I find myself in the paradox I do every year at this time of remembering to take time to remember the true reason for this holiday. I know the reason for the season and He knows me as well, but in the midst of the moras of Christmas cookies, plays, potlucks and family visits I get a little mixed up.

I had every intention of following an advent schedule this year. I have a book that helps guide you through it and I have not even cracked it open. Advent is not something we ever practiced growing up as a Baptist. I think it would help me to stay focused on the reason for this season.

I hear God tell me to Be still and know…my logical question the is “know what Lord?” Tell me what the end result is so I know what to be waiting for. My planner is packed and I always will make time for you, but tell me how much time and where so I can fit you in between Starbucks and the gym somewhere. But alas God does not work in such tightly confined spaces. He wants all of me, and truthfully I want all of Him. I have just got to sit still and listen for awhile, maybe for a long while.

At the funeral for the Works girls who tragically died at my church last week one of the surviving sisters shared this scripture. It was written in her journal the night before she lost her life. Phillipians 4: 6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ” God wants to hear it all, and he expects me to give it to him and let him multiply it all out.

Being still in todays day and age is very hard. I consider myself part of the emergent church, but I sometimes regret the way we embrace new technology with such fervor and passion all in the name of “reaching a new generation”. Technology (such as this blog) is great, but I think sometimes we need to chill on the technology that shortens our attention span, disconnects us from those around us and sometimes makes us very anti social and just reach for the Bible and talk. God gave us a great way to share the gospel message with those around us… our voices.

As life seems to get more and more complicated and more and more things start to cram into my time I am comitting to taking each new thing and truly asking if it glorifies God. If it does not, I do not need it. Some of you reading this might think I am becoming a Luddite… let me assuage that fear right now. I just think we are cramming and jamming to much into life so we do not slow down and ponder the one thing that is so incredibly amazing….a baby in a manger filled with hay, with only the sheep and the cattle to welcome him into this world. A Child that would so radically alter our paradigm of belief and focus that after he died the world would never be the same again.

Let’s all remember to be still. Exodus 14:14 says “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” I claim that as a promise, I claim that as my cause, I say LORD, take up the fight. I am the iron and you are the furnace. Heat me up and mold me as you wish. I leave it all in your hands.

~Selah~

Do you remember this one: “The cosmos is all there ever is, ever was, and ever will be?” (I could not find it exact) This was what Carl Sagan started out his series on the universe with over 25 years ago. What he said then sums up his life philosophy pretty well, enjoy it while you are here, because when you die you will revert back to the dust from which you were created.

Fast forward to today and we have a new concept (or a new concept in old clothing) from the new book and DVD called The Secret. This book can be basically summed up in something like this; You control your destiny, think happy thoughts, avoid negative thoughts, and the world will be your oyster. Wow thanks, I did not know this.

Both Carl Sagan and The Secret have something inherent in them both, a commitment to materialism. Carl Sagan, by decreeing that The Cosmos is bigger and better than we ever can be leaves us in the default position of “get it all now because you wont enjoy it later”. The Secret (which I shall now reveal) leaves us in the default position that the universe owes you something, and all you have to do is tap into that cosmic piggy bank that has been waiting for you. If you do that you can get everything that will make you happy. All your happiness is contained inside this little book, and it is only $19.95 plus S & H.

The writer in Ecclesiastes sums things up quite well when he says “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc 1:9) This is the exact same thing that the writer of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, dealt with. It is all vanity and it all means nothing.

As a society…as Christians I am afraid, we have forgotten to remember those before us. We have left the foundational moorings that God gave his people, and we have been bereft in the sea ever since. Christians everywhere need to do three very foundational things in order to save those who are getting trapped in this terrible and selfish disease. We must:

1) TURN. Christians are to be set apart from non believers by the love that we show to eachother. (John 13:35) by loving eachother we will show the unity of Spirit that Jesus wants in his children. We must turn our eyes back upon Jesus in order to re order our priorities.

2) RELENT. To relent means to; to soften in feeling, temper, or determination; become more mild, compassionate, or forgiving. We must stop what we are doing and become more compassionate and forgiving. When we use ourselves as our own arbiter of our fate judge and jury we will never be compassionate and forgiving. We can become more soft in our disposition by living our lives submitted to Jesus Christ.

3) REMEMBER. “And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2) We must remember always that which God has done for us. When we forget we become ineffective and unyielded.

