Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The Most Important One
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:28-30
Most of us are probably somewhat familiar with this passage. I was looking at it, and one of the things that dawned on me was the context of it. He is right smack in the midst of various interactions with the teachers of his day who were supposed to be those in the know when it came to God stuff. You can see that some had allowed their very motivations to become corrupt and others had simply bought into a fundamentally wrong understanding of God, and this was influencing the way in which they lived in a negative way to say the least.
In the midst of all this lack of true spiritual leadership, Jesus provides the little guys and gals of both his day and every generation after with a wonderful tool to use in our walk. He shines the light on our true north that our compasses must point toward. In the midst of trying to discern the right and true path to growth in Christ, we can remember to stop every now and then and look up at the unmistakeable landmark that "loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength," provides.
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:28-30
Most of us are probably somewhat familiar with this passage. I was looking at it, and one of the things that dawned on me was the context of it. He is right smack in the midst of various interactions with the teachers of his day who were supposed to be those in the know when it came to God stuff. You can see that some had allowed their very motivations to become corrupt and others had simply bought into a fundamentally wrong understanding of God, and this was influencing the way in which they lived in a negative way to say the least.
In the midst of all this lack of true spiritual leadership, Jesus provides the little guys and gals of both his day and every generation after with a wonderful tool to use in our walk. He shines the light on our true north that our compasses must point toward. In the midst of trying to discern the right and true path to growth in Christ, we can remember to stop every now and then and look up at the unmistakeable landmark that "loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength," provides.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Freedom of Choice Act also known as FOCA
Want to thank my friend Tammy for alerting me to the following link. The Dems have not wasted any time trying to pass their unbelievably bold social agenda. I am very concerned about the passage of this bill that will apparently reverse many great strides in the pro-life movement over the last 10-15 years. I'll let the web site do its job of explaining the piece of legislation. I hope you will sign the petition against FOCA. This is one more of those small bricks in the wall of influencing our country toward the direction we believe it should go.
www.FightFOCA.com
Thanks,
www.FightFOCA.com
Thanks,
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Free full length Case for Creator video
I've been a posting maniac this month, but I suppose that's what happens when you're stuck in a truckstop with a pooter and time. Anyhoo, I've discovered another gem that I think if you get the chance to check out will be well worth your time. Lee Strobel published three groundbreaking books over the past decade or so. He has recently released DVD's with materials and interviews that have much of the same material as his books but in a much more 2009 friendly format known as a movie instead of a book. It is really well done, and I shall not rest until I can also bring you the final of the three, Case for Faith(I posted the link to the Case for Christ video about a month ago). Until I can post the link for Case for Faith please enjoy the link to the free Case for Creator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxb09pyZwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxb09pyZwM
Lee Strobel video site
I plugged this one a while back, and a friend of mine recently let me know that my link to it was screwed up. I have fixed it now. This is a great resource for all kinds of amazing video clips. Please, please click on the Strobel link on the right side of the page and play around for a bit on his site by clicking on various people's names and topics. I think you will be amazed at the collection of video content on this site. Thanks.
http://www.leestrobel.com/
http://www.leestrobel.com/
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Clarity
So, you walk into the eye doctor's office and sit on the little stool. He pulls down the big white robotic looking arm of vision with the binocular looking peep holes and puts it up against your face. "Tell me which is clearer 1 or 2," he says. You choose two. Then he flips a lever and flips between two other pieces of glass within the magical binoculars of the doc, "3 or 4?" You pick three. This goes on and on until the doctor gets you as close to clarity this side of lasik surgery.
Why did I walk you through that painfully boring reminder of what it's like at the eye doc's? Because it is an analogy of the point I'm going to make about life and our perceptions about life stuff.
Sometimes our perceptions are screwed up, and we need to have the magical arm of context flashed before our eyes to help us realize how much we either have not seen or have not seen clearly. I have a few quick examples of tools that I believe can help us see things more clearly.
1.Expose yourself to different cultures.
