Blog of the Week - GospelDrivenLife

In light of the fires that are burning in California, I am choosing this blog as the blog of the week.  This blog is written by the pastor of a church in the San Diego area.  The church is part of Sovereign Grace ministries (the ministry that CJ Mahaney leads).  This pastor has been good about giving just brief updates that remind us of the need to pray for the churches and the leaders in the churches as they have a wonderful yet emotionally exhausting ministry opportunity ahead of them.  Hopefully the church will respond in some of the same ways that the church responded following Katrina.  This blog is a reminder to pray for the people and that God will be glorified in the days and weeks to come.

Lil T like a little kid

I have already determined that having a dog is like having a two-three year old that never grows up (except that you can leave them home alone).  Lil T just keeps proving that.  On Tuesday, I had to buy dog food, and I decided to buy Lil T a pack of toys that included a ball since all of his balls seem to be MIA.  When I got the pack of toys home to Lil T, he was so excited to have new toys to play with that he could not decide whether to eat his dinner or play with his new toys.  What is funny is that the toys are basically the same toys he already has (except cleaner).  All night long you could hear him playing with his new soft bone (in brown although he already has one in blue that needs to be and will be thrown away because it has been washed one too many times).  I thought he would chase the ball around first since that was the one toy he had not played with in a while, but he did not start doing that until last night.  I guess he was bored with his old toys, and just needed some new ones to entertain himself!

Sweet Tea

Some of you who read this blog know that in June I gave up drinking Dr. Pepper.  I decided it was time to lay off the DP when I could not go past 10 a.m. without drinking one because I would have a headache.  The first few days were pretty bad (I don't know how many BC powders it took me to get through them), but pretty soon I had weaned myself off DP.  I think part of the reason I was successful is because I turned to sweet tea!

I love sweet tea!  I am talking about the stuff that is sweetened when warm and with real sugar, not fake stuff (for the most part). I have determined that I love to order sweet tea as my beverage of choice at most restaurants.  I guess that I still need a little bit of a caffeine boost from time to time (although I don't have to have sweet tea by 10 a.m. each day, thank goodness).  I even have moved my iced tea maker from my home to my office (I couldn't resist once we moved into the newly remodelled office with an ice machine!).  So I am going to list my favorite and not so favorite sweet teas:

Favorites

1.  I hate to admit it, but Gold Peak Sweet Tea (especially since it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar).  It just tastes better than the others I have tried.

2.  McAllister's

3.  My own

4.  Chicken Express (probably more because it is just a $1 with the tax)

5.  McDonald's (also because it is cheap)

Least Favorites

1.  All bottled sweet tea other than Gold Peak

2.  Sonic

3.  Baker Brothers

4.  On the Border

5.  Pretty much any other place like 3 and 4 that feel that they need to charge $2 for tea, but yet don't spend the time making it high quality tea.

The Importance of Preparation

I know that at times when I am teaching, I fight the temptation to not prepare as much as I should because I know and trust that God is going to be the one granting me the grace to speak and teach anyway. However, I know when I give in to that temptation that I am sinning (although, God in His grace often grants me the grace to get through the teaching experience). I know that there are times when I am not going to have enough time to prepare before teaching (i.e., emergency situations). I also know that it is only by God's grace that I am able to teach when I have the opportunity. However, I feel that I should teach as if I am teaching under my own strength, then surrender myself to God. This often means that I spend more hours in preparation than I need to or that it takes me longer to teach certain short books of the Bible than maybe it should (some of you have experienced that first hand!). Teaching should be a time of worship for the teacher, and true worship results only when we sacrifice.

I love this quote from C.H. Spurgeon (aka, the Prince of Preachers):

Make it plain to your own self. I believe that, when I preach, I ought to prepare and study my sermon as if its success altogether depended upon me, but that, when I am thus thoroughly furnished, I am to trust in God as much as if I had done nothing at all. The same view should be taken of your life and of your service for God. Work as if you were to be saved by your works, and then trust Christ only, since it is only by faith in him that you are capable of a single good work. Work for God with all your might, as if you did it all, but then always remember that "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

He sums it up in better words than I ever could!

Blog of the Week - Pyromaniacs

Last week I was sick and had to stay home on Thursday, so here is the blog of the week that I would have posted had I been at work.  It is Pyromaniacs, a blog group run by some guys who teach at a church somewhere (actually I think that they go to Grace Community Church which you may recognize as the church John MacArthur teaches at).  Often the posts are humorous with the art accompanying the blog entertaining.  The thing that I particularly like is the posts that point out the inconsistencies in liberal and emerging churches.  Some of the advertisements and gimmicks used by these groups are unbelievable.   There are posts with substance as well, although they are usually peppered with sarcasm and dry humor.  Entertaining read for the most part on most days.