This is something I am going to have to do daily, but on this National Day of Prayer I think it is a great time to recenter my life on prayer and in doing so get my mind off of me, and onto Christ. Lets do this together and see what we can accomplish!

Many of you who read ESI are in some way related to the Wilberforce Forum or the ministry of Chuck Colson. As you probably are aware, IFA is going to court next week at the federal level to make the case for being allowed into Federal and State Prisons. In today's Breakpoint Chuck makes a statement that we all need to absorb:

"So my plea to the judges would be this: Don't take away the one hope these men and women have—these poorest of the poor, the least in our society. Everybody talks about helping them, and we're doing it. Don't stop us."

He goes on to say:

"my plea to "BreakPoint" listeners and readers is simply this: Pray. Pray that IFI will prevail at the Eighth Circuit. And pray that this program will be able to continue to reduce recidivism, continue to make our communities safer, and continue to give hope to those who need it most."

I agree that we all need to pray. But I want to ask you to Fast during this time as well. The court case starts on the 13th which is a Tuesday. Let's all fast the weel of February 12th through the 16th. This is a pivotal week in the deliberation and decision phase.

We as believers know the mandate that God has given us to visit those in distress, to minister to "..the least of these" and we know that we need MANY MORE programs like those being put out by Prison Fellowship.

Remember, fasting is not always food. Those of you who know me know I am a porty feller and I like my food. I usually give something up like Television, Coffee, or anything that I enjoy and do on a regular basis. When I am tempted to just indulge I remember to pray and when we pray GOD MEETS US IN THE MIDST!!

As the New Year begins to come around again I have embarked on the painful introspection and self assessment that comes with setting a New Years Resolution. The following 10 character traits of a knight (1) pose some character traits that are worth a little introspection and contemplation. If one of these traits does not leave a person feeling at least a tinge of inadequacy, they probably need to spend a little more time defrosting their heart by the fire. Any time you read the word knight, insert your name instead. It will make it a little more real.

1. Prowess: To seek excellence in all endeavors expected of a knight, martial and otherwise, seeking strength to be used in the service of justice, rather than in personal aggrandizement.

2. Justice: Seek always the path of right, unencumbered by bias or personal interest. If the right you see rings true with others, and you seek it out without bending to the temptation for expediency, then you will earn renown beyond measure.

Read more!

As I have been pondering the events of the last few weeks here in my own home church and processing the pain and the confusion I have come to ponder on what it means to lament. Dictionary.com defines a lament as: 1) To fell or express sorrow or regret for, 2) to mourn for or over. The Bible is full of examples of both kinds of lament. The first definition is a lament in a reactionary sense. One such example is in 2 Samuel 12 vs. 1-13. David’s sin with Bathsheba had been found out and Nathan was ferreting out all the details. David than expressed regret and said “I have sinned against the Lord” (vs. 13)

So often our lament is like that of David. We sin and we sin, we wrestle with it and we try to get rid of it. What happens though is that God eventually does get his hands on us and presses us to repentance. The second type of lament, to mourn for or over is much less common, but I believe it needs to be practiced more, and that God has called His people to his purpose and that we must lament and grow.

When Job was being oppressed, he and his friends lamented. (Job 3: 11-13) As best as Job could tell he had done nothing to bring this calamity onto his family. He was your average God fearing man. When everything that the Lord allowed to happen took place he lamented and mourned not because he had done anything wrong, but because God had removed his hand of blessing. We, as a church body, need to make sure that we are mourning like Job and not like David. It is easy to internalize the sins of our leader and make them our own, but we can not. God is calling us higher and higher, not into the depths.

As a body of believers it is time to put on the sacloth, it is time to pour dust over our heads, and to mourn and lament collectively as a body. Friends need to reach out to friends, fathers to sons, pastors to the flock and so on.

Here is the great news that we all need to hear straight from the book of Lamentations:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail.23 They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him;

Let us make sure that as we lament, that we are seeking the Lord in his dwelling place. We can not become self consumed and focus on our own sin and anger. It is now that we as a church must lament in a way that finds Jesus. If we lament and mourn together we will find greater strength and humility and blessings, just as Job did after he lamented.

