering the significance of the books which Piper has written I find this recent statement of his to be very weighty.

The thesis of God is the Gospel is this: God is the highest, best, good which makes the “good news” so good. Christianity has often made lesser things, glorious though they may be, to be the highest good which makes the “good news” so good; things like heaven, no more pain, reunion with departed family members, sanctification, justification, and glorification. These things are glorious and are not to be minimized, but they are not to be desired, longed for, or appreciated and adored more than God Himself. God is the good news! The good news is good news because God is! And that we may be able to know Him and enjoy Him now and for eternity is breathtakingly magnificent - because God is breathtakingly magnificent.

The title of the introduction to this book is: What the world needs most - the gospel’s greatest gift, God.

Words can not do justice to the gratefulness which fills my heart and no doubt countless more for the goodness of God, who gives to His church gifts like John Piper, in order that we may see more clearly the glories and majesties of our infinitely desirable God!

God is the most valuable being in existence. I simply would not have seen this to the extent that I have, without the ministry of such people who have written extraordinarily helpful books and preached messages and lived lives which display the infinite worth of our glorious God.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Monday, February 25, 2008

Afraid? Of what?

Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace?
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid?—of that?

Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour’s face?
To hear His welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid?—of that?

Afraid? Of what?
A flash—a crash—a pierced heart;
Darkness—light—O heaven’s art!
A wound of his counterpart!
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To do by death what life could not—
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid? Of that?


-Betty Stam, missionary martyred for her faith

Friday, February 22, 2008

Ears & Hearing

Mat 11:15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:9 He who has ears, let him hear."
Mat 13:43b He who has ears, let him hear.
Mar 4:9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Mar 4:23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
Mar 7:16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
Luk 8:8b "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Luk 14:35b He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


Jesus, the Creator of language, did not likely use lightly the phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Nor was it likely because He had nothing better to say, nor because it was merely some pet phrase. Rather, it appears He was verbally illustrating a point; hear if God has given you the grace to be able to. Not all can hear who simply have ears that work. A profoundly sobering point. When one shares the gospel, that one is not the one who gives ears to hear the words of life - only God does that.

Saddened, frustrated, and helpless are the feelings that come when one tries to share God’s powerful truth with those who cannot hear. Today was another opportunity for me to experience such helplessness and again another powerful reminder of the necessity of intercessory prayer, that God may do the work that He alone can do.

Jesus when sharing his life giving words was speaking directly to those whom, according to His sovereign grace, He had enabled to hear spiritually. It seems that He was even demonstrating the fact that He was doing so by this repeated phrase.


Rom 11:8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day."

Luk 8:10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

Mat 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Mat 13:14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. Mat 13:15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.


Our Father in heaven, may you grant ears that hear. Might you reach down from heaven and touch many ears that many may truly hear the glories of the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Jennifer Knapp

Chances are, if you have listened to Christian radio for a while, you may have heard some music by Jennifer Knapp. She is a great musician/song writer. Check out some of her albums:

Click on the album covers to link to Amazon and listen to a few of her songs (scroll down towards the bottom of the Amazon page).






Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Leading horses to water who simply are not thirsty...

Water is good for horses. Scripture is good for people. Giving Bibles to those who are not thirsty has been, at least in my experience as of late, frustrating. A relative who stows the life changing Word upon a neglected shelf and a co-worker who quickly hands the all-time-best-seller back to the giver. These are recent frustrations of mine. More opportunity, I suppose, to rely on God who alone makes people thirsty for the Living Waters.

During recent discussions with a friend about outreach I was reminded of the necessity of prayer. My thoughts turn to these verses: “My strength is made perfect in weakness” & “Unless the Lord builds the house the laborers labor in vain.”

And yet though farmers do not make seeds grow, they do sow them. It is God who alone makes dead things come alive. And yet He involves us greatly via the great commission. He sends us to go and share the good news as a farmers scattering seed upon a field. It is only God who gives the growth and then the harvest.

Reminders to pray and seek God’s blessing upon the seed that is sown... Otherwise we may come to rely upon ourselves, something overwhelmingly too easy for us to do.