No, I don't want you to embrace your inner native and go running around the house in a loin cloth with a spear or force yourself to eat things that belong on a science fiction movie. I am also not claiming that other cultures have some deep insight that you just don't get until you've delved into their culture. I am, however, talking about compare/contrast and the value of it. An example of what I would suggest is an exercise a friend of mine used to do. Whenever going on a long road trip through a large metropolitan area, surf the radio. Force yourself to leave it in at least 5 or 6 places on the radio dial for ten minutes each that you would normally never listen to.
Again, I am not suggesting that you will be enlightened by the content of what you hear, but that you will be able to compare and contrast what you hear with what you already experience on a daily basis.
2.Get historical
I am not suggesting that you have to love history or become obsessed with it, but G. K. Chesterton used a phrase "democracy of the dead". The idea is that when we in the current generation don't delve at all into what those who went before us thought, wrote, argued about, believed, etc., we are guilty of a great arrogance and snobbery. The ideas that are celebrated and widely accepted without question in our generation were many times pointedly criticized by previous generations. How do you know you are not simply being swept up by the current of the trend of our generation. We can often look back and see the wrong headed excesses and sins of previous generations, but hearing what they did and said can make us more likely to see our own before we are unable to do anything about repenting from them.
3.Read and Listen
Too often, in our age of mass media we get our information from people who don't actually know anything about the subject they are talking about(ahem....journalists....ahem) from people who haven't thought deeply about the subject they are speaking about(ahem....actors.....ahem). However, if we make it a point to occasionally tune into actual experts and thoughtful people within the various fields of interest, we will be more likely to be building our house on the intellectual rock, so to speak. I know it is easier for me to tune out with a bag of mental mush on the boob tube (and lord knows I still do my share of that from time to time), but we've got to develop habits about what we put into our mental mouths no less than what we put into our physical ones. Technology, although certainly a chief villain in making it easier for us to suck up the bad stuff, is also at the forefront of making the good stuff easier to access, but we still have to be pro active about it.
Why did I walk you through that painfully boring reminder of what it's like at the eye doc's? Because it is an analogy of the point I'm going to make about life and our perceptions about life stuff.
Sometimes our perceptions are screwed up, and we need to have the magical arm of context flashed before our eyes to help us realize how much we either have not seen or have not seen clearly. I have a few quick examples of tools that I believe can help us see things more clearly.
1.Expose yourself to different cultures.
No, I don't want you to embrace your inner native and go running around the house in a loin cloth with a spear or force yourself to eat things that belong on a science fiction movie. I am also not claiming that other cultures have some deep insight that you just don't get until you've delved into their culture. I am, however, talking about compare/contrast and the value of it. An example of what I would suggest is an exercise a friend of mine used to do. Whenever going on a long road trip through a large metropolitan area, surf the radio. Force yourself to leave it in at least 5 or 6 places on the radio dial for ten minutes each that you would normally never listen to.
Again, I am not suggesting that you will be enlightened by the content of what you hear, but that you will be able to compare and contrast what you hear with what you already experience on a daily basis.
2.Get historical
I am not suggesting that you have to love history or become obsessed with it, but G. K. Chesterton used a phrase "democracy of the dead". The idea is that when we in the current generation don't delve at all into what those who went before us thought, wrote, argued about, believed, etc., we are guilty of a great arrogance and snobbery. The ideas that are celebrated and widely accepted without question in our generation were many times pointedly criticized by previous generations. How do you know you are not simply being swept up by the current of the trend of our generation. We can often look back and see the wrong headed excesses and sins of previous generations, but hearing what they did and said can make us more likely to see our own before we are unable to do anything about repenting from them.
3.Read and Listen
Too often, in our age of mass media we get our information from people who don't actually know anything about the subject they are talking about(ahem....journalists....ahem) from people who haven't thought deeply about the subject they are speaking about(ahem....actors.....ahem). However, if we make it a point to occasionally tune into actual experts and thoughtful people within the various fields of interest, we will be more likely to be building our house on the intellectual rock, so to speak. I know it is easier for me to tune out with a bag of mental mush on the boob tube (and lord knows I still do my share of that from time to time), but we've got to develop habits about what we put into our mental mouths no less than what we put into our physical ones. Technology, although certainly a chief villain in making it easier for us to suck up the bad stuff, is also at the forefront of making the good stuff easier to access, but we still have to be pro active about it.
