Stacey reminded me of a passage in Ezekiel when she asked a question from her recent readings that prompted a sermon. Here is the basic idea:
In Ezekiel 8, God shows Ezekiel the Israelites wanton disregard for God's commands and their whole-hearted embrace of idolatry. Each image/situation God exposes Ezekiel to - as bad as it seems - God basically says, "Oh, you think this is bad? Just wait." Finally, God declares that - without mercy - He will destroy these people.
In Ezekiel 9, instead of utter destruction, only those who have given themselves to the idolatry will be punished. Those who "sigh and groan over all the abominations" committed were to be marked, and, therefore, spared.
The Hebrew words translated "sigh and groan" convey the idea of an exasperated sigh or a reaction to pain as well as the idea of crying out or lamentation.
How many of us have this reaction to the sin we see all around in the world? More importantly, do we have this reaction to the complacency we see amongst brethren who feel showing up and paying a preacher to evangelize the community is all that God requires?
We need to have a lot more sighing and groaning, but if that's where it stops, we're not doing what is expected of us. Worrying does nothing useful. If you know there is something you're concerned about - in your neighborhood, your congregation, your family, or with yourself - don't worry about it, do something to fix it!
So, which is it going to be - apathy, hopeless hand-wringing, or serious concern that prompts action?
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Are You The Weakest Link?
Studying second Timothy for the class I'm teaching on Wednesday nights, I came across an interesting thought pertaining to the following passage from chapter 2:
Jesus whole life was spent teaching others what God expected of them and then telling them to go home and tell others. His mission was to seek and save the lost.
By being obedient to the great commission and Paul's commands to Timothy, we're continuing the chain of faithful men who have served from the time of Jesus. Teaching is one of the few things that we can do that is the exact same thing Jesus did while He was here on this earth.
With such an exciting connection, it has a serious implication as well - if we're faithful, we're continuing the chain of delivering this message to those who need to hear it. If we don't do our job, we've broken the chain. We become the weakest link that renders any other thing we might do of little account.
This is terribly convicting as a preacher - it doesn't matter how many sermons I preach, or how eloquently I convey the words of God to an assembly of His people, if I don't take His message to the world as Jesus did I am the weakest link. If I don't offer convicting words to those that hear my lessons to prompt them to this service, too, then I'm encouraging others to abandon their service to God.
So, which will it be for you? Will you follow in Jesus footsteps and take the word to the lost, or will you be the weakest link in a nearly 2000 year chain of faithful service?
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.So, Paul is telling Timothy to tell others about God, Jesus, and what is expected of them, and then to enable them to pass those things along to others. I've glossed over this many times thinking it simply means that we must get down to spreading the word.
Jesus whole life was spent teaching others what God expected of them and then telling them to go home and tell others. His mission was to seek and save the lost.
By being obedient to the great commission and Paul's commands to Timothy, we're continuing the chain of faithful men who have served from the time of Jesus. Teaching is one of the few things that we can do that is the exact same thing Jesus did while He was here on this earth.
With such an exciting connection, it has a serious implication as well - if we're faithful, we're continuing the chain of delivering this message to those who need to hear it. If we don't do our job, we've broken the chain. We become the weakest link that renders any other thing we might do of little account.
This is terribly convicting as a preacher - it doesn't matter how many sermons I preach, or how eloquently I convey the words of God to an assembly of His people, if I don't take His message to the world as Jesus did I am the weakest link. If I don't offer convicting words to those that hear my lessons to prompt them to this service, too, then I'm encouraging others to abandon their service to God.
So, which will it be for you? Will you follow in Jesus footsteps and take the word to the lost, or will you be the weakest link in a nearly 2000 year chain of faithful service?
Friday, August 18, 2006
Picasa Web Albums
I'm impressed yet again. Not only has google been super cool by hooking us Linux users up with Picasa, but they've come up with this web album thing that should be super easy for those of you on windows. If you click on the picture below, you'll be taken to the first album of our collection.
We went to newark last saturday to visit with the brethren there and praise God in song. Before hand, we stopped at Dawes Arboretum and took a few pictures. Granted, they're not the best, but They're pretty decent for a little p/s nikon. That'll have to do until I can get a D50 or - better yet - the new D80!
