Giving Us Cause To Be Thankful… And Prayerful

Tim Challies had a link to the Sacramento Bee’s website on Monday. The article, along with the pictures were stunning… and not in a good way. You may wonder why I’d post this on the day before Thanksgiving. Well, I link to this so that tomorrow, when most of us will be sitting around a table over-laden with the bountiful blessings of food, rejoicing with family and friends, we would remember to be truly thankful for the incredibly rich blessings God has lavished upon us. At the same time, I hope that we’ll be moved to pray for the world around us:

• that God would extend His hand into these situations, touch lives there and preserve these little ones

• that God would work in such a way among His people in places, like ours (that are so well off that we throw away enough food to feed such children for months at a time), that we would rise up out of our abundance and find ways to help

• that Christ’s name would be exalted through the work of the gospel because Christians are doing work that no one else will

Enjoy your day tomorrow. I don’t want to take away from that. Yet be really thankful, won’t you?

The Family God Uses – a book review

About the Book

The divide between generations has never been greater. In The Family God Uses, the Blackaby family provides churches and families with a tool to intentionally bring families back together by challenging them to creative involvement in ministry and missions. Through the stories of Christian families who have accepted God’s challenge to be involved in His kingdom work locally and around the world, your family will be inspired to work together and serve together with Christ in the center. Your family will see the possibilities of what can happen through them as you seek the Lord together.

About the Authors

Tom Blackaby – Tom Blackaby was born in California but grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where his father Henry T. Blackaby pastored Faith Baptist Church and developed the material for Experiencing God. He holds a bachelor of education degree from the University of Saskatchewan, an master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctor of ministries degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Tom has served as associate pastor of music/youth/education in four churches and most recently for seven years as senior pastor of North Sea Baptist Church in Stavanger, Norway. He served four years as national worship consultant for the Canadian National Baptist Convention and currently serves as director of international ministries for Blackaby Ministries International. Tom has coauthored The Man God Uses, Anointed to Be God’s Servants, The Blackaby Study Bible, Encounters with God Daily Bible; has written four years of devotional articles for Home Life magazine; and most recently authored The Family God Uses together with his wife, Kim.

Kim Blackaby’s commitment to God has taken her from church planting in a small Saskatchewan community to pastor’s wife of three churches, from working with children’s and music ministries to developing women’s ministry, leading Bible studies, and sharing what the Lord has taught her with others. It has taken her from Canada to an international church in norway and from small assignments to larger ones. With each step she has fallen more in love with and in awe of the One who first called her to Him as a teenager.

Tom and Kim have three children and currently live near Vancouver, Canada.

My Review

I’ll have to admit that when this book arrived I was skeptical. I didn’t enjoy Experiencing God, by the author’s father (yes, out of the umpteen millions, I was one of the very few). However, once I sat down and started reading The Family God Uses: Leaving a Legacy of Influence, I was impressed. Tom & Kim Blackaby do a fine job of providing immensely practical advice to families – parents – on how to leave a lasting legacy of godliness to those who come after them. After exploring God’s design for families and how God uses the family to build the church, this husband and wife team get to the hands-on material. Drawing upon their own experience growing up (especially Tom’s life as a pastor’s kid), they provide many vignettes to illustrate the principles laid out to each family. The aim of the book is to help families be far more intentional in fulfilling God’s purpose for families: to pass on the Gospel.

I appreciated the fact that the Blackabys challenged families to involve themselves in the life of their local church and in missions efforts around the world. They provide lots of practical resources (both organizations and projects) for families to use. As a pastor, I can tell you, when I read a book that challenges families today to get involved in the life of their local church, rather than staying at home and “doing church” on your own, I want to stand up and cheer.

If I had any negative critique of the book it would be threefold:

1. The authors talk about the family as God’s pattern for the Church.

While I understand what they’re saying, I’m troubled theologically by their understanding. As I read Ephesians 5, regarding husbands and wives, I see that Christ and His bride, the Church, are the pattern for marriages everywhere. Carry this out logically, and the same should be true for families: Christ & His Church are our pattern to follow (even as Paul shows in the context which flows on into Ephesians 6.1–4). When anyone begins to switch this pattern around, even in as positive a light as the Blackabys do in this work, I get nervous. It’s too tempting to put us first – man ahead of Christ. And this has always led to trouble later on, in subsequent generations. So, this is a caution.

