catherine’s prayers
since i’m usually at work all day, the joy usually falls on me to “do night-night” with our girls. among other things, our routine always includes prayers. here’s some of catherine’s prayers (keep in mind, she’s two).
“dear God, help me only sleep good. help me only have bad dreams. help me only have good days. help me only have a new heart. in Jesus’ only name, amen.” at this point, abigail, relieved that she no longer has to bite her lip waiting to hear “amen” so she can talk, says disgustedly, “NO, CATHERINE! HAVE ONLY GOOD DAYS!!”
“dear God, help me sleep good. help me get this baby up. help me get this baby up. help me get this baby up-” at this point, i open my eyes and find her attempting to rescue a wedged baby doll from between the bed and the nightstand. i prompt her to go ahead and close the prayer, “in Jesus’ name . . .” “amen,” she says.
“dear God, help me not touch mommy’s glasses (as she touches mommy’s glasses), help me not get mommy’s ookies (as she reaches up mommy’s nose), help me lay this baby down on this table (as she lays the baby doll down on the nightstand), help me not knock over this picture (as she removes her hand away from said baby which is now laying next to a framed picture), help me . . .” well, you get the point.
and then there’s my personal favorite, “dear God, help daddy be a good mister.”
90 miles an hour in the dark with the headlights off
this was the title of a pop Christian song a number of years ago, but it was also the true account of my first driving ticket. 90 mph in a 45 zone at night with no headlights. no real excuses -just plain stupidity! thought of that today, when listening to a john piper sermon in which he said something to the effect of, “most of you are more concerned about the blue lights in the mirror than you are the impending wrath of God.” that was me at the age of 16 -i was absolutely terrified by the policeman coming up to my window. and the next time after that, and the next time after that, and the next time after that, and -ok, you get the idea. yes, i’ve been pulled over several times and i’m not proud of any of them. i got to thinking as piper continued preaching through my headphones, “at some point, i lost the fear of the policeman in my mirror.” oh, i don’t mean i’m a hard-hearted criminal now. i mean, on the few (note the word “few”) occasions i do get pulled over these days, i don’t get that nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. the danger is, we can get that way with other things in life too, most importantly sin and God’s wrath. one of the main points of the book of Hebrews is that if you don’t pay close attention to your faith, you will drift. when you drift, you forget the absolute dreadfulness of sin and you forget the awful truth that God’s wrath rests upon the ungodly. just like i pay much closer attention to the speed limit now because the price is too high for me to pay to do otherwise, let us “pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” -Hebrews 2:1
premonition
My wife and I watched the movie Premonition the other night. Though my wife hated it, the Lord spoke to me and helped me see a couple of insights. I’ll put them in question form. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, maybe you’ll benefit from answering these questions too.
If God were to do something in your life to really get your attention, would I: a) go on about my life and give no heed? b) go absolutely insane wondering why this was happening to me? or c) try to learn what it was the Lord wanted me to learn? I have answered all three at one point or another to all kinds of bitter or shocking providences in my life. The truth is, everything in my life is designed to teach me something, whether it’s a big something or a small something. And whatever that something is, part of my assignment is to figure out how it relates to God -who he is and what he has done.
What is most important to me? The things that are most important to me in this life must be nurtured. This is true about virtually everything in life, whether friends, family, Christ, or whatever (you fill in the blank). If I want to be the biggest Cubs fan in the world, I could nurture this desire and maybe even achieve that goal (like the Fields family who just had a son and named him Wrigley). But, this nurture would be taking the place of my opportunity to nurture my faith in Christ or my relationship with my wife and daughters, etc.
What will it take to get my attention? I admit, I have been at times in my life when God had to shock me out of complacency and wake me up to reality with something drastic. Had I been in a time like this when I watched this movie, I hope the viewing would have woke me up (like when I watched the movie Phonebooth -not that I recommend it -too many F-bombs). But if I were in this character’s place, I hope I would think first to God’s purposes and not anything else (she does kind of come around to this, finally going to the priest for answers).
Am I ready to say with Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”? Like the old hymn writer says, “What’e'er my God ordains is right, here will my stand be taken.” Lord, when I walk through that valley, may I find the grace to bless your name.
Not the first spiritual lesson from Johnny Cash
I had an interesting conversation with my daughter tonight. We were in the van listening to Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and Abigail asked me if Johnny was really burned or if he was just dreaming about being burned. I thought for a moment and said, “Johnny is talking about sinning. He is saying that sinning hurts us and makes us feel bad just like being burned hurts us and makes us feel bad.” She candidly replied, “But I don’t feel bad when I sin.” It hurt her daddy’s ears to hear that, but I answered, “That’s because God has not given you a new heart yet, honey. When you have a new heart, you feel bad when you sin. That’s why we ask God to give you a new heart.”
