Things That Make You Go Hummm.

I read the following at the National Post. Check it out there or read it here. All I can say is it is something that makes a person think. HT: ...and his ministers a flame of fire

This story can be found at http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=332289

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age

Lorne Gunter,
National Post

Published: Monday, February 25, 2008

Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.

The
U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that many American
cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early
February. According to the NCDC, the average temperature in January
"was -0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average."

China
is surviving its most brutal winter in a century. Temperatures in the
normally balmy south were so low for so long that some middle-sized
cities went days and even weeks without electricity because once power
lines had toppled it was too cold or too icy to repair them.

There
have been so many snow and ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in the past
two months that the real estate market has felt the pinch as home
buyers have stayed home rather than venturing out looking for new
houses.

In just the first two weeks of February, Toronto received
70 cm of snow, smashing the record of 66.6 cm for the entire month set
back in the pre-SUV, pre-Kyoto, pre-carbon footprint days of 1950.

And
remember the Arctic Sea ice? The ice we were told so hysterically last
fall had melted to its "lowest levels on record? Never mind that those
records only date back as far as 1972 and that there is anthropological
and geological evidence of much greater melts in the past.

The ice is back.

Gilles
Langis, a senior forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa,
says the Arctic winter has been so severe the ice has not only
recovered, it is actually 10 to 20 cm thicker in many places than at
this time last year.

OK, so one winter does not a climate make.
It would be premature to claim an Ice Age is looming just because we
have had one of our most brutal winters in decades.

But if
environmentalists and environment reporters can run around shrieking
about the manmade destruction of the natural order every time a robin
shows up on Georgian Bay two weeks early, then it is at least fair game
to use this winter's weather stories to wonder whether the alarmist are
being a tad premature.

And it's not just anecdotal evidence that is piling up against the climate-change dogma.

According
to Robert Toggweiler of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at
Princeton University and Joellen Russell, assistant professor of
biogeochemical dynamics at the University of Arizona -- two prominent
climate modellers -- the computer models that show polar ice-melt
cooling the oceans, stopping the circulation of warm equatorial water
to northern latitudes and triggering another Ice Age (a la the movie
The Day After Tomorrow) are all wrong.

"We missed what was right
in front of our eyes," says Prof. Russell. It's not ice melt but rather
wind circulation that drives ocean currents northward from the tropics.
Climate models until now have not properly accounted for the wind's
effects on ocean circulation, so researchers have compensated by
over-emphasizing the role of manmade warming on polar ice melt.

But
when Profs. Toggweiler and Russell rejigged their model to include the
40-year cycle of winds away from the equator (then back towards it
again), the role of ocean currents bringing warm southern waters to the
north was obvious in the current Arctic warming.

Last month, Oleg
Sorokhtin, a fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences,
shrugged off manmade climate change as "a drop in the bucket." Showing
that solar activity has entered an inactive phase, Prof. Sorokhtin
advised people to "stock up on fur coats."

He is not alone.
Kenneth Tapping of our own National Research Council, who oversees a
giant radio telescope focused on the sun, is convinced we are in for a
long period of severely cold weather if sunspot activity does not pick
up soon.

The last time the sun was this inactive, Earth suffered
the Little Ice Age that lasted about five centuries and ended in 1850.
Crops failed through killer frosts and drought. Famine, plague and war
were widespread. Harbours froze, so did rivers, and trade ceased.

It's
way too early to claim the same is about to happen again, but then it's
way too early for the hysteria of the global warmers, too.

lgunter@shaw.ca

Turk Encouraged Me :)

Over at Frank Turk's blog he posted this and it encouraged me to look for the Iron Man movie trailer. Well here it is.

German Shepherd Dog

What Breed of Dog Are You?

My Result: German Shepherd

No bones, about it, you're a loyal, hard-working German Shepherd. Dedicated and always low-maintenance, people flock to you — they know they can count on you to get any job done, and done well. That focus and attention to detail spans from your personal to your professional life, too. Although you can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the projects you tackle, you still manage to keep cool and laid-back in social situations. You get a kick out of the little things and thrive when you're constantly busy and on-the-go. Easygoing and unpretentious, you don't need constant pampering and reassurance. A genuine, carefree pup, you're a true-blue friend, employee, and partner. Woof!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=dogogt&c=50652

Looking Forward Or Back

Commentaries can be helpful, but at other times they only seem to raise questions that make things seem less clear (not to mention they can tend toward getting into ruts of interpretation and not notice other things that are there simply because the previous commentators did not focus on them as Dan Phillips was lamenting over a Pyromaniacs.)

My general approach to a text I will be preaching on is to first of all deal with the text, its immediate context and it overall context in the scriptures. I read it, pray about it, look at the original languages and the like repeatedly. Then I turn to commentaries. The problem is sometimes they don't answer a question that I have of the text on which I want additional input from godly men through their commentaries. Other times, they point out things that I had not thought of.

This coming Sunday evening I will be preaching on 1 John 2:7-8 (I may go further but from my study there is enough there for one sermon):

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

1 John 2:7-8 (ESV)

As with many people who have read this book of the Bible and the gospel according to John over many times in my life, my first thought when I read this is that it is referring to Jesus teaching in John 13 in his Upper Room discourse:

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:31-35 (ESV)

Thus, the first thing that comes to mind is the new commandment is the old commandment to love on another. This is supported by the fact that the next thing John wrote about in his first letter was a call to mutual love between believers. Most of us make that assumption without actually considering it.

However, reading the commentaries I found that a few of them (Matthew Henry, Robert S. Candlish and Albert Barnes) who ask the question if he is looking forward to the command of love that Christ gave which John would deal with next, or whether John was looking back at what he has just wrote and was affirming that none of this was new, but was know by those he was writing to from the beginning when they received Christ.

