Thoughts of a Wayfarer

The Blog Has Moved!

2006-08-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

I would like to annouce the moving of my blog to www.mijah.com. Any future posts will appear there and not on this blog. For some good reasons why I switched you can see here.

I want to give a special thanks to SKH over at Tohu va Bohu for all of his help in the transfer. In fact, it would be fair to say that with out him, it would not have been possible. Thanks Sean.

Nothing at the new blog is final. I will be tweaking and re-tweaking in the weeks to come. If you have any comments (i.e. likes and dislikes) about the design or name, feel free to let me know.

Check it out - www.mijah.com

Postmodern Anthem

2006-07-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Steve Brown is a concervative talk show host and he has a collection of comedy pieces on his website. This one, the Postmodern Anthem, I found particularly funny. I hope you enjoy it too, just click play on the player below.

Why I Proclaim Jesus Christ

2006-07-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

I received this comment on a post a couple of weeks ago and I would like to respond to it publicly.

A question for you (and your readers), as a non-Christian that is devout to her own faith and very respectful of those who are devout to theirs (even if I don't agree with them, those genuinely religious often share common morals and values), I always find that when people go out on a public sphere and start to specifically call on Jesus and thank him, it isolates me from them because as much as I love Jesus the Prophet, I don't believe he is God.
At the same time, I'm a teacher in a public high school and two fellow teachers who I'm friends with and respect dearly are very devout Christians and we often talk about faith -- if someone is addressing an audience that is not entirely Christian (or in an institution that is not Christian), why the dogmatic approach of "I must declare my love for Jesus"? Why not just keep it to a generic "GOD" and let people make of that what they will (and I'm sure her classmates would know what God meant for her)?

It's not being ashamed of your religion, but it welcomes people to it rather than isolating them...

I appreciate the questions and understand the issue that you are addressing can be dividing. But as much as we may have common beliefs about God or may both be devoutly religious, we do not have the same faith. Yes, we follow after and love God, but your god and my God are completely different. You may not see it as important to designate between the two, but without the truth about who God is, we are eternally lost. I am not concerned about making people comfortable within their own belief system, I am committed to declaring truth.

The truth that God has revealed to man is found in His Word, the Bible. The Bible tells us that God is holy and perfect, demanding the same from mankind. It also says that ALL men has fallen short of His demands and sinned (Romans 3:23). The consequence or result of that sin is death - eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). Without a substitute to pay the penalty for our sin, we would be utterly lost with no hope of being reconciled to God. But God, being rich in mercy and abounding in love, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, from heaven to earth in order to die on a cross to take the punishment that you and I rightly deserved (John 3:16, Ephesians 4:5). Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, innocently died for sins that He didn't commit.

It is then, through His death that we have the opportunity to go to heaven. He has reconciled us to God and provided the only way for us to have eternal life. Through His death, we have life. But we must believe (1) that we are completely lost and unable to save ourselves (2) and that God has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and then rose from the dead, conquering death forever and giving us eternal life.Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." I love Jesus because He is my Savior, my only hope for salvation, and my God. I proclaim that truth because I want others to have the same benefit of living forever with God in heaven and that is only going to happen if they believe in the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins.This truth about Jesus is good news and the nations must hear it.

I would agree and disagree with your claim about how speaking about Jesus isolates rather than welcomes. Well, this truth welcomes people to God, rather than isolating them from Him. But it also distinguishes who are true believers of the one true God and who are not. It isn't an issue of being ashamed of the religion, so to speak, but more an issue of whether I share with you the truth that I know and the hope that I have.

If I DO use a generic "GOD" and not the specific name of Jesus Christ, then I am blurring the truth. I am not interested in letting people make God who they want Him to be, but rather letting them know about the only God in which is found hope of salvation. Out of love for others, I want to give them the whole truth, not only the partial truth for then they remain deceived about God and how He has provided for man to get to heaven.

I proclaim the name of Jesus Christ for "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Silence of the Wayfarer

2006-07-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

I understand that I have been quite non-existant from not only the blogosphere, but the internet in general for over a week now, but a good reason for that is that I have been heavily involved in one28's World's For Sale for the past week. Being the intern, I was responsible for organizing all of the details and people to make our youth ministry's only fundraiser happen.

God graciously allowed me to survive the event, while providing necessary funds for the ministry. Thanks to all the students and parents who gave their time and energy to make WFS 06 a success.

Thursday begins our ministry's summer camping retreat, ichthus. I am speaking twice at the retreat along with Andy Bowers, Jonathan Sarr, Curtis Wentling, and SKH. The theme is "Christ is Life" and I know that God will be glorified through it.

P.S. - No, my parka was not at World's For Sale.

A Generation for God

2006-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I ran across this amazing quote by E.M. Bounds.

"Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. . . . What the church needs today in not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer. . .
The training of the Twelve was the great, difficult and enduring work of Christ. . . . It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God - men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mold a generation for God."

On Preparing For Sunday

2006-07-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

To go along with the series that I am preaching on Sunday morning, I refer you to my friend Bekah's blog, who has posted an article by Lance Quinn on a similar vein.

Saturday Thought For Sunday Morning

My Questions and God's Desire

2006-07-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

My pastor, John Zimmer, has been preaching through 1 Timothy on Sunday nights and a couple of weeks ago he taught on chapter 2. Verse 3 and 4 says,

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

He explained it well, saying that God has two wills - His revealed or specific will and His permissive will. This verse shows His specific will. He wants people to repent from their sins and to turn to Him as the only One who can satisfy them for eternity, but that doesn't happen. Obviously, everyone who has ever lived has not been redeemed. I then asked myself why that didn't happen - well, because it doesn't give God the most glory. God does not save everyone because He is jealous for His own glory, and saving every man doesn't give Him all that glory. So then, my perplexing question is this:

Why does God desire something that doesn't give Him the most glory?

Why does God desire all people to be saved, when saving all people doesn't give Him the most glory?

I understand that I may be suggesting blasphemy, but I'm not entirely sure how to resolve it at this moment in time. There is either a flaw or hole in my argument or there is something else that I still have to learn about God's will and both of those could be true. I love it when I come to these texts that intially look like a contradiction or that twist my mind in knots, for God's thoughts are not our thoughts and it shows the complexity and greatness of our God. Wrestle with these texts, be completely biblical and don't give up.

Pics from the Trip

2006-07-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, I have posted pictures of my family's trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon, courtesy of Google's Picasa.

Lugg's Summer Vacation 06

So Long Teen Years

2006-06-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

As many of you figured out, yesterday was my 20th birthday. I crossed a threshhold of life, sealing the lid on my second decade of life and beginning my third. As my good friend, Steve Crawford, reminded me of the fact that twenty is a strange age - not a teenager, but not a legal adult. O well, we can still live our twenty-first year of life powerfully for the glory of God.

Many people showered me with Happy Birthday's and gifts. I was happily surprised by all of the people from school and IBEX that took the time to pass on their best regards. And so, to all of you, I give one big heart-felt thank you.

Well, as we know from John Piper and C.S. Lewis, our enjoyment in things is not complete until it is expressed in praise. So I wish tell you of a few things I received yesterday.

My sister, Charissa, gave me a coffee maker, from which I am drinking some Starbucks French Roast. The glory of this experience cannot be described in words.

Mom & Dad, Ian, Nathaniel, Josiah, and Kimberly went together to get me a new speaker system for my car. What a blessing it will be to crank Steven Curtis Chapman without it sounding like he's spitting.

My sister made a killer glazed strawberry pie. I tasted glorious, especially because the strawberries were freshly picked from our garden.

I received some other things too, such as a Starbucks card, Subway in the park with my dad, and new shoes from my Grandma.

I am so blessed by the people around me and thank God above all else because it is only through His infinite love for Himself that I have any value or worth. I would be not be where I am after 20 years without His sovereign, sustaining power.

Questions We Fail To Ask

2006-06-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

My friend from school and fellow IBEXer (and Washingtonian), Ryan, posted on some questions that he has had floating around in his mind recently. I found them very profitable and thought you could benefit from them as well.

1. Do I really understand how depraved I am and how incredible God's grace is that He gives constantly? I feel like I am painfully learning that I cannot live "successfully" even in the easy times without God. And I've tried. Over and over again. And God welcomes the prodigal.

2. Do I really understand how depraved everyone else is around me? Sometimes I realize the evil in my own soul, but somehow still think other people don't share those struggles. What a lie.

3. Am I a little boy playing at being a man, or am I a man struggling with acting like a little boy?

4. Is there more to the Bible saying "our enemy the Devil prowls around...looking for someone to devour" ( 1 Peter 5:8) that I give credence to?

5. Do I know how to give life to others by my words? Do I purposefully encourage my mom and sisters with my words, as a godly son and brother should?

6. Am I seeking to develop my practical life skills or am I lazily watching time fly by? Could I fix the car? Could I plan a budget? Could I lead a household?

7. Do I know how to rest with passion, letting go of my anxieties?

8. Am I dying to my will for the sake of Christ's will?

9. Am I willing to be wrong? Am I willing to take criticism? Am I willing to look stupid for a good reason?

10. If I'm not a good son, brother, friend, what deludes me into thinking I would be a good husband?

11. Sin starts in the mind. What's on my mind? Do I hate sin?

12. Why do I feel superior when I have been forgiven so much?

Baxter on Christian Education

2006-06-26T23:24:00.001-07:00

I found some interesting comments by Richard Baxter in his work The Reformed Pastor about why Christian education is necessary.

"Nothing can be rightly known, if God be not known; nor is any study well managed, nor to any great purpose, if God is not studied. We know little of the creature, till we know it as it stands related to the Creator. He who overlooks Him who is the 'Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,' and sees not Him in all who is the All in all, does see nothing at all."

"None but a Christian can read one line of his Physics so as to understand it rightly."

"Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works - this is the true and only philosophy. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when He is the end, the object, and the life of them all."

"Theology must lay the foundation, and lead the way in all our studies. If God must be searched after, in our search of the creature, then tutors (or teachers) must read God to their pupils in all; and divinity must be the beginning, the middle, the end, the life, the all, of their studies."

"Our physics and metaphysics must be reduced to theology; and nature must be read as one of God's books, which is purposely written for the revelation of Himself."

"If tutors would make it their principal business to acquaint their pupils with the doctrine of salvation, and labor to set it home upon their hearts, that all might be received according to its weight, and read to their hearts as well as to their heads."

And here is his word to teachers

"You, that are schoolmasters and tutors, begin and end with the things of God. Let some piercing words fall frequently from your mouths, of God, of the state of their souls, and the life to come. Do not say, they are too young to understand and enterain them."

Stained Testimony

2006-06-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

The Christian community has been holding up Brittany McComb as an example of suffering and taking a stand for Christ. She had been awarded the title of Valedictorian and had the opportunity to speak at her high school graduation. She submitted a script of her speech at the school's request, which was edited and given back to her. They told her that she could not make references to God and Christ because it was a school endorsed function and thus could not promote a single religion, promising her that if she did that they would turn off her microphone. She agreed to give the edited speech. But when she actually gave the speech she recited the full, unedited manuscript. The school officials then killed her microphone. For more information and some videos, click here.

Many people, youth and adult alike, are applauding Brittany for her testimony for Christ. In the face of opposition (the school board), she dared to take the risk and talk about the the impact that Jesus Christ had in her life. Although I don't think that the school did the right thing by turning off her mic, I don't think that Brittany was entirely in the right.

What do unbelievers think when they see this girl who claims to be a Christian, who rebels against authority, and who goes back on her word? She said that she would give the unedited speech, but then without informing anyone, gave the other one instead. So, the very mouth that said that Christ was her greatest influence, lied directly in the face of her authority.

I understand that we must disobey our earthly authority if it is commanding us to disobey our heavenly authority, but you must decide which one you are going to obey. Don't switch your allegience half-way through. Show from start to finish that you answer only to God.

Widows

2006-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
James 1:27

I'm struck once again by the bluntness of Scripture. Christians today try so many different ways to act out their religion. They try Bible studies, support groups, outreach events, and potlucks. God's Word doesn't prohibit or condemn any of those things, but it does give us specfic instructions as to what our responsibilities are as believers.

James says that if we want to present to God religion that is pure and holy, undefiled by sin, then we are to do the two things listed. I first thought that it presented some conflict with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles because they focused on the heart - the issue with all of Christianity is who you love, God or yourself. It seemed that this statement that the religion that God wanted was concerned with actions rather than the heart.

This initial incongruency turned into perfect fusion of how obedience to the first and second commandments given by Jesus is fleshed out in visiting orphans and widows in their affliction and keeping oneself unstained from the world. James is not saying that these things are the only thing that will constitute true piety or that nothing else is essential to religion, but holds these up as examples. If one is truely worshipping God in way that is "pure and undefiled" from wrong motives then that worship will be practiced and bear fruit in these two ways. That true worship will show itself in many other ways too, but the apostle James holds these two up as important and necessary. If these two characteristics are absent from one's life, then true religion does not exist.

This passage was on my mind today because I spent most of the day with two widows in our church: my grandma, Jeannie Marzolf and Jan Leaf. One of them lost their husband almost 15 years ago and the other one, only a month ago. Both women are faithfully serving their God in the absence of their soul mate. In both of my conversations with them, their husbands came up
and my heart went out to these two women who have to deal everyday with the fact that the man that they loved so much and gave themselves completely to . . . was no longer there. They have to do things on their own and live by themselves.

What a great opportunity the church has to minister to these faithful women. Most of the time, they are old and cannot do many of the things that the younger generations can do. Let us apply the words of Scripture and to take the initiative to visit such people and not wait until they tell us about a pressing need.

God Will Satisfy

2006-06-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Psalm 80:10,16 - "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

A couple of observations:

1. God identifies the problem. He saw that Israel was bowing down and worshipping other gods. They were not looking to God to provide and they put their satisfaction in their own hands, which ultimately came up empty.

2. God promises the solution. God says that He will fill them. The satisfaction and the delight will come from no one but God Himself. He doesn't say that He will give them something else to satisfy them, but that He will fill them, for He is the Lord your God.

3. God promises the best. He promises to give the finest wheat and the honey which is a delight. Their wanton craving God would satisfy with the best things. But the things that God gave them were not to be rejoiced in, but were given to point back to God. God must be glorified as the one who provides the satisfaction.

4. God commands the action. We must open our mouths for God to fill them. If we are unwilling to let God bring our satisfaction, then He will not fill us. The picture here is that of a robin feeding her young, who are scrambling and shouting for the food that their mother has brought. It would be foolish for one of the babies to refuse the worm. The difference with man is that when we refuse God, it is wicked and evil, not just foolish. O turn to the Great Provider and Satisfier! Let Him fill you with Himself that you may not be lacking. With Him are pleasures forevermore.

Commending Comments

2006-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comments.

meChurch

2006-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Below is a comical video about people wanting church their own way.

Not Bound by Scripture

2006-06-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

While reading the transcript from Dr. Mohler's appearance on Larry King Live, I came across this statement by man who wants to become a bishop in the Episcopal Church, but he is openly homoosexual. When told that his life does not follow the guidelines laid out for leaders, he responded with this:

Well, I would say that none of us are able to conform our lives to scriptural standards. In the gospel of Luke, for instance, Jesus said if you want to be a follower of mine you must give up all your possessions. I don't see many of us doing that. We all fall short in one way or another. The miracle, the good news, is that we're not worthy, but we're made worthy by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the good news we have to give to the world and God has said to me and to all of God's children what God said to Jesus at his baptism, you are my beloved. In you, I am well pleased. The world is desperate to know a God like that.

The world is desperately looking for God to accept them in their sin, not to save them from it. They want to be able to continue to live a way that brings them pleasure and they want God to be pleased with their choice of lifestyle. They say that they want God to love them. They desire God to love them by making much of them, rather than much of Himself. God wants the best thing for us, namely Himself. So, out of God's infinite love for us, He gives us Himself that we might be satisfied eternally.

Anyone can eventually come to believe that he can live how he wants, if he convinces himself that he is no longer required to obey Scripture, and this is the fatal flaw of this man.

Attack on Biblical Authority

2006-06-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

My semester in Israel created within me a love for biblical archaeology. It was much easier to get excited about something that could be seen a few minutes away compared it now being half a world away. My Land and Bible professor, Todd, introduced us to the magazine - Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR). It is a great magazine that has scholarly articles and great pictures. It is a great way to stay informed with what is happening in the field (I would also suggest frequenting this blog for the same purpose, but from a conservative, evangelical perspective).

In the most recent edition of BAR, Michael D. Coogan, professor of religious studies at Stonehill College, wrote an article entitled Question Authority!, in which he says that the Bible can not be held up as an authority on history and life. He has several errors in his argument, but he clearly exemplifies one who doubts the inspiration and authority of the Bible and thus concludes that it is fallible, weak, and equal with all other literary works. His misquote of Scripture is horrendous, but if you can interpret the Bible how you want to, I guess it doesn't matter. Here are some excerpts:

"Knowledge increases, interpretations change. Biblical interpretation is a conversation, a debate, that has been going on for millennia, and one often learns most from those with whom one disagrees."

"'The Bible says' is often regarded as decisive in contemporary debates about such issues as abortion, assisted suicide, the status of women, same-sex relationships, capital punishment and war and peace. The problem is that the Bible is often inconsistent, so much that Shakespeare observed, even "the Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." No individual believer or community of faith has ever fully followed every Biblical teaching because the Bible does not speak with one voice. It incorporates many different views of different Biblical writers."

"Whether it concerns the Bible itself or the interpretation of the Bible or of archaeological data, there is almost always more than one perspective. Professors, preachers and bloggers who cite only the authorities that support their own presupposition mislead their audiences. Just because something is written on your computer screen, in a book, in the Bible or even in this magazine doesn't mean that it's the only possible view or even that it's true. As one eminent Jewish Christian authority put it, "Judge for yourselves!" (1 Corinthians 11:13)."

Costly Love

2006-06-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

While running last night, I listened to a sermon by John Piper in which he told the following story. It illustrated well how love for God dictates love for others and allows the one to count all things in this life as loss.

An illustration of costly love

Chuck Colson told the story of a group of American prisoners of war during the second World War, who were made to do hard labor in a prison camp. Each had a shovel and would dig all day, then come in and give an account of his tool in the evening. One evening twenty prisoners were lined up by the guard and the shovels were counted. The guard counted nineteen shovels and turned in rage on the twenty prisoners demanding to know which one did not bring his shovel back. No one responded. The guard took out his gun and said that he would shoot five men if the guilty prisoner did not step forward. After a moment of tense silence, a nineteen-year- old soldier stepped forward with his head bowed down. The guard grabbed him, took him to the side and shot him in the head, and turned to warn the others that they better be more careful than he was. When he left the men counted the shovels and there were twenty. The guard had miscounted. And the boy had given his life for his friends.

Can you imagine the emotions that must have filled their hearts as they knelt down over his body? In the five or ten seconds of silence the boy had weighed his whole future in the balance—a future wife, an education, a new truck, children, a career, fishing with his dad—and he chose death so that others might live. Jesus said in John 15:13, ""Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." To love is to choose suffering for the sake of another.

An infinitely more costly love

Jesus has loved you this way. Only, O so much more! Consider the life he laid down. One of the reasons that story hits us so hard is because the boy was nineteen years old. If he had been 89 years old and the others nineteen, we might say it was a beautiful act of love, but with a full life behind him it would not feel like the same kind of sacrifice as when your whole life stretches in front of you. So consider the life that Jesus sacrificed for you.

1. First of all, he was young too.

2. Second, he was the oldest son of a widowed mother.

3. Third, he was the most kind and caring and wise and courageous man who ever lived.

4. Fourth, he was the Son of God. This life was of infinite value—not the way other humans are of value, but the way God is of infinite value, namely, as the basis of all human value.

5. Fifth, as the Son of God Jesus was supremely loved by his Father in heaven. He left the glory of heaven and took on human nature so that he could hunger and get weary and in the end suffer and die.

