Against Nothingness

Yet another year gone. Another month, another day, another minute, just like any other. Did you know that for centuries the Christian new year began on March 25th? It's true. Think about that for a minute, and remember that whatever you did last night was to celebrate an utterly arbitrary decision, made by some random person you have never heard of, about when the year should end and begin. I guess it's all what you make of it though. So, did you? Make something of it? While your thinking about all that, here are some interesting things to know about my blog in the last year. Top 5 Posts of 2011 1. Heaven and Hell - In a commanding lead we have a nearly content-less post which only sits hear by virtue of a combination of search optimization and linking. It kind of makes me sad.  2. "About You" by Dick Staub  - A book review of a good book. In the top five because the author liked it.  3. "Love Wins" by Rob Bell  - A book review of a te

"Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear Here we go round the prickly pear At five o'clock in the morning. Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow                                         For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And the creation Between the emotion And the response Falls the Shadow                                                     Life is very long Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow                                         For Thine is the Kingdom For Thine is Life is For Thine is the This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper." - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men, fifth part.

Andrew Murray.  Power in Prayer: Classic Devotions to Inspire and Deepen Your Prayer Life . Bethany House, 2011. 167 pgs.  A second good devotional book in the same month? What are the odds? Then again, when one of them is by Andrew Murray, those odds go up significantly.  What we have here is an edited, and updated, collection of over 150 select devotions on prayer from the vast array of such entries Andrew Murray has left for those interested. They are updated in that the language has been made modern, and selected seemingly with the intention of being the best of what is available (which is all pretty good stuff in my opinion).  Andrew Murray has long been a go to author for me. His devotional thoughts are not made up of theological genius, nor stunning literary style. They are simple and many of them seem like common sense after you read them. And yet, they are powerful. They are poignant. Spiritually speaking, they usually hit uncomfortably close to the mark and

Often I have the wrong perspective on life. I wonder why Kristina hasn't done some specific chore, when I ought to be realizing how little I have done. I feel how good I am doing, but only because I have forgotten all that I have forgotten and left undone. I search for something thinking I know where it is only to find that if I had instead searched with eyes open I would have found it much sooner (usually plainly visible right next to where I thought it should be, and yet I miss it). Sometimes, though, I think that I don't just have the wrong perspective on life. I am not just looking at things a little bit off center. I am actually flying upside-down through life, and so I am looking at everything wrong. Down is up and up is down and I wonder why things don't work quite the way they are supposed to.  Christopher Wright in  The Mission of God, same book as yesterday , points out ways in which reading the bible with the mission of God in mind turns our perspective

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is an interesting, and often ill-used, piece of the Old Testament. In recent days it has become something of a prop to be toted out whenever we need to discuss the moral standing of homosexuality. It is interesting, and perhaps uncomfortably revealing, that we have reduced this great biblical type to a word on one moral issue when it ought to be a paradigm of our place and mission in the world as God's people. Yes, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah stands as an example for us to follow. Let me explain. Biblically speaking, Sodom quickly becomes a type or representative of the way of the fallen world.  We can see this move being made as early as Deuteronomy 29:23 wherein Israel is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. This continues in Isaiah (1:9-23, 13:19-20), Ezekiel (16:48-50), and on in to the New Testament. Though not mentioned directly, Paul's view of the human wickedness in Romans 1:18-32 clearly reflects the catalog of evil which is used to des

We have all heard it before. Something like: your not going to reach the end of your life and wish you had spent more time at work. Or: what really matters is giving to the people you love.  Yes, such sayings abound, and with good reason. Yet it is somehow easy to forget the deep truths behind those words. And then something happens to remind us. I had such a reminder recently.  I was with a group of youth and young adults and I asked them a question: If you could share a meal with any living person in the world, who would you share a meal with? I was thinking that it would be interesting to see who people admired and wanted to get to know. I thought the question would reveal people's heroes, or people they want to learn from, or people who have accomplished something that we are curious about. Instead, the majority of answers were family members: Grandparents we never knew well, siblings who live far away, and also those near to us who, in my mind, ought never to

Ann Spangler, General Editor.  The Names of God Bible .  Revell, 2011. 1730 pgs.  Reviewing a bible... this is most definitely a first. What am I going to say? Recommended? Obviously, what follows is a review of the particularities of this version and this translation. What you have here is a version of the "God's Word Translation." The entire thing focuses on the names of God. The cross references, few and far between as they are, point to other uses of particular names of God. The sidebars and informational pages focus on explaining the names and usages of particular names for God. And every time one of the names for God is used, this version keeps that name in a transliterated version of the original; things like "El Chay" (Living God) and Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace). As a way for people with no Hebrew and Greek background, this version of the bible offers a great window into the various names of God and what they mean. The sidebars are qui