I had never thought of even asking that question. The points for this looking back make sense. John writes and a clear style and it would seem more likely that he was dealing with something he had already wrote rather that something he was about to speak of, especially since he does not mention love at all until the following verses. The reference to the beginning (see 1 John 1:1 and John 1:1ff) and the mention of the true light already shining all fall into the argument why this is looking back. The point of looking back is that what John had just written about could have been under attack by the false teachers who left the church as a 'new' or 'novel' teaching, and because of it strong call to a life transformed by grace.

On the other hand looking forward fits nicely with John 13 and the coming call to love.

So what do those who read this blog think? Is John looking back or forward with these verses and why?

Are You Sure You Know Jesus? -- 1 John 2:3-6

In a world where many people who call themselves Christians live lives that look no different from those who do not, it raises the question of who is it who really knows Jesus? Who is it that really knows God? This sermon from our evening service of February 3rd, 2008 looks at how that question was answered in 1 John 2:3-6

Are You Sure You Know Jesus? -- 1 John 2:3-6

Stopping Time -- Sort Of

Good Question

While I was stuck in my sermon preparation I took a look at a blog I very much enjoy here. He quoted a good question from Mark Dever (the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church) found in the latest 9Marks report card. The question was a good one, so I will reproduce it here as well.

“I want you to try a thought exercise. Suppose a business school class on non-profit organizations assigned its students the task of building a successful church. And assume all the students are non-Christians. Could they succeed?

Sure they could! With the right poll-tested methods, just about anyone can dreaw a crowd. If ambience sells coffee, why not use it to sell Jesus? The church might even win a “Most Innovative!” award.

Yet think about this: what does it say about God if we need to market his glory and gospel with the same tools we use to sell toothpaste and laundry detergent? Is he really that desperate?

God is so much more glorious. He has declared a mighty gospel and then backed up his words by changing a group of people. There’s the church’s appeal: The wisdom of God. The Might of God. The love of God. On display in the lives of a changed people for all the world to see!

Is your church relying on natural appeal or supernatural? Whose glory does it display?”

From A Formless Void God Creates A Very Good Creation

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Gen 1:2-31 (ESV)

I realized it has been a while since I posted on my daily Bible reading. Part of that was getting busy with other things, but another part was working my way through the rest of Chapter 1 of Genesis. As I considered what the Bible says here, I realized more and more how completely unacceptable this is to the vast majority of people today. They mock anyone who would hold to a six day creation because they say, "It took millions of years for the earth to evolve, and we have the fossil evidence to prove it." I must admit I have not read extensively in this area, especially not recently, however, it strikes me that the fossil evidence they present is far from being the iron tight evidence that many people present it as. There are others who are much more capable of dealing with those areas than I am.

Yet, even without the so called evidence, I think the objection actually goes deeper. Because what the creation account teaches first of all is that God made everything. There is not one thing that exists in the whole of the creation that was not created by him. That means that everything, including each of us, belongs to God. Just as when you make something, it is yours. That is a thought that the mind that rejects God does not want to hear, because that means they are accountable to God. It means that they cannot simply do whatever they want regardless of what God says and expect to get away with it forever. For God as the one who created everything, is himself outside of the bounds of this universe. He is not bound by time or space, and thus, there is no escape from him by us as we are bound by this universe.

Having said that, there is for me as a believer in Jesus Christ, a wonderful truth found here as well. For, out of the formless void, God created this universe. As each day passed in the creation process, as each step was taken in that process, God made the the pronouncement that what he had created was good. Then on the final day of creation, upon creating humankind in the image and likeness of God, we read, "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." From a formless void to a good creation. A creation that even now, while it is subject to frustration (Romans 8:20), reflects that goodness that was created with.

Since God did that, how much more can he take the lives of people that have been deformed by sin, lives that are void of hope whether the person realizes it or not, and bring form and fullness to them in his Son Jesus Christ.

We don't live in that very good creation any longer. It has been marred by our sin, by our disobedience, by our rebellion against God. That same rebellion that wants to reject that he is the one who created us. Yet, it still testifies to God. It still points out that all is not as it should be, and in doing that it cries out for someone to fix what is wrong. The only one who can fix what is really wrong, is Jesus Christ. Through him, we find elsewhere in the Bible, all things were made, and he can and will being creation again to where all things will be very good.

Purchased Plans For DIY Trailer

One of the things I like to do it work with my hands. If you have read this blog for a while you know that means I do most of the repair work on our vehicles, and help building and repairing things around the house. I think some of the appeal for me is that working in ministry the results of ones work are largely intangible. Yes, I produce two sermons (sometimes more) a week, that is a measure of work. Changes in people, however, which is what those sermons seek to bring as they bring forth the word of God, is something that is not really measurable, nor is it a task where you can ever say you have finished. When you fix the brakes on the car, once they are back together and working properly, you can take satisfaction in a job well done.

With all that in mind, this past Friday I purchased some plans to build my own trailer off of e-bay. This person had both plans for small tear-drop trailers and for larger ones that I would not really call tear-drop trailers, but are probably based on them. I purchased the plans for the larger one, although I may purchase them for the smaller one later. Once they arrive, my hope is to make that my relaxation project. If all goes well, in several months I will have a new trailer that can also serve as Justin's play-house in the back yard.

If the e-bay ad can be trusted it will weigh in well under 1000 pounds, so my wife could even pull it with here Mazda and I could pull it with my Sunrunner. The advantage of that is cheaper gas costs while traveling. I will see how it turns out.

I don't know what I will do with it when it is finished. Definitely camp a few times, but I still prefer my tent trailer for camping because I like the canvas. Who knows, maybe I will sell it and build another.

Good Modern Proverb

This is something to make a person think.

Climate Change: The Deniers

I stumbled upon this while researching some things for my Sunday evening sermon. No I am not going to preach on climate change for or against. I was simply searching for the use of the word deniers. However, I am going to read through this collection of articles to see what I can see. It is nice to see a publication like the National Post putting together such a series of articles.