The nineteen-year-old boy was a wonderful picture of love. But compared to Jesus he was only a picture. His death was quick and relatively painless. Jesus' death was one of the worst kinds of torture devised for human pain. So when Ephesians 5:2 says, "Christ loved you and gave himself up for us," don't breeze over the words: "gave himself up." His love is great in proportion to the costliness of his sacrifice. And his sacrifice was horrendous.

The Verdict Is In

2006-04-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I received a letter, informing me that I was selected to be an RA (Resident Assistant) next school year. I turned in the application back in early March and then had my interview two weeks ago. I am really excited to see how our faithful God will use this experience for His glory.

(P.S. - IBEX fall 05 is taking over Master's College dorm staff: Hannah, Mary, Robby, Christian, Philippe, and I were all selected for RA.)

A Word about God's Love

2006-04-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

In the book Understanding Christian Theology, J. Carl Laney Jr. says this about God’s love for us:

“Because God’s love is based on His unchanging nature rather than our personal behavior, He will never stop loving us. Perhaps you have heard someone say the sad words, “I don’t love you anymore.” These words would be impossible for God to speak. He told His people Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). This is equally true of His relationship with the body of Christ, His church (Ephesians 5:25). His love is so vast and inexhaustible that, as F.B. Meyer once wrote, 'The love of God toward you is like the Amazon River flowing down to water a single daisy.'"

One Thing You Lack

2006-04-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Ministries blogs about how Jesus pinpointed the rich young ruler's problem: he loved his riches more than he loved God.

Check it out here; it's worth the read.

MacArthur's List of Failures

2006-04-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

15 Devastating Consequences of a Failure to Peach the Bible Expositionally

Given by Dr. John MacArthur in chapel at The Master’s College on March 22 & 24, 2006

It usurps the authority of God over the soul.
It removes the Lordship of Christ from His Church.
It hinders the work of the Holy Spirit.
It demonstrates appalling pride.
It severs the preacher from the sanctifying grace of Scripture.
It clouds the true depth & transcendence of the message.
It prevents the preacher from fully developing the mind of Christ.
It depreciates, by example, the need for personal Bible study.
It prevents the preacher from being the voice of God in every issue.
It breeds a congregation who is as weak and indifferent to the glory of God as the preacher is.
It robs the people of the only true source of help.
It encourages people to be indifferent to Scripture and divine authority.
It lies to people about what they really need.
It strips the pulpit of power.
It puts the responsibility on the preacher to change the people by other means.

He Loves Thee Too Little

2006-04-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

“For he loves Thee too little who loves anything together with thee, which he loves not for thy sake. O love that ever burnest and art never quenched! O Charity, my God, enkindle me!” -St. Augustine

This line from Augustine reveals a simple yet profound reality regarding our love for God. The Lord remains, from before time began, the greatest and most glorious being. He sits enthroned above all earthly powers and demands worship from his creatures. He requires love. In fact, when our love goes to another, Jeremiah describes it as seeking for water in broken cisterns, rather than diving into the fountain of living water that gushes forth divine satisfaction. The only appropriate reaction to this evil is shock and awe.

With incredible boldness, Augustine declares that if you love anything equal with God, you love God too little. Your affections for Him are weak and half-hearted if you put the infinitely lovely God on equal level with His creation. God has placed a gap between Himself and man. When we seek to close that gap or eliminate it all together, we sin against the holy God by not giving Him the proper glory and recognition.

Well, Augustine not only presents the problem, but he gives us a prayer that should be upon our hearts everyday. We must pray for God to ignite love for His name inside of us, because we are incapable of such passionate affection apart from the Spirit. Pray that the Lord would set the truth of Scripture aflame within your heart, otherwise described as logic on fire. History is filled with examples of God answering this request within men and women.

God demands your love. Does your love for Him ever burn; Is it never quenched? Pray that He would enkindle that kind of affection within your heart.

Praying Like a Puritan

2006-02-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, my small group leader gave us a puritan prayer to read over. I pulled it out the other day and was blessed by it again. I hope that you are encouraged by it as well.

Morning Dedication
Almighty God,
As I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to Thy care. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me. Incline my heart to thy ways. Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay.

May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Thy praise.
Let those around see me living by Thy Spirit,
trampling the world underfoot,
unconformed to lying vanities,
transformed by a renewed mind,
clad in the entire armour of God,
shining as a never-dimmed light,
showing holiness in all my doings.

Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain.

In needful transactions
let my affection be in heaven,
and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
my gaze fixed on unseen things,
my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities.

May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth. Order this day all my communications according to Thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one.

If my life should end today, let this be my best day.

Quoting Webb

2006-02-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

No, I’m not talking about Derek Webb, although my friend The Lover wouldn’t mind me mentioning DWebb every once in a while. Rick Holland filled in for Dr. John MacArthur on Sunday morning at Grace Community Church and in his sermon, he mentioned a quote by Mark Webb that he heard from C.J. Mahaney at the Resolved Conference. It may be a repeat for some of you, but I thought that it capsulated the doctrine of election in the best human terms possible.

“After giving a brief survey of these doctrines of sovereign grace, I asked for questions from the class. One lady, in particular, was quite troubled. She said, 'This is the most awful thing I've ever heard! You make it sound as if God is intentionally turning away men and women who would be saved, receiving only the elect.' I answered her in this vein:

'You misunderstand the situation. You're visualizing that God is standing at the door of heaven, and men are thronging to get in the door, and God is saying to various ones, 'Yes, you may come, but not you, and you, but not you, etc.' The situation is hardly this. Rather, God stands at the door of heaven with His arms outstretched, inviting all to come. Yet all men without exception are running in the opposite direction towards hell as hard as they can go. So God, in election, graciously reaches out and stops this one, and that one, and this one over here, and that one over there, and effectually draws them to Himself by changing their hearts, making them willing to come. Election keeps no one out of heaven who would otherwise have been there, but it keeps a whole multitude of sinners out of hell who otherwise would have been there. Were it not for election, heaven would be an empty place, and hell would be bursting at the seams. That kind of response, grounded as I believe that it is in Scriptural truth, does put a different complexion on things, doesn't it? If you perish in hell, blame yourself, as it is entirely your fault. But if you should make it to heaven, credit God, for that is entirely His work! To Him alone belong all praise and glory, for salvation is all of grace, from start to finish.”
- Mark Webb

I found it here:
http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/02/election.php

Unique & Unparalled

2006-02-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

The word of God is by far more unique than any other book ever written; this is shown through its prophecies, unity, survival, and influence. The prophecy of Scripture is so remarkably accurate that no other writing is equal. The Bible doesn’t just have a few extremely accurate prophecies, but the pages are filled with hundreds of prophecies that describe future events in explicit detail. The main theme of all of these prophecies is the nation of Israel. The story of God’s chosen people is told all throughout the Old Testament and the prophets that God sent to His people told of future events that would come to the people of Israel. The Bible is unique because no other text predicts future events with the accuracy and quantity that the Scriptures do. Of all of the Old Testament prophecies, 332 of them specifically refer to the Messiah. The detail in which the prophets predict the specifics of Christ’s life is amazing and a testimony to the uniqueness of Christ.

The Bible also proves to be extremely unified despite the fact that it was written by so many different authors spanning over thousands of years. Men of all occupations and levels of education and society have contributed to the canon of Scripture. The different books were written all over the known world, not just in a single place. In spite of all of the differences between the authors and locations, the words found within the pages of Scripture are unified and reflect the hand of God upon His word. It is unlike any other book that has so many contributors speaking on so many different subjects and yet the theme and over-arching theme is fused through all. “Christ and His work form the cord that ties all of Scripture together.”

The Bible is book that has survived longer than any other book. Not only has it stood the test of time, but it has remained popular and well read. Even though some books are still around from that time period, nothing is as well read as the Bible. God’s word has not returned void and has changed the hearts of people all throughout time. The purpose for writing the Bible and the purpose for the events that happened within its pages has remained the purpose of why the Bible has lasted so long and why it has affected man in such a way. It is amazing to see the way God has used great men of the past to pass on the truth and actual text of Scripture. Wycliffe and Tyndale are two examples of English men who sacrificed their lives for the translation of God’s words into the vernacular. Tyndale was burned at the stake because he believed that God’s glory was worthy to be declared among the people and of greater worth than his own life. The Bible itself promises that its words will remain forever (1 Peter 1:24-25).

The Bible is unparalleled in its influence. It has influenced man in the deepest way possible for centuries and it continues to do so. There are no bounds that tie down the word of Lord; it radically changes hearts to turn from their love of the world to a passionate love for God. The truth of Scripture sets people free from bondage and gives them life. History proves that human learning and knowledge does not change the heart when it enlarges the mind, and yet the knowledge gained from Scripture when taken in with discretion causes the heart to grow and abound more and more with love for God. The Bible single-handedly has changed the course of history unlike any other book (i.e. the Reformation).

The Bible is unique above other books of past, present, and future because of its ability to pierce “to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Banality Is A Fad

2006-01-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

In fifth grade, my best friend, Brian Poirier, and I were hooked on Star Wars. The addiction didn’t stop at the movies, but resulted in compulsive behavior to buy, collect, and trade Star Wars cards. We would bring them to school everyday and meet at recess to discuss the characters, locations, devices, or starships we had in our card collection. For my eleventh birthday, I received many packs of cards and other accessories to store my collection. I couldn’t think of anything else in the world that I could want, but more Star Wars cards. Brian and I would love to just look through each others cards and trade for different ones. It wasn’t long before Brian had moved on to skateboarding and fishing and I was into baseball cards and other things.

According to Microsoft Encarta, a fad is “something that is embraced very enthusiastically for a short time.” Fads define our society. Whether it is Beanie Babies, Atkins, Chia pets, disco, or iPods, America loves to find the next best thing and ride it hard until it dies. Don’t deceive yourself by thinking that Christians are exempt. WWJD, FROG, Purpose Driven Life, and Left Behind are all evident marks upon the history of the modern church in which Christians have bought into the most popular marketing technique, but only for a short time. Fads are a good recognizable example of life under the sun. They show the banality of our life here on earth and how, like fireworks, bring satisfaction for a short time, but quickly fade away. We feel like this new CD, movie, outfit, video game, party, or relationship will bring the missing satisfaction that will make us happy. But the reason that fads exist is because even the pagans recognize the short-lived nature of the enjoyments and how they lack eternal fulfillment. Oh how sad it is when Christians not only invest in worthless trivialities, but after trying it once and realizing the lack of value in the endeavor, go back to it and pursue it again. Pursuing things under the sun is like grasping at the wind.

It amazes me how it seems that Christians don’t believe or obey the word of God when it says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world…the world is passing away along with its desires” (1Jn. 2:15,17) and when it tells of Moses rejecting “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25). God warns of the worthlessness of the world and tells of the greatness and eternal value of worshipping Him, which is done by reading His word and setting one’s “mind on things above and not on earthly things” (Col. 3:1,2).

The reason that there is such a reversal in the church today is that God’s word has become a fad. People get excited to read Scripture by either a powerful sermon or a New Year’s resolution and then when the excitement leaves, all that is left is a unmotivated heart that is content with worshipping things on this earth rather than God. Thus when Scripture becomes a fad, God is laid aside for idols made by human hands and minds. May God’s word never become dull to us, but remain refreshing and soul-satisfying.

Easy Obedience

2005-12-30T14:14:00.000-08:00

Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional has been a source of encouragement and thought-provoking wisdom for me over the past 5 years or so. There was a time when I read it consistently, but now I look back to it every once and a while. The other day I read the morning devotional and was struck by what he had to say.

“The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite or no. The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once.

Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from his hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been rather adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast my integrity? then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord’s right hand planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend him out of love to himself are his own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in thee, and not in the mire of this world’s favor or gain.”

If there is one thing that I have noticed while being back in the United States is the ability of the world to have a grip on a believer’s life. While I was in Israel my eyes were opened to how much people in the US are accustomed to submitting to comfort and ease. We don’t understand hardship and trials because we have surrounded us with things that allow us to avoid them. The biggest thing that we may encounter is a long line at the grocery store or too much homework to do. Never do we have to deal with the government arresting you because of your faith or waking up in a one room house with your six children all asking you where the next meal is coming from and yet most of the world lives like that. I must be willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of Christ my Savior who suffered to the point of death out of obedience to the Father. Suffering is good and we can persevere through it, not for our sake, but for Christ. We can be obedient in the same way, for we live by the same Spirit that Jesus did while He was on this earth.

Back in the US

2005-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in a comfortable carpeted room with Christmas music playing and lights strung around the room. I thought it appropriate to update all of my readers on the status of my body and brain after a mentally straining last week in Israel and two days of traveling.

The last days of IBEX FAO5
We said our last good-bye’s on Saturday night and then drove to the airport. We had to go through some of the most careful security that I have ever seen. They scan your entire luggage and open it up and take everything out to search it. This meant that all the dirty laundry that we had accumulated over the last week was sprawled out in front of the Israeli security personnel. We all eventually got on the flight and fell asleep, cutting our flight from Tel Aviv to Newark to only a couple of hours. We landed in 30 degree weather in New Jersey, stayed a couple of hours and then boarded another plane to take us to Los Angeles. It was hard to say good-bye to all of the people that I had spent so much time with over the last 4 months. I am excited to see what God does with the 33 people who were at IBEX in the fall of 2005. I am praying that we all will be obedient to the word of God for the love of God.

Do I miss Israel?
Yeah, I do. It is hard to be with the same people so long and to grow to love them so much and then suddenly drop the relationship all together. I also miss the land. There was something special about being in the land of our God and seeing where it is that His people have dwelt for thousands of years. I will miss learning so much about the Bible. I didn’t know that there was so much that I didn’t know about the Bible and I don’t think I will ever be so excited to learn so much. God displayed His love by allowing me to learn so much about Him and to grow in my love for Him. I can only give all honor glory and praise to Him for what I experienced and how my life was changed. I would be nice to go back some day.

Am I glad to be back?
Well, the way I look at it is that God placed me in that season of life for a time and now that time is over. For a couple of months I was given the opportunity to dwell in the land of Israel and I don’t regret one minute of it, but it is nice to be back in familiar territory. I have enjoyed spending time with friends, especially Grant, who is so faithful to challenge me and encourage me from the word of God. It is nice to get some variety in the food too. I had Mexican food last night and American cereal and bagels this morning. There are so many things in the US that make things easy. We live in a society where things are so readily accessible that we rely on it in order to exist. I will be really happy when I see my family and friends in Washington finally after 4 months of separation.

What has changed?
I see things totally different now; not everything, but many things. I was surprised at how much I notice American wealth and greed since being back. After seeing poverty in Egypt and the lack of American comfort in Israel, it is hard to come back and just live like everything used to be. My heart and life are changed forever and I will never see things differently, or so I hope. I read my Bible so differently now, with such a better understanding of the geography and the land in which it happened. God has also allowed me to worship Him in a deeper, more intimate way because of what showed me while in Israel. He is God of the nations, the One who orchestrates all of the actions of the nations desires that His gospel be spread abroad. Why is it that so many American Christians think that the US is the only place to go and they don’t even consider foreign missions? These are just few of my thoughts.

Anyways, I am caught up on my sleep and I am enjoying spending time with Charissa and Grant down here. It has been nice seeing some IBEXers as well.

All Good Things Come To An End

2005-12-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone back in America. I am flying back today. My heart is both sad for leaving this amazing place and yet I want to see everyone back home. We are going into church this morning and then we will be going into the Old City of Jerusalem for the last time. I know that it will be kind of hard to leave, but I know that it what God has planned.

Last night was our year-end show. We had skits, games, and slideshows. I edited video from all through out the semester and put it together into about an hour's worth of footage. I stayed up all Thursday night and Friday, in order to complete it, but in the end everything turned out and God was shown good once again. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I was pleased with the response. May God be glorified through the memories that were made.

Well, I love you all and will, Lord-willing, see you all shortly. May your affections of Christ burn within today.

Isn't Our God Good?

2005-12-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

Just to give you all an update on how I am doing over here, I am in the middle of finals week. We are happy for the end of our hard class to finally be here, but it also sad to think that we are leaving Israel in 4 days. I am right now just coming up for a breath of air before I plunge down once again into my books for the long haul that will carry me through my last final tomorrow. If you guys think of it, I would appreciate any prayer on my behalf. The finals are the hardest that I have ever taken and I can do well on them, but it just takes a lot of time.

I have also voluntarily taken under my wing the task of editing over 30 hours of video from the semester before Friday morning at 8am. Although a lot is already put together and ready for showing, there is still much to be done. I am glad that I am able to use my video editing talents for other people, but I will strain myself to my physical limits to get it done.

God is so good and He once again is proving Himself to be faithful. He has pulled me through so much this semester and He will do it once again. I know that when I am weak, then He is strong and nothing is too difficult for Him. He has given amazing amounts of strength despite my low amounts of sleep. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Praise God for His goodness to me, a sinner.

See you all soon!

A Chance for Thanks

2005-12-05T00:52:00.000-08:00

I have been deeply affect this semester by my Land & Bible professor. He is also the student life coordinator and thus I get lots of time with him. I also do work study for him. I have learned a lot through watching his life and hearing of how he works out his salvation in fear and trembling. I have been priviledged to get to know Todd so well and I thank God for his impact on my life.

We have a semester scrapbook that we have compiled, with a page done by each student and staff. This picture is the page that I did for the book.

Above Reproach

2005-12-02T08:27:00.000-08:00

Todd, one of my professors over here at IBEX has a blog, which you can find here. Recently he post about an article written by Bob Kauflin, a worship leader on the east coast and a writer for many Sovereign Grace songs. I went Bob’s blog, entitled Worship Matters, and found some really insightful thoughts about worship and how it is supposed to look in the church today. Today’s post is about holding those who lead worship to higher standards because of the position that they are in.

Serving in the church of Jesus Christ is always a privilege. "The greatest among you shall be your servant." (Mt. 23:11) While there are many ways to serve "behind the scenes" in the church, the music team isn't one of them. For that reason, I think holding musicians to higher personal standards is wise for at least two reasons.

First, the maturity of those on the team affects the church. Throughout Scripture, those who lead are held to a stricter standard for character (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim. 3:2-12, James 3:1). Whether someone is actually speaking or not, their presence in front of the congregation week after week implies that their life is worthy of emulation – not perfect, but showing evidences of the Gospel’s fruit in their lives. Our heart for God’s glory should be seen not only when we sing on Sundays, but in the way we relate to our spouse, children, friends, and others. Otherwise it’s easy for the church to think worship is more about singing than the way we live. If a leader learns that one of the musicians is living in unrepentant sin, they should either speak to them personally, or ask a pastor to get involved. If there's no change, the member should be taken off the team, and helped in the process of Gospel-motivated sanctification. The goal is not simply keeping the team "pure," but helping every member of the church grow into maturity in Christ.

Second, members of the team affect other members. If one of your musicians is given making divisive comments, or often complains, or engages in self-promotion, it will weaken the unity of the group. I remember trying to keep a guitar player on the team who consistently struggled with receiving correction and wanting to be used more. Rehearsals were a challenge, and we had numerous painful conversations. In hindsight, it would have served him and the other musicians if I had taken him off the team until his heart was in a better place. It's wise to make standards and expectations for heart and behavior clear before someone joins the team. When I first came to my current church eight years ago, I took time to set clear standards for participation. We revisit that every few years for the sake of new members who have been added. It's always easier to remind someone of what you've already told them, than to think they'll adhere to unspoken expectations.

Designing Shirts

2005-11-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I worked all day on a t-shirt design for our semester. Every year a design is chosen and printed for the semester shirt, so it was destined for our semester as well. I put forth a design idea and throughout the course of the day people gave their suggestions. I was up against about four other designs, but after about four voting sessions and many revisions, a final design was decided upon. I’ll surprise you all with the shirt, rather than just put the graphics up here.

