You See Dry Bones

Oops.

Well, at least we had fun?

If you have been coming to this site for awhile, you know it is small by most internet standards. I am used to having only a handful of visitors a day and I personally know the majority of the people who comment. Yesterday it appears I hit a nerve.  Twitter and the habits of those who use it appear to be sacred ground.  Who knew?

I learned a lot yesterday.

First. I learned I am not the only one who is, as Abraham Piper put it, “…tired of following people who just seem like they’re having their devotions all day long.” There are plenty of others out there who feel the same.  I believe we can glorify God with Twitter by talking about the “mundane” as well as the spiritual.  If someone tweets about how they love their wife, or dotes over their children, that glorifies God. Being a good husband, daddy, and even friend to others is important and pertinent to our sanctification.

Second. I learned many people do not get sarcasm and or do not read entire posts.  If they do, they probably failed reading comprehension.

Third. I learned a GREAT lesson in humility.  I was humbled by the reactions of others on the net about my post.  Like I stated above, I have a “small” site and have never seen such over-whelming traffic.  To tell the truth, I am still reading some of the comments (some of ya’ll write three or four paragraphs). I realized (again) how small my opinion is compared to the world. To think my stupid little post made thousands of people think makes me laugh to myself.  A lot. My prayer is that I helped someone in some way to grow more into the person God made them to be.

Fourth. Abraham Piper is flippin funny.

Fifth. This is the one thing I learned more than anything else. The Christian community is deeply fractured. My wife echoed my sentiments this morning by saying her heart was heavy because of the egos she saw on display.  It is not only that we are fractured among our opinions, but we are fractured in the fact that we do not share the love of Christ even among each other. There were not many kind rebukes, and many felt the need to hide behind a “proper theological statement” instead of admitting that even Jesus might have cracked a few jokes.

Sixth. I learned the internet is a little more volatile than I thought. For that matter, it is easy to start a fire with just a few words (James 3:5 anyone?).You think after 29 years I would know this by now.

Oh well. I will sit quietly and enjoy the weekend with my family (beware, I may tweet about some events as well, and they may not be overly spiritual) while I wait for my rebuke from John Piper.

-Don-

Of Vampires and Football

Or werewolves and baseball?

I like football. I run a fantasy team every year and watch a game or two every week. Last year, during the first round of the playoffs, I did something completely stupid. I put my little boy in time out…

My almost two-year-old turned off the TV in the middle of the game.

I was so upset that I would have to turn the TV back on and I might miss a game changing play, that I scolded my son and put him in time out. After thinking about how stupid I was for a couple of seconds, I felt horrible. I had just elevated football above my own family. I was becoming “that guy.” The NFL was becoming my god if it was not already.

This year, I changed my priorities a bit.

I ignore football more and play with my kids. What this means is, I usually don’t watch an entire game and I (heaven forbid) cannot keep up on my fantasy stats. I am still rather embarrassed it has come to this. I was not supposed to be the guy who worshiped other guys running around a field chasing a leather ball. I was not supposed to be the guy worshiping the image of a bird (I’m a Falcons fan) every Sunday.

Before you point your finger…

I am not trying to lessen my guilt or say I am justified because of the actions of others. I am, however, pointing out what I have seen take place over the last two weeks or so. Twilight has taken over the world. I am not picking on the oddly successful franchise alone. As humans, we tend to find something to worship. In my case it was the NFL, for others it is Twilight. Some worship drugs, sex, drinking, video games, whatever. I am just choosing the “Paranormal Erotica” known as Twilight because it has become a huge object of worship.

Driscoll said, “Humans are created as worshipers. They will all worship something.”

I believe in many cases it comes by subtly. One day we are enjoying a novel or a football game, and then, suddenly, we are devoting an inordinate amount of time and resources to it. My case in point; while driving to work today, a radio morning show was taking phone calls from people who planned to go to the midnight showing of the “undead love fest.” One lady called in and stated she would see the premier (at midnight tonight) and then again the next evening and possibly once more over the weekend. She wanted to go the first time so she could be on (and trust me, I have no idea what the hell any of this means) “Team Edward” and then a second time so she could be on “Team Jacob.”  Not sure why she is going a third time…maybe there is a “Team Dracula” she hopes to join.

The radio DJ’s were so jealous…they could only see it twice this weekend.

We, as humans, have elected to worship some odd things. For me it was athletes, for others, it is fanciful stories about blood-sucking teenagers who fall in lust with each other. Have we ever stopped to see how shallow our idols are? In my case, one high ankle sprain and my idol is out 4 weeks. I will be forced to redirect my worship elsewhere during that time. For others, the end of a book series means the worship of paraphernalia must take its place.

I have nothing against entertainment in general.

What I do get upset about is idol worship. I feel like we often get duped into worshiping some pretty silly stuff. We will watch people move heaven and earth to obtain it. We will pour endless finances into supporting our temporary god. $10 for movie tickets, $20 a book. $100 for a replica jersey. $80 to go see the game.

