Marching Forth!

Last school year I had the privilege of attending a class trip to Sacramento with my oldest son, Zed.  The focus of the trip was the California Gold Rush and we visited Sutter's Mill where gold was seen lying on the surface of the ground.  I don't know if you've ever been chaperon to a group of six fourth grade boys with gold fever, but I spent a lot of my time trying to subdue their enthusiasm.  We'd be driving on a bridge over water and some would shout, "I see huge gold nuggets in the river!"  No, I'd tell them.  If there were gold nuggets the size of basketballs lying in plain sight in the stream, the Forty-Niners would never have left.  At least there would be a huge active gold mine, not a quaint little settlement living off the tourist trade.  Undeterred, these kids continued to shout about the fortunes they would walk away with after a couple of easy minutes picking up nuggets off the ground. We were taught by the camp staff how to pan for go...

" As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country ." Proverbs 25:25   I've been watching "The War," a 15-hour World War II documentary which aired on PBS some years ago.  I bought my dad the DVD box set and my mom and I have been catching a little here and there when time permits.  One thing infantrymen and soldiers of the cross have in common is the great value they place on news from loved ones.  Almost more valuable are the letters written by the soldiers and sent back home!  Periodically throughout the film, letters are read with a voice-over written by a soldier named "Babe."  Every letter was dated and treasured by the family members who received them.   Most every day I check my e-mail.  Often I'm like Ralphie in "The Christmas Story," who looks into the mailbox every day for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring only to find an empty mailbox.  But some days I open my e-mail inbox and read a message which refreshes...

While watching TV this weekend during a football game, I saw a promo for the Super Bowl halftime show that will feature "The Who."  The commercial had clips of the band performing with guitarist Pete Townshend sliding on his knees.  Then the band is shown smashing their equipment on stage:  the drums were torn apart, and the neck of the guitar was shoved into an amp speaker.  I can only describe their actions as the overall destruction of their expensive, quality equipment they just used to play songs that made them a famous household name.  Ironic, I thought.  To buy quality gear and then destroy it just doesn't make much sense, even if the fans do eat it up. Watching the band tear everything apart reminded me of other rock groups I've seen do the same.  Jimi Hendrix squirted fuel on his guitar and set it on fire, and Marilyn Manson trashed the stage using a mic stand as a club.  I don't know what drives a person to break perfectly good things...

Culture is an interesting dynamic that affects the way we see the world and interact with others.  Depending on ethnicity, family heritage, tradition, and religious beliefs, culture has an infinite amount of variables.  The same can be said about a particular fellowship, what people would commonly call "church."  All the born-again Christians in the world make up the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head.  For example, there are many Baptist churches in the United States and they all have distinct cultures which have been cultivated over the years.  One church is highly involved in foreign missions while another church participates in "Adopt-a-Block" every Saturday.  Many fellowships have a liturgical style of worship with organ and hymns only, and others have a more contemporary feel with electric guitar, bass, and drums.  Some pastors preach in robes while others wear a shirt and tie.  It is likely that whatever "church" you regularly attend, ...

Tonight we did something new as a family.  A little background:  while I was working at church, it was evident ministry has the potential to siphon away quality time that should be spent with my wife and kids.  There were times when I would be in the church building at least 6 days a week, hosting high school events and studies, meet with kids for discipleship on my off-day, and on and on the list would go.  After about six months of seeing our family time dwindle down to nothing, we decided to create "Family Night," a night we would guard for quality family time.  We might watch a movie, play board games, work a puzzle, I would read a book out loud, or bake a special treat.  It was a huge success, and it was not long before the kids were looking forward to the next Family Night.  Monday is our typical Family Night and it is not uncommon for Tuesday to also be Family Night because, as Abel sometimes claims, "Last night didn't seem like a real Family Ni...

There is a hymn which goes, " Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God hath done !"  This song gets it right.  The blessings are not the end in themselves, but the gracious outflow of a loving Father and merciful Savior.  Sometimes we look at blessings as "overtly beneficial things that make my life comfortable" because we are naturally self-centered.  Blessing can be disguised with trial, failure, and loss.  Often we do not realize how blessed we are until we lose what we have. I am a big Charger fan and yesterday the Chargers lost a playoff game in terrible fashion.  It's one thing to be whipped by solid play, but it is another thing entirely to give the game away through mistakes, penalties, sloppy play, and bad fundamentals.  Laura and I were talking about sports and how a loss by a team can affect people's attitudes and outlooks.  Movies, music, and sports among other things have the capacity...

