A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

In this case…it’s probably more like ten thousand words. Marcus and PaPa walking along the beach at Rodanthe. This is my new favorite picture.

Grace and peace.

What God Reminded Me On Vacation

Back in Elementary School we would write this “essay” every year when school started.

“What I did this Summer.”

I’m not going to recap our vacation. It would actually be pretty boring. I do want to share something that God reminded me constantly over the past two weeks.

WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL!!!! No matter how hard we try and no matter how stubborn we are there are just some things that are beyond our control.

There are two verses on the board next to my desk. I put them there for a reason. I need to remember the truth they contain. Whenever I feel like I’m losing control of things I can simply look to my right and be reminded that I’m not really in control in the first place.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Philippians 4:6-7

There’s a third verse which is just as familiar to us, even though I don’t have it on my wall.

Romans 8:28

They are so familiar that they may seem cliché to us at times. The truth is that most clichés are either true or have a ring of truth to them. How about this one?

“Let Go and Let God.”

That’s one you hear a lot when you are dealing with “recovery” ministries. The basic idea is that at some point you have to relinquish control and let God handle it. That is a hard lesson for many of us to learn. I found four simple principles on a website devoted to helping people overcome addiction. I really do believe they are grounded in Scripture and can be applied to every situation.

1. STOP
2. WAIT
3. TRUST
4. RESPOND

 

STOP – Psalm 46

WAIT – James 1:2-8

TRUST – Psalm 37

RESPOND – Colossians 3:1-17

 

Grace and peace.

Congested

This is how my brain feels right now.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB)

 

Grace and peace.

Church

The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.     

William Tyndale

1989

1989 was a pretty big year for me. It was my first year out of high school. It was also the year that Robin and I became a couple. There are moments when it feels like yesterday and there are others when I can feel every single one of those thirty years. Ya’ll know that I’m a music guy so I have been listening to some of the albums that came out that year. I was originally going to do my top ten but once the list grew past twenty I knew that would be a nearly impossible task. I could include numerous albums for various reasons. What I did decide to do was pick the five that I listen to the most now. I am not even going to try to rank them. I am basing this simply on the play counts I’ve pulled from Last.fm, iTunes, and Media Player.

1. King’s X – Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
2. Rush – Presto
3. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
4. The Connells – Fun & Games
5. Nirvana – Bleach

Out of those five I have to say that Fun & Games is the one I have listened to the most since 1989. In full disclosure, I wasn’t listening to Bleach in 1989 (it was probably 1991 before I heard it) but I more than made up for it once I discovered it. Tom Petty, Rush, and King’s X have all gotten massive airplay as well. I can honestly say that all five of there would make a list of my favorite albums of all time.

What are your favorites from 1989?

Grace and peace.

I Don’t Have A Title For This Post

Busy doesn’t quite describe the last two months. There is a lot going on in both my personal and private life. I won’t be sharing much of the personal stuff because I’d rather not have it plastered all across the internet. I will say this, if you are the praying type my family would appreciate your prayers. All of us have things we’re going through and my role as Dad means that I tend to overthink and worry too much. Specifically we need some physical and emotional healing. God’s grace and peace is sufficient and we need to remember that.

I spent last night and this morning uploading past sermons. For some reason I stopped uploading them back at the start of August last year. It took some time but they are now current. You can stream (or download) them HERE. They go back to 8/16/15 so there are quite a few up there. They have gotten somewhat better over time because I’ve gone from recording them to cassette tape and converting them to recording directly to my phone. They’re still not professional quality but you can hear me.

We will be leaving for North Carolina on Thursday, June 20, when Robin gets off work. We’ll drive out to Sylvan Hills pick Chris up from camp early. We’re having a memorial service for Robin’s Dad on Saturday and then going to the OBX to bury his ashes next his mother. We have a house (with Julie and her crew) for the week and hope to relax a bit. We’ll come back Monday (July 1). We have Vacation Bible School the following week (July 8-11) and then I have two weeks of camp out at Sylvan Hills. Should be a busy but productive summer.

I don’t know what else to write so I’ll sign off.

Grace and peace.

Busy

I have not forgotten. I have been busy with all sorts of things. I will resume my current project when I read the next chapter.

Grace and peace

Check Your Life In Christ by Knofel Staton – Chapter One: People in a Person

Mr. Staton begins this chapter with a story about seeing a fisherman reel in huge fish in Oceanside, California. The fish was so large and strong that the man had to force the fish to the shore to eventually catch it. The longer the fish remained out of water the weaker it got until it finally quit fighting. The analogy is that Christians are to remain IN Christ if we wish to remain strong. Just as a fish cannot survive out of water, Staton suggests that Christians cannot survive outside of Christ.

He goes on to define what he means by being “in” something. His second illustration is how he and his family had moved to California. To say they were “in” California was to describe their physical position. He says that also applies when we say we are “in” Christ as well. We are correctly claiming that we are positioned in Him. We LIVE IN Him. Staton then attempts to explain three ways that this happens.

