Where Does the Time Go?

May?! It's been since May since I even attempted to post something? It's like a ghost town in here.

What is going on with me? I used to be a blogging legend in my own mind. I had at least ten consistent readers, all of whom I have let down. And all those funny things I used to write down, well they are being lost by the day. What a shame.

I need a do over. A blog do over/make over. I need to get over there and fix those links that also go to ghost town blogs. I need to add content from time to time that I shamelessly steal from others. I could even do something with that thing at the top with the lightning bolts. I need to move the furniture around.

I will get on some of that tonight I think. I'm going to give it a try. Because, I think my thoughts are important enough to share, just like every other narcisstic blogger out there. So, for the two of you who have also been either very hopeful or too lazy to remove me from your readers...here goes nothing. Again.

My Quote of the Day

"I like to think that God intended me for mediocrity; it frees me to enjoy the greatness in others." ~Brad Williams

Am I Still in America?

This story is so bizarre, so "nanny-state", so irritating that it actually brought me out of "dying blog syndrome." I cannot believe that any government, local, state, or federal, has become so pampering and parental that they feel they must now make Happy Meal toys illegal for the sake of our children.

Wow. Here's the link: http://news.yahoo.com/video/business-15749628/where-happy-meals-are-illegal-19362009

The Rocky Road to Dublin

In honor a St. Patrick's Day, I've put up a good Irish jingle. Enjoy.

The Devil's Favorite Verse

Satan is no stranger to Scripture. If I were a betting man, I'd be willing to wager that he can probably quote it in both the King James and ESV, whichever is most handy for him at the moment. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the devil had no trouble twisting Scripture to try and cause Jesus to stumble (Matthew 4:1-11). The devil is still in the business of distorting Scripture, and I think that he may have a favorite verse.

How many times, I wonder, have you read an article, overheard a conversation, where the "shut down" argument employed by one party is "judge not that ye be not judged" follow with the obligatory "That's what Jesus said, you know. You have no right to judge me!!!" That, my friends, seems to be the devil's favorite argument in these silly, sinful days in which we live.

The strategy is that anytime a Christian speaks about sin, calls sin sin, or implies that something is sin, it should be immediately hooted down with "you shall not judge, Jesus said so!" and then they should be shamed for daring to speak up about 'morality'. What's sad is that it seems to work more often than not, and that is why this strategy is a personal pet peeve.

Here is the full quote that is being hacked to death and twisted by Satan in such exchanges:

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and t with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but u do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye (Matt. 7:1-5).

Here is Jesus' point: whatever you judge as sinful, if indeed it is sinful, know that you are also going to incur the same judgement! So, before you go popping off about the wickedness of others, just know that you are a sinful person as well, which means you are in as desperate need of Jesus as the guy/girl you are talking to.

This point does not, in any way, forbid a Christian from judging. It is meant to keep us humble in judgement and to keep us from being arrogant in judgement and to keep us from being graceless in judgement. That, dear reader, is the point.

For example, if I have a friend who is in sexual immorality, before I go and confront them for being perverted, I need to confess to God that I also have a perverted heart. I need to seek forgiveness for the same weakeness I have spotted in my brother or sister. I need Jesus to be my savior from perversion. Armed with this attitude, I am now able to seek my brother's well-being by confronting him about his soul-damning practices.

So, if the devil parrots this silly argument around you again, arm yourselves with humility and explain the passage that they just quote. They will be surprised that you know where the quote came from, they most likely won't. And, they will probably listen to you.

May God help us to be good, gracious, gospel-speaking judges who point out sin that Christ might kill it.

Creative Writing: Mark 4:35-41

Occassionally, I write a story based on a particular passage I am thinking about. Here's one I did today. I hope you find it edifying.

I call it "Sleepy Jesus".

Look to the hill by the sea. The crowds are coming and desperate. Some are cradling sick children, carrying crippled loved ones, all of them with broken hearts. Can you see the mother with the dying child? Can you see the cloud of death over them? Can you feel her agony as sin’s curse hovers so near? He sees. He feels. He touches. He heals.