2. I’m currently reading a book on family: Gospel-Powered Parenting by William P. Farley. It’s an excellent book precisely because it has the gospel at the center of all that family is to be about. I wish that the Blackabys could have done this more. It’s not that they don’t include Scripture and the gospel in their presentation; I just had to keep telling myself “This is the gospel here, isn’t it?” Maybe I’m dull and simple and just like it on the page in a more blatant fashion, but this would have raised this book even higher in my esteem for it.

3. I wish there weren’t as many references to the family upbringing as there were here. As a pastor, I almost wondered how a non-pastorally raised family would perceive some of the vignettes and anecdotes. I thought that many of the examples narrowed that target audience down to just families in ministry. However, I have to remember that my perspective is skewed somewhat because of my role in ministry. How much better would it have been for the authors to gather other insights from other families not in ministry.

I don’t think these three marks are anything to keep someone from purchasing this book (which may be done through New Hope Publishers). The large load of practical advice will help make this a worthwhile read and tool in the hands of families.

This book was provided for review purposes by New Hope Publishers.

Some Thoughts on Prayer

I’m reading a wonderful book entitled, A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. I’m not reading this book because a publisher asked me to review it (although I’d be glad to do so). I’m not reading this book because a group of pastors is reading it together and going to discuss it in so many days (although this would be a very worthwhile exercise and a wise use of time). I’m reading this book because I need to.

My prayer life isn’t very good right now. This is due, in part, to my pouty behavior (yes, I pout; when things don’t go well or someone says something that crushes a large part of my spirit, I pout; it’s sinful, I know and believe me, it’s been confessed repeatedly… I need to fully repent, however; God give me the grace to do so). A few weeks ago, someone, right after finishing a time of prayer together, said that our times were in need of something. To use his exact words, he said “We just don’t seem to pray ‘in the Spirit’.”

Now, I think I know what it means to pray in the Spirit. This past Sunday, in preaching my next to the last message in a lengthy series from Ephesians, I was dealing with prayer. Ephesians 6.18 says, “…praying at all times in the Spirit…” I think I did the passage justice in expounding what that phrase means. Yet, I’m still haunted by the statement, “We just don’t seem to pray in the Spirit.”

How does he know? How can he tell? How can I tell? It’s stuck in my theological craw right now. I’m working on it. But am I letting God work on it within me? That’s probably the better, yet more difficult question. I’m holding out hope that God will just send me a letter, an email or a text message saying, “Here’s what it’s all about.” But that would be way too much like Gideon and his polar fleece jacket testing of God in Judges 6 (even if I’m not actually asking for this kind of sign, I’m still expecting it).

So, I’m reading a book on prayer and praying. I’m hoping it will answer my question, “How do I know if I’m praying ‘in the Spirit’?” So far it has not answered my question. What it has done is stir up lots of other, different thoughts. It’s also very humbling.

In the section on praying like a child, Miller shares anecdotes from his own life with a daughter who is autistic. From these experiences, he’s learned what it is to be helpless – both as a parent and as a child. This is how we’re to come to God in prayer: helpless and needy. I must confess that too often I want to come in my own strength, on my own terms and in my own way. In other words, I want to talk to me, not to God. So now, in my acts of repentance, I must embrace weakness. I must grab on to my helpless state and come running immediately to God. He’s not asking me to clean myself up before I come to Him. How could I do that and to whom else could I go?

You’d think I’d know this by now, but somehow, in the sinful stubbornness of my heart, weakness is not something I want to glam onto. I’d rather avoid it. No one else should know that I have them (ha! that’s laughable; when I think about it, it’s really all too apparent to them that I have glaring weaknesses). So, I’ll keep reading. I’ll seek to understand and learn experimentally what it means to come as a helpless but trusting little child to my heavenly Father. Maybe, just maybe, in the midst of all this, God will show me what praying ‘in the Spirit’ is really all about.

I want you to go here and read Stephen’s post on weakness. No, go. Don’t tell me you’ll do it later. Go now and read it. It won’t take you more than five minutes.

Then come back (just hit the ‘return’ button) and read this.

Selah.

“Happy Anniversary”

Yesterday was my anniversary.

Not my wedding anniversary (that’s in August).

No, this was the 12th anniversary of my very first Sunday as the pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church. Back in 1997, I’d been waiting for a call to pastor a church for over 16 months. Cornerstone had been working at calling a pastor for just about the same length of time. God saw fit to bring us both together. Fascinating is His sovereignty.

