life not included

Here's a comic from a friend:














Check out his daily strip at www.bucketgnome.com.

advent: favorite song of 2009

Wanted to share with you all my favorite "new" Christmas song for 2009. Below are the lyrics and a link to listen to the whole song online.






Wake Up The World by JJ Heller

Shepherds come to worship
Angels sing Gloria
Wake up the world, the King has come

Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Wake up the world, Wake up the world,
Wake up the world, the king has come

Joseph smiles at Mary
The baby falls asleep
Wake up the world, the king has come

Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Oh let heaven, heaven and nature sing
Wake up the world, Wake up the world,
Wake up the world, the king has come

Son of God
Love’s Pure light
Wake up the world, the king has come

Wake Up The World - JJ Heller

advent: o holy night

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

— by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem.

advent: god's light

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." — Luke 2:25-35 (ESV)

This was our final Advent devotional reading. We remembered that God is not finished with his plan for us and the world. He desires that everyone would love and obey him. Just as Jesus was a light and blessing to those around him, we are to be a light and blessing to others. This will not be easy. It will be costly, but worth it. Very worth it.

Now we celebrate the light of the world, and pray that God would teach us to be a light just like Jesus!

advent: our gifts

After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. — Matthew 2:9-11 (ESV)

This was our fourth reading for Advent devotions as a family. We had a good time placing our Little People Nativity pieces by each candle we had lit so far. An angel for OT prophecy and "God's Promise." Mary for "Our Choice." Shepherds for "God With Us." And finally the wise men for this week "Our Gifts."

We reflected on how God has blessed us so much, and he loves when we give back to him. The kids brainstormed what we can give God, obedience, giving to those in need, our time, etc. We also thought about these verses:

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. — Psalm 51:17 (ESV)

All these things my hand has made,and so all these things came to be,declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spiritand trembles at my word. — Isaiah 66:2 (ESV)

We remembered that God's favorite gifts are when we ask for help and admit we are wrong and need help.

advent: the friendly beasts

Jesus our brother kind and good
Was humbly born in a stable of wood
And the friendly beasts around him stood
Jesus our brother kind and good

"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown
I carried his mother up hill and down
I carried him safely to Bethlehem town
"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown

And "I" said the cow all white and red
I gave him my manger for a bed
I gave him my hay for to pillow his head
"I" said the cow all white and red

"I" said the sheep with a curly horn
I have him my wool for his blanket warm
And he wore my coat on that Christmas morn
"I" said the sheep with a curly horn

"I" said the dove from the rafters high
Cooed him to sleep that he should not cry
We cooed him to sleep my love and I
"I" said the dove from the rafters high

And "I" said the camel all yellow and black
Over the desert upon my back
I brought him a gift in the wise men's pack
"I" said the camel all yellow and black

Thus every beast remembering it well
In the stable dark was so proud to tell
Of the gifts that they gave Emmanuel
The gifts that they gave Emmanuel

— This song originally hails from a 12th century Latin song "Orientis Partibus" which first appeared in France and is usually attributed to Pierre de Corbeil, Bishop of Sens (d 1222). Robert Davis (1881-1950) apparently wrote the words that we normally associate with this tune in the 1920s.

Listen to this song done by Sufjan Stevens:

The Friendly Beasts - Sufjan S...

love the questions

"You are so young and before all beginning, and I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer." — Letters To A Young Poet, Ranier Maria Rilke, July 16th, 1903, p. 27

living out the questions

I said, "Well," for now I was ashamed, "I had this feeling maybe I had been called."
"And you may have been right. But not to what you thought. Not to what you think. You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live them out—perhaps a little at a time."
"And how long is that going to take?"
"I don't know. As long as you live, perhaps."
"That could be a long time."
"I will tell you a further mystery," he said. "It may take longer."

— Jayber Crow: The Life Story of Jayber Crow, Barber, of the Port William Membership, as written by himself by Wendell Berry

knowing god in prayer

"The message of hope the contemplative offers you is that whether you understand or not, God loves you, is present in you, lives in you, dwells in you, calls you, saves you, and offers you an understanding and light which are like nothing you ever found in books or heard in sermons." — Thomas Merton, in a letter to Dom Francis Decroix, Aug. 21, 1967

advent: god with us

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." — Luke 2:8-12 (ESV)

This was our third reading for our Family Advent Devotionals. We reflected on the "baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." Thinking about how God came to be with us and went through growing up just like we do. We were with two other families. So we talked about Jesus being a baby like Eli, 2 like Caleb, 4 like Ashlyn and her friend Maria, 6 like our friend Ella, 9 like our friend Jack, 11 like our friend Connor, and 14 like our friend Jenny. Each kid shared what they like about being their age and we imagined Jesus like that. We talked about playing, toys, church, friends, puberty, and hormones.