The farmer knows something that the horse does not. The farmer is aware of the long journey ahead and the times and places without much water for the traveling horse. The farmer leads an ignorant horse to the streams of thirst-quenching water, yet the horse refuses to drink. You will be enabled to better endure the hard road ahead the farmer tells his horse as he tries to encourage him to drink. The horse knows not what the farmer is saying… and the horse has not yet learned to trust the farmer. The horse may learn eventually, but the lessons may be difficult and painful.

How horse-like we are…

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Lion & Lamb

Power incarnate & meekness
Divinity with chosen weakness
All is shrouded in mystery
This is the One who has purposed all history

Lamb soft and white as snow
Mildness with gentleness
And grace none may completely know
Never feeble yet clothed in lowliness

Lion-like in majesty
Entirely powerful with complete authority
All will tremble before this One
And bow at the feet of Him whom salvation has done

We remain with unspeakable adoration and awe
As children who adore lambs newly born
Yet we resound with trembling and fear
To see the Lamb who lives though was torn
Shock and awe grip all who draw near
At His feet all will do naught but fall
A mixture of speechlessness and delight
None enter His eternal dwelling but by His call
All are breath-taken and more than overwhelmed in His light

King of beasts and
From the humblest of places in the east
That infinite combination
Of Majesty and humility
All power for creation and
Devastating love for those born of His creativity

Minds quickly overwhelmed
To behold such traits combined
To lay aside the helm
And all that is refined
To be born in a manger
First breaths taken among beasts
And to come as a stranger
To gather strangers to eternal feasts

Golden mane adorning powerful frame
Prince above princes and King above kings
And standing as the Lamb that was slain
The One who came not to be served, but to ransom all things

He is the Lion and the Lamb
He is the great and eternal “I AM”


- A. B. Seal

Monday, February 18, 2008

Don't Waste Your Life!

The below article is particularly pertinent to me today. I've been considering, and praying about, getting involved in jail ministry for several months now. I am ever more urgently moved to get out of the boat. People are dieing. People are lost. People are wasting time pursuing empty pleasures when the greatest Treasure in existance is completely ignored. There are times for teaching, and we will to some extent always be learning, but obedience requires action not merely learning. Obedience requires going... The call, or the push to go is almost tangible. "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel..."

The below article is from: http://www.dontwasteyourlife.com/Blog/#911


Saved Just in Time
November 13, 2007 By: Dan Brendsel

We recently received a testimony from a friend of DG who ministers to women at an Ohio county jail. She told us about her relationship with Julie.

When Julie began attending a weekly Bible study at the jail, she was a quiet, stony woman filled with anger, distrust, and doubt that the Bible study or the people ministering at it had anything to offer her. Our friend gave Julie a copy of Don't Waste Your Life and continually welcomed her to the study. Over the course of a few weeks, Julie, by God's gracious and gentle hand, began to soften. She began interacting more in the study, she encouraged her cell-mate to attend, she read Scripture and asked questions. Three weeks after their initial contact, Julie spoke in private with our friend.

"I don't know if I can get this out," tears now rolling down her face. "I walked with God 30 years ago..." Long pause. "This book was for me! You came here for me! I have lived my entire life in sin. Anger and bitterness is all that I have known. I just wanted to thank you for coming here."
Julie was released from prison two days later, saying she was going home, had surrendered her life to Jesus, and was planning with her husband to attend church. Our friend learned that ten days later Julie, at age 44, passed away unexpectedly. She died one month to the day from first receiving love from one of God's servants and hearing the call to an unwasted life. She placed her faith in Jesus, treasuring him above everything else and submitting to him as the Lord of her life, and has now entered into eternal and infinite joy in God's presence.

A Great Question

Today while reading to my daughter, from the Jesus Storybook Bible, she was prompted by the story of the fall to ask a great question. "Daddy, why did they listen to the snake instead of to God?" Christian daddies live for such moments. This prompted a brief but excellent conversation about sin and our hearts that can only be truly & completely satisfied in God.

