tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58357471878666346832024-03-13T09:53:34.699-05:00The BullhornSounding off on life, family, theology, and the issues of the day.The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.comBlogger511125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-67970125349631721312018-09-25T10:13:00.002-05:002018-09-25T10:13:33.346-05:00The ConversationI never read Ta Nahesi-Coates <i>Between the World and Me. </i>On the other hand, it was widely excerpted in many reviews, and the one excerpt I read that made me think I might want to read the whole thing some day was about "the conversation" that black parents need to have with their children about interactions with the police. I have since had opportunity to talk about this with an African American pastor I know and he confirmed that he has talked with his son, and given him this counsel: "Do what you have to do to survive the encounter. We can figure out how to respond legally later if we need to." Honestly, based on my (very limited) interactions with the police, I can't imagine having that conversation with my children, but I can certainly understand why it happens.<br />
<br />
But over the last few days, I have felt the need to have a different sort of conversation with my teenage sons. The Kavanaugh hearings have developed a <i>Through the Looking Glass </i>feel to them, where the total absence of corroborating evidence plus a judicial philosophy antithetical to the so-called "living Constitution" is taken to equal proof of allegations of sexual assault some 35 and 36 years in the past. If there is any justice in the world, Kavanaugh's accusers would be asked to either provide significant corroborating evidence or face criminal perjury charges and civil slander and defamation suits. But I do not think that there is. In the world in which we now live, a long history of exemplary public and private conduct is no guarantee against accusations being made and believed. So I sat my boys down this morning and told them, basically:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Gentlemen, there are two reasons to not go to parties where drinking and sexual immorality are part of the equation. Number one, because fleeing immorality and drunkenness please God. That's the best reason. But the second reason is because we are now living in a world in which an accusation, true or not, can ruin your life. The only way you will survive living in that world is to live your days from now till death with complete moral integrity. If there's no evidence you were ever at such a party of sexually active with anyone but your wife, that truth <i>might</i> save you in the day of trouble. But you should still be prepared for a world in which you might well be Joseph. </blockquote>
Walking in God's ways is always best, always safest for many reasons. Here's another one. Though it saddens me that even doing so is no guarantee your reputation will be unsullied, it is my hope that these events might be one thing that points people back to the ancient paths and then, perhaps, to the Maker of those paths. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-15685195686437444762018-09-20T11:54:00.001-05:002024-02-29T13:19:20.855-06:00On #MeToo and the Sexual RevolutionI'm a child of the '80s. In some ways, it was an idyllic time to grow up, because it was the last decade in which a lot of the old cultural norms still held, but the ground was shifting fast. I found out what divorce was when a 5th grade friend told me that's what his parents were doing. I was shocked. None of the parents of other kids or anybody else I knew up to that point were divorced. He was the first, but definitely not the last, friend from those days to walk through the wreckage of his parents' selfishness. By 8th grade, lots of the kids I knew were drinking and some were into drugs at least casually. Sexual experimentation of various kinds was the expectation of virtually every dating relationship, and after someone had dated a girl for a few weeks guys asked each other, "how far is she letting you go?"<br />
<br />
It was an <i>Animal House </i>world, and we all seemed determined to live it up within it, though for my part I felt completely out of step. I can remember trying hard (and mostly failing) to fit in and not seem holier-than-thou even though I was a fairly committed Christian kid. To my lasting regret, I participated in the prevailing culture of innuendo, sex-based humor and hormonally charged interactions with girls. Mustn't seem too weird, after all, even if I made sure that in my own life, I stopped well short of actually engaging in sex with anybody until I was married, didn't drink till I graduated from college, and never tried any illegal drugs. My friends were mostly not so fortunate (if that's the right word). Many went to the wrong kind of parties (those to which I was too nerdy to be invited). Broken hearts abounded and drunken evenings gave way to mornings filled with regrets carefully covered by bravado ("Man, I was soooo wasted last night! Did I do anything?"). Girls that went never seemed to have as much fun as the guys or to celebrate either the parties or their choices at them in quite the same way. Looking back, I suspect all of us were just trying to fit in. Nobody talked about the costs of drinking or sex, and especially not about what happens when the two get mixed together. I'm certain lots of lines were crossed during those darkened, inebriated nights that the sober wouldn't consider in the light of day.<br />
<br />How did we get there? The waves of our parents' Sexual Revolution washed over us and we were its first victims. As a culture, we discarded more than we intended. We wanted freedom to have as much sex as we desired without being bound by the norms of marriage-based sexuality. What we got was sexual freedom that soon turned into complete sexual anarchy. Having abandoned the rules, we got a culture of abuse, treating each other as means rather than persons.<br />
<br />
All of which leads us to today. I think the #MeToo movement is a mostly healthy development, pushing back against all this. Women are rising up to tell the world that our culture, which treats so many of them as living sex robots, is doing real damage. Men have behaved abominably, even if not everyone so accused is necessarily guilty. Likewise, many women have been sexually exploitative, even though most men don't see those encounters in quite the same way. <br />
<br />
What we need are some new rules, something solid and uncompromising, standards that everyone will agree to and our institutions will universally support. But to whom and to what source shall we turn to find them? Any attempt to create essentially Judeo-Christian norms absent their theological underpinnings will ultimately fail because it has no "Why?" underneath it. "Because God says so" is a pretty compelling reason, it turns out, but "because you might get in trouble later" is a recipe only for staying away from the kind of behavior that might carry legal consequences. Nobody wants to endure that lowest common denominator approach to themselves. The only way forward, at least as I see it, is for an authentic renewal of our historic faith. If that comes, I think we'll see a culture form that values and protects the weaker and more vulnerable among us. If not, then look for the waves of human wreckage to continue washing up on our shores. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-46749953008106525042018-08-30T10:34:00.001-05:002018-08-30T10:35:29.948-05:00Is this thing on?Hello? Hello? I very much doubt anybody is still reading this page, but as I look back on it, I look with a mixture of pride in what I had to say through it and wistfulness for the days when everybody was blogging and social media hadn't become the swirling mass of angry mobs it has become. For my part, I'm thinking of reopening business here. I need a place for my thoughts when I think I have something worth saying and don't much care if anyone is listening or not. Also, I miss writing and the space it provides for thinking things through, out loud. If you're new, welcome. If not, thanks for having the patience of Job. <br />
<br />
<br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-1429587929090134152014-08-28T15:35:00.001-05:002018-03-15T09:50:15.133-05:00Process, results, and Mark DriscollIn my last sermon, I opened with a bit about "destination people" versus "journey people." It wasn't meant to be serious, or to provoke much serious thought. It was mostly to help people to relax and engage with the text of Exodus, which is a book about Israel's spiritual journey out of slavery and toward their destination of the Promised Land. So it was fascinating to me that after the service, as people were making their way out and greeting me (as is still tradition in our church), that a friend stopped me with a serious comment about this illustration.<br />
<br />
He told me that journey vs. destination is another way of talking about "process orientation" vs "results orientation." Which is true. Some people don't care about how something is done, only <i>that </i>it is done. For others, <i>how </i>you get there is at least equal in importance as <i>that </i>you arrive. This led to a further discussion about politics and also about church ministry. My friend told me that he is usually more process than results oriented. I lean the other way. <br />
<br />
The conversation was sharpening for me in light of recent events involving Pastor Mark Driscoll. I have read much of what Mark has written and found much of it beneficial and helpful (esp. <i>Doctrine</i>) and enjoyed a few of his sermons. Moreover, I respect the fact that his church, Mars Hill, has been able to effectively share the Gospel with so many people (esp. young men) in a city as aggressively secular as Seattle. I did have questions, as many did, about various comments he made or actions he took, but somehow, through a combination of my own spiritual immaturity and results orientation, I largely ignored the warning lights. <br />
<br />
