tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151292682024-03-21T04:37:47.480-05:00Shaping and SharpeningThoughts on ministry, Theology, Jesus, and Culture.
"The Bible has not been given to us to satisfy our curiosity but to shape our lives in a particular way in response to God."Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-20631969733987326262010-06-24T22:11:00.003-05:002010-06-24T22:12:54.907-05:00Sovereignty and PrayerThis will run in our bulletin in a few weeks. Sorry to spoil the surprise for the CF peoples. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this. <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“If God is sovereign, then why pray?” Most Christians at some point have wrestled through this question. It’s natural, right? If God is in control, then why does he need my prayers? If He has already decreed the way things will be, then what are my prayers actually accomplishing? There are certainly answers to these questions, not the least of which is simply that God commands prayer. That should be reason enough. Besides that, the Bible gives us so much insight into prayer and the effects it has. Prayer produces joy for the Christian (Jn 16.24), prayer honors God as the giver (Ps 50.15), and prayer helps to protect us from sin (Mt 26.41). Prayer is essential but not so God’s hands may be untied. Believers benefit from prayer and ultimately God is honored through prayer.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There is another angle on prayer that I would like for you to consider. Have you ever wondered: <b>“If God is NOT sovereign, then WHY would we pray?”</b> Think about it. Prayer assumes sovereignty. You ask God because you believe He can do something about the situation. You pray that God would heal — because you think He can control bacteria and immune systems. You pray for someone to be converted — because you believe God saves and He is able to send someone with the gospel. You pray for safe travels — because you believe God is in control of the roads (which means He controls the people on those roads). </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There are many presuppositions packed into a simple request. Indeed, you already believe in sovereignty, otherwise you would not pray at all. In <i>Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God</i>, J</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #e1251d">. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #e1251d">.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> Packer says it well: “The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence.” He goes on to say: “In effect, therefore, what we do every time we pray is to confess our own impotence and God’s sovereignty. The very fact that a Christian prays is thus proof positive that he believes in the Lordship of his God.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">God has given you access to Him in prayer. Enjoy His Lordship and remember the words of 1 Peter 5.7: “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”</span></p></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16665747636913200196noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-14774511086139935972010-06-18T02:12:00.000-05:002010-06-18T03:12:26.116-05:00Adoption News<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In two weeks from now, my wife and I will be in some sort of confused state of what time is it as we find our way through international airports. China is a long ways from here, and it seems like it’s already taken forever to get here. We began a process to adopt a little girl about a year and a half ago. After mountains of paperwork, lots of prayer, and even some laughs along the way, it’s go time. Tickets are bought and money is flying around like it’s from a Monopoly game. We can’t wait.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I have to admit I’m not a real “keep up the adoption blog” type of guy. Though there are many of them out there with lots of great information, we haven’t done much publicly that details the ups and downs of this process. That said, since we’re at this point in the game and continually seem to have people who are interested in our story, I thought it was a good time to write a bit about adoption in general and our story in particular. We’ll start with the former.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>One of the questions we are continually asked is why do you guys want to adopt? </b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">It’s pretty simple and deeply rooted for us. We want to adopt because there is a little girl in China right now who was left on the side of the road when she was 6 days old. Ok, that’s just too emotional, right? Seriously though, we’re adopting because there are lots of kids who need a home (143 million orphans). We have 2 biological children and no reason to believe we could not have more. But having more children isn’t necessarily our motivation. James 1.26-27 gives us the marks of genuine Christianity. In a representative sort of way, James pulls the two most helpless groups and says a real believer serves the helpless those unable to repay. Just as it was then, these 2 groups are the widows and orphans. I think a distinction is worth making here. James isn’t giving a command, he’s giving characteristics. The response to James 1 isn’t go care for an orphan or widow, the response is go check your heart if you don’t care for the marginalized and helpless of the world. Every Christian doesn’t have to adopt a kid to be obedient. But every Christian should have something inside of them that desires to serve the hopeless and helpless. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Adoption is a such a great picture of the gospel. God adopts us into his family despite our pedigree not because of it. He took those who were his enemies and of another family, and He makes us fully functioning members of His royal family. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Another question we get asked is why China? </b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I wish I had a super-spiritual answer for you. The short answer is we want to. The longer answer is, well, I guess there’s not a longer answer. But, I can tell a story, how about that? It was almost 2 years ago now that I went to a meeting with Lifeline Children’s Services. Backing up even more, Mindy and I had discussed adoption off and on since we were first married. Though we never really settled the issue and had a ‘plan,’ this was certainly open for discussion. We attended a meeting while living in LA that introduced the Fos-to-Adopt program. We decided we would see if we could have biological children first and then revisit this issue. That’s what happened. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Back to 2 years ago. Our church was contacted by Lifeline to see if we’d consider having an information meeting. I got a website and started poking around to make sure these people weren’t looney. (They aren’t, at least most of them.) I wasn’t able to attend this meeting, but ended up going to another Lifeline meeting hosted at another church. We thought we’d go the domestic route when we finally got around to adopting. After attending this meeting, we became very open to the idea of international adoption. Lifeline had agreements with a few different countries. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Between the finances, in-country stay, and age of eligible children, we decided to look further into the China program. So we began the process and away we went. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I wish I could tell you some fantastic feel good story about why China, but really that’s it. We made a commitment to adopt from China early on and haven’t looked back since. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Plenty of people have also asked us, how did you get matched? </b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">This part of the process is probably the most emotional, difficult, and strange. We decided to go the special needs route out of China because of the way special needs children are really desperately hopeless after being ‘labeled’ and also the wait is substantially shorter. Special needs can be a birthmark or a heart defect. All sorts of things can land a child on that list. