Fun in the Snow

Why So Called Christmas Music Drives me Insane

Before you think that I am bah humbug scrooge kind of thing, hang with me for a moment.  I am all about music that celebrates and exalts Christ, and singing about His amazing birth is certainly worthwhile.  Scripture says that we should speak to one another with "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs..." So I am all for that kind of thing, which is truly and purely "Christmas Music."

But then, there is the other stuff.

A few Sundays ago, I was driving to church - the Christian music station has a thing called Sunday morning Praise - with worship songs.  I usually enjoy it.  However, I had to shut it off with a "you have got to be kidding me" when they played "Here Comes Santa Clause" by Elvis (He pronounces it "Sanny Clause".)

So, if anyone is reading this, consider the following.  Non Christ-centered "Christmas music" has just a few themes:

First of all, It's winter.  These are the blatantly non Christmas songs, because they are more about meteorology than theology.  This is the "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," "Sleigh Ride," "Let it Snow," and the remarkably rediculous "Frosty the Snowman."  If people want to sing about winter, that's fine.  It's better than most of the trash out there in popular music, but call it winter music, not Christmas music.

Second, there is the Christmas Chronology songs.  Those are the songs that croon over and over the difficult and complicated fact that "It's Christmas Time." - i.e. Silver Bells and that horrid Band Aid song "Do they know it's Christmas time?"  (Well, they obviously do, if they listen to western popular Christmas music. The '80s need to apologize for it's contributions at times.)  Perhaps the worst Christmas song ever was the Paul McCartney's musical disaster about having a wonderful Christmas time.  (So antithetical - how could you have a wonderful Christmas time if you have to listen to it?)  Do we really need songs that tell us that it's Christmas Time?  It's the closest that music gets to singing the calendar. 

Third - there is the string of breakups, and dumping of boyfriends and girlfriends that seems to happen most often at Christmas time, if you judge it by the sheer number of these songs.  Elvis sang "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me." At least it's kinda catchy.

Fourth - the bizarre category.  Santa Baby?  Santa's Beard?  Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer?  'Nuff said.

Fifth - Superstition, mythology and absolute falsehoods.  No Virginia, there is not a Santa Clause, and you would be better to learn about the real life of Saint Nicholas (Veggie Tales did a great job with this on their new Christmas show."  Among the worst of the worst:

• From Santa Clause is Coming to Town.  "He sees you when you're sleeping.  He knows when you're awake.  He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake"  Call me Scrooge - but that is as anti-Christian as it gets. Anything that is in opposition to the grace of God is a bad deal, and the idea of being good to get stuff from Santa - the god like minor deity who is a very cheap substitute for the real God - is a mockery of the Cross of Christ.     
  
• From Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas:  "Through the years, we all will be together, if the Fates allow..."  What the heck are fates anyway?  This song is more unChristian than many songs on popular radio.  The "Fates" is equal to chance or luck, which in reality is nothing.  I am better off putting my trust and hope in this couch I'm sitting on than the "Fates."  At least the couch is a real thing. 
  

And so it goes.  I am not opposed to songs that tell a story or that even just plain silly, but even those songs have to be rooted at some level of truth. I know what some might say - they're just traditional Christmas songs, and I shouldn't try to overanalyze them.  I understand that, but that's kind of like saying, "Wrong ideas are ok if they are in traditional things that bring us warm fuzzies."

Wrong ideas are still wrong.

There is some traditional Christmas music sung by Burl Ives or Frank Sinatra or Burl Sinatra or whoever that I just don't like the style and the music, but that's really not the most important thing.  The important thing is that music leads the heart and mind to embrace beliefs. 

I don't let my kids play any of the "guitar hero" or "rock band" games because I don't want the worldview of the songs to be in my kids hearts and minds.  Music has a way of doing that, and doing it very well.  I remember all too well songs that I listened to in my youth that were filled with wrong, ungodly ideas, and I believed the wrong ideas because I loved the songs.  Why would I want to glorify worldly and wrong ideas just because it is in "traditional" music?

Finally, just to be clear, I am not saying that all traditional, non Christ-centered Christmas music is filled with wrong, ungodly ideas, but it's about intentionally glorifying God in every aspect of life.  If we can't keep Christ front and center in every way at Christmas, then when can we?

I played music on my keyboard many years ago for a business Christmas party in Joplin.  I played every Christmas Carol I knew, but the big shot of the party griped because I wasn't playing "Christmas Music."  He said that because I hadn't played "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" or "Jingle Bells."

It was one of those "You've got to be kidding me moments."  As a student of the culture, I learned a lot and grew up that day.  I don't want that culture to be the culture that my family is saturated with.

If I'm wrong - let me know - I am open to anyone's thoughts. 

Are You Too Familiar With Jesus?

^{Mark 6:4}Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." ⁵He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Mark Moore made some comments on this passage that went something like this. If you want to impress Jesus, how are you going to do it? Are you going to create a fabulous painting that will impress the one who created the universe? Are you going to do some amazing feat or stunt that would wow Jesus? He raised from the dead - it doesn't get any better than that! It is a difficult thing to amaze Jesus, but the gospels record that it happened twice.

Jesus was amazed by the faith of the centurion - who asked Jesus to just say the word and his servant would be healed. It also happened here in Mark 6 - Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith of those in his hometown of Nazareth. Interesting - all the things that we do to try to impress Jesus, and Jesus is amazed by great faith and no faith at all. Why were the people of Nazareth so faithless?


When Jesus came with his disciples to Nazareth, he went to the synagogue and began to teach. At first it seems that the hometown crowd is impressed - verse 2 says that "many who heard him were amazed." But their amazement, like that of Jesus, was a negative amazement - they were scoffing at Jesus as they asked a series of five questions:

• "Where did this man get these things?"
• "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!"
• "Isn't this the carpenter?"
• "Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?"
• "Aren't his sisters here with us?"

So, the quick and easy answers to those five questions are: God, God's, yes, yes, yes. I guess they really weren't looking for answers. These five questions reveal their thoughts about Jesus:

1. He's just a man - a common man. There is nothing special about him. He's just the carpenter, and that's all.
   
2. Since we know him and his family, we know all there is to know.
   
3. A person is defined completely by his family connections - we know them, and there is nothing special about them, either.
   

So, the end of verse three says that they took offense at him. The Young's Literal Translation says "and they were being stumbled at him." Meaning, they were continually offended by Jesus - offense added to offense.


So the equation here is familiarity minus faith equals offense. They were offended that this carpenter had come back home as a Rabbi.


And that offense and lack of faith had consequences. Verse 5 says that he could not do many miracles except to heal a few people. Jesus is God - why would he not be able to do miracles? Well, it's not a lack of power on Jesus' part, but a lack of willingness on the people's part. In chapter 5, Jairus went to Jesus. The bleeding woman desperately clawed through the crowd to get to Jesus. In Nazareth, only a couple of people came to Jesus in faith, and only they received the blessing.


