Heroes

Writing this blog is a challenge, I have to come up with different material so I can fill endless pages. So I am going to start a weekly or bi-monthly column-article called Heroes.
These are my heroes. Now do not read too much into these, some of these guys might not be perfect, some of them not even Christians, but they are great people to know about, even immitate.
So... Help me welcome HEROES! (not the TV show, I have never seen that!)

Quote of the Week

"Mind the excellency of the issue and not the difficulty of the progress."

Obadiah Sedgwick,1640
(from a sermon before Parliament)

The Fear of God

Today at Seminary chapel, I heard a very convicting sermon that dealt with the Fear of God.
The speaker, Les Lofquist, challenged us to fear God. He said that without fearing God it is easier to compromise, sin, and display the pride of life.
He used the example of King Uzziah who began by fearing God, but even though God had blessed him immensely, his pride got the best of him. He did not upstage God, since Yahweh struck him with leprosy and had to live out the remainder of his days in seclusion.
Though we are not kings, we have been blessed by God yet at times our pride blinds us from the proper perspective. This, of course, does not happen in a vacuum, rather it is a symptom of our lack of fearing God.

i was reminded that fear is not something you just acquired like on an internet shopping cart, rather it is something that I need to cultivate daily.

gap

Shepherding

Trusting God Tuesdays

Today it's Tuesday, that means an early day for me. We usually have a leadership meeting at 0600.
This year we are going to go through one of my favorite books, one that has had a great impact on my Christian walk. This book is one to which I have gone through it as I was discipled and as I discipled someone else.
Trusting God, by Jerry Bridges, deals with the issue God's sovereignty and how we are to cultivate trust in God. The subtitle of the book says, "Even when life hurts," this is key in our Christian lives, I find that it is much easier to trust God when things are going well in my life, than when I am in despair for many reasons.
There was something that made me think from the first chapter, the idea that it is much easier to obey God's commandments than it is to trust God. It is true, as someone this morning said, it is easier to stop stealing than it is to start trusting.
Trusting God is not something that is inherent in all of us, Bridges makes the point that it takes a relationship with God to be able to rest wholly on Him. Just like any other relationship, in order to trust we need to know him and this is not a superficial knowledge, rather one that described as saving and sanctifying.

I cannot wait to keep reading and discussing the book, I will keep you posted.

gap

Simple Pleasures: Iced Tea

It was the summer of 1999 when my friend Scott Potratz introduced me to his ICED TEA maker, named Mr. Coffee.
Since then, I have become an ICED TEA connoisseur. I started to mix different tea flavors and I have tried almost all kinds of iced tea in my quest of attempting to find the best blend.
I do not like passion fruit iced tea, since "passion fruits" do not exist. I do not like sweet iced tea, since cold tea was meant to be drank cold and unsweetened.
I do like regular black tea with 33.3 percent of Bigelow peach tea. (33.3 percent would be because I usually mix 6 tea bags, 4-black and 2-peach).
There is a myth out there, that tea is for ladies and coffee is for men, maybe so. But this man likes tea and more than anything ICED TEA.

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God goes to retreats!

Our Pastor Rick Holland always says and firmly believes that God goes to camp.
In a nutshell, he means, that God uses retreats to help His children grow.
I have been going to retreats since the age of 6, it was in 1983 when I went to my first camp. Since then, I have gone at least to 2 retreats/camps each year. (you do the math)
This weekend was probably one of the most impactful retreats ever.
I have the privilege of shepherding the Hillside Bible Study, a college-age group of about 45 that meets in the East Valley area of the SFV.
But I digress. The retreat was amazing because instead of teaching, this year we decided that we were all going to share our testimonies.
During 4 sessions, we heard about 35 testimonies and these were replete with references to grace, unmerited favor. We were able to sing longer and were able to study Psalm 107 for our calls to worship.
What an amazing weekend! Sharing our testimonies not only encouraged our worship to God, but it also brought us together as a group. What an amazing thing it was to think that God saved so many people from various backgrounds and that he used different ways to accomplish his saving will.
As I was sharing with our Bible study yesterday morning, the reason we wanted to share our testimonies is to go back and remember what God used to bring us to Himself so that it will be an impetus for us to worship together.
Mission Accomplished!

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Quote of the Week

Starting this week I will be sharing quotes that I have meditated on and have impacted me.
Today's is Spurgeon's turn:

"It will be in vain for me to stock my library, or organise societies, or project schemes, if I neglect the culture of myself; for books, and agencies and systems, are only remotely the instruments of my holy calling; my own spirit, soul, and body, are my nearest machinery for sacred service; my spiritual faculties and my inner life, are my battle axe and weapons of war."

(Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, pg 7-8)

Two weddings and one Introspection

I was asked to perform the ceremony in two weddings at the end of the year. My very good friends S & J and D & A are getting married so they’ve asked me to be their “parson.”
Since they have asked, I have been pondering what to say, how to make the ceremony original and meaningful to these two couples. I know, I know, that is not a good thing to say, especially before a wedding, but I was amazed to think that there was a great standard that was set. God was the original wedding official, and he performed the best wedding ever. I am pretty sure no one complained about that wedding; the flowers were perfect, the wedding was punctual, and more than anything the message was the most thoughtful and God-centered wedding message ever.
The issue is that working on the messages for these two weddings has given me much to think about my own marriage. Weddings are fun because one gets to be involved in the union of two people who love each other and love the Lord as well. Yet preparing for these weddings have shown me how needy I am of God's grace when it comes to my own marriage.
As husbands we are called to a high standard,Ephesians 5.25-33 says

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Living up to God’s standard in officiating a wedding is one thing, but living up to his love is quite another.
Living up to Christ’s standard as a groom is something that we will never attain, yet the Apostle Paul charges us with Christ’s example.

I have to ask myself, even as I write this, how can I love my wife more sacrificially when Christ gave his life for her?
Am I truly willing to sacrifice for her as Christ did? Especially when I am impatient or short with her.

Christ’s example still rings in my ears.

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It Was One of My Best Days

Years ago, Geoff Moore wrote a song, called 'Best Days,' in which he recounted three or four different instances in his life where things could not have gone better. Geoff Moore aside, I had an instance like that yesterday. If you were to ask me about my favorite days, I could not tell you, there are many; my wedding, the birth of my son, going to the Church of St. Giles and standing by the grave of John Knox, attending the LA Philharmonic at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and seeing the most complete Rembrandt exhibit that I have ever seen at the Museum of Edinburgh.
There is another day to add, Tuesday September 18th. What is so special about this day? It's Cael, my son; he is now almost 4 months and more active than ever. As I got home yesterday, I was reminded of God's goodness in allowing me to experience my son in a dimension I have not before, we played and wrestled... of course, I did not hurt him, he is very small. However, his laughs, chuckles, coos, and smiles made my day.

It all goes to show that God is truly a great God; he gives us simple pleasures to remind us that we do not need much in life to be happy.
It was one of my best days; I hope it was for him as well.

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Souk or Souq

If you are anything like my wife, you will be wondering what SOUK or SOUQ means. I chose the title because I thought I was being funny, but little did I know that maybe a lot of people do not know what a "souk" or "souq" really is.

A "souk," which is actually pronounced [sook], is an open air market, a place of trade, it is like a flea market in an Arab city. Actually this word has an Arabic root to it.

So all this to say that if his blog is successful, it will be a blog that will discuss everything from cultural comentary to what I'm learning in God's Word; from what I am reading to what I have heard; sports, funny things, about my son's life, movie reviews, and book reviews. I will even try to get some of my friends to post their witty comments.

So give me another chance, even though this might be the fourth blog...

gap