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We were in the process of getting our Home-study completed and waddling through the rest of the paperwork when we receive word that we may have a referral soon. Basically there is a list of names released by China and the various agencies each get a portion. They take our file and ‘match’ it with a child eligible for adoption. Prior to referral there is a necessary and painful form called the “desired child form.” This is where you get to go through a checklist (literally) and indicate what you’d be willing to take. Everything from missing limbs, to severe handicaps, to cleft lips and palettes are on this list. I found this incredibly difficult and heart exposing. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I kept thinking about my two children and how I would gladly accept any health problem they have as being from the hand of God. We would walk through any and every trial with them. Yet here I am with a pen and seemingly arbitrarily deciding what we want in a child. It had to be done. Obviously there are no guarantees that other problems are not present or will not develop. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">One day, really ‘out of the blue’ we get an email that has two pics of this adorable little girl. The first line says something about being found at 6 days old. I really didn’t have to read anymore. We had 48 hours from that point to give the answer on this referral. During this time we had medical opinions to get. She has something called hip dysplasia. As we learned this isn’t all too uncommon but if it hasn’t been properly treated while young, it may require surgery later. We do not know how severe this is right now. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">As you’ve guessed by now, we accepted the first referral we received. Since then, it’s been an eternity of almost 9 months till we got our approval to go halfway around the world and find this little person who will be the newest Cagle. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> More or our story later...</span></p>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16665747636913200196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-4978970136665491972010-06-02T14:01:00.003-05:002010-06-02T14:33:00.236-05:00The Oil: It's really here and still comingFor 43 days now we've been hearing about a spill in the Gulf. In my optimism, I kept thinking, it just won't be that bad. They (whoever 'they' are) will get this thing stopped and they will come up with some magic solution to make all of this oil go away. My optimism was starting to wane in the past week or so and yesterday was a turning point for me in my view of this thing.<div><br /></div><div>June 1 marked the opening day of red snapper season in the Gulf. This is a day that I thoroughly enjoy. I love offshore fishing, though I really don't have the opportunity to go all that often. I took a vacation day and we made our plans to fish about 20 miles south of Dauphin Island. Then we learn that the fishing has been closed from the Gulf Shores pier all the way over the Louisiana. We debated whether we go out or not but ultimately decided to go ahead and fish out of Perdido Pass, well east of Dauphin Island.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we were fishing our first spot about 7 miles out, we see what we thought was a grass bed (not uncommon to find). As we get closer, we realize it's a floating glob of oil about 12 feet in diameter. At that moment, it got real. We caught a few fish not far from there. The fishing slowed for a while so we decided to head out another 10 miles or so. </div><div><br /></div><div>When we go out there, we started seeing more and more oil. It wasn't like a gigantic slick, just little softball size patches all over the place. We began to catch fish (lots of fish!). As our lines went in and out of the water and the fish were hoisted overboard, the oil began to accumulate on everything. The boat was a slimy mess and so were we. This stuff is nasty. It has the consistency of thick chocolate syrup and is just as impossible to get off of your gear and skin.</div><div><br /></div><div>When this hits the beaches (not if it will) we are in trouble. Tourism is shot. Seafood is virtually done for. Charter boat captains are through (except those working with the clean-up). Though we had a great day fishing, it was somber for the three of us on that 20 foot boat. We knew this may very well be the last day of snapper fishing for a long time. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's sad but real. Christians need to respond in a Christ-like way. It's a trial just like a hurricane, earthquake, war, or any other catastrophe. The market will have to reset and our economy will have to retool. But these things don't just happen. This means people go out of business and lose their incomes, this means hotels sit empty and someone now holds a bank note they can't pay.</div><div><br /></div><div>I pray that as this disaster continues to unfold Christians would be mindful to respond in a way that pleases the Lord. This is what will set up apart. As everyone else is complaining, Phil 2.14 comes to mind to not complain. As others are in despair over the impact, we realize our ultimate hope and provision is in the Lord. In short, may God be glorified in the believers who are affected by this catastrophe. </div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16665747636913200196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-37257758809079589292010-04-22T10:23:00.000-05:002010-04-22T10:23:02.034-05:00Friendship KillersEveryone has friends. We were created to be social creatures. I saw some <a href="http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics">amazing stats</a> recently about Facebook. If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest in the world, behind China and India. Why is a social media site so incredibly popular? It's because God has hard-wired man to live in community. We were never intended to be islands. God knew is was not good for Adam to live alone, so he have him one like him - a human.<br />
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The same idea is certainly even more pronounced when we consider the New Testament. We are called the body of Christ. Each one is like a particular part of the body. No part of the body functions independently of the rest. It can't. The hand has no life if it is detached from the arm. The same is true for Christians. As a child of God, you were created to be connected to the body, specifically the local body of believers - the Church.<br />
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As we consider our relationships and their ultimate purpose (to move one-another to love and good deeds - Heb 10.19-25), we know that sometimes things can go wrong in these relationships. Even 'Christian' friendships can fall short of this purpose of helping each other grow into Christlikeness. Below we have noted a few things (sins in reality) that tend to be friendship killers.<br />
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1. <b>Gossip</b>. Perhaps nothing can tear friendships apart faster than gossip. Either being gossiped about or participating in spreading gossip can be equally devastating. As my grandmother used to say: A dog that will bring a bone will take one. Meaning, if someone is telling you about somebody else's business, please don't be naive and think they are not also telling someone else about you. Gossip erodes trust, promotes disunity, and dishonors Christ. We are to be people who help the gossip fire go out as we refuse to supply new fuel (Prov 26.20-22).<br />
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2. <b>Jealousy</b>. Jealous people are not good friends. Jealousy is one of those 'little' sins we tote around and tend to not take very seriously. If you find envy in your heart, identify it as sin and confess that to the Lord. Don't allow this sin to fester. One of the diagnostic questions that helps identify envy is this: How do you respond when a friend gets something you really wanted? Maybe they get the promotion you were hoping for, they get the new gadget you wanted, they buy the house or car you have long desired. In those moments, are you able to rejoice with them, or does it anger you. Identify jealousy and root it out of your heart.<br />