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It All Starts Here

In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was
hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV)

This
year I started to read through the Bible from beginning to end. This is
not something new to me, but for the last year or so, I have focused on
reading through the gospels and the letters of Paul. I originally had put a two year Bible reading plan together in E-sword and had been following that, but after a week or so, I realized I was reading to keep up with the plan, rather than seeking to let the Scriptures sink in and seeking to understand and apply them. So, I decided to start over again. I still use the E-sword plan, but I only plan to select it being read when I want to move ahead. That is one thing I like about it. I will allow me to keep looking at the same section of scripture until I select that it is read.

Having said that, what I have been looking at it Genesis 1. I have read through it, and contemplated it, but I still don't think it has sunk in the way it should, so I will keep looking at it.

What I have been particularly considering over the last day or so is the first several verses. The first thing that stands out, especially in a time when random chance in evolution is the dominant and accepted explanation of the origin of all things, is that in the beginning was God. That is who it all starts with. There was a time, if that word has any meaning at that point, where all that was, was God.

That leads to what I keep trying to wrap my head around is the description of what was, or better, wasn't there. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but before he did so it was "without form and void." I keep trying to think what that would be like. Try as I might I cannot because I keep giving form to what was without form. Trying to consider what nothing is like is like trying to think of nothing. If you actively do it, you keep coming up with something. In the beginning it was God and nothing else.

Then God did something amazing. He made everything. He created the whole universe. It was not--then God created it. That is more amazing than anything I can imagine.

I would hazard a guess that at least part of the problem many people have with this is that it shows that God is completely 'other' than the universe around us. We live in this creation. Our whole frame of reference is this creation. It is through our created senses that we observe and interact with the creation around us. Yet, none of this, not one bit of it, existed before God created it. That means the frame of reference for God is completely outside of ours. It means that God is God not in the small way people often think of God, but in a way far bigger, far different, far more powerful than we usually ever consider.

If nothing else this should bring a sense of awe in who God is. A sense of his overarching status above all things. He is the one who made all things, who was before all things, and who is outside of all things.

The other thing this brings to mind is this. Since God created all things, that means they are all his. His right to command and do whatever he desires is founded in his position as the creator of all things. That is something it seems we do not like to consider. We prefer to be considered free agents, but this reminds us of the truth of what Paul said in Acts 17, "In him we live and move and have our being."

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Dutch Cowboys--Who Would Have Thought

Major Sci-Fi Geek

I actually thought I would do better, but there were at least a couple that I did not recognize at all and had to guess at.

	I received 78 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quiz Canon S5

I Found This Interesting

I had not thought about this before, but was referred to this link by an acquaintance of mine. It does a good job of explaining the monetary system that the world currently functions under, and for that it is quite useful. I realize it takes a particular view on this system and proposes some alternatives, but I also question some of the conclusions and alternatives proposed. Having said that, overall I see the danger of this sort of monetary system and understand how it takes the power out of the hands of the elected government and puts it into the hands of bankers. Is this some great conspiracy? It could be, but I sort of doubt it. More likely it is something that has allowed people to live the way they would like to live, and thus while not understood it is accepted. Take the time to watch it (47 minutes) so you can understand how our monetary system actually works and where money comes from.

Justin Wanted This Posted

On The Start Of a New Year

Once again it is a new year, and, as has become usual for me since I serve in a congregation that has both new year's eve and new year's day services, I simply went to bed and slept through the change of year. However, one of the things that I found to be a real answer to prayer for me, was that I actually slept well. I slept deeply and long, and feel better rested than I have in almost two weeks.

The reason I had not been sleeping well was that I had hurt my back shoveling snow on December 17th. Since then getting a good sleep has been difficult. Even pain killers and muscle relaxants did not give me the sort of sleep I had last night. Even though my back is not pain free, it no longer aches while I am not moving. That is something I have been praying for, and I thank God for it. I pray that he will heal my back all the way so that I can get my snowblower fixed and start to do things around the house again, but I am thankful that things seem to be getting better at last.

To everyone reading this, have a blessed new year, and may God by his Spirit and his Word, bring you to see him more clearly and love him more every day.

Today I started reading through the Bible. I am not planning on doing it in any quick manner. I have done the read through the Bible in a year plans, and they have value, but sometimes I find they simply cover too much for me to read it they way I would like. Over the past year or so I have been using a read through the gospels and letters of Paul. That has been very beneficial, but now I want to return to reading not just the New Testament but the Older one as well. How long this will take me I don't know. I expect at least a couple of years as I am going to take my time so I can consider what God is saying in the Bible more carefully.

Now I need to get going for our new year's day service.

Simply Amazing

I find it amazing how God created such fantastic creatures to populate this world. Check out this segment on how fast a falcon can dive. I was amazed at the top speed recorded for this falcon.

What Kind Of American Accent Do I Have?

This is really a trick question, since I am Canadian.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Hallelujah Chorus for the Hearing Impaired

I caught this over at Doxoblogy and thought it was worth posting here.



Although I enjoy and the Hallelujah Chorus, it is not my favorite piece from Handel's Messiah. My favorite is And The Glory Of The Lord.

Separated At Birth

I saw this picture over at Purgatorio, and right away it reminded me of a certain Sith Lord from the Star Wars movies.

I thought I would do some searching for a picture to show the similarity, and I discovered that I was not the first one to notice this as seen in the picture below.


The Pope and Emperor Palpatine (AKA The Sith Lord) separated at birth.

Acapella 12 Days of Christmas With A Twist

In keeping with Christmas coming up soon, I thought this was appropriate and funny.

New Challes.com Giveaway for December -- Enter Here

Good Quote

Those who think they can map out a detailed programme of what will happen at the second coming should remember that, despite the prophecies of Scripture, nobody got the details of the first coming right!

Michael Green, 2 Peter and Jude Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Revised Edition 1987 p.154-155.

I Liked This As Well

Anyone who can get Piers and Simon to react this way definitely has talent.