Blog of the Week - Chris Rose

Although this blog isn't really a blog but a newspaper column, I think it is still worth its own mention as blog of the week.  Chris Rose was an entertainment columnist (I think) pre-Katrina, but post-Katrina, his column shifted to more of life in New Orleans.  He is blunt, to the point, and honest in a way that only those in New Orleans can be about themselves.  Warning - some of the content is a little inappropriate and contains language.  However, Rose has found a way to convey life in the city since the hurricanes in a way that I don't think anyone else has.  He shows that it is not about race or socio-economic level (the hurricane didn't hit just poor neighborhoods), but that everyone in the city was affected.  I would suggest reading all of his hurricane articles (although, again, some are inappropriate) in order to get a feeling of how New Orleans has come back from the hurricane.  Through his honest writings, you can see a city slowly rebuilding (emotionally and physically).

Living the Bible?

I came across this article today as I was taking one of my reading breaks at work.  There are so many different levels to address this article on.  In short, this man set out to live all the commands in the Bible for a year (just a year), and the Anderson Cooper show is doing a segment on how successful the guy was, how hard it was to follow the laws, etc.

This man found 700 decrees that he believed that he must be conscious of and keep every single day in order to live the Bible.  How depressing would that be to be constantly focused on the law and trying to keep the law?  I wonder if that included the sacrificial system (and I wonder how PETA felt about that one!).  Of course, I guess it couldn't include the sacrificial system because I personally don't know of any Levites that are available to offer the sacrifice at the temple (or where there is a temple that qualifies) in order for him to properly offer sacrifice according to the Old Testament Scripture.  This guy tried to keep the laws for a year, and only a year, yet those were decrees set out for man to obey every single day of his life.

Wow, I am thankful that we are no longer under the law!  Trying to keep 700 decrees would be depressing.  We are condemned by the law because no one is capable of keeping it.  It is interesting to see that the world thinks that obeying a set of rules and regulations qualifies us as "living the Bible."  It goes to show that the world can learn facts about the Bible and know portions of Scripture, but when it comes to understanding, we need the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that this man, and many who watch the program tonight, will miss the point of the law.  The law was given for one reason, and that was to point us to Christ.  Man is condemned by the law because no man can keep its 700 thou shalts and thou shalt nots.  Man has to face the reality that there is nothing that he can do that will save him because he is condemned by his failure to follow God's law.  The article mentions that it was easy to keep some, like "Thou shalt not murder," but I would go so far as to say that this man did not even keep that commandment.  Jesus took that commandment and stated that even a man who is angry in his heart towards a brother commits murder.  When you get to the very heart of the commandments, everyone is condemned.  The law makes man's condition look hopeless.  Therefore, man realizes that he must turn to God for grace.  

Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the law.  He was able to keep all of the decrees.  He was able to be righteous in His thought life and His heart.  He was able to present Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, fulfilling the sacrificial system and bringing it to an end.  The law testifies to His place as Messiah and is to point us to Christ as our representative who was able to keep the law.  Because we are unable to keep the law, we must depend upon His grace who kept the law.  Since He who was sinless and a fulfillment of the law took on our sin on the cross, we can put on His righteousness.  By entering into that relationship with Christ, we are called to "live the Bible" by living like Christ.  Living the Bible isn't about keeping commands, but by accepting the gift of grace and living in that grace to become more and more like Christ.

We need more people in the world living the Bible by living in grace instead of trying to keep the 700 decrees.  We can't expect the world to understand without the Holy Spirit, so we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will change minds and hearts.  We also need to proclaim the gospel to the world, including living the Bible as a redeemed, holy people.  We need to take opportunities to share the gospel by pointing out condemnation under the law, but also by pointing out God's grace through Jesus' sacrifice.

Rumors

Yesterday I attended the Texas High production of Neil Simon's Rumors.  I am impressed by the quality of the production.  I remember my high school's plays, and let's just say that you may have thought that middle schoolers had put on the play.  Not only was it a funny play (of course credit for that goes to the writer), but the actors did a great job (for high schoolers) of acting and overacting in order to enhance the comedic properties of the play.  I have to admit that the only reason I went was because one of the youth at church was playing the part of one of the police officers.  However, because of the quality of that performance, I may have found a new community activity to continue to attend and to support.

Finding Consistency in College Football

I have said, and will probably continue to say until sometime in the first week of January, that this is one of the strangest years of college football that I have ever seen.  There seems to be no powerhouse, except maybe LSU after watching them play a bit on Saturday.  Until Saturday, I thought USC was the powerhouse, but then they had a random turn of events resulting in a loss (don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed that they finally lost!!!  even better that it was to a pretty bad team!!!).  Texas, OU, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, etc., etc., etc. have had surprising losses in the past few weeks, making me wonder what has happened to the teams that are considered the best year in and year out.  South Florida is in the top 5 right now.  Four teams in the top 10 this week were unranked to start the season.  It is crazy.

