Archive for July, 2008
The Discipleship Void, Republished
July 25th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Christian Living, Worth Reading
A while back, I’d shared a post here regarding The Discipleship Void.
Today, I’ve republished it (slightly modified) over at sbc IMPACT. When you get a chance, check it out and share your thoughts on the issue.
The Trick to Pranking…
July 23rd, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » In the News..., Just For Fun...
… is to make sure you get the right house.
(Quote from this absolutely hiliarious news story.)
Lightning!
July 21st, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Pictures, Song of the Day
We had a few isolated thunderstorms passing through the area tonight, putting on a spectacular lightning show. I had to break out the camera and try to get a few photos.
Here’s the best of the bunch…
I couldn’t help but think of the verse and chorus from Chris Tomlin’s song, “Indescribable”:
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go?
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light?
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night.None can fathom!
Indescribable! Uncontainable!
You placed the stars in the sky, and you know them by name!
You are amazing God!
All powerful! Untameable!
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim,
You are amazing God!
Recurrant Scripture…
July 16th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » My Life
Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous (in a good way). It’s probably happened to you before (if you’ve been a follower of Christ for very long, you know God works overtime to get our attention), but I keep seeing the same Scripture passage popping up just about everywhere it seems I could be exposed to the Bible:
Matthew 11:28-30
28Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Yes, I blogged on this one at the end of June. I preached on it while presenting the devotional at the soup kitchen shortly afterward. Since then, I’ve seen it pop up in sermons I’ve heard at church and on the radio, saw it posted in our associational newsletter, used in the funeral I attended yesterday, and tonight, in the devotional we’ve been using with our kids. I’m almost certain I’ve noticed it in other places as well.
So I admit, to all of you who read this… I need peace and rest in my walk with Christ right now. I’ve prayed for it over and over, yet I honestly feel as if I’m getting nothing. Everything related to my faith continues to be a struggle, and I don’t have any real answers as to why.
Maybe one of you has the answer. Maybe I know it, but don’t realize it. Maybe God hasn’t revealed it yet, and is waiting for the appropriate time. Maybe my prayers and pleas weren’t truly from the heart, and He’s still waiting on me to run to Him.
I don’t know.
Whatever the case, I’m weary and burdened right now, and I need the peace and rest promised in these Scriptures.
Sandbox Devotions?
July 14th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Worth Reading
I don’t know about you, but I struggle quite a bit not only with doing my daily Bible devotions, but in getting real meaning from them.
And I know I’m not alone.
Check out Tim Challies’ thoughts on the subject, as he shares about shifting his devotions from “sandbox mode” to “campaign mode”. Good stuff, and it may just make a difference in your devotional life.
Geocaching Log: July 12, 2008
July 14th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Geocaching, My Life, Pictures
Saturday was spent on a geocaching outing to Maryville, where we picked up three caches in the area we hadn’t had a chance to get to yet. We were pleased to visit a new cache placed late last week… and be first to find!
Anyway, here’s a few photos. The first three are from “Abe’s Parkside Find”; the latter from “MAKE TRACKS”.
Pray for Tony…
July 10th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Short post, but urgent need. Over the weekend, an acquaintance of mine through work suddenly began experiencing serious health problems. He was hospitalized as a result, and doctors quickly found that his problems were attributable to cancer. He has been undergoing chemotherapy, as doctors try feverishly to halt the cancer quickly.
The bottom line is that, as of now, he is not doing well.
Please pray for Tony, his wife, and his two girls. These kind of things seem so senseless, but God is in control and can provide the strength and comfort needed to fight through.
UPDATE: Tony’s losing battle with cancer ended this morning, as God chose to take him home. Please pray for his wife and children, as they will definitely need comfort only God can provide.
Thoughts on Family Focused Faith, Part 2
July 9th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Church Stuff...
This is the second in a series of posts on family focused faith, where I’m taking quotes from Voddie Baucham Jr.’s book and sharing some thoughts and questions to foster needed discussion on the topic. In the process, I hope to further refine my own thoughts as I work toward developing a discipleship program centered around family.
We continue to lay groundwork today, drawing more from the first chapter of Voddie’s book, considering the idea that we live in an “anti-child culture”:
Several months ago I was teaching this [that finding the place of ministry God has crafted us for should be the passionate pursuit of our lives] at a retreat for a church tucked away securely in the Bible Belt. During the retreat I suggested that for some of those college students the application of this biblical principle might mean earning a linguistics degree and translating the Bible into the languages of unreached people groups. As I looked across the room at the approving wide eyes and nodding heads, I added, “Others of you, however, may be called to have large families and train five or six kids in righteousness so that they will in turn impact the world for Christ.” You could have cut the tension with a proverbial knife. This room of approving, eager young men and women turned into a convention of Martians hearing English spoken for the first time. The looked at me as if to say, “That was a good one. When are you going to say, ‘Just kidding’?”
I took that opportunity to make an important observation. I pointed out the obvious discomfort in the room and asked, “When did we begin to hate children?” Suddenly the attitude in the room changed. These young people were being forced to examine a cultural assumption that has been allowed to trump biblical truth for far too long in our culture.
I would imagine this quote from Voddie’s book will arouse some strong thoughts and opinions, but throughout the first chapter, he presents some difficult questions and evidences that lend support to the idea that we live in an anti-child culture… and that such culture has even began to permeate the church. Examples… how often have you heard the joke made to the prospective parent of a third or fourth child, “you have learned what causes that, haven’t you?” How often do you see children characterized as inconveniences that get in the way of life? How many of us choose the size of our families based on income or convenience?
So what do you think? Do we live in an anti-child culture? Is such a culture also prevalent in the church? What does this mean for the church? How do we begin to encourage families to reflect God’s design rather than cultural norms?
I know these are difficult questions, but I think they important ones that we need to consider.
Your thoughts?
Get Dirty…
July 8th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Quote of the Day
Interesting quote I ran across this morning…
You don’t get anything clean without getting something else dirty. (Cecil Baxter)
What a great reminder for we Christians that so like to “reach out” from our safe little sanctuaries… ministry is a messy business. If we’re going to love and serve as God intends, helping to “clean up” the lives of those who need it most… we can’t do so without getting a bit of the “dirt” so prevalent in the lives of the lost on ourselves.
It’s an equally good reminder of what Christ has done for us. Our righteousness… our cleanliness… purchased by the sacrifice of Christ… by His willingness to take all of our filthy sins upon Himself so that the just punishment for them might be given.
Anyway, you know it’s a good quote when you can get that much application from it, right?
Photos from the 4th…
July 7th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » My Life, Pictures
As you can see below, we had a great time on the 4th!
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
