You Have Eyes To See But Do Not See!

My wife and I have developed somewhat of a ritual on Wednesday nights. After we have our family alter time and the children are prayed over and put to bed, we set up the computer, grab a snack, and watch NCIS. I know we are breaking major protocol in the SBC by not being in church on hump day. Sorry. When we started attending our current church, they did not have Wednesday night services. Anyhow, that is not why I am blogging. I am blogging because of what I read pertaining to Cote de Pablo who plays Ziva David in NCIS.

In the January 2011 edition of "Prevention," a holistic magazine that focuses on healthy living, Cote de Pablo gives a short interview giving readers a glimpse into her life. In this interview, we catch her vision of the divine.

When de Pablo was 21, she lost her grandmother to cancer. In her grandmothers last hours, a distraught Pablo gave God an ultimatum. Either God take her grandmother in twenty minutes or she would never believe in him again. Her grandmother died ten minutes later. Cote de Pablo credits this experience to her belief in a God.

From this point, it is not hard for her to move into some form of mysticism. Though she does not label herself any particular religion, nevertheless by description she leans to Eastern mysticism. She practices open flow Vinyasa [breathed synchronized yoga] with a personal teacher. She believes that her soul is in need of purification and that in order to be purified she must be reincarnated several times. The interviewer even assumed she might be Buddhist. To this assumption she expelled an answer that sounded very familiar to me.

"I don't label myself as anything. I have a lot of friends who don't believe in God. They say to me, 'How can you believe in God?' 'I go, "How can you not believe in God? I have moments where I've seen the majestic beauty in nature and the overwhelming perfection of it."' (Kate Hahn pg 102)

When I read this I had to stop and reread it again. Of course the first thing that came to my mind was Romans 1:19-20. God makes himself known to his creation through his creation. When I look around and see the grander of the Rocky Mountains or the valor of the Niagara Falls, I cannot help but wonder who or what is behind it all. This is especially so when I examine the complexities of the human body or the mind blowing intricacy of DNA. To this effect, de Pablo and I are on the same page. Yet, maybe we are on different sides of the same coin.

By God's grace, I can see the reality behind the creation. The sun shines gloriously and obediently in the sky. It shines gloriously because there is nothing like it, obediently because it points me to the one who made it and holds it all together; namely Christ (Hebrews 1:1-4; John 1). On this side of truth I have understanding.

Cote de Pablo however, has eyes to see yet she does not see. She knows that this world is too complex and extraordinary to have just evolved. She knows that something greater than herself is out there, yet she is blind to who it is. The next couple of verses in Romans explain her current condition.

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:21-23)

In the last part of the article de Pablo acknowledges that there is a "very big God out there." And she is doing everything in her mind to acknowledge him. The problem is that her thinking is futile and her heart is darkened. Because her heart is darkened, so are her eyes. The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ has not enlightened her to see the truth she is seeking. Instead, she is exchanging the glory of God for the things of this world. This is the epitome of sin. Further on in Romans, condemnation is pronounced for those who continue in this state (Romans 3, 5, 6, 8).

It was interesting for me to experience this verse in this context. Typically I read the verse and imagine some half naked guy with a spear and an exotic head dressing dancing around a fire on the other side of the world. This time God has opened my eyes to see that people in my general circle think this way. (I'm not saying that Cote de Pablo and I hang out or anything. I'm just saying that she is someone I recognize and have somewhat of a connection too.) I've known this for some time. But I have not really let the reality of it sink in. It was more of an abstract thought. In this light, she has helped me see the kingdom of God more clearly. Ironic isn't it?

My hope for Cote de Pablo is that she will receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was once no different than she. I was blind and lost. I wondered from one so called truth to the next. It was not until the Father seized my heart and poured out his love on me. Once I tasted the sweetness of His grace, there was no other fountain I wanted to drink. It was this drink that healed my heart and therefore healed my eyes.

My Heart Is Firm...Trustin In The Lord

It is no secret that when a family decides to go to seminary, that God uses life to teach you as much about ministry as the classroom. This last year God has allowed the bank account to drizzle away. He has allowed the unexpected to show up. He has not spared our bodies from affliction. Our faith has been challenged and tested with fire. Though the valley is deep and the road is long, God has shown himself faithful to us. We have been in the wilderness. Our souls are in a dry and thirsty state. Last Tuesday, God opened our mouths and gave us much to drink.