When Cornerstone was first without a pastor (back early in 1996), they put together a search committee to find their new pastor. It didn’t take them very long until they had a man they thought would work out. He came, he met, he interviewed & was interviewed, and he preached. He wasn’t called here. So, back to that proverbial drawing board. Another man was selected. As the weekend drew near for him to come & candidate, he called, saying he was withdrawing his name. Another setback. The search committee then committed themselves to seeking God’s face through prayer and asking Him to truly lead them along in this process. (I’m sure they’d prayed previously, but not as earnestly as now.)

The church plant I’d pastored in central Iowa had closed in July of ‘96. (It’s a long story; maybe it’ll show up here sometime; maybe not.) The one other time I’d been in between churches, I thought the process would probably go quickly. It didn’t. Yet here I was, without a church and thinking that it might only take 3-6 months for a church to call me. It didn’t.

When CEFC first sent me a packet of information about their church, I read it and said, “Nope. No way would they want me and my doctrinal beliefs. And I’m pretty sure I’m not going to want to pastor them.” Yet they persisted. The committee chair called me and talked to me at length. I asked a lot of questions of them and they of me. They really wanted a face-to-face interview and Ann said that we might as well go. So away we went. Following the interview with the search committee, Ann and I drove home to Iowa, talking all the way and both of us thinking, “Well, that wasn’t too bad; but God can’t really want us there (because we didn’t really want to be there).”

God wouldn’t let us alone about Cornerstone, however. We continued on, praying and seeking His guidance in this. When Dennis called to talk about coming for a candidating weekend, we simply “had” to say we would. And we did. And here we are.

God knew this is where I needed to be with my family. God knew I was the pastor this congregation needed (I say this with all humility; there really isn’t anything special about me that could have helped bring this congregation around, other than a whole-hearted trust in a completely sovereign God who uses some pretty weak vessels to accomplish His will). And I’m still here and so are they. Twelve years. It seems to have gone by quickly (well, there was that one stretch in ‘01-’02 that dragged on for a bit). How much longer does God want me here? I’m not about to try to guess that one. If He grants my heart’s desire, I’ll never leave. These are great people. This is a wonderful opportunity to serve and see what God can do. May He see all the glory go to Him however He sees fit.

Thanks, Lord. Thanks, Cornerstone.

Touched By a Vampire – a book review

About This Book

Touched By a Vampire – Examing Twilight Through a Biblical Lens

People around the world are asking the same question, enraptured with Edward and Bella’s forbidden romance in the Twilight Saga, a four-book serial phenomenon written by Stephenie Meyer. The bestsellers tell the story of a regular girl’s relationship with a vampire who has chosen to follow his “good” side. But the Saga isn’t just another fantasy–it’s teaching girls about love, sex, and purpose. With 48 million copies in print and a succession of upcoming blockbuster films, now is the time to ask the important question: Can vampires teach us about God’s plan for love?

Touched by a Vampire is the first book to investigate the themes of the Twilight Saga from a Biblical perspective. Some Christian readers have praised moral principles illustrated in the story, such as premarital sexual abstinence, which align with Meyer’s Mormon beliefs. But ultimately, Beth Felker Jones examines whether the story’s redemptive qualities outshine its darkness.

Cautionary, thoughtful, and challenging, Touched by a Vampire is written for Twilight fans, parents, teachers, and pop culture enthusiasts. It includes an overview of the series for those unfamiliar with the storyline and a discussion guide for small groups.

About the Author

Beth Felker Jones is assistant professor of theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. She is the author of The Marks of His Wounds: Gender Politics and Bodily Resurrection, as well as numerous articles and reviews. Beth is a mother and a pastor’s wife.

My Review

I have a teenaged daughter, who just about a year ago, was causing me, as her father, quite a bit of consternation because her best friend was reading the Twilight books, talking about the Twilight books, dreaming about the Twilight books, influencing Elizabeth to read the Twilight books and Elizabeth just couldn’t understand why I forbade her to read them (I had already read a considerable number of reviews of the books, both in a positive light and a negative light – funny, now that I think back upon it, most of the honest & fair critiques that ended up saying “Don’t read this book” were written by the Christians I love & respect).

With Beth Felker Jones’ new book, I’ve told my daughter (who long ago “cooled her heels” about wanting to read the books), “If you want to read Twilight or even see the movies, you have to read this book first.” And she did… and she hasn’t. She did read Touched By a Vampire and, at the present time, she no longer has an interest in reading Twilight.