How good it is to know Jesus wanted to be with us so much he was willing to go through everything we do! He can sympathize with our weaknesses and challenges, but showed us a better way to live!

christmas tom-foolery

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel.

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch.

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crockodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.

Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable
rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch.
With a nauseaus super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked horse.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool
sandwich
With arsenic sauce.

— Dr. Seuss, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

too much power, too little knowledge

"But a man with a machine and inadequate culture—such as I was when I made my pond—is a pestilence. He shakes more than he can hold." — Wendell Berry, "Damage" in What Are People For?

In what ways do we have too much power and too little knowledge?

woven together

Woven together.
One does not know how.
Yet, living it,
it is clear.

Woven together,
with blade of grass and tree.
Walking, or running,
with many, as one.

Woven together,
with neighbors, strangers, and friends.
Laughing, or crying,
with many, as one.

Woven together,
with mind, body, spirit, and soul.
Loving, or hating,
with many, as one.

Woven together,
with Father, Son, and Spirit.
Living, or dying,
with many, as one.

a memo regarding the christmas crèche

A satire by John Mark Reynolds, from The Scriptorium Daily

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Office of the White House
Czar for Celebration and Jollification
Alcibiades Antinous, Director

RE: The White House Christmas Crèche

Someone must tell the President that his display of the Christmas crèche is inconsistent with our recent policies regarding holiday celebrations in the United States.

The display of the crèche will self-evidently lead to an Iranian style theocracy. If the President chooses to place a crèche in his house many of us in the community of no-faith will feel pressured to put a crèche in our house.

Just yesterday I was hosting a party in my own fashionable Georgetown duplex and someone commented that my replica of the Oval Office and White House decorations was incomplete because I lacked a crèche! Now I can take this kind of heat, but should this kind of bigotry exist in this free nation?

Despite the fact that use of Christian symbols has been a consistent practice of every administration since the founding of the United States, it is never too late to worry about this problem.

Just because it has always been done harmlessly, does not mean it isn’t just about to be harmful. We have been warning about the danger of singing songs like The Battle Hymn of the Republic and playing the “I Have a Dream Speech” by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for decades, but perhaps the President is willing to listen to us now.

There is a clear and present danger in this crèche to our liberties.

The entire Christmas story as pictured in the crèche is inconsistent with our policy to commercialize holidays and so stimulate the economy. Since acquiring so much of the private sector in the government bailout, our office has made a concerted policy to commercialize the holidays. The man attending church or praying is not in the mall buying.

Isn’t this obvious?

It treats a particular religion as different from other religions and so undercuts our policy to confuse differences. Our present mantra is that all religions are the same, so that people will not look into the tedious details. Pointing out that the founder of one religion is called “the Prince of Peace” through carols and crèches marginalizes other religions whose founders killed people.

Finally, the Christmas story itself, as demonstrated by the figures in the crèche, is inconsistent with the policies of this office. We used several million dollars in a stimulus grant to study the crèche problem and were easily able to come up with ten ways this crèche is inconsistent with present administrative policies. We have put together a policy briefing book outlining the problems in three hundred pages, but here is an executive summary of What Must Go in the Christmas Story.

First, the so-called wise men set a bad example. They are not accredited, so far as we can discover, by any government approved credentialing agency. Who says they are “wise?”

We also discovered that several people in the office were made to feel “other than” by the use of the term “wise man” on both gender and educational grounds.

The situation is worse if they are called “kings.” The notion that a government official should bow the knee to any authority outside government, as in the Baby Jesus, would set a bad precedent. It is in that direction one finds the tea party people.

The gifts given will not stimulate the economy. None of them are from government owned TARP businesses. Couldn’t they have brought Joseph and Mary a GM car? That would improve the crèche considerably. In fact, the use of gold as a gift implies a “hard money” view of currency inconsistent with present administration policies.

Second, the shepherds represent a view of work and economics inconsistent with our present policies. These shepherds lacked a union and were “keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Angels appeared and ordered them to Bethlehem, but failed to find adequate means of transportation. The implication is that these exploited workers walked or ran.

Third, the use of animals in the crèche does not meet modern standards for the housing of livestock. Many of them are pictured in quarters that are cramped and filled with filthy straw. One of our more sensitive commission members could not stop weeping when she saw the crèche ox kneeling in what she described as “an unnatural position.”

