look at that thing.

it’s a monster.

it makes something inside me feel wretched and disfigured.

when i see this guitar i think, “how could anyone ever want that?!?”

how quickly i forget.

because, if this post was being written in 1995, it would chronicle how AWESOME this guitar is and how my heart longed for its unique brand of rock power!

that’s right…i actually wanted a Rogue Aluminator…

here in the present i’m terribly thankful that i never owned this guitar, for lots and lots of reasons.

when i remembered how as a junior higher i drooled over this guitar in my Musician’s Friend magazine it brought 2 thoughts to mind:

first – what desires do i have now that will be laughing at in 10 years?

yes, i may think i’m much more sophisticated these days, but realistically i know that some of the plans and hopes and desires in my heart that will just seem silly later on down the road…like a big ole’ Rogue Aluminator hanging on my wall would be.

second – how important it is to subject my desires to the influence and power of God.

because, bottom line, i know that i want what God wants. i may think i want a Rogue Aluminator, but the truth is that i don’t really want that because it doesn’t have value. it won’t satisfy. it won’t enrich my life or move me forward.

i may think i want a lot of things for my life, but the truth is that all i really want is what God wants.

because He delivers gifts with real value and real promise and real satisfaction. He doesn’t just drop gimmicks off on my doorstep and say, “that should keep you busy for a few months till you get bored and need something else.”

He’s investing in my life and He’s in it for the long haul; LIFE and that more abundantly.

today this silly, discontinued guitar reminded me that i can discipline my desires and i can subject myself to God’s will above my own.

and, most importantly, it reminded me that God wants better for me than i could plan for myself.

so now the question is: what do we want?

maranatha.

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Sabal was a businessman who always had new ideas for success, but his drinking problem ensured that they all failed.

With each new endeavor he borrowed more money from his friends to get the business running, and he soon found himself bankrupt.

Sabal never panicked. Like any good businessman, he had a back-up plan to pay off his debts and, perhaps, start another business. This time it was a farming venture. His crop was small, but he was certain the high-demand plant would give him a large return come harvest time. All he had to do was wait.

Before long, though, the crop was attacked by pests. This time Sabal was out of ideas. As he watched the leaves of the thriving plants turn yellow, Sabal began to lose hope. Pastor Jaideep, a Gospel for Asia–supported missionary, arrived in the village just in time.

Sabal asked the pastor to pray for the dying plants, and within a few days, God healed them. The leaves became healthy and green, and Sabal was able to pay back all his debts. He gave his life to the God who had saved him from ruin, and built a tower in his field where he prayed for hours.

The change in him was impossible to ignore, and his friends and neighbors became jealous when they saw the great blessings taking place in his life. As Sabal prayed for his neighbors, many of them chose to receive Christ, too.

One day, Sabal invited Jaideep to a prayer meeting with three other pastors, and 50 believers came.

When a group of religious fanatics heard praises to the Lord coming from Sabal’s house, they tried to disrupt the meeting by throwing sand, stones and clay at the believers. One even grabbed Sabal’s neck and threatened to kill him, but the believers ignored the commotion and continued to pray.

After an hour, the fanatics realized they weren’t having any effect, and they left. The Christians thanked God for His favor and mercy. They knew God had protected them, just like He protected Sabal’s plants.

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blessings and maranatha

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last wednesday i did a small segment at our Ignite service which focused on a recent archaeological discovery.

here’s the text:

[ foot shaped enclosures discovered in canaan ]

In Deuteronomy chapter 11, the Lord made a promise to His people. He said:

Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory.
Deuteronomy 11.24

Our God is a God of promises. His promises to us have been proven again and again in many different ways.

They are proven through your transformed life. They are proven through fulfilled prophecy. They are also proven through scientific discovery.

Archaeology is a specific field that is continually proving the stories and promises found in God’s word. As human beings delve deeper into the sciences and the study of our universe, we find again and again that God is true and trustworthy and has gone on record with His plan for mankind.