He made the semi-finals and this was his performance:


And here is the announcement of the winner:

I Always Like These Sort of Stories

What amazes me is that he can do this. I just wish he was not connected with the RC and the pope.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I don't think this is what they had in mind.



Or this.

I Did Not Expect This

Get a Cash Advance

New Exercise Plan

I decided a while back to try to take of some of the weight I have put on while visiting people from our church and elsewhere who keep feeding me cookies, cake and the like. To encourage myself I decided to participate in a contest over at popupexplorer.com to find the PUX biggest loser.

However, I could not find a good exercise program to assist me . . . until now. Check it out.

Off To Algonquin

I am heading off to Algonquin Provincial Park to do some camping. Yes, I know it is the first weekend in November, but there is no better time to camp. This is not to mention that there are a number of people I know who will be camping up there as well. I am probably going to head out a little later tonight, and find some place to stop and sleep along the way. That way I can break up the 5-6 hour drive and make it a little more comfortable. Who knows, maybe in spite of the forecast, we will have snow.

Worlds Smallest Car

Several New Sermons Posted

I have been rather behind in uploading the recent sermons from our worship services to the Bethel Reformed Church Sermon Cloud account. However, this afternoon I thought I would seek to catch up a little. So there have been about four or five sermons added.

This Sunday morning we took another break from our journey through Galatians, and remembered the Reformation by looking at the gospel that was brought into the light through the means of the Reformers return to reading the scripture.

Check it out. If you do, please leave some comments either here or on Sermon Cloud, and if you like what you hear, feel free to give it an Amen, especially if you believe others would benefit from hearing this sermon as Amens will move it into the front page at Sermon Cloud.

No One Deserves It, But God Gives It In Jesus - Ephesians 2:1-10

For Those Cat People Out There

I was directed to this by my darling wife. It reminded me so much of our cat that I just had to post it. Ok, I really didn't have to post it, but I wanted to. So here it is.

I Enjoyed This

Over at Pyromaniacs, Dan posted the following video of Slam poet Taylor Mali. This is well worth watching. If you want to see the text you can find it here.

What caught my attention is that I no longer expect people, especially people who are English teachers to have such a clear view of the silliness of the prevailing post modern tone of uncertainty.

"Don't Tell Me Those Things"

8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the Lord;
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 30:8-11 (ESV)

These verses were some of those that we looked at during our Bible Study tonight. For some reason they seemed so contemporary. While there were originally addressed to the people of Judah thousands of years ago, they still reflect an attitude that is all to common today.

So many people who go by the name of Christian say things that are so similar. They do not want to hear about what is right and wrong. They don't want to hear about repentance and faith. They certainly don't want to be reminded of sin or suffering or death. When they hear these things they say, "I have enough troubles, I don't need to hear this. Give me something positive and uplifting. Give me something that will make me feel good." The words may not be the same, but the attitude certainly is. And, when they are directed to the cross of Jesus each week, they don't even find that great, amazing, utterly wonderful grace of God uplifting either.

Oh how we have forgotten the three times holy God who, even when we were enemies deserving nothing but eternal destruction, sent his own Son to suffer the punishment for sin, so all who put their trust in him would be accepted, forgiven, adopted, made into God's beloved people, freed from the domination of sin, and joined to Christ. None of this because a person renovates their life, but all as a gift of the undeserved favor of God. And, in all of this God still remained perfectly just, and perfectly merciful.

How can it be that we have become so satisfied with the sawdust of the world, and are no longer hungry for the solid meat from God?

False Prophets/Teachers

With all the discussion in the Blog-o-sphere about Joel Osteen and the message he proclaims, I decided to post the following comment I made at another blog:

Jeremy, you certainly have provided much thought for discussion. However, when you mention Matthew 7:15-20 several things concern me. The text taken from the ESV, simply because that was handy, reads, “”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

Notice first of all the context, Jesus is giving a warning against false prophets or teachers. The first part of his warning points out that they will not be easily recognizable. They will look sincere and authentic. I cannot think of one major heretic in the history of the church that did not think they were correct. Many of them were even very likable, appealing people all of who claimed they were Christians. Yet, what they taught was not correct, it was a destructive heresy, and in teaching it they denied the very one who they claim bought them.

Joel Osteen does come across as a very nice, personable. However, that does not say anything about how true what he preaches is.

The next thing Jesus points out is that although these false prophets may look like sheep, they will be known by their fruits. In doing this he uses several illustrations to carry home his point that they way to discern true prophets or teachers from false is their fruit.

The question this raises is, what are the fruits in mind here. Too often that question is not asked. Instead we simply assume that what Jesus is talking about is how they live. That their lifestyle will show whether they are true or false teachers. If that is what Jesus is primarily looking to, we have to realize something, it may take years or even decades to be able to say one way or another with many people who are false teachers. Outside they look very good. May prominent false teacher throughout the history of the church have lived outwardly exemplary lives. Yes, in some cases today and in the past false teachers have shown the lie of their professed faith in Christ through lifestyles that are clearly opposed to Christ, but more often than not this took quite a bit of time to show itself. During that time, many people were led astray.

However, I think if one considers for a while about what the fruit of a teacher is, it starts to become clear that the primary fruit of a teacher is their teaching. Thus, a false teacher will be known by their teaching. That means all teaching must be tested by the Scriptures as to its faithfulness to that revealed word of God. Based on that, I would say that Joel Osteen’s gospel is not the gospel at all. It neglects what Paul said was of first importance (1 Cor. 15:1-10) and in its place tells people that they are accepted by God by doing their best. That is a false gospel and the Bible is clear on the result of that for those who preach another gospel and do not repent of it (Gal 1:8-9).

I do not write this with any pleasure or superiority. It is a terrible thing to consider the end for those who preach another gospel. The glorious part of all this is that Joel can still repent. He can still turn to the one who died for our sins, the one who stood as a propitiation so that God could be both just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus Christ. That is what changed everything for me, and I pray it will change everything for Joel Osteen as well.