Enjoy the pictures!
We went to newark last saturday to visit with the brethren there and praise God in song. Before hand, we stopped at Dawes Arboretum and took a few pictures. Granted, they're not the best, but They're pretty decent for a little p/s nikon. That'll have to do until I can get a D50 or - better yet - the new D80!
Enjoy the pictures!
Friday, July 21, 2006
The New Tower of Babel?
I presented a lesson on Sunday based on the article I wrote for truth for today's youth. One of the points mentioned the fact that the 'net is a tremendous source of information and unless it's in a different character set (cyrillic, kanji, etc...) it really is breaking down communication barriers.
An older brother who is one of the exceptional (from my experience) seniors who is fairly 'net connected made a statement following the assembly that was pretty profound and a little disturbing. I don't remember the exact words that he used, but the idea is this: thinking of all of the connections we have, the barriers to communication are dropping and in some way, the internet/ISS/etc... are reminding him of the tower of Babel.
That got me thinking: So, language was made different for people when they were too tightly bound together, we're doing something similar with the 'net - for good and bad - what is our consequence going to be?
This is maybe just the paranoid part of me, but I think we are too much focused on the division of labor in our society and if something serious were to happen (low-yield nuke detonated a few dozen miles above the U.S. to set off an EMP that would effectively immobilize us) most folks wouldn't know how to make it without cell phones and computers (in everything from toasters, to most cars built after the mid 90's).
I think more of us need to spend some time in the heartland, visit with the DeVores, and stock up on supplies at lehmans.
Have a beautiful weekend (^_^)
An older brother who is one of the exceptional (from my experience) seniors who is fairly 'net connected made a statement following the assembly that was pretty profound and a little disturbing. I don't remember the exact words that he used, but the idea is this: thinking of all of the connections we have, the barriers to communication are dropping and in some way, the internet/ISS/etc... are reminding him of the tower of Babel.
That got me thinking: So, language was made different for people when they were too tightly bound together, we're doing something similar with the 'net - for good and bad - what is our consequence going to be?
This is maybe just the paranoid part of me, but I think we are too much focused on the division of labor in our society and if something serious were to happen (low-yield nuke detonated a few dozen miles above the U.S. to set off an EMP that would effectively immobilize us) most folks wouldn't know how to make it without cell phones and computers (in everything from toasters, to most cars built after the mid 90's).
I think more of us need to spend some time in the heartland, visit with the DeVores, and stock up on supplies at lehmans.
Have a beautiful weekend (^_^)
Monday, July 10, 2006
Fishing - Jesus' Way
In our class yesterday morning, we were discussing Peter in Luke 5:1-11. One of the questions supplied was about Peter's work fishing that changed from going after men instead of aquatic life. Specifically, the direction of answers migrated to equipment and preparation.
In the course of discussion, many people mentioned “bait” as a necessary ingredient for effective fishing which immediately made me think of two things.
“Bait” is a deception – the goal of bait is to fool your intended quarry by offering something they want and wrapping that around something painful/bad/etc... When fishing for men, that is the exact opposite of what we are doing. In fact, the better analogy would be that we're helping remove the hook that Satan has snared them with by wrapping it in the temporary pleasures of sin
When we think of today's fishing to explain the picture of what was going on in Jesus' day, we are completely missing the point. I don't even know if rod fishing was going on back then, but the fishing that is talked about is net fishing which is quite different
Rod & Bait fishing is angling for a specific type of fish (discriminatory), net fishing catches anything that swims by (non-discriminatory). So, rod fishing is what most of “the church of Christ (non-denominational, non-institutional)” has done for at least the 20 years I've been paying attention. We go to neighborhoods where we're comfortable (if we go at all!) and talk to the pharisees of our day who feel that they lack nothing. Instead of casting our nets to spread the message to all who need to hear it – including those unfamiliar to us for whatever reason – we keep the message to ourselves!
Perhaps the other problem with Rod fishing is that you can just cast your line out, sit down and wait – it's very passive! With net fishing, if you just leave your net out there all day, it'll become tangled or torn up and will be completely useless. It has to be actively used!