Egypt in Action

2005-11-30T00:02:00.000-08:00

So just to add your multimedia exposure of my experience in Egypt, here is a link to a video that I put together of what we did. It doesn't have a lot of shots of the sights we saw, but more of the fun we had and how we expressed the freedom of no classes for a week. Some of the timing is a little off and the song skips in one part, but it was unavoidable unfortunately. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. A special thanks to Google Video for making this possible.
Egypt Video

Pictures from Egypt

2005-11-27T00:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to see some of the pictures that we took while we were in Egypt. They are not in consecutive order, which I am sorry for, but they are fun to look at any way.

Epypt Pictures

The Israelite Goes Egyptian

2005-11-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m back from Egypt as of Sunday night and I have already jumped full swing into school again. The last two nights I have only slept a total of three hours and as I write this I am quite tired, but I am rejoicing in the Lord who has enabled me to get everything that I needed done, so far. I won’t belabor you all with details of my trip to Egypt, but I will give you some highlights.

Cairo
The biggest city in Egypt is possibly the worst city in Egypt. With 22 million people, the city has a lot of problems. Apart from just being in Egypt, we liked Cairo the least. The most unique feature of life in Cairo is its traffic situation. The problem doesn’t come from people disobeying the law, but from the fact that there are no traffic laws. There are almost no stop lights, no painted lines on the streets including crosswalks, no speed limit, people don’t use their blinkers or headlights, and there are more cars in one place than I have ever seen. Pedestrians can cross anywhere in the street; it matters not if traffic is flowing. So needless to say, we had fun making our way through the streets of Cairo.

We arrived in the city at about 8pm and our taxi driver took us to a cheap hotel next to the train station for only 18 pounds a night (5.8 pounds = 1 US dollar). We stayed in Cairo for two days, seeing the Egyptian museum, the Giza pyramids, and Islamic Cairo. We had ice cream at McDonalds every night that we were in Cairo since a cone is only a 1.5 Egyptian pounds, it was nice American-type treat.

We had a funny encounter while on our way to the pyramids. We were told that the metro would be the fastest and cheapest way to get there, so we bought our tickets for less than a pound each and got on. On the metro they have a list of stops, but three of them have the word Giza in them and so we weren’t sure which one to get off at. When we came to the first one, Megan hops off and then the doors shut right away and the metro continues on to the next stop. So we have one girl all alone at a metro station while the rest of us were at the next one. Shane talked to a guard, who allowed him to go back and get her. We got back on and were told by the police that it was two stops down the line. After the first stop, the train pulled in with a bunch of other trains like it was going to get parked. A guy came in and asked us where we were trying to and after some simply English and corresponding choreography, he understood the pyramids. He showed us which one to get off at and then the train began to back the other way. At the first stop, a herd of Arab women flooded into our car. We were told only too late that we were in the women’s car and that the men’s car was the next one down. Well, you can imagine how Shane and I felt sitting in there with 50 women staring at you. The next stop we switched cars. We arrived at the pyramids…eventually.

Luxor
We got a night train to Luxor which is about an 8 hour ride; not the greatest sleeping conditions in the world. We spent two days here, seeing the temples on the east side one day, and the sites on the west, the other. A definite highlight was renting bikes. We saved big time on transportation and we got some good exercise. The Luxor temple at night had an eerie feel because it was all lit up and the huge architecture provides a very neat atmosphere. This is the place were we saw the most ruins. We had lots of fun seeing such massive remains after spending all of the semester visiting sites in Israel that are just a pile of rocks. So on the east bank we saw the Luxor and Karnak temple and on the west bank we visited the Colossi of Memnon, Medinet Habu, Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hapshetsut, and the Rasmussen. I figure because you can learn about each of these in a history book, I won’t bother you with the historical details. We were able to hike from the Valley of the Kings up and over the ridge to the Temple of Hapshetsut. At the peak of the hike we had an incredible view of the Nile River and its lush green shores surrounded by the desert.

We found the best food in Luxor was across the street from our hotel. The dish that we had all three times that we ate there was called koshary; I can’t really explain it because I don’t know what was it, but believe me, it was good. We went to McDonald’s for ice cream while we were here as well. I had some fun with my long hair and grooving to the music that was there.

Aswan
We took another train down to Aswan which is 3 hours south. We spent three nights and two days here and wanted to stay longer. The first day, I led our group on a long walk to find an unfinished obelisk and took us the back route through an Arab community, but found it okay. Later in the day, we went out on the Nile to Elephantine Island where we went to a museum, saw a Nilometer (an ancient device to determine the level of the Nile), and watched the sunset on some rocks that jutted out into the river. The next day we saw the Aswan High Dam, Aswan Dam, and the Temple of Philae, which is a temple on an island.

Over all, we liked Aswan the best. We had the best hotel with the best food and it was the best weather. We had fun walking the market streets and seeing the Egyptian life.

Experiencing Egypt
Well, spending 8 days in an oppressively Arab culture definitely pulls on one’s soul. It was hard to see the women so suppressed, both the locals and Megan and Erin. The people are so controlled by their religion, not by their fear of Alah. I realized why there is such a conflict between the Jewish people and the Arab people; it is because their cultures and entire way of life is controlled by their religion, which is completely contradictory.

God really had His sovereign hand on my group. Lord allowed us to have a devotional and extended prayer for one another at least twice a day. The Spirit led us to the right hotels, to the places to eat, and what taxi drives to talk to. I was blessed by the others in my group, I couldn’t of picked better people to go with. We had a lot of fun and really had a relaxing week. We had fun walking down the market streets and having some of the most pushy shopkeepers I have ever seen come out and try to bargain with you. Shane and I did get man dresses, which is just a traditional Egyptian outfit. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to experience Egypt and to spend it in such a God-glorifying way.

I Lived To Tell About It

2005-11-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

The most shocking experience for me while I was in Egypt was getting my hair cut in Aswan. My hair was very long leading up to this, I had not cut it the whole semester. I figured there was no reason not to get it done in Egypt, it was cheap and convenient. There was a barber shop right next to our hotel, so I thought I would give it a shot. The cut began fine. The man had some serious skills with the scissors. His hand was moving so fast and the hair was coming off in a satisfactory manner. I grew a little nervous as to what he was going to do next when he pulled out an old-fashioned flip out razor, yeah the kind my mom decorates with. He used it dry shave the hair off the back of my neck because there was a lot of it (mom, you know what I’m talking about). He used it also to trim my side burns just right. Then came the simplest yet most horrifying torture device to be used on a man’s face – the sewing thread. He took a segement of thread and wrapped it around his fingers and then brought it up to his mouth. Then he began to control the thread with his bobbing head – the result was excruciating pain shooting through my face as the hair began to be ripped out. He took out all the hair on my forehead, formed my eye brows, and took out the hair below my eyes. Well, I didn’t take this unexpected pain very well, and eventually had to have him stop otherwise I was going to vomit. But I can say that I had my hair cut in Egypt.

The Newest Apple Innovation

2005-11-22T02:34:00.000-08:00

Make sure you check out this humorous ad. They can poke all the fun in the world, but you can't diminish the glory of the iPod.
-The Newest iPod-

The Wayfarer Returns

2005-11-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Me with a grinding bowl
my Egypt group

The Wayfarer has been silent for the past several weeks, wandering through the hill country of Judah. But with a conviction on the lack of updates, he pauses to inform those interested in his condition on his recent whereabouts.

General Thoughts
It seems as if I am a marble on the ever-increasing slope of the semester. The weeks go by so fast and all of the events that I remember looking at on the calendar at the beginning of the semester are cruising by and will soon all be over. The Land & Bible class is over already. This class was the one in which we went on field trips and visited the sites that we were learning about. It was sad when we had to pull into the moshav from our last field trip. There are other field trips with other classes, but no more to biblical sites with the whole class.

Egypt
This Friday, I will be leaving to go to Egypt for travel study break. I am very excited to travel and see some great historical sites. I am in a group with three others: Shane, Megan, and Erin. We have hung out a lot this semester, so it seemed natural that we would spend a week in Egypt together. We are leaving at midnight on Friday night and returning 8 days later on Sunday afternoon. We have a lot of plans for doing some fun stuff like going to the Giza pyramids, the Cairo Museum, Luxor, and Aswan. We also have some fun stuff on the list, such as going to the roof of every hotel we stay at, for the view, buying man dresses, doing a scavenger hunt with the other Egypt groups, and working at McDonald’s for an hour in order to get a free ice cream cone. Please pray that Christ would be on our minds in a very God-less culture. The situation in Egypt is different from Israel. It is all Arab and they hate both Americans and Israelis. Pray that if it is the Lord’s will, that we would be safe and enjoy Him as we enjoy another corner of Creation. Pray also that our group would live righteously to one another, seeking to make much of Christ and not ourselves.

From the Heart
Well, I haven’t completely updated ya’ll on Galilee and haven’t even started to tell you about our four day Negev trip. I can tell you about the places we went some other time, but now I am going to give you an update on what God has done in my heart over the past month.

Even though my time in Galilee was spent trying to grasp the weight of Jesus’ ministry upon the very shores that I was staying at and reading the Gospels in a different light, I left the place feeling empty. I felt as if I was supposed to be changed in a radical way, like I was to be completely different with new life goals and an amazing zeal for the Lord. Although I do believe that God used that experience for His glory in my life, I think I was expecting the wrong kind of change. What I was looking for was a change in outward actions, but what God wanted was a change of the heart. I was left in this quandary, confused about what I was to do in response to all that I learned in Galilee.

I have been going through Jeremiah while I have been here and during that time after Galilee, I was meditating on what it means to forsake the Lord. Jeremiah confronts the nation of Israel on how they had committed two evils: they forsook the Lord their God and replaced Him with their own idolatrous God. He says that the fear of God is not in them. I began to question what evidences were in my own life that show that I fear the great God of Ages. Do I live out the theology that I so readily can quote and debate about? I have been learning about the how the Jewish people have a specific emphasis on action, rather than doctrine. Although I don’t think that my focus on doctrine should decrease, but rather that I should place more weight than I have been on applying that doctrine. For example:

Is it evident that I believe in the depravity of man by how I interact with unbelievers?

Does my life show that I fear God and not man?

Can others see that my heart belongs to Christ Jesus and that my affections for Him are abounding more and more?

During the Negev trip, we had a time in the wilderness, where we went off on our own and communed with our God. We talked with the same God who had brought His people across the very ground we were sitting on. Here is an excerpt of my journal from that day:

“For me, this time was very special and helped me to see my heart in another light. I read my favorite psalm, number 63, and it was very different to read it in the wilderness that it speaks of. The Lord revealed that my affections were weak. I don’t love Him with a love that burns within me. I am not desperately thirsty for Him. I cannot say with David that “my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you; as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” My problem is not that I love the things of this world too much, but rather I don’t love my Lord and Savior enough.”

I hope that sharing some of this with you has given you a small window into
the spiritual side of my semester here in the land of Israel. I know that
the Lord has great things in store for me yet; I don’t know if I won’t
realize what they are until I get back, or if He will reveal them to me now.
Our God is great. He has carried His faithful ones throughout history and He
will continue to sustain us today – He is the All-Sovereign Holy One.

To the Northern Border - Galilee III

2005-10-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Another day has come to a close. I am once again in silent stillness upon the waters’ edge of the lake called Chinnereth. I do not know why I am here. I suppose it is because I don’t like the awkwardness of my room and enjoy the steady sound of the waves rippling on the shore.

The events of this evening have sent my mind and heart deep into the truth of God’s Word for a trying, yet comforting challenge. We had chapel on the Sea of Galilee tonight, which made for a unique and very special service. The focus of the night was Jesus Christ. The songs were chosen to show His life, work, and glory. Bill taught on the first half of the last year of Jesus’ life. We looked in the gospel of Matthew and Mark, seeing how Jesus is indeed, the only one that we can stake our lives on. He challenged us to have a mature faith that doesn’t simply hinge on a decision from the third grade, but a daily commitment to Jesus Christ. I will, Lord willing, blog more on this later.

During the service, Todd came and pulled Leona out. After everything was over, Todd came to the front and told us that Leona’s grandmother had just died and that she was really close to her grandma. We stopped as a group and Shane and I prayed for Leona and her family. It was a neat time to see other believers gather around those in pain.

The day began with people being left behind. The group went to the north side of the sea and two miles inland to the ancient site of Chorazin. The whole city was constructed out of basalt because that is the local stone and it was easy to build with. The stone can’t support itself very well, so they had to come up with ways to support it, such as arches and supporting stones. The city had a synagogue and several other public buildings, along with many domestic dwellings. The synagogue has a depiction of the Greek god Medusa and a seat of Moses.

Hazor was next on our list of stops. North of the Sea of Galilee is the Rosh Pina Sill, which acts as a big basalt plug blocking the waters of the Jordan Rivers and forming the Huleh Basin. The city of Hazor sits in this basin and during Old Testament times guarded the northern approaches into Galilee. Joshua understood the importance of this site and he burned it during the conquest. Joshua 11 tells the story of how a great army amassed against the Israelites and the Lord gave the enemies into their hands. Joshua did exactly as the Lord had commanded, rather than turning to his own way. Solomon fortified Hazor, along with Gezer and Megiddo. The time of Barak & Deborah is the last Canaanite layer and 2 Kings 15:29 gives us the end of Hazor in the Bible, when Tiglath-Piliaser conquered Galilee and Gilead. Some of the remains that Yigael Yadin found when he was excavating lower Hazor was several temples, idols, and occultic objects. There have been excavations going on since 1990 by Hebrew University.

Before lunch, we drove up to the Dado Lookout and looked over to Lebanon. We were surrounded on three sides by Lebanese. From the viewpoint, we could see southeast into the Huleh Basin. Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights were plainly visible, but Tel Dan was lost in the haze of the valley.

We stopped at beautiful Tel Dan for lunch, in the shade of the trees along the flowing water. Dan is the spot of where the tribe moved after they could no longer conquer the area that was allotted to them. Dan is so picturesque and green because it is the site of the biggest spring/source to the Jordan River. The high place of Dan erected by Jeroboam in 1 Kings 11 and 12 is visible today. He did not trust God to provide for him and the people, but rather took the matter into his own hands and changed the place of worship to Dan and Bethel. He also changed the day of Sukkot, in order to control the worship of his people. There are two ancient gates that have been excavated. The Middle Bronze gate is from 1800 B.C. and was buried into a rampart and preserved. The other gate is from the Iron Age (900 B.C.) and right outside the gate the Tel Dan Stele was found, in which it talks about the house of David. The funny thing about it, is that the Aram king who wrote it, took credit for what Jehu, the Israelite king did.

At Caesarea Philippi, there is evidence of worship of the foreign god Pan. There are niches built into the rock cliff for them to place their idols. The people would throw animals into the spring as a sacrifice. The Bible doesn’t say that Jesus went to Caesarea Philippi, but it does mention Him being in the region of it. It would make sense then that after being in that region, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain, where He is transfigured. That mountain would logically be a place on Mt. Hermon, where it is away from everyone and it is in the region.

Todd gave us a bonus and took us up to a Crusader castle called Nimrod’s Castle. We were able to spend time crawling all around inside of it and taking a lot of pictures. It is strategically placed castle and is still well intact, with an impressive appearance on the hill it juts out on.

We drove back to En Gev through the Golan Heights, the territory of Herod Philip during Jesus’ time. We saw some people called Drews who believe that the Messiah will be born to a man and so the men wear funny pants with a large pocket in between the legs in order to catch the Messiah when he comes. We also saw the cows of Bashan, mentioned in Amos 4:1.

The last stop was at Qunetra, over looking the country of Syria. In between Israel and Syria is the DMZ (De-militarized zone), which is the no-man’s-land where the United Nations are at. The two countries are still at war with each other. After some pictures, back to En Gev we went.

Through the Valley and to Galilee - Galilee II

2005-10-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well, report number two from comes directly from shores of the Sea of Galilee. I am only a couple feet away from the gently lapping water. The lights of Tiberius, the largest city in Galilee, from across the lake glimmer in the distance and the stars have all decided to show their singular brilliance tonight. I hope that I never lose perspective of where I am. Tonight, I swam in the water that Jesus walked on only 2000 years ago. The places that we visit and see are so historical. Not only did biblical history happen there, but so many other things to place here, in the land between. I don’t ever want to forget, for these three months that I am here, that this is the land promised to Abraham and where his word took place. It is encouraging to hear Todd be amazed and in awe at the sites we go to. He has been here for about 9 or 10 years and yet the land of the Bible still has the effect on him that it first did.

Today was just one more example of how important geography is to the Old Testament. I have read through the accounts of the nation of Israel, the kings, and the prophets, many times with no regard for where they happened. I remember as a kid looking at the maps in the back of my Bible and trying to follow how things happened, but never being able to because they were limited maps and I didn’t know what I was looking for. Even this last year during Old Testament Survey, we had to read each book twice and I would cruise right over the location names, because I had no clue where they were and most of the time I didn’t know how to pronounce them. IBEX has sparked a wildfire in my reading of the Old Testament. God is shown more glorious and mighty when the land is understood and not just the words on the page. My New Testament will be revamped because of the focus that we have while we are here at the Sea of Galilee. We are in Christ’s territory. I pray that I will be able to worship the man who walked in this very land with a faith that is real and not ambiguous. It is hard to put my feelings and thoughts into words for others to grasp, but know that even though it can seem that I am so focused with what I am learning over here, I do think of all you back on the west coast often and pray the God would enrich your lives in most Christ-glorifying way. Well, now to the account of the day.

The day started with Kai and I sleeping in because I forgot to turn the alarm on. It wasn’t that bad, but still a little frustrating. The rising of the sun over the Nazareth ridge as it sprawled itself on the roof tops of town of Nazareth was a sight not soon forgotten. It was definitely the start to the day that I needed. Breakfast was good since it was a change from what we normally get at Yad Hashmonah. Shea Butta’ was the packer of luggage on the bus when he was here with Master’s Chorale and so he assembled a team and we had the bus packed quickly and extremely efficiently. We took off towards our first stop at 8:04 and wandered through Nazareth looking for it. After a good twenty minutes, we found out that a different road had been made to reach the overlook that we were trying to get to. From the top of the hill, we could see all of the Jezreel Valley. We saw features such as Mt. Tabor, Hill of Moreh, Harod Valley, and Mt. Carmel. There were several overlooks during the day and this was the first. The top of this hill marked the traditional place where Jesus got away from the mob at Nazareth in Luke 4:14-30. The site is wrongly identified as most traditional sites are in Israel.

The next on the “to-do” list was Megiddo. The city is mentioned a couple of times in the Bible. Two kings die at Megiddo, Josiah, after being killed in battle against the Egyptians, and Ahaziah, after being shot with an arrow from Jehu. It is also stated that Solomon fortified the city, along with Gezer and Hazor. The tell has been excavated quite extensively be several different groups. The Germans, Americans, and Israelis have all dug at this site. Some of the remains worth mentioning are the Middle Bronze triple gate and the Iron Age three-chamber gate. The three temples on the east side of tell are from the Early Bronze Age, which means that they existed before the time of Abraham. Extended off of one of the temples is an altar, circular in shape and composed of many small rocks. It was probably about twice the size of an AWANA circle and about 3 feet high. Some buildings unknown buildings on site are most likely stables for horses rather than storehouses or barracks. The last thing we did at Megiddo was go down into the water system that was dug by Ahab in order to get water while city was in siege. It should be noted that Megiddo was a very important city because it controlled one of the three passes through Mt. Carmel, was strongly fortified, and was were the officials of the land lived.

Mary and I and a couple others continued singing through the songbook from A-Z. We were still on A when Todd jumped in to talk about the geographical landmarks around us and the place where we were going next, Ein Harod. This is the Harod Spring in the Harod Valley at the base of Mt. Gilboa. The Bible story that is associated with this spring, is the account of Gideon. In the midst of God filtering out Gideon’s army, He had the men drink from the stream to send some home. Judges 7 tells the story of how God uses weak, frail humans to accomplish his purposes and how God gets the glory for the victory over the Midianites.