Ever since Greg Stier spoke at the National Youth Workers Convention, I've been thinking about something he said. He read the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 19), about how the prophets of Baal prayed and begged their god for hours and hours for a single spark of fire on their alter. When none came, they prayed even more earnestly, even mutilating their own bodies in desperation, but still there was no answer from Baal. Finally at the end of the day it was Elijah's turn. He calmly prepared the sacrifice, drenched everything with water and simply prayed,

"O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." (1 Kings 18:36-37)

The idea in scripture is that God IMMEDIATELY answered his prayer by sending down fire from heaven that not only burned the sacrificed bull, but also consumed the entire alter, stones, water and everything! WOW!!

Man, I pray like a wuss!

• When I pray I like to remain somewhat reserved and not pray for things that are too radical so I don't unnecessarily get my hopes up.

• I like to pray for things I feel like I can still keep some kind of control over in case I need to help God out.

• I like to pray with 50/50 faith: "Maybe God will answer, maybe He won't. Who knows? Let's see what happens."

In comparison, I observe a couple things about Elijah.

• He risked his life to be in public. He was a wanted man for being a prophet of God (1 Kings 18:9-14). There was a death wish on his head, so for him to come out from hiding was a very bold and risky action.

• He obeyed God with such confidence that he was willing to put his neck and God's reputation on the line.

• Because of his obedience, he could boldly pray according to the will of God.

• He had no control over the outcome of his prayer or his obedience to God. For all he knew, God would use this situation to prove something else or nothing at all. He had great faith to proceed.

Here's the number one thing I learn from Elijah's example: Maybe I don't always experience the power of God in my life because I rarely give Him the opportunity to do so.

I go to James 5:16 in the New Testament, a verse I memorized for the community aspect of praying for each other. However, I often overlook the second half that says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." If I want to have a prayer life that is "powerful and effective," apparently the key ingredient to the recipe is righteousness. The obvious question I then ask myself is, "What is righteousness?" and "Do I have it?"

The Message puts it this way: "The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with."

That's what I want, to be like Elijah and live right with God. I want my prayer life to be something that's powerful to be reckoned with. I want to live a life for Him that's bold, risky, confident, obedient and is right smack in the middle of His will.

Whew! Easier said than done.

I just finished reading the statement That They May Have Life which is a very impressive, and timely statement that come from Evangelicals and Catholics Together. It was published in the October edition of First Things It is a statement of joint values between Evangelicals and Catholics. I love it for two reasons:

1) More people need to know that Evangelicals and Catholics all come from the same ingrained belief that life is valuable. We disagree on some points (birth control), but we all should gain value and synergy from sharing in our efforts to save lives.

2) It reminds people that being pro life is not just about abortion. Euthanasia, Embryo harvesting etcetera are also very real, very important battles for the value of life. I encourage you to Read the whole article. My favorite quotes from the statement are:

"To be Christian is to be associated with a historical movement bearing public witness to universal moral truths"

"In our common humanity, we share a God given capacity to reason, to argue, to deliberate, to persuade, and to discover moral truths regarding questions related to the right ordering of our life together."

Please take some time to comment and to see who all has signed onto this statement. It is a who's who list of the Evangelical and Catholic Community.

Happy Sukkot from Every Square Inch!

In John 1 we hear these words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning..... The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1-2, 14

The Festival of Sukkot is occuring now and is a time in which the Jews remembered the time spent wandering in the desert. As they wandered in the desert for 40 years, they were provided for by God. During this festival of "booths" the Jewish people go into the fields and like in a booth representative of the tents that their ancestors lived in during those 40 years in the desert.

Jesus, in the same way, came to earth, took on our flesh and pitch his tent or lived in a booth among us. He was the Word, the Logos, very God of very God. He chose to humble himself and dwell with us.

As we enter the Fall harvest season, let us remember the Festival of Booths or Sukkot when the Jewish people would live in their fields and remember the time spent in the desert. We can at the same time remember the God-man who came and pitched his tent among us.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Carl
Administrator, Every Square Inch

By Corban Addison Klug

On the east end of Île de la Cité in the heart of what is arguably the most beautiful city in the world lies one of the most famous Gothic landmarks of Old Europe—the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris. With its grand and intricately wrought flying buttresses, lofty bell towers, vaulted spires, and petaled rose windows, the cathedral is a monument to premodern architectural ingenuity and to the ascendant faith of its progenitors. Surrounding the cathedral in every direction are the bustling twenty-first century accoutrements of France’s cosmopolitan capital—boulevards, hotels, residential apartment buildings, museums and cafés; yet standing at the cathedral’s midsection along the quiet banks of a divided Seine, it is easy enough to imagine a scene from eight hundred years ago, when the last generation of builders gathered together with the resonant excitement of children to worship the God of their fathers and to celebrate the cathedral’s long-awaited completion.