Yes, I agree there are many Christians who claim to be believers but deny it in how they live, but we are not speaking about Christians in general, we are speaking about a person who claims to be a Christian teacher. He, I and all who are teachers will be called to account for what we have taught. If it is not the one and only gospel revealed in the Scriptures, then all that awaits is the anathema of God. (I write this with tears in my eyes.)

May God grant grace that we more and more will know and proclaim the gospel in word and deed.

Stupid Mindless Ratings

Today I was reminded of the web-page that will give a rating for a blog or web-page based on various words that are found in it. What I find interesting is that various innocuous words in context, your rating will quite quickly go from G to PG to NC-17 to R. For example one of the words flagged from my wife's blog was 'Dick' which in context referred to her uncle Dick who is sick in hospital. But that mention of Dick was misinterpreted to be a euphemism for a certain part of the male human anatomy. One can only imagine what the rating of a page with an abundance of quotes from the Dick and Jane early learning books would result in. The repeated, "See Dick run.
Run Dick, run" would certainly make a mindless word based scan quite useless.

This is not to mention that apparently the word "missionary" is also flagged. I don't know what they have against a missionary, although I guess the word missionary might refer to more than just a missionary who goes somewhere to proclaim something or to something quite unrelated.

If I start speaking about death or dying, even though death is all around us, even though I may simply be speaking of my grief over the death of my dog, all of a sudden my rating will go to R because I use the word death.

Needless to say, it is obvious that such a rating tool as this is utterly useless. It pains me to say, that there are probably people who actually depend on it. And if they saw my current rating after this post, they would want to avoid this site like the plague

Open Office, Firefox, IE Won't Print

Here is my problem. Until two days ago everything worked. I have not changed anything that I know of, but suddenly OpenOffice, Firefox, and IE won't print to my network printer. In fact, it seems they will not even get to the point of sending the job to the XP print-spooler.

What happens is the following. I will select print, and the requester come up with the various options and the network printer as the default. I click the print button, and the small window that indicates it is processing the print job comes up, but then for all three of these, the program freezes up. No job shows up in the printer window. To unfreeze them I have to restart the XP print spooler on that machine. Then they will error out. I don't know if they would do so if left, because after 5 minutes I figured I had waited long enough.

I have not yet tested this with my inkjet that I can plug right into my laptop because It is currently not accessable to me. Nor have I tired to directly connect the network laser printer to my laptop to see if it would print that way.

However, I have tried several other things that would print. Click 'n Design (my CD label printing software) works fine. A Disney program that prints out Winnie the Pooh stuff for my boy works fine. And a print test works fine.

My setup is a XP Home laptop connected through a wireless router (although while on my desk it is wired to the router) to the other machine with the printer which is a linux box running Samba and CUPS. Other machines on the network seem to print fine (all Windows 2000 boxes), but various programs on this one don't.

I have tried re-installing the programs. I wanted to re-install the printer, but it will not let me delete it.

If anyone has suggestions as to how to get this working without reinstalling XP, I would appreciate it as I will have to print up my sermons for Sunday.

Voted Today

Despite feeling like something that the dog dragged in, I went and voted today in the Ontario provincial election. I don't know how many people who are eligible to vote in this Ontario election actually read this blog, but if you are, get out and vote today. It takes only a few minutes of your time, and it is an important part of how our province runs. I would hazard a guess that if more of those eligible to vote actually did vote, the various parties would feel much more accountable. Also, this year you have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to switch how the voting system functions to go from first past the post, our current system that will yield a majority government even with only 35-40 percent of the overall vote, or the Mixed Member Proportional system, that would bring a more accurate reflection of the actual votes cast into the provincial parliament.

Go and vote.

October Book Giveaway Contest

Tim Challies is at it again. Giving away good book. Click the banner below to enter.

Not From Man, But From God - Galatians 1:11-24

Why could Paul be so certain that the gospel he preached was the only way to God? How could he say those who turned away from the gospel he preached we deserting God? He started to answer that question in the section of scripture this sermon looks at.

Not From Man, But From God - Galatians 1:11-24

Baby Bunnies

This morning I was woken up from a deep sleep by Annette. She was telling me that one of our rabbits was pulling her fur out which is a sign that she will be having babies in the next day or two. The reasoning behind this was that I needed to make a nesting box for the female to make her nest.

I did not know where I was going to find the time to do so, but as I woke up I decided it would be better to do it first thing in the morning as that way it would not be hanging over my head. That was a good choice in retrospect.

I pulled the table saw (I purchased it for $25 at an auction a while back) out of the garage and got a piece of plywood out. Set things up and in a fairly short time had the sides and top finished. I used my new cordless Jigsaw to do some final work on the sides, and I hammered it together. Then I cut the bottom, and nailed it on. All told, I don't think it was too much time, maybe not even and hour and it was all done.

Annette put the new nesting box in the rabbit cage, and put the fur that had already been removed by the female rabbit into it, and we left it at that.

This afternoon I went out back to work in the trailer since it is quieter there than in the house, and I took a peek to see if the rabbit had added any more fur to her nest. What should I see but a little blood on the fur in the nest box, so I had a closer look. Sure enough she had had her babies. Sadly, two were dead, but two are alive.

The mother is a cute white with black spots dwarf rabbit, the father is probably our brown lop-earred buck, so they should be interesting looking babies.

I will see about getting pictures when they are bigger.

We Had To Put Riley Down Today

We knew this day was coming as Riley was 14 years old, and had been having increasing problems with his health. Already in the spring when we had a cold day following a warm day he would have a really hard time getting up, and over the past several months he seemed to be confused very often. We would feed him and he would forget as soon as he finished eating the food, or something would happen and he would just have this look like, "I don't get it."