If we are willing to engage ourselves and get down to work sharing the message in whatever community we have opportunity to do so (obeying what Jesus commands!), we will likely have the same problem that Peter and his associates did when they listened to Jesus – their nets were so full they nearly broke and it filled two boats to the point of nearly sinking them!
Let's all get a plan together and get out sharing God's message today!
In the course of discussion, many people mentioned “bait” as a necessary ingredient for effective fishing which immediately made me think of two things.
“Bait” is a deception – the goal of bait is to fool your intended quarry by offering something they want and wrapping that around something painful/bad/etc... When fishing for men, that is the exact opposite of what we are doing. In fact, the better analogy would be that we're helping remove the hook that Satan has snared them with by wrapping it in the temporary pleasures of sin
When we think of today's fishing to explain the picture of what was going on in Jesus' day, we are completely missing the point. I don't even know if rod fishing was going on back then, but the fishing that is talked about is net fishing which is quite different
Rod & Bait fishing is angling for a specific type of fish (discriminatory), net fishing catches anything that swims by (non-discriminatory). So, rod fishing is what most of “the church of Christ (non-denominational, non-institutional)” has done for at least the 20 years I've been paying attention. We go to neighborhoods where we're comfortable (if we go at all!) and talk to the pharisees of our day who feel that they lack nothing. Instead of casting our nets to spread the message to all who need to hear it – including those unfamiliar to us for whatever reason – we keep the message to ourselves!
Perhaps the other problem with Rod fishing is that you can just cast your line out, sit down and wait – it's very passive! With net fishing, if you just leave your net out there all day, it'll become tangled or torn up and will be completely useless. It has to be actively used!
If we are willing to engage ourselves and get down to work sharing the message in whatever community we have opportunity to do so (obeying what Jesus commands!), we will likely have the same problem that Peter and his associates did when they listened to Jesus – their nets were so full they nearly broke and it filled two boats to the point of nearly sinking them!
Let's all get a plan together and get out sharing God's message today!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
An inconvenient half-truth
I'm most certainly not a fan of Albert Gore Jr.
When I learned about his film - "An inconvenient truth" I was terribly disgusted.
I've long been of the opinion that God created this world well and stably enough that - though we impact things on a small scale (polluting lake erie, introducing non-native animals where they shouldn't be, etc...) - we humans can't passively destroy the earth. So, the whole "global warming" thing is a bit out there. Many of the articles that I've read make strong assertions founded on tenuous observations.
Well, something good actually came from Canada (aside from the friends I have, of course)! There is an article about the number of scientists who soundly dismiss global warming and the FUD surrounding the same. Go check it out. I think I'm going to copy it off for posterity when they eventually take it offline.
With that in mind, I hope it's sunny where you are, so slather on some SPF30 and go enjoy the summertime!
When I learned about his film - "An inconvenient truth" I was terribly disgusted.
I've long been of the opinion that God created this world well and stably enough that - though we impact things on a small scale (polluting lake erie, introducing non-native animals where they shouldn't be, etc...) - we humans can't passively destroy the earth. So, the whole "global warming" thing is a bit out there. Many of the articles that I've read make strong assertions founded on tenuous observations.
Well, something good actually came from Canada (aside from the friends I have, of course)! There is an article about the number of scientists who soundly dismiss global warming and the FUD surrounding the same. Go check it out. I think I'm going to copy it off for posterity when they eventually take it offline.
With that in mind, I hope it's sunny where you are, so slather on some SPF30 and go enjoy the summertime!
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
News!! (pictures, too!!)
I know it's been a while, but there has been much activity of late.
- As of monday (27 Mar 2006), Willow is 39.5" and 38 lbs (that's at 3 years and one month). Rosemary is 24.5" and 15 lbs at 4 months.
- I finally broke the 30 minute mark in a 5k. I ran near Lebanon, Oh on March 18th and finished 3.1 miles in 29:40.
- Probably the biggest news - we're Moving!!! A couple of friends from church are moving and we're buying their place. It's only 1.7 miles from the meeting house and just over 5 miles from my office. Please keep this process in your prayers - we haven't quite sold our house yet but we hope things will get sorted out there soon.
- If you're in the area, we're having a meeting with Jack Smith April 2-9, so please come on out!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Where'd all the good people go?