The application here is are you too familiar with Jesus? Do you see him as another aspect of your life or the source of your life? Do the stories and teaching of the New Testament seem common and dry? I think it is easy at times to think of them as "merely" stories, like the people of Nazareth saw Jesus as "merely" a carpenter.


I think this is one reason why so many young people fall away from a relationship with Christ. They have been taught the stories all their lives at church. They know the stories, but they don't have a relationship with the author. They study Acts, but not Romans. I have seen the rolling eyes and the heavy sighs from many young people that communicate loud and clear "we've heard this before."


Maybe if you are too familiar with Jesus, then you don't fear him enough. Maybe there is no faith - just familiarity with the stories.


Don't miss the opportunity to be blessed and healed by Jesus because of a lack of faith.

Are You Desperate for Jesus?

Jesus concludes his triple header of amazing miracles in Mark 5 with a "two-fer" - the healing of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the bleeding woman.


While the miracles themselves are amazing, I am very impressed by the tenacity and the desperation of Jairus and this woman. Jairus, who was an important guy as a synagogue leader, sought Jesus out among the crowd and fell at Jesus' feet, asking for help for his sick and dying little girl. This touches me as a father. There is perhaps nothing more scary than having your own little child be deathly ill. I can only remember feeling that way once with our kids - when Jordan was a baby - she was breathing so weird and pained that we took her to the hospital.


Having 8 kids, you would think we have made many trips to the ER, but we really haven't. I can only remember three times.


I can only imagine that Jairus was (as an experienced leader of people) was essentially bulldozing through the crowd. What a crowd it must have been! Jesus - the ultimate people magnet -was making his way through the area and Jairus must have been pushing people out of the way - desperate to make a path. Jairus certainly had a level of faith. His level of faith was for the here and now - the desperation of a focused goal - an important, but temporary gain. His desperation was similar to the reason why a football team does better on it's goal line defense than on the other 99 yards of the field. It was crunch time. It's do or die. It's all about blazing a highway through the crush of humanity so that my daughter will live.


Get Jesus to the girl. Get Jesus to the girl. Stay focused on the goal. Everyone else in this crowd is unimportant - surely people must see that.


I can relate to this guy - I can be so task oriented that I forget that reality is not so cut and dry. I have at times been so focused on getting the family to church on time (so we can worship God) that I have missed the true needs of my wife and children. But yet it seems so right and holy and isn't drive and determination supposed to be a good thing?


The trouble is for Jairus, and for the rest of us, is that Jesus is more concerned for His glory than our goals. It's like the scene in Evan Almighty where the congressman guy is confronted by God - God wants Evan to build an ark, just like Noah. Evan whines to God and complains, "but building an ark is not in my plans!" I love God's response - he just laughs - and that is Biblical, too (Psalm 2:1-6). God wants our obedient hearts, not our self-focused plans.


Jesus has other things in mind. While poor Jairus, as desperate as he is, is only focused on one thing - "get Jesus to the girl, get Jesus to the girl," he does not realize who Jesus is and how incredibly adept He is at multi-tasking. Could it be that Mark is writing this sequence in such a way as to say, "calming the storm was impressive, and casting out demons is incredible, but Jesus can also heal the sick and raise the dead at the same time."


We don't know much about this woman who touched Jesus in the crowd (5:27), but there are a few things we do know about her:

• Her problem was bleeding - for 12 years
• She had suffered greatly
• Doctors could not heal her
• She spent all she had for her health care
  
• Her illness had become much worse

There are also a few things that we can make good guesses on based on her condition and the culture of the time:

• Her "bleeding" most likely meant vaginal bleeding
  
• Her condition would make her smelly and unclean (literally and ceremonially)
• Most likely, she was alone and uncared for by a husband or family
  
• She could not enter the temple, or have children
• She might have had to yell "unclean" to everyone as she approached
• Anyone she touched would have been unclean as well - perhaps that is why she only wanted to touch Jesus' clothes - so his clothes could be changed and he would still be clean.
  
• As an unclean, childless, sick woman, she would have been a rejected and worthless person to society
  
• She was most likely very weak and was near death.

So this is the shape she is in as she claws through the crowd. She also had faith in Jesus, but her faith was at a little different level. Her faith brought her to Jesus, to the point that she thought that even touching Jesus' clothes would heal her.


Jairus was busy dragging Jesus to his house, but this woman was busy dragging herself to Jesus. Both had faith, but the actions born out of their faith showed the depth of that faith.


When she touched Jesus and she was healed, I can only imagine her joy - yet her fear at the same time - Jesus knew what happened of course, but he asks the question "Who touched my clothes?" Perhaps he was giving her an opportunity to come - opening the door, so to speak. When she comes, he blesses her. While this incredible drama is unfolding, and near conclusion, the word comes that Jairus' daughter has died.


Then Jesus has the opportunity to grow Jairus' faith. Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Jesus wouldn't let a little thing like death stop him from magnifying his glory and growing faith in the heart of a father.


Jairus had failed in his mission. He had not been able to get Jesus to the girl - he was a failure as a father. He couldn't protect her and provide for her enough. As a dad, I say, "been there, done that." I love my children and I want the best for them, but I can only do so much. I can't protect them in every situation. Sooner or later, they will walk out the door. I will have to give away my daughters to be married to some guy who won't be as good as me! Instead of trying to bring Jesus to my house, I need to be bringing my house to Jesus!


I can't imagine what they must have thought when Jesus brought them into the death chamber, took the girl's hand, and told her to get up. If it would have been me, I would have even been more desperate for Jesus.

Joy Daisy's Birthday Gift

For Joy's birthday, she wanted me to build her a house for her little animals (It started out as a dog house, but ended but housing horses as well.)


I used cabinet rail as the "fence" around the "yard," which is a 2 X 2 1/4 inch birch plywood. The house is made from 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch poplar craft project wood.


Joy and the girls painted the fence and the yard, and the little flowers on the house.


I have never made anything like this before. I sure learned a lot!

Are You Amazed by Jesus?

^{Matthew 5:5}Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

There is so much that is just creepy about this story - the demon possessed guy (Matthew records that there were two of them), alone in the graveyard, screaming at Jesus. Pigs dying. People rejecting Jesus because of their fear. Here is another story that examines the fear of God - except that these people, told Jesus to leave. The disciples at the end of chapter 4 "feared a great fear" and responded with amazed worship. These pig herders (obviously not Jewish, but Greek) were afraid and responded with amazed rejection.


I think that Mark, in his fast paced, bang, bang, bang style, is demonstrating the power of Jesus at the end of chapter 4 and in chapter 5. Jesus has power over all nature - he calms the storm. Jesus has power over the spirit world -he rebukes and redirects the demons out of this guy. And later in chapter 5 - Jesus has power over sickness and death - he heals the woman and raises the little girl from death. In case anyone was confused about who Jesus is, he has the same power that God has! The response of people in each situation was basically the same: fear and amazement:

^4:41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"


^5:15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.


^5:20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.


^5:33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.