In order to get to Tuesday, we must first start with Sunday. Sunday was a fairly normal day in our house. Except for the fact that I got up to late and was hurried to get Naomi, Ethan, and myself out of the house and to the church for worship practice. It was our first Sunday as a new church. Grace Church of Louisville, a three year old church plant, merged with Franklin Baptist Church, a 100 year old community church. The service was great. Both Mark and Dr. Pennington gave insightful sermonettes. The congregation was filled with testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness over the years.

When we came home, we talked a lot about our circumstances and God's faithfulness. We talked about our lack of money for school, both seminary and home school. We also talked about a lack of clear direction of where God wants us in ministry.

That night, at dinner time, Stacy had a pen and a note card and asked us to list some things we need to pray for. We listed several things, one of them being money for home school curriculum. Stacy asked Naomi to specifically pray for $400.00 for curriculum and supplies. After we were done praying I asked for the kids to say what they are thankful for. Ethan said, " I am thankful for the money God is going to provide." I told him he had good theology.

Now comes Tuesday. It is almost 1pm. I was able to take an hour swim after working at Life Way in the morning. I'm on my way out to meet Alex to take him to work. As I walk through the hallway in the Honeycut Center, I call my wife to see how she is doing. She picks up says the usual. The kids are in chaos and the morning went quick. However, this time their is a particular calm in her voice.

She tells me, " You received a special letter today." I replied, "Oh ya, from who?" "It's a secret. They did not sign their name." she said. Of course, I was curious so I asked her to read it to me. She was hesitant at first. Maybe because she wanted me to experience the same element of surprise as she did. My curiosity got the best of me and I was eager to hear the letter. So she read it...

Brother,

I know how hard it can be to provide for your family while you are in school. I also

know that you have a large, growing family, and I felt led to share with you out of the

abundance the Lord has granted me. Please except this as the Lord's provision for your

needs, and always trust that He will take care of you no matter how difficult the season

or circumstance. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own

understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and he will make

your paths straight. I love you brother, and I will be praying for you and your family.

Your Friend

Stacy's voice began to break at the beginning of the scripture. By time she finished the letter she was crying and I was holding back. The letter was encouraging on its own. The five $100.00 bills enclosed sent a jolt through my soul; much like a knife or a scalpel. By this time I am standing in front of Alex and his mother. It is hard to not let on the emotions I am felling inside. Part of me wants to erupt in praise to God for His faithfulness. Another part of me just wanted to cry.

That night at dinner time, I shared with the kids what the Lord had done. I spent the better part of fifteen minutes trying to convey what exactly God had done. In the end I asked Naomi if she understood. She said yes. So I asked her, "We prayed for money for school curriculum. We asked for $400.00. God gave us $500.00. Why? She said, "God gave us more than we needed." And then I asked, "We prayed for this on Monday. This letter was sent before then. What do you think? "God knew ahead of time what we needed and provided for us." she said. I cannot convey how proud I was of her and thankful to god that he gave her eyes to see and ears to hear.

The truly wonderful element of all of this is the means at which God uses to ensure we know this is His doing. Proverbs 3:5-6 has been the verse on my heart for the last several weeks. There are times when panic comes over me, sometimes at odd times like when I am in the pool swimming. This verse has been my life vest. Sometimes the weight of life keeps me from enjoying rest at night. This verse has been my sedative. There are times when despair darkens my soul and clouds my eyes from seeing King Jesus. This verse has been my sun shower. There are times when unbelief gains ground in the battle. This verse has been my faith. Psalm 112:1,6-7 says " Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments...For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting the Lord." How true is the word of God.

I am so thankful to God for his faithfulness. I am also thankful for the church. Stacy and I have enjoyed the blessing of giving money to others. Now we are the ones receiving with joy. God moved one of His children to bless another. That saint obeyed and gave graciously with no recognition. I may never know who gave the money, but I do know I look forward to hearing the story in heaven.

Even Bigger than Cincinnati?

Last Sunday my mother-in-law gave me an early father's day present. She allowed me the opportunity to take in some twilight golf. The barometer peaked at about 95 degrees and the humidity was wet enough that a five minute walk in a casual white shirt turned into something you might catch on Cinnemax after dark. The up side was that the sun was blocked most of the time by the ginormous thunderheads moving through. This brings me to my story.