The first of these is being in Christ the Person. He uses the concept of a child having the DNA of both parents thus having both persons in him. Staton says that God accomplishes something similar on a spiritual level. God’s “sperm” is planted in us (1 John 3:9). I admit that this is the one I scratched my head on simply because of the terms he uses. However, he shows that the Greek (sperma) backs up that concept. He continues be reminding us that not only is Christ “in” us, we are to remain “in” Him as well.

Staton next brings up being in the Presence of Christ. This is not something we are sitting around waiting for. We are IN Christ’s presence right here and now. That means that God Himself is with us. His love and His friendship are with us because of Christ. We remain in His presence then we slowly become more and more like Him. Staton uses the biblical example of the branches and the vine. The more the branches abide in the vine and grow, the more like the branch they become. They produce the same fruit and are identified by the branch itself.

The third aspect is the Perspective of Christ. We are to see the world through the eyes of Christ. We we make Him to focus of our lives, we engage the world as He did. Being in Christ is more than just our private lives or our church lives. We are to be in Him every moment of our lives. We are to go out into the world and take Christ with us. Staton uses the term “penetrate” to describe the influence we should have on those we come into contact with. If we are truly IN Christ then those in the world will meet Him through their interactions with us.

One of the study questions reflects back on Staton’s first definition for being “in” something. He asks what it means to “exist”, “participate in”, “experience”. and be “located” in Christ. I believe it means that being “in” Christ is much more complex than we may think. It is a multi-faceted relationship that will look different for each and every one of us. Ultimately I think it comes down to having the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Christ’s Spirit lives in us and makes us new. Staton also suggests that “Christ doesn’t destroy our individuality, but He does want to destroy our individualism.” I would agree with that. We are who we are as individuals but we should be seeking what’s best for the Body of Christ.

Chapter Two picks up there and discusses being part of that Body (the Church).

Grace and peace

Check Your Life In Christ by Knofel Staton – Introduction

I had forgotten that this book was produced in conjunction with the 1983 North American Christian Convention. For those unfamiliar with the N.A.C.C. it was a yearly convention for members of the independent Churches of Christ. It was not a formal convention in that it did not determine policy or dictate the beliefs of the churches involved. It functioned more as a time of teaching and worship for those who identified with the group. I attended one of these conventions in 1986 when it was held in Indianapolis. I always wanted to attend a second one but unfortunately the N.A.C.C. held its final meeting last summer.

The theme for 1983’s N.A.C.C. was In Christ and featured preaching from Floyd Strater, Ken Idleman, E. Ray Jones, Steve Hooks, Marshall Leggett, Tom Ewald, and Ben Merold. There’s a pretty good chance that those of you reading this have no clue who any of those gentlemen are. Some of you may recognize the last name Idleman. Ken is the father of Kyle (author of Not A Fan). The rest are just names unless you happen to be a member of an independent Church of Christ and are old enough. For the record, I am old enough. I have seen at least two of the men preach. It’s possible that I have seen others but I remember meeting brother Merold and brother Leggett on more than one occasion when I was younger. I was also fortunate to see meet the author of the book as well.

Back to the book. It was written as a take home resource for those who attended the convention that year. It was published and distributed by Standard Publishing. Apparently there is a leader’s guide  as well. I may get on Google at some point and see if I can track that down. The book is divided into thirteen chapters which expound on the sermons preached during the 1983 convention. Each chapter concludes with questions designed to help the reader continue to process the information presented. The book is set up in such a way that it could be used for Sunday School, small groups, or individual study. It is organized logically and each chapter builds upon the previous one. I can’t remember how I first encountered this book but I know I have read it at least twice. I do confess that it has probably been at least twenty years since I last read it. It will be interesting to see what (if any) cultural references brother Staton makes and if they still work.

I pan to read the first chapter today and then ponder the questions at the end. I will write my response later this evening and will hopefully have that posted tomorrow morning. A quick glance on Amazon.com shows a newer edition (2001) of this book that sells for less than $20. I may pick that one up at some point to compare it this one which is first edition.

Grace and peace

 

Hello, Is It Me You’re Looking For?

I unintentionally abandoned this for various reasons. Some are more legitimate than others but the biggest one was probably a lack of discipline. I confess it. I own it. That doesn’t mean I want to just toss this to the side. In fact, as I grow more and more weary of most social media platforms I think it may be time for this to become my primary one. That remains to be seen but I thought I would at least post again.

I have some old books by Knofel Staton that were pretty popular when I was a young teenager. I’ve read all three but it has been a while. My plan is to read through them and discuss what I glean from there here. They were all published in 1983 so it will be interesting to see how relevant they are today. Check in if you’re curious and we’ll see how long I stick it out this time.

 

Grace and peace