I think Ms. Jones has done many Christian parents a great service in providing this book. It will help provide a guide for developing and using biblical discernment in how we examine a phenomenon such as Twilight. Teenagers getting caught up in a frenzy over a fad that will pass all too quickly (not quickly enough in this blogger’s opinion, but that’s another post) is nothing new. Christian teens getting caught up in a worldly fad such as Twilight is sadly, nothing new either. Christian parents of those teens, wondering what to do, wringing their hands in anxiety- and fear-driven befuddlement is woefully nothing new, yet again. Touched will arm parents with Scripture, not to beat their kids over the head with, but in order to engage their hearts and minds, causing them to think of their own fantasies in the light of Christ & His cross.

There is a discussion guide provided with the book. The questions are thought-provoking. I think they will give teens and their parents something to think long and hard about. Without having read Twilight yet having read this book, my teen-aged daughter and I had an excellent, lengthy talk about relationships, fads and fashion trends, trying to think Christianly and father-daughter stuff. It was great. There is a leader’s guide .pdf available for download here. There is also a movie watching guide provided here as well.

I can highly commend this book to parents and teens alike. Open up your Bible and see wisdom work.

The book may be purchased from WaterBrook Multnomah or from RandomHouse. You may read an excerpt (chapter one) here.

This book was provided by WaterBrookMultnomah free of charge for my reading and reviewing.

Thirsty – a book review

About This Book

There’s no place like home, they say.

“Hello, I’m Nina Parker…and I’m an alcoholic.”

For Nina, it’s not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina’s feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

An excerpt may be found over at WaterBrookMultnomah.

About the Author

With close to one million books in print, Tracey Bateman is the award-winning author of more than thirty titles. Fan favorites include the popular kansas Home historial series: Color of the Soul, a tale of race and prejudice; and her many intriguing Heartsong Presents romantic novels. Tracey resides in Missouri with her husband and four children.

My Review

I’ll admit, I’m new to the whole vampire genre, especially in the Christian fiction field. As for the book as a whole, I thought it okay. There is something about reading a book with characters like Nina, and her daughter Meg, that make it very difficult for me to continue reading it. I have to understand that an author seeks to pack a lot of information and life into a very short period of time, so when characters like these two make really foolish decisions, flat out stupid decisions, there are probably extenuating circumstances shaping those decisions that I’m just not getting. Right? Maybe that’s the sign of a good writer’s ability to draw the reader into the characters themselves, but I’ll admit these two drove me crazy with the uncanny ability to time and time again make decisions without engaging their brains at all. I realize people in real life do this… but this many times in this short a span of time (the time span of the book covers a period of a couple weeks, along with flashbacks)? So, while frustrating to this man/husband/father/pastor to read, it was still pretty good.

Bateman, in introducing vampirism as a biologically inherited trait treads a little dangerously since she is clearly making this a parallel with the main character’s addiction to alcohol. To be fair, however, using flashbacks of Nina’s life growing up, the reader can see that her addiction came largely from really bad choices. True, these choices were influenced in a major way by her alcoholic father, but using parallelism with Markus’ addiction as a vampire “who was born that way” and his struggle to control his urges makes it seem as if there will always be that excuse “I can’t help it; I was born this way” rather than “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

I will comment on one further topic that is, at the moment, left unanswered – by me and a host of others, I’m told by another author I know. What makes a Christian novel Christian? Is it simply because it’s written by a Christian author and published by a Christian publishing house (even if that publisher is owned by a large, secular publishing firm)? Or, does it receive that moniker due to Jesus’ name being mentioned a few times, along with vague references to the crucifixion with no ties to how that affects anyone’s life? Or does a Christian fiction book need to speak to how sinful man’s broken relationship with God can only be dealt with through trusting Jesus Christ alone because God’s grace alone works through the Scriptures to bring that sinful character to a point of redemption? (Read a few of my posts from the archives and I think you’ll get to the answer I would provide without much hesitation.) Obviously, Thirsty falls into the very first two categories raised by my questions. While setting forth an intriguing notion regarding vampirism, I could not honestly call this a Christian novel; a novel, yes; a decent one at that, but not Christian in the sense in which I’ve described it. I’ve just finished reading a book by Francine Rivers (The Shofar Blew) and the gospel of grace was woven throughout this fictional work in a very welcome manner.