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3. <b>Laziness</b>. The reality is it is hard work to have good friendships. They take time and many times we're just lazy and don't put any effort out. Don't be lazy in your relationships.<br />
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4. <b>Not Forgiving.</b> You will be hurt by a friend. You will be sinned against, and at some point in time, you will be sinned against by someone you care for deeply. This hurts. You have a choice in these moments. You can allow that to grow into full grown bitterness or you can forgive and appreciate God's forgiveness in your own life. We are called to forgive just as we have been forgiven (Col 3.13). The number of times you have sinned against God should remind us that our forgiveness of others should not have limits. Peter once asked Christ if you should forgive someone up to 7 times for an offense. Jesus' response is shocking, not just 7, but 7 times 70. Does that mean keep a spreadsheet and stop at 490? Absolutely not. The point is you forgive - always.<br />
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5. <b>Careless Joking</b>. You often times hear the phrase, with friends like these, who needs enemies? This is usually said after someone is being picked on for something. Friends like to joke around and give each other a hard time. That's fine and good and usually in good humor and nature. But sometimes it can go too far. Our 'joking' around can become a weapon with barbs. These little supposedly innocent jokes can hurt. Proverbs 26.18-19 says that one who throws around hurtful comments then says "I'm just joking" is like one who plays with dangerous weapons and expects no one to get hurt. Your words convey information. They change situations and impact people. Words are not neutral.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-53320215963538788112010-03-30T11:24:00.000-05:002010-03-30T11:24:44.895-05:00Wrath and the GospelIf you don't understand something of the wrath of God, you don't understand the gospel. As Christians, we tend to focus on the immanence of the Lord and on attributes like mercy, love, and grace. These are incredible realities that demand our attention.<div><br />
</div><div>But think about the back story of the cross. If we remove God's wrath, why was the cross necessary? Yes, focus on the love shown at Calvary, but remember why Calvary had to be. His mercy is only meaningful when we understand what He's withholding.</div><div><br />
</div><div>God required blood to forgive (Heb 9.22). The whole of the OT sacrificial system points us to the ultimate sacrifice that would be made (Heb 10.14). The sacrifice was necessary because God in His wisdom set up a system that required atonement. His wrath must be satisfied, or propitiated. </div><div><br />
</div><div>We tend to ignore or discount the stories of God's wrath, particularly in the Old Testament. But in reality, the work of Christ in the New Testament is the story of ultimate wrath being poured out on Christ. As Isaiah 53.10 says: It pleased the Lord to crush Him. We also must remember that this Jesus who exercised the ultimate humility and meekness will come back to display a wrath of his own. Read Rev 19. This "meek and mild" Jesus comes back with a robe dipped in blood, swords coming out of his mouth, and promises to treat the earth as His winepress. The promise of His coming wrath is just as outstanding and fantastic as any display of wrath we've ever seen before.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Allow your mind to be drawn again to the work of Christ today. And remember God has saved you not simply from yourself; He has saved you from Himself.</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-22551602827703281872010-02-28T08:15:00.001-06:002010-04-26T10:04:53.396-05:00What's Your Excuse?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">I am always challenged when I see people with a true passion for the unsaved. Below is an update letter from a missionary friend. Names and locations have been taken out.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">So what excuse do we really have for not telling others about Christ? </span><br />
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<blockquote>Just to close, I wanted to share something that convicted me the other day as I was talking to our teachers here in J. We were discussing the language group beside us called B. Since there are several men that are believers here in D and Q, it will be just a matter of time before they will want to take the gospel there. As we talked, I was reminding them to think beyond the initial teaching and consider all that would have to be done. Also, since they have no translation, I told them it would be hard to do the translation. One of the men said to me, “You are right, the translation is a big thing. But the biggest thing is their souls and we have the message that will keep them from hell!” Praise the Lord for such an desire to see the gospel preached! Please be praying with us for a door to be opened to the people right next door to us!</blockquote>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-86720736666390936502010-02-10T13:59:00.000-06:002010-02-10T13:59:16.176-06:00Digging InThis article will be in our Student Ministry camp booklet next week. I thought some of you may enjoy.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Digging In: Enjoying this Thing Called Quiet Time</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You will never mature in your faith if you never prioritize spending time with God. It’s just that simple. Imagine an olympic athlete who only trained once a week. Not possible, right? If you find someone who demonstrates maturity as a follower of Christ, you will find someone who has carved out regular time to renew their minds. We live in a privileged day with the Bible available to us. I have multiple copies of God’s Word, and you probably do too.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One of the reasons we usually give for not taking time to focus on the Lord and spend concentrated time in His Word is the busyness of our lives. I know you’re busy. You have practice, essays, homework, chores around the house, not to mention an intense social life, facebook, and TV shows to watch. Seriously, I know you are busy. One of the beauties of camp is we get to set the schedule. In our schedule we’ve built in time to be still and quiet before the Lord with our Bibles open and pens in hand.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Please know this isn’t a time filler. We have plenty of other things we could do with this time. This is not designed to be some torture device to see if you can stay awake. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here are a few tips to make this time useful:</span></div><ol style="list-style-type: decimal;"><li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Actually read your Bible. Don’t assume you know the verses mentioned. Read. You’ll be surprised at what you notice</span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Answer the questions. Obvious, right? Again this is not just buffer time to get us to something else. </span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Don’t lay down. Let me give you a math equation. Not a lotta sleep (+) quiet room (+) laying on floor (+) words on a page = sleeping student.</span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Write, write, write. I know writing may not be ‘your thing’ but that’s irrelevant. Writing down your thoughts, prayers, and ideas from a passage helps keep your mind engaged and your eyes open. It will help you focus, especially when you pray. This isn’t an essay contest and it’s not for anyone else. If you’ve never tried this, give it a shot. </span></li>