If you haven't heard of Jack Johnson, he's a surfer turned songwriter with some impressive guitar playing skills. I'm sure that there are a great many things that we would disagree on, but his song entitled "Good People" strikes a chord in today's media saturated environment. We are inundated with filth, disgusting images, and the promotion of sin on the so-called news, other tv shows, movies, radio, and print media.
I've included the lyrics below for your consideration.
I've included the lyrics below for your consideration.
You win it’s your show now
So what’s it going to be?
Because people will tune in
How many train wrecks do we need to see?
Before we lose touch
And we thought this was low
Well it’s bad, getting worse….
Where’d all the good people go?
I’ve been changing channels and I don’t see them on the tv shows
Where’d all the good people go?
We’ve got heaps and heaps of what we sow
They got this and that with a rattle a tat
Testing, one, two, man whatcha gonna do
Bad news misused, got too much to lose
Give me some truth now, who’s side are we on
Whatever you say
Turn on the boob tube, I’m in the mood to obey
So lead me astray
And by the way now…
Where’d all the good people go?
I’ve been changing channels and I don’t see them on the tv shows
Where’d all the good people go?
We’ve got heaps and heaps of what we sow
Sitting around feeling far away
So far away but I can feel the debris, can you feel it?
You interrupt me from a friendly conversation
To tell me how great it’s all going to be
You might notice some hesitation
Because its important to you, it’s not important to me
But way down by the edge of your whole reason
It’s beginning to show and I really want to know is…
Where’d all the good people go?
I’ve been changing channels and I don’t see them on the tv shows
Where’d all the good people go?
We got heaps and heaps of what we sow
They got this and that with a rattle a tat
Testing one, two man whatcha gonna do
Bad news misused give me some truth
You got too much to lose
Whose side are we on today, anyway
Okay, whatever you say
Wrong and resolute but in the mood to obey
Station to station desensitizing the nation
Going, going, gone
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Dangerous Ideas - Parental Licensure
I'm going to post a few of the items that I pulled out from edge.com's annual question: "What is your dangerous idea?"
I do not wholly agree with some of the arguments made with all of these items, but most of their conclusions are interesting and usually valid (to me).
This is the first I'll share. David Lykken proposes that - eventually - parental licensure in the U.S. will be inevitable. On some days, I wish it were already true (we have a relative that is a Social Security/Welfare leech) so that those who are incompetent enough to be unable to care for themselves were not allowed to propogate. I fully concede that the result of such limitations
could eventually preclude any given group (i.e. christians) from bearing children, but it is an interesting - though obviously dangerous - idea.
I look forward to hearing your comments.
I do not wholly agree with some of the arguments made with all of these items, but most of their conclusions are interesting and usually valid (to me).
This is the first I'll share. David Lykken proposes that - eventually - parental licensure in the U.S. will be inevitable. On some days, I wish it were already true (we have a relative that is a Social Security/Welfare leech) so that those who are incompetent enough to be unable to care for themselves were not allowed to propogate. I fully concede that the result of such limitations
could eventually preclude any given group (i.e. christians) from bearing children, but it is an interesting - though obviously dangerous - idea.
I look forward to hearing your comments.
Laws requiring parental licensure -David Lykken
I believe that, during my grandchildren's lifetimes, the U.S. Supreme Court will find a way to approve laws requiring parental licensure.
Traditional societies in which children are socialized collectively, the method to which our species is evolutionarily adapted, have very little crime. In the modern U.S., the proportion of fatherless children, living with unmarried mothers, currently some 10 million in all, has increased more than 400% since 1960 while the violent crime rate rose 500% by 1994, before dipping slightly due to a delayed but equal increase in the number of prison inmates (from 240,000 to 1.4 million.) In 1990, across the 50 States, the correlation between the violent crime rate and the proportion of illegitimate births was 0.70.
About 70% of incarcerated delinquents, of teen-age pregnancies, of adolescent runaways, involve (I think result from) fatherless rearing. Because these frightening curves continue to accelerate, I believe we must eventually confront the need for parental licensure — you can't keep that newborn unless you are 21, married and self-supporting — not just for society's safety but so those babies will have a chance for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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