Playing in the Snow

A White Birthday

Well, almost. The snow came the day after Rachel's birthday, and it really came! Benaiah and I easily built a 3ft fort for a snow fight. But the birthday girl had a nice day. She used her gift money from friends and family to get a pair of cowboy boots down at the Mall of America. I told her, "we don't know that we're moving to Texas yet." She said it didn't matter :-)

I'm Dreaming...

Happy Reformation Day!

I have been profoundly impacted by the ministry of Pastor John and my time here in seminary has been equally formative. I thought this video captured well the significance of serious study of God's word and its regular, faithful proclamation in the life of the church.

Rejection of the "VOTE NO" Campaign

Probably the most depressing part of my day is the drive to school/work. Contrary to what you may be thinking this is not due to any dislike for my studies or my labors, rather it has to do with the prominent yard ornamentation of Northeast Minneapolis. Placarded in numerous lawns is a bright orange sign that reads, "VOTE NO: Don't limit the freedom to marry." It is a striking reaction to the impending November vote about whether or not Minnesotans will vote to amend the state constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I have lots of biblical arguments for why I think marriage is only ever between a man and a woman, but that's not why I'm writing this post. I'm bothered on a basic human level by the dishonest, irrational, and unloving approach the argument it taking.

A Call for Honesty

 

The question keeps coming to mind as orange signs blur my peripheral vision, "Who's having their freedom to marry limited by the upcoming vote?" The amendment in question is simply an effort to retain a definition to marriage that has pervaded this society from the beginning and is common throughout humanity. No one is having their freedom to marry limited, if they are an of-age adult and intending to make this serious commitment with an of-age of the opposite sex. That's what marriage is in Minnesota at present and this amendment is not setting any new limitations. What the amendment is doing, in reality, is preventing persons from changing the definition and institution of marriage into something that it is not. The real motivation behind this "VOTE NO" campaign is a radical redefinition of this fundamental institution that forms the basis of society. Let's be honest...

A Call for Reason

 

Because, sadly, the yard sign slogan is also prominent on many T-shirts in my area as well, I'm starting to think that it is a slogan people really believe in—and that scares me. So, let's slow down and think it through for a moment, "don't limit the freedom to marry." Really!?! That's a wildly unqualified statement. If I didn't know that the real debate is about so-called "homosexual marriage," just reading these signs and following the logic might yield… "Don't limit the freedom to marry…for the man who loves and is committed to three women and would like to marry them all." Or, "Don't limit the freedom to marry…for the person who is in a mutual love relationship with a minor and they would like to marry." Or, "Don't limit the freedom to marry…for the person who really loves and wants to marry his first cousin…or sister…or other close relative." I could go on into deeper crassness but I think the point is clear, the unfettered logic of this slogan is dangerous. And for those who may be objecting that this is a slippery slope argument, notice, I'm not saying that to permit, so-called "homosexual marriages" will necessarily lead to all these other examples I've listed (polygamy, pedophilia, incest,…even bestiality). What I am saying, and mark this, is that the logic of the current slogan is equally applicable to all of these other types of arguments. Let's be reasonable...

A Call for Love

 

For those who know me, rarely am I found watching television. But I've seen enough in the past month to know that the TV ads are spouting a similar line to the yard signs, "If two people love each other and are committed to each other, who am I to withhold the right of marriage from them?" Well, I think this line has already been examined above—it assumes a definition of marriage that is not in accordance with reality, thus making it dishonest; it is irrational in that it has not thought of chaotic implications of using such argumentation for this discussion. But these TV ads bring in the issue of "love" and seems to imply that those who VOTE YES to retain the definition of marriage between one man and one woman are unloving and preventing the true love of others from being fulfilled. And here I must contest our society's notion of love. Love is not letting people do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Love is seeking the good of another person even to the point of restraining them from fulfilling every desire in their hearts. True life, true happiness, true and lasting love can only occur when we have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus and receive in him a new relationship with God and look to live dependently upon his Spirit and his word. Love seeks the good of others in God and doesn't leave them to the evil desire of their hearts.

Praying for those on Hajj

A helpful video for understanding the basics of the Hajj and praying for such pilgrims to find true rest in Messiah Yeshua, Savior of the world, the only Lamb who truly takes away sins.

Getting ready for cold weather ...

My pumpkin!

What do I do all day?

Sometimes it's hard to explain our day to day life. Our schedule is very full and the main reason is because I am still a full-time grad student. One course I'm in right now, Christian Doctrine 02, takes about nine hours out of my week. We read a chapter of our textbook, read the majority of another work on the related theme of that chapter, and then write a response. Here's one of my response papers if you're at all interested in reading, it's on the relationship between "being filled with the Spirit" and letting "the word of Christ dwell in us richly." Enjoy!

[LINK] (Be warned, its just a first draft!)

Family Date to Smashburger

Rugged Maniac

On Sept. 15, 2012 I and a few guys from the seminary cohort participated in the Minnesota "Rugged Maniac" event. 3.1 miles of running up and down ski hills with about 18 military style obstacle course obstructions thrown in our way. My favorite was probably the belly crawl under barbed wire through mud as thick as butter. 8-foot walls, underground water crawls, rope climbs, and of course, the fire pit jump made for quite and adventure. Here's a few pics of the madness...

