SOAP: untwist me

S - Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. — 2 Peter 2:8-10 (NLT)

O - The example of Lot comes in the midst of a rebuke of false "Christian" teachers and leaders. Not even angels, creation, or cities will be exempt from God's judgment. Good news, though, God knows how to rescue us from evil...

A - Am I willing to be rescued? Am I going to leaders who know how God rescues people? Am I pursuing God's rescue? Am I sensitive to wickedness like Lot? What is that supposed to look like? I can't ignore Peter's "highlights" of evil. Twisted sexual desire... Lord, untwist me! Despising authority... Lord, untwist my unforgiving heart!

P - Yes, Lord, untwist me! I sense your call to trust you to meet my needs, reorder my desires, and lead me into your Kingdom.

SOAP: thrill ride

S - You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. — Psalm 92:4 (NLT)

O - God's deeds, thoughts, and plans extend further than I can imgaine. He is able to do far more than I can hope or dream. The stories of the Red Sea, the Transfiguration, the visions of the Early Church, the church fire of Frances and Claire, the orphanage of George Mueller, the provision for RA Torrey, Day7 battling Satan in Alaska, the healing of Ashley, the numbers added through prayer at THRIVE, a miraculous house for us in June... they all lead to the question, "What will the Lord do next!?!"

A - It is good to remember all that God has done... It is a song of hope for my soul. It stirs the longing for His advancing Kingdom. I am tired of "losing" ground. You are a consuming fire!

P - Lord, how I need to remember what you have done! I am continually being drawn to Your presence and Your plan. This song stirs in my a desire to come! To listen! To obey! Not my will, but yours be done. I'm along for your glory ride!

SOAP: freedom in submission

S - So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen. — 1 Peter 5:6-11 (NLT)

O - There is freedom in submission. As we express our dependence upon God and wait on him we are freed from worry and cares in order to share in the glory of God. This is, as life is, a battle. But how good and freeing it is to submit yourself to a loving, gracious, and generous King. How good it is to be cared for, prayed for, and brought up by men who have been entrusted with pieces of the good King's Kingdom. It is here that the pain, toil, and struggle of daily life is transformed into a shared glory. We are not alone in this battle, we were never meant to be alone.

A - How good, and freeing, it is as a young man to be called to humble myself under God and His Elders. I hear your invitation to let godly men speak into my life, pray over me, and guide me in the next steps of my life. I confess this also seems risky. I feel burned, abandoned, disregarded by some men with similar position or title. I also confess my pride and arrogance that probably resulted in this feeling. I am thankful that you are faithful to bring me around this circle again with a new invitation to trust, forgive, and obey.

P - Lord, help me to forgive, trust, and obey. These words are far weightier than I had ever imagined. Guard my heart Jesus! The Enemy would love to devour me and cause me to stray from this path. I pray against unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, fear, and malice. Help me put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. This is your week Jesus. Help me hold any plans lightly, submitted to you, and your men.

SOAP: just filling time?

S - So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. — 1 Peter 4:19 (NLT)

O - Keep on doing what is right. God will not fail us.

A - I recognize how unclear "doing what is right" seems to me right now. I am so use to being busy "doing" that now in a bit of a wilderness time it feels like everything has stopped... yet, I am filling my time. I also recognize that this season is producing an anxiousness that I want to turn towards doing the will of God.

P - What of this "filling" is really what you want from me God? I sense you want me to be more filled by your Spirit than filling my time with "good." You are not seeking a busy man, but a humble and contrite one. Help me be patient with not "doing." I acknowledge I am struggling to really "lay it out" before you before I do something, because I just want to do anything. Deepen my prayer life, shape me as husband and father first, and grant me the grace to not be busy in a way that honors you. Help me turn my anxiousness for busyness and a plan into an anxiousness for you and your Kingdom.

SOAP: i am afraid

S - Shout to Zion from the mountaintops!
Shout it louder to Jerusalem.
Shout, and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah,
“Your God is coming!”
...He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
— Isaiah 40:9, 11 (NLT, alternate translation)

O - Form and hermeneutics is out the window!

A - How I need to know that God is coming. How I need to hear that He feeds His people. How I need to receive His loving embrace. How I need to experience His heart for me. How I need Him to lead my family and care for my kids.

P - Lord you have been all over this time in my life. All around me, and us. Yet, I am afraid of your apparent silence about September 1. I want the you to be my Lord, my Shepherd. I don't want to be wanting.