Yet, in all of this inconsistency and uncertainty, you can count on one team to continue to do what it has done year in and year out.  I am of course talking about my Baylor Bears.  Now here is a team that realizes how uncomfortable it is for the fans to live with all of this uncertainty in college football, so they want to make it easy on their fans.  As a Texas fan, it is hard for me to watch each week because I just don't know what is going to happen, and it makes me so nervous that I may have an ulcer by the end of the season.  However, Baylor doesn't put me through this mental and physical torture.  They are concerned about my health and the health of their fans so much that they feel that we don't need any surprises.  Yes, they may keep us on the edge of our seats for 3 quarters (or the first set of downs), but they give us plenty of time to adjust to the outcome of the game.  While other fans have to remain in a state of inner turmoil about whether their team is going to make a bowl game, remain ranked, remain undefeated, etc., Baylor makes sure to take away all turmoil early in the season.  Although there is a chance of a bowl game, everyone knows it is a long shot and isn't worried about it occurring.  Everyone knows that Baylor is not going to top the Big 12, so any win that comes at this point will just be a time to laugh.  Laughter is good medicine, right?  Now don't get me wrong.  I still cheer for my Bears.  I am proud when they win a game here and there.  I really don't care whether we keep this coach or let him go.  Everyone knows it is about recruiting anyway, and frankly, it is hard to recruit for Baylor when you have UT, aTm, and Tech recruiting in the same state (not to mention OU who has more Texans than Oklahomans on their team I think -- it may be 50/50, but I digress).  So here is to the one team who seems to have found a way to be consistent in this year of college football!  Baylor, I salute you.

2 Timothy 1:13

I am learning that the more I study the Bible, the more I realize I don't know.  Yesterday I was doing my Precept study in 2 Timothy, and the day's assignment was to focus in on the words used to make up one verse.  You would think that would be a quick Bible study.  I mean, it is just one verse.  But somewhere between 30-45 minutes later, I was amazed at what I had learned after just scratching the surface - I did not make it past the 6th word in my study. 

Here is the verse:

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  (NASB)

Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  (ESV)

Before looking at the meanings of the words, it is easy to just repeat these words as a sort of catch phrase to show our knowledge of Paul's letter and to encourage others to retain the standard.  However, as I studied the meaning of the words, the meaning of the verse became so much deeper.  

I have to apologize now for not being able to refer to the Greek words whose meanings I am going to give (since my notes are at home), but I don't like to latinize the words anyway (you can call me a Greek snob).  The word translated retain is also translated hold-fast, hold-firm, stand strong.  I don't know if this is how the term was used or not, but I picture in my head an army that is holding the line, following the general's orders, even though it may not look like the smartest thing to do because they are being attacked.  The word translated standard in NASB is probably better translated pattern (as the ESV translators realized).  It has the idea of an artist who makes a sketch before drawing the real thing.  The picture that comes to mind for me is a sewing pattern, or maybe even a blueprint/instructions that come along with building a prefabricated building.  Sound words are healthy ideas, healthy complete thoughts.

What is it that Paul is instructing Timothy to do?  Paul is telling Timothy to follow the pattern of teaching and preaching and presenting the gospel that Paul has set.  Paul is instructing Timothy to hold fast to the biblical model of teaching.  That means that those who are teaching the Bible need to look to the Bible to determine if a particular method of teaching is supported by the Bible.  It means that one has to have a grasp of Scripture to teach Scripture.  Paul used Scripture to interpret Scripture.  More importantly, Paul had the gospel as the center of all that he taught.  Christ is the main character of the Bible, and the gospel needs to be proclaimed.  I know that there are times when teaching through Scripture that I have failed to include the gospel.  Since studying that verse, I have thought over the stories and the teachers in the Old and New Testament.  Just look at the Minor Prophets, and the gospel is throughout what they are teaching.  Look at Jewish law and Christ was being taught (Hebrews confirms this).  Look at the epistles in the New Testament, and you see the gospel of Christ.  

In all, I think that we need to make sure that the focus of everything that we teach is Scripture so that we can follow the example of Paul and other biblical writers and teachers.  We need to allow Scripture to teach us how to teach Scripture.  Most of all we need to make sure that the gospel of Christ is taught in each message that we bring.

Pictures

The last few days I have been looking through various pictures, none of which were my own (although I was in some).  Have you ever thought about how odd it is to look at someone else's pictures?  Of course, it is one way that we can keep up with what is going on in other's lives when looking at Facebook and My Space pictures.  So many of those pictures have commentary to go along with them.  What I have found strange is looking through years and years worth of pictures.  One set was a friend's pictures, and another set was a stranger's pictures.