  Mark Batterson.  I n A Pit With A L ion On A Snowy Day: How To Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars . Multnomah Books, 2006. 192 pgs. What do you do when opportunity roars? Batterson urges us to give chase, lock eyes with our lion, and charge directly at it. Through nine chapters Batterson makes this point again and again. That opportunity often comes in threatening forms, and if we wish to seize that opportunity we must overcome our fear. He urges us to forget about playing it safe, embrace uncertainty, and stop worrying about looking foolish, and then we will see the blessing of the Lord. In one way there is nothing wrong here. Opportunity does often come from overcoming threats and fears. We must, in fact, overcome our fears and follow the path God leads us on. And yet this book exemplifies much of what I find disturbing in contemporary Christian literature. Let me explain. Here we have a book which takes as its basis barely a scrap of a verse and, with this bibli

"As God lives in his own will, and we live in him, so has he given to us power to will in ourselves. How much better should we not fare if, finding that we are standing with our heads bowed away from the good, finding that we have no feeble inclination to seek the source of our life, we should yet will  upwards toward God, rousing that essence of life in us, which he has given us from his own heart, to call again upon him who is our Life, who can fill the emptiest heart, rouse the deadest conscience, quicken the dullest feeling, and strengthen the feeblest will! Then, if ever the time should come, as perhaps it must come to each of us, when all consciousness of well-being shall have vanished, when the earth shall be but sterile promontory, and the heavens a dull and pestilent congregation of vapors, when man nor woman shall delight us more, nay, when God himself shall be but a name, and Jesus an old story, then, even then, when a Death far worse than 'that phantom of grisl

The Allegory Another scream echoed from the stern. Justin twisted his head sharply to see who had gone overboard, but was unable. The storm was worse than any before and the old ways were failing. The collapsing railing that scream evinced was proof enough for Justin. As he firmed his grip on the wheel, trying to fight the storm, Justin looked down at the rope holding him to the steering column and prayed, again, that it would hold.  Every time there was a storm the captain did the same thing. He rushed around the deck and the hold attempting to tie as many of the crew to the ship as he could. All functions ceased except the two stations that could be manned effectively by someone who was tied in: steering and pumping.  Sometime in the distant past the captain had noted that with every storm, men were lost. He tried to save them, but he quickly learned that the grip of the sea was merciless. Not only were men rarely recovered, often some trying to rescue them were l

John I. Snyder,  Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 240 pgs. This books is supposed to be a 100 day journey which guides one through intentional prayer and biblical truths which will "transform their spiritual lives and reveal God's provision for their needs." It takes much the form you would expect: A prayer, a guide, an introduction and then straight into 100 days of devotionals each of which end with a prayer and a space journal about 'today's progress.' In reality, the only way this book will transform your prayer life is if it pushes you to pray regularly for 100 days in a row. If you haven't done that, you should. If, as you do so, you seek the Lord, you will be transformed. As for this book... well, there is nothing wrong with it. It is a fairly well written, fairly standard devotional. But it is not a book about actively waiting on God. If anything, the focus is really on freedom in

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.  The Love & Respect Experience: A Husband-Friendly Devotional That Wives Truly Love . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 320 pgs. Reviewing a book such as this can be difficult. Devotionals and prayer books are designed to be ready slowly, one day at a time, over weeks, months, or even years. As a reviewer I am rarely given the time to take such an approach to a book. Add to that the fact that this devotional in particular is designed to be done as a couple and the difficulty doubles. The result is that I often feel obliged to begin my review with a caveat about how I did not read the book as intended and that this may have skewed my review. In this case, however, I am able to review with confidence despite these difficulties. You may have heard of Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. He is the author of  the book  this devotional is based on, as well as a companion  workbook  , both of which have done very well. One of the pastors at my church recently used it as a text f