Each one healed goes away rejoicing, but he remains. They surge around him like waves. Help my baby. Help my child. Help my mother. Help my son. Help my husband. Help my brother. “If you are willing, you can make me whole!” He is willing. They are made whole. But death and rot infects everything here. There is no end of need and he must carry them all.

He teaches them. He tells them of the Kingdom of God. The press close and he goes out to sea so that they may hear. He wants to heal their hearts. He wants them to listen and live. He teaches from morning till night.

He decides to cross the sea. Sleepy, he lies on the deck of the boat. Images of hurting faces and sin-sick people fill his thoughts. Their burdens are great, and he must carry them all.

They are sinking down. Death draws them into his long embrace and robs them of joy and dreams and love. They are drowning in despair. They are sinking. They are sinking.

Lord, do you not care that we are perishing?! He wakes from dreams with a start. The boat is rocking. The men are frightened. The waves are great and the storm is strong. Peace! Be Still! He commands, and the storm ceases. The proud waves bow and rock no more. Of course he cares that we are perishing. Shouldn't they know that by now?

Doritos, FTW!

Doritos - House Rules @ Yahoo! Video

Fashion Confession

I do not understand fashion very well. I refuse to believe that this is simply due to the fact that I am a hetero-sexual man. I think it is because fashion is sometimes non-sense.

For example, I briefly visited the Gap with my wife today, and I came face to face with my most hated fashion trend: worn-out clothing sold as new clothing.

Why on earth would you want to buy something that people purposefully wore out? Why not just buy something new and then use it until it is thread bare? By this same logic, I should go out and sell my 1990 Ford Ranger for a hefty sum. No one would do that. Better yet, why doesn't Chevrolet start building trucks with dents in them? And rusty holes?

If you want the luxury of "holey" clothing, just hang on to the ones you have long enough and you'll have them. My wife throws out my old clothes, and then we buy worn out ones? I live in a crazy world.

Rebuked By a Five Year Old

I want to be a better father to my son. I failed to be the type of father that my heavenly Father would have me be this morning, and I am thankful that the Lord pointed this out to me in His ever kind and gentle way.

It is not unusual for my son to move like a slug in the morning while dressing for school. This morning was particularly rough for him. His mother told him to go and put on the pants she had gotten out for him, which he went to do with a little bit of whining. I looked in to check on him, and the boy was putting his pants on over his pajama bottoms.

He was already in hot water for back-talking his mothing, so he had one strike against him. When I told him to take off his pajamas first and then put on his pants, he dared to "huff" at me. This earned him a quick measure of justice to the backside which I immediately regretted because my attitude was sinful.

So, on the way to take him to his pre-school, I told him that I was sorry that I had gotten so angry. I told him that I wanted very much for him to see Jesus in me, and that my anger was not very Christ-like. So I said I was sorry again, and that I would try harder to be like Jesus.

My son looked at me and smiled. Then he he took on a serious look and said, "Papa, I know you want to be like Jesus. But you can't. Papa, you can't be like Jesus."

I was shocked. Of course, he was exactly right. Spot on right. Magnificently, convictingly, and to my everlasting shame, he was correct. I wanted to probe a little more to see what he meant.

I told him he was exactly right. Then I asked him what he thought about me that was most unlike Jesus. He looked at me and said, "Well, papa, you can't cook very good."

I blinked. Then I laughed and said incredulously, "Son, what makes you think Jesus was a good cook?"

He answered as if he were the one instructing a five year old, "Papa, Jesus can do all things."

Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Matthew 11:25)

The Truth about the Pope's Self-Mortification

The Pope, according to the Roman Church, is the successor to Peter's apostolic office. As such, he is the supreme head of the church on earth, and is the Vicar of Christ. He can make infallible pronouncements. He is literally an example to millions. He ought to be able to convey the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ better than anyone, you would think. And yet, we find this:

At a news conference Tuesday, Oder defended John Paul's practice of self-mortification, which some faithful use to remind them of the suffering of Jesus on the cross.

"It's an instrument of Christian perfection," Oder said, responding to questions about how such a practice could be condoned considering Catholic teaching holds that the human body is a gift from God.

In the book, Oder wrote that John Paul frequently denied himself food - especially during the holy season of Lent - and "frequently spent the night on the bare floor," messing up his bed in the morning so he wouldn't draw attention to his act of penitence.