Fourth, the “virgin” Mary is a terrible role model for our women. Where to begin with the problems? She was forced by her culture to keep an inconvenient baby. Her very title glorifies an unhealthy abstinence. She is well known for her humility and not her self-esteem, undermining decades of educational effort. She has become associated with Catholics and other retrograde groups.

Fifth, Joseph is an even worse role model for our men. He is upset when he discovers his fiancée might be pregnant by another man indicating a moral judgment about such behavior. When Joseph finds out Mary is “good,” he “takes care” of his pregnant wife without any government assistance. This is both demeaning to Mary and to the government.

Sixth, the “angels” appearing in the scene are flying without FAA clearance. When contacted, Gabriel refused to acknowledge the authority of this office if he needed to make an announcement over American airspace. We have ordered a Homeland Security investigation.

Seventh, government officials such as Herod are routinely shown in a negative light. This is, perhaps, the most serious problem. It is hard to serve the public, but when government officials are shown as “monsters” it gets harder to attract the right kind of forceful person to the civil service. At the very least, if the crèche must be shown, shouldn’t Herod be able to give his side of the story?

We need a Crèche Fairness Doctrine!

Eighth, the use of a “manger” to house the infant Jesus and “swaddling clothes” both fail any reasonable test for good parenting. The cost to the economy alone of such cut-rate child rearing is staggering.

Ninth, both Mary and Joseph home-schooled the infant Jesus, and the boy Jesus ended up embarrassing many well-known teachers. It’s just one step from a make-do-manger to do-it-yourself-schooling, and the President cannot afford to lose the teacher’s union.

Tenth, the delivery of the Baby Jesus without government run health care sets a bad example. Need I say more about this? How can we convince people that everyone will die without government run health care when this crèche is sitting in the White House?

The President should realize that he has already let down the progressive community through his bellicose “Peace Prize Speech” and angered the no-faith community through his use of Christian “just war” rhetoric. The faithless are growing restive and placing a crèche in his own home is beginning to make many of us think or believe that his public protestations of Christian belief are genuine.

Can he afford to offend a key three percent of the voting public to cater to the whims of three-quarters of the nation at Christmas?

The good news is that the President is left with an important part of the Holiday story that he can use to illuminate the real importance of the season.

Please let the President know that the only part of the Christmas story acceptable to this office is Luke 2:1: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.”

happiness and peace?

"God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." — C.S. Lewis

"The God and Father of Jesus Christ could never possibly be satisfied with less than giving himself to his own." — George McDonald

a quiet spirit

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. — Proverbs 29:11 (ESV)

A word to strong and passionate young men. Oh, to speak to myself ten years ago and be lest hasty or loud with my own passion.

peacemakers?

"Especially among Christians in positions of great wealth and power, the idea of reading the Gospels and keeping Jesus’s commandments as stated therein has been replaced by a curious process of logic. According to this process, people first declare themselves to be followers of Christ, and then they assume that whatever they say or do merits the adjective 'Christian.'

"This process appears to have been dominant among Christian heads of state ever since Christianity became politically respectable. From this accommodation has proceeded a monstrous history of Christian violence. War after war has been prosecuted by bloodthirsty Christians, and to the profit of greedy Christians, as if Christ had never been born and the Gospels never written. I may have missed something, but I know of no Christian nation and no Christian leader from whose conduct the teachings of Christ could be inferred.

"One cannot be aware both of the history of Christian war and of the contents of the Gospels without feeling that something is amiss. One may feel that, in the name of honesty, Christians ought either to quit fighting or quit calling themselves Christians."

— Wendell Berry, Blessed are the Peacemakers: Christ's Teachings about Love, Compassion & Forgiveness

advent: incarnation poster

Get the FULL size poster on the Incarnation.

for every man in his work

"Deliver us, we beseech thee, in our several callings, from the service of mammon, that we may do the work which thou givest us to do, in truth, in beauty, and in righteousness, with singleness of heart as thy servants, and to the benefit of our fellow men." — the prayer "For Every Man in His Work" from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

A welcome prayer as I pursue work to provide for my family... and truth, beauty, righteousness and my fellow man.

advent: a simple "Yes!"

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

— Luke 1:26-38 (ESV)

Our second reading for Advent. This time we read it with friends who we are sharing the next three Sundays of Advent with.