We figured with the colder weather coming on, that we would have a day come when he could not get up, but we didn't get to that point. In fact, he had been dealing with the cold days and nights we had already very well. Well enough that I was wondering if we would get another year with him although he was having occasional problems where he would fall down for no apparent reason while walking. But, last Thursday he started to get sick. By Friday he was very ill and had lost a lot of weight. We had a dog agility trial to go to, and my mom was going to take care of our son, so she took care of Riley as well. The way he looked I honestly did not expect him to be alive when we got back Saturday. He was not in any apparent pain, but was obviously sick and had lost a lot of weight.

Saturday when we got home he was still alive, and was looking a little better, but he was still ill and his bodily functions were not functioning as they should. Sunday he looked a little better yet, and could keep his food down. We already had an appointment at the vet for Monday to have him put to sleep, but I was really wondering if I could do it as he seemed to be rallying.
We decided to take him to one of his favorite places to walk, the Pinery provincial park, and we had a wonderful walk with him, but after about 20 minutes, he all of a sudden had his chin almost hit the ground, and he was exhausted. We took a half hour of rest with him breathing very heavily, so he could rest. Then we headed back to the van. He enjoyed the walk, but not like he normally would.

Today he started to get sicker again, and although he looks pretty good in the pictures, you cannot feel how he had shrunk to skin and bones. We went to my mom's place, where he lived from the time we got him at the humane society as an eight week old puppy, who was terrified of dogs and cars, and while riding on my lap on the way home, decided to pee on me. That place was always 'home' for him, and he was very content to be there. We even took him to see his dog companion on the way there, which he also enjoyed, not wanting to leave.

At 6 my mom and I headed to the vet with him, and Annette stayed at my mom's with Justin. We got there early, so Mom took Riley for one last walk, and then at 6:30 we went in. By 7PM is was all over and he headed back to bury him.

Riley was a wonderful companion. One of the most even tempered, calm, obedient (at least until he got on) dogs I have ever known. I know I will miss him, I do already. It is amazing how an animal can become such a part of ones life. I know it was time, but I still wish we could have had a few more months.

Only ONE Gospel - Galatians 1:6-10

In a world where the majority of people think that it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. In a world where most people believe it is wrong to confront someones else's beliefs even if they are wrong. In a world where many people believe all roads lead to heaven, the written word of God confronts us with the fearsome and wonderful truth that there is only one way to come to God in His forgiveness and acceptance. The gospel or good news of Jesus Christ.

Click to listen.

Now Jesus Loved Martha and Her Sister and Lazarus

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
John 11:5-6 (ESV)

Have you ever read this and wondered about it? It is a rather strange statement if you think about it. First we are told that Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus. That is not a surprise, nor is it strange. However, then the account continues and we read that when he heard that Lazarus was sick, sick enough that Martha and Mary sent for Jesus, Jesus, who loved them stays two days longer where he is. That, in many of our minds does not seem very loving. Many of us would expect that Jesus, hearing of Lazarus' illness, would have immediately left to help him. That is what we consider the loving thing to be. However, scripture is clear, Jesus loved them, but he waited two days before he went to them. Doesn't that strike you as strange? Why would Jesus do that?

I am sure there are people out there would would say it is because Jesus did not really love them. I have never read that, but I have no doubt that some would say this. However, the scripture is clear, He did love them yet he stayed. In fact the scripture goes further it tells us that Jesus loved them so he stayed for two days where he was. In other words, Jesus staying where he was for two more days was an expression of his love for them. It is precisely because of his love that he waited before coming.

Before we go on to consider what it was that Jesus was doing in his love for them by this, it is important to have that truth sink into our minds, because when you and I are facing distress and trouble and sickness and affliction, we want Jesus to act right away by taking it away. We don't want him to wait two hours much less two days or two years. Sometimes, as we wait in our affliction, we may even be tempted to think that Jesus does not love us. Perhaps our faith is in vain, and he never loved us at all. I don't know if you have ever gone through that, but I know from my own experience that it is so very easy to start to think that way. I have seen myself and others starting and going down that route many times.

Take heart from this though, for just because Jesus does not act on your timetable, does not mean he does not love you. If you have faith in him, if you believe that he died for you, realize that he has shown his love on the cross. Don't go by your feelings that can so easily lead you astray. Instead remember that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, and because of that love he waited to act. Just because he does not act right away to remove your trouble is not a sign of his lack of love, but instead is an expression of love that goes far beyond the pale love characterized by this world. For his love is looking for something far better for you than you may even realize.

That leads us to why Jesus waited two days. Based on what we find later, that by the time he arrived Lazarus had already been dead four days, even if Jesus had left right away he would not have arrived soon enough to keep Lazarus from dying. But, those for days are significant because in the understanding of the time, after four days a person could not be resurrected. Corruption and decay would have set in, and the spirit would have left for good. Thus, no one, not Martha or Mary, expected Lazarus to be raised. So in waiting Jesus set up something that would reveal to them something that they, and we need to understand, that he is the resurrection. That authority over death and life is in his hands. If Jesus had come right away, the raising of Lazarus would have been a miracle. The sisters would have rejoiced, but their understanding of Jesus and their faith in him would not have increased. By waiting, Jesus did something that they believed completely impossible and their faith and knowledge of His was built up. That would not have happened if he came right away. For Jesus the increase and building of their faith was of vital importance.

I believe the same thing is true for believers today. We often chafe under the troubles we face in life. We suffer the sufferings common to people in a world under sin such as illness, age and infirmity. We also face the sufferings that are particularly Christian or being mocked, abused, and considered as nothing by the world. Then we wonder why Jesus takes so long to deal with these, or sometimes, never deals with them and they end in death. But, here we find that He does this for a very important reason, it is because he loves you, he loves me, in such a way that he will not let us remain in our small and weak and childish understandings of who He is. Instead, He uses these afflictions to build our understanding, our faith, and our love for Him. He does that not so often by ending our suffering, illness or affliction, but instead by taking us through them to a greater experience of his grace and power.