Now the warning lights have given way to smoke pouring out of the engine. I have no desire to join in what has become a generalized internet pile-on. Yet, I do think that pastors (like me!), who tend toward seeking results above all do well to pay attention to what has occurred. Too many of us were willing to ignore evidence of immature and ungodly behavior in Mark because his ministry was going so well. There really were<i> lots </i>of people coming to faith in Jesus. There were churches being planted. And that's what many of us pastors (again, including me!) hope will one day happen in our churches too. At our best, we want to see those things happen not out of some megalomaniac desire to build a monument to ourselves, but because we really do believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the dividing line between heaven and hell and that life is only found knowing Him. So out of love for others, we greatly desire to see as many as possible know and love and follow Jesus.<br />
<br />
Yet it is apparently easy for that good desire to transmogrify into ugly self-exaltation. May I and my fellow pastors never be granted influence that outruns our character, nor allow ministerial results to so overrule the process of obtaining them that we discredit the Gospel message we so earnestly desire to spread. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-79611975725707860012014-08-28T14:50:00.000-05:002014-08-28T14:50:25.106-05:00A sharp swordLike most men, I have found that maintaining my "covenant with my<br />
eyes" (Job 31:1) is a difficult fight, at least at times. Our culture confronts me (and us) daily with
opportunities to see and sinfully enjoy that which I (and we) should
not. Our culture's movies, TV, news sites, advertising, and yes, our neighbors
provide virtually endless sources of temptation. Yet our temptation need
not become sin. It is possible, in spite of temptations, to live in a holy way. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H3tGeBi9xes/U_-He7XYukI/AAAAAAAAA20/l8IxgYhxI2g/s1600/sh2411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H3tGeBi9xes/U_-He7XYukI/AAAAAAAAA20/l8IxgYhxI2g/s1600/sh2411.jpg" height="152" width="320" /></a>A while back, I read parts of Kevin DeYoung's <i><a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Good-News-Almost-Forgot-Rediscovering/dp/0802458408/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1409254248&sr=8-6&keywords=kevin+deyoung">The Good News We Almost Forgot</a></i>. I don't remember a lot of the book, but one beautiful little nugget has implanted itself deeply into my brain. He refers to Matthew 5:8<i> </i>("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God") as "a sword for the fight against lust." So it has proved. For the past few years, whenever I have been tempted, I have recited that verse to myself as part of my efforts to "take <i>every </i>thought captive" (2 Cor. 10:5, my emphasis). It reminds me that my desire to find satisfaction through what I can see is not simply wrong; it is also misdirected. It's not that I want too much, but too little. The pure in heart will see <i>God Himself, </i>and the sight of Him will make all else pale in comparison. Nothing and no one in all the world is so desirable or beautiful that they are worth missing out on seeing God in all His glory and greatness. <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="Level2" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Andalus;"><br /></span></div>
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-87729083449435095722014-08-07T13:57:00.000-05:002014-08-07T14:03:24.903-05:00Abortion, cohabiting and our moral intuitionTwo recent incidents in my own life illustrate the reality that we all possess moral intuitions, and whether we want to admit it or not, our own hearts convict us:<br />
<br />
Incident #1 involved a recent online "conversation" which reminded me why I tend not engage in many of them. It was about abortion and the forms of contraception (like Plan B, for example) that sometimes "work" by <a href="http://planbonestep.com/faqs.aspx">preventing implantation of a fertilized egg</a> (aka an embryo or early stage human) and I was, as gently as possible, offering the opinion that abortion, whether surgical or chemical, is morally wrong. In reply, I was told in no uncertain terms that I should shut up because I was a man, and religious besides (apparently that adds up to three strikes!). Wisely or unwisely, I persisted for a while, until my highly agitated conversation partner told me that all I <i>really </i>wanted to do was control women's lives with my religious dogma and besides, she wanted to <i>reduce </i>abortions, which is why she recommended Plan B and its compatriots.I found that last bit revealing. It reminded me of Hilary Clinton's famous line that she wanted to keep abortion "safe, legal, and rare." (To know much about the abortion industry is to conclude that its practitioners have evidently concluded 'one out of three ain't bad', but I digress). The bigger question is "Why 'rare'?" Why should my internet interlocutor feel compelled to tell me she wanted to reduce abortion?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQ7XV94MLjs/U-PLM43ab_I/AAAAAAAAA1w/tT3stRmUxPs/s1600/beach-ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQ7XV94MLjs/U-PLM43ab_I/AAAAAAAAA1w/tT3stRmUxPs/s1600/beach-ball.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Incident #2 involved a couple from a while back who told me that they are cohabiting, but keeping it quiet from their children until their upcoming wedding. Again, why should they respond that way? If there is nothing of which to be ashamed, why keep the fact that you are sleeping over a lot from your children?<br />
<br />
The answer is obvious: because in your deep heart you <i>know </i>that there's something not quite holy about what you have decided to do. Moreover, you are trying to convince yourself that it is good in spite of your moral intuition to the contrary. The Scripture unsurprisingly proves itself true. We are adept at "suppressing the truth," (Rom. 1:18), but it relentlessly pops up again like a beach ball held under the ocean, condemning us with our own lips (Rom. 3:15). This is an example of common grace, meant to drive us toward finding the repentance and forgiveness we innately know that we desperately need. May we all find freedom from all our sin and shame in Christ Jesus. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-38837537142810658672014-08-06T14:29:00.003-05:002014-08-06T14:30:33.641-05:00A hunter is bornKaren went hunting with me for the first time the first year we were married. I shot three squirrels on that particular stalk through the Hoosier National Forest. Karen had a good time on the trip and enjoyed being with me doing something I love, but as I recall, she wasn't much interested in learning to do it herself. In more recent years, we have talked about getting her out in the woods "when the kids are older." Well that day has arrived. Our kids are now old enough to be able to stay home by themselves for a few hours without a babysitter while the dear wife and I slip out for coffee, or a walk, or a hunting trip nearby. Last fall it got serious. Karen bought a deer tag and sat in a treestand. The deer didn't cooperate for either of us during gun season, but she conquered the most difficult challenge of it, which is getting in the stand, 20 feet up, and sitting there with enough focus to be able to shoot if a deer appears in range. We drew turkey tags this past spring but despite early excitement on the one morning we got to go, no toms came close. <br />
<br />
Squirrel season opened on August 1st and Karen asked if we go for the opener. I took time off work and away we went. The woods near home where I like to go was still, buggy, and sweaty, but the result was this: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nlK4vA3dO8/U-KAs5rw6LI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/qiEpAj0xfz0/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nlK4vA3dO8/U-KAs5rw6LI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/qiEpAj0xfz0/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWOTpKDUbbE/U-KAtPrXMzI/AAAAAAAAA1g/4OX2cu_Dhfk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWOTpKDUbbE/U-KAtPrXMzI/AAAAAAAAA1g/4OX2cu_Dhfk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Those are the faces of happy hunters, smiling despite a collection of mosquito bites on our hands and heads that made us later look like Looney Tunes characters after they get hit by a mallet (despite generous application of bug spray beforehand!). She is smiling with accomplishment and joy. I am smiling because a dream I have held close since I was first married is now fulfilled. My bride has become a huntress!<br />
<br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-69159261504433910772014-07-23T14:40:00.001-05:002014-07-23T14:45:56.766-05:00Traveling CircusThis year has been the year when we have traveled the most. I went to Oklahoma with my brother in March to shoot the ingredients for good barbecue, then in June we all went down to the beach for two weeks of sand and surf with my Mom, Dad, and big Sis.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HN1JK3fzXL8/U9AMiMRpLkI/AAAAAAAAA08/VwIIXiunwpQ/s1600/Family+%232+127.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HN1JK3fzXL8/U9AMiMRpLkI/AAAAAAAAA08/VwIIXiunwpQ/s1600/Family+%232+127.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legoland in Schaumburg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Then we took Sara and Ashley up to Timber-Lee Christian Camp in East Troy, WI for a week of spiritual growth and fun in the sun. The rest of us spent the night in Kenosha, went to the Civil War Museum, Villa de Carlo, Tenuta's, and a tour of the Jelly Belly warehouse, capped off with a visit to the Lego store. <br />
<br />
After all that, we dropped Karen off at O'Hare for a two week trip to Amman, Jordan to see some dear friends that live there. That night I met my in-laws at the house. They left with the boys for several days at my sister-in-law's new home in southern Illinois and playing with the cousins before heading east to my parents' house for a week of sheep wrangling.
