it looms, in a good way.

"The cross towers over all the wrecks of time."

 -jack miller, the heart of a servant leader

since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

get in your jammies.

"in raising our kids, we asked 'What is reality? what is the deepest sub-stratum of reality that exists?' and we said on the basis of the bible, it's the goodness of God. therefore we wanted to raise kids in an environment where they could actually get in touch with the goodness of God. therefore we're going to get in our jammies on a friday night, and we're going to watch the fun movie with our kids; we're gonna have fun! we're gonna do a whole lot more than that. but it's all for Christ."
 -ray ortlund

aging, grays and the next generation

sometimes old age and gray hairs go together. other times, as in my case, mid-twenties and gray hair went together and are going stronger now.  i don't look around and see people getting excited about aging, and i don't get excited about it either.

what if we looked at it like this?

so even to old age and gray hairs,
Oh God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

i crave being around people who are asking for the chance to talk up how amazing God is before it's too late! the next generation needs to see us following Christ with our whole heart, and happily, even when we're old and gray, or even as we fear getting old and gray.

who's in?

the perils of distractedly interacting with our kids

we miss opportunities! and not just related to language learning!

How ironic is it that in this era when child-rearing is the focus of unprecedented imagination, invention, sophistication, and expense, something as simple and pleasurable as conversing with our children can be overlooked?

Read more from Atlantic Monthly.

from one generation to another

2013 is the year of falling in love with my church's sunday school curriculum. we use Show Me Jesus. i love it more every time i read a lesson. i might have reservations about patty the puppet; she's more than a little creepy. but paper puppets with eyes like chucky aside, SMJ's been huge in helping me put myself in the shoes of people who were interacting with Jesus during his life and ministry on earth.  in one of the lessons, the heart preparation section (intended for the teacher to read over, maybe during devotions, to get ready to lead the kids) quoted these hymn lyrics: "oh that i might have seen Christ's kind look when he said, 'let the little ones come unto me.'" what a humbling yet empowering thought!

shortly after reading that gem, i came across psalm 145:4: "one generation will praise your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts."

this isn't an exhaustive list, but i have a few things in mind these days as i spend time with the kids at church. here are some of the 'works and acts' of God that i want to declare to the next generation.
-his commands- they are for freedom; they're not burdensome!
-his design- he made you; he knows how you will best function! Listen to him, little children; love his word more than the creeds and value systems the world is serving up.
-his friendship- he makes enemies into friends, cursers into blessers, rebels of his mission into slaves of righteousness. follow him, walk with him, serve him with your whole heart. this is the life.

somehow i pray we can communicate to our kids their hearts will only be full in Christ. the challenge is to live there, and model what it means to be his friend, follower, and servant.  what an adventure.  who's in?

'when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him'

when Jesus was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him,

“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.  Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.  For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said,

“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

the centurion's messengers made it clear he had a humble knowledge of Jesus' authority and power.  i wish i could've seen Jesus' face as he marveled at the man's faith and turned to the crowd to commend him.

let the goal of grace shape your view of what's gracious & good.

Provision of Grace

What often keeps us from recognizing the grace of God is that we long for a "different kind of grace." In the middle of difficulty we long for the grace of relief, while what God is bestowing us with is the grace of rescue.   We want the trial to end because we don't like the pain, while God wants the trial to remain in our lives until it has completed its work in us.

We don't rejoice in suffering like Paul did in Romans 5 because we would rather have a comfortable life than the character that difficulty can produce.

Yet God loves us too much to relent.   He didn’t shed the blood of his one and only Son to leave us to ourselves.  He didn’t reveal his truth to us only to have us lost and confused in the middle of our own story.   He didn’t give us the Holy Spirit to have us paralyzed and unable to deal with the significant struggles that come our way.

No, we have been and are being rescued by an activist Redeemer.   He doesn't get discouraged, he doesn't get tired, and he's never distracted.   He is intently focused on finishing what he started in us.

It's very important in darkness to recognize the grace of God.   If our definition of that grace is too narrow, and if what we expect that grace to offer is too limited, we'll be crying out for grace at the very time it's being showered on us.

It's quite possible to be the focus of divine love and rescue and at the same time be interpreting what's happening in our life in a very different way. . . What we have to do is let the goal of grace define our expectations of what grace looks like.

-Paul Tripp (January 28, 2011)

think hard, take heart.

the world tells you to get peace by not thinking too hard; christianity tells you that you get peace by thinking very hard— learning, grasping, rejoicing, and resting in the truths of the word of God.
 -tim keller

Romans 12:2 and tug of war

Transformation by the renewing of your mind does not occur through the nine or 10 things you are doing well because they come naturally to you and are the kinds of things you would probably do anyway.   Transformation happens at the place of your greatest weakness, in the tug-of-war of Spirit and flesh (Galatians 5:17) when you decide you are willing to die.
 -Andree Seu Peterson

Do you see sheep without a shepherd? Do you feel compassion?

Teach them!

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.  Mark 6:34

Listen to the preaching of the word like your life depends on it

because it does.

Ive chosen a new year's resolution. read my bible, listen to what it says, trust and obey. easy enough right?

And thanks Mr Watson, for this:

determine to PRACTICE whatever you read. Christians should be walking Bibles, living the truths written. the Word is not only a guide to knowledge, but a guide to obedience. a holy reading of God’s Word results in our fleeing from sins and practicing the duties commanded.  
 — Thomas Watson (c. 1620—1686)

In summary, obedience is a great way of commenting on the bible.

ultimate empathy

i can't get enough of Jon Acuff. usually hilarious and satirical, his writing gets serious and sweet sometimes and it's worth leaning in and taking note.  i tucked one of his recent posts away because it struck a chord with me and reminded me of the empathy of Christ. . .  you might love it.

I know, my son, i know. i know, my daughter, I know. that thing you wanted is not going to happen. not the way you’ve always dreamed. I know this hurts. I know this stings. I know you feel like I am distant or not aware of where you are and what you think life was supposed to be like. I know in moments like this you doubt that I can count the hairs on your head or have your best in mind. but please, I am not done. I have barely started to reveal your life to you. I am the God who satisfies your desires with good things. . .  and when it comes to your hopes and your fears and your dreams, I know, my son, I know.

there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.  therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

subject to none, subject to all

a Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

 -martin luther

it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. . .  you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.