I decided to take Ethan, my four 1/2 year old boy, with me golfing. This summer, he has taken an interest in the sport and I figured we could use some guy time. He did wonderful. As I would tee up, he would stand behind me with his hands on his hips watching my ball with an eagle eye. Then, I would drive the ball and ask if he saw where it went, only to hear him say, "It went that way."

The highlight of the day came on the fourth hole. So far my game was going great. I was driving well, my irons were cooperating, and my putting was dead on. Being that things were going so well, I decided to be a little conservative on the fourth hole. The fourth hole is a par four that doglegs to the right. It is about 350 yards. I usually drive the ball, get as close as I can, and pitch it on the green. Typically when I have done this I slice the ball into a ravine on the right side of the fairway, and have to use an eight iron on a slope. Nevertheless, I used a three wood and drove straight on the fairway. This set me up with an easy 9 iron shot to the green.

As we were walking down the fairway we were confronted with a towering thunderhead. It seemed as though it stretched ten thousand feet high and a thousand feet wide. I almost had to lean back to take it all in; enough to get a neck cramp just looking at it. It curled and rippled in a gleaming white and purple haze. It was an amazing sight to see.

Seeing this thunderheads' majestic display of power, I asked Ethan who made the clouds. He replied, "God does." I answered back, "Even that one" pointing at the thunderhead? He said, "Yep." I then asked, "Is God bigger than that thunderhead up there?" He said, "I guess so." Hearing the hesitation in his voice, I began to explain that "the heavens declare the glory of God and that the sky above proclaims his handy work. Day unto day pours out speech and night unto night reveals knowledge."(Psalm 19:1-2) I also said that if God were to appear in the sky that every single square inch would not be enough to contain Him. Ethan replied, "Wow!" My sentiments exactly.

Of course this sparked his imagination and opened a discourse on what things God is bigger than; trees, birds, buildings, etc. I pitched my ball on the green while listening to Ethan tell all the things God is bigger than. After I said, "Wow Ethan, God is bigger than a lot of stuff." He said, "Ya, God is even bigger that Cincinnati." I chuckled and agreed. It was not as random as you think.

To understand the comment you must know that Ethan recently visited Cincinnati. I took him to a Reds game with a friend of ours. Needless to say he was impressed with the city.

I love to golf. And I am finding I love to golf with my children. I have taken both Naomi and Ethan out on the course. Every time, if I am paying attention, God always presents an opportunity to talk about him with the children. I pray that my eyes are open to more opportunities like this. Not only does it strengthen the faith of my children, but it reminds me of how great of a God I serve. One that is even bigger than Cincinnati. :)

Other Highlights of the Night

I parred three holes that day. A feat in itself for me.

I sunk a 38 foot putt on one of my pars. I gave Ethan about six high fives as I was making a fool of myself. Later on, an older man who witnessed me dancing with Ethan, said that he loved it and made him wish that he would have golfed with his children when they were younger.

I came within 4 feet of sinking a hole in one. One of my best drives of the year.

Ethan dropped his pants to his ankles on the 7th hole to use go number one. In his defense, he told me he had to use the bathroom. Being that it was late and I thought (was mistaken-see second comment) no one was around, I told him to go by some trees. I guess I was not clear enough. He went by some trees... about twenty feet away-out in the open. It was a teaching moment to say the least.

Son of God Son of Man

"That which is from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and touched with our hands concerning the word of life." 1 John 1:1 JPSV

Son of God

You can feel the thrust of his argument in the heart of those who would deny that Jesus was God's Son who came in the flesh and that his death was sufficient for the salvation of men. He captures the essence of Christ's deity calling him the "Word of Life," just has he does in the prologue of his gospel (John 1:1-14). In this text, "life" speaks of a condition that transcends physical life (cf Matt 7:14; Matt 18:8; Mark 10:30). It could be possibly rendered the "word of eternal life. Again, looking over to John's prologue in his gospel, we see that Jesus is the word who was with God and was God and became flesh-word of eternal life. "That which is from the beginning" is also an indicator of Jesus' deity. This phrase is used many times in the Septuagint connoting the idea of what extends back before time exists ( Wis 6:22; 9:8; Sir 16:26; Isaiah 43:13).