Hope this wasn't too preachy. Just trying to share some thoughts that I thought have practical merit.
Smooches and sunshine to all. :)
Friday, January 16, 2009
Just a few kooks....
"We are skeptical of the claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."
I'm going to start occasionally posting a handful of names that have signed an assertion titled A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism that affirms the statement I have quoted above.
This can serve as a rebuttal to those who argue that those who openly question evolution should be relegated to the kooks(usually religious kooks) section of our minds and dismissed.
I am also adding the dissentfromdarwin link to my other links on the right side of this page. Hope it is helpful.
First few kooks....
Philip Skell---Emeritus, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University, Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Kenneth Dormer---Ph. D. Biology and Physiology University of California, Los Angeles
John W. Ballet---Ph. D. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Post-doctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School
Lyle H. Jensen---Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Biological Structure and Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Washington
To view more kooks, just click on http://dissentfromdarwin.org/
I'm going to start occasionally posting a handful of names that have signed an assertion titled A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism that affirms the statement I have quoted above.
This can serve as a rebuttal to those who argue that those who openly question evolution should be relegated to the kooks(usually religious kooks) section of our minds and dismissed.
I am also adding the dissentfromdarwin link to my other links on the right side of this page. Hope it is helpful.
First few kooks....
Philip Skell---Emeritus, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University, Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Kenneth Dormer---Ph. D. Biology and Physiology University of California, Los Angeles
John W. Ballet---Ph. D. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Post-doctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School
Lyle H. Jensen---Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Biological Structure and Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Washington
To view more kooks, just click on http://dissentfromdarwin.org/
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Join in on the brainstorm
Back in November, I mentioned that we need to get involved in the political process much earlier if we are going to make meaningful contributions to the makeup of our nation's, state's, county's, and local governments. I want to delve into thinking about the many, many different ways that this can be done.
It seems to me that our first priority should be to be as informed as possible about the issues that we are going to try to influence. We need to think about this stuff for ourselves and dialogue with each other about specifics. I think we should try to limit our involvement in areas that we honestly don't have a basic understanding of ourselves until we have educated ourselves on what we are trying to influence. I, for instance, must confess a big gaping hole where the info about local politics should be.
However, I know there ARE lots of areas and issues that we probably all have a greater degree of understanding. I know that without the unfolding drama of an election that is right around the corner, this stuff (to me at least) seems a little frustrating to devote time and energy toward, but this is the kind of thinking that leaves us two years and certainly four years from now regretting that we didn't do more earlier. I'm certainly not suggesting that we become obsessed with politics because that causes its own set of problems. However, disciplining ourselves to occasionally think about it and act on our thoughts is a long way from becoming obsessed. I'll give you an example of something that occurred to me the other day.
Who are the ones that will sway future elections? It is not those who are firmly entrenched either on our side or "theirs". It is those who we probably have connections with, but for some reason chose to swing their vote the other way because of various specific reasons. Another interesting thing about these people is that in many cases they can serve as the first domino in a great many to follow. What I mean is that if you can sway the person who is vocal about their views and claims to be among this "middle" category of voters, I believe this has a much greater potential to sway many others in their sphere of influence. Therefore, one of the things I am going to try to do is to search out those who fall into this category who will engage me, and I will be bring my best persuasive stuff to the table aggressively seeking to sway them. This will simply involve multiple conversations over the next few years, but it is a small brick in the wall of trying to influence our country. I've also wondered if there are ways that we can have a greater influence on swing states that seem to always determine presidential elections. I also want to point out the coming battle before the war. The battle for conservatism being the ideological core of the Republican party instead of the Democrat lite version of ideology that has increasingly characterized many, many big names in the Republican party. If this takes hold, we have got a whole different ballgame, and quite honestly, I think this issue may very well be THE deciding factor in all the rest to come nationally.
