Josiah going radioactive.

Josiah singing with OSU group powerchord

You can deeply embarrass Josiah by watching this video of him singing with a school choir.

Jars of clay.

I always sort of wished I could be superhuman. Some how I could suddenly overcome my human limitations and weaknesses and do anything. I came across this passage as I was while I was preparing a Bible study made me think:

2 Corinthians 4

"7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you."


May its okay not to be be superhuman after all. Maybe God wants me to be fragile, like a jar of clay. Because after all it isn't about me, its about him. If I were superhuman it would be about me. If I am a frail human it is about him. When I reach my human limits and he acts, I know its him who got me through it. Maybe God wants people to see Christ's life not mine. He is the real superhero.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with Modern Day Pilgrims

We remember the story of Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims celebrated how God had delivered them death and tyranny and brought them to a new land where they had freedom to serve and worship him. Today I celebrated Thanksgiving with modern day Pilgrims. While spending time with my Cambodian family, my sister-in-law Jenny commented on how remarkable it was that the whole family survived the holocaust in Cambodia. This began a discussion all the things that the family survived during that time. Like the original Pilgrims, these modern Pilgrims thanked God that he had delivered the from death and tyranny. God has brought them to a new land where they can serve and worship him freely.

How to keep from going crazy on Thanksgiving?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US. Have you ever wondered why God asks us to be thankful? Does God need us to be thankful? Is God insecure? If we don't thank him will he feel depressed or have an identity crisis? Of course not. God is God whether we thank him or not. If God does not need us to be thankful then way does he ask us to be thankful? Its not because he needs it but because WE need it.

In the book of Romans, Paul gives his great explanation of the gospel. He starts the book by showing in universal problem of sin. What started man's downward spiral?

Romans 1

"21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools ...:

Our whole mess starts with us forgetting to honor and thank God. And what does that lead to? Our thinking gets all distorted. We go all crazy. We start acting like we are the center of the universe and we can make our own truth. Why do we humans do all the stupid, wrong, self-destructive things we do? The rest of Romans 1 goes on to describe how we humans make a the total mess of things because we forgot to be thankful.

So we have all gone crazy. So how do we stop going crazy? Paul gives the answer:

Philippians 4

"6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We need to pray with thanksgiving. We are thankful God protects our hearts and minds with his peace. This happens by being in a relationship with Christ Jesus. We can stop being crazy.

Need something to be thankful for? Here is a great one to start with:

2 Corinthians 9:15

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

A story behind the song, "Carry on my Wayward Son."

Kerry Livgren's testimony.

I remember when the song, "Carry on my Wayward Son" first came out. I heard the song on the radio and thought that is a really cool song but I was puzzled by the meaning of the lyrics. I didn't understand the reference to the wayward son. As a Christian, I should have realized that this was an allusion to the parable of the Prodigal Son. This relates to my last post on Acts 17. Livgren's story has many parallels to what Paul spoke about. Kerry Livgren was the lead singer of the music group Kansas. As a young man he became a popular rock star. He had everything this world could give but he still was empty. Religion and philosophy could not give him the answer. Livgren said the song was autobiographical. Listen to the testimony to see how he found the answer.

Carry on my Wayward Son

To the unknown God

I have always found Paul's address to the Greek philosophers in Athens in Acts 17 to be very interesting. I believe that what Paul has to say explains so much of the human condition. Paul explains that all men have a knowledge of God from creation and their nature as human beings who are his offspring. We know that we are to seek this God. We have a desire to find this unknown God. We need him to be the center of our reality. That doesn't mean can't fight, deny, and resist this knowledge. But even when we do, we can't totally escape this reality. We know we need to find God but we sense that we can't know him. This creates a profound void in our lives.

We try to fill this void in different ways, through religion, philosophy, success, money, pleasure, etc. Like the people in Athens we create all sorts of God substitutes to fill the void. But none of it works. If you understand this problem of the void, it will help understand so much of the craziness of the human condition.

What answer doe Paul give to this void we have for the unknown God? It is the man God has sent. There are endless competing ideas of truth today just like there was in Athens. How doe we know that Jesus Christ is the true way? Paul gives the answer: God raised Christ from the dead. This is still just as true today We can know the truth and have the void filled because Christ is risen. That separates him from all the world's philosophies and religions. If Christ is risen what does Paul say our response should be? God calls all men everywhere to turn from their God substitutes and to repent.

A Christmas Thought.

I know it is a little early for Christmas but the passage I read in my devotions today made me think of the reason why Christ came.

Luke 5

²⁷ After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁸ And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

²⁹ And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. ³⁰ And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered them,“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Christ came to give sinners a new beginning and a new relationship to him. He wasn’t afraid to hang out and love people that the rest of the society thinks are too far gone. He came to be the Great Physician to heal sick souls.

I think that sometimes we modern day Christians can be like the Pharisees. We grumble about all the sinful, rotten people out there who are not holy and spiritual like us. But what are we doing to reach out to those people and call them to repentance? We are good at judging but so weak at restoring. How often I am more like the Pharisees in this story and less like Jesus?

So if Christ came to heal our sinful, sick souls what should our response be? To repent, that is to change our minds. Levi realized that all big money he was making as a tax collector wasn’t going to satisfy his heart. He realized what he needed was Jesus. He heard the simply words, “Come follow me.” That is what his heart needed, to be with Jesus. So what should my response to Christmas be? To simply follow Jesus and invite others to join me.

Son accepted into seminary.

Congratulations to my son, Josiah for getting accepted into Western Seminary.

Love,
Dad

Coffee with Jesus

A favorite song

Prodigal Son Suite by Keith Green.

This is one of my all time favorite songs. I know its old-school and its 12 minutes long but it is worth listening to. It is based on the story of the prodigal song from Luke 15. It is a message of hope and forgiveness for failures and sinners (like all of us).