BEFORE...

AFTER!!

Some "rugged" spectators

Benaiah gettin a little rugged...

Yes, that's mud!

The infamous fire-pit jump.

A couple maniacs (with our puppy).

So Much for Revisionist History

 I can't verify everything in this video but I'm not surprised at having been fed an "agenda" over the years.

VIDEO

I Love the Swings

Mornings with mom

Lightning!

Me and my friends!

Happy Birthday High Five

Playing Trains with Great Grandma

Happy 75th Grandma Leman !!

A Song for Ramadan

For the past few years I’ve gotten into the habit of choosing a song for the month of Ramadan. I intentionally choose a song which has music that launches me into prayer, a song which has lyrics that help sustain and form that prayer, and a song that is focused on the greatness of the Lord Jesus whom Muslims need to know. In addition to a good prayer guide, being a good learner from my Muslim neighbors, and setting aside a meal a week for focused prayer, choosing song that will ring out from my stereo, computer, phone at least three or four times a day has been a great aid in sustaining prayer for spiritual breakthrough around the world.

Song for 2012 - Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord (Jeremy Riddle)

Prepare The Way Of The Lord (Albu)

I chose this song for 2012 because of it’s focus on Isaiah 40:3, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” This passage begins a transition to a new section of the book of Isaiah which many have named “the book of comfort,” after the repetition in 40:1. And I’ve love that the song focuses on this verse because of how it points to Jesus. All four of the Gospel writers pick up on this verse and the phrase, “prepare the way of the LORD” (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23).

Behind the English “LORD” is the Hebrew name that God calls himself hundreds of times in the Old Testament (“I am the LORD”) and the memorial name that he gives to Israel by which they should call upon him (Exod. 3:15; Hos. 12:5). Transcribed as YHWH and probably vocalized as “Yahweh,” this is a name and not a title. The Hebrew parallelism helps make this even more clear:

In the wilderness prepare the way of YHWH;
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

YHWH is God and the way is being made ready that all flesh should see his glory (Isaiah 40:5). So, it is quite astonishing that the New Testament Gospel writers would take a text this clear and then apply it to the beginning of the earthly ministry of Jesus the Messiah! Essentially, in Isaiah we have, “prepare the way of YHWH,” and in the Gospels we have, “prepare the way of Jesus.” It is unmistakable what they meant—Jesus is YHWH in the flesh. Prior to John’s reference of Isaiah he stated it this clearly in his well known introduction, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…” (John 1:14; cf. Isa. 40:5).

So, I chose this song for 2012 to remind me to pray just that truth, that Muslims would see the glory of Jesus, which is the glory of YHWH the one true God, and a way would be prepared in their hearts to meet him.

Getting back in the pool!

We're still here, just on vacation!

Attack of the Geese

A little bread draws a large crowd!!

Our Swimming Pool

Well, we don't own it but it seems like no one else uses it. Benaiah's having to get used to swimming in water colder than 90 degrees, like at swim lessons, and mom and dad are trying to figure out how to respond to the daily "swim pool?" request.

Gotta Love Summer!

Running The Sprinklers

I Caught a Tadpole

Fishing with grandma and grandpa on mother's day, we needed a break from all the wedding festivities.

Best Buddies

Benaiah and cousin Jake got to do lots of things together this weekend.

Be A Learner!

Maybe you're like me and you have a smaller circle of friends since building relationships is a slow process for you. Maybe you're not like me and you are able to build many relationships with ease but find it hard to steer those new friends toward Christ. And wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of relationship building, you probably see lots of people everyday who need to know Jesus but some barrier gets in the way of your world connecting with their world; barriers like having limited time to invest, having other ministry commitments, not sharing the same language or cultural background, etc… But if cultural and religious background is what seems to be throwing up a barrier, maybe my experience can help us all get over that hurdle.

A project I was working on required me to be studying the Christian understanding of the Bible in relationship to the Muslim understanding of our Book. I had done lots of research but the books and resources I was pulling from were just not giving me the answers I needed. I wanted to talk to a person, I wanted to be able to ask questions, I wanted to get answers and then ask more questions about those answers. A number of Muslims live in my neighborhood so I approached a man who was dressed cross-cultural garb one day and asked for help. He seemed very eager but his language skills and religious understanding were not up to the point of prolonged discussion on these matters. But he knew people who could help!

So, later that week I visited the person he recommended that I speak with and that was the beginning of my new friendship. For about 2 hours I was able to ask my questions about his understanding of the Bible and what certain Qur'anic passages mean when they talk about the Bible. After he had answered these I had more questions to ask and so the question moved forward. He was eager to talk, I was eager to ask, and in the end…he was eager to ask questions too. Instead of a debate we had a human conversation and think we both learned a lot.