We've been reading at least one story a day from this book. Honestly it is one of the highlights of my day to have time set aside for Christ-centered interaction with my daughter with the aid of this wonderful book. This is a must for Christian parents and for those hoping to be parents.

It occurred to me that because of the Scripture-saturated and Christ-centered nature of this book that it would be a great outreach tool as well. It is something I would definitely give to non-Christian friends who have or are having children in the hopes that they may be exposed to the life changing Gospel.

I also noticed today for the first time (I know... I'm kinda slow) that the author of the book is Sally Lloyd-Jones. I'm curious to discover the relation to another Christ-centered Lloyd-Jones.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

A Son's Love For His Father

When once I played at my daddy’s knee
And his dear voice I did obey
When once we laughed and smiled with glee
And I would hear him say

My son I love you without condition
No matter what you do
I may not approve of your foolish ambitions
But I will always love you

When sons enjoy their dad’s embrace
And love with him to play
They’re always glad just to see dad’s face
And delight with him near to stay

When sons are raised by fathers who care
They’ll catch their daddy’s heart
Singing dad’s songs and breathing his air
From under dad’s wings they’ll only sadly part

A son’s love for his dad
Will cause him so to strive
To please and not to make him mad
And toward his dad’s target to drive

It is just so with the Son of God
The glorious Son of Man
Who walked obediently upon this sod
To heal our dieing land

This great One with His eyes of fire
In the garden did lay down His will
To please His Dad was His one desire
So He walked upon that Calvary hill

This great One with His hands outstretched
Did demonstrate His Father’s love
Grace and reconciliation He fetched
As He bore God’s wrath from above

His love for His Dad was so intense
That He would lovingly go to the cross
The punishment for our sins He did sense
And purchased our freedom at an infinite cost

Thank you God for giving us dads
And for sharing of Your great wealth
We are forever grateful You had
Not kept Your Son only to Yourself

Friday, February 15, 2008

A Father's Love

A father’s love for his child
None can ever compare
It is fierce and never ever mild
And as precious as the air

When I consider that great love
Of our glorious Father in Heaven
To send His only Son from above
To take away our leaven

Tis a wonder my heart cannot contain
And is the greatest news ever told
That from the cross Himself He did not restrain
So that we may be brought into His fold

My love for mine own beloved child
Simply pales when to His compared
That He would give His Son, for us to be reconciled
Is quite simply more than I can bear

A greater love will never be known
Than the Father who gave the Son He adored
I cannot fathom giving this child of my own
So that another might be restored…

Yet that is what my God has done
His love is seen most clearly in Christ
That those once lost might now be won
And purchased by the Treasure of infinite price

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Sovereignty over Suffering & Saving

One of the blessings of my job is a repeating array of examples of the sovereignty of God in relation to suffering. I have often told others who question me about my job that I have an overwhelming sense that when it is my time to go I will go, and when it is not nothing on this world can cause my appointment with death to be rescheduled.

Here are a few brief incidents at work which have caused me (and others) to ponder on God’s sovereignty.

Last night during the night shift I worked with a trooper who 8 years ago was struck by a semi truck during an ugly outburst of Michigan’s winter weather. I had heard the short version of the story and as such knew that this trooper had been hit by a semi truck while standing outside of his patrol car. Last night I asked this trooper whom I have worked with on numerous occasions to tell me the details of what happened on that day. This is what he told me.

While working the day shift on some rather snowy and icy road conditions this trooper responded to an accident on I94 near the 21 mile marker. He had arrived on the scene of a semi vs. car accident with minor damage. The trooper parked his car behind the semi truck on the should of E/B I94 to warn on-coming traffic. As the trooper was standing with the driver of the car only a few feet in front of the semi truck he heard that dreaded sliding noise that a semi truck makes when it loses control on icy roads. He said he knew then that he was dead. Just then the out of control E/B semi truck side-swiped the troopers patrol car and then struck the rear of the semi truck parked on the shoulder. The parked semi truck lunged forward as a result of being struck by the other semi truck. While standing barely a few feet in front of the parked semi truck this trooper had no time to even move before he was struck by the parked semi truck, launching him through the air. The trooper described a sensation of time moving very slowly as he hurled through the air and towards the ground. He remembered his flight quite well.

The next thing he remembered was waking up laying in the snowy ditch. Amazingly he was able to stand up and stumble around as he called dispatch to request assistance. Other troopers who arrived on scene tell stories of cleaning the dirt and weeds out from being imbedded in this troopers uniform. He was still very dazed and disoriented. After a few days off of work it became apparent that he was not going to be physically able to work again for quite a while. The unusual and varied array of symptoms that come with a spinal cord injury plagued him for over a year. 15 months after the trooper was struck by the semi truck he was able to return to work. Again that was 8 years ago, and miraculously this trooper is still patrolling the streets of the Bridgman post area.

Another miracle incident occurred within the past few months. This time it was a Niles trooper who was on the receiving end of a miracle. Officers had responded to the scene of a 911 call for help. Officers checked the interior of the residence and did not locate anybody. One of the troopers from Niles then began to check the exterior of the residence. During hours of darkness the trooper searched the area with his flashlight. His light landed on a man with a shotgun standing only 5-10 feet away from him. This subject leveled the shotgun at the trooper and pulled the trigger… Click. The gun did not fire and the trooper had milliseconds to make his decision and move. The trooper ran. The suspect re-entered his residence and after a lengthy standoff was talked into coming out of the house and surrendering. A subsequent inspection of the shotgun revealed that there was in fact a live round in the chamber, and that the firing pin did in fact strike the primer. (Amazingly enough this is not the first time I’ve heard such a testimony of misfiring rounds resulting in saved lives).

I know these guys. I know these stories are real. I can’t help but see the similarities between semi-trucks that hit pedestrian officers and a den full of lions who don’t eat a helpless Daniel. Or between shotgun shells that don’t fire and flames that don’t burn the flesh of 3 Hebrews in Nebuchadnezzar’s firey furnace.

As an officer I have seen the other side of incidents which result not in the saving of lives but in the taking of them. Several examples come to mind. One which echoes of the sovereign timing of God who calls His children home when and for His reasons is an accident that I responded to on the freeway a year and a half ago. It was a bright sunny afternoon and traffic was thick on the freeway. The 911 call came out. A semi truck had crossed the median and hit an oncoming vehicle. The W/B semi truck hit an E/B mini van. The collision had a laser precision. The angle was such that the driver side door was pealed off and the driver was untouched. The 7 year old daughter in the rear seat was literally there one second and gone the next as her seat took the impact of the front corner of the semi truck. Her sister was seated next to her on the passenger side and remained untouched. 3 out of the 4 occupants walked away from the accident. And the little one who did not, suffered not, and likely never even had any idea what was going to happen. The grace of this incident is highlighted by the fact that the semi truck which crossed the median on that heavily trafficked day hit only 1 car and not 10, or a bus. And sovereignly it was time for one little girl to leave this planet and not 50. Holding mom’s hand and telling her and dad that their little girl was dead removes with certainty any imaginations that our lives can exist apart from suffering.

Many other examples of tragedy permeate my mind, but underneath it all is a confidence that God is in control. He knows what He is doing, He has reasons, and He is good.

The interesting thing is that though I’ve been privy to see such evidences of His sovereignty, I find myself attempting to maneuver and make decisions as if I had any say in such divine decisions. That anxiety remains in me, or in anyone who truly believes that God is sovereign and good, is a quandary to me.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Fountain or cisterns

Temptations are merely lies we believe
Those inviting pleasures that do deceive
And promise fulfilling happiness and gain
But in the end deliver emptiness and pain
How sad that we such things would choose
And by so doing greater pleasures lose
Ours is great foolishness for doing so
We chase these broken cisterns though we know
They’re only little thimble-fulls of pleasure
Though our hearts can contain that which can never be measured