***SIDE RANT***

But then we get so upset when we have to tithe to a church or pay a pastor a salary. We can shell out hundreds of dollars on TV’s, football games, books, movies, and toys, but support someone who is called to SPREAD THE FREAKING GOSPEL full time? NEVER!  Our money is often spent on supporting billionaires and celebrities, but we seldom support homeless shelters and churches.  Honestly, we should be ashamed. I am ashamed.

***End Side Rant***

I think it is time we inspected ourselves and really figured out our priorities. We should look at ourselves in the mirror and search our hearts to find out who our god really is.

-Don-

Taking Care of Others.

Build new family traditions.

This post is going to seem immensely practical, and it is. I am not trying to uncover some deep truth or come up with some witty philosophy. If we read the Scriptures, we will see countless times we are to take care of the poor among us. Check out the Gospel’s as well as 1 Tim 5. These should be enough to stir things in your heart to help others.

I am guilty.

I would rather have an iPod Touch and a $4 peppermint mocha than help those in need. I think most of us want Play Stations and nice cars more than we want to glorify Christ and help others. We can explain it away all we want, but  if I asked you to sell your prized gadget, flat screen TV, or video game system to help the poor, would you? Reality says, most of us would not.

After all, Why should I change?

One reason is, I have a family. I have two boys who look up to me. If they see daddy as someone who always gets what he wants, they will emulate this. If we treat Christmas and the holidays as a gluttonous, gift receiving extravaganza, than that is all my boys will ever know. I don’t want that. I want them to love others and for them to not be selfish. I don’t want them to be like me. I pray they have a heart for those in need and a willingness to sacrifice wants and comforts to help them.

What can we do to help others instead of ourselves?

There are many things we can do to help those in need and to get our focus off of ourselves. I have made a list of ideas I want to try over the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Years).

The list:

1. Serve a Thanksgiving dinner to a family who is in need. This means buying, cooking, and delivering the food with my kids. (Ok, maybe not the cooking part so much, they are pretty young).
2. Serve at a shelter several times over the next two months.
3. Donate canned foods to a shelter or church.
4. Sell something of value and buy gifts for needy children.
5. Donate blankets and coats to families in need.

Want to help?

I like to present things as a challenge to others. Many of you have already thought of how you might give more or help others this winter. That is all well and good. But if not, why not join in the fun?  In the comments, leave your ideas or how you plan on helping those less fortunate than you this year. If you live in my area, let me know if you and your family would like to partner with us on our adventures.If you have a creative idea on how we can help and reach more people, leave those in the comments as well.

-Don-

My Brain Exploded

But, I STILL want Logos software…Version four just came out

We have a study.  Granted, it is still rather disorganized, but it is a study none-the-less. I only have room for one more bookshelf. This is a shame because I want more books. Looking around my study, you will see books of every type. I have fiction, non-fiction, reference, and study guides. Of course, I have a few Bibles as well.

I have a copy of Grudem’s Systematic Theology, several introductions to the New and Old Testaments, surveys, and a good handful of Bible commentaries. I have books on Old Testament and New Testament people, culture, history, all from some of the greatest theologians on the planet. Then there is the Internet. I love my online access to the ESV Study Bible.

Is this too much?

There have always been nerds and will always be nerds. But is there too much information at our fingertips?  Books used to be highly valued possessions because they were very expensive and only few could read. Now, with a little searching, we can get a book for about the cost of shipping. Some books clearance out for under a buck. Google books has brought us books in the public domain for free. John Piper gives away a huge bulk of his work online, as does Mark Driscoll (only to a lesser extent). We have blogs (like this one) and even Twitter feeds to help us gain more knowledge.

But at what cost?

I think many of us (and I am guilty too) ingest more than we can digest. Some of us may have the ability to read countless books and comprehend and apply every single piece of information inside them. For the most part, most of us do not. It is a popular thing to be a geek these days among the Reformed circles. A common question is “what books are you reading?” We judge a mans character by what authors line his bookshelves. Some of us judge a man by pure quantity of the books he has read.

What about actual study?

What if we actually took time to study what we read. I will use Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (associate link) as an example. The book is huge (1291 pages of awesome). I could read through it in about two months if I was not reading any other books. What a notch on my belt that would be! When someone asks me, “what is the most theologically intense book you have read to date?” I could bust out the best answer ever. What would this profit me? My pride would balloon, sure. Would my life change? Would new concepts go from my head to my heart, or just log-jam in my neck until I choked?

Read for fun, and profit.

I recommend reading for the fun and joy of reading. If you have not in a while, pick up a fiction book (I recommend The Man Who Was Thursday: Centennial Edition by Chesterton) and just sit back and enjoy it. I saw my wife with a copy of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol a week or so ago. I might read it myself soon.

If you are reading some epic tome of theological greatness, take your time and actually study the concepts. Don’t just breeze through it. Pray about the concepts and how they can apply to your sanctification. Stop trying to add a notch to your belt. If you can, try and re-read a book you “flew” through in the past. If you are reading the Bible, really dig into it. Break out a couple translations and commentaries (click here for more on external resources). Pray before studying. Ask God to help this be beneficial to more than just your big head.

Most of all, do not forget what a privilege it is to be able to read. Many still cannot or do not have access to books like we do.

-Don-