^5:42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

Before I go on, I just want to say that I think that one of the reasons why Christianity is so dull and dry these days is because we have lost our fear and amazement of Jesus.


Jesus raised the dead! Oh, that's nice. I saw that in the Terminator movie.


Jesus cast all the demons into a herd of pigs! Oh, that's not nice that Jesus killed all those pigs.


Jesus calmed the storm! We can easily explain that by looking at the meteorologic data.


We are so used to science and data and the movies that there is little that impresses us anymore. Maybe that is one reason why people love to go see movies with incredible special effects and grand visual elements. Maybe people are looking for a way to be amazed - to be impressed.


But these things are just false realities - Computer animation can make it look like dogs and cats can talk, but God could truly make a donkey talk. If you want to talk about fear and amazement, here is something that is truly amazing - the complete and instant life transformation that happens to this poor guy.


My favorite verse in this story has always been verse 5. "Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." People don't usually talk about the flowery and beautiful language of the NIV, but I love the way this verse is written - there is so much description in those few words. Think of all the ways this man was described here:

• He never had any rest (Night and day)
• He lived with death (among the tombs)
  
• He was completely alone (in the hills)
• He was in constant pain & agony (he would cry out)
• No one ever heard his cries (in the hills)
• He wanted to die (cut himself)
• He abused and hated himself (cut himself)
  
• He had nothing (with stones)

There are more descriptions in the other verses and in the other accounts in Matthew and Luke - but isn't that one verse enough to describe how alone, destitute and pain ridden he was?


But Jesus did heal him, and he was completely transformed - that amazes me. Jesus told him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Can you imagine a more zealous evangelist? What would they say? I wonder how they responded? Did his mother cry? Did he have a wife or children?


One thing that we do know (verse 20) is that he told everyone in the areas about Jesus and his deliverance, and the people were amazed.


I hope that you too, today are absolutely amazed by Jesus.

Are You Terrified by Jesus?

⁴¹They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4:41

It is easy to imagine many things in this scene - the boat, the storm, the wind and waves. When Jenette and I took our then 1 year old Joel to California, we somehow ended up talking with a guy who volunteered to take us on his sailboat. We had never been on a sailboat before, and didn't quite know what we were getting into.

The first problem we experienced when we got to the marina was that the guy only had adult size horse collar life jackets. Being the safe and responsible parents that we were, we had but one choice - hold Joel down and put this gigantic thing around his neck. It truly was bigger than he was, and looking back now, I wonder if it would have helped at all if he went in the drink. Well, that put him in one of those screaming, pitching a fit, "I'm gonna die" moments that all little kids occasionally torture their parents with.

Once we got under way, we quickly realized that Joel had more reasons to scream, because the ocean was choppy and rough. The sailboat guy didn't seem to be too concerned, but we thought we were riding a wild horse instead of a sailboat. Joel was so completely and utterly freaked out that Jenette took him into the little cabin so at least the sailboat guy could concentrate on the rough waters without the toddler sonic blast. The sea became progressively more rough and the wind was amazing. I thought more than once that the whole boat was just going to be blown over into the waves. It was a perfectly miserable, frightening experience.

And it was the experience of the disciples. The Sea of Galilee is known for its fierce and fast approaching storms. They didn't know that on this particular day, a storm would come upon them quickly and without warning. But, its important to remember who commissioned this trip. Jesus was the one who said "let's go over to the other side." (Mark 4:35). I can't help but wonder if there was already a breeze in the air, or if the fisherman disciples cast nervous looks at each other.

These fishermen perhaps had seen these storms before and knew there wasn't much to do except to hold on and to pray. I think the interaction between the disciples and Jesus is really interesting here. First, they wake him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" or perhaps in other words, "quit sleeping because now is perfect time to panic!"

Jesus wakes up, speaks to the wind and waves "Quiet. Be still." And then to his disciples: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Vs. 40)

Verse 41 says their response - "they were terrified!" Or as the KJV says so beautifully, "they feared exceedingly." Or how about the Young's Literal Translation that says "they feared a great fear."

How crazy is that? This story is a lesson in fear management. "Afraid" in verse 40 is about being timid or chicken. The "feared exceedingly" word in verse 41 is about sheer terror. One might say that these poor guys were more afraid after the storm was calmed than while it was raging! I studied the first Apologetics Press lesson (posted earlier in the blog) with the kids this week - it is about the "Cause and Effect" argument for the reality of God - that there has to be a cause for the universe to happen, and that cause has to be before and greater than the effect.

These guys saw this cause and effect thing first hand - and it literally put the fear of God in them. I think that is why Jesus had them make the trip, because they needed to fear God more than they needed anything else. And then to make the association of fearing Jesus as God himself - I'm just sure their mouths were left hanging open.

What about you - do you need to fear Jesus more? I think too often we think of Jesus only as the sweet hippie looking guy who carries lambs on his shoulders and plays with little children. He's more than that though - as gentle as a lamb, but as fierce as a lion.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7

Mark 4:26-29 Outline

We can learn how God's Kingdom grows by considering these paradoxes:

Introduction:

What is God's Kingdom? It is first of all the reign of God over everything. Second, it is the reign of God in the individual. In the New Testament, the Kingdom is also about Jesus coming to reign. Christians debate whether Jesus' Kingdom was established fully when he died and rose again, or if the kingdom won't be fully established until He comes again.

In these parables, the seed is the Word of God, and thus, the place where the Kingdom growth begins. Kingdom growth in the Bible is filled with paradoxes.

1. The sower is not the grower. Mark 4:26-29
2. The smallest seed becomes the largest plant. Mark 4:31-32

• A seed dies in order to give life. (See John 12:24)

Apologetics Press - Home Study Courses

Apologetics Press - Home Study Courses

Looks like some good stuff. I have not seen all the lessons yet, although I liked the one on the sinners prayer (down at the bottom).

jc

Mark 4:26-29

²⁶He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

This parable is the only parable that is recorded by Mark alone. It's almost a part 2 of the sower parable - for the seed is surely the Word of God. The focus on this parable is not on the how receptive people are, but on the growth of God's kingdom, and here's the big news flash: you and I are not needed to make it grow.

Are you kidding me? I, who have worked in Christian ministry for all my adult life? The Churches I have worked at, and now the Camp - won't they crumble into ruins if I am not there doing my part? How can God grow His Kingdom without me? Well, pretty easily.

What is more powerful and unstoppable than growth? Sure, a plant can die if it does not get the proper nutrients, but if it is alive, it is growing. I looked back at my blog here from a while back and read some of my postings about my "extreme gardening" project behind our house. I started last fall (2008)- taking down the "Roman Barricade" as Jenette called it - dismantling the huge pile of logs and ice storm debris so that we can have something close to a yard back there. After I did so much work last fall and winter, clearing and cutting and removing a million rose vines, the spring and summer happened. I got busy with camp, and the roses popped up again, and the weeds grew more happily than ever. The Spring of 2009 was the first in three years that we did not have a major late killing freeze, so everything grew, well, like weeds.