Remember that promise from Deuteronomy? With that in mind I’d like to share an article with you that was written in April of this year.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2009) — “Foot-shaped” structures have been revealed in the Jordan valley and are among the earliest sites that archeologists believe were built by the ancient people of Israel. The structures are thought to be symbolic of the biblical concept of ownership.

“The ‘foot’ structures that we found in the Jordan valley are the first sites that the People of Israel built upon entering Canaan and they testify to the biblical concept of ownership of the land with the foot,” said archaeologist Prof. Adam Zertal of the University of Haifa, who headed the excavating team that exposed five compounds in the shape of an enormous “foot” — likely to have been used at that time to mark ownership of territory.

The finding is believed to represent the first time that enclosed sites identified with the biblical sites termed in Hebrew “gilgal”, which were used for assemblies, preparation for battle, and rituals, have been revealed in the Jordan valley. The Hebrew word “gilgal” (a camp or stone-structure), is mentioned thirty-nine times in the Bible. The stone enclosures were located in the Jordan valley and the hill country west of it. To this day, no archaeological site has been proposed to be identified with the gilgal.

Between the years 1990 and 2008, during the Manasseh Hill-Country Survey that covers Samaria and the Jordan Valley, five such enclosures were found and excavated, all designed in the shape of a human foot. The site(s) are believed to date back to the outset of the Iron Age I (the 13th-12th centuries BCE). Based on their size and shape, it is clear that they were used for human assembly and not for animals.

{ read the whole article }

This discovery is really powerful when we read verses like Deuteronomy 11.24, or any of these Old Testament verses:

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you as I said to Moses.
Joshua 1.3

So Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.”
Joshua 14.9

“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; and I will not remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers – only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them.”
2 Chronicles 33.7b-8a

Command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep.”
Deuteronomy 2.4-5a

What does this mean? Well, we have 2 applications this evening.

The first is to have faith in God. He made promises to His people and they took Him at His word and constructed these foot-shaped enclosures, signifying that they believed and trusted in God. God has made you promises. Promises for your life and your marriage, for your kids and your future. Take Him at His word. Live by faith. Believe and trust in His provision and security and guidance.

The second application is to use discoveries like this one to talk to your unbelieving friends and family and coworkers about the Bible. Talk to them about the promises God has made to mankind. His promise to return for the Church. His promise to judge sin. His promise to save any who are willing and to secure their place in eternity. Then talk to them about these discoveries, which emphatically prove that God’s word is true.

We don’t need any more proof than we have, but God abundantly blesses us with a continual assurance of the truth of His word. Share that proof with the people around you and see how God will transform their lives as they move from darkness to light.

blessings.

there’s a royal route to heaven
will you travel it today?
’tis the path of full surrender
all along the homeward way
it is yielding every moment
to the blessed Savior’s will
seeking only for His glory
and His purpose to fulfill

there’s a royal route to heaven
’tis the way the Savior trod
’tis the path of full surrender
and the deep, sweet peace of God

there’s a royal route to heaven
they who travel it may know
peace that passeth understanding
which the Father doth bestow
dead to self and its desires
living unto Christ alone
finding joy and satisfaction
which the world has never known

there’s a royal route to heaven
which will bring a rich reward
when the last long mile is covered
and we face our loving Lord
oh, how small will seem the trials
of the steep and rugged way
when we stand in His blest presence
at the close of life’s brief day

{ avis b. christiansen }

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it’s tuesday.

today’s positive post isn’t really for a specific person, though without some friends @calvaryhanford, i wouldn’t have been exposed to this week’s recipient (thanks @alxxnva / @aidanava).

no, today’s positive post is for a book.

in 1934 a gentleman by the name of richard ellsworth day wrote a biography of charles spurgeon entitled The Shadow Of The Broad Brim. it was not the first biography of the Prince of Preachers, and it wasn’t the last, but i can say with some certainty that it is quite unique in its take on london’s most famous pastor.