We began to rejoice when we saw Randy and Phyilis Cook at the park next to Ein Harod with our lunch all prepared. We had a delectable selection of PB&J, tuna, chips and salsa, and three different types of cookies. A dozen or so of us began a game of ultimate Frisbee. I am so glad that there are people here who love to play the one of the greatest games ever. We have so much fun!

The second half of the day began at Tel-Jezreel, where Ahab and Jezebel lived. Several events in Scripture happened here or around the city, such as Jezebel taking the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for Ahab (1 Kings 21), the slaughter of Jezebel by Jehu (2 Kings 9), and the placing of 70 heads of the line of Ahab in front of its gates (2 Kings 10).

We made an IBEX never-before-seen stop. The village of Endor, where Saul went to raise the prophet of Samuel through the witch who lived there, sits on the north slope of the Hill of Moreh. Todd stopped the bus along the side of the road and then we ran down the road a ways and then up the side of the hill until we found remains of habitation, which were more recent than the story of Saul, but it is the place where it happened. Todd read the story and explained to us what happened and why it happened. It is interesting to think of why God allowed for the witch raise Samuel back to the dead to talk to Saul.

The day was hot and beginning to wear on when Todd the Magnificent (our nickname for our fearless leader) took us to McDonald’s and bought everyone an ice cream cone. Let me tell you, that vanilla ice cream cone was one of the best timed refreshments that I have ever had.

With our spirits renewed, we got back in the bus and headed to Mt. Arbel. At the top of this we got our first glimpse of the beautiful Sea of Galilee. The blue water was such a contrast to the dry, brown hillsides around it. The vantage point allowed us to see almost the whole lake and the Lord blessed us with a very clear day and so we could see very far and Todd pointed out a lot of things. I realized that this region that we entered into was where Christ chose to spend most of His time here during his ministry. I was about to get well acquainted with Jesus’ stomping grounds. From the top of the mountain, Todd led a group of us down the steep sides to the bottom. Several of us ran the whole way and made it down in record time. Once the bus arrived we drove around the northern side of the lake and went around to east shore to En Gev. En Gev is the name of the place where we are staying for the next several days. It is vacation village with the cabins directly on the waterfront. It is truly a site see. This evening has been filled with a great meal, a night swim, and typing this paper. I look forward to see what God will do.

The Sea to the Mountain - Galilee I

2005-10-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

I’ve written several field study reports so far, but I haven’t written one specifically to my readers. When I say that, I mean two things: 1) the past reports have been hard to relate to and 2) I haven’t written them with my United States audience in mind. It is my goal to help the uninformed to know where we went and why we went to those sites, with a little more clarity.

Once again we had an amazing day out and around the beautiful country of Israel. With it being fall, the countryside is mostly dry and brown, unless there is a spring near-by, which isn’t extremely out of the question. The weather is like clockwork. The sun rises, it is hot all day, and then it sets and stays warm for a long time. Many times I long for the clouds of Washington to appear overhead.

I began the day in a flurry as I threw all the stuff I needed for seven days into a bag and ate breakfast all before 8am. We drove away from the moshav and headed west to the coastal plain where we stopped at the city of Aphek. Aphek was a junction of two branches of the International Coastal Highway, where all the traffic going north or south was funneled through. On the site, there is most dominantly the castle built by Suliman in the 1500’s. There is evidence of many periods of occupation, showing the importance of this site through time. Remains from an Egyptian Governor’s house from the Late Bronze Period exist. Unique to this house was the number of inscriptions found inside. Aphek was renamed Antipatris by the Herod the Great and is seen in Bible in Acts 23. Paul goes to Anitpatris over night from Jerusalem because he is being put on trial by the Romans.

We boarded the bus and headed north for the New Testament town of Caesarea. This beautiful Roman city is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Biblical significance connected to this site is that Cornelius the Gentile lived here. Peter had a dream in Joppa (ancient Tel-Aviv) to not reject that which God calls clean. As a result, Peter goes with messengers to Caesarea to see a Roman centurion named Cornelius. This event marks the beginning of the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

When we got to the city, we walked inside the theatre that is significantly still intact. There was a huge modern stage set up at the bottom for concert that was going to be held there later that night. The city was named Caesarea Maritime in order to distinguish it from Caesarea Philippi. It was built in the first century B.C. by Herod the Great. The city was very beautiful and was turned into a great harbor from the worthless site it was before. Josephus, an author of the first century, describes how big the harbor was and how majestic Herod’s palace was.

At the top of Mt. Caramel is a lookout called Muhraqa, The valley from that viewpoint we could see the whole Jezreel Valley. To one not familiar with his Old Testament, the Jezreel Valley may sound a little foreign, but if you look it up, you will see that it is a major piece of geography. Muhraqa is the traditional place where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). The cool thing about the contest between the Elijah and the prophets of Baal, is that God shows himself to be the most supreme one. The whole country has been in a drought for three and half years, which is an assault on Baal, the god of rain. During the contest, the prophets of Baal have all the advantages: more prophets, a dry offering, and they had the first turn. God still showed Himself mighty by engulfing the altar that was doused with water. The battle was over the hearts of the people; were they going to follow Baal or YHWH?

We went west along the top of Mt. Carmel until we came to Haifa University and we walked up the hill to lookout over the city of Haifa and the Acco Plain, north of Mt. Carmel. The view was very beautiful, because the sun was going down and there were clouds creating some cool sun spots. Haifa is the center of the Bahai religion, which teaches that all religions lead to heaven. While we were at the lookout, our bus died and we had to wait for about an hour before the new came to get us, but no worries because we were able to play ultimate Frisbee.

The day ended by driving to Nazareth, about 30 minutes away. The St. Gabriel Hotel was really nice and overlooked the city of Nazareth. We all moved in smoothly and were happy to get a full meal. The soft beds made for sweet sleep.

All the girls of this semester stopped for a shot at the aquaduct at Caesarea.

Galilee Preview

2005-10-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

So for our second to last field trip, we went for a week up to the Sea of Galilee. The trip was very amazing. There were 5 out of the eight days that we were on field trips visiting sites where biblical events took place. The other days we spent in freedom doing lots of fun things in the area.

I will let all you share in what I experienced by posting my 5 reports from the field trips and then a final one on what I did on my free time what it was like to be on the Sea of Galilee.

A Day with Daddy

2005-09-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

This is my field study report from our trip south of Jerusalem. I did it from the perspective of Todd’s son, Luke, who went with us. I got a 10 on it.

This morning I hopped out of bed because this is my day to spend with Dad. Mark got to go with him on Shabbat into the Old City, but today is my turn. He says that we are going go see places like Bethlehem and Herodium, I can’t wait! We ate breakfast, kissed Mommy good-bye and then went out to the bus. I got to ride in the back with some really cool students. I love riding in the bus it is so much fun!

While we drove towards Jerusalem, Daddy talked to all of the students on the microphone, but I have already heard all of this before. He tells me a lot of these kind of things all of time; telling me what things are and what the history is behind them. I really like it when he does that because it shows that he is really smart. But he did read us some stories from Frog and Toad. I really liked that. The bus first stopped on the Mount of Olives with an eastern view of Jerusalem. Dad was talking about The Hill of Evil Council, which the United Nations building sits on, the Hill of Offense, and the place where Judas died. He talked on for a while, so I went climbing around on the stairs and the railing. It was really fun because we were high and we could see the whole city. Dad showed me where the Dome of the Rock, Kidron Valley, and Temple Mount were because my daddy is really smart and knows lots of stuff.

We got back in the bus and drove over to Bethphage, from there we walked to a hill that over looked Bethany. The little town is latched on to the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived here and it is the city that he went to two days before going into Jerusalem on the donkey. It was funny because there was a big wall between us and Bethany. Dad said it was just put there, so Jesus didn’t have to go around it. We looked at some fig trees, but that was boring, so I jumped on some stones on a pathway near us. Dad was reading from the Gospels on how Jesus cursed the fig tree and it did not yield fruit.

We went inside of a church at Bethphage and it was really neat because it echoed a lot. Dad taught the students about how the church commemorates the place where Jesus got on the donkey and then he rode up to the top of the Mount of Olives. When he got near the top, people waved palm branches and praised Him. We followed that same route that Jesus took, but it is a big hill and my legs were tired. A student picked me up and ran me all the way up to were Dad was, in the front of the line, then I drank some water out of his water hose coming out of his backpack.

At the top we went inside a courtyard of the Church of the Pater Noster, which was built by Constantine’s mother to commemorate the Lord teaching His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. There were a lot of people there and they were all talking in a funny language. Some of them were smoking at it was yucky! After Dad was done was yappin’, he said I could go down into the cave. I ran down into the cave and it was dark and it was really fun and then I went back up and looked around but there was nothing more to see, I wanted to leave.
We walked down the Mount of Olives and it was really steep, but we stopped part of the way down and went to Dominus Flavit. This got boring really fast because it was just only another view of that gold thing. I got up on the wall to get a better view and I was going to take a picture with someone’s camera, but everyone freaked out and I had to get down, so much for having fun. This marks the place where Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Lunch was next, yeah, my favorite! I got each lunch with daddy on the hill over looking Jerusalem from the south. For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple and…OH! I almost forgot! I had some really good cookies that mommy made tools. I wanted to go play and find Robbie, but Dad made me eat the rest of my lunch.

We got back on the bus and went to Bethlehem. On the way a soldier came on the bus and talked with my dad, but everything was okay. Bethlehem really didn’t look like it does in all of the Christmas story books. There was no stable or manger, but only an old church with a cave where Jesus was allegedly born. I didn’t like it very much, we had to walk slow and be quiet. One of the guys didn’t have pants to cover his shorts, so he had to borrow a skirt from a girl. He looked really silly.

We went to a mountain that a guy named Herod put there. It is called Herodium. I had to go potty, so I went behind the building there. Then we started climbing the mountain, but I got to ride on the shoulders of one of the students. It was really steep. The hill was so big that we couldn’t even ride up it on our bikes! At the top it was a really great view. This is a palace and a fortress of Herod the Great. He built it to commemorate himself when he died. At lower Herodium, there is a really big swimming pool that little boys used to swim in. Then we went into some really cool caves under Herodium and then went back to the bus. In the bus we got COOKIES! Becky made cookies for everyone and I got some. They were really good.

Two things that we got see that were really neat were the Ascent of Ziz and Solomon’s pools. The Ascent of Ziz is out in the Judean wilderness where it is hot and dry and has lots of rocks. This is the route that Jehoshapat took when the Lord went in front of the Judeans and conquered the enemy (2 Chron. 20). I liked running around with all of the students out there. Solomon’s pools were south of Bethlehem and very big. They were so big you could fit the whole Noah’s Ark inside of it!

After that, we went back home. It was a really fun day, because I got to spend it with daddy. I didn’t have to go to school and I went on the field trip. I really like doing things with my smart dad, I hope I can do it more times.

Assuming God

2005-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

We live our Christian lives assuming that God is. Each breath assumes God will us another one. Each morning assumes God will carry us through another day. Each prayer assumes that God is listening. Each sin assumes that God will forgive us.

Don’t read this wrong. I’m not saying that God does not do these things, but rather we go through our day assuming that God will continue to sustain us. Our sinful state deserves none of God and yet we have complete access to Him. The mercies that are bestowed upon us each and everyday are not a product of our own good works, but rather the provision from the Father. Through our Savior, Jesus Christ, we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Only through His blood has salvation been granted to us; belief in anything else is not the gospel that saves.

My own heart is more conscious of God around me. Before I left for Israel, my good friend, SKH, gave me some advice that I have not forgotten. He prayed that I would see and live spiritually; that I would not be focused on the physical, but everything through the work of the Spirit in me. I pray that we can all give God the credit that is due His name in everything that we see, hear, and do.

Don’t assume God, thank Him.

A Hike Below the Sea

2005-09-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

Anything that is advertised as involving death, I am quick to sign up for. Well, maybe I’m not that drastic, but when a sign up sheet for an En Gedi Death Hike showed up on the bulletin board I was all over it. The group slowly formulated and gathered excitement for this hike.

We left Saturday evening from Yad HaShmonah for En Gedi, an oasis on the shores of the Dead Sea, but not before taking a group picture. The whole hour and a half bus ride there, we sang. I pulled out some classics from Children’s Church and summer camp. It was so much fun and it made the time pass really fast.

We arrived on the shore of Dead Sea with a full moon reflecting off of the calm water (at the green “S” on the map). The wind was very strong and warm as we walked down to the salty shore. We immediately started taking pictures of this never before seen territory. After the excitement wore down, we set out find our sleeping spot. With the wind blowing at high speeds, we found shelter from the gusts behind a small stone wall and so we all proceeded to get situated for the night. Some of the guys ran off and went floating in the water in complete freedom. Mary and I entertained ourselves by spelling letters in the air with our feet together. It provided not only something that was new and interesting, but a good work-out for our legs the night before an insanely rigorous hike. We all slept on the ground with only a towel separating us from the dirt. I woke up several times in the night, only to find out that I was laying only on dirt. But don’t get me wrong, we were having a blast!

We were rudely awaken at 6am by pesky flies; flies that would haunt us the rest of the day. Breakfast was especially appetizing, since it was food that we packed 24 hours earlier. I ran out from behind the palm trees just in time to see the sun crest over the mountains on the other side of the Dead Sea; several pictures followed. It was incredible to be able to read God’s Word with the rays warming your face in the light of the young sun. Even though we sin so much, God graciously allows us to see gorgeous things, such as sunrises and sunsets, waterfalls, mountains, and clouds. All of the features of earth that we marvel at, shout the power and faithfulness of God. Praise Him for the wonderful works of His hands.

There were 13 of us who were going on the death hike and the others were going on a picnic trip. We left just after 7:30 and walked over to the gate into the En Gedi National Park (the light blue line). From there we filled up our water bottles at the cold water station and set out down the Nahal Arugot for the first destination, the hidden waterfall (the pink line). This part of the hike was relatively flat as we walked in the bottom of the nahal, rather than climbing up the sides, which we were looking forward to later.

We found the waterfall in half the time that the ranger said that we would and quickly jumped in the pool. We had lots of fun going under the waterfall and playing around in the water. Part of our group left early and started up the sharp ascent. I was in the later group and started to climb 15 mins after the first group. As soon as we began the steep uphill, I was strides ahead of the rest of the group and I didn’t stop. I past some people in the group ahead of me and was only minutes behind Robbie and Mary who made it to the top first. The climb was not that long, but it was one of the steepest I have ever done. Some places we climbed straight up, scaling the rock wall. Here are some pics to help you see what it was like. (Notice the two people in the middle of the cliff on the second picture and the group at the very bottom of the third one.)

At the top of the plateau, we walked across to the En Gedi Lookout. That site had one of the most incredible views that I have ever seen. We could see almost all of the Dead Sea and the surrounding shore. It is truly something that pictures cannot do justice to. We ate a little something up there, but didn’t stay long. We hiked down the north side, into the Nahal David. This went very quickly. We stopped at an ancient temple from the Chalcolithic period, which was cool because we had learned about it in archaeology class. After that short stop, we went to the bottom of the nahal and swam in the pools on that side for a half hour or so, a very refreshing break from the hot trek up and down. Nate tried to block up the pool by laying in the only exit for the water, but Mary wanted to see him go down with the water (picture above). My REI equipment came in extremely helpful on this trip; my shorts dried fast after each swimming stop, my boots were very comfortable, my backpack held all of my water and everything else, and my headlamp did its job the night before.

The day was very fun. We even saw some natural ibexes (shown on left). We were all warm and nasty after it was all over, but we had drawn closer through it all. God is so good. How could any of us plan to put all of us strangers together in a group and yet glorify the Lord through it? It has only been by His hand. I thank God for the opportunity to study over. I am learning so much that I now regret, not taking learning serious before. I feel like all through high school and even last year in college, I didn’t really desire to learn, but rather a desire to do everything else knowing that I have to school work in between it all; which is the wrong way to think. Praise God for what He is doing!

Benjamin, The Land of

2005-09-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a day marked by heat, dirt, views, and following Todd. The focus of the day was the land of the tribe of Benjamin. This includes cities such as Jericho, Ramah, Gibeon, Gibeah, and Gezer. We left Yad HaShmonah at 7:30 in the morning and didn’t return until just before 7pm. It was long, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

The day started at the ancient city of Gezer, where an IBEX alumni taught us about the significance of the city. Although hard to describe on paper, I will try and do so. The central part of Israel is the tribe of Benjamin. The western part is composed of the Ajialon Valley which stretches from the Hill Country and opens up in the coastal plain. In the middle of the Ajialon Valley standing between the coastal plain and the rest of the country is the tell of Gezer. A tell is a mound of layers of civilization. Over the thousands of years, different people groups have stayed at the same sites, building on top of the previous civilizations. After all the years, the remains begin to build up and create a hill or a mound; this called a tell.

Gezer has been important throughout history and there are many things that are testament to that. One evidence is that Gezer is mentioned in many ancient texts, such as the Amarna Letters. The name Gezer means “to divide.” It was the crossroads for the International highway and the route up to Jerusalem from the coast. It was captured by Egypt and then given to Solomon as a dowry gift for his daughter. Solomon then fortified it. One of the major remains left there today is the gate constructed by him (picture on upper left). The gate had four chambers and the sewer system ran underneath the gate. The city was destroyed again by Egypt after Solomon. Gezer boasts of having the largest defensive tower of the Middle Bronze Era, this was connected to a wall that surrounded the city. The standing stones at Gezer were used for occultic purposes and were something that God forbade in the Old Testament (picture on right).

After Gezer, we went to Emmaus. Emmaus is the city that Jesus walked to with the two disciples after His resurrection. There is a debate about where the actual site is because there is a difference in the manuscripts as to the distance away from Jerusalem that Luke describes in chapter 24. Two of the sites that have been suggested for the location are recent traditions and are thus not trusted. The other two sites are a considerable distance apart and so, due to a re-evaluation of the text and the practicality of the situation, the site that is closest to Jerusalem seems the best choice. The Emmaus that we went to is not a practical location of the biblical Emmaus. It used to be an Arab village and now all that is left is fruit trees and a building that commemorates an important Arab man (picture on left). We climbed all around the building and went on top of the dome. It was lots of fun, plus we got a great view of the Ajialon Valley and Gezer to the west of us in the distance.

Through Benjamin, there is only two main routes, because it is filled with wadis. The only way to travel through the hill country is to go along the ridges. There only two routes from the Ajialon Valley and the coast to Jerusalem. On our way down to Gezer we traveled along the Kiriath Jearim Ridge Route, the southern of the two routes. From Emmaus up to Nebi Samwil, we went along the other route, the Beth Horon Ridge Route. On this route, Joshua chased the Canaanites and he asked God to have the sun and the moon stand still, which God granted (Joshua 10). I was privileged to read this passage up on the roof of Nebi Samwil and it was so easy to see how the events took place so many years ago because of the geography.

Nebi Samwil is the traditional place of the burial site of Samuel the prophet. It is a wrong tradition, but it has been suggested that it is the high place of Gibeon where the Lord appeared to Solomon and he asked for wisdom. From the top of the mosque, we could see all of the Central Benjamin Plateau (picture on right). Going right through the middle of the plateau is the Way of the Patriarchs. This route follows the Watershed Ridge. The use of this road is shown in the story of a Levite and his concubine in Judges 19. They travel from Bethlehem, north. The cities that are mentioned are all of those of the Way of the Patriarchs: Jebus (Jerusalem), Gibeah, Ramah, and Mizpah. Through a series of events while they are in Benjamin, a civil breaks out between Benjamin and the other 11 tribes. There are three battles between the two armies. The Benjamites win the first two, but are nearly annihilated in the third.