Three weeks ago, on the first Sunday in August, my wife and I walked from our small hotel in Paris’ Opera District across to the Left Bank of the Seine and down to Île de la Cité to attend an evening chamber choir service at the cathedral. Although by upbringing we are Protestant, by choice we are among those who bless God for the revolution of Spirit-inspired ecumenism that slowly but surely is eroding the walls that men, beset by pride and fear, have erected to divide the Church. We made the Cathedral Notre Dame our destination that evening because, even on vacation, we wished to honor God and keep the Sabbath. That the cathedral is a Catholic house of worship did not give us pause. Nor did the fact that many modern Catholics would, if they discovered our Protestant heritage, exclude us from their fellowship as a result of our “heresy.” In deciding to worship at the Cathedral Notre Dame, we meant both to acknowledge that the Spirit of God is still alive in the Catholic Church and to contribute in our small way to the ultimate harmony of souls swept up in the ageless and cosmic work of redemption being accomplished in history by Jesus Christ.

Read more!

This post is an adaptation of an article written by Dr. Robert Clinton entitled "Uses And Values of Reflective Journaling". It is not on-line or I would link to it. Since blogging is a form of journaling, I substituted the word "blogging" for "journaling". For you Unix folks, just imagine : 1,$s/journaling/blogging/g I used the article with his permission.

Clinton's article applies to journaling in a written journal such as a diary. Blogging has had a much shorter half life than journaling ... however, if blogging hangs around for a long time (and I hope it will), then bloggers will realize similar benefits from their blogging.

"Reflective blogging" is a new term. I use it to mean posting on a blog with reflective (i.e contemplative ) posts. In other words, posts which reveal how and what a blogger is thinking about God, life, truth etc. These posts are often spawned by interacting with God's thoughts through reading His word. There are some reflective type faith bloggers out there, but most of the rock stars of the faith blogosphere spend their time linking, trackbacking and reacting to each other's posts about the controvery du jour. This criticism, btw, is self-directed too.

The b'sphere could use more reflective blogging, in my opinion – especially by godly men and women who have walked in union life with Christ for some time. We could all benefit from their insight into life.

Here are Clinton's "Five Uses Of Reflective Blogging"

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It was five years ago but I can still remember the musty smell of the sheets when I woke up that morning. It was 9:15 a.m. and the phone was ringing. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and looked out the paned-glass window at the early autumn sky, cornflower blue and alive with sunlight. I picked up the phone and heard my father’s voice. He did not mince words. “They’ve flown planes into the World Trade Center. The towers are burning.” My mind took a minute to engage before I felt the first kiss of dread. “Who?” I finally asked. “Terrorists maybe. No one knows yet.” I looked at the floor and shook my head in disbelief. “When did it happen?” My father replied: “The first plane hit around 8:40 a.m. They thought it was an accident. The second hit just a few minutes ago. It wasn’t an accident.” I swallowed hard. “There must be ten thousand people in those buildings at this hour.” My father was silent for a long moment. “I know.” Standing up, I said to him, “I have to go find a television. I’ll call you later.”

I threw some clothes on, got in my car, and headed toward the Law School. It was my first semester at the University of Virginia School of Law, only the fourth week of classes, and I was still in the process of getting to know my classmates. But there was a guy from my first-year section—Craig was his name—whose apartment I had been to before. He had a television. Craig answered the door on the first knock. The television was on behind him. The Twin Towers were aflame and hemorrhaging oily black smoke. I entered his apartment in a daze. I took a seat on his couch and he said little to me except: “All I want to know is where I can enlist.” The footage of the second plane crashing into the South Tower played with the nauseating regularity of a broken record. The wan light of the television made the monumental explosion look surreal. The announcers talked of people jumping from eighty stories up in the North Tower to escape the flaming jet fuel. Cameras all over New York City captured the smoke streaming eastward on a stiff wind. The news came in that the Pentagon had been hit and that a fourth plane had been hijacked. A little later they told us the fourth plane had gone down in a field in Pennsylvania. There were no survivors. They speculated that the plane had been targeting the White House or the Capitol building in D.C.