It is particularly special to reflect on how we each have a choice, like Mary, to respond to God's plan and Savior. Mary could not have possibly known all that saying "Yes!" would entail. She was, however, convinced of God's worthiness to do with her life what he pleased. This is certainly one of the reasons Mary has been so revered by Christian tradition.

I encourage you to reflect on when you first said "Yes!" to Jesus. Do you remember your fears? Your questions? Your assurance of God's goodness?

Or, consider saying "Yes!" to Jesus and his plan for the first time. It's okay to be unsure. It's okay to have questions. Are you convinced of your need, his worthiness and ability to meet your need?

advent: it's a birthday

Come on, ring those bells
Light the Christmas tree
Jesus is the king
Born for you and me.
Come on, ring those bells
Every-body say
Jesus, we remember
This your birthday.

— Evie Tornquist, "Come On Ring Those Bells"

I like this song because it teaches exactly what I want my kids to say Christmas is about. It frames the decorations, fanfare, and magic perfectly.

losing truth and calling

Like any other public institution so organized, the organized church is dependent on "the economy"; it cannot survive apart from those economic practices that its truth forbids and that its vocation is to correct. If it comes to a choice between the extermination of the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field and the extermination of a building fund, the organized church will elect—indeed, has already elected—to save the building fund. The irony is compounded and made harder to bear by the fact that the building fund can be preserved by crude applications of money, but fowls of the air and the lilies of the field can be preserved only by true religion, by the practice of a proper love and respect for them as creatures of God. No wonder so many sermons are devoted to exclusively "spiritual" subjects. If one is living by the tithes of history's most destructive economy, then the disembodiment of the soul becomes the chief of worldly conveniences. — Wendell Berry, "God and Country" in What Are People For?

advent: our present festival

“This is our present festival. This is what we are celebrating today — the coming of God to man…so that we might return to God…

”So let us keep the feast, not like a heathen festival, but in a godly way — not in the way of the world, but in a way above the world — not as if it were ours, but as it belongs to him who is ours, our Master’s — not as of weakness, but as of healing — not as of creation, but of re-creation.”

— Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 38, on the birthday of Jesus, AD 380.

paraphrastic vs. periphrastic

"*All* Bibles are paraphrastic (not to be confused with periphrastic, which only some Bibles are)." — Abraham Piper on Twitter

par·a·phrase (pr-frz)
n.
1. A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning.


periphrasis [pəˈrɪfrəsɪs]
n pl -rases [-rəˌsiːz]
1. a roundabout way of expressing something; circumlocution

Definitions from The Free Dictionary

when fields and wood agree

"...When fields and wood agree, they make a rhyme
That stirs in distant memory the whole
First Sabbath's song that no largess of time
Or hope or sorrow wholly can recall.

But harmony of earth is Heaven-made,
Heaven-making, is promise and is prayer,
A little song to keep us unafraid,
An earthly music magnified in air."

— Wendell Berry, "1979 VII" from A Timbered Choir

advent: come, o long-expected jesus

Come, O long-expected Jesus,
Born to set your people free;
From our fears and sins release us
By your death on Calvary.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope to all the earth impart,
dear desire of ev'ry nation,
Joy of ev'ry longing heart.

Born your people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king;
Born to reign in us forever,
Now your gracious kingdom bring.
By your own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By your all-sufficient merit
Raise us to your glorious throne.

— Charles Wesley, "Come, O Long-Expected Jesus"

advent: light of lights

Light of lights! All gloom dispelling,
Thou didst come to make thy dwelling
Here within our world of sight.
Lord, in pity and in power,
Thou didst in our darkest hour
Rend the clouds and show thy light.
Praise to thee in earth and heaven
Now and evermore be given,
Christ, who art our sun and shield.
Lord, for us thy life thou gavest,
Those who trust in thee thou savest,
All thy mercy stands revealed.

— St. Thomas Aquinas

mmm pain

"We are not necessarily doubting God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." — C.S. Lewis

advent: what is advent?

Came across this great article by Noel Piper on what Advent is all about:

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We are a people of promise. For centuries, God prepared people for the coming of his Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfillment of the promises God made—that he would give a way to draw near to him.

Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25, sometimes in the last weekend of November, sometimes on the first Sunday in December. This year it was Novemeber 29.

1 Peter 1:10-12 is a clear description of what we look back to during Advent.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12 )

For four weeks, it's as if we're re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God's people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God's salvation, for Jesus. That's what advent means—coming. Even God's men who foretold the grace that was to come didn't know "what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating." They were waiting, but they didn't know what God's salvation would look like.