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The Bible has high standards for God’s children. We are told to be Holy, to suffer well, and to forgive as Christ forgave. We are told to love our enemies, love our families, and love God supremely. God has expectations for his people. In fact, the reason He has a people is so they can make His name known (1 Pet 2.9-10).<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">These facts can be overwhelming. We can stack ourselves up against the Scriptures, and feel a sense of guilt and inadequacy that could bury us. It is at this moment we must turn our minds immediately to the gospel. Your obedience will never be perfect, but there is one who has obeyed perfectly. That one is Jesus whose righteousness is imputed to believers. This is the heart of the gospel. This isn’t a “get out of obedience free” card. Quite the opposite. We desire to be as Paul was, pressing on to the goal (Phil 3.12) because we know what the Lord has done for us. I want to run the race to win (I Cor 9.24). I want to do the good things I know to do (Jas 4.17). I want to please the Lord in all things (2 Cor 5.9). </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The gospel spurs us to obedience and commitment through <b>grace</b> not <b>guilt</b>. Th<i>e reason I obey isn’t to be accepted, I obey because I am accepted by God.</i> Making this adjustment will revolutionize your outlook on what it means to live as a Christian. You don’t have to live exhausted and guilt laden by your failures. Confess your inadequacy and sin to the Lord, then recognize your profound need of His grace, and walk in obedience. Your obedience to the Lord must ultimately root itself in the work of Jesus, not simply your desire to “do better.” Imperatives (commands) of the Bible rest on the indicatives (truths). In other words, obedience grows out of our appreciation and understanding of grace. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Do you want to be more obedient to the Lord? Then immerse your thinking in the gospel. “Set your mind on things above” (Col 3.2). The writer of Hebrews gives similar instruction in chapter 12. We are to set aside sin and run the race with endurance always “looking to Jesus.” </span><br />
</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-20057132751435574212010-01-20T11:08:00.000-06:002010-01-20T11:08:57.220-06:00Disaster Relief and the Social Gospel<a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/2010/01/14/disaster-relief-and-the-social-gospel/">Disaster Relief and the Social Gospel</a><br />
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Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com/">ShareThis</a>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-24289869061479391472010-01-13T16:30:00.000-06:002010-01-13T16:30:44.969-06:00Subjected in Hope: Considering Tragedy and SovereigntyOur bulletin article for the week is below. I would highly recommend you listen to John Pipers message on this text that he recently preached at Village Church in TX. One of his best.<div><br />
</div><div><div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Typing the title to this article brings to mind a particular image of a woman trapped in rubble following the earthquake in Haiti this past Tuesday. Even the most robust theology of sovereignty is put to the test as horrific events like this one unfold. Did God know? Could He have prevented this? Does He care? Is the answer to human suffering found in limiting God? My answer is no. God is not limited in ability, knowledge, or goodness. Still we want to know why?<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Processing catastrophe like this one is difficult for all of us. I find my thoughts going back to a simple phrase found in Romans 8.20, “in hope.” Paul has explained that because of the catastrophic entrance of sin, the world has now been subjected to futility. Later in this passage we see the world “groans and suffers.” (Rom 8.22) This world is full of futility and pain. It hurts. Earthquakes come. Hurricanes swirl. Tornadoes destroy. Work is hard. Sickness happens. People die. Life is tough. The question again is, why the futility? The answer is found in verse 20. “Creation was subjected to futility...<i>in hope.”</i> Who does things <i>in hope?</i> Not Satan, it is God Himself. We learn in verse 22 that these pains are like childbirth, they are necessary to bring about something beautiful. God has a plan for this futility. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">God is using tragedy to produce a beautiful masterpiece. He is not taken aback by anything that happens. If you had a thousand years to live and unlimited resources, you could not improve on God’s plan. His purpose of glorifying Himself and making His name great will be accomplished (Is 46.10). How should we respond to realities like this? I will let Romans 8.23 have the final word: “...we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for <i>our</i> adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”</span><br />
</div></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-78019656158606822982010-01-07T13:48:00.002-06:002010-01-07T15:46:22.303-06:00You don't have to be smart, pretty, fashionable, athletic, or popular to be useful to God.<div style="font: 10.0px Comic Sans MS; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you ever feel intimidated spiritually? You think that God has so many qualified people. Most people are smarter than me, better spoken, better looking, and better suited to do the Lord’s work. </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Comic Sans MS; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">When we see stories like this, we are reminded of God's absolute sovereignty, even in whom He chooses to employ into His plans. It should be noted also that He doesn't always even need willing participants. He used a group of angry and vindictive religious leaders to spear head the efforts to kill His son and ultimately bring redemption. He used an unbelieving King named Cyrus. He once used a donkey to speak to a prophet. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Comic Sans MS; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">These examples remind us that it is a profound privilege to be employed at ANY level in God's purposes. </span><br />
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</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-7132906806365442072009-12-22T11:07:00.000-06:002009-12-22T11:07:54.194-06:00Why Adopt?Recently I had to fill out a questionnaire for something related to our adoption. One of the questions was simply, why do you want to adopt? Since we've been in this process for over a year now, it's been a while since I really stopped to think about that question.<div><br />
</div><div>I'm sure there are many questions that have swirled around since we announced that we'll be adopting. Most people wonder if there is a medical reason we cannot have more children. That's not the case. In fact (at risk of being misunderstood), we're not necessarily adopting because we want to have more children (obviously we're thrilled to be adding to our family!!). Our desire to adopt roots itself in our adoption into God's family. I was adopted as His child not because of my worth, pedigree, or DNA. He adopted me because He loved me. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The Bible places a high priority on caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. James 1.26-27 is the classic passage on the essence of genuine religion (Christianity). It is to care for orphans, widows, and the keep oneself pure. The point clear: a Christian is one who cares for those who can't repay. First century orphans and widows were among the most destitute of categories. Christians don't just serve people who have hefty bank accounts or some admirable status in the world. James will talk about this also explicitly in chapter 2.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't think every Christian has to adopt to be godly, but I think many should consider it. <b>The question is not have you adopted or not, or do you care for a particular widow or not, the question is do you serve others with no expectation for return on your efforts?</b> Adopting a child for my family doesn't mean lifetime obedience now achieved to James 1. It's simply something we want to do as our thinking has been informed by the Bible.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We have the privilege of offering a home to one who would not have a home. This little girl will hear the gospel. I pray our adoption will serve as a picture of the gospel as we open our home someone not of our flesh. </div><div><br />