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Happy Labor Day from Every Square Inch!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Carl
Administrator, Every Square Inch

One of the most hotly contested and most prognosticated subjects of our time is about the nature of God. Even among varying Christian religions the view of God and His nature changes quite a bit. Some religions rely on legalistic interpretation of God and His promise of justice and of dealing with those who transgress His laws. Others lean more toward the view of God as merciful and gracious, loving of all no matter what circumstance. In the end, both are correct. God is a God of justice and He is also a God of peace and forgiveness. Part of being an apologist for Christianity is being able to correctly articulate what God is, and more importantly, what God is not. We will take a very brief look at the nature of God in this paper. It is partially based on Chapter 4 titled The Nature of God in Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli.

God is the source of all existence. He is alone in that He is the sole creator of all things. All things work to the Glory of God. God is the source of His own existence. You and I in our finite bodies need to be created to come into this world. We need a mother and a father to come together as one and create us. God is not temporally limited in that manner. He draws on himself for His own existence. If God was dependent on something or someone else for his existence he would not be the Almighty God. He would be the product of something else, and that something else would be greater than Him, and therefore more worthy of our adoration, praise and worship. It would also beg the question “If there is a being that created God, who created the being that created God?” It is an endless loop of guessing and not ever knowing.

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Hello, Everyone. We are new to ESI and look forward to joining in the tapestry of conversation being woven on this site.

Over a year ago, Brian invited us to contribute to ESI when we were enjoying some seriously yummy Thai food with Sondra in Charlottesville. (Thanks for your patience, Brian!) About a month ago, we all found ourselves eating at the same table again (this time enjoying South African food), and the time seemed right for us to finally join in the fun here at ESI.

You can learn more about us in our bio, but to make a long story short, we are very much into the interaction between Culture and the Faith. We both come from a Presbyterian background but are now attending an Anglican church where we enjoy the historically orthodox theology, the sung liturgy, and the deep sense of sacramentality.

One of our deepest passions is the unity of the Church across all of her members from Rome to the little, funky, Southern-gothic church down in the holler where they handle snakes and have fried chicken on the grounds every Sunday. As such, we pray that the Lord will use us as sinews in the Body of Christ to help bind His people together in His love.

Peace,

John and Petra Harvey

One cannot go visit a zoo or aquarium anymore without being inundated by certain political messages. A particular message that was repeated to my husband and I throughout our recent visit to San Diego (which included both the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park) was, "Poaching is bad."

Variations on this theme were repeated to us constantly. We were often informed that such-and-such an animal was endangered and that there were "less than 1000" left in "The Wild."

Annihilating a Species is Bad
Though I believe that humans have the right to kill animals and eat them and use other parts of them to make tools or clothing, I also believe it is inappropriate to annihilate a species.

We Americans tend to romanticize tribal cultures as some sort of simpler, "back-to-nature" sort of existence. But all cultures are not created equal. It is my conviction that a culture is "good" to the extent that it reflects God's vision for society. Each culture will have details where they vary (musical styles, dress, overall personality, etc.), but God has given instructions to which each culture is obligated to conform.

When one studies Genesis, especially the first four chapters, one sees that God did not begin history with what we typically think of as a tribal culture. The description was more one of gardening/farming than anything else. It was not until after the Deluge (during which God chose a family to preserve not only humanity but animal life as well) that man was specifically given meat to eat. At that time, God put the fear of man into the animals (Genesis 9:2-5). I presume that putting fear into the animals was a way of making sure that man did not obliterate them. It is, after all, quite simple to butcher a domesticated animal.

As early as Genesis 4 is the idea of a man having a flock mentioned. When one puts together the idea of tending a flock of sheep with the gardening and cultivation of the land mentioned in the prior three chapters of the book, the picture is one of sustainable food sources.

Man is not called to be a locust upon the earth, consuming whatever is before him and leaving a path of destruction behind. And yet, this is precisely the lifestyle of some tribal cultures (including some past Native American cultures). The tribes hunt until there are no more animals to eat. They migrate and "gather" food much in the way an elephant does (an elephant herd, we learned, can destroy an entire forest in a short amount of time)--until there is nothing left.

The Problem of Africa
It is hard to isolate the various problems of Africa, because many of them stem from a refusal to bow the knee to the Creator. The area of poaching is just such a problem. The poachers see potential value in the animals--their skins, their tusks, their meat (for food known as Bushmeat). But they do not follow the Creator's guide. They often do not cultivate the ground and tend a herd. They kill and kill until the animal population drops into what many call the "endangered" level.