at some point a copy of this book was purchased by a fellow named walter, who resided dinuba, california. how long ago, i am not sure. but it is far enough back that his personal library stamp bears a phone number that not only contains a letter, but is only 5 digits long!

for some reason, this hard-back was separated from walter’s library and eventually found itself in a used bookstore.

it was about this time when @alxxnva and @aidanava entered the store, and, knowing my enjoyment for chucky s, picked it up for (as i recall) less than 1 dollar.

the book was then handed to me, missing it’s jacket, but ready to be devoured by it’s new owner.

now, let me be honest, i don’t read biographies. as i’m fond of telling people, i have like 200 books that i ‘need’ to read, and at this point there isn’t one biography isn’t on that list.

but, once this book found its way to me, i was compelled to open it up and see what i could find.

man…chapter after chapter i was just blown away by the testimony of God’s strength in this man. each day i would gleefully recount some tidbit or story to my wife or dad or some other poor soul who happened by.

on one of those days, kelly got home from work and before she could even sit down i handed her the book and said, ‘read chapter 12…right now.’

amazing.

the book is incredibly Christ-glorifying despite reporting on the life and work of a human being. i finished it today and am nearly prepared to simply start it again tomorrow.

i could continue at length as to the other reasons why i love the book, but instead of blathering on and on, i will simply leave you with a statement that spurgeon himself made, which sums up my thoughts on this wonderful biography:

i always like to have a few good biographies handy, so that i can turn to the record of what the Lord has enabled his servants to do in the past.”

go. get. this. book.

maranatha!

this morning i was priviledged to teach at our wednesday morning men’s study. our text was psalm 127.1-2.

usually i don’t put the text of my studies in the body of the posts because i know how i tend to ignore posts that have a ton of text, but today i’ll put it in there below the audio and the pdf.

so, if you feel like reading a few comments on psalm 127, great. if you see the length and just hit your little X in the top corner of your brower, great.

have a nice day.

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pdf transcript

So there I was. It was our 8th grade field trip to habitat for humanity. Me and my 40 classmates were slated to work on a nearly completed house all day.

There were 2 problems that we encountered out there. The first problem was that there wasn’t really that much to do. We were finishing a fence and doing some work in one of the bathrooms. 40 workers, all day, in a confined space with not enough to do.

The second problem was that the workforce was all 13 and 14 years old. Not a great way to build a house. Suffice it to say that my section of the fence was nothing to be proud of.

I want to read a couple of verses that I hope will set the tone for our day today. Each of us are going to leave this room and go to all sorts of different areas. We’re going to encounter different people. We’re going to have all sorts of choices. Today, as believers, we are charged to go out and do the Lord’s work. We learned about that a couple of Sundays ago in our final study in Colossians. If you haven’t heard that study, get online or over to the bookstore and pick it up. Because God wants us to build something together and He wants to build something in our individual lives as well.

Psalm 127.1-2 – Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

These are very interesting verses. Now, before you leave and decide never to wake up early to come to Bible study again, let’s see what Solomon was trying to say here.

First of all, let’s talk about Solomon. When we read these verses we remember that Solomon was an incredible architect. He designed and constructed fantastic buildings and monuments. He literally built some of history’s greatest structures.

Not only was Solomon an architect, but he was an empire builder. There was no more glorious, affluent, secure time for the people of Israel than when Solomon was king.

So, when this guy comes to us and starts talking about building, it’s important that we listen. He has something very profound to say. Because, aside from being the wisest person other than Jesus Christ in human history, he was an expert in these fields.

He begins this Psalm by saying:

Psalm 127.1 – Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;

What are you building today? When we leave this little room and go out, whether we’re working or retired or between jobs, wherever we are in life we are first and foremost men of God. And the question is, ‘what am I building today?’ Because unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

I think we need this reminder a lot. Because our culture really points us in the wrong direction. Our culture is always telling us that we are to build things by ourselves, for ourselves. What will you accomplish for yourself? How high can you climb? How much can you amass for your enjoyment. That’s the message of our culture. We are self-serving, self-gratifying, self-ambitious.