It seems just yesterday that I had three baby boys. Now I have three young men. (and some young ladies as well!) - Growth is amazing and unstoppable, and it all comes from God. Night and day, whether I sleep or get up, the Kingdom of God is growing, just like the seed, and I don't know how it works. It seems to me that these days are destined to have the Kingdom diminish - because of the evil that has run amuck and how our country's leaders are trying to lead us further and further away from God. But it just this type of situation that Kingdom advancement has always been seen in the Bible and in history. What is more powerful than the growth of God's Kingdom?

I visited an interesting town last Sunday. I went to the Christian Church in Liberal, MO to share with the Church the exciting things that God is doing here at MBC. (And, this is a great little Church! We loved being there!)

Liberal, Missouri was founded as a town that was to being with God, churches, Christians, Jesus, and (oddly enough) without saloons. See this article for more information. It was supposed to be a "freethinking" society, without all the messy difficulties of religion. It didn't take long for the town to be in utter chaos, for Christian missionaries to seize the opportunities afforded by the chaos, and for God's Kingdom to advance in this small town. What is more unstoppable than the growth of God's Kingdom?

Even though the preaching of the gospel was crucial to the life of Liberal, MO (and to every other group of people on the planet), the point of the parable is that God is going to grow His Kingdom - if one person is disobedient in the call, God will use another. Verse 28 points out the way that the seed grows - "All by itself." The Word of God, planted in the hearts of people is like that seed that has a way of growing all by itself.

Paul talked about this same idea in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. People were arguing about who was their spiritual leader and "father." Some said it was Paul. Others said it was Apollos (a NT missionary). Paul said, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." (1 Corinthians 3:6)

Finally, there is an end in sight - there will be a harvest, and it won't be the weeds that are harvested (as we see in other parables) - it will be the grain that is producing fruit. What is the fruit of the Kingdom of God? How about love, joy, peace, patience, etc... (I can say them much faster than I can type them). Not only will God grow His Kingdom with or without us, but He will do the harvesting.

So, to all my friends involved in ministry, here is my encouragement. Fear God, not the people in the congregation. It's His Kingdom - His power behind the growth - His holiness - and His harvest. Is no one being baptized at your church? Are the disciples falling away? Maybe it's because church leaders are aligning themselves with the world more than with God.

Why would God want to grow a baby Christian in a worldly, loveless, passionless, Pharisaical, lukewarm church?

Isaiah 55:10-12

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Mark 4:21-23

²¹He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? ²²For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

The principle of sin exposure demonstrates to me that God is more interested in His glory than in our dignity. Mark carries these words in the context of the "seed" parables in Mark 3. It is sandwiched between the parable of the sower and the parables of the growing seed and the mustard seed. In this context, it seems to me that Jesus is saying that a life confronted with the word of God (the seed) becomes exposed.

It's like the Word is a spotlight on the heart, revealing it for what it truly is. In Mark, this seems to be descriptive of the power of the Word to expose the heart. In Luke 12:1-3, Luke ties this to the exposure of hypocrisy in the Pharisees. In Matthew 10:26-27 these words are placed in the context of Jesus' sending out of the twelve - there it is like an encouragement - don't be afraid, all the hidden motivations will be exposed.

I wonder also if Jesus is referring back to the confrontation of David by the prophet Nathan - 2 Samuel 12:12 "You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel." The hypocrisy of David was blown away in this confrontation. The holiness of God has a way of shattering foolish thinking, if we take the time to listen.

It doesn't matter what you do or where you do it, you can be sure that your sin is a stinking reality in the face of God. To all you guys who think that no one knows what you look at on the internet or about the magazines you have stashed out on the top shelf in the garage, here's the truth: not only does God know and grieve over your sin, but Jesus paid the price on the cross for that sin. There was no hiding the cross - the ugly hideousness of evil was fully revealed on the cross.

And beside that, God will find a way to expose your sin and glorify Himself. I played a little game with Joy, Jewel, and Jenna on Saturday. I hid several little bottles around the camp that contained a dollar each (in dimes - I was trying to get rid of all the loose change I have!). I gave them each a turn and said they needed to go find the treasure, and I would tell them "hot" or "cold" depending on how close they were. Jewel and Joy Daisy picked up the trail really easily, but little Jenna had more trouble with it. The reason is that she didn't want to listen to me about which direction was "hot" or "cold." Instead, she just wanted to blunder about and (I guess) try to find the dollar completely on her own.

Once I (well, actually, her sisters,) convinced her that she needed to listen to me, she started to do better and found the treasure. I think this is why God exposes our sin - because God is trying to lead us to the true treasure - Himself! If we have hidden sin, we will act just like Adam and Eve, naked and ashamed and busy trying to cover themselves up with fig leaves, thinking that they were clever enough to hide from God. Sin exposure is a Bible principle from the very first pages.

I have been praying that I would fear God more and thus grow in God's Wisdom. The principle of sin exposure leads me to fear God more. When I worked at Oakwood Christian Church in Enid, OK (seems like a lifetime ago now!), in a momentary fit of insanity, the church leaders allowed the youth group to paint the youth room. (I think that Eric Keller - must have been part of that painting group!) They painted an amazing mural on one wall, but did very random, almost graffiti stuff on the other walls.

There was a bathroom in this room because the room was also used occasionally for little kids. In the bathroom on the wall facing the toilet, (along with a dorky looking smily face, there was painted in bright, happy colors, "Smile, God is watching you." If you fear God, then there's only one way to smile when you think about that, and that is smiling in the blessings of obedience.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
Ephesians 5:8-13

Sabbath days

Ok, so it's been a few days since I have blogged, so if anyone thinks I fell off the edge of the planet for a while, I am proclaiming my return to the blunderblog. Blogging is something that I greatly enjoy - it's somewhat therapeutic - but I kind of have to be in a certain mode to blog. That mode is usually reflective and many times somewhat melancholy - I guess that's why many of my postings are deep and usually dark. At least, I think so, but I haven't gone back and read everything I have written in the last few years recently, either.

So I am sitting here watching a printer spit out 2000 camp newsletters, thinking about this, that, and the other thing, so it is a splendid time to blog.

First of all, the summer camp sessions were finished over a week ago, but I had the opportunity to represent the camp at two different VBS programs. One in the morning in Springfield, and one in the evening in Joplin. Even though it was a hectic and tiring week, I greatly enjoyed being a part of both VBS's. At the Northside VBS, they asked me to be a part of a lesson where I was Pharoah and all the kids were the plagues. I think they greatly enjoyed abusing Pharoah.

As for summer camp, it was another awesome experience. I like camp because all the adults who come (for the most part) are there because they want to be there. They are willing to serve and to show God's love to the campers and to others. I don't know the official number yet, but I am guessing that there were around 500 adults throughout the summer. When they come and volunteer at the camp, and they serve God and invest themselves in the kids, you truly get to see the best of the Church. It is amazing what God's people can do when they are willing servants.