I picked the girls up at camp on Saturday the 12th after they had a phenomenal week. Sara got in all the horseback riding and training she wanted, made some good friends, and learned a lot. Ashley got to exercise her flair for all things dramatic at theater camp (Favorite part? Stage combat)and made some key decisions that are paying dividends in her spiritual life, plus had her usual easy time making every member of her cabin a friend. One of my favorite parts of camp is seeing the kids' enthusiasm for worshiping Jesus and experiencing spiritual growth.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27RZtidkp0k/U9ALSo6L_1I/AAAAAAAAA0c/XYwEaJ7wlc0/s1600/Family+%232+140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27RZtidkp0k/U9ALSo6L_1I/AAAAAAAAA0c/XYwEaJ7wlc0/s1600/Family+%232+140.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara with two buddies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vEqRf07BkAs/U9ALYsXV58I/AAAAAAAAA0k/79yP_oORX4Y/s1600/Family+%232+142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vEqRf07BkAs/U9ALYsXV58I/AAAAAAAAA0k/79yP_oORX4Y/s1600/Family+%232+142.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashley with her counselor and cabinmates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HN1JK3fzXL8/U9AMiMRpLkI/AAAAAAAAA08/VwIIXiunwpQ/s1600/Family+%232+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HN1JK3fzXL8/U9AMiMRpLkI/AAAAAAAAA08/VwIIXiunwpQ/s1600/Family+%232+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
<br />
While the girls were gone, I spent my days working at church and my nights replacing the floor in Nathan's room. (And yes, I know you don't see the whole room done yet, but it was a
victory to get the furniture back in. There's still a closet yet to do,
then the hallway and two more rooms!).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dDmb-IUPr1E/U9ALxg7Q5zI/AAAAAAAAA0s/xnPw-77mSPc/s1600/Family+%232+145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dDmb-IUPr1E/U9ALxg7Q5zI/AAAAAAAAA0s/xnPw-77mSPc/s1600/Family+%232+145.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Down to the subfloor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JQhzttMV1go/U9ALz3new2I/AAAAAAAAA00/733cUiNH4zI/s1600/Family+%232+158.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JQhzttMV1go/U9ALz3new2I/AAAAAAAAA00/733cUiNH4zI/s1600/Family+%232+158.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost finished!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JQhzttMV1go/U9ALz3new2I/AAAAAAAAA00/733cUiNH4zI/s1600/Family+%232+158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPguqtiNXx0/U9AN4OX3CDI/AAAAAAAAA1I/XABZrObvpO0/s1600/Karen+at+the+Amman+Airport.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPguqtiNXx0/U9AN4OX3CDI/AAAAAAAAA1I/XABZrObvpO0/s1600/Karen+at+the+Amman+Airport.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen, tired but full of joy, at the Amman airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I should also add that this was the first time since Karen and I have been married (18 years!) that she has been off on an adventure and I have stayed home. Plus, for the last 13 years, we have had constant pretty much noise in the house. A week of just me and the dog kickin' it together was quiet and lonely. So getting the girls back home was a huge blessing! I got to talk with them, they got to hang out, catch up on Dr. Who, help me put the house back together, and participate in youth discipleship (which they have been missing a bit).
Last Saturday was the day when both the boys and Karen came home. It was a grand reunion, but we are still recovering in some ways. Karen is still jet-lagging pretty hard, and there is still luggage needing put away. We finally got to see all of Karen's photos last night and hear her tell all about what it's like to float in the Dead Sea (which you can do standing up!), wander through miles of Petra's rock carvings, stand on Mt. Nebo and see Israel but not go in (like Moses!), see the place where Jesus was baptized, visit the ancient citadel where Uriah the Hittite died, and spend time with dear friends.<br />
<br />
Everybody is back now. The boys obviously need more exercise (hmmm...wonder if the city will let me keep some sheep?), and this Sunday John takes off for his 1st ever week at Timber-Lee while shortly after that Sara will be going to Washington, D.C. for a few days of sightseeing with a friend and her family. By the time we get everybody home for good, it will be time for school and JFL football to start up again.The circus is still moving, but I am glad I get to play ringmaster. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-18980428797277030802014-07-10T19:05:00.000-05:002014-08-07T14:03:03.017-05:00Hog WildI turned 40 this past August and my dear bride Karen decided to
soften the blow of my entry into middle age by sending me on a wild hog
hunt with <a href="http://www.cabelasoutdooradventures.com/">Cabela's Outdoor Adventures</a>, further cementing her status as
World Champion Wife. Since I didn't think it would be nearly as much fun
to go alone, and I relish every bit of time I get to spend with him, I
invited my brother Steven to go with me and he was only too happy to go.