Now, that’s also human nature. We’re all born selfish whether we’re in California or Cairo, but here in America we are trained to go after these sorts of things, these values, in a powerful way.

What are we building today? The Lord wants to build something in us and with us. And, if we decide to go off and start our own project independent of Him, then we see that we are building something that cannot last. Something that is without eternal value.

There’s another view on this phrase though. This word ‘build’ can also be translated as ‘repair.’ This puts a very interesting spin on this verse. Unless the Lord repairs the house, they labor in vain who repair it.

We need to get out of our head any inkling or any assumption or any thought that God does not want to be involved in every part of our daily life. It doesn’t matter how insignificant we may think our Wednesday afternoon is going to be, God wants so much to be there building in you, building with you. From the rising of the sun to its going down the name of the Lord is to be praised. Pray without ceasing. Take up your cross daily and follow Him. Again and again the Lord gives us the message that He wants to be involved in your every day.

This is illustrated this morning by the building and repairing of a house. What are you building? What sort of repairs are you working on today? Your marriage, your parenting, your plans, your career, your goals. These are the things that God wants to build, God wants to repair. How does He do that? Through His Spirit and His word.

Solomon continues and says:

Psalm 127.1 – Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Everyone is all too aware of the difficulties facing our state and our country. These words are a reminder to us, who are people who are prone to getting critical political. Because the bottom line is that what America needs is Jesus. Jesus is the answer to the problems we see. The real problem with America is that it’s filled with hundreds of millions of people who are on their way to a Christless eternity. It is righteousness that exalts a nation. We don’t want economic salvation, we want eternal salvation. We don’t want party unity, we want spiritual unity in the Body of Christ. Those things are not bad things, they’re good things, but they are not the answer. They are a temporary repair made on a problem that only Almighty God can fix. Jesus Christ is the answer that we should be peddling, not fiscal policy. We need to remember that. We need to remember our focus. Because the rest is vanity.

Solomon concludes these thoughts in verse 2:

Psalm 127.2 – It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

A clearer translation of this verse would be something more like: “it is useless to rise early and stay up late just to make a living, for the Lord gives His beloved rest.”

This verse really invites us to do something we almost never do; inspect ourselves. Stop, take a look within, and then compare your life with what we see in God’s word. What am I doing today? Where am I going? What am I building?

Think about the book of Acts. The apostles, the 1st century Church. It was an incredible group of people. No, they weren’t perfect. Yes, there was sin. Ananias and Sapphira. Yes, there were mistakes. But when we look at the way the apostles and the Church communed with God and the things that they did, we are amazed. The most amazing part, of course, is that God desires those same things to happen today through His disciples and His Church!

In God’s word we see Him using His people to change the lives of those around them. In God’s word we see His people filled and empowered and strengthened. We see them effective and making wise choices. We see them sharing their faith. We see them living above reproach. We see them going everywhere and being so different, so set apart, shining so brightly that the world could not ignore them.

So today, it is our duty to pause and to evaluate our lives and ask ourselves what we are building? Does my life look anything like the life I see portrayed in the Bible? Yes, our outward circumstances are different, our freedoms are different, but within our own lives, when I compare myself to God’s word, to God’s plan for His people, do I measure up?

What am I building? How am I repairing? What have I been doing? Because unless the Lord builds the house, I labor in vain.

Finally this morning, one other comparison we want to make. Solomon points out that the Lord gives His beloved sleep. Rest.

It reminds us of Jesus’ words, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ It reminds us of when He said to ‘be of good cheer.’ To be filled with joy. To be filled with peace. To have life more abundantly in the provision of God.

Today, after we evaluate what we’re building, we must then ask ourselves if we have the peace of God. If we have the contentment of God. If we have joy and satisfaction in God. Because, if we don’t, then something is wrong. Something is wrong. Jesus came and died and rose again and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell you so that He could build in you and with you and so that all along your life could be filled with all these things we read about in the Bible.