In 1 Kings 15:16-22, the story is told of how Baasha, the northern king captures Ramah and begins fortifying, blocking traffic in and out of Judah. Asa calls for help from Assyria, Baasha backs out, and Asa then fortifies Mizpah and Geba, securing the other routes into Jerusalem and the rest of Judah. Ramah is the crossroads because it sits on the Way of the Patriarchs, the highway going north and south, and controls traffic east to Jericho and west to the Ajialon Valley.

We ate lunch on top of the mosque at Nebi Samwil. It was warm, but there was a breeze keeping us cool. We celebrated Erin’s birthday up there as well. Becky had made chocolate cupcakes for everyone that were very good!

After Nebi Samwil, we traveled east toward Jericho. On the way we stopped along the side of the road and climbed up a hill to give us a view of Michmash, Geba, and The Pass that connects the two cities. This was the site of a battle of Jonathan and Saul against the Philistines. Jonathan came from Geba and climbed down into the Wadi Qilt and then surprised the enemy on the other side at Michmash, causing a panic and they all fled. It worked because the Philistines were watching the Pass, a break in the steep sides of the Wadi Qilt for about a mile, the only place where an army could cross. On this hill we saw cisterns that are used to hold water for livestock. I had the privilege of taking a drink from this water. It was amazingly cool and fresh-tasting. The hill was also home to a sheepfold, where a shepherd would keep his sheep for night.

Next, we drove through the Judean wilderness and then came into Jericho via the TOE Ridge Route. When we arrived at the tell, we saw the supporting wall (picture on right) that held up the wall that Joshua and the children of Israel knocked down according to the commandment of the Lord. It was also neat to be able to see the archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon’s dig that I had heard so much about in archaeology class. We saw the Neolithic tower that is the oldest structure of that size in the world. A couple of us were able to walk down to it and go in the tower, down the staircase. Jericho is only 10 acres and so this presents a problem with the whole Israelite camp coming against the city. If there were 600,000 Israelite men, why didn’t they just attack the city of 2,000 people? That questions is, as of now, still unanswered.

Todd, being the great Land and Bible professor that he is, took us up in cable cars, above the city of Jericho. We walked along the cliffs over looking the city and up to a monastery carved into the rock. Todd went crazy with the picture taking because this was a place that he had never visited before.

On the other end of the city, we stopped and saw the Hasmonean and Herodian palaces that sat on either side of the Wadi Qilt. It was the site of Herod’s summer palace and had huge swimming pools and gardens.

The last stop of the day was over looking the steep sides of the Wadi Qilt with a monastery carved into one of the sides. It was very windy and warm as we looked out over the wilderness and read about Jesus being tempted in such a desolate place. Only after seeing the wilderness, do I truly understand what it means to fast for forty days and forty nights and then being tempted. It is comforting to know that the same Spirit that led Jesus in the wilderness resides with me as a believer. May I rely on that power and not my own.

Nate and I in front of the Wadi Qilt.

2005-09-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

IBEX Fall 2005. Here is everyone in my group. For more pictures throughout the semester go to www.ibexsemester.com

2005-09-12T03:49:00.000-07:00

Just down the road from the Moshav is a restaurant called the Elvis Inn and they have lots of pictures and statues of The King and his music played all of the time. I edited this picture and thought was kind of funny that it was taken in Israel.

New Testament Jerusalem (Text Version)

2005-09-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

We began learning about New Testament Jerusalem at the end of our Old Testament walk. The reason for this was because logistically, it worked out the best. It started at the Holy Land Hotel model of Jerusalem in 66 A.D. just before the Romans destroyed it. It is very similar to the Jerusalem that Jesus lived in with a few exceptions. This model is absolutely amazing! It is built on a scale of 1:50 and with a crazy amount of detail. I was blown away at how precise the builders were. The city has the same north-south that real one does and has the same exact slopes and valleys – it is very realistic looking. It is here that we talked about what the sources are that we can know about what Jerusalem looked like back then. There are two types: written and archaeological. Josephus, the New Testament, and Jewish Rabbinical Writings (Mishnah and Talmud) are the primary written sources and the archaeological ones are scattered all through out the city. The city has three walls, the third of which was built after Jesus’ death by Herod Agrippa II from 41-44 A.D. Josephus describes the wall as having 90 towers, but they were unable to fit that many on the model itself. This wall encompasses much more of the city than the Old City does today. One tower, which is in northwestern part of the wall, called Psephinus provides a view of both the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea because it is 35 meters tall. The second wall was built by Heord the Great probably around 20 B.C. The first wall was built by the Hasmoneans in 150 B.C. It follows the line of King Hezekiah’s wall, which follows the natural topography of the land. On this model you can see the difference between the two proposed crucifixion sites. One is just outside the first and second walls near where some tombs were and thus he was crucified and then buried. This is the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher today. Just north of the Temple Mount was the Antonia Fortress, where the Romans could look over the Jewish religious activities and protect against attack. On the top of the Western Hill is where Herod’s Palace sat. It was very beautiful and spacious. It sat on most of the hill and had a huge courtyard where Jesus was probably condemned before the chanting crowds. The upper city was where the wealthy people lived and the lower city where the poor dwelled. The current temple mount was built by Herod the Great when he expanded three sides: the north, west, and south. The east wall is still the original because it is built right on the edge of the Kidron Valley. The temple was finished in 18 months and then in 10 B.C. they had a dedication ceremony. But we know from John chapter 2 that the temple actually took 46 years to complete. The surface of the Mount is huge in order to accommodate the crowds that flooded Jerusalem during the Passover and other holidays. Two of the major colonades on the temple mount were the Royal Stowa, which served for economic and judicial purposes, and Solomon’s Colonade where Jesus would hang out with His disciples. There are three different courts for different people to go into. The first one is The Court of the Women where any Jew could go. The Court of the Israelite is restricted only for the men. The porch is where the altar was to offer sacrifices. Inside the Holy Place was the altar of incense, menorah, and showbread. Only the high priest once a year can go into the Holy of Holies once a year. There was a veil between the Holy Place and the Holy Holies, which was split when Jesus died. This concluded the stuff that we learned at the model. It was very impressive.
On Tuesday night we headed back into Jerusalem for some more fun. We spent the night out on the town, going to the best Swarma place in town, eating ice cream at an Israeli McDonald’s where we had to be checked by a police officer at the door, and shopping at the various places within modern Jerusalem. We spent the night at Gloria Hotel; I shared a room with Joe Schlegel. This trip into Jerusalem I brought the video camera in order to properly document what we did. This will also enable me to put together some kind of video at the end of the semester. On Wednesday morning we at breakfast at 6:30; the food we had for breakfast made us thankful for what we get here on the Moshav. The coffee was probably the worst I have ever had; it tasted dirty and like it hydrochloric acid in it. We met on the roof for some Scripture reading, where Todd tied the things that happened here in Jerusalem back to the Bible. We started our morning activities by going to the Temple Mount. We had to leave our Bibles at the security checkpoint because the Muslim’s don’t allow them near their holy places. Once on the temple mount, we learned Todd began overflowing with information. The Muslim’s deny that anything existed before the Dome of the Rock and so the temple is not allowed to be mentioned while we were up there. There has been some changing of hands during the decades. It is guarded by the Israelis, but they allowed the Muslims to have keep it as a place of worship after Israel captured it in 1967. The Muslims first conquered Jerusalem in 638 A.D. The Israelites would ascend to Jerusalem from the south and would come in either the Double Gate or the Triple Gate, which led to subterranean staircases that let up to the Court of the Gentiles, which what makes up most of the temple mount. The whole last week of Jesus’ life, he orchestrated everything to work out just right. He proved that he controlled the temple restricting people from bring vessels in, this Jesus know would unite the religious leaders, who are usually at each other’s necks, to kill Him. Jesus was crucified the same day that the Lambs were sacrificed on the altar for the atonement of the people’s sins. The represented the fact that no animal could permanently cover the sins of any man and yet Jesus was the once-and-for-all sacrificial, perfect Lamb who took the sins of all men. Ezekiel describes perfectly what the fourth temple will look like. Amillennialism have to deal with this description, because in their eschatology, there isn’t going to be a fourth temple. The Golden Gate is the gate on the east side of the mount. It is labeled as the “Special Eastern Gate” because Protestants believe that Christ will return on the Mount of Olives, which is east of Jerusalem and then walk to the temple through that gate. The Muslims sealed it shut to stop the return of the Messiah. I don’t think that human walls will be able to stop the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Something special that we discussed was how Jesus lived His life on earth through the power of the Spirit. He showed us perfectly how it is we are live our Christian lives in the power of the Spirit. We can rejoice because we no longer have to do it on our on, but we can live by the Spirit. The Dome of theRock is named for the rock that it sits on. This rock is where the Holy of Holies sat, which is why Israel cannot rebuild their temple. The dome on the Dome of the Rock was originally lead, but in 1962 it was replaced with a gold one; it was repaired again in 1993. The architectural structure is amazing. It is a very well built, beautiful building. It is sad that things like this is worshipped rather than the true God, Yahweh. In the northwest corner of the temple mount is a staircase that has for its last step, large stones, rather than the little ones that are on the rest of the stairs. These stones were identified as part of an earlier temple probably built by either Hezekiah in 700 B.C. or Zerubbebel in 516 B.C. The staircase is aligned, not with the platform, but rather with the old wall composed of the stones.

After the temple mount, we went south to the Southern Temple Mount Excavations, Todd’s name for the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. We looked at a aerial view of Jerusalem and one can understand how when David’s fourth son had a celebration for him being king, it was heard up at the palace and Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba went to go ask David if Solomon was supposed to be the next king. The only period in history where the Muslims really cared about Jerusalem was the Umayyad, during which they build the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. We walked to the base of the temple mount got a good perspective for how big the structure actually is. The stones that compose the wall are huge. They are held together by gravity and the extremely clean cut of the stones. Directly west of the temple mount, were several ruins of shops, houses, mikvah’s, and remains of a huge staircase that led up to a gate on the southwestern corner. This was supported by Robinson’s Arch which today is only a small piece that juts out from the wall. We walked around the south side, where most of the people would enter the temple. There are two gates: the Double Gate or Hulda Gate and the Triple Gate. There are a lot of steps that lead up to these gates and the temple. When the people came to the temple, it was a place for worship and they came seriously before their God. The Psalms of Ascent(120-134) were intended to be sung up the steps to the temple, in order to prepare the people’s heart for worship of Yahweh. We all stood in a line and walked up the steps, while reading the Psalms. We took turns reading them aloud. That experience is one that I will not forget. It was incredible to be ascending to the temple just as people 2000 years ago did. I enjoyed taking a break from all of the academic information and being able to focus on the Lord and how he provided His people. I was reminded of how Jerusalem and more specifically the temple is very converging of a holy God interacting with a sinful people. It is hard to think why God would even bother with man. Why would he bless them? Why would he punish and reject them? Why would he save them? It doesn’t make sense that a self-existent God, who is completely satisfied in Himself, would even consider dealing with such a needy and rebellious people. I am amazed that God would choose me to be redeemed by the blood of His Son. Praise God for His abundant grace on an unholy people.

Next stop was lunch in the Jewish quarter, where most of us got flaffles. After lunch we went to the Wohl House Museum, where we saw numerous different things. We saw a house that had a couple of mikvaots, which were baths for ritual cleansing. They had to be attached to the ground, and not moveable. The water in it could not be bucketed from a well or elsewhere, but had to be rain water. The required amount of water was 200 gl. We also saw some stoneware from that time period, which was 1st century. The stone vessels were more expensive, but they could be cleaned if they became unclean, whereas the pottery vessels had to be destroyed. We saw some water vessels that Jesus would have used to perform the miracle at the wedding at Cana. They had low tables for eating at that had wooden legs. We entered into a mansion that was the style of house that Jesus was tried in and then Peter denied Him. Peter was in the courtyard and Jesus was in the house, but they made eye contact and then Peter went out and wept bitterly. The last place that we went to, was the traditional place where David’s tomb was and where the upper room was. The location of David’s tomb is not a good location, but it is very probable that the upper room was where it it is seen today. The original stones re not there, but it holds the same airspace as the room where Jesus had His last supper with His disciples. Scholars say that It is the house of Mark, when he was a young boy and so his mother would have the early Christians over. It is also probable that this is the house that Peter went to after he was miraculously freed from prison. Todd told us how Jesus orchestrated all of the events of His last week here on earth, including His plan to have Judas betray Him at the exact time that Jesus wanted. It was very cool to think of how Christ showed how sovereign and obedient He was. This trip into Jerusalem excited me because I think that I know appreciate it more than I have in the past. The time that I spend in the city, the more I want to be there more. May all glory go to God for his work through out history!

Sports in the Life of a Teenager

2005-09-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Dave Cleland presents an interesting topic that I think deserves some discussion.

A Night on the Town

2005-09-09T05:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a bunch of us on Tuesday night in modern Jerusalem being crazy. As you can tell, I'm the one taking the picture.

The devout Jewish people early in the morning at the Western Wall.

Nate (affectionately nicknamed Shea Butter) and I on our way to the Temple Mount.

Muslim Text

2005-09-09T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is my New Testament Field Study Report. I did it all inside the outline of the Dome of the Rock. At the end I didn't have anything else to write about, so I just added "Todd the Magnificent" which is our nickname for Todd, our prof. If you click on the picture you can see a larger version of it.

Canaanite Adaptation

2005-09-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

Well, today marks the first week that I have been here in the land of Israel and already I have enough memories to fill a small booklet that you would find in a small bookstore in downtown Milwaukee. They say that the semester will go so fast and that December will be upon my doorstep before I even knew that I had a doorstep. Despite my earlier hesitations about how the semester will turn out, I am looking with full expectation at the future knowing that the Lord Jesus will cause my love to “abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that (I) may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:9-11)

It is important to adapt to the culture, climate, and lifestyle as quickly as possible, otherwise it will be really difficult, just like it is impossible for a chameleon to survive if he doesn’t change his color to fit his background. I think that coming over here initially, my heart and mind was still so connected to things back home that it was hard to readily accept all of the brand new Israeli things that I had to learn. It has taken a week just to make the switch.

The food over here is pretty good for the most part. I love eating pita bread, but don’t really prefer the humus. I have scrambled eggs every morning along with some yogurt and bread. The lunches and dinners are composed, some way or an other, of these three things: chicken, rice, and potatoes. So far, we have seen many different varieties of these, either combined together or prepared different. After dinner on Friday night (Shabbat), Kai and I had the privilege of skipping chapel and helping to wash dishes. It was very intense as we had to keep up with the dishes coming in and keep the kosher and non-kosher serving trays, washing trays, and dishes separate. All of the Heritage Dinners prepared me with the right skills to be able to work hard until 11:30pm.

Sleeping has been great, but for some unknown reason, I am able to get up much earlier over here. I sleep on top of my sheets because up until last night it doesn’t get below 80 degrees in my room. My roommate and I are getting along just fine. I have found that it helps to ask what the other person doesn’t like rather than just assume everything is fine.

My classes will have to be an adjustment for me, as we have lots of reading that can only be done in the library. I like the classes I am taking though; they are about things that I enjoy. It is fun to have classes with relatively all the same people, it reminds me back in elementary when everyone had class together.

Thank you for your prayers! More updates to come.

A Love Story

2005-09-05T02:05:00.000-07:00

The Lord has been working in my heart, changing my attitude about Jerusalem. After the first walk in the city, I came away thinking that it was pretty cool looking, but it was dirty and didn’t seem to have any of the attachments to the Bible because few things remain today compared to the whole ancient city. I also struggled with the physical things that we saw compared to spiritual death that I saw all around me. The uniqueness of the Western Wall being a wall remaining from the temple mount built by Herod the Great was clouded by the fact that so many spiritually dead Jews have come for centuries to this sacred site to try to work their way into heaven. They are still living under the Law but Christ has come to save them from that, to break them free from the bondage. I was also disappointed at the divided Jerusalem that stands today. It is hard to grasp that this city was captured and lived in by the Jews since David conquered it in the Old Testament and now it is plagued with conflict because of the Arabs who want to have dominance over the Jews and are they willing to kill for it. All of that to say that I enjoyed Jerusalem but now…I love it!

The love story began when I stepped out of the bus after going to Jerusalem assembly on Saturday afternoon. Walking up the hill to Jaffa Gate, I realized that I actually did miss being inside those little streets amongst the ancient architecture. I traveled with Shane, Marissa, Megan, and Erin. We first went on a hunt for a little shop with really good humus and enjoyed a scrumptious snack before our trek around the Old City. The different sites that we visited are the Armenian Church of Our Lady of the Spasm, the Court of Flagellation and Condemnation, and we finished at the Church of St. Anne’s, where we sang out of our new IBEX songbooks for half of an hour. We found out later that the German man in the front of the church listening to us was blessed by our singing. Megan and I had to leave and we ran all the way back to Jaffa Gate where we arrived on the dot to leave to go back to Moshav for dinner.

At 7:00 pm we pulled out for the Old City once more. Once the sleeping bags were unloaded outside of Jaffa Gate we all went to the Petra Hostel to situate ourselves on the roof for sleeping later that night. Todd organized a walk up the Mount of Olives and so we all rallied behind our leader and headed off to see Jerusalem at night. We walked through the streets that have an eerie feel to them because all of the shops are closed and have big metal doors over them. We went to the Western Wall and took pictures of all of the people that had gathered to pray, especially because it was a new moon and they have special prayers to say at the beginning of a new month. Walking down next to wall, we were able to get right next to all of the guys praying see them perform the vain prayer rituals. It made me very thankful that I have been redeemed and am able to access the Father whenever and wherever I am because Jesus Christ the Advocate intercedes on my behalf. What a glorious truth that is!

We traversed down out of the Dung Gate and into the Kidron Valley where some old tombs were the subject a spelunking operation and exploring. We stopped at the Church of All Nations only for a brief moment before we began the ascent to the top of the Mount of Olives. Most walked up the whole way, while some of us ran part of it. At the top we could see Jerusalem from the east and it was all lit up. It was very cool to see the city from that perspective. Mary, Robbie, and I had the genius idea to run back down the mountain, which we did and proceeded to wait for the rest of group to make it down. After a half an hour, we concluded that they had gone a different way and we were by ourselves, so we went back to hostel, where we found the rest of the group.

All arose the next morning in hopeful anticipation of the sunrise over Jerusalem. The cameras began clicking as each student did their work to capture the beautiful sunrise from a top a three-story building in the Old City of Jerusalem. A group of us walked around the North half of the city walls as a warm-up for the day’s activities. The field trip began looking for breakfast and that was accomplished by getting fresh pita and fruit. Both of those were some of the best food I have ever had. As soon as the food situation was taken care of, we went to the Jewish Quarter for the beginning of the lecture.

There were five events that mark the history of Jerusalem.

Abraham in 2000B.C. There is the earliest mention of Jerusalem in Genesis about the city of Salem, where Melchizedek was king and priest.

Joshua (1400 B.C.) He defeats Jerusalem, but the Israelites don’t move in for whatever reason.

David in 1000 B.C. decides to hit two birds with one stone by taking Jerusalem to be his new capital and getting the pagans out of the land. He captures the city and makes it is his own. It is only 10 acres at the time and then Solomon expanded the city walls to include Mt. Moriah and the temple mount.

Hezekiah (700 B.C.) fortifies the Western Hill and improves the water supply because the enemy is coming and the population is growing. The Assyrians try to attack in 701 B.C., but God defeats them.

586 B.C. – Judah is exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar .

The Broad Wall was the first archaeological stop of the day. It was named so because it is 25ft wide. It was built by Hezekiah in his efforts to fortify the city from the approaching Assyrian army. In the process he had to plow through homes in order to get the wall up in time (2 Chron. 32:5, Neh. 3:11, Is. 22:9-10).

Heading south we came to place that over looked the Western Wall and the temple mount. Until the time of Solomon, the people worship God at the tabernacle, which was in Gibeon. We learned that the temple mount was purchased by David from a Araunah the Jebusite (2Sam. 24). Solomon then built the temple and the dedication ceremony was in 960 B.C.