<br />
<br />
With that in place, the planning and anticipation
stage of the trip began. Steven starting researching rifles, and I
started blowing the dust out of my .30-06 with 150 grain Winchester
Power Points. I had bought my Model 70 back in 1999, when Karen and I
were still living in Texas and I had fantasies of going hog hunting down
there. Somehow, four children and two pastorates later and I had never fired it at anything other than targets. It was time to fix that. Six
months and a lot of dreaming, packing, and shooting later, we were
ready to go. Steven found a great deal on a (very gently) used Kimber
.270 and another one on a Meopta scope. He also got the directions to
<a href="http://www.stuartranchoutfitters.com/Wild_Hog.php">the ranch</a>. We left first thing on Monday, March 31st, with plans to be
at the ranch by dark.<br />
<br />
Well, we didn't make dark. That is, we didn't make it to <a href="http://www.stuartranchoutfitters.com/Wild_Hog.php">the ranch</a> we would be hunting at dark. A mix-up with the outfitter meant we were at the <i>other </i>ranch owned by the same outfitter, conveniently located some 2 hours west of where we needed to be. Oh well, it's only another 2 hours down the road on top of our 12 hour drive, right? We rolled in quite late, but we were greeted by the guides, dinner, profuse apologies (and later, a check for the extra mileage).<br />
<br />
We unpacked and rolled out of bed the next morning at 5:45 to meet the guides at 6:15 and go hunting. It was a beautiful hunt, with deer and turkeys wandering around keeping us occupied. Steven didn't get any action on hogs, but about 9:30 I had a herd of pigs come trotting through, but did not stick around waiting on me to pick out a boar. At 10:30, my guide showed up in the truck, which flushed the herd back out into some open woods 200 yards away. I rested the rifle, and a hog dropped at the shot. Later that night, we found another one in the same area--the one I actually intended to shoot. When I shot, the bullet passed through the chest of hog #1 and landed in the cranium of hog #2 (which is why she dropped immediately). The night hunt wasn't productive for either Steven or I. We both missed nice boars at last light. Mine was another 200 yard shot, and apparently lightning doesn't strike twice in the same day. Steven's was about 1/2 that distance, but he didn't discover until the next day that his rifle was shooting 6" low of point of aim, hence his bullets were sailing<i> under</i> the hogs and hitting the dirt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-smNFZImp8sg/U78nIH0D9jI/AAAAAAAAAzY/C0ys53TV6Sw/s1600/IMG_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-smNFZImp8sg/U78nIH0D9jI/AAAAAAAAAzY/C0ys53TV6Sw/s1600/IMG_0054.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "bonus" pig</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BsznVzGVBxA/U78nJPRYT_I/AAAAAAAAAzg/Rl9DB-o1rek/s1600/Bonus+Hog-1st+Day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BsznVzGVBxA/U78nJPRYT_I/AAAAAAAAAzg/Rl9DB-o1rek/s1600/Bonus+Hog-1st+Day.JPG" height="320" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pig I intended to shoot, but didn't locate till evening</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOsRQawCOaw/U78nLmMF96I/AAAAAAAAAzo/Th4E9iLji-4/s1600/Stuart+Ranch-Morning+%232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOsRQawCOaw/U78nLmMF96I/AAAAAAAAAzo/Th4E9iLji-4/s1600/Stuart+Ranch-Morning+%232.JPG" height="265" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steven with his sow. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next day, Steven got his scope adjusted and then headed to his stand. On arrival at the stand, two sows took off running. I should mention that when pigs run, they are experts at flat out getting gone. But Steven threw the rifle up and dropped one with a spine shot at 110 yards. Redemption! Honor restored! My stands, meanwhile, weren't productive at all on the second day. <br />
<br />
I shot another big sow at dusk on the last evening, this time with Steven's slug gun at about 35 yards. Boom! A quick twitch, then the lights went out for good. I had another opportunity at a boar about an hour later, but had to move to get into position and spooked him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGzFsrZsqvE/U78nPZIk6cI/AAAAAAAAAzw/1vvZ61i-Eew/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGzFsrZsqvE/U78nPZIk6cI/AAAAAAAAAzw/1vvZ61i-Eew/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" height="303" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last night pig</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV-f6QYBm_Y/U78m_BjvMVI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/DipSUgLWwnc/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV-f6QYBm_Y/U78m_BjvMVI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/DipSUgLWwnc/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Lodge-Eastern Oklahoma in spring is beautiful!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All in all, it was an amazing, fun hunt and one I would readily do again. Definitely among the best birthday presents I ever received, and a great memory made with my brother. <a href="http://www.stuartranchoutfitters.com/Wild_Hog.php">The ranch</a> is both huge and beautiful. The "little" ranch we hunted was <i>"only" </i>about 13,000 acres, while the one we landed at initially is over 28,000. I'd never seen spring in the eastern Oklahoma cattle country before, but it is beautiful. The guides were nice guys and worked hard for us. The cook made great food. And in case you're wondering, wild pig is delicious! <br />
<br />
<br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-74735249356294596962014-07-10T18:15:00.000-05:002014-07-23T14:15:13.912-05:00God and happiness"I think God wants me to be happy." So goes one of the standard explanations of many Christians who are either currently, or about to be, engaged in something they<i> know</i> God forbids. It is a lie, yet we are endlessly self-deceptive when we are determined to prostrate ourselves to some makeshift deity we have made, for the moment, supreme lord of our lives. Yet all such "gods" turn out to be hard masters, destroying even the pleasures they initially offered with the much larger and more overwhelming disasters that follow in their wake.<br />
<br />
C.S. Lewis, as usual, puts it far better than I when he wrote:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Of course this law has been discovered before, but it will stand re-discovery. It may be stated as follows: every preference of a small good to a great, or a partial good to a total good, involves the loss of the small or partial good for which the sacrifice was made. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Apparently, the world is made that way. If Esau really got the pottage in return for his birthright, then Esau was a lucky exception. You can't get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first. </i></blockquote>
In other words, pursuing happiness instead of pursuing Him who brings joy will not, in the end, result in happiness but in emptiness and misery. But putting Christ first and obeying His will, produces joy and happiness as a by-product. You cannot sin your way to peace, joy, and the good life any more than you can grow wealthy by burning your money in the fireplace. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-46667463531452902652014-07-02T17:39:00.002-05:002014-07-23T13:50:22.476-05:00On means and endsOne of the things I have been
learning in my walk with God has been to stop confusing means and ends. What I
mean is this: there have been long periods in my Christian life where I looked
to God more for what I wanted Him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to do
for me </i>rather than simply wanting to be in relationship with Him. The
things I wanted were not bad things. I wanted freedom from sins I found
oppressive to my soul and that I knew were offensive to God. I wanted healing
from Crohn’s, a chronic disease that has limited me in a variety of ways since
I was a teenager. I wanted my kids to be not just good kids, but godly ones,
who sought the Lord on their own and in whose hearts Jesus was very real. I
wanted to see our church grow in both depth and attendance. And I still want
those things and I still believe that it is entirely right to pray and seek the
Lord for them. But I am learning that in pursuing these (and other) desires
that I was missing out on authentically loving and worshiping Jesus simply
because He is worthy of it quite apart from what He can (and may yet!) do for
me. I was at risk of loving the gifts of God more than their Giver, of treating
my Heavenly Father more as a means for achieving my life goals than as the
Chief End and Purpose and Goal of life Himself.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Recognizing and then repenting of
this idolatrous pursuit has been something of a process. As I said, it is
something I am learning to do, not something I have learned. Yet I am learning
to rightly order the desires of my heart, to put loving and worshiping Christ
first and last and far above any outcome or goal as I realize more and more how
unbelievably gracious God has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">already </i>been
to me. I am learning to want God Himself far more than any benefits or blessing
He might, in His amazing grace, confer. And in this, I am, I think, learning to
truly worship God. </div>
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-52713015267409615262013-09-12T16:15:00.001-05:002013-09-12T16:15:56.573-05:00Something worthy of postingThe story is told that Albert Einstein was once scheduled to speak at an event, but showed up and told the assembled crowd, "I have nothing to say. If in the future, I feel I have something to say, I will return and say it." He later did return and make a speech, when he felt he had something to contribute.Not that I have Einstein's intellect, but I have struggled to have something worth saying in this space for the last little bit. I've wanted to have something to contribute which would be uplifting and encouraging when the darkness seems to be spreading across our culture. I've been busy and thus tired and thus tending to depressive for too long. So rather than broadcast that, it seemed better to just be quiet. <br />