"But it wasn't limited to this. As some members of his close entourage in Poland and in the Vatican were able to hear with their own ears, John Paul flagellated himself. In his armoire, amid all the vestments and hanging on a hanger, was a belt which he used as a whip and which he always brought to Castel Gandolfo," the papal retreat where John Paul vacationed each summer.

While there had long been rumours that John Paul practiced self-mortification, the book provides the first confirmation and concludes John Paul did so as an example of his faith. (Go here for the whole story.)

Let me be clear: self-mortification is neccessary. If by that you mean the putting to death of sin that remains in the flesh. However, beating yourself with a belt will not drive sin from your flesh. Nor will sleeping on a hard floor instead of in your bed. Indeed, the reason that we even strive to put the sinful flesh to death is so that people will see the glory of God's grace made manifest in our lives. The Pope's ideal of self-mortification only occassions boasting in the flesh and subtracts from the grace of Christ. Allow me to explain why I say that.

If you'll notice, Oder says that self-mortification is "an instrument of Christian perfection." There is, in fact, only one instrument of Christian perfection: the atonement of Jesus Christ. That is why the Pope's means of self-mortification is off the rails. I believe that his whipping himself is sort of like the opposite of the popular self-help movement. Self-help teaches: You are good. You are awesome. Believe that you are good and you will get even better. The Pope's way teaches: You are bad. You are evil. Punish yourself and you will get better. But this is what the cross teaches us: You are evil. You are sinful. Believe in me, and I will make you better. How does beating yourself with a belt teach anyone that Christ is sufficient? I am glad that the pope saw himself as a sinner. I am sad that he thought a personal whipping would cure it.

I want to say that the Christian way of self-mortification is more mortifying than the pope's, for his self-flagallation was not Christian in any sense. Here is why: the cross makes us utterly dependant upon Christ. That is, if I can come clean by beating myself, I am responsible for helping get myself out of this mess. However, the humiliation of the cross is that I can't do that. And since I can't do that, I can only believe that Jesus can. I would rather take a whipping than admit I am helpless. I would rather take a whipping than to make the Lord Jesus bear my shame. But bear my shame He must.

Peter saw this clearly when he said, "Lord, you will never wash my feet!" (John 13:8). Why? Because it was embarrassing to let the Lord wash off his grimy feet. Peter would rather do it himself than suffer the Lord Jesus to do it. But Jesus said, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."

In response to the cross of Jesus, we ought instead to say, "Lord, I hang up my belt. I expose to you my shame. Make me clean. Save me from my sin. Only you can do it." How embarrassing that is. How shameful. How glorious it is of Jesus to wash my feet. How marvelous that He would stoop to clean one so dirty as I and ask nothing in return. Indeed, what would I give to one such as He?

God deliver us from a gospel, which is really no gospel, that would require us to beat out our own sins. Deliver us from a kind of perfection that depends upon our piety or our works. Teach us a gospel that glorifies Christ alone as the only sin-cleanser. For the sake of your own glory, do it!

iCovet

I have one Apple product: A refurbished iPod. However, I have been eye-balling the new e-readers for sometime, and until yesterday, my money was on the Kindle DX. But now, my wandering eyes have spied out the new Apple Tablet. (Here's a site that compares the iPad and the Kindle DX head to head).

I have books galore, and I covet more. I love books. I have books stacked to the ceiling on shelves at home, I have them in boxes in the garage with no shelf left to sit on, and I have them stored in a friend's shed due to lack of room. But in an e-reader, I can have thousands of books in my hand at once! <----insert mad scientist laughter here Some people are underwhelmed by the iPad. Like uber-blogger Tim Challies. Others, like Joshua Harris, think this may be the greatest thing since, well, the iPhone or iPod.
I mean, iBooks, people! iBooks!!! Imagine the possibilities. Most folks who are staying on the Kindle wagon are saying that the Kindle will win out because it does one thing well, and that it has e-ink technology. O.o Okay. Did I mention that there is an Application for the iPad that lets you use Kindle e-books.

iCovet.....heeeey...is that why the logo is a bitten apple?

Confessions of a Premillenialist

Okay, I confess. I am a premillenialist. But I swear, if it wasn't for the Bible I wouldn't be. I hate this neighborhood.