We would spend the rest of our Old Testament studies in the City of David, which is located on the south side of the Eastern Hill. Area G is the name given to the section that has been excavated on the eastern slope. It contains several different features from different eras. First is the stepped stone structure which dates back to 1200 B.C. It provided support for the steep hillside and protection from enemies. It is also very probable that government building stood at the top and current excavations have revealed that David’s palace is directly above Area G. The second feature is the house of Ahiel. It was built in 700 B.C. and destroyed in 586 B.C. when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. A toilet was found in this house with a pit of remains. There was also found a burning chamber that the Babylonians used after they conquered the city to burn all the furniture and stuff that was left. Finally, a room with about 50 bullaes which shows that the room contained many documents and as it was burned, the clay seals hardened and the paper documents were consumed in the flames.

Standing on edge of the hill it is easy to see how David could have walked out on his roof and seen Bathsheba bathing. David lived with the consequences of his sin the rest of his life. Solomon’s heart was turned away from the Lord by the many women that he had who worshipped other gods. In honor of one false god, he built an altar on top of the Mt. of Olives and today it is called the Hill of Offense. This same hill contains 50 tombs, which include the tomb of Isaiah the prophet and the tomb of David’s Steward.

At the bottom of the hill, almost in the Kidron Valley, is an excavation where two walls were found. One is from the Middle Bronze dating back to 1800 B.C. It is possible that there were two huge towers that stood on either side of a gate which was on a path that has been around for centuries. It was named the Water Gate because of its location near the Gihon Spring (Neh. 8:1-8). The second wall was from the time of Manassah, Hezekiah’s son. It was made with smaller stones, but there is a larger portion still standing.

South from there is the opening to Warren’s shaft. A water system that was discovered by the archaeologist Charles Warren. It was used to get water from the spring during the time of a siege. It is composed of a series of tunnels that lead underground. The most recent discovery shows two towers that stood over a pool and the spring. The people would draw their water from the pool. They date to 1800 B.C. Connected to the spring is an amazing tunnel constructed under the leadership of Hezekiah. It is a tunnel that was dug from both sides and they met in the middle. It only has a 12 inch drop from one side to the other. It is barely two feet wide and ranges from 4-15 feet in height. Walking through this tunnel was absolutely amazing! It was a very special thing to be able to walk through that which was so old and was something that I could read about in the Bible. We started singing in the tunnel in worship to the Creator.

This walk was completely different for me than the first one. This time through Jerusalem, I grew to love it! It is so connected to the Bible and I can learn so much by seeing the remains. Seeing all of the things left standing was such a testimony to me of the faithfulness and graciousness of God for His people. Thinking back on my feelings about how Jerusalem did seem like a whole still remains from Bible times and thus I wasn’t too excited about it, that is exactly how God wants His city. He designed it to be like that and everything that is left standing now is what He wants to be there. I will glory in my redeemer for He will return one day to save His people, hallelujah!

A Picture of Christ

2005-09-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

One of my friends over here in Israel presented an interesting, thought-provoking idea that I want to share with you. We were talking about how Christians in the centuries past had built so many churches just to commemorate the religious significance of the site and yet the churches are so vain, because they do nothing to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead all they do is put something in the way for someone to see the God behind site. The example that was most vivid in our memory was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the traditional and most probable place where Christ was crucified and buried. This site, which I admit is interesting and fascinating to think that this where our Savior gave his last breath, was not intended by Jesus to be a shrine to worship the actual ground, it is to point the person to the work that Christ did on the cross what that means for each individual.

So back to my point, inside the church are paintings everywhere of Christ on the cross and such. My fellow IBEXer was telling me why she really didn’t like being in there and for the same reason she didn’t see the movie The Passion of the Christ. It isn’t because she can’t handle see the gruesome portrayals of His death or that she is offended by the shrine that those kind of things can turn into, but rather she does not think that it is right to have manmade ideas of what Christ looked like. It is a way that we put God in a Box, by confining Christ to certain pictures, rather than allowing him to be who is without restraint.

I thought that was pretty interesting. I had never heard that concept before. I’m not sure how biblical or theologically sound that is, but if nothing else, it gives you a high view of Jesus Christ and that’s something you can’t shake a stick at.

First Encounter with the City of Our God

2005-09-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

This is my journal/field report after our first day in Jerusalem.

     My first day in Jerusalem is over. All of the sights and sounds are now just memories and I am back to the place that I will call home for the next three months. It is hard for me to crystallize my thoughts for the day. Usually when it comes to what I saw and experienced, I have no trouble telling others, or writing it down, but today is different. Both my heart and my mind are full and nothing seems to what to come out on to the page. Oh well, I will have to force it today.

     We left Nate and Christian behind as we drove towards Jerusalem. Todd pointed out several things along the way such as the probable site of Emmaus, the mall that we can go shop at, and Abu Gosh. Traffic became moderately thick once we were within a couple of miles of Jerusalem. The old city came up on us right away and we all filed off the bus and proceeded to the Jaffa gate. The Jaffa gate is the main west gate into the old city and is actually to the left of the road, which was made by tearing down part of the wall by William Keiser II in order to bring in His huge entourage to the dedication of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. This gap in the wall is just the first of many things that were destroyed for the selfishness and pride of man that we saw. Herod’s tower is directly inside the Jaffa gate and is one of the original three that Herod built. This tower is also an example of how through the centuries different groups of people have built on top of the already existing structures. The tower has stones from Herod’s time and from the Crusader period.

     I had trouble dealing with how much history was actually there and yet how much was plowed over for the different people that lived there. We learned about the layers of historic parts of the city that were beneath us and how they couldn’t be uncovered because of the modern people that lived on top. It was also disappointing to see how the historic Jerusalem has been turned into a place for shopkeepers and tourists. I understand that the people that live there have to make a living one way or another, but it seems unfortunate that there is so much that could be discovered and yet life goes on like nothing ever happened. I was sad also to see the conflict between the Jews and the Muslims. It was something that I knew existed, but never realized until I saw Jerusalem is so coveted by the Muslims. It is sad that Israel cannot have its temple mount, even though I don’t think that would necessarily drawn them closer to Jesus, but rather to more tradition and vain repetitious rituals.

     Our group climbed to the top of a hostel and got a great view of the city. From there we were able to see the Dome of the Rock, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Mount of Olives could also be seen. Directly below us was the Tower Pool, which today is just a dump for people to put their garbage. After Nate and Christian joined us on the roof top, we headed over to Shaban to exchange our American dollars for Israeli shekels. From there we proceeded to make our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church marks the spot of the traditional site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial. It makes more sense than Gordon’s Calvary, which was found by General Gordon who thought that the hill looked like a skull. The best evidence for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher being the actual site of the crucifixion is the tradition that has been carried down for centuries.  Our next stop was the Damascus gate, which was also named the Gate of the Column, which can be seen on an old map of the city. We stopped at Solomon’s Quarries, which are falsely named, but are where they took lots of rock from under the city to make the city. We could also see Gordon’s Calvary from there. We made our way around the north and east sides of the city, passed the Lion’s Gate and stopped in the Muslim cemetery. From there we could see the Mount of Olives directly across the Kidron Valley. The Church of All Nations was built on the hillside to mark the place where Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Back inside the Lion’s Gate we saw the Pools of Bethsaida where Jesus healed a lame man in John 4. Singing in the St. Anne’s church was very special as the acoustics were amazing. We strolled down Via Delarosa, the traditional path where Jesus carried His cross, which ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Western Wall is full of Jews praying because it is the wall of the temple mount and is the closest one to where the temple originally stood.

     Jerusalem was definitely different than what I expected, but it was very interesting to see all of the historical places that I had read about, but never seen. It is disappointing how in ages past, people built churches on top of things. They weren’t built to nurture the body of Christ and provide a meeting place for believers, but rather to provide a shrine for people to worship the places of significance rather than the God who made it all possible.

Day of Firsts

2005-08-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Day two in the Holy Land is not as bad as Todd made it out to be. But I guess anything is better than “The worst day of your life”, which is how he predicted it would be. I woke up early this morning at the sound of my roommate going to the bathroom and then could not go back to sleep for the life of me. It was nice waking up and not being too tired.

The bathrooms are really small and they are separated. There are three doors side by side, two of them are toilet rooms and the other is the shower room. It was quite the adventure trying to bring all of my stuff into the shower and then realizing that I got shampoo on my shirt and shorts. Needless to say, I survived my first Israeli cleansing.

These first couple of days are full of firsts and so today was my first breakfast. The only extremely weird thing was the raw fish, which isn’t bad tasting, in fact it is very flavorful. I also had a problem with the yogurt. With Hebrew on everything, I couldn’t tell what flavor of yogurt that I had grabbed. Of course I grabbed the one that tasted something like sour cream and had to throw it out. Thank goodness for Yoplait, it saved my life.

We had orientation today. It was basically many hours full of information on what it is like living in Israel and at IBEX. After lunch we had our first class which was Land and Bible with Todd Bolen. It was also long, but interesting to learn some history of Israel and how it fits in with the rest of the history of the world.

Next, I found out about my work study job over here. I will be assisting Todd with some projects that he has, such as editing pictures and compiling information. It was around this time that it hit me that I was going to have a busy semester. No longer will I be able to sit around and do homework here and there, but it always has to be on my mind and so does getting hours in for my job. I am excited about what the Lord is going to do through this and how he is going to push me into areas that I have never had to go before. I know that if anything it will cause me to be more disciplined in everything I do. I must keep things on a schedule or I will drop things. Please pray that I will push the worthless things aside and do only that which is profitable.

Tonight several of us went on a walk to find some ancient Roman ruins, but after walking for over an hour and seeing that the dirt road carried much farther and that the sun was down, we decided to turn back. It went from a 30 minute walk to a two hour hike. Oh well, it was fun.

Tomorrow we are going into Jerusalem. It is the old city though, not the modern one. Those who have gone before are extremely excited about it, so I will have to wait and see what it is like.

More pictures soon!

Holy Cow...I mean Land

2005-08-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

I think that just the fact that there is something here for people to read answers the question “Will Micah actually blog while he is in Israel?”. But if you read further than you will see that there is more here than just trying to prove a point, but rather a plethora of information for inquiring minds.
My time at TMC this last week was enjoyable as I was able to spend time friends that I had not seen all summer. Particularly, Grant, my former roommate, who allowed me to stay in his room for a couple of days and picked me up from the airport on Wednesday. It was good to be able to talk again with David Zimmer. We spent some time together on Wednesday as we swam in the Pacific Ocean and talked about life. By the way, check out David’s new CD, I have truly been blessed by the music that he has written and how God-centered it is.

Saturday morning at 8:30am we left for the Los Angeles International Airport. It was a time of joy and sadness, for even though I was leaving my sister and friends and my whole life up to this point, I was on my way to a great place. I guess going off to a concentration camp is similar, except you aren’t looking forward to where you are going…I don’t know… bad analogy.
The excitement was high as everyone regrouped inside the airport, we checked baggage, went through security, and proceeded to terminal 62. The first flight was not that bad, only four hours and I got a window seat. We arrived in Newark, New Jersey around 8:30pm and had a pleasant two-hour layover where many had their last American hamburger and root beer at A&W. Boarding the next flight was a bit more daunting as the rumored flight time was 10 hours. But to our relief it was only 9 hours and 53 minutes. I was in the very, very back corner of the plane. I sat next to a stinky man who was going to Israel for his sister’s wedding. The good thing about being seated there was that I was right next to food that they were cooking…or wait…they don’t cook airline food, well the warming process smelled good and made me hungry. Most of the students had not finished their reading or map assignment and so that filled most of the in flight time, myself included.

Arriving in Tel-Aviv was a very welcoming to our souls. One member of the group became ill the last portion of the flight and is still in bed as I type. It was quite the process getting 31 college students through the airport, with no older authority to provide direction and one student who is sick. We all made it to baggage claim, but then there was a mix-up on where some people were and we stayed on the one side of customs for an extra twenty minutes. Once we had met Todd on the other side and we were all in the bus, it was realized that one bag was not there. Todd and Christie went back inside and were in there for over 30 minutes trying to find the luggage. God is good and allowed the bag to be recovered and we were able to drive back to the Moshav.

During the drive, Todd gave us some introductory comments and things we needed to know. I knew that this semester was going to be interesting when Todd specifically said that we needed to listen to our room numbers, and so I started tracking with him. He goes through all of the ladies and comes to guys list. Now there are two things that distracted me. First was that he said my name first. I wasn’t expecting to hear my name so soon. Second, when he said the name of my roommate, I immediately said in my mind “Who?”. I started looking around the bus trying figure out how I could have spent so many hours with a group and not know one of the 11 guys over here. I then jumped back to what Todd was saying and realized that I missed what room I was in. Seriously, how stupid could I be, to follow everyone else’s room assignments and then when it gets to me, totally space. Oh well.
The first thing that I thought of when I actually saw Israel for the first time from the plane, was “God chose this to be the promised land?” We had just flown over many different bits of land, all of them beautiful, and yet this dust desert is where God wanted His chosen people to live? Personally, I would have chosen some place a lot more pleasing to eyes like Washington state. Something else that I realized was that Israel is no longer just some colored maps in the back of my Bible. It is the land that I’m walking on. I guess that is kind of a duh-principle, but it never really hit me until I was on the road that goes to Jerusalem.
Well, I’m kind of tired and classes start at 8am tomorrow, so I need some sleep. More to come later!

No Littering

2005-08-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

The wonderful and tasty Jamba Juice has Jambaisms on the side of their cups, which is similar to Starbucks’ The Way I See It. My drink that I had tonight was a Banana-Berry smoothie. It is good every time that I have the wonderful blended fruit beverage. Jambaism #5 is on the side of my cup, it says: “Your body is a temple littering is strictly prohibited.”

The concept is simple, and yet many Christians don’t remember that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19-20). We do not own our own bodies, which is a concept that sets Christians apart from everyone else. The cry of the teens is that they can do whatever they want because it is their own body and life, the chant of the pro-choice women is they are the keepers of their bodies, and even celebrities are asking for privacy to do what they want because they can. Christians must live with the understanding that it is Christ alone to whom our bodies belong. Whether it is in a relationship, a sport, or a service opportunity, you must keep in mind that what you reflects upon the owner of your body. If you claim to be a Christian, then your body is Jesus Christ’s and you must live to make much of Him through it.
The second half of the statement reveals what is the logical conclusion of knowing that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we belong to Him, then we will not trash it with sin. In fact, we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. So not only are commanded not to sin, but we don’t have to anymore. The truth is that we sin because lose sight of who we belong to and we disobey the command to “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). May we more accurately see the effects of our sin and to whom we belong.

Camp Gives Props to JMac

2005-08-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Check out Steve Camp’s rock-solid comments on John MacArthur’s testimony on Larry King Live. It’s worth the look. You go Johnny.

A New Member of the Family

2005-08-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

This post is not to be confused with A New Member in the Family which was referring to an addition to the Higgins family, but rather I am blogging to announce the new arrival of one of my family members to the blog world. Nathaniel has started theluggnut's blog. Check it, leave some comments, boast the moral for the newcomer.

A Fond Farewell

2005-08-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was a sweet and sappy evening(thanks JSarr!) filled with good-byes and hugs. Many were gathered at my house for a seeing-me-off-to-Israel party. It was some good fun with food and fellowship. Was is food always involved in American gatherings of people, I don't know. Here are some sweet pics from the cool cam!

a full circle link

2005-08-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

skh weblog

Just to make the circle complete, check out my youth pastor's blog. He has gold bars of wisdom, not to mention a lot to say.

Quote of Folly

2005-08-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

“As the sun doth shine, may the grass on the other lot amidst the grassy, flowing folly.” –Amy Ronk (Carruthers)

I was given this bit of advice about two years ago and by a senior who was about to graduate from high school. You may be thinking that I didn’t complete the statement, that there should be more. The simple fact that this phrase is not a complete sentence or complete thought is what makes it a keepsake to be treasured. Although it is easy to be written off as a foolish attempt at a scholarly aspiration, I believe that there are some key principles about adolescents in society today that we can learn in this quotation.

First, the statement begins with the recognition that life exists under the sun, but it stops here. American adolescents don’t think beyond the physical life that they see in front of them. Nothing is interesting except that which brings them immediate pleasure.
Second, adolescents are always looking for the next thing to please them. They find one thing and then they realize that they aren’t really satisfied and so they look to the other lot to please them. The constant discontentment of many teenagers today proves that they only wish they have is to get something better.
The third and final observation is that the actual value and worth of the grass on the other lot is completely foolishness. It is worth nothing and will only result in disappointment. Learn and turn.

I have no idea if this is actually the original intent of the author, but this is what I saw.

Hate Evil

2005-08-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

I read today in Proverbs chapter 8 and in verse 13 Solomon simply states:

"The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil."

Do we really know what it means to hate evil? We are surrounded by evil things everyday. We see sin on a regular basis, both in our lives as well as the lives of others. The question that really got me to stop this morning was: Do I hate evil?

If Christians are to be fearing the Lord, then we must despise evil with everything that is in us. Hate does not imply a simple dislike or low tolerance, but absoulte loathing of everything that has to do with sin. Evil sometimes can sound like such a harsh word and we then think that it only applies a murder's heart or Hitler's tyranny, but evil is just another word for sin and thus if it is against God's perfect standard, then it is evil.

Man's problem is that he does not hate evil as God does. If we saw sin for what it really is and does, then we would hate it too. Rather, we cloud up the issue with having our emotions interwoven with our sin. I have been having to fight this big time. I want to be holy for Christ's name sake, and yet my flesh desires something that my heart knows is wrong. But because I have wrapped myself up in it, my pride and desire for lesser things makes it seem like the evil really isn't that bad and thus can live peacefully in my life before God. How reproachable! Sin is drastic offense against a holy God and it deserves eternal punishment in hell, and yet I roll down the window and wave to it.

Oh God! Cleanse our souls of the wickedness that is at odds with you. Burn through us and burn away the dross! May we fear you and hate evil with God-given passion.

How To Permanently Ruin A Borrowed Car

2005-07-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

1. When borrowing someone’s car you must never ask any questions about weird flashing lights on the dashboard. This step is essential to pushing the car too hard. You cannot ask about any problems that it has on a regular basis because that will only prepare you to keep the car in working condition. It is much easier to put the car in a seriously damaging situation when you know nothing about its quirks and normal problems.

2. Another key principle is to run the car for about an hour at freeway speeds. This gives the car enough time to surface anything that may be wrong. The only way that could be potentially easier to do so, is to go from stoplight to stoplight for a long period of time.

3. One of the most important steps to making a friend’s car non-drivable is to ignore all signs of a problem. For example, when you get out and the car is putting out a white, putrid-smelling smoke, you must completely ignore it and think that it is one of those weird regular quirks that you never asked about. If this step is avoided it is possible that you can actually save the car.

4. The final step to the demise of a borrowed automobile is to put the smoking, funny-sounding vehicle back to freeway speeds. Something that also helps this is to load it full of people and luggage before going back on the highway. Step number three must also be carried into this step, by ignoring the sights and smells of the car breaking down. Continue to hold your foot on the gas, until the car comes to a complete stop and won’t go anymore.

Mission accomplished!

PB – In case you are wondering, I can say from experience that these steps do get the desired effect.

Stupidity Strikes Again

2005-07-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today, I have felt the full blow of the 2x4 of my own stupidity. I am a victim of the fast-paced American life and trapped by the very things that are made for safety. Locks on doors are useful and helpful. They help keep people from those things that you want kept protected. Locks only become a problem when they keep us from…well…our own stuff. For example, when the car door is locked and the very keys needed to open it are, in fact, inside, shining the glint of mockery off their reflective surface into your longing eyes.