SOAP: the poetry of suffering

S - When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:

...But what could I say?
For he himself sent this sickness.
Now I will walk humbly throughout my years
because of this anguish I have felt.
Lord, your discipline is good,
for it leads to life and health.
You restore my health
and allow me to live!
Yes, this anguish was good for me,
for you have rescued me from death
and forgiven all my sins...
Think of it—the Lord is ready to heal me!
— Isaiah 38: 9, 15-17, 20

O - Through Hezekiah's sickness he was saved from death. As he pressed in to God, his suffering lead him out of death into life and healing. God was gracious to move the sundial backwards to seal his promise of healing and life during Hezekiah's suffering. There is beauty in the letdown. There is freedom in the takedown. There is life in the hope of sharing suffering.

A - This takedown is good. As Hezekiah learned from his suffering, God has brought me away from the pit of busyness, need, and man's praise. God has thrown me into the wilderness of his loving hand. My tent is blown away. What once seemed so strong and sure is exposed as simply a temporary and fleeting residence. Suddenly, my "life" is over! And, to think — God is ready to heal me.

P - Lord, thank you for helping me turn into a wall. I want to do what pleases you, and want to be single-minded in my obedience. I am grateful for your hemming in, your pruning, and your healing hand. I can say, "My God blessed!" Help me break all the way... I am afraid of this... yet there is freedom to be found.

new rules for highly evolved humans

For some reason I got a free subscription to Wired Magazine. I rarely really read it, but this last issue's cover story on the The New Rules: A Highly Scientific Approach to 21st-Century Predicaments caught my attention (not the picture of Brad Pitt). It was a fun read.

BBQ Journal: boys & steaks

Wednesday, July 22 — Tonight we got some steaks. Decided to up the ante a little bit, but not over do it. I wanted to be able to just cook a good steak that highlighted the steak, not the rub.

As usual (this hasn't been mentioned before in the BBQ Journal) Caleb was at my side. He usually starts up the grill and has been upping his involvement in the cooking by helping brush on sauce, butter, etc. He helped oil the grill, but it got a little too hot for him. Even still, he wanted to put the steaks on himself. The BBQ has definitely been in Caleb's blood from, well, the beginning. This is definitely one of those things that seems inherent in him as a boy (also would be "to-wools").

We simply put fresh ground pepper and ground sea salt on the steaks before putting them on the grill. I tried to put the whole fancy crisscross pattern on the steaks by rotating them 45 degrees after 2 minutes. But, it didn't seem to really work. Maybe should have turned up the heat more to start or left them longer before the rotation.

As we waited for the steaks to grill we played with the tongs and drank some cold water. Not exactly a cold beer, but still a manly time.

The steaks looked great on the grill and the timing of 5 minutes a side for a 1 inch steak was right on (I just needed to control the flair ups a bit more). When I took the steaks off the grill we let them sit for a few minutes while we brushed on some olive oil and put on more pepper and sea salt.

Caleb immediately started getting the juices on his fingers to taste. He loved it. I have never seen him go after meat like he did tonight. He would have kept eating all night. He especially enjoyed dipping the pieces of steak in the juices on the serving plate. Great night!

BBQ Lesson 1: BBQ with your son often.
BBQ Lesson 2: Sea salt is the way to go.
BBQ Lesson 3: Enjoy the juices.

BBQ Journal: hamburgers & gas

Sunday, June 19 — Eric, my brother, and his family were in town for the weekend. There was talk of just throwing a pre-made lasagna in the oven after having had a few meals together, but I figured I could whip up some quality burgers for less.

Dad provided the meat. I added the spices (fresh garlic, chopped onion, parsley, cayenne, cumin, pepper, and salt). The key here was to add the spices slowly. You knead the spices in and cook some of the meat in a pan on the stove to check the flavor along the way. I had Eric check the final flavoring for taste. Then made patties and put them in the refrigerator for an hour.

I also wanted to try to make my own animal style sauce for the burger. So chopped some more onions and got the side burner on the grill setup to grill the onions, melt the cheese, and mix in the thousand island dressing.

Then came the grill. I melted butter to brush onto to the burgers and sprinkled some pepper and salt on one side before I put it on the burner. I had tiny burgers for the kids, big burgers for the grown ups, and onions on the side burner grilling in some oil. It was quite the setup. Timing the onions, the tiny burgers, and the bigger burgers was tough. Made even tougher when I ran out of gas right in the middle of cooking everything.

I was pretty ticked. I wanted somebody to solve my problem for me (basically a result of having a number of things change recently). After a bit of a fit, I ran to the local propane place and got some more gas. Finished the burgers and the animal style sauce.

The result was excellent. We had some quality burgers, even if it was a bit of a hassle with the gas.

BBQ Lesson 1: Know your gas.
BBQ Lesson 2: Butter is better.
BBQ Lesson 3: Animal style works at home.