These sins are our attempted band-aids upon the gaping wound
Of our hearts deepest of desires and would we still presume
That in the end it’ll be alright
If only we do as we wish tonight
Our foolish hopes rest on foolish acts
But seldom would we consider the facts
That our lives on slender threads are hung
And we may not know until funeral songs are sung
How devastating is this our sin
And the tragedy of the treasonous state we’re in

Oh to behold the worth of Him
That we may see by lights not dim
The glories of our God divine
The great Treasure to be forever mined
Why drink from broken cisterns here
When He is so good and forever near
Why choose rather the dross and dirt
And why with serpents would you flirt
They may promise joy and peace
Yet at end their pain will not cease

Why gain the whole world and forfeit your soul
When you could have Him, who would make you whole
Come to Jesus and behold His glory
Open His book and hear that great story
Of the God who gave His perfect Son
So that on the cross He would say it is done
The way to God He made forever clear
And He may give you ears to hear
His words of Life and His mercy dear
Which through His justice has now appeared
Choose this day whom you will serve
For He’s infinitely more than we’ll ever deserve


- A. B. Seal

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Grace Gems: That Spiritual Pipe

A friend recently e-mailed me this which he had found at Grace Gems:


That spiritual pipe (Thomas Watson, "Christ All in All")

"Christ is all in all." Colossians 3:11

All good things are transmitted and conveyed to us, through Christ. As our rich commodities, such as jewels and spices, come to us by the sea, so all heavenly blessings sail to us through the red sea of Christ's blood!

Christ is that spiritual pipe through which the golden oil of mercy empties itself into the soul!

Christ is all in all. He is a treasury and storehouse of all spiritual riches! You may go with the bee, from flower to flower—and suck a little sweetnesshere and there—but you will never have enough until you come to Christ—for He is all in all.
There is enough in Christ . . .
to scatter all our fears,
to remove all our burdens,
to supply all our needs.

"The unsearchable riches of Christ." Ephesians 3:8

There can be no defect, in that which is infinite.

Christ is the most supreme good. Put what you will in the balance with Christ—He infinitely outweighs it.

Christ is the most sufficient good. He who has Christ needs no more. He who has the ocean—needs not the cistern.

Christ is the most suitable good. In Him dwells all fullness, Colossians 1:19. Christ is whatever the soul can desire.
Christ is . . .
beauty to adorn,
gold to enrich,
balm to heal,
bread to strengthen,
wine to comfort,
salvation to crown!

Christ sweetens all our comforts. He who has Christ may say, "This mercy is given to me by the hand of my Savior! This is a love-token from Him—a pledge of glory!"

Christ sanctifies all our crosses. They shall be medicinal to the soul; they shall work sin out—and work grace in. Christ sees to it that His people lose nothing in the furnace of affliction—but their drossy impurities.

Christ is the most rare blessing. Christ is a jewel that few are enriched with. This should both raise our esteem of Him—and quicken our pursuit after Him. Many hear of Christ—but few have Him. Manyhave Christ sounded in their ears—but few who have Christ formed in their hearts.

Christ is the most choice good. God shows more love in giving us Christ—than in giving us crowns and kingdoms! God may give a man many worldly things—and hate him. God may give others a little gold and silver—but if He gives you Christ, He gives you all that ever He had!

Without Christ, nothing else is good. Without Christ, health is not good; it is fuel for lust. Without Christ, riches are not good; they are golden snares. WithoutChrist, ordinances are not good; they are as breasts without milk. Without Christ, they will damn us. Millions go to hell, loaded with ordinances.

Make Christ all, in your affections. Desire nothing but Christ. He is the aggregation of all good things. Why should the soul desire less? How can it desire more? Love nothing but Christ. Love is the choicest affection; it is the richest jewel the creature has to bestow. Oh, if Christ is all—love Him better than all! He who is all, let Him have all. Give Him your love—who desires it most, and deserves it best.

Oh, Christian, have you seen the Lord Jesus? Has this morning-star shone into your heart with its enlightening, quickening beams? Then rejoice and be exceeding glad! Shall others rejoice in the world—and will not you rejoicein Christ! How much better is He than all other things!It reflects disparagement upon Christ—when His saints are sad and drooping. Is not Christ yours? What more would you have!