<br />
But even when I feel pretty dark, God has been and will continue to work, both in me and in others. He is not limited by my moods, my schedule, or my energy level. Which encourages me. If life and godliness depends upon me, I am already lost. Thank God it does not!<br />
<br />
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of baptizing my eldest son, John. He has shared his testimony with me and the church family and I believe his faith is both real and deep. Being baptized was simply the next step in his spiritual growth, but it was one I was blessed as both his dad and his pastor to be able to participate in. How good and gracious God has been to me! <br />
<br />
Here's the video:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzTmZllxcPbGJ0x0_TvDuQuQd_fVNOD1Mch_adl81hkZmy4kgZO3nb92zFSQtoDObuBUu2Or0BXUD4oOtvmzw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-55552575855209633252013-03-12T15:42:00.000-05:002013-03-12T15:42:01.688-05:00The Privilege to PreachWhen I was a seminary student, my favorite classes were those with J. Scott Horrell and John Hannah. Dr. Horrell taught systematic theology and became a dear friend and mentor to me. He took Karen and me on our first missions trip (to Mozambique!), hosted us in his home, hired me as his grader, and generally loved me like Jesus. Of such men, the world is in woefully short supply. Dr. Hannah taught us all about ministry under the guise of teaching Church history. He and I were not friends, though I loved to listen to him and respected him deeply (and still do). There is so much that you are shoveling into your brain in those years, that it actually takes a few afterward to sort through it all. But one of the things that stands out in my memory is Dr. Hannah's comment: "Gentlemen, remember that preaching the Gospel is not just your responsibility. It is also your privilege."<br />
<br />
I've turned that over and over in my mind in the years since, trying always to bear in mind that what I get to do as a pastor is a rare gift to be treasured, not a job, not a burden, nor something I do for which others should feel pity. I was reminded once again of the privilege this past weekend as I shared the Gospel at a Wild Game Feast in Buckeye, Arizona and then returned on a late night flight to preach 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 at home. What right do I have to stand before God's people and have them listen to me? None. What standing do I have that they should listen? None. And yet... And yet... God has called, I have obeyed, and He has blessed me with opportunities I could not imagine.<br />
<br />
Here therefore is my prayer: <i>"Lord, help me to remember the privilege, even on days when I am tired or frustrated, or depressed or even just bored. Help me remember that this is something I not only <b>have</b> to do, but something I<b> get </b>to do as well. Amen."</i>The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-45865227720235613032013-03-12T15:24:00.001-05:002013-03-12T15:25:34.176-05:00Three Cheers for Church DisciplineThose of you reading that title must think that I have perhaps: a) taken leave of my senses; b) become a hard-line fundie, who loves whacking people publicly for their sin; or c) become hopelessly irrelevant in a modern church-going context, since the disciplined person(s) will, likely as not, simply go on down the road to the next church, probably a larger one, at which they can disappear and not bear the stigma of facing correction. Nevertheless, though option a) always remains a strong contender, I'll assure you that none of the above is the case. Moreover, I think that the restoration of discipline to the appropriate place in the life of the Church is of supreme relevance, because I believe that is the distinct lack of it which is at the root of many of the Church's problems in our day. <br />
<br />
So without further ado, here are three reasons to celebrate appropriate, restorative, biblical discipline by the Church:<br />
<ol>
<li><b> Protection. </b>One of the things which is even now wracking Roman Catholicism is the priestly sexual abuse scandal. Men who should have been immediately defrocked and removed from office were allowed to continue, even being moved from place to place so that they could find fresh victims. I am not so naive as to think such sins are strictly a Roman Catholic phenomenon(though this particular type is admittedly less common among evangelicals). Nevetheless, appropriate discipline serves to protect the people within the church from continually being victims of sin The good of the Body demands we protect its people. </li>
<li><b> </b><b>Purification. </b>Sin is like cancer, always seeking to spread to new people. Churches which never discipline or do not seriously pursue it soon find themselves wracked by divisions and problems. Sin can even become part of the culture of a church, such that no effective ministry can be done because so much time is dealing with the results of sinful behavior. </li>
<li><b> </b><b>Witness. </b>Nothing is more thoroughly scandalous to me than the fact that, by many measures, Christians live their lives in a way indistinguishable from unbelievers. For example, the fact that many "Christians" watch porn and have sex outside of marriage leads many to think that Christians are not against sin, they are only against those forms of it in which they themselves are not participating. Thus we come across not as those who want to rescue people from sin and its results, death and hell, so much as self-righteous hypocrites who simply don't like other people and their sins. For our Gospel to be good news, it must be accompanied by the power of a life well-lived in submission to the Jesus we claim to follow. And our failure to discipline sin means that too many people see no distinction between the Christian life and their own as an unbeliever. </li>
</ol>
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-55443775573760700332013-01-22T15:27:00.001-06:002013-01-22T15:34:05.923-06:00Sleep Sound in Jesus<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XXKktf3O98/UP8CuiiQp4I/AAAAAAAAAuc/ELe8MVLZpx4/s1600/David+and+Shimei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XXKktf3O98/UP8CuiiQp4I/AAAAAAAAAuc/ELe8MVLZpx4/s320/David+and+Shimei.jpg" width="320" /></a>I try to work my way through the whole Bible every year. I'm more successful some years than others, and I find it much easier to wade through Matthew, for example, than the more confrontational passages of, say, Isaiah or Ezekiel. But I know that is more of a problem with me than with the Word, because even when I read the long-familiar I find fresh words there (I wonder how much I would know of God's holiness if the prophets were as familiar as the Gospels?). It never ceases to amaze me that the Word is always new for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.<br />
<br />
I must have had both as I read Psalm 3 a few weeks back, because it struck me then and I have been chewing on it since. It's a Psalm written by King David as he is quite literally fleeing for his life. His kingdom and all that he has built is burning down around him as his son Absalom overthrows him and sleeps with his wives, Shimei curses and throws rocks, and the man "after God's own heart" is back where he spent the last years of Saul's kingship-as an outlaw on the run. Yet David, like Paul and Silas years later, decides to sing to the Lord:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
O Lord, how many are my foes!<br />
Many are rising against me;<br />
many are saying of my soul,<br />
there is no salvation for him in God.<br />
<br />
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,<br />
my glory, and the lifter of my head.<br />
I cried aloud to the Lord,<br />
and he answered me from his holy hill.<br />
<br />
I lay down and slept;<br />
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.<br />
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people<br />
who have set themselves against me all around. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
~Psalm 3:1-6 ESV</blockquote>
What struck me most was verse 5: <i>"I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me." </i>In that act of sleeping, David demonstrates his faith. When I am filled with anxiety and fear, the one thing I don't do is sleep, or least, not well. Yet David sees in both his sleep and his awakening the Lord's care and protection. I confess that I spent too much of my pastoral life worrying and too little of it praying and then sleeping on it. Here is another area passage that I will have to grow into, because I know that if I really trusted the Lord as I exhort myself and others to do, that is exactly what my response would be-to seek the Lord in prayer and through the Word, and then to sleep soundly, knowing it He who keeps watch over me. And if David can do it when thousands literally were seeking his life, surely I, filled with the Holy Spirit, can do it when no one is?The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-60599707058887338092012-12-24T20:48:00.002-06:002012-12-24T20:48:50.703-06:00At just the right time: A Christmas MeditationThe following is adapted from my Christmas Eve message:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vvSkt9wyPqU/UNkT2DXzjWI/AAAAAAAAAuI/8bHpftpn5zY/s1600/nativity-scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vvSkt9wyPqU/UNkT2DXzjWI/AAAAAAAAAuI/8bHpftpn5zY/s400/nativity-scene.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
We wait all year for Christmas to come and now, it’s almost here. Tomorrow is Christmas. It’s time to worship and celebrate the coming of the Son. Since I am tasked with a significant role each year in leading the celebrations that we make at
Chilli Bible, I get the magnificent luxury, each year, of spending significant
time thinking about the wonder and meaning of Christmas, about why we celebrate