Yes, Christmas is now only 24 days away. Tis the season... Top 3 Posts from November: 1. Pull Up a Chair  - A game, an illustration, a parable. Designed to illustrate how we think, or don't think, about God.  2. Wrong Worship - Mostly just a link to a hilarious video.  3. Church Not Manly - A quote and a question. Is church not manly?  On the whole, November is a representation of how I want my blog to function. A couple book reviews, a couple quotes, a couple more thoughtful posts, and a couple posts each week. I was also pleasantly surprised by the traffic some of these posts received.  In terms of the rest of my life, November has been crazy busy. Not only have I had lots to do at my own church, I have also filled in at a friend's church as well (because his wife just had a baby!). It is surprising, in retrospect, that I was able to have a fairly good month blogging, and reading, in the midst of that rush of things to do. In the past I have

Here are few poignant words from George MacDonald: "What I want to say and show, if I may, is, that a man will please God better by believing some things that are not told him, than by confining his faith to those things that are expressly said... If he is not taught of God in that which he hopes for, God will let him know it. He will receive something else than he prays for... The danger lies not in asking from God what is not good, nor even in hoping to receive it from him, but in not asking him, in not having him of our council... But it is about hopes rather than prayers that I wish to write. What should I think of my child, if I found that he limited his faith in me and hope from me to the few promises he had heard me utter! The faith that limits itself to the promises of God, seems to me to partake of the paltry character of such a faith in my child- good enough for a Pagan, but for a Christian a miserable and wretched faith. Those who rest in such a faith would

David Murrow.  Why Men Hate Going to Church . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 256 pgs. We all know that not all men hate going to church. I think we also all know that in most churches there are more women than men. Why is this? Where are the men? According to David Murrow we have made church an overly, and overtly, feminine experience and are now reaping the dubious rewards of such efforts. Through three sections Murrow makes the persuasive argument that we do have a problem, that it is a result of tailoring the church culture towards women, and that we can do something about it. Not only can we but we must, for without men churches slowly, but surely, perish. Or so argues Murrow; I happen to agree. Why Men Hate Going to Church   is an excellent book. It is provocative, well researched, and thoughtful. There were several moments during reading when I nearly gasped, in shock and delight, as Murrow refuses to pull any punches. In speaking of the feminization of worship, and how an &

I am a failure.  How do you feel when you read those words? Does a part of you revolt, wanting to immediately respond by offering encouragement, telling me how wrong I am, and righting the obvious wrong in the sentence? Or, does a part of you cringe in recognition? Do you see in those words your assessment of yourself?  Either way, I have to tell you this: it is true. I am a failure. So are you.  You may wonder why I am bringing this up. Let me tell you. I am bringing it up because I believe that unless you respond to this statement correctly you have misunderstood the grace of God.  According to Paul we have, in Jesus Christ, redemption and forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7). It has long been the testimony of Christians that God's grace is nothing short of amazing. We sing exactly that; Amazing Grace. God loved us into being, refused to abandon us when we abandoned Him, made a way for us to not only be forgiv

"Unfortunately for the church, many men see churchgoing as womanly behavior. It's the polar opposite of the risky, dangerous image they try to project. Men don't go to church for the same reason they refuse to carry anything that resembles a purse - it's not something guys do. Imagine this scene one Wednesday night after a long, hot day on the construction site: Bill:  Hey, where you guys going after work? Dean:  I'm going out for a beer.  Jeremy:  I've got tickets to the ball game.  Bill:  How about you, Sam? Sam:  I'm going to Wednesday night church serve.  All:  [ Silence ] Men, do you feel that one in your gut? Dean and Jeremy are planning an evening of manly behavior. But Sam will be doing something  real  men don't do - going to church, and on a weeknight. This is one reason many Christian men hide their faith from other men. They're not ashamed of Christ; they're ashamed of feminization." - David Murrow.  Why Men Hate

I know it is early, but I can't help it. Each year part of me despairs as all of the wrong things about Christmas show up earlier and earlier. Yet, each year another part of me can't wait. It is a joyous season and I enjoy celebrating the incarnation of Jesus the Christ.  At various times in Christian history Christmas has been a non-event, a major festival day, a day reviled as nothing more than a Christian overlay on a pagan holiday (yes, early evangelicals refused to celebrate Christmas! Think about that for a moment), and an overly consumer-ized celebration of consumption, among other things of course.  As I think about the many ways in which Christmas has been misused, at the 'questionable' origins of much of what we now celebrate (from the date itself on to many of the trimmings) I am tempted to bow my head in despair, but then I cannot help but hear that old, familiar, carol play:  ... And in despair I bowed my head: "There is no peace

And now, in the same vein as " Contempervant Growtivation " I am proud to pass on another sadly funny video parody of church: " Wrong Worship "