I'm just throwing this stuff out there to provide a launching point for discussion AND action from each of us. What are your thoughts? Any ideas about moving forward? Please throw something into the mix and join in on the brainstorming. The more that contribute with their energy, time, and creativity, the more likely that we little guys and gals can actually make some kind of difference in the direction that our country takes in the years to come.
It seems to me that our first priority should be to be as informed as possible about the issues that we are going to try to influence. We need to think about this stuff for ourselves and dialogue with each other about specifics. I think we should try to limit our involvement in areas that we honestly don't have a basic understanding of ourselves until we have educated ourselves on what we are trying to influence. I, for instance, must confess a big gaping hole where the info about local politics should be.
However, I know there ARE lots of areas and issues that we probably all have a greater degree of understanding. I know that without the unfolding drama of an election that is right around the corner, this stuff (to me at least) seems a little frustrating to devote time and energy toward, but this is the kind of thinking that leaves us two years and certainly four years from now regretting that we didn't do more earlier. I'm certainly not suggesting that we become obsessed with politics because that causes its own set of problems. However, disciplining ourselves to occasionally think about it and act on our thoughts is a long way from becoming obsessed. I'll give you an example of something that occurred to me the other day.
Who are the ones that will sway future elections? It is not those who are firmly entrenched either on our side or "theirs". It is those who we probably have connections with, but for some reason chose to swing their vote the other way because of various specific reasons. Another interesting thing about these people is that in many cases they can serve as the first domino in a great many to follow. What I mean is that if you can sway the person who is vocal about their views and claims to be among this "middle" category of voters, I believe this has a much greater potential to sway many others in their sphere of influence. Therefore, one of the things I am going to try to do is to search out those who fall into this category who will engage me, and I will be bring my best persuasive stuff to the table aggressively seeking to sway them. This will simply involve multiple conversations over the next few years, but it is a small brick in the wall of trying to influence our country. I've also wondered if there are ways that we can have a greater influence on swing states that seem to always determine presidential elections. I also want to point out the coming battle before the war. The battle for conservatism being the ideological core of the Republican party instead of the Democrat lite version of ideology that has increasingly characterized many, many big names in the Republican party. If this takes hold, we have got a whole different ballgame, and quite honestly, I think this issue may very well be THE deciding factor in all the rest to come nationally.
I'm just throwing this stuff out there to provide a launching point for discussion AND action from each of us. What are your thoughts? Any ideas about moving forward? Please throw something into the mix and join in on the brainstorming. The more that contribute with their energy, time, and creativity, the more likely that we little guys and gals can actually make some kind of difference in the direction that our country takes in the years to come.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Prayer Request
I would like to extend a request to any and all who read this blog to be in prayer for my friend, Russell. He was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He has a wife and four daughters. The primary reason I am seeking prayer for a miraculous recovery here is because WE need Russell. WE is those of us who are believers. Russell has been for quite some time an example I look up to and someone whose level of surrender to Christ and service to his body is a truly rare thing. Like Paul, I think Russell would certainly much rather be absent from the body and present with Christ, but I'm hoping for his family's sake and for ours(the body of Christ's sake) that Russell will be allowed to stay because we need him. Just one of many, many examples I can give of Russell's amazing dedication to serving Christ is that even in the midst of dealing with the cancer, he is still a full time counselor for others. I know it is dangerous to put anyone onto a pedestal, but Paul encourages the believers in his letters to honor those who are great examples of service.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Full length Case for Christ video
https://vimeo.com/17960119
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxb09pyZwM
click on the links above to see this amazing collection of powerful arguments by top scholars
great, great stuff to use if you are having questions or doubts or are dealing with folks who are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxb09pyZwM
click on the links above to see this amazing collection of powerful arguments by top scholars
great, great stuff to use if you are having questions or doubts or are dealing with folks who are.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Tracking our Government