Church people spend too much time majoring in the minors, and too much time minoring in the majors. I would like to call all my Christian friends and family - anyone who is listening, to get rid of all the petty bickering and whining and griping that is so destructive, and to be servants in their churches.

I have been convicted recently that I need to do more than I am doing to advance God's Kingdom and to help others understand God's truth. I have already begun part of that journey as I am teaching for a few weeks to the youth group on Sunday nights.

I am also going to attempt a new direction with leading a small group - I'll write more about that another time, but that is also part of my conviction.

These days after camp is over for the summer are always a hard transition for me. I am eager to get back into a routine, but I am bummed out that the excited, eager servants of God are all gone for now from the camp.

But I can see the big picture better than I could the last few years. In many ways, I feel like every day serving at MBC is better than the day before. Like Penny said, we know we are growing because we have a new set of better problems. I am actually looking forward to the fall and winter, because I can see a better vision this year of my role in my family, the camp, and the church.

Although I have enjoyed several Sabbath days or rest throughout the summer, the days that I have advanced God's kingdom the most are the days that give me the most energy.

I turned 40 last week - and I feel like I am just beginning. I guess that's a good thing!

jc

Finishing the Race

Been too busy to blog - but hopefully once camp starts, I will be less busy. I have been flying through a long check list of things to get ready for camp. I hope to be done with all that by Wednesday this week, but we'll see.

I'll try to blog more this week sometime.

Now that I got Jenette her new little 'puter, maybe she will read my blog more!

jc

When People Are Big and God is Small

I mentioned in a previous post something about the book When People are Big and God is Small by Ed Welch. I wasn't actively reading it at the time, but the title sure impressed me.

Now I am reading it, and have decided to study it with the 5 older J's. I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this and especially to share it with their children (at least older kids.)

Some of the things I have been learning and thinking about based on this book are as follows:

EVERYONE struggles with issues of "fear of people" or peer pressure, or whatever it is called. Those who deny it are fooling themselves or too proud to acknowledge it.

My children all struggle with this in different ways - the boys different from the girls, and each of them different from each other. In our environment living here at the camp and homeschooling, this shows up in several key areas: their relationships with people from other churches (camp people) and their relationships with friends at our own church that they want to try to stay connected with. We had a really great conversation last week, and all of them shared how they struggle with this. I challenged them to remember that everyone deals with this and we need to treat all people with love, honor, and respect because of it.

I also thought of the many young people that I have tried to minister to and mentor over the years (most of them, quite unsuccessfully). Many of them were so busy needing people that they forgot that they needed God more.

Many of those young people at the time said that they loved God. But as I look back on it, they may have "loved" God by feeling a connection to the righteousness of God or the Church, but I don't think they "feared" God. In fact, they, just as I did at that age, had everything backwards. They emotionally "loved" God (or said they did), and feared people, instead of fearing God and loving people. Obviously we need to "love" God. But the Biblical idea of loving God by obeying God (Read 1 John) is different than the cultural idea of "love," which is all about how someone feels.

The book makes an emphasis on the fact that our sinful nature causes us to need people to determine our worth and fill us. The more that we need people, the more that we become a prisoner to them. I remember being at the age that my boys are right now, and how much I needed to fit in. I needed to wear the right clothes. I needed to listen to the right music. I needed to act like, think like, talk like and look like everyone else, so there wouldn't be any "handle" for anyone to grab and exploit. If I could just meld into the crowd, I would be safe. I didn't realize that I was making myself into a safe prisoner in a cage locked up and secured by the thoughts I thought people thought about me.

Oh, how I desperately, pitifully needed the approval of everyone! I needed approval from my friends and my parents and my brothers and my youth minister and everyone else (and they frequently had conflicting ideas about who I needed to be). I jumped through a lot of hoops to do all that - so many hoops that I forgot that I needed to need God first and foremost!

I really think that many Christians, (including myself in the past) don't really want to fear, need or trust God. Sure, we want fire insurance, but in the nitty gritty of life, do I trust God enough to choose to follow him instead of the crowd? Would I be like the three brave young guys in Daniel who refused to bow down to the idol? Or would I be more like all the other good people around them who were bowing down, justifying themselves the entire time? Do I need God more than I need my life?

If I need people, then I am in bondage to them. However, if I love people, and make the active but difficult choice to not need them or fear them, then I can treat others the way that God wants me to. I could never admonish someone I feared, and the Scripture says that we are to admonish one another. How could I share with anyone what they "need" the most - the gospel message, with all it's offense regarding our sinfulness - if I am crippled by the fear of what people think about me?

How can a leader lead in fear of people? How can a Christian teach others if he is afraid of what people think? How can I be a direct influence for Christ if I am afraid that people will think that I am an idiot? How can a dad lead his children to grow to be godly adults if he is afraid that his kids won't like him if he applies godly correction? How can a camp manager effective manage things if he is always afraid that someone won't like something?

I guess one of the applications of all this for me is this: If you are in my sphere of influence, I am going to love you more and fear you less. I am going to obey and follow God to the best of my ability. I am not going to worry about what you think of me. I am not going to try to impress you. I want to serve you and encourage you, but I don't need you to serve or encourage me.

I won't long for a pat on the back, an "atta-boy" or gushing praise. I am not going to need your kind words to bolster my view of myself. I will listen to you, but I don't need you to listen to me. I humbly ask for direction, correction, and admonishment, and I won't punish you for doing it.

God has already declared in His Word that I am His child, and that is enough for me. Who could add anything to that anyway? As a prince of the King, I am going to do my best to serve and love all those that God puts in my path.

The Biblical view of Modesty (to the chagrin of Christian beauty queens)

This video just had me flabbergasted for all kinds of reasons. At the great risk of letting a rambling rant erupt here, allow me to humbly analyze the wacky, inconsistent values of America.

First up, who in their right mind is shocked that this poor girl didn't win because she gave an answer in support of traditional marriage? Have we not realized that the media is firmly in control by those who shun traditional Christian values and that those who speak out otherwise are going to be put into their place? Now, I didn't (and wouldn't) watch this silly beauty pageant, but doesn't the very fact that young women dress up in next to nothing bathing suits and bop around the stage like they are posing for Playboy shout out that traditional Christian values are meaningless in this event?

And along that line (ooh, this might rock someone's boat out there) - I greatly admire Sean Hannity, but I had to laugh out loud when he said to her, regarding the pageant, that the pageant is supposed to be about outward beauty and inward beauty! Are you kidding me? Come on, Sean, if that were the case, wouldn't we have at least a few pudgy ladies involved? I think that is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. You could almost see him backpedaling as he was saying that. Mr. Hannity is very intelligent and usually shows tremendous discernment. But, come on! These gals don't put on the evening gown and the skimpy swimsuit to show off their inward beauty.

I don't want to judge this young lady's heart or intentions, but the Scripture tells us repeatedly that we can and should judge the actions of people around us to see if we should be following that influence. That is something that we should be doing all the time.