and how.<br />
<br />
I really can’t quite imagine what it must have been like, all those generations back, to stand or kneel beside a manger in a little barn and, amidst the animals, the mess, and the exhausted but beaming mother and father, knowing that the little child staring up at you with eyes that can’t yet focus is nevertheless the Creator
God and Savior of humanity. The awe of being there must have been intense. And
the incongruity of seeing God in baby clothes, never mind seeing Him
face-to-face, lying helpless in a feed trough, must have been almost literally
mind-blowing, a reality too overwhelming for your brain circuits to process.<br />
<br />
And yet…And yet, it was the fulfillment of centuries upon centuries of prophetic expectation, given with enough detail that every priest in the land knew the place and family of Messiah. Every pious Jew would have known he was coming and anticipated it with joy. But for many of the years of Israel’s long and troubled history, it must have been like living through a year in which Christmas might come, only to get to the end of the year and find that it didn’t come after all, and to think, “Maybe next year.” And then, finally, it did come, at long last.<br />
<br />
In a verse we don’t normally associate with Christmas, the Apostle Paul describes Christmas this way:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ~ Galatians 4:4-5 </i></blockquote>
<i> “When the fullness of time had come”</i> carries with it the idea that Jesus didn’t just show up on the scene in some sort of grand and glorious divine surprise. He didn’t arrive because God had failed to account for humanity’s Fall into sinfulness and so God then decided to intervene on a whim. No, Jesus’ coming was part of God’s explicit plan from before there was a humanity, even before there was time itself. John tells us in Revelation that <i>“the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:18).</i> God <i>knew</i> that given the choice, humanity would reject the path of obedience and continued communion with Him and go its own way. He knew the Fall would happen. He planned therefore for the coming of the Messiah even before He made either people or the universe they would inhabit. And down through the years between the Fall and that first Christmas, the words of the prophets echoed closer and
closer, like the footsteps of a man approaching down the tiles in a darkened hallway, until finally, he stepped into the light at just the right time, in accordance with all that God was doing in His grand plan and in a way that would make his arrival both unmistakable and fulfill all the prophecies He had sent to His
prophets.<br />
<br />
And Paul reminds us here in Galatians 4 that <i>"God sent forth His own Son."</i> Jesus was not a mere man, specially empowered by God to fulfill certain tasks and purposes, like Moses or Joshua or David or Abraham. No, he was a man, but far more than that. He was the actual incarnation of the Second Person of the Triune God. He is God in the flesh, Deity with a fingerprint and toenails and taste buds. He was "born of
woman, just like every human being, so that He might share their nature and thus be capable of bearing their sin, for as Gregory of Nazianzus taught centuries ago, “what is not assumed is not healed.” He had to be fully God to be capable of saving all humanity by his death. He had to be fully human to be a perfect substitute and sacrifice for human sin. Thus God took on a fully human nature.<br />
<br />
He lived, as Paul says, <i>“under the law,”</i> meaning he was fully subject to God’s law and the penalties those who violated it incurred. The fact that He is God could allow Him no “King’s X,” no special exemption from the requirements that He, as God, had placed on His creatures once He became one of them. He had to keep the Sabbath, just as He required of His people. He had to be circumcised, observe the feasts, make the sacrifices required on the appointed days, attend worship at the synagogues and the Temple. He had to conduct himself in relationship with others just as He required of us. And when he was falsely accused of blasphemy, which was the crime for which he was eventually wrongfully condemned to death, He had to go
the cross. It was the penalty God had decreed, so it was the penalty His Son
paid. Jesus lived his life, from beginning to end, subject to God’s law.<br />
<br />
And then as you look at this verse, you see that marvelous transition, that magnificent conjunction, which in Greek is the little word <i>“hina,”</i> but appears in the ESV simply as<i> “to”</i> and <i>“so that.</i>” If you’re in a scholarly mood, it’s a conjunction giving the purpose or result of God’s plan being carried out, which is: “to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Under the terms of the divine Law, we all stand condemned. We all justly deserve death for the rebellion and treason against the God who made us that we commit every time we sin by word, thought, or deed. So God sent the Son to redeem us, to purchase our lives with His, to satisfy the righteous requirement of the Law in a way that does not result in our death, but in His. And he did all these things, according to His magnificent sovereign plan so that we might receive adoption as sons. God might have redeemed us in order to make us servants. He might have simply set us free to follow our own desires, but freed from the penalty of sin, like a banker who cancels a debt but doesn’t want much to do with you afterward. Instead, he redeemed us to make us His sons! He sent the Son to His death so that we could be joint heirs of all that He possesses and all that He is with His only begotten Son, Jesus.<br />
<br />
What can we say? How can we ever exhaust the need for worship of the God who has worked such great salvation for us? Though we celebrate Christmas once a year, every day ought, for the Christian to be in some ways, a Christmas celebration; a life lived in light of the fact that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from sin and death by becoming sin and tasting death for us. Thus, we have life that is truly life. Thus we have reason to say to one another today, and every day, “Merry Christmas.”<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas!
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-8030434234964409302012-12-20T14:26:00.002-06:002012-12-20T14:27:32.172-06:00Christmas in NewtownLast week, a murderer went on a rampage in a locked schoolhouse, killing 26
people before turning the gun on himself. And whenever things like this happen, the question is always asked: “Where was God?” That question is often asked,
but it is seldom given a good answer. As a Christian, I believe that the Bible provides good answers to many of life's toughest questions, including that one. And one of
the answers is provides, believe it or not, is Christmas. I can tell you that I
love Christmas as much as the next guy. I love the stockings, the tree, the
candy, the spiral hams, the parties, the Christmas music, the gifts, the cold
and snow that hopefully will show up then. I love it all! I’m still a big kid,
basically, when it comes to Christmas.<br />
<br />
But Christmas, as anyone who has listened to Linus each year could tell you, isn’t
really about any of those things, nice as they are. What it’s<i> really</i> about is
how the God who made us loved us and invaded our world. He came on a rescue mission to put right the world we broke (and continue to break) and to do it in a way that
doesn’t involve destroying all of us for the evil that lurks in our hearts.
Christmas is about<i> that</i>, about God not only loving us, but loving us enough to
wade into the darkness of this world and take that very darkness and the
punishment it justly deserves upon Himself so that the world and its people
would be healed from it and restored to relationship with Him. Christmas is
about how God isn’t removed, watching us from a distance, like some absentee
landlord, but willing to wade into the muck and mire of human life as one of us to deliver us from the destruction we by nature bring on ourselves and everyone around us.<br />
<br />
Ever since the Fall in the Garden, every single human human being has flung himself or herself headlong into rebellion against God. That rebellion takes many forms, from pride, coveting, lust, greed, and other common, nigh unto "respectable" sins, to the darker ones like hatred, immorality, wrath, idolatry, rage, adultery, murder, and yes, schoolhouse shootings. All of it is fruit from the same tree, which is a twisted heart, bent away from God. Which is why whatever "solutions" we come up with to prevent the next example of this kind of evil may succeed in the short run, but will not eliminate evil from our society. As Solzhenitsyn said, <i>"the line of good and evil cuts through every human heart. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" </i>There are only two solutions: either eliminate all the dark hearted people (which is all of us!) or change the hearts of men.Without changed hearts, we will never run out of tragedies and examples of the deep evil present within human beings. Next week will probably bring another one. In fact, so will a good look in the mirror.<br />
<br />
But the joy of Christmas is that Jesus came, just like God promised over and over and over through the Hebrew Scriptures. He is the Seed of the Woman, the son of Judah, the true Passover Lamb, the son of David, the Son of God, who had a ministry that began Galilee and ended with his rejection and death. God used heinous evil committed against His own son to bring restoration from
and forgiveness for evil to all who will trust in Him. <i>That</i> is what Christmas is all about. <i>That</i> is the reason we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the certain knowledge
that all the things in the world that are not as they should be will not always
be the way they are. Indeed, we human beings, who have the most the do with the reason the world is the way it is, have the opportunity to be made right. That is God’s reason for Christmas, His Christmas gift to us.