In the end, neither of us changed our minds concerning religious convictions or how we viewed the Bible, but something had changes. The cultural/religious barrier that had so long "separated" us was done away with and in its place were planted the seeds of a relationship. Obviously, not all relationships can begin this way but some can. The reason I relate this story is that maybe you're like me and tend to find more reasons not to talk with people than to engage them. Being a learner helped build a bridge into someone else's life. Or maybe you're not like me and the relationship comes easy but turning the talk towards the gospel is harder. Being a learner causes you to ask questions, and questions can start conversations, and conversations can lead to good news spreading.

So, be a learner. It's not the only way to spread the name of Jesus, but it's one way.

Waterfall

While we were in Utah for Easter Benaiah had a great time watching the waterfall. Here he is in his new suit for the upcoming wedding we'll be attending in May.

Reading Quotes

Here's a little mid-week theology, some reading notes from Doctrine class on the "image of God" in mankind:

"To be a creature, as we have seen, means absolute dependence on God; to be a person means relative independence… To be creatures means that God is the potter and we are the clay (Rom. 9:21); to be persons means that we are the ones who fashion our lives by our own decisions (Gal. 6:7-8)." (6) [Lots of questions could arise from this thought, I just liked the helpful balance he points out.]

"Our understanding of the image of God must include these two senses: (1) The image of God as such is an unlosable aspect of man, a part of his essence and existence, something that man cannot lose without ceasing to be man. (2) The image of God, however, must also be understood as that likeness to God which was perverted when man fell into sin, and is being restored and renewed in the process of sanctification." (32)

"This renewal of the image, as we have observed before, is not complete during a person's lifetime. It is a process that continues as long as one lives. We must never forget that while they are in this present life believers are genuinely new but not yet totally new. They are incomplete new persons." (91)

And yet, one day we will be made totally new and totally free from sin. That will be glorious, when we see him face to face and become like him!

All Quotes From: Hoekema, Anthony. Created in God's Image. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.

At the Park Again

Time grows short before we move so we have to visit all our favorite places again. Benaiah was learning the Hebrew for "grass" and "bridge" down by the river today.

Skunk!

Rainy Day Projects

After a long morning at church with dad, mom made me this great homemade play-dough.

Soccer Dreams

Go to the YouTube page for the video "goal"

Desert Soul

Desert Soul

This song has helped carry me through some dry days, may it encourage you.

Crucified with Christ

We're Moving!

Today we applied for a two bedroom apartment in St. Anthony just north of Minneapolis. Now that Marcus is only in 2.5 classes and rent is rising, we found a place we could save some money and enjoy our last year in the cities. Benaiah will love the playground and pool right outside the apt and Rachel is going to love the shopping center next door including Walmart, Cub, and Caribou. (there is also a Chipotle - dangerous) We plan to move in late May after school is out.

Burritos All Around

Now we just bring an extra bowl for the big guy. A little family date from out West. Looking forward to warmer weather so we can run around outside instead of at the mall.

Why Think About the End Times?

A sunrise is arresting in its splendor as its brilliant rays pierce the morning clouds and drive away the lingering darkness. Such it will be with the Son of Man and his impending, glorious return.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 
(Matthew 24:29-31)

After the “darkness” of these trying days there will be a great day of darkness like has never been before. At this point in Jesus discourse with the disciples he transitions from talking about the horrible tribulations that will be happening on the earth (vv.4-28) to the hope that will be appearing in the heavens. Five times in this passage Jesus returns to that theme of “heavens” like a resounding hammer blow. It will be the prophetic climax of the ages when the King returns in his glory and claims his people (cf. Isa.13:10, 27:13, 34:4; Zech 12:10; Dan. 7:13-14; Deut. 30:4).

But why are we given such a vivid description of these events? Why are they not merely painted in black-and-white? Why is it not sufficient to know that he will return, why such detail? Here are three effects that it has had on my soul:

1) Refuge: This description of the final day of darkness has the Old Testament prophetic connotations of judgment. But this description is also meant to cause us to run for refuge to the first day of darkness when the Son of Man hung on a bloody cross under the brooding gloom of heaven as he bore the sins of men (Matt. 27:45-53).

2) Courage: The certain finality of this victorious King coming again in glory is meant to have an en-couraging effect upon his disciples who are thrust out on mission (Matt. 24:14, 28:18-20). Press on in the labors until the final trumpet blows and the banner of the King rises in heaven, He is coming!

3) Hope: “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13), and it is a battle of endurance. Then, in one moment, the longings, groaning, and tears of this age will melt away as our hope appears in the heavens.

When shall I be delivered from this vain world of sin,
And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning? 

And with my blessed Jesus drink endless pleasures in,

And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning?
Oh shout glory! for I shall mount above the skies 

When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning
-John Leland (1754-1841) Sacred Harp

February Snow

A Cake Decorating Career?

Rachel made this for a baby-shower, in her spare time :-)

Crashing Cars

Lots of Love

Fire engine cards, chocolate treats, valentines day is oh, so neat! Just got back from Grandmas house in MI and heading out west in April. Lots of people to fly and see before we turn the big Two.

A Package from Grandma!!

Can't wait to open it.

Virtual Apologetics

In response to a video claiming that Jesus was nothing more than a great human prophet of Islam: