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.

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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.

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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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May the month of May bring you thoughts of Joy and Peace as God renews our soil, or hearts and our minds. From my family to yours, I truly hope that the month of May brings you closer to Christ then you have ever been.

In Him, through Him, and for Him

Carl
Administrator, Every Square Inch

I have so much to say, but I don't know where to start. I’ve written down so many verses and quotes and thoughts over the past few days. and I wanted to sit down and make them into some organized idea that I could present to you, hoping to pull off for another week the illusion that the things in this world of Africa don't eat away at my brain and my heart. here I am, exposing the growing reality that I don't know what to do with Africa.

I just finished a book called "Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa." Keith B. Richburg was the US Bureau Chief for the Washington Post during some of Africa’s most recently formative years: during the Rwandan genocide, various ongoing conflicts in Somalia, the Congo, Uganda, Liberia, and Zaire. This man, a African American from Detroit, came to Africa expecting to connect to some ancestral bond awaiting him on this soil, only to find that Africa alluded him, rejected him, devalued his work and sacrifice, and left him feeling thankful for the results of slavery which landed him In America, rather than at the base of a waterfall with many other African bodies who had been thrown into the river. He continually says, "In Africa, you don't count the bodies."

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Editor's Note:

So sorry this one was delayed. We had some server problems not to long ago and this one got lost in the malay. It is still worthy of reflection on King Jesus though.

An Ode to Joy in Anticipation of Easter

When I survey the cross upon which you bled and died, I cannot but fall to my face in shame. For a god to tabernacle in flesh amidst his wayward creation is a marvelous mystery; for that same god to embrace death to save his creation is an unsearchable antimony. Yet you have done it; you have walked in our midst and loved us with your tears, with the dolorous supremacy of your suffering. You have cast your eyes (were they blue, green, brown, or somewhere in between?) upon our ignominy; you have seen the pain of our despair; you have touched the effluence of our diseases; you have known the depth of our wounds. You have felt the sting of our reflexive hate, our small-minded arrogance, our rancid indifference, our propensity for doubt, our pathetic simplicity, our voluble hypocrisy, our self-deception and foolishness. You have experienced the pompous and self-serving justice meted out by those we honor as wise. You have seen the destiny we design for the meek, the poor, the peacemakers, for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. You have seen how stained are our hands with the blood of innocents, how soiled are our faces with soot from the fires of our idolatry, how cluttered are our hearts with cherished artifacts of greed, pride and lust. We do not deserve you. We are darkness; you are light. We are unsightly; you are majestic.

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As a Covenant College student in the 1980s, we were all required to read H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture (1951). It was (and perhaps still is) the standard textbook to read when studying culture.

It was my first exposure to the issue of thinking Christianly about culture. I wrestled with the question, how exactly are we supposed to engage culture?

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A title like this might raise expectations about receiving advice on preparing a gourmet meal. Sorry, but you have the wrong author and this is the wrong venue for that.

Actually, we are addressing the value of the simple, but long forgotten, ritual of family dinners. Do you remember how it was with “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver”? I personally have fond memories of family meals as one of five siblings on our small family farm. The main obstacle to the family meal was when Daylight Savings Time rolled around and we could spend another hour of daylight in the field. What has happened to the idyllic family gathered around the evening meal in the twenty first century? In a word- busyness! Most of you reading this have mixed feelings about this daily discipline. Many of you relish memories of your childhood where Mom, Dad, and the kids gathered around the table at the end of the day and everyone had their opportunity to talk about their particular stories. On the other hand, as overwhelmingly busy parents now, you are balancing after-school activities, work, church meetings, and a myriad of other commitments that make it so difficult to pull off this important family meeting time consistently. The tyranny of the urgent rules and these “life molding” important events suffer at the hands of the urgent events which cry out louder, but offer much less in the way of growing godly, communicative kids and reinforcing the family unit.

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Ah, glorious April! Is there a touch of the Transcendent in the carpets of daffodils and singing of the birds? Do we have glimpses of God’s glory as the mountains produce hundreds of shades of green and the trees awaken to their new season of growth?

Yes, and yet… how the Transcendent gets trashed by the mundane in April! Is there ever a month so packed with activities that there isn’t time to breathe? I remember when I was a college student I bemoaned the presence of final exams and other closing of the year madness in a month when I just wanted to smell the roses. Someday, I reasoned, after those degrees were completed, I could enjoy the month for what it should be- an exercise in worship.

Not so. It just gets worse. Every good cause has a banquet, a retreat, a “walk”, or a picnic in April. Sunday- that wonderful Sabbath of rest and delight in the Lord- becomes clogged with extra luncheons, closing productions, and omnipresent meetings. Somehow worship becomes squeezed into a plethora of other activities. We get too busy to meditate, pray, or study God’s Word. People begin dropping out of their Bible studies and prayer groups in order to meet the demands of their garden, their lawn, and their tax forms.
Wise people say that in times like this we are too busy not to pray. How do we say ‘no’ to good things? How do we order our days that the priority of ‘God first’ is maintained?

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Happy April Fools Day from Every Square Inch!

Every year I attempt to think of a funny April Fool's joke to play on someone. Some years I am successful at thinking of something to do and other times I just let the day slide by without pulling any pranks or jokes on anyone. Even when I do think of a prank to pull it is seen at best as not very funny and at worst a cruel and inhumane thing to do.

My two most famous April Fool's jokes were played on my mother. My mother is a very excitable individual so it is often times very easy to obtain a reaction to unexpected news. So it was on both of these occasions.

The first of the occasions occurred in 2001. I had been dating a girl since high school and when April Fool's day came around, my father and I plotted to play a joke on my mother. We began by getting our story straight and then making the telephone call. I called home from college mid-day on April Fool's day. My mother answered.

Mom: Hello

Brian: Hey, Mom! I got some big news for you.

Mom: What is it? Did you do well on a test?

Brian: No, that isn't the news. I am engaged!

Mom: Really? When did this happen?

Brian: This morning.

Mom: Umm. Did you think about this? When is the wedding date?

Brian: Well, we haven't set a date yet. I had given it a lot of thought.

Mom: Ok. Have you told your father?

Brian: No. You are the first one I have told.

Mom: Well... That's great news. I gotta go. I will talk to you soon.

As my mother hangs up, my dad e-mails me. I send him an e-mail back telling him that I have sold it. She is believing it. Just as I e-mail he e-mails back saying she called him. He acts surprised but acts serious and she is convinced that it is the real deal. Just as my mom is about to hang up she tells my dad that she will have to call everyone and tell them the good news.

This is when my dad and I agree that it has gone far enough. He e-mails and tells me to call her immediately and announce the April Fool's joke. It was a big surprise to her and she was amazed that we pulled it off.

What is the point of this story about April Fool's? Often we take things lightly and fool or joke with one another. This is fine when it comes some things but I know of one thing that is definitely not an April Fool's joke: Christ's Kingdom! Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has entered triumphally as King. He reigns, sovereign, over all the earth and we hail him as King.

When it comes to hailing Jesus as King, there is no fooling around. I may act like the Court Jester in other matters but when I am in the true King's court I am the humble servant. As we think about or maybe partake in April Fool's day, may we remember who the true King is and our role not as fools but rather worshippers and servants of the King.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Brian
Founder, Every Square Inch

Today, March 31st, marks the 1 year anniversary of the death of Terry Schiavo. I actually hate to call it an anniversary because the term is usually used to denote something that is joyful. This was not a joyful day. This day was a tragedy, one that we have repeated many times since. One only has to look at little Haleight Poutre the 11 year-old in Massachusetts who was almost left to die by the "caretakers" of the state. She is alive now because of nothing less than a miracle. We cannot say the same for Terry.

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To live is Christ, to die is gain
Should any love of flesh remain?

Once dead, now live, my spirit slept
‘Til Christ on high, His blood He wept
For wrathful weight of Father Just
Pressed hard on Him who knew no lust.

Hung as did the desert snake
Did He, the Lamb, both bleed and quake
For wretched heart and si