Lord, please create in my daughters a new creation.
Jer. 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people.”
the God of October is the God of March is the God of February (written Feb. ‘07)
wow! God is good! the halls have totally been spinning round and round over the past 15 months. notice i didn’t say, spinning out of control. it is absolutely incredible that i ever have doubt that God is active in the lives of his children.
let me tell you what i mean:
oct. 05 -i lose my job as youth pastor, we can’t make it on my dinky ups salary, so we prepare to move in with my in-laws. the day before the big move, i get a supervisor offer -badabing-badaboom -we’re staying in louisville.
nov. 05 - mar. 06 -nathan and i are looking for what the Lord would have us to do. we check out pastoring in the same association or church planting -convinced that God wants us to work together in whatever we do. “ok, God, sure you provided for us in october, but can you do it in march?”
mar. 06 -we begin talking with a 1 yr. old church plant in lafayette, in. we come up as co-pastors. the God of october is the God of march.
mar. 06 – nov. 06 -we beat our heads against the wall, pouring money, prayers, and effort at a new church plant that just won’t root. we are miserable!
nov. 06 -we are relieved to decide that the church plant will be disbanded. i’ve never been so excited to be unemployed with a mortgage before. we now have until jan. 31 to get new jobs.
jan. 07 -i get a job with calvary baptist church as a part-time ministry intern. knew God would do it! nathan and i both get job offers on the same day from terminix -i take the terminix job and nathan goes for manager of auntie anne’s pretzel store in the mall, which he was also offered that day (jan 29th). surprise, God provided!
jan. 30 -i have never felt so secure in my father’s arms. what a day for elisabeth anne to be born! God just poured on the gravy!
now -i need a bigger vehicle, i’m here in lafayette killing bugs, teaching children, and waiting to see if this church plant is going to take off the ground 2-3 yrs. from now, but am i worried? nope.
the Lord gives strength to his people. the Lord blesses his people with peace. -psalm 29:11.
a reflection on 26 years of life
as i write this i am 29 years old. every year, i wonder what the big deal about aging is. here’s a poetic reflection i wrote a few years ago:
although i don’t have much silver on my head
although only 26 years have passed
although not many books i have read
and not many memories live in my past
still there are some things i’ve learned
still there is some truths discerned
many mistakes have i made while walking on this earth
several regrets in my life that make me hang my head
sad to say the problem began as early as my birth
i did not want my parents’ way but my own instead
so now i see the only way for a child to live
is to hallow that little life and glory to Christ give
regretfully this pattern continued as a growing man
i forsook my holy heritage and God’s perfect plan
but i saw the only way for a young man to live
is to hallow his precious life and glory to Christ give
now God has graced me with a wonderful life
a child, a church, my friends, my wife
i am sure -haven’t a doubt -the only way to live
is to give them all back -his precious gifts -glory to Christ give
i know not what lies ahead
although my future is certain
but when they lay my body with the dead
when i’ve passed on through the curtain
i’m sure i’ll say then, as i do now
though i am not exactly sure how
the only way for a man to live
the only goodness there is to give
is to joyfully give up all of his rights
and make his sole aim to glorify Christ
“but even the hairs of your head are all numbered” -Jesus
all things in common
you know sometimes, i get so used to the benefits of having all things in common that i forget to rejoice in the goodness of it. what do i mean? i’m referring to acts 4 where the first century Christians had all things in common and there was not a needy person among them. this is a testimony of God’s goodness to those observing Christian lives from the outside. true community. truly depending on one another. this is way better than just borrowing and lending and it was way better than socialism. i experience it almost every day:
-in friends opening up their home to me for two weeks, letting me eat their food and sleep on their couch.
-in giving my car to a friend in need.
-in receiving free fire wood from friends.
-in giving my extra washer and dryer to friends in need of them.
-in countless meals shared at no cost.
-in friends giving valuable time to listen, pray, or counsel.
-in receiving gifts of clothes and babycare items from friends who hardly know us.
i don’t think i’m making too much over nothing here. i really do think the glory of God is sometimes best seen in the little things -a cup of cold water, clothing, or comfort. thank you, Lord for great friends!