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-28475274236714127782012-12-11T10:35:00.001-06:002012-12-11T10:35:48.481-06:00The pull of the old ways...Yesterday was my day off. I try as hard as I can to ensure that as little of my life is consumed by ministry on Mondays as possible. I don't usually answer the phone, don't usually go the office, or work on anything remotely pastoral. Instead, I spent the day hanging out with Karen, going for a run, and taking a nap. It's my small attempt at maintaining some helpful "margin" in my otherwise crazy life. As part of the day, we watched a little Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa, who were interviewing Hugh Jackman (Valjean in the <i>Les Miserables </i>movie) and listening to Richard Marx (last seen in the 80's doing <i>Right Here Waiting for You</i>). Jackman was engaging, funny and, in the clip of film I saw, amazing as Jean Valjean. But what was really interesting was Richard Marx. He sang Casting Crowns' version of <i>I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. </i>As long-time readers of this humble blog know, this is my all-time favorite Christmas hymn. The lyrics are based on a Longfellow poem written in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, after Longfellow's own son had gone to join the fight for the Union.<br />
<br />
The carol's third verse is: "And in despair I bowed my head. 'There is no peace on earth,' I said. 'For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth goodwill to men.' And this is the verse that concluded Marx's rendition for Kelly and Michael. It ended despairing, with perhaps a glimmer of hope in the chorus about "peace on earth, goodwill to men," but without any real basis for that hope. For some reason he left off the final verse, which is: "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, 'God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth goodwill to men.'" Without God, there is no hope. Without a living God, able to help, desires for peace and goodwill on earth will remain that, simply desires.<br />
<br />
I think that in many ways, this rendition of the song is a metaphor for our culture here at the end of 2012. We still love the ancient traditions, the old songs, and the old ways, but without the substance on which they are based. We want "peace on earth, goodwill to men," but without the intervention of the Savior on whom that certain, though yet future, hope is based. We want brides in white dresses and church weddings, but without the chaste living the dress symbolizes. We want a middle class lifestyle, but without the work such a life requires. We want a powerful nation without any sacrifice of life or treasure, liberty without responsibility, and the whole world to bend around our individual desires. These are hopes and dreams that are bound to be dashed because they do not align with truth or correspond to reality. <br />
<br />
Yet here at Christmas, the pull of the old ways is perhaps at its strongest, because even as we dash around making merry, we remember what really matters: faith in God, family, and living well by doing good. My Christmas prayer is that the old ways would not be forgotten when the last of the lights are stored away, that the basis for our hope at Christmas would not go unmentioned, and that we as a people would once again "seek for the ancient pathways" and find our Lord and Savior standing at the end of them. The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-44190102913993576122012-11-09T09:31:00.000-06:002012-12-11T14:13:04.317-06:00Success at long lastI took up archery hunting about four years back, mostly as a good excuse to hang out with my dad. We love to be together, and hunting has always been our way of hanging out. (Which reminds me that it's been a year or so since we have hunted together. Time to rectify that).<br />
<br />
Anyway, I had been an archer of sorts when I was a kid, but I hadn't ever gotten around to getting a real bow when I became a man. Old reflexes quickly come back, and new bows are easier to shoot with than ever, but I hadn't actually ever gotten to full draw and shot at anything other than targets. For. four. long. years. This was the result despite having places to go and going regularly. There just never seem to be an opportunity when it all came together: seeing a deer, having it in range, and being able to get drawn and make the shot.<br />
<br />
Well, all that changed this past Tuesday. It was about 8:45 a.m. and the woods had been quiet except for a coon ambling through at about 6:30, which I had been sorely tempted to shoot. It was not warm, and I was consequently starting to think about all the work awaiting me at the office and why I was, once again, sitting in an empty woods when I could have been getting something productive done. (It's nice to be in the woods, but if you're not seeing anything, it becomes harder to justify doing that when the mercury dips). So I decided I would stay in my stand another 15 minutes, then get down, swap out the disk in my trail camera, and head to work. About five minutes later, I see a grey blur down in the creek bottom. It's too big and the wrong color for a squirrel, but I can't see the whole animal. A minute later there's more movement, and I see a doe, and chasing her, a small buck.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8NtjMUh5vzI/UJ0fnqzVA9I/AAAAAAAAAt0/kUIorHHSrU4/s1600/First+bow+kill+%232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8NtjMUh5vzI/UJ0fnqzVA9I/AAAAAAAAAt0/kUIorHHSrU4/s400/First+bow+kill+%232.JPG" width="300" /></a>My luck is changing, at least potentially. The doe runs up the hill toward the thicket where my stand is located, followed shortly by the buck. He loses her in the thicket, and for a while, I am catching glimpses of a deer behind me, though I cannot tell which one. A few minutes go by and the buck appears at the big scrape to my right. He is through the brush, and I have no clear shot, but while he is leaving his mark at the scrape, I stand slowly and prepare to shoot him. He hears the movement, and is on edge, but he can neither smell me nor see me move, so he simply stomps stiff legged and begins moving toward me. At 10 yards, he stops behind a small tree. His head is obscured, along with the rest of his body, but I can see his neck and front shoulder, so I get to full draw. After a long wait, he is still standing, unmoved from the spot. My injured left shoulder (long story for another time), is screaming at me to release the arrow. My brain is saying, "Wait. Wait for the lung shot. Aim small. Miss small." Eventually, the shoulder starts winning and tells the brain: "Neck is vital you idiot. SHOOT!" The arrow flies and buries itself nearly to the fletching at the base of the buck's neck. He runs and I see the crash as the laurels shake and the end comes. I wait the requisite 1/2 hour, using the time to text my hunting partner and my dear bride ("We've got meat for the winter, honey!"). We find the deer after a short track through the thicket, piled up near a log and looking for all the world like a trophy.<br />
<br />
I haven't been this excited as a hunter since the first time I got a deer, out with my dad, some 25 years ago now. He's not the biggest one I've ever gotten, but he represents the end of a long road and for that, I find myself both excited and thankful.The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-89607788746070296952012-11-09T08:47:00.001-06:002012-11-09T08:47:37.900-06:00Wild pheasants and good friendsLast Saturday, I got the rare opportunity to hunt wild pheasants at one of the state pheasant production areas. On opening day, no less. It's 100 acres of the most beautiful pheasant habitat imaginable. There are standing milo and corn crops interspersed with thick grass and mowed strips intersecting it all to make it easier to control and push. We moved a total of 12 birds that morning, including 6 hens. And here I thought the odds of finding wild birds in Illinois were about the same as finding a wild, free-range T-rex. But no, it turns out that the birds just need a place suited for them to thrive, just like the guys at Pheasants Forever keep preaching. We managed to get two roosters total in the bag, and mine was served at the hunter's brunch at my house on Tuesday morning. It had been a long time, and fried pheasant had never tasted quite so good!<br />
<br />