(Even the "Do not judge or you too will be judged" passage in Matthew 7 is clothed in the context of seeing what hypocritical religious leaders are doing and not imitating those ungodly actions. The point of the passage is not "don't judge anyone at all," but, "look at your own heart first"- you must remove the plank from your own eye before you try to help your brother remove the speck from his eye.)

So, in order to encourage the Church in this public forum, let me humbly try to get the speck out of this sister's eye as I get rid of the plank in my own.

I have a real problem with this young lady saying she wants to be "Biblical" and stand on her principles about traditional marriage, but doesn't seem to have any issues with strutting around the stage mostly naked. (And, though I did not watch the pageant, there is enough of her swimsuit walk on the Hannity clip to determine that she absolutely was strutting. - This was a sexually provocative walk that screamed "I am woman, look at my hot bod.")

I know that some will think I'm an idiot, moron, or sexual deviant for thinking these things - oh well.

What about being Biblical in that wearing clothes is a necessary result of sin? Adam and Eve were clothed by God himself after they sinned in order to cover their shameful nakedness. Isn't that enough Scripture alone to give us the theology of modesty?

Or how about being Biblical about what true beauty is? 1 Peter 3:3-4 - to women - "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

Or how about being Biblical about not causing a Christian brother to stumble into lustful sin? (See 1 Corinthians 8:8-13) Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:28) Does she think that the old geezers sitting on their couches at home in Peoria have godly thoughts in their hearts as she goes about the stage? Does she really think the boys in Buffalo are thanking Jesus for what they are seeing? Has this young lady been fooled or is she naive? Maybe a little of both? I really don't know.

I would not have watched this pageant because I know the sinful tendencies of my own heart. (This is the part where I am yanking the plank out of my own eye.) I would not let my sons watch the pageant because I want to train them to "flee the evil desires of youth" - 2 Timothy 2:22. I would not let my daughters watch the pageant because I don't want them to ever think that this type of demonstration of women is ever a good thing. We don't call it pornography, but that's what it is!

How sorrowful and sad that a seemingly nice Christian girl has set before the already confused Christian girls in our culture that you can be Biblical and immodest at the same time. Light and darkness intermingle perfectly! What a deal! You can be a friend of the world and a friend of God at the same time! (James 4:4)

Should we wonder why Christianity in America is so messed up?

There's a reason that we wouldn't let this young lady wear her swimsuit to the Maranatha Bible Camp pool, and it has a whole lot to do with the fact that all the young guys (and many of the old ones) who were checking her out wouldn't be thinkin' about Jesus. Biblical modesty is just as important a principle as Biblical marriage, and they in fact are literally "in bed" together. Just as a fire has it's right, safe place and context when it is in the fireplace, sexuality (which is created by God and is a pure, wonderful thing) has it's right, safe place and context in marriage, and only in marriage.

Actions really do speak louder than words, and it is hard for me to accept that this young woman has a truly Biblical view of marriage because of her "actions" on that stage.

Proverbs 6 & 7 talks about the young man who is lured into sexual sin by a woman who is dressed like a prostitute, and who can "captivate you with her eyes." Is this not what is happening in this so called "beauty pageant?" Isn't the idea that the girl who can wow the judges the most wins the crown? And how does she wow them? With her beautiful body - and to a lesser extent, with her words. That we award a prize for that and put it on TV demonstrates our desire as a country to go against God's standards.

The Biblical principle of modesty, based on the above Scriptures, is that people should not draw undue attention to the fleshly, sexual aspect of their bodies outside of the context of marriage.

Finally, this video clip bothered me for two more reasons. First, Miss California encouraged young people to "follow your heart and stay true to yourself." I think I know what she meant by that, but that is an incredibly unbiblical statement. King David was following his heart and being true to himself when he lusted after and took Bathsheba. Our hearts are wicked. We need to lead our hearts to the cross of Christ, not follow our hearts. We are liars (Romans 3:4) and only God is true all the time. We need to be true to God, not ourselves. Maybe that statement is just the overused, lame thing that is always said at beauty pageants and high school graduations, but it still deserves at least a jab of discernment.

And also, does anyone else beside me find it amazing that this has resulted in a controversy? Why would we expect anything less? Do those that find it controversial think that this is some form of "persecution?" I don't know that for sure, but I would challenge anyone who thinks that this is persecution to ask Christian preachers in India "what do you think Christian persecution is?" Or what about Christians in China or in Muslim countries who sacrifice everything to follow Christ? Maybe we think of it as persecution, because we have no idea what persecution really is.

Another controvery erupted recently when President Obama said that American was not "a Christian nation." Again, why the controversy? Didn't we already know that? Didn't we jettison God out of the public arena a long time ago? Several presidents in the last 20 years or so have been Christian, but has that played out in the court rulings? In the public schools? We can tell people to follow their hearts at high school graduations, but we can't tell them to follow Jesus. Are we not a "post-Christian" nation? Don't we need Christian missionaries to come here and set us on the right track of following King Jesus?

In my last post, a commenter asked when I think our country began to get off track. I think it was when we as a country decided that the Word of God no longer had any place whatsover in guiding our country and our public policy. Our Constitution framers used Biblical principles to create a government that would give religious freedom to all people. In the last 100 years or so, we have drifted further and further from that anchor point. Now it is taboo to talk about the Bible or Christ in any public discourse.

While I hope that we will continue to enjoy the freedoms we have in this country, I don't expect them to last, because people who hate Jesus hate His Word and His Church. I pray that I and my family will be faithful and ready for those challenges.

Am I wrong? Challenge me. Sharpen my truth in the truth of God's Word. Help me refine a correct, Biblical view of modesty and what that means practically. While people have many different views on how modesty should actually be lived out in our world, my prayer is that all Christians would use His Word as our guide and not our own opinions and lame ideas.

So, that's the end of my humble rant. Comments are greatly appreciated.

jc

All the Many Things I Have Been Dwelling On

Well, it has been a few weeks since I have blogged, but here's the run down on the many things I have been working on and thinking about:

1. The Arizona Missions Trip.

All the effort was well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with high school students. I was the driver for the "Girl Van"- (as opposed to the "Man Van"). I got quite an education into "girl world" from those young ladies. They didn't always realize that I was listening, and most of the time I wasn't, but it helped me understand a little bit about where my girls might be in a few years. I will be prepared! Not all of those girls are completely boy crazy, but the fellas were definitely the chief topic of conversation.

These girls are also very techno-savvy. It wasn't so long ago that technogadgets were solely the playground of guys. These girls were mostly very diligent workers and were delighted to be with and play with the kids at the Indian reservation. We did a lot of very hard, demanding, physical labor. Most of the guys seemed to jump right in and take the work in stride, but the girls had to work hard to work hard, and I was encouraged that for the most part, they did that.

I was impressed at the patience and Godly compassion that the couple (Gene & Sherry) had for the kids that they worked with every day on the Reservation. What an incredible example of shining the Light of the gospel in a dark world.