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</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-90197645954592547252009-12-16T01:01:00.001-06:002009-12-17T06:47:09.010-06:00Just Let it GrowEmphasizing life change and holiness after someone is saved is admirable. It's hard to imagine that someone could say they are "in Christ" and have been made new then do not have a subsequent life change. This is biblically inconsistent. This is why many emphasize looking for "fruit" in someone's life to validate a profession of faith. Let me be sure to say this: if you are saved, you can, should, and must bear evidences of salvation, not to be saved but because you are saved.<br />
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But I'm also concerned because I think our emphasis can easily slip off base. While strongly affirming faith alone and grace alone, we can fall into a practical legalism in our sanctification efforts. This was exactly the Galatian problem. Flesh isn't always nasty stuff like lust, anger, greed, and jealousy. Flesh is also self righteousness that can look unsuspectingly like "fruit."<br />
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What am I saying? To just "let go and let God?" No. Simply this: the emphasis shouldn't be on fruit, it must be on the source of the fruit. Affixing a bushel of apples to a dead tree doesn't fix the problem. You need a new tree or you need a miracle to occur in the old one. You can't just go adding fruits.<br />
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If you are not a fruit bearing Christian, it's not because you're not working hard enough at bearing fruits. It's because you are not walking in the Spirit (Gal 5.16 - note this is BEFORE the fruit of the Spirit is laid out in 5.22). You are not bearing fruit because you are not focussed on Christ and your redemption. Peter gives us a glimpse into this reality in 2 Peter 1. He walks through various virtues that should be present. If these things are not here, it's because you've become shortsighted, and forgotten your purification from sins (1.9) or you are not redeemed at all! (1.10) You have little reason to be assured of your salvation if you are not walking in newness of life.<br />
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Perhaps an illustration may help. My daughter recently came home from AWANA with a little cup of dirt with grass seeds planted in it. They were doing some type of object lesson showing how God made stuff grow. She wanted to dig up the seeds everyday to see if they had sprouted and if it was "working." I tried to explain that you just can't dig it up everyday. Likewise, fruit will be produced on a healthy and mature believer. We do what we can to fix our minds on Christ, remember our redemption, walk in the Spirit, obey what we know to obey, and the Spirit produces His fruit. Remember it's the fruit of the <b>Spirit</b>, not the deeds of the flesh.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-80607856109128573862009-12-15T06:47:00.001-06:002009-12-17T06:47:50.508-06:00United to Christ<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I have spent the past few months teaching a class on Christology. It has been an incredible time in the Word, first for me, and hopefully some others have benefited from it.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This past week we looked at the doctrine of the believer's union with Christ. This is one of the most profound concepts in Scripture. It is intensely personal and draws out of us gratitude, wonder, and joy. How I could be in Christ and Christ in me, considering my sinful state is an idea that is so deep the greatest theologians haven't plunged the depths but so sweet and simplistic that a child can comprehend. The bottom line is certainly the heart of the gospel: God treated Jesus as if He had lived your life so He could treat you as if you had lived His.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Paul wrote often of the believers union with Jesus. Being 'in Christ' is at the center of any discussion about salvation. There are many different avenues of this union to explore, but the one that keeps surfacing in my thoughts is our Judicial Union with Him. <i><b> When God the Judge looks at me, he does not separate man the sinner from the Righteous Savior</b></i>. In this Judicial sense, we are righteous. That is, perfectly righteous from the time of conversion (imputed righteousness).<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This idea give me hope, it relieves guilt, it motivates me to fight sin, it inspires me to love the Savior more, it causes me to want others to enjoy this union, and it leaves me in awe again of my standing despite my sinning.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://web.me.com/allenandmindy/Site_2/jesus/Entries/2009/12/14_09-1213_Union_with_Christ.html">Here is a link to my notes</a> from class on Sunday. If you find them helpful, please feel free to use them in whatever setting you like. I found Millard Erickson's, <i>Christian Theology</i> and a <a href="http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/questions/horton/union.html">sermon by Michael Horton</a> to be extremely helpful in shaping my thoughts. Please respect copyright of any cited works.<br />
</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-33752552415820095832009-12-14T09:06:00.001-06:002009-12-17T06:48:11.943-06:00Wear the PantsSomeone sent this to me this morning. What a great quote. I don't get paid by Dockers, but I'm considering going to buy another pair now.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never had to cross the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by as cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar, and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.us.dockers.com/season/landing.aspx">http://www.us.dockers.com/season/landing.aspx</a></span></span>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-34607269022116399012009-12-09T11:58:00.001-06:002009-12-09T12:06:08.670-06:00More Than Overdraft Protection<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">This is a copy of our bulletin article for this week. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Those first days of having a bank account are filled with little life lessons. Many learn the hard way that just because you have a checkbook or a bank card doesn’t mean you have money. Banks offer a service for just such a person, it’s called overdraft protection.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Unfortunately, I think we often think of God’s grace and forgiveness like overdraft protection. We sin and God gives us some grace to cover that sin. We sin again and we get a little more grace to cover this new round of sin. The picture of God’s forgiveness isn’t that. You see, all overdraft protection does is bring us back to zero. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">God has done so much more than zero our account. He has imputed the righteousness of Christ to our account. Unlimited, perfect righteousness is now available. He hasn’t just fixed our puny accounts, it is more like handing us the account number for a treasure that is better than FDIC insured. This treasure was secured by the sacrifice of Jesus and is guaranteed by God Himself (2 Cor 5.21).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Some will say if we have such forgiveness already secured by grace, then why bother with holiness and obedience? Why not just continue in sin? Paul anticipates and blasts this response to God’s grace. Romans 6.1 and 6.15 respond in the same manner: “May it never be!” In the original language, this is the strongest possible way of saying, “No Way!” If being forgiven and having Christ’s righteousness doesn’t stir your heart and create a desire for purity, you are either seriously deceived as to your standing with the Lord or you have allowed sin to cloud your thinking.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Allow your mind to mediate on the gospel again today. Don’t become cold and indifferent to the precious treasure that has been given to those who believe. Be reminded of your sin, then remind yourself quickly of His grace.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 16.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times New Roman"><span style="font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px">Isaiah 43.25</span><span style="font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; letter-spacing: 0.0px"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. </span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-44046071464511766922009-12-08T09:20:00.004-06:002009-12-17T06:48:39.256-06:00Coffee for Karis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBo_T_jF7UKh4gXmIgDuXrH_ca_bWNR6KMgb4n5F1BPRR6OK9MSCNSYKqgbOQULoCR1eMhhg4z_aU9fToH3QfFLuREfsuGfWNuCZzJPeoFhPwJbTpYn-CSCurvR3Jf7rbwnzjvTg/s1600-h/%E4%B8%A5%E8%95%8A%E8%95%8A.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412890143228773266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBo_T_jF7UKh4gXmIgDuXrH_ca_bWNR6KMgb4n5F1BPRR6OK9MSCNSYKqgbOQULoCR1eMhhg4z_aU9fToH3QfFLuREfsuGfWNuCZzJPeoFhPwJbTpYn-CSCurvR3Jf7rbwnzjvTg/s400/%E4%B8%A5%E8%95%8A%E8%95%8A.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