During my reading the other day, a verse caught my attention.  At the beginning of Christ's ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After responding to each temptation with the truth of scripture, Luke 4:13 says, " Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time ."  The word "opportune" stood out to me.  The definition of this word in Hebrew is " an occasion, i.e. set or proper time, opportunity, (convenient, due) season ."  While Jesus walked the earth, He was in all points tempted and remained without sin.  But the devil did not stay away.  He would be back for another go because he is persistent as he is wicked. Ephesians 4:27 says Christians must not give place to the devil.  The word translated "place" in Greek means, " spot, location, occasion, or opportunity ."  I guarantee Jesus did not give any place to Satan, yet He was tempted by h...

When I arrived on the jobsite this morning, I was surprised to see a co-worker pull up.  I had been working by myself for a week so it was wonderful to have some help.  Over the New Year's holiday the apprentice who had been working with me (commonly called a "helper") broke his collarbone in two places and made wrapping duct for him out of the question for six weeks.  While I worked I wondered if I always rightly appreciate the help God provides through the Holy Spirit.  If having a co-worker on the job fills me with gratitude, how much more thankfulness should I cultivate in my soul for the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence within me! Our natural view of "help" is strictly selfish.  When a person is lost he screams "Help!" because he desires to find his way or be found.  When a child is caught in a rip current she might cry for help to attract attention to be rescued.  Receiving help from someone carries the idea that others are supposed to as...

I've been staying busy working these days and this week has been a blur.  Someone said that " Time flies when you're having fun ."  I've been having fun, but I've also been very busy.  I've Monday through Thursday I worked at a the New Willow Elementary school and today I worked at a new housing development at UCSD.  I will be working with a crew on Saturday as well, trying to catch up with the plumbers and pipe fitters.  We are insulating the heating hot water supply and return, condensate, and domestic hot water.  Hopefully us insulators will have the job to ourselves. Wednesday night during the communion service I was absolutely blessed by a vivid night of fellowship with my Savior and brothers and sisters in Christ.  I was struck with the horror of the cross:  not only is crucifixion brutal in itself, but to consider that the King of Kings hung upon a cross adorned with wounds for which I am personally responsible, crowned with thorns which ...

A lot has changed since the time of Christ.  One of the primary differences from 2,000 years ago is the abundance of silence.  Today we are bombarded with the constant sound of cars, planes, lawnmowers, machinery, TV, music, iPods, appliances, etc.  In centuries past the most common sounds in a village would be animals, people talking, and maybe the wind in the trees - if you were around trees, that is.  Though the mind can be difficult to "quiet," quiet used to be much more plentiful.  We have been trained to be uncomfortable and awkward with quiet.  If we are driving and there is a pause in the conversation for longer than 20 seconds, we'll turn on the radio.  When a "moment of silence" is requested at a major sporting event, there are always a bunch of knuckleheads who believe that is the moment to yell something idiotic.  Silence?  We just don't do silence these days. Remember when Elijah fled from Jezebel fearing for his life?  H...

"Status quo" is defined as " the existing state of affairs at a particular time ."  There is no one more revolutionary than Jesus Christ.  Revolutionaries are only seen as rebels by those who benefit from the status quo.  God had given the Jews His law so man might know the character, nature, and righteous statutes of his Creator.  But man became enamored with the law itself and the feeble attempt to keep it.  The focus became the effort of man, not the glory of God.  Suddenly there were religious experts who were trained to interpret this law and feverishly police and punish anyone who transgressed.  Profiteers saw and seized opportunities for monetary benefits for themselves and the organization, not to mention status and position among leaders of the community. Jesus came on the scene and said, " You have heard it said...but I say unto you... "  Instead of quoting ancient rabbis or deferring to the status quo position, Jesus turned everything...

As I look forward to 2010 I wonder if it will hold as many twists and turns that 2009 proved to have.  The last year saw me resign from a full-time ministry position to spend 60 days in Australia separated from my family.  But it wasn't terrible because God was with me the whole time.  He provided a job in my trade a day after my return from Australia that is enabling me to work towards the ultimate goal of immigrating to Australia. I just watched a bit of "Patton" this evening, the outspoken, gregarious, opinionated, and amazing four-star general who saw action in both World Wars.  There was a line that caught my attention as he described what he felt was his destiny:  " I've always felt that I was destined for some great achievement, what I don't know ."  I feel I've spent a lot of time "not knowing" this last year.  I didn't know where I'd be going in Australia, where I'd be staying, who I'd be staying with, where I...