As you may have guessed, this is the situation that I was in today. After eating half of my Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell, I decided to go back in to go to use the facilities. It was only seconds after I shut the door that I realized that I did not have those ever so precious keys. The irony in all of this, is that as I was getting out, I rolled up my window with the thought that it had to be up just enough, so that an arm couldn’t get through to unlock the door. Now, what seemed as a genius idea just seconds ago, now seems like I just pulled out a pistol and intentionally shot myself in the leg.

Well, the solution to the problem came in the form of a wrench that was purchased from Rite Aid. I unscrewed all of the screws that held the window of my canopy on and then proceeded to pry open the window. I had left the back window of the cab open and so in order to get my keys all I had to do was get through the one window in the canopy in the bed of the truck. I can only imagine what it would like to see a guy in the back of a truck struggling with the back window and claiming that it was his vehicle. Thank God that I wasn’t questioned by the families that were parked next to me or the paramedics parked across from me. Once the window was opened, it was just a matter of folding my body in the appropriate position to squeeze through the unreasonably small two windows, grab my keys and repeat the process. Needless to say, I finished my now soggy crunchwrap supreme and drove away hot and satisfied.

PB - I never did use the restroom.

Thou Doeth Vanity

2005-06-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

Through the study on Ecclesiates that Pastor Sean is going through, a key principle that must be underdstood, is that much of what we do 'under the sun' is vain. Our driving to and fro, watching the newest video release, reading of novels, playing of video games, shopping for clothes, spending time on the computer (which ironically, is what I'm doing right now), allotting time out of one's day to watch the lastest installment of the cool new television series, all of these will not matter when you come to the end of your life and are about to enter into eternal life, either in heaven or hell. Only that which serves to Christ's glory is what will be of any consequence. Without Christ we have no reason to live. He is to be the only fountain out of which we drink, for only He can provide satisfaction and pleasure for a lifetime and beyond.

Richard Wurmbrand is a pastor of Jewish origin who was born in 1909 in Romania. When the Communists seized his native land in 1945, he became a leader in the underground church. In 1948 he and his wife, Sabrina, were arrested, and he served fourteen years in Soviet prisions, including three years in solitary confinement in a subterranean cell, never seeing the sun, the stars, or flowers. He saw no one except his guards and torturers. Christian friends in Norway purchased his freedom for $10,000 in 1964. He was written a couple of books, including Tortured For Christ.

Pastor Wurmbrand writes this concerning Ecclesiastes 1:2 -

In this world, where everything passes away, there is one thing that stands: it is what Christ the eternal One did for us on Golgotha. Other works ultimately will be of no avial. the cross of Christ saves sinners, imparting to them the eternity which the Son of God possesses.
Don't scorn those who spend their time in amusements, when the earnest labor you take pride in will bring no better results for eternity. Serve Christ, the crucified and resurrected. This the only work that is not vanity.

Learning to Think

2005-06-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am not young enough to know everything.
- Oscar Wilde

This quote shows how almost every teenager seems to think they have the world in control and they know the consequences for everything. It also shows how as you get older, you get wiser and realize that you don't know much at all and instead we are only finite humans with much still to learn. Be a humble learner. Seek to know more today than yesterday.

A Man in Boyhood

2005-06-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

There are a couple implications to the title that I chose. It implies that number one, I am a man in contrast to a woman, and number two that I am an immature male (boy) in contrast to a mature one (man). I have come to this conclusion after the Lord has been pounding it into me all year. S. Kiley's sermons on the myth of adolescence and the men's night many moons ago prepped my mind for this radical change that is taking place. Originally, I think the change should have, and was intended to, come about as a result of listening to them, but my immature, foolish mind couldn't quite grasp it. The Bible calls masculine men to be not-boy men. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." That call, now more than ever, weighs heavily upon my heart.

I am living in a culture where college students and beyond are living with the priorities of a freshman in high school (i.e. find a girl, watch TV, do what I want) and yet with the freedom of someone in their twenties. They think that being mature means having your own money to spend on yourself, being able to buy tabacco and alchohol, or being able to watch a nudity scene in a movie and not be affended, among other things. The line between a man a woman have been so skewed that many don't see a difference between being attracted to a female or to a male, no matter what gender you are. They make money, but spend it only on themselves, because they are still discovering themselves and aren't ready to commit to marriage. They make excuses for the mistakes that they make and won't step up to responsibility. I am no different than these. Daily I make excuses for things that I need to take responsibility for.

The world, and more specifically the church, need young men to be leaders, men of conviction. They must take charge and be willing to sacrifice and use their authority for God's glory. This doesn't mean that they are to be domineering over others, but they are to serve with a selfless attitude of love, as Christ did for His church. I want to join the men of history who understood their calling to be men and have let the Lord use them for His glory.

Music for God's Glory

2005-06-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is the first part of Steve Camp's (thanks Sean!) 107 theses for a reformation in Contemporary Christian Music.

________________________________________________

Part One:

To Do All to the Glory of God

1. All our works, both musical and written, must produce a high view of God-with our chief aim being to glorify God and worship Him forever. (Job 40:6-41:34; Psalm 29:1-2; Jeremiah 9: 23-24)

2. This means we are to represent God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in the fullness of Trinitarian character and attributes revealed through the Scriptures. (Romans 11:33-36; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Revelation 5:12)

3. This is paramount-for it brings glory to God to reverence Him in the totality of His worth and works. It elicits holiness and obedience in the life of the believer. (Psalm 96:9; 103)

4. Even in God's redemptive plan for man…salvation never begins with man and his need but with God and His glory. And no one ever lives greater than his or her view of God. (Ephesians 1:3-14; Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 1:7)

5. Whether, then, [we] eat or drink, or whatever [we] do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)

6. We fail to glorify Him when we praise the servant through awards and accolades rather than exalt the Master. "I was but a pen in God's hand and what praise is due a pen?" (Baxter) God will not share His glory with another. (Psalm 115:1; Isaiah 42:8)

7. We fail to glorify Him when we speak of God out of our own vain imaginings or recreate Him in our own image; instead of honoring Him by how He has revealed Himself through His holy Word. (Psalm 50:21; 1 Corinthians 2:13-16)

8. We fail to glorify Him when we make money a prerequisite for ministry; some to their own destruction teach that godliness is a means to financial gain. "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 6:24-34, 10:8-10; Acts 3:6, 20:33; 1 Timothy 6:5)

9. We fail to glorify Him when we publicly honor Him with our lips, but privately have hearts that are far from Him. (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:7-9)

10. God cannot be glorified where sin is pacified; and He cannot be extolled where sin is entertained. To live in and tolerate unrepentant sin is to write Ichabod across the doorpost of our lives and industry-"the glory of God has departed." (1 Samuel 4:21-22; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8)

11. We fail to glorify Him when pride struts like Nebuchadnezzar across the Babylonian palace of our accomplishments thinking our own hand has made us, our own hand has delivered us, our own hand has provided for us, our own hand has promoted us and our own hand has saved us. (Daniel 4:28-37; James 4:6)

12. We fail to glorify Him when we strive to please men rather than to please God. (Galatians 1:10: 1 Thessalonians 2:4)

13. We fail to glorify Him when we speak and sing of the benefits of the gospel, but fail to proclaim the Gospel itself. (Matthew 4:17, 7:13-27, 9:13, 16:24-26; Luke 14:26-33; John 1:12-13; Acts 20:27; Romans 3-5, 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:2, 9:16; 2 Corinthians 4:5, 7:10; Galatians 1:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 2: 9-18; 1 John 2:22-23, 4:1-4, 5:1-3)

Virtuous women

2005-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

There is a band called 'Barlow Girl', which is the group of sisters that the band Superchick wrote about in their song 'Barlow Girls.' On their only album, they have a song called "Clothes" and one called "Mirror." These three girls deserve some recognition, for their stand up against the flow of the culture and for the true gospel. Here is the inspiration behind both of these songs.

Clothes

We are really tired of going to the mall and trying to find clothes that are modest. For some reason, clothes are covering less and less of our bodies, but not costing less. We really get upset that this world is offering only these kinds of clothes to girls, and, at the same time, trying to convince us that our value is in what we wear and how we show off our bodies.

We wrote this song to encourage girls to see that we don't have to conform to this thinking. It is possible to dress modestly, and very worthwhile, even though it may take longer to shop. As we pick out our own clothes, we have to ask ourselves, "Why do I want to wear this? Am I trying to get guys to notice my body? Does it make me feel better about myself when I turn heads?" Our call is to protect ourselves and our brothers in Christ, and not to make them stumble in any way.

Mirror

It’s very hard in this day and age to be content with how we look. Everywhere we look, from magazines, movies, and music videos, we are constantly reminded that we don’t measure up. We aren’t as tall, skinny, muscular, beautiful, or perfect as we should be. The mirror reminds us that we don’t measure up with the images of others.

We girls became more and more discouraged because we didn’t like what we saw in our mirrors. We wanted to know: "Who defines what good looks really are?", "Who decides how tall and skinny we should be?", "Who says that blond is better than brown, and full lips are better than small lips?", "Who makes all these guidelines that we’re expected to follow to be 'in'?" Instead of asking God why He made us look and act the way we are, we were tormented by our own mirrors. God showed us that He made everyone look different for a reason, and we could learn to be excited about how He had made us. We realized that we would never be happy until we ignore what our mirrors say, and allow God to show us who we really are in Him.

Reformation in Music

2005-05-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

Recently we have heard much about Reformation. Tony spoke on it on Wednesday night and Pastor Sean did on Sunday. Just last week I found an article by Steve Camp that calls for a reformation in the Contemporary Christian Music Industry (CCMI). He holds the truth of Scripture as the highest priority and calls others to do the same. I encourage you to read all of it, even though it is a little long. I will put up the article piece by piece, so first will be the letter before his 107 theses.

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Out of love and zeal for Biblical truth and the desire to bring it to light, I come to you, brethren, burdened and broken over the current state of Christian music. I come not out of a heart of condemnation, but out of convictions immersed in tears as one in desperate need daily of our Lord's grace to be conformed to His image. I come being aware of the depravity from which I have been saved and that my heart, apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, is desperately wicked and eternally sick. Early in my own musical journey I wrote songs that neither represented good music or precise theology. My motives were vitiated; my actions were not godly; and my lips were unclean. The thirst for prominence and position made my heart prideful, judgmental and calloused. But the Lord, out of His infinite grace and otherworldly love, broke me with His chastening hand to bring true repentance in my own life-and it's that life of repentance, which is my greatest desire and my greatest failing. It is out of the crucible of those experiences that I am driven to speak with conviction to these issues.

This document is a call to Reformation-a clarion call to recover Biblical Christianity in the arts. Music is a powerful tool from the Lord Jesus to His church intended for worship, praise, encouragement, edification, evangelism, teaching, admonishing, and exhorting God's people to holiness-with always our chief aim "to glorify God and worship Him forever." But beloved, the serpentine foe of compromise has invaded the camp through years of specious living, skewed doctrine and most recently secular ownership of Christian music ministries. While I assert this, I recognize that there are godly men and women who love the Lord that work for these companies and record for these companies, but that's not the issue here. The crux of the matter is that the overall nature of our industry has dramatically shifted. The Apostle Paul warns, "it takes only a little leaven to leaven the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). When sin is tolerated it ultimately permeates and corrupts the entire church. What is pure today will inevitably be polluted tomorrow if we do not "purge out the old leaven… (Ibid. 5:7). In the past several years, there has been a not-so-subtle drifting away from Christocentric music to an anthropocentric music. Sadly, this has resulted in various visible manifestations of spiritual sedition-where currently, the CCMI finds itself on a slippery slope sliding away at accelerated speeds from the Savior, the Scriptures and the church.

History is a lucid teacher and we can learn from her. Give ear to the account of one man's battle against the roaring lion of modernity in his time:

Charles Hadden Spurgeon spent the final four years of his life at war against the trends of early modernism, which he rightly saw as a threat to Biblical Christianity. Spurgeon wanted to warn his flock about the dangers from moving away from the historic positions [of the truth]. 'Biblical truth is like the pinnacle of a steep, slippery mountain,' Spurgeon suggested. 'One step away, and you find yourself on the down-grade. Once a church or individual Christian get on the downgrade,' Spurgeon said, 'momentum takes over. Recovery is unusual and only happens when Christians get on the 'up-line' through spiritual revival.' History has vindicated Spurgeon's warnings about the down-grade. In the early part of the twentieth century the spreading of 'false doctrine and worldliness'-theological liberalism and modernism-ravaged denominational Christianity throughout the world. Most of the mainline denominations were violently if not fatally altered by these influences. A hundred years later, we are seeing history repeating itself again… 'False doctrine and worldliness'-the same two influences Spurgeon attacked-always go hand in hand, with worldliness leading the way. Christians today tend to forget that modernism was not first of all a theological agenda but a methodological one. (John F. MacArthur, Jr. Ashamed of the Gospel (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1993), 21-23, emphasis added.)

We are seriously close, beloved, to being on the down-grade in Christian music, if, in fact, we have not already begun the slide. Though we are seeing an unprecedented interest by the secular arena with more press and publicity, I believe there are some danger signs we can't ignore. Gospel music today has become music for the moment, but not for eternity. Transitory, temporal, trivial messages that devalue Deity and raise "felt need" affairs above eternal "real need" concerns produce disposable, consumer-driven, cotton-candy music. This is playing marbles with diamonds. We are unequally yoked with an unbelieving world, sin goes undisciplined-is even tolerated for some artists because of their visibility and sales power-and the truth and authority of Scripture is all but abrogated. Biblical illiteracy is pandemic. Accountability to the local church has all but been abandoned. Moral pluralism and erroneous forms of ecumenism are the dyslexic doctrines of today. A politically correct, reductionist gospel that appeals only to the flesh and a syncretistic methodology in communication through the arts have sought to replace the true "Gospel According To Jesus" evidenced in the fruit of an obedient life fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit and His truth.

Contemporary Christian Music originally began unashamedly declaring Jesus Christ as Lord. Within a few years His name was replaced by several generic titles filtering out the name of God ultimately to the non-specific cognomen, "Love." This led to a multitude of pseudonyms: "The Man Upstairs"; "My Higher Power"; "Our Family Values Expert" ad nauseam…ad infinitum. This Biblical illiteracy I've coined as theological ebonics-Biblical language diminished to cultural unintelligible chatter affirmed as profound, acceptable spiritual truth. Spurgeon again reminds us of our duty of rightly representing the preeminent Christ by saying, "Jesus is the Truth. We believe in Him-not merely in His words. He Himself is Doctor and Doctrine, Revealer and Revelation, the Illuminator and the Light of Men. He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance. He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne. Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person. Sermons [and songs] are valuable in proportion as they speak of Him and point to Him. A Christless gospel is no gospel and a Christless discourse is the cause of merriment to devils."

Os Guinness is "spot on" when saying, "[we have seen a change] from an emphasis on 'serving God', to an emphasis on 'serving the self' in serving God." The object of faith is no longer Christ, but our self-esteem; the goal of faith is no longer holiness, but our happiness; and the source of faith is no longer the Scriptures, but our experience. Christian music currently reflects this. We are producing a generation of people that "feel" their God, but do not know their God.

We have been given a solemn and sacred duty to communicate through music the fathomless riches of God's eternal Word. The Word of God is the most holy thing we will ever hold in our hands in this lifetime. As Dr. John MacArthur says, "This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved and practice it to be holy…

Lamentably, the music of heaven has been sold to the world-to the ones who had the deepest pockets and made the sweetest promises. In a very real sense, "Simon the Sorcerer" has succeeded in purchasing the work of God from the "apostles" of our industry (Acts 8:14-25). Could it be that the love of money is at the root of it all? Or could it be that ignorance has revealed the unschooled in matters of faith and doctrine? Unquestionably both. For many, money has been and continues to be the prerequisite for "ministry" and Biblical truth is no longer vital but vicarious! Departure from the Word of God is now clearly evidenced in our music, lyrics, business practices and alliances. Beloved, if we do not repent of our sins, God's judgement will surely be upon us.

When Martin Luther stood at Wittenberg's Door in the year 1517, he called for reformation from the recalcitrant Roman Church. Now it is our turn, almost five centuries later, to sound the alarm in our generation. This time, to call the Christian Music Industry to reformation-back to the supremacy, sufficiency and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Genuine revival, a fresh return to obedience in Christ, is surely needed today, but that would be almost impossible given the current environment of our industry. Why? True revival is marked by repentance; true repentance brings restitution; true restitution demands that Christian music be owned and operated only by believers whose aim is the glory of God consistent with Biblical truth. This means that the current CCMI labels must return all the money they have received to their respective secular counterparts that purchased them and divorce alliances with them. The CCMI has gone too far down the wide road of worldliness and there is not the tenacity of character and the Biblical courage of heart and mind to do the right thing no matter what the cost. These are serious times, beloved, that call for real answers. This is not a time for duplicitous people, proclaiming a diluted message, from disingenuous ministries. It is a time for those whose lives are tempered with the steel of righteousness, girded with the belt of truth, standing firm in the gospel of peace, raising high their shield of faith, guarded with the helmet of salvation, to wield the sword of the Spirit with a surgeon's exactitude, praying always with all prayer and supplication, with all perseverance for all the saints in the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Will we champion again the manifesto of the Reformers: Sola Fide (by faith alone); Sola Gratia (by grace alone); Sola Scriptura (on the Word alone); Solus Christus (because of Christ alone); and Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone)? Do we have the conviction of heart and courage of mind to do what's just? Do we have the boldness to shout above the roar of the marketplace that the Emperor has no clothes? Will we leave our careers, our contracts, our carefully cultivated plans and press releases, our unequally yoked record companies to serve the Lord again with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? There is no gray in this-it's a matter of obedience.

Oh brethren, "we have a name to be alive, but we are dead" (Revelation 3:1). There is no greater love song to proclaim than the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord at Calvary, but yet others feel content to sing about the chaff of this world. What the New Testament church wrestled with the least is what our industry craves the most-money. How dare we think we can play politics with God, with His truth and with His church. We can't negotiate with sin no matter what kind of capital is at stake-and that really is the issue here.

Let us "press on, that [we] may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of [us]" (Philippians 3:12). Let us "lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Let us fall on our faces before our Holy Lord, repent of our sin and return to our First Love. With lives bathed in His grace, let us provoke one another to love and good works. With undivided hearts may we leave the prodigal's pigpen and come back to the Father's house. Let us commit to prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord's will with a broken, contrite and obedient heart. Let us return to our churches and to the faithful pastors/elders that shepherd us-submitting ourselves to their godly leadership. May we be students of His Word being filled daily with His Spirit. Let us come away from an industry that has all but abandoned Christ and forge, by God's grace, what it was always meant to be…a ministry. Doing His work, His way, according to His Word, by His Holy Spirit.

Pray on this. Pounding on "Wittenberg's Door", let us come together to make history-to make Contemporary Christian Music…Christian again.

Yours for the Master's use,

Steve Camp

2 Corinthians 4:5

Jesus and Hooter's Girls

2005-05-19T01:04:00.000-07:00

Through my reading of other blogs I came across this article. It is very interesting and thought provoking. Comment with any thoughts.

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How much is a Hooters waitress worth?

This was the sad question at the heart of a lawsuit between the owl-themed restaurant chain and its chief competitor, Winghouse. According to Harper’s Magazine, Hooters charged Winghouse with mimicking its concept of “an all female wait staff featuring beautiful young girls in tight shorts and tank tops.” Thus, the wrangling is not over “atmosphere” but over the sale of a product—namely the displayed body parts of human women.

The court agreed. Harper’s reproduced the legal decision, which decreed that Hooters Girls “might well be considered a product” since their “primary function is to provide ‘vicarious sexual recreation’” for customers. The court reasons, after all, that most Hooters customers go to the establishment for reasons other than culinary.

Christians should pay attention to conversations such as these. For too long, our opposition to a pornographic culture has been portrayed as an abstract campaign against “filth.” Often we are even portrayed as anti-sexual prudes. The engines of sexual revolution tell us that they simply want to “liberate” society from the kinds of “repression” foisted on us by religion.