In the friend's pictures, it is strange to see pictures of people you know and even yourself, but not know the story behind them.  I saw pictures of myself as a little girl, and it looked like we were having a blast, but I can't remember the story that goes with it.  I don't remember wearing those clothes, having those friends, doing those things.  I saw pictures of people I knew, and you wonder what the story is behind the picture.  You can see the family grow over the years, yet the love remains the same.

In the stranger's pictures, you really feel like you are invading the family's privacy.  Part of my job is to personalize a client, and when the person has died, one of the ways to do that is to use pictures.  It is odd to watch a person growing up that you never met.  It really seemed like I, as a stranger, was eavesdropping on the family with things that weren't meant to be seen.  None of the pictures were inappropriate or anything like that.  It was just that you almost feel like you should know someone before looking through their pictures.  You can tell that there is a story behind each and every one, and you can see a family's love through the years.  I also found myself dreading each passing year because I knew that she would die young in her early 20s.  That last Christmas was sad to see in pictures because they did not know that it would be the last.  I mean, with an illness, you have a chance to prepare, but with a sudden death you just don't know.  There are happy pictures, then the life is no more.  The next picture you see is of a tombstone.  It was kind of a depressing feeling.

There really isn't anything profound that I am trying to say.  I am sure that if I talked to the stranger's family, they would have something special to say about each picture.  I know that the friend did.  Plus, I was a pretty cute little kid (except the picture where I look like my brother ... that one was scary.).

Lil T Update

Well, some of you know by now that my poor little puppy will never be the same again (and will never produce offspring) because of his minor surgery on Monday.  I got a kick out of the event.  For starters, you have to have the dog at the vet at 7:30.  I don't get anywhere by 7:30.  Then they say that they will call you to let you know that your baby made it through surgery.  Fine.  When they call, they act like they are giving you an update on a relative that wasn't expected to make it -- your baby is doing fine, he is waking up well, he is a little groggy but that should wear off, you can pick him up at 4:30, he will be missing his mommy by then, etc.  My dog is a dog, not a human, and it was a surgery that some of my youth could have performed without ever putting him under (so they tell me).  However, I chose to take him to the vet to be charged because it would be less painful for him, not because he is almost human.

I go to pick up Lil T, and they give me the list of instructions - no jumping for 2 weeks, no running, keep activity at a minimum for 24 hours, small amount of food and water tonight because he will throw up, he will be groggy and act like he doesn't feel good, no bath for 2 weeks, he won't like his pills, etc.  I guess that they have never met my dog.  They bring him out in his pet taxi that is now too small for him, but proceed to take 15 minutes to run my card through the machine to pay for his vet bill.  15 minutes of the stupid dog trying to get out of his taxi and going crazy.  Well, there goes the keeping activity at a minimum for 24 hours.  We get home, and the first thing he does upon exiting the pet taxi is jump up to about chest level on me to nip at my elbow.  There goes the no jumping for 2 weeks.  I let him sit with me in the living room, and he proceeds to run in circles and jump from couch to love seat to couch to love seat to couch.  There goes the no running.  By this point I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to act groggy or like he didn't feel good either.

Dinner time for him came around and he ate and drank just fine without throwing up.  Good thing I guess, especially since he was jumping around.  The next morning it came pill time.  My dog thinks that pills are treats because I give him a digestive pill every day and he loves it.  Lil T thought he was in heaven because he got three pills instead of one.  He was so excited.  So basically the vet's assistant was wrong about everything.  I don't know how my psychopathic dog is going to survive 2 weeks without a bath (he loves those too).  

Well since his surgery, we have had no accidents in the living room (prior to the surgery he had gotten in the habit of marking the couches, and spent the last two months away from the living room).  Lil T has not calmed down any, although I really didn't expect that to happen.  So if I had to pay to make him a eunuch so that he would stop peeing on the couch, it was worth it.  Now he can watch TV again and see his favorite Dyson vaccuum cleaner commercial and bark at things that are on the floor that shouldn't be.  And, it means I have to keep my living room clean enough for him, meaning I can have people over again!

Blog of the Week - Baylor Proud

So it is again time for the blog of the week.  It seems that blog of the week is the only thing I have been writing recently, but there are some things churning in my head, so I am sure that more will come out soon.

This week's blog is paying tribute to my alma mater (although they got beat by aTm this weekend).  Baylor has a new blog about different things that should make alumni proud of Baylor.  Some are informative, some entertaining, and some just look like morale is down so we must talk about something to make us proud.  I am sure it is just a pr stunt intended to increase the alumi confidence in the current administration, but the information is still fun to read.