I know everyone is totally consumed with how the election is going to turn out, but I'm already kind of thinking about the midterms of 2010. I think if I'm going to actually begin to take politics a little more seriously, it will start by getting involved way, way earlier in the process and supporting strong conservative candidates for office and getting as informed as I can reasonably get. I am starting this process by adding a new link to the blog. It is govtrack.us/ and I highly recommend that you check it out. It puts any and all info about your representatives, any bills that have been submitted, and who voted for what among lots of other great bits of info. This is the most important piece of the puzzle because they can say all they want to say, but it's the way they vote that actually deserves our scrutiny. Check it out..... I hope it's a useful tool for us all.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Overdue Pics Fix
The top picks are in our new house as it is being painted and the bottom pics are from when we were still in the Clanton house.....loving the new house. Thanks for all your prayers about getting into it!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Miracle Story 3
My pastor Steve McCarty was in Nicaragua with a group of his youth from a church in Nashville, Tennessee. While they were there, they began praying for a nine year old boy who could not walk. They prayed for about five minutes and nothing seemed to be happening, and just as they were about to end their time of prayer, one of the youth asked if they could just keep on praying for a little while longer. After praying for a few more minutes, the boy was healed and stood and walked. He had fallen from a tree three weeks before the youth group had arrived in this community, and the entire community was intimately familiar with the tragedy that had occurred because he was so young and told that he would not be able to use his legs again. This obviously had a powerful impact on the people of this community who now saw him walking and recognized it as a testimony of the very real power of God.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Vets For Freedom
A while back I tried to start up a blog that was going to be dedicated to giving veterans a voice without being filtered through the media, but alas, it was not meant to be. I was not able to dedicate the time needed to get the word out to various vet organizations and/or PR personnel on various military bases. However, in the meantime, I discovered an organization and web site that has the largest collection of Afghanistan and Iraq vets and is dedicated to giving them a voice. This is more than my blog could have accomplished in a lifetime; therefore, I've decided to simply supply a link to this so you all can become aware of them and hear the opinions about U.S. policy directly from the vets mouths. Hope it is a useful link for everyone. The link is located on the right side of this page near the bottom of the list of available links. Just click on vets for freedom.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Help My Unbelief....
This is a declaration believe it or not, but it ain't gonna begin that way....so just bear with me. Without going into details, let's just say that the uncertainty in some big stuff continues to seem to hang over our heads like a spooky looking rain cloud on the horizon. I am taking this moment in time to speak to it because of the uniqueness of this "moment in time." In this moment in time, I do not know how this will all play out. I know how we want it to play out and quite frankly, we think we know how it ought to play out. I wish I could say I've been a rock of quiet confidence, but it just is not the case. The stress has caused me to get ticked, frustrated, worried, etc. In the midst of this, what I pray is this.....Lord I do believe, help my unbelief. This belief is not necessarily that things will work out as I think it ought. My belief and my hope is in the goodness of God regardless of how things turn out. This is what I need help with. If I trust that he can make this work out as I hope, then I could be disillusioned if it does not, and if it does work out as I hope, I could potentially be trusting in the deceitfulness of riches(see Cares of this world post). I pray that He would help my unbelief in his goodness and my unbelief in his ability to work out his purposes in my life through whatever circumstances he introduces especially his ultimate purpose to remake us all in his image.
Here's the declaration: God is good all the time.
Here's the declaration: God is good all the time.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Secret Church
Through a series of events that could perhaps deserve a blog post for themselves, I have discovered a wonderful resource for myself and all others who desire to study the Bible thoroughly and intensely. It is http://www.secretchurch.org/
This is a pretty fascinating phenomenon that is national and even global but has its roots here in the fair Birmingham Metro area. The pastor of Church at Brook Hills, David Platt, leads an intense six hour long marathon study once every 6 months or so. He has been doing this for about the past three years I believe. The topics covered include: The Old Testament, The New Testament, How to Study the Bible, Who is God, and they will be doing the fifth one this November. People travel from out of state to attend this thing called secret church from 6 PM to midnight. They have breaks every hour for coffee and food and bathroom/stretch your legs type stuff; therefore, the audio available online is actually about 4 hours in length because it only covers the actual teaching sessions. Both the audio and pdf files, that contain the same worksheets that they use in the service, are available online at the above web address for free for all. The reason it is called secret church is because the primary beneficiaries of the teaching are not those who physically attend, but it is specifically designed to be sent out to the church in third world countries who are first generation Christians and desperately need sound teaching about the most basic stuff. I highly recommend anyone with a desire to know your Bible to visit the site and allow yourself to be challenged by the solid approach to Bible study offered within the teachings.