As most of you know, Mindy and I are in the process of adopting a little girl from China. We were matched about a month ago and just received our official clearance from immigration yesterday. That means, according to the US Government, we are clear to adopt. Our paperwork is in process and will be going to China soon. Then we'll wait on an approval letter from China and we'll receive travel plans. I'll translate all that for you, we expect to be heading east in 3-5 months to adopt our newest family member, Karis.<br />
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</div><div>One of the questions that we are continually asked is "how much does it costs to adopt?" My answer: a lot. We have been blessed by gifts from family and friends who want to share in this process with us. We don't deserve anyone's gifts. It's an extraordinarily humbling experience to be given a gift. Honestly, I'd rather give stuff away.<br />
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</div><div>So how is this working? There are some organizations out there that help families adopt. With grants, zero percent loans, and a healthy federal tax credit, this mountain isn't quite as impossible as it may appear at first. Add to that the fact that the Lord isn't broke and that <i>should</i> equal no worry on our part.<br />
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</div><div>In the first weekend of October, we attended a conference called <a href="http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?page_id=11">Together for Adoption</a>. This was a great conference and I'd encourage you to check out some of the audio. One of the exhibitors was Just Love Coffee. I walked by their booth and being the coffee person that I am, I thought, sure, I'll try a cup. I'm a coffee snob. I was shocked at the quality and ended up buying a bag. <br />
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</div><div>Recently, the website went live and we (the Cagles) now have a "store" set up through them. If you order through our storefront, <a href="https://www.justlovecoffee.com/cagles">here</a>, part of the costs of the coffee goes directly to us to be used for our adoption. (I highly recommend the Sumatra).<br />
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</div><div>Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please pray for us that we would be Christlike in all things and that we would learn to trust Him more. Please also pray for Karis. We are praying for a speedy adjustment to our family. Also, she has a condition called hip dysplasia. We are not certain yet what type of treatment has or has not been done. <br />
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</div><div><a href="https://www.justlovecoffee.com/cagles">Just Love Coffee Storefront</a><br />
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</div><div></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-91126015678000585662009-12-07T08:42:00.006-06:002009-12-08T11:21:59.319-06:00Thoughts on Work<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">Someone sent this to me today. I thought it was extremely helpful in keeping perspective on work. God has created each of us to work. If you have a job, read these thoughts and be grateful. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">This is taken from <a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102866468448&s=11154&e=001mZ4F97PsP_yeJp-Ln_vDZAaflCtgY_uM7hfx6yKPdoQNZTzCbSw88AF3CMLSbl4bqOv1axx3rLzwemXqU5Q4tqNaB78SHEhFe4aj7G9Yp1Yq4FU9n4bdDSgg322gKq240n5NX-AjEs5_hOKoBplbe3sdO8hVGBFD">"Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings," </a>, a new book from Banner of Truth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 14px; ">My God will supply every need of yours.<br /><em>Philippians 4:19</em><br /><br /><br />The ways of God's providence direct us into the calling and employment that is ordered for us in this world. To have an honest, lawful employment in which you do not dishonour God is no small mercy. If it is suited also to your genius and strength, this is a double mercy. If you have less toil than others and more time for heavenly exercises, ascribe this benefit to the special care of providence for you. How strangely are things wheeled about by providence! David followed the sheep and likely never raised his thoughts to higher things, but God made him the royal shepherd. Some have work, but not enough strength. Others have strength, but no employment. If God blesses your labour and gives you and yours necessary support and comfort in the world, it is a choice providence and should be acknowledged with all thankfulness. If you find yourself scarcely able to provide for the necessities of life, consider: though you have a small portion of the world, if you are godly, he has promised never to forsake you (<em>Heb.</em> 13:5). Provdence has ordered the condition that is really best for your eternal good. If you had more of the world you might not be able to mnage it to your advantage. We are directed to be content with food and clothing, and the little that the righteous has is better than the riches of many wicked (<em>Psa.</em> 37:16). If providence has so disposed you that you cannot only eat your own bread but have enough for works of mercy upon others, and all this is brought to pass in a way you did not expect, let God be honoured in this providence. Remember that the success of your callings and earthly employments is by divine blessing and not human diligence alone. Be well satisfied in the station and employment where you have been placed. God is wise and seeks your eternal good.<br /><br /><br />John Flavel, <em>Works,</em> IV:387-391<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div></div></div></div></blockquote></span></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-54676323558266339522009-12-05T07:58:00.004-06:002009-12-17T06:49:07.803-06:00some resources on SantaHere are a few links on Santa that I thought were interesting. <br />
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</div><div>Sinclair Ferguson writes about <a href="http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2008/12/santa-christ.html">'Santa Christ'</a> <br />
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</div><div>Piper delivers with unmistakable Piper Passion - <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1553_bad_news_santa_is_coming/">Bad News: Santa is Coming to Town</a><br />
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</div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-69741241376977804042009-12-04T10:34:00.003-06:002009-12-04T15:34:34.067-06:00Knowing is half the battleI've heard rumors of a cow that resides in Louisiana that is just downright scary. The story I hear is there is a hole in the side of the cow that allows viewers to observe how food is processed. The inner workings are exposed for the purpose of research. Allegedly this is done through a research program at LSU. Though I'm sure a quick google search could clear up lots of things for me on this, I'll stay in my state of 'wonder if it's true.' Regardless of veracity, Mr. Window Cow gives us a great picture (no pun intended).<div><br /></div><div>While I personally want no part of an investigation into the inward parts of a cow, I get it. The more you can know about how the process works, the better you can be with disease treatment, nutrition, and maybe we can even up the quality of a good Ribeye. Knowing how it functions is a massive part of the battle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Temptation and sin are similar. We are given a window into one of our own organs in the Bible. The thought of peering down into a functioning digestive tract seems a bit nasty. So does looking into our own hearts. Believers battle with sin. If you've been saved more than about 90 seconds, you know this is true. The Bible tells us why this is. Though there is a New Man who is alive to God through Christ, the flesh is still active. James 1 gives us insight into how sin is produced. The truth about this is not pleasant - You sin because you listen to your fleshly desires (ie - your heart's dirty).