Here's Marty Davis and me, at the end of a long morning's walk:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_F0HY2RO10/UJ0XUrYvJVI/AAAAAAAAAtc/qTI3zNHRFR0/s1600/1103110839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_F0HY2RO10/UJ0XUrYvJVI/AAAAAAAAAtc/qTI3zNHRFR0/s320/1103110839.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UKt-K-R3eG0/UJ0XWmta3YI/AAAAAAAAAtk/v2rrP4qu0Tw/s1600/1103125412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UKt-K-R3eG0/UJ0XWmta3YI/AAAAAAAAAtk/v2rrP4qu0Tw/s320/1103125412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-10071386373955138712012-11-01T10:05:00.004-05:002012-11-09T08:47:25.641-06:00Funniest Bible Verse Ever!You need to watch this for your spiritual health. It will make you laugh, I promise. And "laughter is good, like medicine" (Proverbs 17:22).<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2jdWH9N-JXI" width="420"></iframe><br />The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-70784288441420922732012-09-19T09:48:00.001-05:002012-09-19T09:50:06.082-05:00A time for choosing It's quite possible that I am getting curmudgeonly in my old age (though I haven't yelled at any kids to get off my lawn in a while), but I find I have less and less patience with those who say they have come to faith in Christ yet do not seek to obey Christ in any meaningful or difficult way. I seem to be meeting more and more Christians who are content to live with their girlfriend/boyfriend before marriage, who accept homosexual behavior as normal and even moral for some, who see no problem with gossip, or drunkenness, or swearing, or porn, or divorce, or cheating or pride. The only sins they renounce are hypocrisy and judgmentalism. But Christianity is more than being a nice person. It is a personal commitment to following the Risen Savior and reshaping your beliefs, your worldview, and your behavior, bringing them into conformity with and obedience to the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God. <br />
<br />
It's time for choosing. Either yes or no. It's like this famous scene from <em>The Karate Kid, </em>one of the iconic movies of my youth:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Mr</strong>. <strong>Kesuke Miyagi:</strong> Now, ready?<br />
<strong>Daniel LaRusso:</strong> Yeah, I guess so.<br />
<strong>Mr, Kesuke Miyagi:</strong> [sighs] Daniel-san, must talk. [they both kneel] Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, [makes squish gesture] get squish just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do "yes", or karate do "no". You karate do "guess so", [makes squish gesture] just like grape. Understand?<br />
<strong>Daniel LaRusso:</strong> Yeah, I understand.<br />
<strong>Mr. Kesuke Miyagi:</strong> Now, ready?<br />
<strong>Daniel LaRusso:</strong> Yeah, I'm ready.<br />
<strong>Mr. Kesuke Miyagi:</strong> First make sacred pact. I promise teach karate. That my part. You promise learn. I say, you do, no questions. That your part</blockquote>
It really is this simple. We have made a "sacred pact" with Jesus. Some would even call that a "covenant." Part of the deal is that what He says, we believe and do. It's either Christianity do "yes" or Christianity do "no." There is no middle ground, no Christianity "guess so." And it's past time for us who follow Christ to allow that truth to transform our lives and quit pretending to follow Jesus if we aren't going to follow all the way. Either the Bible is true and Jesus is Lord or it isn't and He isn't. If it's not and Jesus is just another religious leader, then why not find something else to do with your life and time? But if Jesus is Lord (He is!) and the Bible is true (It is!), then it's time to get serious and stop wasting your life in "kinda Christianity." The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-14792384897501554562012-09-13T11:58:00.000-05:002012-09-13T11:59:19.496-05:00Islam and barbarismSo on 9/11 enraged Muslims have killed a U.S. ambassador and assaulted the Egyptian embassy. This morning brought news that similar groups of the professionally enraged have attempted the same in Yemen. And predictably, we are witnessing the same self-flagellating members of the ruling class here in the U.S. reminding us once more that "Islam is peaceful" and these are "extremists." Apparently, this is to prevent us rubes out here in flyover country from drawing the entirely logical connection between the deepest beliefs of these excitable young lads and their actions. We are supposed to believe, instead, that the same people who insist that women must be subject to FGM and the sartorial equivalent of the burlap sack, that you may convert <em>to </em>Islam but never away from it, that Bin Laden is a martyr rather than a murdering thug, and so on have such finely honed sensitivities (sensitivities which are, evidently, not dissimilar to those of a land mine) that we do well to keep from offending them with provocative films and free speech critical of Islam, its "prophet" and its "holy" book. <br />
<br />
I'm all for acting like a civilized person and not deliberately sticking a finger in anyone else's eye. Why unnecessarily provoke the perpetually provoked? War is a dirty business best avoided when possible, etc. That being said, it is better to die for freedom than to live in slavery and sometimes all some people understand is the business end of a gun. With such people, treading lightly is seen as weakness rather than forbearance and begets more of the same. <br />
<br />
Moreover, it seems to me that the sort of people doing these atrocities are doing them specifically <em>as </em>expressions of Islam. Not being an Islamic scholar, who am I to tell them they are wrong? Moreover, Islamic institutions, such as Al-Azhar University (located, not coincidentally, in the recently much more Muslim Brotherhood friendly confines of Cairo) which are presumably full of Islamic scholars are telling them they are correct. So who is the fool here? It's past time to stop telling ourselves pretty lies and recognize that the views of the embassy raiders and ambassador killers have become the mainstream of the Middle East. That may be a scary reality, but at least it has the benefit of being reality rather than hopeful wishing.The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-44526537492639539192012-09-13T11:29:00.000-05:002012-09-13T13:57:22.267-05:00Love and judgment<div style="text-align: justify;">
I read something an old friend wrote the other day. She said, "Love with judgment isn't love." I respectfully diagree. In fact, I think love <em>without</em> judgment is a good definition for indifference, which is first cousin to hatred. Who loves their child more, the parent who imposes boundaries, standards, and rules, even if they are temporarily hated by their child, or the parent who simply says, "Hey, whatever blows your hair back kid, go for it"? Absence of standards equals absence of caring about the other person at all. Reminds me of one of my favorite exchanges in <em>Casablanca, </em>where Peter Lorre's Ugarte asks Humphrey Bogart's Rick, "You despise me, don't you Rick?" Bogart answers, "If I gave you any thought at all, I would, yeah." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On to my larger point: My friend is a practicing lesbian who evidently believes that it isn't Christian love to warn people about the dangers of that life (spiritual, emotional, and physical). To this there are a couple possible responses: 1) Jesus frequently warned people against sin in the strongest possible terms (cutting off limbs, plucking out eyes, brood of vipers, whitewashed tombs, etc.), so doing as he did minus the graphic verbal images isn't non-Christian or unloving, at least not obviously so; and 2) Which is more loving, telling a friend you love that the road they are on is the broad highway leading to their destruction, or simply standing back and affirming them in their choices as you witness the train wreck their life becomes? How much do you have to hate someone not to warn them away from self-destruction?</div>
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835747187866634683.post-5097424228593701232012-09-01T04:35:00.002-05:002012-09-01T04:40:33.466-05:00A Ministry ParableThis little poem by Charles Osgood used to hang on my paternal grandmother's fridge back in the day. Worth remembering when it comes to ministry in the church...<br />
<br />
There was a most important job that needed to be done, <br />
<br />
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none. <br />
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask <br />
Is who exactly will it be who'll carry out the task? <br />
<br />
Anybody could have told you that Everybody knew <br />
That this was something Somebody would surely have to do. <br />
Nobody was unwilling; Anybody had the ability. <br />
But Nobody believed that it was their responsibility. <br />
<br />
It seemed to be a job that Anybody could have done, <br />
If Anybody thought he was supposed to be the one. <br />
But since Everybody recognized that Anybody could, <br />
Everybody took for granted that Somebody would. <br />
<br />
But Nobody told Anybody that we are aware of, <br />
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of. <br />
And Nobody took it on himself to follow through, <br />
And do what Everybody thought that Somebody would do. <br />
<br />
When what Everybody needed so did not get done at all, <br />
Everybody was complaining that Somebody dropped the ball. <br />
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame, <br />
And Everybody looked around for Somebody to blame. <br />
<br />
Somebody should have done the job <br />
And Everybody should have, <br />
But in the end Nobody did <br />
What Anybody could have.<br />
The Bullhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593958275849352725noreply@blogger.com0