It's GOOD stuff......
bushels of blessings to ya
This is a pretty fascinating phenomenon that is national and even global but has its roots here in the fair Birmingham Metro area. The pastor of Church at Brook Hills, David Platt, leads an intense six hour long marathon study once every 6 months or so. He has been doing this for about the past three years I believe. The topics covered include: The Old Testament, The New Testament, How to Study the Bible, Who is God, and they will be doing the fifth one this November. People travel from out of state to attend this thing called secret church from 6 PM to midnight. They have breaks every hour for coffee and food and bathroom/stretch your legs type stuff; therefore, the audio available online is actually about 4 hours in length because it only covers the actual teaching sessions. Both the audio and pdf files, that contain the same worksheets that they use in the service, are available online at the above web address for free for all. The reason it is called secret church is because the primary beneficiaries of the teaching are not those who physically attend, but it is specifically designed to be sent out to the church in third world countries who are first generation Christians and desperately need sound teaching about the most basic stuff. I highly recommend anyone with a desire to know your Bible to visit the site and allow yourself to be challenged by the solid approach to Bible study offered within the teachings.
It's GOOD stuff......
bushels of blessings to ya
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Cares of this world
I was recently thinking about that parable where Jesus talks about the seed, the sower, and the four different types of soil. I had some thoughts about one very specific part of this parable that I think might be worth writing about.
Myndall and I are in the midst of lots of stressful, big stuff right now, and I know of at least 8 or 9 close friends of ours who are facing some very serious, scary times in their lives that make our concerns look relatively small. It is in this context that these thoughts have emerged.
First, this parable appears in three of the four gospel accounts(Matthew, Mark, and Luke). This leads me to believe that this parable has a special significance, and Jesus even says, "Do you not understand this parable? How then shall you understand all parables?" This is a pretty powerful red flag that this is a pretty biggie to understand.
I'm just going to focus on one very specific point in the third kind of soil. The one that had thorns that choked out the life of the plant and made it unfruitful. In Mark 4:19 it states, "but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." I think I've often interpreted this part in the past to be referring to people who just couldn't give up their pursuit of "worldly" things like the never ending quest for the bigger and better house, car, computer, tv, etc. or a hunger for power or something along those lines. I now am beginning to understand that this parable has a much more important point to make than simply chastising these problems.
When he says the worries or cares of this world, this applies to what all people deal with especially upon entering adulthood. However, it is clear to me that this does not mean to say that the cares or worries themselves cause the "soil" to be unfruitful. If this were the case we would think, "yep, it's too bad about old so and so. They would have been a great man/woman of God if they had not been sidetracked by all those terrible circumstances that played out in their lives. That stuff really derailed them from serving God."
I think that most of us inherently know this line of thinking is flawed because outside influences can't be what determines our "fruitfulness" according to our most basic understandings of the gospel. Therefore, what this passage is getting at is actually who we trust when the cares come and who we pursue when the cares leave us alone for a while. "...but the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." The great thing about our God is that he is teaching us(be it ever so slowly because I for one am a slow learner) that we work in the complete reverse of the world and its people in so many ways. Perhaps one of the most fascinating ways is that when we are in a place in our lives where a sudden storm seems to come in and overwhelm us, this is actually the place where we can find the greatest times of rest in Him because we are supposed to (slow learner) know that we are ultimately trusting in HIS ability not ours. Or another way of putting as my two year old daughter is fond of singing, "With Jesus in the boat, you can smile at the storm, smile at the storm, smile at the storm." :) I pray for my friends and believe they do the same for me. I pray that I would learn this lesson of dependence so I could be a better example of it to everyone. I pray that we would all pursue Christ with our whole hearts during and especially after the storm passes so that the "desires for other things" would exit out instead of entering in.