</div><div><br /></div><div>James is adamant on this point. James 1.14 tells us that we sin when we give in to our own lust. Later in the book James gives some helpful and practical wisdom on defining the source of our relational conflict - it's from our own desires (Jas 4.1-4). Paul tells us that sin is active in us (Rom 7.17). We can all move to a monastery, but the reality is we take the idol factory with us, our hearts.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it's important to distinguish between sin and temptation. You are tempted all the time. Your temptation is common (normal - see I Cor 10.13) and even Jesus was tempted just like we are (Heb 2.17-18; 4.15). When someone really "makes" you angry, remember they didn't make you anything. They simply gave your heart the enticement it needed. Someone cutting you off on the road isn't <i><b>why</b></i> you got angry, it is <b><i>where</i></b>. Thinking in this way helps us to arrest the process at it's actual starting point, the initial desire. We must be careful to examine and guard our hearts (Prov 4.23). </div><div><br /></div><div>Understanding the process of sin also helps drive us to the gospel. We all have a tinge of self-righteousness in us. We think that just a little more effort, more time in the spiritual disciplines, a few more verses memorized, or just limiting our exposure to TV, radio, or internet will fix the problem. These things can be helpful. But will they eliminate the problem, or to ask another way, can these things make us holy? Of course not. You need the gospel. You need Christ righteousness, because your effort stinks. Your heart and your effort is no place to turn for holiness, that comes through God's power. Yes, we gladly put ourselves in the way of grace by doing all the above mentioned things, but at the end of the day, we must cry out to God with the same sense of dependence as when we first recognized our sin and God's holiness. </div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-82669142647704781982009-12-03T13:33:00.002-06:002009-12-03T13:59:01.360-06:00Why we love Santa Clause and why he doesn’t actually come to our house.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Santa Clause. Just the name gets a reaction. To most, he stands for a what is left that’s ‘right’ in the world. A big jolly fella giving freely with no expectation or debtors ethic. What’s not to like? There’s a happy man, encouraging obedience to mom and dad, and giving gifts to those who haven’t earned it. In Santa’s economy, it seems all you can do is lose your gifts, not earn them. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Then we have Christians. I hear things in the Christian subculture like “santa idols,” or some tirade about how Santa is taking Christ out of Christmas (assuming he was at some point there, which is another discussion). </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I tipped my hand in the title. We don’t do Santa in our house, at least not in the same sort of way. I don’t have a problem with Santa as a story. Just like Jack in the Beanstalk (doesn’t he eat children?), Snow White, Mickey Mouse or the Chronicles of Narnia. In the hands of a parent, Santa can be a pretty cool launch point to talk about grace, accountability, sin and generosity. I like the Santa story, for these reasons. Plus he just looks so stinking happy, and I generally like happy people, unless it’s prior to 7AM.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">That said, here are some reasons why we don’t have Santa visit on Dec 25: </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:12px;">1. We don’t assign divine attributes to men other than Jesus. I have a real problem with Santa being omniscient and therefore the divine accountability partner for my 3 year old. That’s not healthy. Again, see above point, I don’t have a problem with the Santa story anymore than I have a problem with any other kids story. It doesn’t bother me that Mary Poppins can fly. It doesn’t bother me that Qunicy, Leo and team can free rocket from the evil czar by finding the magic feather (you people should watch the Little Einsteins). But if my children are convinced they need a magic umbrella to fly across the street, I’m going to help them understand what is reality and what is pretend. We need to encourage our children to learn to divide reality from unreality. For my family, supernatural powers are reserved in reality for God. Stories are fun; they are not reality.</span><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I sat with my daughter a few nights ago and we watched the Rudolph story. The old school one. It was awesome. She was concerned for the little toys on misfit island, mortified by the abominable snow man, and really glad when Rudolph saved Christmas. I was too, I always get nervous when I see that eleventh-hour whiteout. It’s a far cry to go from enjoying a fun story to “believe or you won’t receive” or worse yet, “be good because Santa’s watching.” Our children get enough humanistic bad theology and philosophy. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:12px;">2. I want to engender gratefulness in my children. I remember well after one Christmas I said to my mom, “Christmas was smaller this year.” She gave me ‘the look’ and said, “You better not let your dad her you say that.” I didn’t say anything as I knew from the tone, it was be quiet time. But in my little heart, I couldn't figure out why that bothered my mom, it was Santa who brought the presents. I want my children to know that Dad and Mom love them and bought them a present. They need to learn gratitude. A flying man in a red suit is hard to look in the eye and offer sincere gratitude.</span><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:12px;">3. I don’t want to lie to my children. I know there’s all types of pretending that we do with our kids. Isn’t that <i>lying?</i> You put a pillow case over your head and become the tickle monster. Is that <i>lying?</i> No, that’s absurd, right? But why? Children are gullible and are hard wired to believe big people, especially their parents. So if you really wanted to convince your 3 year old that you were a Martian, you probably could. This is a trust given to parents to help teach their children truth. At some point, it’s going to become extremely obvious that the smurfs or talking trains don’t actually exist. I’m not going to try to convince my children they actually do. I will not treat Santa any differently. It’s a fun story. I can enjoy the story, use it to point our thoughts back to God, but I’m not going to try to convince them something is ‘for reals’ when it doesn’t exist in reality.</span><br /><ol style="list-style-type: decimal"> </ol> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Though most kids come out of it just fine, it seems the possibility exists to undermine the trust a child would have in their parents. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">But they’re just kids. Do you really want your children to be the one that ruins it for everyone else in the class? I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone. But my concern isn’t primarily for what 5 year old Susie and her parents talk about. I have to raise </span><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>my</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> children. I want them to be respectful and courteous of what other people think, but the reality is, I’m sure this will happen, probably sooner rather than later. My simple response would be, we love the Santa story in our house. Mom and Dad love giving their children gifts just like God loves giving His children gifts (Mt 7.7-12). We choose to keep those things separate. </span></p>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-61762619604835892082009-08-27T07:58:00.001-05:002009-08-27T07:59:31.402-05:00Guitars and Trials<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">This is a copy of our bulletin article I just finished up for Sunday. If you go to CF, you can get a double dose.