So then the governments, often pressured by Americans, steps in to "save the animals." And we were astounded by the "most effective" way this has been done. We were told this by a tour guide, and I am assuming this is true. Some African governments hire poachers, arm them, and pay them to kill other poachers. That's right. Africa has chosen not to elevate man back to his position of steward of the land and life, but rather turn him on himself. And now there is a situation where a dead poacher is more valuable than a dead animal.

Problem solved, in the opinion of Africa. And the San Diego Zoological Society seems to also accept this solution. After all, they exist not to put creation back together again, but to preserve animals in the name of preserving animals. So, San Diego breeds endangered animals, ships them back to Africa, repopulates the land with fresh meat, and gets comfortable with the idea that the animals won't be killed, but the hunters will be.

And it is believed all is right with the world, when it is in fact turned upon its very head!

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." Matthew 12:36

As a father of a very busy soon to be 5 year old, the thought of not having a television around is enough to make me want to scream and holler until they lock me up in the looney bin. I think it is time though. Here is a few random observations on my own behavior after watching television:

1) After watching an episode of The George Lopez Show recently I found myself at Safeway talking to the store clerk. The clerk was Latino, and my speech pattern towards him was so demeaning...and just like the way George Lopez talks on his show. To me it is ignorant and uneducated sounding. Unfortunately, it is also funny and it sucks millions of Americans to the television every night.

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Despite the extraordinary cinematic advances of our time, fantasy will never achieve the status of reality, for the two are immiscible substances. But fantasy has its gifts and its genius. The power of fantasy lies in its ability to recast the truths of the Real in the veiled form of allegory and by that to tell a story already told a thousand times with sparkling freshness, to awaken deaf ears to the sounds of forgotten music, to remind the mind of its passion for fascination and the heart of its need for hope. Such is the birthright of the superhero and the singular cause of his fame. One need not even ask what it is about a man whose eyes are all-seeing, whose skin is soft yet impervious to bullets, whose ears hear the cries of a billion hurting souls, whose strong arms bind up the wounds of the broken, and whose kindness is boundless and freely given, that so captures our imagination. The cry of the human heart is to believe in such a man, to touch the hem of his cape, to immortalize his memory in a photograph and forever tell others of the time you stood by his side.

Read more!

In a few days we will celebrate the freedom that we enjoy and remember those who sacrificed so that we may have our freedom. In a world that is still filled with those people who would like to take away the freedom that we have, I am grateful for the sacrifice that was made on my behalf.

Everytime I remember the sacrifice that was made by those men and women who gave their lives in defense of our nation, I am reminded of the ultimate sacrifice that was made Jesus.

Jesus told his disciples:

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. - John 15:12-15 (ESV)

He gave up his life for his friends. Jesus paid the ultimate price. His faithfulness to His friends spoke deeply about the love that the Father shows us. It is through Jesus that we have freedom! True freedom!

The Truth, Jesus, has set you free! You are free indeed!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Carl
Administrator, Every Square Inch

Shalom from Israel!

We have just completed our first two days of the journey here. I am studying with Ray Vander Laan from That the World May Know Ministry. We are walking in the footsteps of our Rabbi Jesus by following Ray to various locations with connections in the story of the Bible.

Among all the areas we visited today was Gath which enters the story of David and Goliath. We discussed the need for community and how David found himself with community behind him at some points and nowhere near him at others. This was juxtaposed with the story of Samson which we explored from the perspective on Samson's tendency to be a loner.

God has blessed us greatly with weather that is cooler than expected. It is still around 100 degrees Farenheit but we have been enjoying some breezes which bring much needed refreshment in the heat.

If you would like to view more pictures from our trip, please visit our photo page.

UPDATE: Five people on our trip from Riverside Community Church are doing a much better job than I could hope to do of updating on the daily activity of our trip.

Why Contemplating Eternity Causes Random Black Outs and Major Panic Attacks in Those Who Ask the Question!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Arthur Stace was an ordinary vagabond. He liked his women, his beer and his lifestyle of freedom from authority and the "normal" life afforded to others. His life as a nomad was spent satisfying no one but himself. Then one day the Lord came knocking and asked him a simple question; "Where will you be in eternity?"

This one question so perplexed him, so made his life miserable, that he gave his life to Christ. He then took to the streets with a simple piece of chalk that wrote only one word..."eternity".