2. Dead Vans.

So after we wrecked our old Ford, the camp let us have the old Chevy van. That was great, but last Sunday, the motor blew, so we were back to square one. In just a few short days, I figured out that it would be crazy expensive to install a rebuilt motor. It seems like such a waste to junk a vehicle that otherwise works. It is difficult to make decisions about things that I know are going to fall apart at a later time anyway. I guess the choice is, do I put money into this vehicle that is going to fall apart soon, or do I put money into that vehicle that is going to fall apart later? Even Amish people who use horses know that their horse is going to die sometime.

So, I spent a little more money to buy a van that will fall apart later, and interestingly, as soon as my brother got the van and my parents went to go pick it up, he noticed that the radiator needs to be replaced. Oh well.

3. And Dead Computers

Our home computer died of multiple organ failure - I guess you could say the brain and the heart were fried. So, I need to figure out how much money to spend on a new computer that will fall apart and die later. (oh, and the camp office computer had a hard drive go south on us - hopefully that has been fixed.)

4. Big Government.

I just can't believe that the government has gone so crazy spending money. This is truly alarming, and I am encouraged by all the "Tea Parties" that are coming up on Tax Day. I am praying that our country will not descend into complete godlessness, led by the secular progressives who have the power of the country.

5. And Bad Government (Godless Government)

I had the great privilege of speaking at the Christian Campus House in Springfield last week. I was asked to talked about Micah chapters 4 & 5. In order to get the historical perspective, I studied the kings of Micah's time. Micah prophesied during the time of three kings of Judah - Joram, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Ahaz was a bad king who led his country into idolatry. He even shut up the temple of God and used the articles of the temple to set up altars to idols. Ahaz also called on the king of Assyria for help when he got in trouble, and it only brought more trouble, as the Assyrians soon put Jerusalem under seige.

I couldn't help but think about where our country is now - and I think that the obvious testimony of Scripture is, "as the leaders go, so goes the country." And when God's people are not led properly, God does not like that. In Micah 5, we see that God will raise up a leader - the Messiah, who will shepherd His people and give them peace and security. He himself will be our peace. If you are reading this, and you think that you can put your hope in our government to help you do anything, or to provide peace in the world, please remember the lessons of Scripture. I think that our countries leaders right now would appeal to the king of Assyria if we were under seige, instead of calling on God.

2 Timothy 2 says "avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." Sound familiar?

6. It's getting down to Camp crunch time

I have been getting more busy as we get closer to camp. We are now less than two months away. I am scheduled at different churches every Sunday between now and June except for Easter and Mother's Day. I am humbled by the great numbers of people who love the camp and are excited to get their kids involved. I am wanting to do as much work as I can to encourage as many people as I can to come to camp. I am working on a working list of everything that needs to be done in the next two months. It is exciting, and I can't wait. I am praying earnestly for 2000 campers.

7. Our hope is in Heaven

Last night, I was studying 1 Thessalonians 4 with the kids - I love the simplicity of the explanation in this passage of what will happen when Christ comes again. Will all the crazy nonsense that is passed around about the return of Christ, I wish that people would simply read this passage and, as it says, "encourage one another with these words."

So, allow me to encourage you - Christ himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will rise first, and after that happens, the believers and followers in Christ who are alive will be caught up with the arisen dead in Christ, and we together will meet the Lord in the air.

So all the things that we worry about so much and that we put so much of our time and energy into will be completely worthless that day. (In fact, all that stuff is going to burn) The only thing that will really matter on that day is our love for our Lord and how many people we have led to that love.

8. With this post, I have beat my number of posts for all last year!

Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ

This has been an incredible week here at the camp. The high school youth group from Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, TX has been here. They were scheduled to go to Mexico for their spring break missions trip, but had to go somewhere else because of all the violence going on down there.

They ended up here because, I believe, God is blessing this camp. As we talked to their group leader, Matt Cameron, we all saw that God had his leading on the group coming to MBC.

One of the major projects that they did was to extend the basketball court - a project that needed to happen for our camper's safety on the BB Court, but was just not going to happen because we didn't have anyone willing to do it. When we first talked to Matt and showed him around the camp, he wanted to know if there was concrete work to be done!

Matt and his group were willing, and they worked hard on the basketball court and many other things.

Let me try to list the things that they did:

• Painted five retreat center rooms
• Extended the concrete all the way around the basketball court
• Painted the entire inside of the Mark Dorm (Left side)
• Cleaned windows and blinds in Mark and Luke
• Completed the framing for the Retreat Center basement laundry room & meeting room
• Cleaned up the burn piles at both entrances
• Moved the pile of broken cement rocks from behind the Retreat Center
• Painted the bathroom shower area of Mark dorm (right side)
• Raked up massive piles of leaves and burned them
• Cleared out areas of the camp that had downed trees and limbs
• Hauled piles upon piles of tree limbs out to the south property
  
• Finished clearing the white pine trail
• Raked leaves around 7 shelters and cleared brush around them
• Moved rocks and cut logs from area in front of Penny's house
• Cleaned the MPB kitchen
• Painted the ball shed & constructed shelves for balls.
• And several other "here and there" things

I am thrilled that this group has chosen to spend their time and energy and money on MBC. I figure that they accomplished almost 1,000 man-hours (and woman-hours!) of work. At just minimum wage, that is worth well over $7,000 worth of work.

I kept mighty busy running around trying to keep them all going. I enjoyed hanging out with Charles, who desperately wanted to chop down a tree. I gave him my axe, and he got after it. I encouraged him that, just as an axe needs to be sharpened in order to be an effective tool, his spiritual life was important to keep "sharp" through the study of the Word and through fellowship with believers. I hope and pray that he will remember the lesson.

I am pretty tired, but I feel like this was a desperately needed boost to getting us toward where we need to be for this summer. Now is the time to endure, and finish the work of preparation. I keep praying that God would lead 2000 campers to come to us this summer. I want the camp to be ready for every single one.

On the third day (Wednesday), I encouraged the group I was working with on the trail clearing that they were doing a great job, but they needed to continue and endure until the end of their time working. I reminded them of the Scripture in 2 Timothy 2 that says to "Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Many of these young adults were delightful, diligent, and almost cheery about the hard work they were doing. I didn't want to slack off or give in to weariness, because they were being such a good example to me. What better reasons are there to do hard work than to glorify God and to keep up with diligent young people who are working their rears off to glorify God?

Next week, I am off to our Church's youth group missions trip to American Indian Christian Mission in Show Low, Arizona. I pray that I can be as diligent and faithful as the Crossroads Christian people were.

The Theology of Fear

I was actually able to go to Glendale this morning for church. Jeff did a great sermon today about fear, based on this verse:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

So this is a timely message, with so much fear running amuck in people's hearts and minds. The economy creates fear - the woeful government creates fear, what doesn't in this day and age? I fear for my children's future - not that they have to have lots of money and stuff, but they are going to become adults in a very ungodly world that is bordering on the national socialism that created so much fear in so many parts of the world in the last century.