Can I recommend Thirsty? Only if one brings a good bit of discernment to the table with it. I’m wondering if this genre in the Christian book publishing field would have even been on the radar were it not for the incredibly popular Twilight Saga?

If you do wish to see more or purchase this book, you may do so at WaterBrookMultnomah or RandomHouse.

This book was provided free of charge and for review purposes only by WaterBrookMulnomah Publishing

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Well, you know this one is just starting to make the rounds in the blogosphere and I thought I might as well add to it.
I’ve never cared for rap music. Not because of style (although, the redundancy of the beat, the mundanity of it’s “music” in the background are really not in my universe of tastes in music – and for those who know me fairly well, I’m very eclectic in my musical tastes, so there’s a pretty big musical universe floating around in my head). No, it has to do with the entire sub-culture that rap represents: the evil, the smut, the bigotry, the nearly pure reverse racism, the underlying hatred – especially of women – that is so pervasive.
It’s always amazing, however, how God can use His power to redeem something man has so thoroughly corrupted – like a form of music, such as rap. Shai Lynne is one of several Christian rap artists who God is using to make a name for Himself (please, please, please note the capital “H” there). Here’s a very good example of what rap can be and should be: used to tell a story – the Story, actually – that brings all the glory to God. The lyrics are included so you can follow along as well as read them later.

It’s the greatest story ever told.
A God pursues foes whose hearts turned cold.
The greatest story ever told.
Restoring all that the enemy stole.
The greatest story ever told.
The glory of Christ is the goal, behold.
The greatest story ever told.
It’s the greatest.

Alright check it: let’s go back in time, brethren. Divine lessons always keep your mind guessing. The glory of the Triune God is what I’m stressing. The origin of humankind was fine. Blessings were plenteous. God is amazingly generous. Crazy benefits in a state of innocence. God told the man what he could taste was limited. Not long after came our nemesis in Genesis. He scammed well, man fell, damned to hell. The whole human race—he represented it. Fooled by the serpent, man through his work, woman through birth—even the earth ruled by the curses. But instead of a wake immediately. God said her Seed would be the One to crush the head of the snake. Yo, wait what is this? Whoa, a gracious gift! In Jehovah’s faithfulness He clothed their nakedness. This was so they would know their Savior’s kiss and bliss. But first, many growing pains exist suffering in the worst form, ugly deeds. Eve’s firstborn seed made his brother bleed. Indeed things got progressively worse. Every section of the earth is been affected by the curse. And though God’s judgments against sin were gory, praise the Lord! It’s not the end of the story.

Next scene: man’s sin was extreme. God gets steamed, man gets creamed. The Lord is so Holy that He drowned them in the water. Fire in the valley of slaughter – Sodom and Gomorrah. But at the same time, He’s so gracious and patient that from one man He created a whole nation. Eventually enslaved by the mentally depraved, they cried out to the only One with the strength that He could save. He brought them out with signs and wonders – satisfied their hunger. Then He appeared on Mount Sinai in thunder. Where He laid down the law for God-ruled government. Commonly referred to as the Mosaic covenant. Sin was imputed. So for man to know he’s unrighteous, God instituted animal sacrifices. This was to show our constant need for atonement. And when it came to sin, the Lord would never condone it. And when His people disobeyed and went astray, He raised up prophets and kings to lead them in the way. But they would get foul with their idolatry—wet and wild prophecy—send them into exile. To take their punishment like a grown man. Then with His own hand He placed them back in their homeland. And while in their forefather’s land they dwelt, they awaited the arrival of Emmanuel.

After 400 silent years filled with sighs and tears. In Bethlehem the Messiah appears. God in the flesh—Second Person of the Trinity. At thirty begins His earthly ministry. Baffling cats with accurate, exact facts and back-to-back miraculous acts. A stumbling block to the self righteous. But the humbled—His flock, said “There’s no one else like this.” He came from heaven to awake the numb. Demonstrated His power over nature, son. A foretaste of the Kingdom and the age to come. But the reason He came was to pay the sum for the depths of our wickedness, our wretched sinfulness. Bless His magnificence! He is perfect and innocent. Yet He was wrecked and His death. He predicted it. Next He was stretched, paid a debt that was infinite. He said that He finished it. Resurrected so the elect would be the recipients of its benefits. Through faith and penitence we get to be intimate. His grace is heaven sent, it never diminishes. Now the Holy Spirit indwelling is the evidence for heaven’s future residents who truly represent Jesus, the Author, Producer, Director, and Star of a story that will never, ever end!