Son of Man

John validates Jesus' humanness by verifying that his eyes beheld Jesus and his hands touched him. This use of sensory language almost tastes of when Jesus invites Thomas to see his hands and touch his side after he was resurrected (Luke 24:39). Jesus came in the flesh and lived as a man. When the sun beat on his brow he grew thirsty and drank. When walking on the dirt roads covered with rocks and pebbles, his feet were worn with calluses. His stomach growled when he was hungry and his eyes grew weary when he was tired. In essence, he was a man.

Jesus was the Son of God and the Son of Man. He was both God and man at the same time. Those whom John was opposing in this epistle was denying this truth. They could not fathom how God, who is holy and righteous, come down as flesh, sinful and death ridden. In fact, they could not grasp the incarnation. To some degree, I can relate to them.

Why is the incarnation important?

Why is the doctrine of the incarnation so important? There is a long answer to this that I cannot really explain. So, I will not try to go that route. However, off the cuff I would say that the incarnation is important because without it we would not have the Atonement nor the Resurrection. And without the both of these we do not have the Christian faith.

Another reason the incarnation is important is that Christ had to do what Adam and Israel did not do, overcome the wilderness. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they were kicked out of the garden and into the world (a wilderness if you will). Israel wondered 40 years in the wilderness for their rebellion against God at Mt Sinai. Christ came in the flesh (wilderness) lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and conquered death in the Resurrection. We see a foreshadow of this when Christ, at the beginning of his ministry, was drawn into the desert to be tempted. He overcame the temptation in the wilderness and crossed the Jordan back into Jerusalem to bring in the kingdom of God (Mark 1:1-15). Christ could not do this unless he came and lived and died and rose as a man.

These are my thoughts. So much for being concise :). I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Hello Again!

I know, it has been over three months since I have last written. It has been a crazy three months. Aside from having my fourth child, the demands of seminary and two jobs have taken their toll. Nevertheless, I am back and hope to write more over the summer.

This last semester I had the privilege of translating 1 John from Greek to English. I also had to write an expositional paper on 1 John 5:16-17: "The Sin That Leads To Death." Both of these have taught me a great deal, not to mention two important truths. First, translation takes a lot of work and practice. There are so many questions that must be answered and thought through for each verse. Add to that, every time you translate, you loose something from the original. Therefore, a good translator will try keep his losses at a minimal. Needless to say, translating is an art.

The second thing I have learned is that my writing needs to become more clear and concise. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head. And sometimes I like to put them all down in one setting, regardless if they fit or not. This makes things lengthy and meandering. I need to work on laying hold of one idea and sticking with it all the way through, in as short of space as possible.

Therefore, at least over the summer, I am going to practice translating my Greek one verse at a time and writing my reflections on it. This will be more on the spot thinking and writing. I do not plan to consult my resources for information or ideas. I am going to try to organize my thoughts and put them down in a paragraph or two. I hope by doing so that I will become a better translator and writer.

As always, you thoughts and comments are welcome. I may write something that you agree or disagree with. You are free to say what you like. Moreover, you may see something that I missed in my thought process and correct it or present a case for it. Feel free. I am open to the dialogue.

I hope all is well.

All Is Well

It has been a while since I have last written. Time seems to be a bit relative to me since the beginning of the year (Kind of ironic considering I'm not a "Post Modernist" if you will.) Between work, school starting up again, and anticipating a new born, life has been seemingly hectic.

However, things have been very well, all things considering. In this entry, I'm going to highlight two things that have encouraged me and offered me an opportunity to hope.

Many Prayers Equal a Mini Van

No, I am not a health wealth and prosperity gospel guy. Those who know me know that I abhor it. But all praise and glory go to God who graciously provided a van for our family. As a family, we prayed during our meals and family worship time for God to provide for us a vehicle that would be able to hold all of our family. A few weeks ago, God answered our prayer.

Stacy's dad had been looking around for us in Iowa and found a red Chrysler 2000 Town & Country Limited Edition; with only 94,000 miles on it. They fellow who owned the car was a friend of Paul's and sold the van to us $2,000 under its value. We were able to get rid of the 98 Oldsmobile which helped in acquiring the van.

Through it all God has shown himself magnificent. Our children were able to tangibly see God working for his people. He has given them another memorial, a pillar if you will, to lean on when they pray to him. In 1 John 5:14-15 it says, "And this is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request asked of him." My family and I have tasted the fruit of these verses many times. The mini van is just another testimony of our confidence in God that he hears us and answers our prayers according to His great wisdom.