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Whether you’re a musician or not, you would probably have to agree that there are few things worse than hearing someone play a stringed instrument that is severely out of tune. My parents love to remind me of a time when I was in kindergarten and I “led” music for my class with my guitar. I’m sure that was the first and only time I ever did such a thing. That little guitar that I had and cluelessly strummed was far from in tune. Yet my teacher and parents were gracious and let me have my day of glory. The process of tuning a guitar is simple in theory, but takes a musician with a decent ear (or a tuner for the rest of us) to get just the right amount of tension on the string so it produces the proper sound. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I think sometimes when we are going through trials, we need to remember the analogy of the guitar. Many times our perspective when a difficult circumstance comes is, “Lord, what do you want me to learn through this.” The unspoken next line of that thought is, “Because I’m ready to learn it and get this situation over with!” Yes, God does teach us lessons through trials. Yes, sometimes we learn and the difficulty ends quickly. But many times, if not most of the time, trials provide the necessary amount of tension on your life to make you useful for the kingdom. You shortchange God’s plan when you <b>only</b> ask, “Can this please end now?” The answer may be “no” and the Lord has good reason for that in His wise and benevolent plan.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The letter of 2 Corinthians gives us a picture of this lesson. In chapter 12, Paul is being tormented by a “thorn in the flesh.” Paul asks for this affliction to be removed and God denies this request. We are told why in 2 Cor 12.7. Paul was used mightily by God to deliver His Word. Because of this God found it necessary to give him this affliction to keep him from “exalting himself.” It is shortly after that we find the promise in verse 9 that we can cling to as well during a trial, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Don’t waste your affliction. Consider the difficulties that life brings to be tools designed to make you more like Christ (Jas 1.2; Rom 8.28). Remember God’s grace is always sufficient (2 Cor 12.9) and he’ll never put more on you than he gives you grace to handle (I Cor 10.13)!</span></p>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-14566914419466744052009-07-30T16:38:00.002-05:002009-07-30T16:46:59.800-05:00Life at CampWe're towards the end of the week here in beautiful Black Mountain. Summer camp has once again been incredible, with more things in store. <div><br /></div><div>We have been served very well by Adam Bailie and Kurt Gebhards. They have enlarged our understanding of Christ and challenged our views of ourselves. The reality is Christ is more glorious than we can imagine, and our sin is worse than we can imagine. Combining these thoughts leads us to gospel that is infinite in value. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's hard to capture in a post such as this the impact that this time is having on the attendees. It seems that the Lord is using this time in many hearts to turn our affections as a group to Christ. Many have expressed a desire for better relationships with one another, relationships that have a spiritual focus. I pray that this would be the case in the coming weeks and months.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-4870719628470990882009-07-14T11:21:00.002-05:002009-07-14T11:55:12.306-05:00Filled with the Spirit<div>Ephesians 5.18 has always been an enigma to me. What does it really mean to be filled with the Spirit? And how do I get filled (or better yet, how did I get unfilled)? Graham Cole has written an excellent book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Holy-Spirit-Questions-Practical/dp/1581349726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247590332&sr=8-1">Engaging with the Holy Spirit: Real Questions, Practical Answers.</a> This book comes at least in part from a larger work, which is also excellent, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Who-Gives-Life-Foundations-Evangelical/dp/1581347928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247590395&sr=1-1">He Who Gives Life.</a> I thoroughly enjoyed this short primer on the Holy Spirit. I really enjoyed his treatment of the filling of the Spirit in the last chapter. Maybe I have heard this type of thing before, but to understand these verses in terms of Ecclesiology instead of Sanctification is really helpful and clarifying for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me attempt to reconstruct some of the argument. The only command in the Bible to be filled with the Spirit is found in Eph 5.18. We have numerous examples of the Spirit empowering prophets, kings, apostles, even Elizabeth enjoys some type of special ministry of the Spirit when she and Mary meet (Luke 1.41-42). Cole argues that these special experiences need to be treated with great care. These experiences all involve some type of filling AND speaking. "These instances of filling are conjoined with some kind of speech act." (103) </div><div><br /></div><div>We then come to Eph 5 and we meet our only actual command to be filled. These special occurrences give us no indication of an intentionally cooperative activity. In other words, God chose to sovereignly do these things. These instances are all individual. The Ephesians passage is corporate. The command is given then we find 5 participles, all present and continuous in nature. The question is, do we understand these as being participles of result or participles of means? One quote may help to clarify the difference: "The five participles [activities] do no lead to the filling by the Spirit, rather they indicate the means by which the command is carried out." (107 ) </div><div><br /></div><div>So what's the point? Cole makes some great observations in the last part of his argument. I think this final quote will well summarize the significance of this discussion.</div><div><blockquote>However, to pursue the Spirit's control is to miss it. In moral philosphy there is a fallacy called the hedonistic fallacy. Pursue pleasure, and you will not get it. Pleasure is a byproduce of other pursuits. Pursue the Spirit, and you will not be obeying the Pauline command. However, fill up our gathering with these practices, and then the Spirit will be filling the temple of God. Both attitude (thankfulness and reverence or respect) and activity (speaking, singing, making melody, and so forth) are involved.</blockquote></div><div><div>May our corporate gathering reflect the mighty filling of the Spirit through our attitudes and our actions. You would be well served to pick up this book for yourself and read all the chapters. My attempt to summarize doesn't do this treatment justice!</div><div><br /></div></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15129268.post-2653048320107341532009-07-13T10:58:00.004-05:002009-07-13T16:35:03.420-05:00Why China?My wife and I are in the process of adopting from China. As we have been pursuing this for a number of months now, we have been asked the question numerous times, why China? I read <a href="http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/15639">this article</a> this morning and was reminded again why we want to adopt from China. This article is a poignant reminder of what happens when the imago dei is lost. If man is not in God's image, he is nothing more than a collection of atoms and matter. To paraphrase Schaeffer, nothing then stands in the way of inhumanity. <div><br /></div><div>The article opens with this paragraph:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:georgia, 'times roman', times, fantasy;font-size:14px;"><blockquote>After one birth and one abortion, a young Chinese woman gave birth to her second child. Knowing the fines for giving birth illegally would leave her family impoverished, she left the baby with her sister in another village and went to an abortion clinic, where she paid the clinic for the corpse of a baby girl. When the population control police came to her home to levy the fine, she carried the body to the door. They assumed her baby died and left her alone.</blockquote></span></div><div>This is why we want to adopt from China. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00743194774906435424noreply@blogger.com0