Things to Make You Think on This Thursday

I came across this in my early morning blog browsing: Jon Bloom, from Desiring God Ministries, writes about doing things that are hard. Read the whole thing and take heart. Here’s a teaser:

When You Don’t Feel Like It, Take Heart: ”

(Author: Jon Bloom)

Did you wake up not feeling like reading your Bible and praying? How many times today have you had to battle not feeling like doing things you know would be good for you?

While it’s true that this is our indwelling sin that we must repent of and fight against, there’s more going on.

Think about this strange pattern that occurs over and over in just about every area of life

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Here’s a good quote:

“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.”

I wonder why it appears I do so much invisible labor? I think it’s because I’m lost in thought, not absorbed! Where’s the Bounty when you need it!

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And finally, I’m going to join up with Tim Challies and gang in reading Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray. I haven’t read this entire book since seminary and even then, I think the desk fan was on blowing pages right to left (well, not really; there are some highlighting markups there). This will be a good, heady read. Going slowly through it with who knows how many blog-readers will be a great experience, good reading and, I trust God will use it to continue shaping my thinking and my heart when it comes to the work of Christ on the cross.

Here are my thoughts on Chapter 1 –

Murray begins this work with the necessity of the atonement. Most of us, as Christians, probably don’t consider this. We simply assume the atonement. However, once you begin reading Murray thoughts, you realize that the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ was absolutely necessary for the forgiveness of our sins and our eternal salvation. There have been (and are) those who speak of the atonement as hypothetical – not in the sense that it may or may not have happened, but that it was one of several possibilities that God could have chosen from in order to redeem man. It’s like God had a shelf up in His office and when it came time to predestine salvation, He looked up on the shelf, saw several different ingredients, but simply decided to use SubAtone instead of something different. Murray argues, rights from texts of Scripture, that this is not correct. Rather, because of who God is (God is love, holy and righteous), He had to send His Son to suffer and die for our sins. Our salvation is contingent upon this. The atonement is absolutely contingent upon this.

Hebrews 2.10, 17 tell us that it was requisite that many sons be brought to glory through Christ’s suffering.

John 3.14–16 informs us that we’d all be lost if God didn’t love the world and send His Son to die for our salvation.

Hebrews 1.1–3, 2.9–18, 22–28 give us clear indication that only such a One as Christ could remove our sin, could have purified sinful man and secured us for glory.

Chapter 1 contain six points which lay out the contingent absolute necessity of the atoning work of Christ. They have stirred my thinking, as well as my heart. I must confess that I would have fallen closer to the hypothetical camp simply because I thought it was allowing God to be God in letting Him choose how He would save us. Now I see clearly that because God is God, He had to save us in this very manner and no other would have been sufficient nor efficient. Praise God I’m saved by His grace and not by my sloppy thinking. May He use Murray’s work to shape me more into His image.

Let the Randomness Roll On

I’ve become far too predictable of late. All these book reviews, interviews and what-not. Great stuff, but this is the view from inside my head, after all. And the blog is called: Random Thoughts From a Cluttered Mind. I think the absence of randomness and clutter of late has been because I’ve been reading Matt Perman’s blog. This caused me to re-organize my study: moved my computer desk, lost over 350 books from my library (they were piling up big time, laying sideways on top of others, bowing the shelving underneath them), purchased a new multi-function printer (Canon MX860) that has a 35-page duplex auto-document feed scanner with which I’ve been gradually getting rid of lots of piles of paper (which means I’m seriously in need of a new shredder), and even trying some of this out at home (that’s easy for now… Ann’s in Iowa helping her mother recuperate from double-bypass surgery, but she’ll be home Thursday and the clutter will begin again).
So, just to alleviate any fears the vast majority of you readers were building up within your faint hearts about my general lack of clutter and random strange-ness, I present some of the usual:

Check out more of the kind of things I really like at The Sacred Sandwich.



How many of you cringed when you saw this?



Calvinist Kenny Halperman (right) suddenly regretted joining the “Free William Taylor” protest march.


Definitely random and cluttered, from the ICanHazCheezburger guy  at Fail Blog (make sure when you arrive at this site, you click the G-rated pics and movies only link – it’s normally pretty safe, but once in a while some questionable material shows up)





Interview With An Author

Well, a short one at least.