Be thankful for Christ. God has done more for you in giving you Christ—than if He had made you angels, or had given you the whole world! God cannot give a greater gift than Christ—who is all in all.

Here is a breast of comfort to every believer—Christ is all. When a Christian sees a deficiency in himself, he may see an all-sufficiency in his Savior! He who has Christ, has no lack—for "Christ is all!"

In the hour of death, a believer may rejoice. When he leaves all—he is possessed of all. A godly man say, "I fear not death, because I have Christ to go to! Death will but carry me to that torrent of divine pleasure,which runs at His right hand forevermore!" I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better!"Philippians 1:23

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We have just published Watson's choice sermon, "Christ All in All".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Our featured audio sermon this week is "Internal Salvation"—an outstanding message from Arthur Pink on the nature of salvation! (26 minutes)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Compliments of Grace Gems! A treasury of ageless sovereign grace devotional writings

The Four P's

Painful yet Planned
Purposeful & Portended


When trials and tribulations come your way
Do not despair and do not dismay
When sorrows roll like ocean waves
And those in darkness would misbehave
When all the world seems to live in sin
When hopes are dashed and lost are your kin
When joy seems hard to find
And the troubles that you’ve left behind
Come back around to stir up trouble
When life is hard and pain is doubled

Go to Him in prayer
You will surely find Him there
His is the way that leads to life
And on this pathway is freedom from strife
His are the arms that would embrace
Though we would often shun His grace
His are the eyes that see all things
His is the Word that new hope brings
He is the all surpassing Treasure
That encompasses infinite pleasure
His are the hands that hold the world
And His are the plans that are unfurled

Would you turn to Him and see
And at His feet will you bend the knee
He is The Great Fountain of delight
And He alone can make all things right
Nothing else is to be worshipped
No water from any other cistern sipped
Although this life on earth is rough
His grace is always more than enough

His touch will set the captive free
His heart can give you grace to see
He is the God who became Man
He is the One with the healing hands
He is the Life, the Truth, the Way
He is the King who will return on that day
To put an end to all of sin
To heal His land and to save all His kin

- A. B. Seal

Monday, February 11, 2008

CompleteTax

We just completed our taxes with CompleteTax. This is the first time we have done our taxes on our own. It was quick, easier than expected, and much cheaper than paying somebody like H&R Block or an accountant. Total cost $45, which included having both our our state and federal taxes e-filed.

I wish I would have found out about CompleteTax sooner.

Serious Snow


Here is a look at the sporadic visibility conditions (or lack thereof). This was taken from inside my patrol car while assisting with traffic control for a few accidents. Two officers were hit yesterday prior to my shift starting. The guys are fine, their cars not so much...
A reminder of the serious need for motorists to slow down during inclimate weather.
Drive safely.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Jesus Storybook Bible

I recently purchased The Jesus Storybook Bible at the Desiring God conference. I have since been reading a story a day to my daughter. She loves it! It is very Christ-centered and the illustrations are great.

Finally a book that I feel will be a great link between my daughter and I. She is learning about God and the Scriptures and we are enjoying this daddy-daughter time.

This book came highly recommended and now I too would gladly recommend it as a wonderful resource for children.

I remember hearing Gregg Harris (father of Josh Harris & 4 other sons), while at the DG conference, he said he has two pieces of advice for parents: 1) Get a life & 2) Get your children involved in your life. Hopefully that advice will stick with me. I am finding this book a great way to get my daughter involved in my life, to get involved in her life, and to have a time together to focus upon God.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

A candidate to be excited about!


Mike Huckabee is a welcome and refreshing change to the all-too-political candidates who run for the office of President. I must admit I’ve never been very excited about many Presidential candidates until now. Huckabee is somebody who is courageous and not ashamed to take a stand on difficult issues.