Carl E. Begley.  Afraid to Believe in Free Will: The Human Tendency to Avoid Responsibility for Free Choices . Westbow Press, 2010. 176 pgs.  Don't you wish that there was someone else to blame for all of your mistakes? Of course you do. So do I. In the world of my self-deception I am to be praised for all the good in my life, able to take credit for my success, but all of my failures and bad decisions are the result of some form of determinism; I was raised that way, the social structures I inhabit left me no choice, or the devil made me do it.  In this book Begley argues, from the point of view of psychology, that we are indeed afraid of free will and the responsibility it thrusts upon us. Begley knows that we cannot prove, or disprove, the existence of free will. However, he take son some of the modern trends in science and psychology towards determinism and points out their flaws. He then argues that free will is central to what it is to be human and that we ought to,

Who is God? No, I am not going to attempt an answer to that question in a blog post. In fact, I am not going to attempt to answer that question at all.  Instead, I have a question for you; but first, a prologue. As a Christian I know and believe that the place to go to find out who God is would be the bible. However, I have not always had this faith. I started to look for, and find, answers to this question in other places before I turned to and trusted the word of God. I have been reflecting on that lately, and it has made me curious.  So, I would like to ask you: Where and when did you first encounter God?  And, assuming you have had such an encounter, what did you learn?  P.S. I will be answering these questions myself, just not right now. 

Pull up a chair and play a game with me.   Sounds like fun.   Do you know how to play chess? A bit; I'm not very good. That's OK. We're not going to play real chess.  Huh? Did you catch the mischievous glint in my eye? Nope. We are going to play dream chess. Right... Exactly. Before we can play, you have to tell me  your dream of your future.  What does that have to do with chess? I see your confusion, but trust me.  You'll see. Just tell me your story, the one you hope  to write with your life.  And so, you weave your dream for me, letting me, ever so briefly, glimpse your secret hopes. You tell me the story you want to live out. Maybe I have to tease out some of the details, or stop you to remind that I have asked for a story and not a to-do list, but slowly or quickly, one way or another, your tale is told. You tell me about the work you hope to do and how you will get there. University, career

Forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, faith means believing the unbelievable, and hoping means to hope when things are hopeless. - G. K. Chesterton Top Posts for October: 1. Heaven and Hell - Let the humbling continue. My most popular post of all time, now by a nearly a factor of 4, continues to be a nearly content free one. Hooray! 2. To Whom Do You Compare Yourself  - Herein I offered some reflections on the parable of the publican and the pharisee. I enjoyed writing this; it gladdens my heart that you have apparently enjoyed reading it. Ahh, if only the numbers of hits received could actually tell me what you thought...  3. "Everything the Bible Says About Heaven" by Linda Washington  - Seriously, do you people just like it when I am mean? This was a terrible book and I wrote a harsh review. Reflections: It has been a good month, October. It involved much and many activities with my family, good times in the church with baptisms, bi

Mark Galli.  Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit . Baker, 2011. 203 pgs. In Chaos and Grace,  Galli asserts that the church has forgotten the character of the God we serve. We have forgotten that He is beyond our control, unpredictable, untamable, and mysterious. In His place many churches have centered their life on idols of control, peace, and order. In the midst of this situation, Galli seeks to wake us up. He spends the first half of this book examining biblical passages in which we see how God works, how chaos and grace are defining factors of walking with God; the chaos of life beyond our control, and the grace that shines through in the midst of it. The second half of the book is an analysis of current church culture, decrying our loss of touch with God Almighty and calling us back.  Galli acknowledges that the first half of his book, examining scripture with the themes of Chaos and Grace in mind, will seem odd to many as t

Hugh Halter.  Sacrilege: Finding Life in the Unorthodox Ways of Jesus . Baker, 2011.  Sacrilege  is a book out to answer one question: What does it mean to be like Jesus? The premise of the book is that Jesus was sacrilegious (that is, he de-sacralized, treated as not holy, things which had been treated as holy) and as his followers we ought to be as well. To explain what he means by this, Halter follows in the steps of the likes of Bonhoeffer and Dallas Willard in centering his answer to the books question on the beatitudes, with lots of practical advice and personal stories along the way.  In a church which clearly needs to rethink what it means to be like Jesus, this book comes as a big step in the right direction. No book could say all that needs to be said on this topic, but what Halter does have to say is worth listening to and think about. Personally, there was not much new here; people such as Bonhoeffer and Dallas Willard have said it before, and I have read t