Erica Vetsch is one of my parishioners. She also happens to be an author who has just had her first book published – “Squeeeeee!” (I believe those where her exact words when she found out.) You can check out my review of her new book, The Bartered Bride, here. I had a ton of questions for her about writing, developing plot lines, her methods of character development, how her faith in God through Christ Jesus affects her writing and so forth. She’s on quite a blog tour at the present time, however, so I settled for three questions at this moment. Check out the tour schedule On The Write Path.

ERICA VETSCH is married to Peter and keeps the company books for the family lumber business. A home-school mom to Heather and James, Erica loves history, romance, and storytelling. Her ideal vacation is taking her family to out-of-the-way history museums and chatting to curators about local history. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Calvary Bible College in Secondary Education: Social Studies. You can find her on the web at On The Write Path.

As Erica’s pastor (and let me tell you, she needs a fair bit o’ shepherding, I can be the first to tell ya!), it’s been a blessing having Erica and her family as a part of our congregation. She can brighten a teaching discussion like you wouldn’t believe. Her thoughtful insights and questions during such discussions prove to be a delightful challenge. Peter and the kids are just plain fun to be around (especially at the annual New Year’s Day party they host). However, every once in a while, it’s fun to “turn the tables” on a parishioner and ask them some thought-provoking questions. I had a few for Erica about the writing of books.

What people has God brought into your life to help shape your thinking, sharpen your writing, and stretch your faith?

Starting with my parents? Actually the first person who really expressed an interest in my writing was a high school teacher who gave me a love of literature and words. He encouraged me to read good literature and to write. I owe a lot to Mr. Heter.

God has also brought mentors in the form of writers who have taught me through their books on writing craft and teaching workshops. From the first writing class I ever took, taught by the fabulous Angela Hunt, to the dozens of writing books by luminaries like Donald Maass, James Scott Bell, Stephen King, and Debra Dixon, God has brought people into my life that have sharpened my writing.

I’ve also been blessed to be part of several critique groups over the years. These critiques taught me to suck it up, to listen more, evaluate, and find my own writing voice. I’ve currently got a couple of terrific crit partners who are honest, and who I can trust to make my writing better.

Does it challenge your faith when a manuscript is rejected?

It sure can hurt. I’ve had rejections that were positive like “The writing is there, the story just doesn’t fit our readership.” And I’ve had rejections that were just wounding, like “I hate Christian Romance and Christian Prairie Romance is the worst.” (This from an editor at a Christian publisher that published Christian Prairie Romance from time to time.) Talk about a kick in the head! But I realized this had nothing to do with me or my writing. This was an editor who let his personal prejudice against a whole genre color his behavior.

There have been times when I’ve wondered if I’m doing what God wanted, when it seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere on the road to publication, but He always brought someone or something to encourage me at just the right time. A positive critique, a kind word from someone ahead of me on the journey, a contest final or win. Whenever I have been tempted to give up, God opens another door for me to walk through.

What is it like to have a manuscript returned with many revisions after you have poured so much time and effort into the first writing?

My intial reaction. Shock. Embarrassment. Disbelief.

That’s when you have to set those revision letters aside and do an ego check. Ask yourself some serious questions.

1. Is everything in the letter horrible, or are there some atta-girls sprinkled in there that you can cling to?

2. Do you trust your editors? Do you seriously believe that their goal is not to humiliate you, to denigrate your work, to make you wonder why you ever started this publishing gambit anyway, to stifle your writing voice and kill your story? OR, do you believe they want to help you shape your book into the best story it can be, one that will be satisfying for the reader?

3. Do you really need a gallon of Cookies and Creme Ice Cream topped with a slathering of Hershey’s syrup in order to get through the letter or should you just suck it up and deal?

Then you start reading the letter with a modicum of objectivity. Consider carefully the suggested revisions, and evaluate for yourself what to keep, what to modify, and what hill to die on.

I’m deep into edits on a novel right now, and the edit letter was happily a short one with only minor tweaks. I expect to be finished with them in a few days. But the book prior to this? A Loooooooooong editorial letter that had me asking all of those above questions and that took me almost six weeks to complete the revisions from. But, that long revision letter was a wonderful lesson in being teachable, and an opportunity to show to my publisher that I’m an author who check her ego at the door and submit to an editor, who is willing to listen, and who makes her deadlines, no matter how painful the revision process might be.

I’m very thankful for people with abilities like this. It’s part of the joy of being a pastor: observing God’s children use their gifts for His glory and the delight of His people. I pray He’ll allow Erica to see more fruit from her labors.