And yet, where is the liberation for the Hooters Girls? These women—all of them someone’s daughter—are reduced to a leviathan company’s line of merchandise, as though they were so many units of chicken flesh served up on platters for lecherous men. And the Hooters Girls are just one in a long line of men and women victimized by the culture of sex-as-commodity. Where is the compassion for the cruelly named “porn stars”—many of whom spend their hours of the screen in a heroin-induced, self-loathing depression?

As Christians, this shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus has warned us that what seems like freedom is a false consciousness, that enslaves us and ultimately drags us to our death (John 8:34). The apostle Paul presents the picture of a cosmos outside of Christ “following the prince of the power of the air” enslaved to “the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” (Eph 2:2-3).

With this in mind, we shouldn’t confront the pornographic culture as head-wagging moralists, but as broken-hearted evangelists. We should stand against the Hooters corporation, not only because it rips apart the moral fabric of society, but also because it renders women created in the image of God as one more “product” to be bought and sold.

This means that our churches must be the kind of places where desperate women—in whom the rest of the world sees no value beyond body parts—can find a Messiah who can liberate them from tyranny.

What would it mean if our churches stopped encouraging our own teenage and preteen daughters to dress like Hooters Girls? What would it mean if we insisted that our young girls insist on being treated with the dignity with which they were created? What if fathers and brothers and uncles took seriously the command to guard such dignity, even to the point of turning away from buying someone else’s daughter as a “product” on the cover of a sports magazine or a fashion catalog? What would it mean if our senior adult ladies took time to share the gospel and a cup of coffee with the young woman who thinks all she has to offer is a tight T-shirt and a miniskirt?

This would mean that we would be following the example of Jesus of Nazareth—who refused to allow a Samaritan woman to continue defining herself by her sexual availability to men (John 4:17). It would mean that we would signal what Jesus has already shown us, that the way of sexual “freedom” really enslaves. It would mean that we would follow Jesus in heralding a kingdom made up of redeemed tax collectors, prostitutes, and, yes, maybe a Hooters Girl or two.

A MacArthur Treasure

2005-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a song written by Dr. John MacArthur. I found it in an old yearbook a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully it will bring you as much encouragement as it did me.

God Almighty, strong, secure,
Who will hold with Sovereign hand.
There's no reason death to fear,
Satan, hell or devil band.
I do not ask strength of my own,
but in my weakness Thy strength shown.

God All-wise, Eternal,
Source of knowlodge for the darkened mind,
Lighter of the heart's true course,
Sight for those in sin born blind.
I do not ask to know for pride
but in Thy perfect will reside.

Lord, who faced death unafraid,
Won forgiveness, sought no fee,
By Whose love the price was paid
And the grace gift offered me.
I do not ask no pain to bear,
But only, always Thing to share.

Loving Father, kind and caring,
Giver of my needs and more,
Heavenly glory now preparing
'Til I receive my treasure store.
I do not ask this world to flee
But serve 'til Thou dost send for me.

Coming Soon...

2005-05-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

I understand that I cannot label myself a blogger, because I have a blog, but only update once every three months, if I'm lucky. But right now I am working on a post that is taking a little bit of compiling of thoughts for it to come about. Maybe I'll do it in a series, I'll see. All that to say more to come soon.

Awaken By Pain

2005-04-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

After a long while, I have come back to my blog to tell a humorous story.

I went to the Jars of Clay concert in LA and enjoyed it greatly. I also recommend their newest CD, Redemption Songs, it is there worship album, in which they perform spirituals and hymns that have had their melody changed.

All that to say, I fell asleep on the way back to the college. I fell into one of those sleeps that many of you have seen me go into, where I almost hibernate and don't wake up very easily. In fact, apparently, it is almost impossible. But my friends here at college have never seen me do that before, so when we arrived at school and it was my turn to get out of the truck, they trid to wake me up. But I was not responding. They soon thought that I was faking it and that I was really awake.

Someone decided that it would be a genius idea to wake me up by pushing me out the door. They thought that saying that, I would wake up, in fear of getting flung out the door. Well, being asleep, I continued...well...sleeping. So, continuing with their threats, they proceed to push my limp body off the seat and on to the rough asphalt below.

The first thing I remember is waking up with a sharp pain in my knee and looking up at those in the truck. I asked how I got there, and after a pause, they said, "well, we pushed you out the door." I left the scene of the crime and proceeded to bandage my knee

Information Overload

2005-03-03T00:32:00.000-08:00

WOW!
The first day of Shepherd's Conference is over and I already feel like I have enough to last me months worth of thought material. The preaching is very good. John MacArthur has never been so engaging, in all the times I've heard him. The seminars were so prevelant, and yet biblical.

I have to go to bed now, but more thoughts will come later. I have to document some of what God is continuing to teach me through the conference.

Soli Deo Gloria

Feed My Sheep

2005-03-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

One solitary man on a grassy hill overlooking his sheep, each satisfying itself with the food its eyes can see. But the shepherd is offering something greater, something infinitely more satisfying.

Such was the scene of Jesus when he taught the Sermon on the Mount. The people came from all around to hear him, and yet they wanted to hold on their own pleasures that provided immediate gratification. Jesus was the perfect Shepherd, providing wise direction for the flock and yet perfectly ministering to the individual sheep. He also flawlessly taught from God's Word.

The idea of a shepherd has been on my mind lately because of the Shepherd's Conference that I will be attending tomorrow. How is one man to lead a whole congregation of people in the way of righteousness, when he is himself a sinful man? I have come to the conclusion, that it is by sola gratia. There is no other way to explain it. Without God's grace gifting men to prolaim the word of Christ, there would be heresy being preached all of the time.

I thank God for the passion that he has laid on my heart to bring the truth to his people. I know that I am weak and frail, but through the Spirit's empowering, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
May God's Will be done in the speakers and the 3500 attendees this week.

Soli Deo Gloria

Dusting Off the Quill

2005-02-28T23:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have last put anything on this blog and so, with renewed vigor, I plan on logging my journey once again.

A Call for Christians to Battle

2004-09-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the movie "The Last Samari". This film, starring Tom Cruise, is the story of an American captain who is hired to train a Japanese army in modern methods of warfare. In the middle of a battle he is captured by the enemy, an army of samari warriors. He is taken to their village and learns the ways of a samari and eventually joins their cause. One key theme throughout the movie is the custom of the samari to take their own life rather than have them die in shame. Just before the last battle, Tom Cruise and the leader of the samaris converse about dying in battle and both are excited to fight until their very last breath.
Then I walked past some people watching "Band of Brothers". The clip I saw was a guy, who had just been shot, lying on a stretcher and yelling, "I don't want to die!" The soldiers around him staring in sadness at a man who they think died earlier than he should have and for a cause that was worthless.

As I was watching the first movie, I was thinking of the implications it had to the Christian life. I was then reminded of those implications as I watched the "Band of Brothers" clip. The Christian is called to "take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 10:16 that they are going out as sheep among wolves. In 2Corinthians 11, Paul tells of all that he has gone through for Christ's sake. Then he says in Philippians 1:21,
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Oh how often Christians these days are like the solider dying in WWII. We say that we will do anything for Jesus, and yet some persecution starts to get heated and cry out to God, "Why am I going through this, I don't deserve this! Please save me from this!" I believe God's Word says differently. Paul said that he can rejoice because he wants Christ glorified whether in life or death. How can he rejoice in his death? I believe he understood what it meant to be a Christian.

May we be like the samarai, never giving up, giving our all, knowing full well that our lives will be taken, but doing it with pride and joy. If pagans can see how it is against all logic and yet completely sain to give your life for a cause, how much more believers who have the Son of God as our Fearless Leader in battle. We must persevere to the end. We should not, cannot, will not fear man, but the one who can kill not just the body, but the soul as well. Our fear does not come from seeing that we are out-numbered or the hateful looks of the enemy, but from seeing the Jealous God bestowing grace upon us.

I encourage you all to stand firm. There are many things the Christian is called to do that might seem embarassing or frightning, but that is but a small discomfort that we take for the sake of Christ. Think about it. We never really have pain when we face persecution, all it is, most of the time, is either discomfort, or a hit on our pride. Submit yourselves to Christ your commander, and go out on the battlefield never giving up, until your death. May you bleed with faithful zeal for Jesus' name until the your life is required of you.

The Brevity of JH/HS

2004-09-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

This is in response to a blog by SKH: http://www.one28ministries.org/home/weblog/blog.html

This topic is something that I can speak on from experience. I remember being caught in the middle of junior high and high school and thinking that it would never end. But let me tell you, it does end, and quickly.
I am now in college, experiencing completely new things, but one of the things that I could have done better is get more involved in a small group. I went to many of the meetings, but I didn't really get involved in the lives of others. Life-changing accoutability does happen in once a week basketball, food, and "tell whats been going on". Get involved in the life of those weaker than you. Be discipled by someone. Ask you small group leader for guidance and accountability. There is so much that can be gained from the one-on-one experience that it cannot be calculated in words.
Seniors and Juniors, this really applies to you, not only do you have only 1-2 years left, but you have many younger students in the ministry who are starved for older influence. Take advantage of the Bible-saturated atmosphere that you live in.

Be involved in small groups for God's glory.

Day 3

2004-08-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our first full day in Berlin, Germany started with a German breakfast of oatmeal/granola type cereal that came in two flavors: healthy and chocolate. At 8:00, we headed off to church in the Green’s blue bus. The church is on the second story of a building that is big enough to house a bakery, salon, and tire store. We arrived before everyone else and slowly watched everyone come in. The first hour is Sunday School, in which they are going through The Second Coming by John MacArthur. Martin, a friend and colleague of Mr. Green, translated the whole class into English for us. It was a privilege to be able to sit under Mr. Green’s teaching and to worship with the Berlin believers.

In between services we had genuine German coffee and cookies. We were able to get to know some of the church members and here about their lives and where the come from. During the second service, we sang in German and listened to the whole message in German. Due to the language barrier, we struggled to pat attention and follow along, but God is faithful and his name was glorified despite the fact.

After church, we had a potluck in the same room, we just replaced the chairs with tables. The food was great and so was the fellowship. From the potluck, we went home and changed clothes. The other host families met at the Greenhouse and we left from there for Sachsenhausen, the WWII concentration camp.

This camp was history books coming alive. All of the stuff that we had read in school about the persecution and torment of prisoners could now be imagined in the place where it took place. It all came to life within a matter of hours.

Once we arrived home, we received a call saying that we left Josh at the concentration camp. Of course we all laughed, but could not believe that we had actually did that. We waited 20 minutes and received another call saying that there was just a mix up and he was not left behind.

The day ended with a good meal and some relaxed fellowship in the evening.

Day 2

2004-08-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Our first day wasn’t a full 24 hour day because of the fight against time as we flew east. So I am beginning the second day when we woke up and experienced the sunrise on the flight about 3 hours away from Paris.

We woke up with tight muscles from the cramped or should I say upright sleeping positions we were privileged to be accommodated with. There were not many happy faces due to the circumstances, but all were doing their best to live with each other. Breakfast was served as the sun was coming up and few hours later, we landed in Paris. The Paris airport was nice, but unhelpful when it came to finding out where to go. This being the first place where everything was in a different language, we moved fairly slow until we arrived at the gate for our next flight. We then went on a mission to find food.

In order for this mission to be accomplished, we need to pass again through the medal detectors and scan the airport. We eventually found a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and a café. Some of us just got something to drink while others bought whole meals. They accepted American dollars, but only paper, no coins. This stop was nice because it had a much longer layover than in Cincinnati and so we were able to rest before getting on the next flight.

The view from the French plane was great. As we were taking off, the Eiffel Tower was visible in the distance and the landscape was checkered with farmland and endless fields. The clouds were beautiful too. We were all pretty tired and almost all of us fell asleep after lunch. Something to note is the lunch we had, which was a little different than what we were used to. There was a croissant that had raw salmon in it, which I heard is a delicacy in France. Several of our team either spit out the first bite or almost lost it on the last bite.

Our landing in Berlin was warmly welcomed and we exited the plane quickly. We waited only fifteen minutes for the baggage to show up and then we readied ourselves for that which we had been dreading the whole trip: customs. We walked through a small gate with an airport guard motioning us on, and then we saw Cary Green and walked up and met him and his fellow Germans. As you may have noticed, we didn’t have to have our bags checked or questions asked. We went straight through. We praise God for being so easy, but were disappointed that neither in Paris nor in Berlin.

Mr. Cary introduced us to the fellow Berlin believers and who was staying in with who. We headed off with our host families, experiencing for the first time German roadways. At the Greenhouse, we were greeted with the entourage of children with smiles on the walkway to the house. Inside we met Mrs. Green and saw the sign that the children made for us that said “Welcome to Berlin.”
We were blessed with a wonderful dinner prepared by Mrs. Green that was lovely relief from airline food. All were fairly tired and talked little before showering and heading off to bed. Bed at that point sounded simply splendid after sitting in airline chairs for many hours earlier.

Day 1

2004-08-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of a journey so extraordinary that it is hard to explain. Nine unique individuals have chosen to embark on a historic trek to a country thousands of miles away. They are going sleep deprived and surviving on airline food for over 20 hours. Why? Because they are fanatics, fanatics about seeing the glory of God exalted as supreme all around the world.

Although, this journey began officially at 8:00 at Sea-Tac International Airport on Friday the 30th 2004, it has been anticipated for over a year. The families all arrived within five minutes of each other and almost all parked in the same section. The feelings in the airport were mixed with concern (moms) and excitement (students). Everything went extremely smooth as we all unpacked and re-packed the luggage that we were assigned to bring for the Greens. Spirits were high as last good-bye’s were given and moms released their children to cruelty our world’s airline travel.

Not more than five minutes into our adventure, we all made a pit-stop at Starbucks and loaded up on caffeine to counter-act the sleep deprivation. And so with that we boarded an airplane headed for Cincinnati, Ohio. A note must be made about the team’s flight experience. All had done some commercial flying with the exception of Jesse. So he began his air career on a positive note and flew 1900 miles in over 4 hours.

The view was amazing as soon as we broke above the cloud layer. The Cascade Mountain range provided great vistas of snowy peaks and a plethora of lakes. The flight was extraordinarily rough and bumpy, but all survived and were happy to land. All were hungry and rejoiced at the opportunity to eat something. But not long after we got our meals, they started boarding our next flight.

None of us were prepared for a trans-Atlantic flight overnight. This problem was the result of two specific reasons. 1) over the course of the flight, our bodies felt like it was 3pm-12am and so not until the end of the flight did we feel like sleeping, 2) even though our bodies were saying no, we tried to sleep, but that was all but possible with the lack of any room to move except for your feet a couple of inches. But God is gracious and sustained us through the whole flight.

Both flights had in-flight movies that were played. The first plane had a projector for each zone of seats and needed an upgrade desperately. The second flight came with complimentary headphones and personal screens for each passenger. There were several channels for movies and TV shows and several channels of radio.

To Whom Do You Belong?

2004-05-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

After being at one place for 13 years, you meet many different types of people. You see a broad range of personalities, characteristics, and demeanor. But no matter how different the people are, they all claim to either be a Christian or they claim not to be. At Grace Academy, most, if not all claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, whether they actually do or not. If you claim to be a Christian and yet think you can live how you want, you are sorely mistaken. No neutrality can exist in Christianity. We are either united with Christ to serve and fight His battles, or we are followers of the black prince, Satan. This principle is clear-cut. You are either with one or the other. There is no way around it. You are on one side or another, not both. I Samuel 30 speaks of David in the wilderness fleeing for his life and he and his men came across a man and they asked him, in verse 13, “To whom do you belong?” That is the question I want to ask you this morning. To whom do you belong? Which master do you serve. Evaluate yourself. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.” If you say with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord of your life, but yet your actions show that something else is, then there is a problem that must be dealt with. Here are some questions to help you determine to whom you belong. Thoughtfully ask these to yourself.
Have you been born again? This is a simple question, but yet very critical. If you have, you belong to Christ, but without the new birth, you cannot be His.
In whom do you trust? Simply, those who believe in Jesus are the sons of God. What do you rely on? Who do you run to for answers?
Whose work are you doing? You are serving a master, either God or Satan, and what you do will show to which one you belong.
What friends do you have? If you belong to Jesus, you will or hang around with those who are godly and declare that they are in fact a child of God. Who is you spend the most time with?
What is your conversation? It is it heavenly or is it earthly? What do you talk about? Does it show that you identify with the cross of Jesus.
What have you learned from your Master? Servants learn much from their masters to whom they serve. If you have served your time with Jesus, it will be said of you, as it was of Peter and John in Acts 4:13, “They recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Can people say that about you?
Again I ask the question, “To whom do you belong?” Don’t fool yourself, answer honestly before you leave here today. I plead with you, don’t let your heart deceive you, but hold your life up to God’s Word. This issue is not something to play around with. It is a matter of life and death. It is better that you realize that you don’t believe than to believe that you do when you really don’t. Christ said in Revelation 3 to the church in Laodicea, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” As I stated earlier, there is no neutrality in Christianity. If you are trying to “get the best of both worlds”, by being a Christian and still living like the world, it isn’t possible, you will get spit out of His mouth. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be in the palm of his hand, then be spit out of his mouth.
If you truly do belong to Christ, let me advise to do four things. (1)You belong to Jesus; therefore, obey Him. Let His Word be your law; let His wish be your will. (2) Since you belong to the Beloved, love Him. Let your heart embrace Him; let your whole soul be filled with Him. (3) Because you belong to the Son of God, trust Him. Do not rest anywhere but on Him. (4) You belong to the King of Kings, so be decided for Him. Do not waver in you loyalty. Although you are not wearing a sign that says “I’m a Christian”, live your life so that all will know to whom you belong.
If know that you do know Jesus, you have a choice, either continue down the same road that leads to death, or accept Christ as Lord and receive a blessed, joyful life. It is a simple decision, but yet one that effects lives. I pray the Lord will continue to work in your heart, so that you may know…to whom you belong.

Two Pathways

2004-05-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have found it interesting how in Scripture it speaks of two contrasting paths. Matthew 7:12-14 contrasts the wide and narrow gates. "For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." The majority of people in this world choose this gate and love it. They love it not because of the ulitmate destination, but because of the self-gratification along the way. People contintue to live in sin, make provision for the flesh. The people walking through the wide gate range from prostitues to hypocritical religious people. They have been blinded by prince of the air and cannot see that path that everyone takes is the one that leads to destruction. The wide gate looks tempting. I mean who would pass up intertubing down a river rather than swimming full-force upstream.

Jesus tells us to "Enter by the narrow gate." And says it "is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." This path is for the few, the chosen, the humble. Those who live a life of righteousness are going against the flow of traffic. The world is swiftly flowing one way, and we are commanded to go in the completely opposite direction. The "narrow gate enterers" are only those whose name is written in the Book of Life. They have been washed by the blood of Jesus and have been set free from their sin. This path has obstacles galore. One cannot take a step with something wanting to stop him in his way. The narrow path requires dedication, faithfulness, and obedience.

Christians are clearly called to walk straight ahead, not swerving to the right or to the left. Our eyes are to be focused on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our salvation. May we all walk with faithfulness the path of our lives, as to not discredit the glory of God.

A Journey Through This World

2004-05-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

This world surrounds me,
Throughout this day I smell it’s fragrance,
I see it’s appearance.
Although I yet not let it overtake me,
It torments me day and night.
The thoughts of it creep in, yet I shall fight.
For with your power, O Lord, comes deliverance,
And with your grace comes assurance,
Assurance of your protection and peace.
For with world and it’s evil ever before me,
I shall fight the battle that rages in my head.
As I start each day consuming my life with you,
O God, your wisdom shall protect me
From the ever present evil.
Use me for your glory and your will O Lord.
For yea, what else is there to do on this wretched earth,
But follow after the heart’s true and first love,
For with you there is joy abounding and love everlasting.