I would encourage you all to pray with your children. I have learned the more that I involve them in our everyday worship, the more their faith is validated, wherever it me be. It seems that faith is built on blocks at times. Every prayer offered together is an opportunity to strengthen their resolve for their Creator.

Seminary is Sanctification

My seminary experience has been interesting to say the least. There is an unexplainable tension waring in my heart between who I am and the man God has in mind. It is as if I am going through an identity crisis of some sorts. It is almost as if I have been taken back to the time of my conversion. The time after the bliss has worn off and my sin is as real as the chair I'm sitting in and the fight to turn from it is hostile. Everyday is a struggle. Everyday is a step.

I'm learning that this experience is not uncommon to those attending seminary. As a matter of fact, if you are not experiencing this to some degree, some would say you have not really been attending seminary. There are a few facts about seminary that hurt, yet, give me hope. Let me share them with you.

1. God uses seminary to discipline you.

Everything we are experiencing, ultimately, is from the hand of God. Just as he tells the water to come this far and no further, He also tells the bank accounts to empty this much and no more, the crazy circumstance to come at this time and not that time, and the sickness to run its course and be finished. He also allows others to work for you and against you at the same time. The workings of our God are so incomprehensible that pondering them for to long forces me to cry out with Paul, "who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Who has given to Him as if He should repay him? For from him, and through, him, and to him are all things." (Romans 11:33-36) And the crazy thing about all of this is it is done out of love.

Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us that God only disciplines us out of love. If we put this verse in the context of the promise of Romans 8:28, we see that because all things work together for our good, that be default God himself must be good. A "bad" god or "evil" god would not work anything out for good. Jesus himself questioned the Pharisees by asking them, "how can you speak good when you are evil? (Matt 12: 34) He answers them in a way that exposes the heart. "The good person, out his good treasure brings forth good and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil." (Matt 12:35) Keeping in line with this thought, if God promises that all things work for our good in Romans 8:28, then that promise is given and motivated by his goodness. And if he is good and works all things out for our good, then the chastening he brings is good and must be welcomed as a gracious gift. And as Hebrews 12 explains, God does this out of love, just as father disciplines his son.

Keep in mind too, that discipline shows itself in a myriad of ways. It is not always through pain and suffering. Overall, my family and I love Louisville and the Village Manor (our housing complex). We love the people we meet and the experiences we have had. However, we are constantly walking through knee high water. We strive day by day with enough faith to believe that manna is enough and God's grace is sufficient.

2. God uses seminary to make us more pliable.

To be in seminary is to be broke. There is no way around it. I have seen engineers, school teachers, businessmen, and many others come to seminary and barley make it. Add in a few kids and a minimum wage job, and you really have broke. I have come to except this as part of God's working. Stacy and I enjoyed a very comfortable lifestyle in Texas. I was a school teacher and a youth pastor. I made good money for our household. We had savings and the freedom to buy what we wanted within reason. We were comfortable.

Sometimes being comfortable makes you rigid, even taut. I don't think you realize it until you are forced to bend. God takes your comfort away and works through the spiritual rigamortis to prepare you to lead his people. He applies pressure in some areas, like security, that has calcified over time into self-dependency, and he works it out like a masseuse or chiropractor, until your faith is pliant; elastic enough to be stretched, yet durable enough not to break. And this only happens when we come to realize Christ as LORD. LORD over health, wealth, faith, family, and all that is in between...you name it....he claims it! God uses seminary, the entire facet of seminary, to ensure you are equipped to do his will. Pastors must be pliable in a lot of areas of ministering. I will probably speak more on this later.

All of this being said, we have hope. We know we are called to be here in Louisville at Southern Seminary. We know that God is at work in us to work out his perfect will. We are seeing prayers answered, like the one above, and we are seeing our faith being chastened. God has been very gracious to us in providing support from our home church in Bristol, TX and our neighbors. We are loved and cared for. We have a lot of reasons to rejoice.

No matter how difficult this journey is going to get, we know that we have a Father who works in us and a mediator who advocates for us. Please continue to pray for us that God will provide as he sees fit and feel free to share your request with us. We love to pray as a family and would love to pray for you. Be good and God bless.