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Carl’s profound revelation for the day is (insert drum roll here) Love is a 4 letter word. That is right, in case you can not count, love is a 4 letter word, and it is spelled T. I. M. E.It is a simple pneumonic really, one that is easy enough to remember. Here is my definition of time.

Teach.

A verse familiar to most parents is Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” We are taught this verse so many different times in our life as parents that we should get the T-shirt that says “been there, heard that” next time our pastor uses this verse. It occurred to me recently that this verse must be important because we hear it so much. Maybe I should remember to teach my child at every moment I can. That does not mean I have to make every part of life a parable to share, but let my life reflect the parables of Jesus. This leads me to I.

Integrity

Proverbs 20:7 tells us “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” Doing what I say I am going to do, honoring my family in all that I do and dealing fairly with those around me in business, and in church, is a sign of my integrity. My child, although only four years old, is a sponge that soaks up everything I do and uses it to develop his own character. I recently heard the commander in charge of detention in Guantanamo Bay Cuba on television saying that he could defend what has (or has not) happened there to the media, to his superiors, and others. But the worst segment of the population he had to deal with was the regular phone calls from his children asking “Just what is it that you are doing down there?”

Model

Actions speak volumes more than our words. We are an action oriented society. If you want me to learn it, then do it first. Then I will choose to follow or not. Jesus was the ultimate model. He followed the will of his Father all the way to the cross. It is not promised to be easy all the time. We see Jesus in the garden before His arrest not only asking, but pleading with His Father to let this cup pass before him. We must prayerfully, and with the up most humility, check and cross check our lives to make sure that we are modeling the life of Christ to our children. If we are not, we are going to be judged and found lacking because we do not take our job seriously.

Enjoy

I regularly hear that God does not want us to feel or to be overly emotional. This is a very conservative view, and a very incorrect view. Php 2:13 tells us “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” God takes pleasure in His creation, in His children and he enjoys them. God enjoyed the company of David when he was a shepherd in the wilderness. We are told that God inhabits the praises of His people. How cool is it to consider that God not only tolerates us and responds to us only because He promised He would, He enjoys us and us living in His pleasure. This is a great model for parents and children. We should not just tolerate our children; we should embrace them in pleasure. When I am with my son it is an excuse to take the tie off, put on the Birkenstocks and go to the park and play like there is no tomorrow. This reassures my son that I love him and that I want to spend time with him and that I enjoy hearing from him.

If you are still reading this, would you take a moment and write to me at Carl@thoughtsofagyrovague.com and tell me how you spend time with you child? How do you make sure to reaffirm and build up your child? Tell me anything about it, and let me know if I can pray for your family as well.

Imagine this scenario:

You are booked on a full flight to LA, coach class, of course, window seat. The middle seat next to you remains vacant right up to departure. At the last moment, in comes a twenty-something young fellow to claim his seat. You notice he is carrying an odd looking bundle. Once seated, he proceeds to unwrap his python (emotional support pet, that is). Horrified, you say, "Isn't there a law against this?" Actually, thanks to a 2003 ruling by the Department of Transportation, scenes like this happen regularly. I used the snake for shock effect, but airlines report accommodating (in the passenger cabin) dogs, of course, but also cats, monkeys, miniature horses, goats, and yes, even an emotional support duck.

Here is an excerpt summarizing the 2003 ruling:

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Well, tomorrow is primary day, and after much consideration, I believe that fact merits a posting for today. If I wait until tomorrow, I'll have waited too long! I think the best way to approach this post is to start by quoting one of our Founding Fathers:

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may treasure the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. (John Adams)

This is the sort of politics I can appreciate! This is not a vote based on polls or trying to guess who can win. This is honestly analyzing the candidate or the bills (I would suggest Scripture as the litmus test) and then voting accordingly, regardless of the consequences.

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For several months now I have been praying for the gifts of the spirit to be present in my life and the life of my family. I pray through them regularly, but today God pressed in on me and asked me "What do you really know about the gifts of the spirit?" It has prompted me to look at each gift of the spirit a little deeper. Over the next 9 weeks (there are 9 gifts as noted in Galatians 5:22) I will dig into one of the gifts and share what God has shown me in regards to each gift.

Romans 8:5 tells us "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." I want to explore the first fruit of the spirit which is love.