BBQ Journal: rib cook off

With some extra time on my hands this summer, I have decided to enhance my barbeque and cooking skills. As part of this adventure Rebecca has been encouraging to keep a BBQ Journal about my cooking transformation. I have three entries to catch up on. So, if these are good, all the credit goes to my writing. If they are bad, then talk to Rebecca...

Sunday, June 12 — The First Annual Crossroads Rib Cook Off. The one church event I was looking forward to the most this summer was my last at CBC. Simply put, this was a pool party for the whole church with a pile of baby back ribs for everyone to eat.

The event was shaping up to be an epic battle between the Seasoned Veteran (Reynolds Stewart), the Rough Neck (Tim Martin), the Rookie (Jordan Jensen), and the Ryno (me). I was pretty excited about the whole thing, until it became my last Sunday at CBC. We had all planned to skip second service to prep our meat and get it on the grill. I was not going to be able to make it in time to prep and cook. It seemed like a lost cause.

Luckily Jordan proposed teaming up. The Paterson rub and sauce, with some Jensen flair. Jordan set us up with indirect grilling over mesquite charcoal and whiskey soaked hickory chips. The setup was sweet! We definitely nurtured the ribs with rub, smoke, sauce, and a lot of love. When done we had a great set of ribs. With a rich hickory aroma, a sweet outer taste, and final kick of hot from the inside, they were spectacular.

Unfortunately, the judges didn't agree. We came in third of three. Tim took first with a ton of brown sugar, Jack Daniel's, and some spices (he has a similar smoking setup). Reynolds kept his sauce more under wraps, but had a classic BBQ ribs flavor. Apparently the hot kick from our ribs was too much for the judges.

I proposed a more elaborate scoring method for next year (even though its likely I won't be there next year)... I guess you could say I was a poor loser.

BBQ Lesson 1: In competition, a whole bag of brown sugar with a whole bottle of Jack Daniel's wins every time.
BBQ Lesson 2: In competition, cook to enjoy & eat to win.
BBQ Lesson 3: In competition, sweet beats the heat. (courtesy of Andrew Jensen)

SOAP: lay it out

S - After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord... Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria,... — Isaiah 37:14, 21 (NLT)

O - God is pleased with Hezekiah's leadership based on prayer. Hezekiah inquires of the Man of God (Isaiah) and lays out the situation before God in prayer.

A - I hear God calling to lead my family through prayer. To inquire of godly men, and to specifically lay out all the our family faces before Him.

P - Lord, we want to be a true godly family. Thank you for this time of testing and refinement. Help us welcome it with the anticipation of joy when our faith is perfected. We want to glorify you with our lives. We may have made plans in the past about what that looked like, but now we are more and more open to anything. We need shelter and food. You know when the money runs out. We're trusting you for our daily bread. Help us to not hold on to the things of this world. We need community. We need men and women, families, and children who want to follow you, in your power, no matter the cost. We need Elders, to shepherd, pray, and guide us. Rebecca needs your care through the end of her pregnancy. Grant her and Eli strength and health. Heal any of side effects that only make this process harder than it has been. We are yours.

the dark truth

The dark truth is that we may praise love (or, more weakly, "benevolence" or "compassion"), and few people would refuse to do so when love is rightly understood. We may wish to be loving—to be kind and helpful in our relations to those near us. But we do not trust love, and we think it could easily ruin our carefully guarded hold on life. — Dallas Willard, Knowing Christ Today

marking the path

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. — Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT)

When walking through the wilderness it is easy to get lost. What are the markers that line the path of your life which will keep you headed in the right direction no matter the circumstances, storms, pain, or obstacles that will come?

Hebrews invites us to come to Angels, Assemblies of God's children, God, Spirits of Righteous Ones in heaven, and Jesus (12:22-24). May all of these mark your path today that you may be strengthened in heart and confident of your direction.

it's quite simple

Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. — The Fox, The Little Prince

hail to the ch- ch- ch- chief!

This is for real!

valleys and hilltops

If any of your dreams has appeared to end in disappointment, don’t throw it away! Receive it now into your sacred space, and let it show you how the experience of that disappointment has also shaped the years which followed. Probably, if you can distance yourself from the immediate pain of it, you can begin to notice how that difficult time has helped to form you into who you really are, more surely than the easier conquests might have done. In whichever direction the flames of a particular burning bush have directed you, the years which followed have been a crucial stage of your personal “becoming”. They are part of the realization of your inner dream. One of the great gifts of your hilltops is that of perspective. The world looks different from the top of a hill. The sweat and struggle of each little field of effort is seen to be part of a much larger landscape. The failed crop of one year becomes the nourishment for the growth of the next season. — Margaret Silf, Sacred Space

Vote Pablo!