In fact, God revealed to them that they were not the ones who would see the sufferings and glory of God's Christ:

They were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

They were serving us. We Christians on this side of Jesus' birth are a God-blessed, happy people because we know God's plan. The ancient waiting is over. We have the greatest reason to celebrate.

false humility

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth a stranger, and not your own lips. — Proverbs 27:2 (ESV)

False humility towards others' praise has cut me off from good encouragement.

crazy gospel

"If you're never misunderstood to mean 'Let's sin so grace may abound,' you're not preaching gospel." — Abraham Piper on Twitter

advent: do you know his name

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
— Proverbs 30:1-4 (ESV)

I love Agur's oracle. It seems a prayer fit for my life right now, and for Christmas.

When looking honestly at his life Agur has deep questions about being a man, knowing God, and how to live. On the surface these questions are haunting to anyone. Without the hope of the incarnation (the Son of God born a man) we must distract ourselves from these questions to fake some kind of existence.

How good it is to know, by name and experience, the god-man who can answers these deep questions of the soul. He answers them not with just words, but with the power of his life lived, his death died, and the vindication of his ressurection.

So I ask you, who recognize these questions in your soul, do you know his name?

anger for wimps

"Disappointment is anger for wimps." — Gregory House M.D.

a student of hardship

Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him. — Proverbs 27:22 (ESV)

A fool does not learn from hardship, he will simply return to his old ways once comfort returns.

advent: for to us a child is born

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined...
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

— Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 (ESV)


These were our verses for the first Sunday of Advent. While Christmas is far off (even though we get to celebrate with the Paterson clan in two weeks) these verses about looking forward to the promise of Jesus' birthday were perfect. It was especially fun to think about the gift of a child while a 2 and a half month old joined us!

advent: little lamb

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee, 

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee. 

He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

— William Blake, "The Lamb"

A good poem to begin reflections on the meaning of Christmas.

party jesus

"Do you really believe in the deity of Christ? If he came to earth tomorrow, would your God go out partying with sinners? If not, then Jesus must not be him." — Wesley Hill on 22•words

the calamity of social networking

Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. — Proverbs 27:10 (ESV)

In a world of social networking and online relationships, how does this strike you?

wonderful monogamy

"To complain that I could only be married once was like complaining that I had only been born once. It was incommensurate with the terrible excitement of which one was talking. It showed not an exaggerated sensibility to sex but a curious insensibility to it. A man is a fool who complains that he cannot enter Eden by five gates at once. Polygamy is a lack of the realization of sex; it's like a man plucking five pears in mere absence of mind." — G.K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy

george is thankful

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

everyday grace

Every day of our Christian experience should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone. Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace. — Jerry Bridges

fire with fire

We must fight fire with fire. The fire of lust's pleasures must be fought with the fire of God's pleasures. If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats alone—even the terrible warnings of Jesus—we will fail. We must fight it with the massive promise of superior happiness. We must swallow up the little flicker of lust's pleasure in the configuration of holy satisfaction. — John Piper in Future Grace

gospel test

"There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will resound all the more to the glory of grace. That is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel." — Martin Lloyd-Jones

SOAP: simple sincerity

S - For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you... For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. — 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2:17 (ESV)

O - Paul continues to argue for the purity of his gospel in how he lived and preached it. Paul lived this way because he knew who gave him life, who had sent him, and who was watching.

A - I love how Paul talks about himself. He has a humility and confidence that seems completely foreign to how I feel about myself. I hope that I can speak with a simple sincerity that is powerful argument for the reliability of the gospel.

P - Lord, help me speak honestly, simply, and graciously. Gently remind me of your salvation, calling, and presence in my life.

how to NOT be missional

Individuals are consistently converted to communities before they are converted to doctrines. — Jonathan Dodson, How to NOT be Missional Series at Resurgence

This is a small slice of Dodson's insights on missional living. Here's his premise:

The missional church movement has been good and bad. On a positive note, let’s focus on the bad. Over the next few posts, I want to suggest three ways to not be a missional church. We’ll organize these reflections under three headings:

1. Event-Driven Mission
2. Evangelism-Driven Mission
3. Social Action-Driven Mission

little deaths, little resurrections

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. — 2 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV)

I went to bed Sunday night feeling like the last few months had a been a string of "little deaths." Grief was thick. Emotions are near the surface. Then I woke up Monday morning to this verse. There is great comfort in knowing that my little deaths do not go unnoticed by my Heavenly Father. In fact, he is the one who is able to resurrect these little deaths... in his time... in his way.

cartoons are funny

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.