I hate bumper stickers that say, "In case of Rapture This Car will be unmanned." I hate the Left Behind series. I hate charts. Well, I don't hate these things, they just make me nervous. I always tell the folks at church that eschatology teachers are like bus drivers and when they start breaking out charts and talking about Russia or China or Middle Eastern leaders, I tell them that this is where I get off. There are a bunch of kooks living in my semi-dispy neighborhood. We have a bunch of weird uncles.

I have my stuff boxed up though. I'm looking for a house in the historic premil district. I just can't find a place to put the final "7 Years" bag that Daniel gives me in chapter 9. Well, at least 6 years of the baggage. It seems that Messiah doesn't get cut off until after the 69 weeks of years, which would put the crucifixion in the 70th week, which means....oh wait, there's the bus stop.

A Corporate Crushing

The first hint we have of the gospel in the Bible comes to us in Genesis 3:15. There, God tells that old serpent, the devil, these things, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." If you want to impress people at parties, you can call this passage the proto-evangelium, which means "first gospel." There, the victory of the seed of the woman over Satan is foretold for the first time. From there, we see the promise pass to Abraham (Gen. 12, 15), Judah (Gen. 49), then to David's line (2 Sam. 7).

In short, the entire hope of the prophets of the "Old Testament" is based on the seed of the woman, who will be the Immanuel, who will usher in God's everlasting kingdom, and who will take away the sins of the people. So the ultimate "bruising" of Satan comes at the hands of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

However, we should not think of the death and resurrection of Jesus as the only bruising of the head of the wicked one. No indeed! In point of fact, the defeat of Satan is constant, daily, and eternal because of the Son of God. Satan has never overthrown a single plan of God. Satan has never ultimately defeated a single one of God's children. Every single day brings fresh defeat of Satan.

Every one of the devil's plans is frustrated daily. The Lord said to Satan, "On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life!" (Gen. 3:14) This is a picture of dismal defeat. That great enemy of God and man is seen licking the dust all the days of his life. Even in the restoration of all things, behold the lot of Satan! "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 65:25). You see that? The wolf and lamb grazing together, not at war with each other. The lion, with his big pointy teeth, is eating straw like an ox. But the serpent? What of him? "Dust shall be the serpent's food." When all things are made new, the devil will still be eating the dirt of defeat. He will never feel victory. The win column will always be set to zero.

God has defeated Satan through the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ daily defeats Satan through His glorious bride the church. Even still, a day will come where every saint of God will gather before the throne of God and confess the victory over the world of Satan's schemes through Jesus Christ. This is why Paul has written, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20).

To sum up, the Bible teaches that Satan has been bruised, is being bruised, and will be bruised. He is an utterly pitiful person, full of rage and spite, eager to devour and consume, yet never achieving victory over his enemies. It is a most humiliating thrashing that old Beelzebub is getting. How I love it that he daily licks the dust. Eat your dirt, Satan, the Lord hath decreed it.

Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for a they loved not their lives even unto death. ~Rev. 12:10-11

What's On My Nightstand - January

Okay, there is this little "meme" type thing going on over at 5 Minutes for Books. The point of it is for us to list the books we are reading so others might see them, get interested, and buy them. Or, and I think this is more fun, you kind of find out what sort of people you're dealing with when you see their list.

Anyway, here are some books I am currently reading for this month.

1. The Meaning of the Pentateuch by John H. Sailhamer. This is a deep read, but probably the most worthwhile book you will ever pick up to help you read the Old Testament. I'm serious.

2. The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. Fantastic book for pastors/elders regarding the work of the ministry. The elders at our church are going through this together to help us focus on personal discipleship.

3. Calvin by Bruce Gordon. Biographies can help keep you fresh by both warning us of mistakes others have made and, most often in my case, shaming me for laziness. I look forward to gleaning some goodness out of this biography, it's supposed to be one of the best on Calvin's life.

I mean it This Time!!

Okay, starting tomorrow, I am going to blog something everyday for the next two weeks. I feel guilty not blogging, which may be some form of psychosis that I am not aware of. However, I feel like it might be some small encouragment to folks I know, and if it isn't, no harm done.