We have to look within. We have to stop what we’re doing and evaluate. We want what God wants. God wants to build something that will last and He wants to give us rest. That’s what we want.

story time.

i like movies. a lot. i like to watch my movies over and over again. i like to talk about the characters and pontificate about the stories.

if you know me, you already knew that.

now, the films featured above, while being renowned as classics, are not movies that i own, for various reasons.

in truth, i’ve only seen Back To The Future once, and Ferris Bueller…maybe 3 times. ever.

that said, last night i had an interesting dream.

it began in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

i was Ferris.

first i was at school, walking the halls in those terrible 1980′s slacks that he wore, then, my subconscious seemingly being bored with the current scene, i was at a movie theater…at night…

while there, i was discovered as some sort of shop-lifter, despite the fact that i hadn’t lifted anything. still, i felt the need to evade my captors, so i ran away as fast as i could, which wasn’t that fast (remember those pleated slacks? you can’t run fast in pleats…).

as i ran into the parking lot, a long limousine drove up beside me.

you know the kind. not sleek and trendy limos like we see today. it was one of those terrible limos from 1981. boxy. junky looking. like something we salvage and export to south america.

being Ferris Bueller, i decided to open the limo door and jump in. i was on the run after all.

having done so, i realized that i was now sitting next to a very surprised man.

this man:

yep. i was instantly aware that i was, in fact, within Back To The Future.

of course, i was still Ferris Bueller.

but, be that as it may, i was now in a limousine with Dr. Brown, who was heading down to test his time travel machine.

no, the flux capacitor was nowhere to be seen…sorry.

once we arrived at the test site i awoke.

as i continued to gain awareness a few questions came to mind.

the first being, why on earth did these 2 movies come together to grace me with their nonsensical presence?

the second being, why don’t i ever dream that i’m in a Bible story?

that said, it would probably be really frightening to be in, say, the Battle Of Ai, but i wonder why i’ve never dreamed something i’ve read in God’s word.

have you ever had a ‘movie’ dream?

did a little segment last night that we call Word Of The Week.

i’m no Greek scholar, but i can use Strongs and other lexicons.

here’s the audio/text from my look at the word Shed.

(the audio is just under 8 minutes)

blessings

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pdf transcript

…the people that always get blamed.

somehow, no matter the era, no matter the problem, no matter the place, God’s people end up getting blamed.

maybe something spritual is going on here…

what do you think?

wherever i stand, i stand with Israel.

–
at our men’s morning group (which meets on wednesdays @ 6:30am for any area fellows who would like some free peets coffee) we have a short section where my dad reads various news items that discuss the current state of the world and, hopefully, spark points of prayer for us.

today there was an interesting and saddening article that i’d like to share.

The Greatest Story Never Told: Modern Christian Martyrdom
- susan brinkmann

here are some highlights

while christians in the secular west languish in spiritual mediocrity, christianity remains a deadly serious matter almost everywhere else.

dying for Christ seems almost surreal to most westerners. we live in a part of the world where Christianity rarely makes the news unless it is to be mocked or defamed.

Even the average church-going christian is not likely to know that 45.5 million of the estimated 70 million christians who have died for Christ did so in the last century.

the true extent of christian persecution during the past 100 years is believed to be of staggering proportions.

in the past 50 years, 300,000 christians in north korea have vanished without a trace.

in bangladesh christians are being denied access to water wells and are frequent targets of physical violence and destruction of property.

the situation in india has become particularly problematic…there have already been more than 200 episodes of anti-christian violence this year…

‘christians are, in fact, the most persecuted religious group in the world today, with the greatest number of victims.’ (ninashea, director of Freedom House’s Puebla Program On Religious Freedom)

read the rest of the article here

lots to pray for.

lots of work set before us by the Lord to accomplish.

God is good and His mercy endures forever.

voice of the martyrs