A possibly encouraging thought is that this third type of soil did receive the word and had roots and did not wither and die early on because of tribulation. It seems to me that each type of soil is progressively closer to the desired type of soil which is "good" soil that is deep and rich and free of thorns that strangle the life out of it. I hope that by the grace of God and the work of His Holy Spirit in our lives we are just around the corner from entering into a place of fruitfulness for those we encounter's benefit and for His glory.
Myndall and I are in the midst of lots of stressful, big stuff right now, and I know of at least 8 or 9 close friends of ours who are facing some very serious, scary times in their lives that make our concerns look relatively small. It is in this context that these thoughts have emerged.
First, this parable appears in three of the four gospel accounts(Matthew, Mark, and Luke). This leads me to believe that this parable has a special significance, and Jesus even says, "Do you not understand this parable? How then shall you understand all parables?" This is a pretty powerful red flag that this is a pretty biggie to understand.
I'm just going to focus on one very specific point in the third kind of soil. The one that had thorns that choked out the life of the plant and made it unfruitful. In Mark 4:19 it states, "but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." I think I've often interpreted this part in the past to be referring to people who just couldn't give up their pursuit of "worldly" things like the never ending quest for the bigger and better house, car, computer, tv, etc. or a hunger for power or something along those lines. I now am beginning to understand that this parable has a much more important point to make than simply chastising these problems.
When he says the worries or cares of this world, this applies to what all people deal with especially upon entering adulthood. However, it is clear to me that this does not mean to say that the cares or worries themselves cause the "soil" to be unfruitful. If this were the case we would think, "yep, it's too bad about old so and so. They would have been a great man/woman of God if they had not been sidetracked by all those terrible circumstances that played out in their lives. That stuff really derailed them from serving God."
I think that most of us inherently know this line of thinking is flawed because outside influences can't be what determines our "fruitfulness" according to our most basic understandings of the gospel. Therefore, what this passage is getting at is actually who we trust when the cares come and who we pursue when the cares leave us alone for a while. "...but the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." The great thing about our God is that he is teaching us(be it ever so slowly because I for one am a slow learner) that we work in the complete reverse of the world and its people in so many ways. Perhaps one of the most fascinating ways is that when we are in a place in our lives where a sudden storm seems to come in and overwhelm us, this is actually the place where we can find the greatest times of rest in Him because we are supposed to (slow learner) know that we are ultimately trusting in HIS ability not ours. Or another way of putting as my two year old daughter is fond of singing, "With Jesus in the boat, you can smile at the storm, smile at the storm, smile at the storm." :) I pray for my friends and believe they do the same for me. I pray that I would learn this lesson of dependence so I could be a better example of it to everyone. I pray that we would all pursue Christ with our whole hearts during and especially after the storm passes so that the "desires for other things" would exit out instead of entering in.
A possibly encouraging thought is that this third type of soil did receive the word and had roots and did not wither and die early on because of tribulation. It seems to me that each type of soil is progressively closer to the desired type of soil which is "good" soil that is deep and rich and free of thorns that strangle the life out of it. I hope that by the grace of God and the work of His Holy Spirit in our lives we are just around the corner from entering into a place of fruitfulness for those we encounter's benefit and for His glory.
Monday, September 01, 2008
THE ONLY THING
The only thing I see are the clouds
The only thing I hear are the doubts
The only thing I feel is the pain
The only thing I taste is bitterness
The only thing I see is a ray of light
The only thing I hear is a small, tender voice
The only thing I feel is comfort
The only thing I taste is forgiveness
The only thing I know is the Word
The only thing to accept is the Truth
The only thing we deserve is judgment
The only thing we need is Him
The only thing He died for was you
The only thing keeping you from Him, the same
The only thing I hear are the doubts
The only thing I feel is the pain
The only thing I taste is bitterness
The only thing I see is a ray of light
The only thing I hear is a small, tender voice
The only thing I feel is comfort
The only thing I taste is forgiveness
The only thing I know is the Word
The only thing to accept is the Truth
The only thing we deserve is judgment
The only thing we need is Him
The only thing He died for was you
The only thing keeping you from Him, the same
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