“but if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 Jn. 3:17-18
I haven’t always been interested in spiritual things
You know, I haven’t always been this interested in spiritual things. Growing up in a Baptist minister’s home, it is easy to look back at my life as a spiritual journey. The first milestone was in kindergarten. At that time, several of my friends were being baptized in church. I don’t remember all that was going through my head at the time, but I felt like I too should be baptized. I talked with my parents and answered all the right questions all the right ways, later to talk with the pastor and be baptized. Looking back, I feel that experience did reflect an understanding that “Christ died for [my] sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), but my reasons for wanting to “get saved” were ignorant and therefore not acceptable to God. My decision at that time was more likely the result of a double desire of not wanting to go to hell and wanting to go to heaven. As a child I did my best to live the life of a good Christian boy although I did not know what that meant.
From fourth to ninth grades, because of several moves, I had a difficult time fitting in with other kids my age. Although I had another significant spiritual experience in the summer of 1991, I never sought counsel from others and never acted on the inner spiritual struggles I was having. My eighth grade year, in order to be more accepted by my peers, I begin making decisions that I knew went directly against my Christian upbringing. I started a path into a downward spiral of sin that only got worse and worse for the next five years. By the time I was a senior in high school, no one would ever have guessed I was raised in a minister’s home –which was just fine with me.
The summer of 1996, after my graduation, I went on what I thought would be my last youth group trip to DiscoveryCamp in Cedarmore, KY. I made it my goal to make it through the last night’s invitation without letting God “get me.” That’s how hard-hearted I had become. But, praise God, when I left that assembly, the Lord followed me right out! The only way I can describe how I felt is that He had my heart in His hand which was getting tighter and tighter. I cried for what seemed like an hour, all the while refusing to tell my girlfriend, Monica, why I was so upset (because I had been living a double life—a Christian life around Monica, family, and church and a rebellious life around all others). He would not let go until I gave my whole life over to Him. There with my Dad and Monica (now my wife) looking on, I prayed a prayer of desperation and the Lord forgave me by His grace. From that point on, I have been a different person.
I still haven’t gotten over that incredible day; it truly changed my life. I went to camp one person and returned a totally different person. It’s true what the Bible says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Of course, I didn’t come home perfect. Some sins I still struggle with today, but many others dropped like flies that very day. God did exactly what I was afraid He would do. He changed lots of things in my life: my friends, my interests, my goals, my affections, and my destination. That’s right, my destination. Although I’ve had struggles and doubts over the past eight years, one thing is sure. Heaven is my home. I know this is true because Jesus promised in the Gospel of John that “whoever comes to [Him, He] will never cast out” (6:37) and He is preparing a place for His children and “[He] will come again and will take [us] to [Himself], that where [He is we] may also be” (14:3).
This is the truth that has changed my life, as well as countless others. Jesus came that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). And so I say with the apostle John that “whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things . . . [so that you may] believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:12-13). Do you have life? Do you believe?
The Holy Spirit and the Bible
Check out these two quotes from two great Biblical counselors.
The Holy Spirit is the Principle Agent Who sanctifies, working in the hearts of all true believers to make them more like Christ. But He does so by means of the Word. A person simply cannot change in ways that are pleasing to God apart from the Word. The Holy Spirit must have His most effective weapon (the Sword of the Spirit) if He is to so change you . . .
I’ve met an astounding number of Christians who believe they can grow in grace apart from regular and continuous time in the Word (i.e., Bible reading, study, memorization, meditation, and active listening to Bible preaching and teaching). At the risk of overstating my argument, let me state it this way: it doesn’t matter how much time you spend in prayer or fasting, in fellowship with other Christians, in ministering or in witnessing to others; if you’re not spending time in God’s Word (or to be more accurate-if God’s Word does not richly dwell in you), you are, for all intents and purposes, handcuffing the Holy Spirit. Oh, it’s not that He is unable to work if you don’t cooperate. It’s that He has not promised to work apart from the Bible. -Lou Priolo from Teach Them Diligently
That the Holy Spirit operates through the Bible is . . . confirmed in that what the Bible is said to do, the Spirit is likewise said to do. For example, each of the four functions of Scripture (listed below) is said to be performed also by the Holy Spirit (in the verses added):
1. “Teaching”: compare 1 John 2:27 (the “anointing” represents the Holy Spirit).
2. “Conviction”: compare John 16:7-11.
3. “Correction”: compare Galatians 6:1; 5:22, 23.
4. “Disciplined training in righteousness”: compare Galatians 5:16-18; Romans 6-8.
In each case, the Spirit works by means of the Bible. -Jay Adams from How People Change
andrew klavan on becoming a Christian
check out what andrew klavan said to world magazine on becoming a christian:
You know, I suspect everyone who sets sail on the sea of faith is a little bit like Christopher Columbus. There are all these people on shore saying, “Are you crazy? You’re going to fall off the edge of reality!” And instead, you discover a new world.
amen. (to see the whole article, go to http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12661)