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As we launch into the month of June here at Every Square Inch let this sign be a reminder to enjoy the life we have been given and celebrate God in all His glory inside and out.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Carl
Administrator, Every Square Inch

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Pastor Dunnington preached an entire sermon on that one verse. Correction. On the first half of that verse.

I have always read that verse in terms of the second half -- the "to die is gain" part. I never saw this verse as an affirmation of union life.

What is union life?

Paul uses the term frequently in his writing. How often? He uses the phrase in Christ 74 times, in Jesus six times and in him eight times in his various writings.

What does it mean to be united with Christ?

Dr. Robert Clinton1 defines it:

Union life is a phrase which refers both to the fact of the spirtual reality for a believer joined in spirit with the resurrected Spirit of Christ and the process of that union being lived out with Holy Spirit power so that the person is not dominated by sin in his/her life.

Reformed types like to use a fancy theological term for it. Sanctification.

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There is a saying recorded in the Mishnah, a collection of sayings from ancient sages, that says, “May you be covered in your Rabbi’s dust and may you thirstily drink his words.” This paints a beautiful word picture of how closely a disciple wanted to follow his rabbi—so closely that he would be covered in the dust of his rabbi. In September of 2005, I experienced what it meant to be covered in the dust of the rabbi as I traveled with Ray Vander Laan, founder of That the World May Know Ministries, and a group of 49 other people to Israel and Turkey to study the Bible, or as we referred to it, the “Text,” in its cultural, geographic and historic context. As we traveled throughout the Galilee where Jesus called His disciples and later went to Turkey, where many of His disciples were sent, we entered the world of Jesus and the Text.

As Jesus entered the world of first-century Palestine, He was at the right place and the right time to partake in a very particular practice that had originally developed in Babylon during captivity. What was this? The rabbinical schools and more particularly rabbis who had disciples. It was in this world that Jesus chose His disciples and called them to follow Him.

What did it mean to be a disciple? Often in Western culture we think of a disciple as synonymous with a student. In other words, we think of a disciple as someone who knows what the rabbi knows. This is part of it but doesn’t tell the whole story. A disciple is someone who wants to be, in his walk with God, what the rabbi is. Sure, the disciple and the rabbi may have different personalities or a different taste in this or that, but the disciple has a fiery passion within his soul to be, in His walk with God, who the rabbi is.

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I have written elsewhere that purpose is the holy grail of human existence. I reaffirm that sentiment here. The desire for meaning, for a teleology of life, is an incurable condition in the human heart, its quest a journey that no man or woman can resist. Even those poor, sodden souls who labor in the abstract of rhetoric to deny and declaim the existence of the divine pursue in the shadows of practice an earthly proxy of transcendence. It is irrelevant whether their appetite be for the ecstasy of sensuality, for the status of invincibility, for the acclaim of the cognoscenti, for the glamour of wealth, for the glory of fame, for the caress of a lover, or for the affections of family and friends; in every case it is the irresistible call of meaning that drives them insatiably onward into the deepest caves of darkness and upward to the very pinnacles of creation. Without pausing to recognize the irony, man in abject rebellion against eternity proves its existence by pining ever more desperately for its substitute.

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The above comic is just an illustration of a question I have been thinking lately while putting this blog together. Are we, as a society, loosing the art of oral persuasion? I have come to ask the question more and more as I have closer contact with people from all different walks of life, in all different countries. I am astounded at the amount of personification a simple telephone conversation can convey.

I know someone reading this is going to say that it is unfair to judge a person just by the way that they talk. But is it really? We all have heard that the first impression is the worst one to have to change. Linguistics is an art form, and it is one art form I am afraid we are loosing. I have a few reasons to think why:

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Our wonderful free market economy brings with it an unhealthy insatiability. We need only to look at the lessons from those who have “made it” to bring us up short.

Dr. Avner Offer, professor of economic history at Oxford University has spent the last 20 years studying quality of life questions and has recently written a book called The Challenge of Affluence. In his book, Offer tracks the downside of wealth. Rather than bringing contentment, it seems to foster false expectations, stress, and anxiety. The drive to achieve financial goals creates permanently raised expectations, so that the wealthy forget how to enjoy the simpler things in life. They become acclimated to the “wow factor” with the closed deal or the newest acquisition. Gorging on the fruit of success, many of us forget to savour the taste. Our lives are lived in a vortex of goals and maximum achievement where anxiety and impatience rule.

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