Think of Paul with his torn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12) which was used by God to make apparent to Paul that the Lord's grace is sufficient for all his needs, and that the power of the Lord is made perfect in his weakness. Or earlier in 2 Corinthians we find that while Paul was in Asia he was brought to the brink of death, but that affliction was used by God to "make us rely not on ourselves bu on God who raises the dead." (2 Cor. 1:9) Or think about Job who came to know and understand God far better than he ever would if he had never suffered or if God has stepped in right away to bring that suffering to an end.

Jesus loves you in a far greater way that you may imagine. He loves you in such a way that he will always do what is best for you, even when that may mean you have to go through a time of suffering, sorrow, affliction or pain, because on the other side you will find that you can now not just see but know more of who Jesus is and so love him and live for him more.

Day Off -- Gone Fishing

Today was my day off. As usual, we headed out of the house, and went to London. There we visited with my mother for a while and dropped off Justin so we could have some time with just the two of us.

We did a little shopping, and then decided to go fishing. We headed out to Deleware where there is a fairly convenient location on the Thames river to fish. It took a while, but eventually I caught 2 fish. Annette didn't catch anything, but we both enjoyed our time fishing. Hopefully we can get out more often on my day off as it is an inexpensive and relaxing way to spend several hours, and it frees the mind to think on other things.

Sunday Sermons

The following links will let you listen to the sermons from this past Sunday at Bethel Reformed Church.

The Foundation of Christian Teaching - Colossians 3:16

In the Righteousness of Our God and Saviour Jesus - 2 Peter 1:1-2

Eschatology

I saw this over at Carla's blog, and thought it looked interesting. I'm not surprised by the results at all.

You scored as Amillenialist, Amillenialism believes that the 1000 year reign is not literal but figurative, and that Christ began to reign at his ascension. People take some prophetic scripture far too literally in your view. Amillenialist 100% Moltmannian Eschatology 65% Preterist 50% Premillenialist 45% Postmillenialist 45% Dispensationalist 10% Left Behind 10% What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

This Statement Bothered Me

A fellow Christian leader said something very like this, "I don't know anyone who got into heaven because of what they did, or anyone who didn't get into heaven because of what they did."

That is a paraphrase, but it is pretty close. Before I comment on it, I am wondering if those few people who read my blog might weigh in with their thoughts. There is something about this statement that seems wrong to me, but I would very much like other people's thoughts.

Update on Knee

It took a while, but my knee unlocked. It took most of the night, but thankfully I could more or less sleep as long as I did not move. If I moved in my sleep I would wake up because the knee would hurt for a moment, but then I could generally get back to sleep. I woke up about 5AM of so, and shortly after that it completely unlocked.

Now it feels sort of weak and wobbly, but not really sore. That is about what I expected, and with a little care it should be back to normal in a day or so.

I am a little tired, but generally feel pretty good. I may need a nap this afternoon when our boy naps, as when he is awake he makes altogether too much noise.

Thank-you for your prayers.

Knee Problems

Today my knee decided that it should cause me some problems. I 1997 I had a torn meniscus repaired. Until recently it had caused me no problems. Then about a year back it started to cause me the same problems again. The torn piece of meniscus, because I have most certainly torn it again, will flip up and lock my knee. This is fairly painful, and means my knee cannot be extended all the way without pain or bare weight. I can force it to flip back, but that hurts and causes more damage. The best course is wait it out which takes several hours, but as long as I don't move a lot, is pretty painless. Pray that my knee will unlock please as once it does the pain will be gone.

This Made Me Laugh, And Laugh, And Laugh . . .

Template Fixed

After a fair amount of time working through my template xml file, comparing it to the one I used in the first place, and making changes that did not fix the problem, I gave up and just put in the template again. That meant losing a bunch of my widgets and having to re-install them, but I think I have most everything back where I want it. I will probably have to do some more fine tuning, but over all it is looking basically the way I want it.

My Template Is No Longer Working

I just noticed that my template is no longer working. Since I put the three column template in so long ago, I can't really remember how to do it any longer. I will have to do some research and see what I can find out.

UPDATE:
Apparently it is working again. No idea what is up with that, but I will have to look into it when I have the time.

Kidney Stone Has Passed!!

Today, just a few minutes ago, this kidney stone passed. While the pain it causes when between the kidney and the bladder is the worst pain I have ever felt, it is no picnic when it goes from the bladder out of the body either. It had been moving down that passage since yesterday late in the afternoon. The caused me to feel and urgency to go and thus I kept waking up every few hours last night. Thankfully, that is now over, and things can heal. Next time I go in to my doctor, I will bring the stone so they can send it out to be tested for composition. Hopefully, this will be the last time for this. Thank-you to everyone who prayed for me during this time. I am thankful that God did not have me go through the discomfort of having to have the stone blasted again. The last time I had that done, and it was almost as bad as the kidney stone for the next week and a half.

Looking To A Better Country

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:13-16 (ESV)

One of the things that I know I struggle with, and which it seems many followers of Christ struggle with, is that our affection are much too set on this world. With that in mind these verses caught my attention. They are found in a section of Hebrews that speaks of the faith that exemplified the saints of the past--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to name a few. The aspect of faith that is examined there is that it looks forward to something that has not yet been received.

Here we read that these people "died in faith." They knew the promise given them. They trusted that it would be fulfilled eventually. They trusted that God would be true to his word. Yet, they did not receive the things promised before they died.

What grabbed my attention was the other phrase used to describe them, "and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." Part of their dying in faith was not only that they saw the promises from afar even though they did not receive them, but that they realized something far greater, that is, that they and the promises they received and looked toward are not part of the current pattern of this earth. Instead, in faith, they realized that while here they were strangers and exiles. They did not fit with all that was around them because they were looking for something more. They realized that they were strangers and exiles while on this earth.

I think that caught my attention because what I see so often in myself and others around me is the exact opposite. We are obsessed with this earth and the things that are part of it to the point that it is difficult to imagine that we are strangers and exiles. Our hopes so easily become petty things of this earth. What we want to see happen are focused on the hear and now. There is little sense of looking for something more.