So hopefully I will have a thought worth sharing for our mutual edification tomorrow. If not, I will steal someone else's deep thought.

Thanks,

Mgt. (Aka: Brad)

Strange Team

This, my friends, may be the strangest duet since....well, ever. You decide.

The Little Drummer Boy

Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States

This makes me wish we could find a new continent, go there as pilgrims, and start over again.

I just hope I'm on the Galactica when God sends the Cylons to attack us.

The BCS Stinks, Congress Says So

I read this and thought, "Is this really happening?" I mean, the BCS might be bad, but come on, should it be illegal? And also, I was just wondering if there weren't more important things to be worrying about right now...like maybe that health care thing...or that war thing...or something...you know?

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Yeah, so the Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and I believe it because the Bible says it (Psalms 139:14). Be that as it may, I am very much looking forward to "Brad's Body 2.0". Let's start with the brain and go from there.

I have a few diplomas behind me on the wall that indicate that I ought to be very educated. I went to school for roughly 22 years. Play school, elementary school, middle school, high school, five years of college, 3 or 4 years of seminary, and then some extra classes on the side. That represents a lot of time, money, and study. And what do I have to show for it?

At one time I had almost 1,000 Hebrew vocuabulary words memorized. I could just nearly sight read Genesis in the original language, as well as John in the Greek. I could tell you the distant-open rule from memory, why the "noon" in "ntn" keeps popping off, spot a deponant verb from ten steps away, and my BDB was never more than an arm's reach away. Also, I used to be fairly conversational in Portuguese, could read French, get around in mod. Arabic and Hebrew, and do Algebra in my head.

N more friends, no more!! Where did all that stuff go? Last week, I chucked all my Hebrew vocab cards and started over. I have maybe 200 words left in the memory bank and I cannot remember why there is a yiqtol and a wayyiqtol. I can't remember if the Hiphil or the Hophal is causative. I can't recognize accusatives like I used to. And Arabic? Yeah. "Hoowah min Musr" is about all that's in there. As for Algebra, I had to stare at the word to make sure I spelled it right. *sigh*

So, my brain is a lousy thing really. I believe that if I had to option of remembering all that I have forgotten by paying with all I currently remember, it would probably be a nearly even trade.

If we move on from the brain to the body, it gets worse. I turned 35 the other day. In the grand scheme of things, that's fairly prime. I ran a half-marathon recently and competed in three triathalons. But I can assure you, I was much slower and it was far more painful than it was at 18. If I take a week off of training now...well, it is harder to get whipped back into shape. Suffice to say, this body is probably on the down-hill slide.

But these are mostly happy things if you aren't banking on stuff in this world. A forgetful brain and a body that will soon need propping up serve to remind me that this world stinks. Its dying. Death permeates it. This old tent I'm living in will be consumed one day and a new one will rise from its ashes. I will be given a perfect body. That one won't get tired, be forgetful, and best of all, beset with sin.

In the meantime, I'm still going to study. Study for God's glory honors God. And, I'm still going to swim, bike, run. I do that because I like it, and I do it because I believe it honors God. The body is a wonder; I do not deny that. I feel like a the body is sort of like your first car. Every red-blooded boy wants to see how the car he got performs. Just listen to a guy talk about his car. What kind of gas mileage does it get? Does it have a towing package? What kind of engine does it have? How fast..uhhh..will it get to the speed limit? I want to know that stuff about myself because this body is a gift from God. It's like He graciously tossed me the keys to this thing He made and said, "Why don't you take it for a spin?" Oh yeah, let's see what it will do. And then, as I have stuff my head with all that it can remember and as the body gasps after 13 miles I will think, "Yeah, and the Father has a new one waiting for me when I'm finished with this one."

Big Government Healthcare

I've been hanging out a bit over at Dan Phillip's Biblical Christianity, and the other day he posted this somewhat amusing I Guess I'm a Racist video. I thought it was somewhat amusing because, besides Jimmy Carter, nobody is saying that, right?

Well, I guess it isn't limited to Jimmy Carter. I saw this gem today by Senator Harry Reid. Basically, if you oppose big government healthcare you are a backwards Neanderthal on par with the goons who were pro-slavery. Yeah. I feel yucky now.