If your not very familiar with Huckabee by now then I strongly recommend that you check out his website. He takes a bold Christian stand on the issues. In the past I’ve voted for the person who I thought would likely be the lesser of two evils. This year, with Huckabee as a candidate I’m actually considering ways to support a candidate more than just with a vote. It is a breath of fresh air to have a candidate who would stand against the tide of our country’s severe moral decline and dreadful drift away from God and the faith on which this country was founded.

You too can get involved.

Friday, February 8, 2008

The Journals of Jim Elliot

Trembling comes when children of God enter His Holy presence. Trembling comes with my first opening the pages of The Journals of Jim Elliot. For years I have wanted to get this book. For years I have been restrained from getting this book by my not always subconscious trepidations before the Holy God who is more than worthy of our ultimate sacrifice. I finally picked up this book at the recent Desiring God conference.

My heart is stirred in the first few pages. By grace my heart longs for more of God and I am anticipating more of Him is to be found on the pages of this book. Fear and trembling mixed with delight and awe. The very name of such saints of God inspire meditations on that old phrase; the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

As a teenager I heard my parents tell the stories of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and their friends. I was powerfully moved then. So much so that I was then cautious of reading books about them. I'm finally taking the plunge into the journals of one who lived the powerful truth of his prophetic quote; He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

With trembling I recall the testimonies of those who have read books like this, and therefore I understand that one who reads such pages will likely never be the same.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Gone for a while

I'll be gone for a while, with my dad and a few guys from our church to the Desiring God conference. I've been blessed to have had the oportunity to have gone to this conference for the last several years. This trip is always a great time of encouragement and fellowship and has become a significant highlight of my year.

These annual conferences are the ones in which John Piper gives his biographical messages. In the past he has given messages on people like: William Tyndale, Charles Spurgeon, Adoniram Judson, John Paton, Martin Lloyd-Jones, George Mueller, and more. This year Piper will give a biographical message on his father, who passed away within the last year.

If there are opportunities to attend events in your life which may aid in your pursuit of God, then by all means endeavor to take advantage of such opportunities. Granted, we cannot always live upon the mountain top, but such mountain tops exist to at times be stood upon in order that one may take in the unusually panoramic view of life and of God.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Stewardship... of everything

Jonathan Edwards, the great pastor theologian, has been very influential on many through his writings. Some say Edwards was the greatest Christian thinker America has ever produced. At a very early age (late teens through early 20s) Edwards wrote down an extensive list of life resolutions. I can't help but think that Edwards' effectiveness was in large part due to his diligence in keeping to these resolutions. Below I've listed just a few to highlight his motive and intentionality in attempting to be a good steward of his life.


5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

17. Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.


The parable of the talents (Mat 25:14-30) is essential teaching on stewardship of everything, not to mention convicting. The picture of servants entrusted with the master's valuables is given to teach principles of stewardship. I can't help but think that we will be held accountable for our stewardship of everything including our time (leisure time), our serving, our giving, our finances, and more. I have been thinking recently about my stewardship of everything. I have some battles to fight, some fat to trim of my schedule (and my belly), some priorities to rearrange. Edwards has been a great help and motivation to me and so have these scriptures listed below.

I just noticed for the first time (funny how you can read something over and over again and miss so much - maybe it's just me) the relationship between the parable of the talents and the verses immediately following: the separation of the sheep from the goats. The entire passage seems to have a unified theme of stewardship, first with the talents and then with the very lives of the "sheep.":


The parable of the talents

Mat 25:14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. Mat 25:15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Mat 25:16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. Mat 25:17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. Mat 25:18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Mat 25:19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Mat 25:20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' Mat 25:21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' Mat 25:22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' Mat 25:23 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' Mat 25:24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, Mat 25:25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' Mat 25:26 But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Mat 25:27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. Mat 25:28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. Mat 25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Mat 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The separation of the sheep from the goats
Mat 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Mat 25:32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Mat 25:33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Mat 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, Mat 25:36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Mat 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? Mat 25:38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?Mat 25:39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Mat 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Mat 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, Mat 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Mat 25:44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Mat 25:45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' Mat 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."