I was interested in one of Jeff's key points, that one way to fear God and God alone is to give your reputation to God. Allow Him to be bigger and more awe-inspiring than those around you. Jenette has a book that she has been reading called "When People are Big and God is Small." (By Ed Welch, if I remember right.) I haven't read much of the book, but I love the title. I know I have spent a lot of my waking hours thinking about how to impress people and how to keep up with those around me. I have feared people more than I have feared God. Or, at least, I at times have entrusted myself more to the judgment of others rather than the judgment of God.

Through Christ, God judges me as righteous - His precious child. "Whom then shall I fear?" asks the song.

I made some notes to myself as I listened to the sermon. When I give God my reputation, I need to not only give over my fear of what others think about me, but I also need to give over my fear of offending people when I do what is right. It seems kind of stupid to be worried about offending people by doing what is right, but I worry about that. In fact, I think I fear people worrying about me more than I fear what they think about me.

I need to do what is right - live by the conviction that I am following God to the best of my ability. I need to project nothing to others but humble submission to God. I have occasionally had criticism for some of the decisions that I have made for our family. But not only do I not have to explain myself to anyone, I don't have have to fear their offense.

I gave up a long time ago trying to be "cool" enough to fit "in" to any kind of group. I need to finish that by giving up trying to walk on eggshells around those who are easily offended.

So, just to open a can of worms here, there are many (at least some) who think that we are dumber than a bag of hammers to have eight children - and not just to have eight children, but to not actively practice birth control. I have my story on that, but I will keep that between Jenette and I and the Lord. Those who have been critical have been hurtful because of what they meant to me.

I spent a lot of days worrying that other people would worry about us. That has been a foolish venture. The fact is that the Scripture says that children are a blessing from God. Why would I not want to have God's blessings? And why would anyone be offended by that? I don't know. I posted another blog post several months ago about the football player who had "John 3:16" on his eye black. People were offended by that - greatly offended by the love of God. Why? I guess because people's hearts are hard.

So, this is one small area among so many that I have feared people more than I have feared God. One of my favorite parts of Psalm 34 is verse 7:

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

I like that a lot - I want the angel of the Lord to be encamped around me. The petty opinions of people will seem pretty small in comparison to that.

Two years old, with a license to drive.

It hardly seems possible that Josie could already be driving. She turned two today, and there she is in all her glory, driving (or at least being pushed in) her big birthday present, a little plastic car, while holding her little glow bear.

The camp is an outstanding place for these young ones to grow and play. Even though there was a retreat going on at the retreat center, (usually the Retreat Center parking lot is where the kids ride around) yesterday we came down to the circle drive to let Josie truck along on her new ride. Since it can be pushed, there was even some minor squabbles about who would be able to push her and for how long. I was thoroughly impressed that Jason was able to ripstick and push her at the same time. This Saturday was certainly a lot better than last Saturday!

Her new wheels gave me an appreciation for the nice freshness of a brand new car, especially since it was a $36 dollar brand new car, which is probably the only brand new car I will ever buy. I have been thinking about cars and vans and the sort since last Saturday, when our beloved Ford van met it's demise at the base of a rather stout electric pole.

I was impressed at how quickly our insurance company jumped on our claim, and after the value was assessed and a check issue for our loss, it made me realize what a great deal we had found when we bought the van over three years ago.

Since it was such a great bargain, I toyed with the idea of getting the van fixed - maybe it wouldn't be perfect, but it wasn't perfect to start with. Maybe if I could get it to a body shop for an estimate, or have my brother look at it, or salvage it myself and keep the extra money...all the possibilities.

But then I started thinking about the realities. How much would I have to spend just to have it towed to a shop for an estimate? Then, if I didn't like the estimate, how much would it cost to have it towed to another shop, then another? Even if I liked the estimate, how long would it take? Would the insurance company even insure it after they had declared it a total loss? Would the front end ever be the same again? Surely the engine block itself was destroyed by the impact - the frame was twisted and broken and absolutely fried - what was I thinking?

This didn't go on very long before I realized that I would just be better off starting over with a different vehicle - this ole Ford was done, and destined for the scrap pile. After all the Scripture says:

"What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted." Ecclesiastes 1:15

Well, there you go. "what is twisted cannot be straightened." Hmm, that's not what the body shop phone book ads say.

I couldn't help but think about this in light of my little two year old and her new car. In fact, it brought to light one of my great struggles that I have faced over the years in my ministry to youth. I spent a lot of time with students who were messed up in their view of life and truth. To think that I could try to "straighten" that out for them in a few hours was maddening and insane. Their twistedness began long before I met them.

The greatest "twisting" that anyone faces ever is truth twisting - not the crunching of metal and fiberglass in a car accident, although that can be truly devastating. The twisting of truth in a person's life stays twisted - only the Lord can straighten that out, and that through many years of readjusting our worldview though the leadership of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. The truth will remain twisted in the life of one who refuses to listen to God's truth.

At my high school, the principal would give a long speech over the school intercom at the beginning of every semester. I don't remember any of it other than the refrain of "no note, no change," which had something to do with changing classes. Only with a note of permission to change from parents (or was it teachers?) could a student go to the office and request a class change. The principal would say this "no note, no change" thing at least a dozen times each time he gave this speech, and it was a common thing for us to joke about.

The refrain of the Bible is "no truth, no change." If you listen to the father of lies, you will speak his language and lies will be your native tongue. Jesus said in John 8

⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

Like my poor old Ford, what is twisted cannot be straightened. When a child grows up with twisted truth, listening to lies, speaking lies, living lies, and believing lies, that child becomes an adult whose native language is falsehood, and he doesn't even know it.

What I want for little Josie, (and all the 8 J's ) is that truth - God's truth, is always front and center for her. It's her North Star - her Polaris. It's her point of reference. I want God's Word to be my kid's default setting - their basic assumption about life - their native tongue. Of course they all have a sinful nature - sin's twisting is evident in their young lives. But if there is no point of reference - no Polaris, no unshakable absolute truth, then that twisting will continue unabated.

At two years old, Josie's heart is a lot like her new car - not perfect, but clean. She will become the product of her influences, just like every other child in the world. If she is immersed in the flood of the lies of our culture, and that is the dominating influence in her life, she will grow up with lies as her native language - but that's not going to happen on my watch.

My job as a Christian father is to help establish a Biblical worldview in my children - not just tell them a bunch of unrelated Bible facts. I don't care if they win Bible trivia games, I want them to follow after God's heart. Like the Ford van, it is better to start with a correct and true frame than to try to straighten what has been twisted.

I could spend a lot of time and energy later on in their lives running around trying to straighten them out, or I could be busting my rear right now to make sure that I am doing everything I can do to give them a proper understanding of God's truth, so that they can make the choice to accept that or reject it as they become adults. I will let them choose, and I will pray that they will choose wisely.

My theory is - if their framework is right and they understand the reality of what they might be rejecting, I think they will choose to follow and obey God. Doesn't the Scripture say the same thing in Proverbs?

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

God, help me to build your truth as the true and right framework into each of the 8 J's.