But, when one starts to really see themselves as a stranger and exile on the earth because of Jesus Christ, then what the middle part of these verses teach becomes true, "For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one." When we start to realize that the promises we have is far beyond anything this world could ever offer, and we realize that we no longer fit with this world, then it becomes clear that we are looking not for what the world can give, but for what only God can give. We are looking for something better that can only come by God's working. We are looking for a time and place when God will manifest himself in such a way that everything will be transformed completely because of his presence there. Is that not the hope found in places like Revelation 21 were we read,

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the
former things have passed away.”

Sadly, our hopes are often all too small because we are much to connected and at home in this earth. There is often little or no sense that we are looking for a homeland that is buile by God, because we are to at home in this world that is in rebellion against God.

The final verse calls for you and I to reconsider this comfort on the earth. We read that those who acknowledge they are strangers and exile on the earth, those who make it clear they are looking for a better place from God that is heavenly not earthly, are the sort of people that God is not ashamed to be called their God. If God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who are looking for the city that God has prepared for them, what of you and I who so often are not looking for that city, that country prepared for us by God?

This is a call to realize that true faith makes you a person who is no longer part of this earth. Yes, you live here. Yes, striving for good, peace and the like here is not a bad thing, except when it makes you or I forget that we are strangers and exiles on the earth. May God give us faith that realizes that, faith that lives in such a way that looks to the better country, the city God has prepared for us, where he will dwell with his people forever.

Kidney Stone, Still Not Passed

I wanted to give another quick update on how things are going with my kidney stone. It still has not passed. Today I am fairly pain free, at least so far. Yesterday, Sunday, was the exact opposite. I could not get to sleep Saturday night because of the pain, and by 1:30AM Sunday I was in the ER at the local hospital because the pain was overwhelming. They gave pain medication and that worked, and I remained in the hospital until 7AM.

Due to that, I was unable to preach the AM service, but told the Elder from our congregation that I might be able to do the PM service if I remained pain free, but as the medications from the hospital wore off, the pain returned. The Tylenol 3 tablets kept it bearable, but I was pretty much out of it all day. Thankfully, a retired minister who is part of our congregation offered to do the evening service so that was a great weight off my mind.

The ironic part of all of this was that both the morning and evening sermons I planned to preach dealt with suffering. The AM sermon was to be on 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 and the evening sermon on 1 Peter 4:12-19.

As I mentioned, today has been pretty pain free up to this point, but I still feel twinges, and my past experience tells me that another attack can come with no warning.

The biggest negative of all of this is that the meds and the fatigue make it difficult for me to process things mentally.

A Friend With The Lord

I just found out today that a person I count as a friend who has been battling leukemia and seemed to be getting over it, died on August 4th. Rev. F. Scott Petersen, pastor of Fairfield Reformed Church, blogger at Ars Theologica went to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I only met Scott once in person at the Banner of Truth conference, but we communicated via e-mail and comments in one another's blogs. He was a strong voice against the slide in the RCA into a liberal wasteland, and a committed follower of Christ. The RCA is less without him.

Keep his family and Fairfield Reformed Church in your prayers as they go through this trying time. May the truth of these words of Christ sink in and strengthen them in this time,

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Service will be held at Fairfield Reformed Church, 360 Fairfield Rd., Fairfield, NJ 07004 on Tuesday the 7th at 11AM. In lieu of flowers, financial donations may be sent to the church for the family to help pay for Scott's medical bills.

Update on Kidney stones

For those who may be interested here is an update on my kidney stone. So far it still has not passed. It causes me discomfort from time to time, but with the pain killers that the doctor prescribed I can keep ahead of the pain. On the negative side the Tylenol 3's are making me rather unfocused mentally which they normally don't do, but that may be a result of my not getting a good nights rest for three nights in a row. I slept well last night, and DV I will sleep well again tonight.

I would appreciate prayers that God will give me a clear enough mind to get my sermons done for Sunday.

Caring For Pastor's Wife

JT over at Between two Worlds pointed his reader to a post dealing with how a congregation should care for their pastor's wife.

The original post is over here.

As a pastor whose wife has received the brunt of various criticisms I am very aware of the burden she has. I am also aware that people seem to think that complaints, gossip, and outright attacks on her or me in her presence are acceptable, when they would never say those things to my face.

I recommend reading the post. It has some great suggestions on how to care for a pastor's wife.

Money Challenge

I saw this over at Random Responses
and found it hits the nail of the head, so to speak. It is very convicting.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

Kidney Stone

Yesterday we officially returned from vacation. It was a good vacation, and while I would have liked another week, I felt rested.

However, that rested state was not to last. On Monday afternoon I had some minor side pain that reminded me of when I had kidney stones, but it was not intense and I had been busy doing various things so I figured maybe a muscle got a little strained.

I felt fine all day Tuesday, but after going to bed and having a hard time sleeping due to the heat, I woke up at 2-2:30AM with much more intense pain in my side. It still didn't come close to when I last had a kidney stone, but as time passed it got worse. Sure enough, when I went to the local ER, I have a kidney stone. Thankfully the medication worked great, so I didn't even need to take any morphine. Regardless, I got very little sleep, and there is still a twinge in my side that tells me the stone has not yet passed.

If this follows the pattern I experienced last time, as long as the stone is still in there, I will have intermittent attacks. Overall, I got about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours of sleep last night, and I feel very tired. Hopefully the meds will keep ahead of the pain, and that they will aid in the passing of the stone.

Vacation

I know I have not been posting a lot. Things have been busy. I have been spiritually tired, and that means sermons take longer to write. I even have some blog posts in the works that I could not seem to get my mind to think through the way I wanted. We will be leaving for vacation soon. Some camping. Some day trips. But, probably little blogging. Hopefully the rest and reading will revive me. I know I am looking forward to some time away.

Spelling Bee Challenges

I found this posted here. I liked it, and was happy he spelled it correctly in the end.