Rosebud Vist

9 of us are heading out to South Dakota tomorrow - to visit the students we work with each summer that live near the Rosebud Reservation. I'm so excited to go back and see these kids.

Pray for us. There are many details to hammer out for the summer (our 5th summer on this trip - our first summer living in the town). Pray that we would be able to give kids hope and love to help them get through the next few months (the lady we work with has to ld me NUMEROUS times that we give the kids there more love and encouragement in one week than they get in a whole year). Pray for safety, logistics to work out. Pray for my 5 year old boy - that God would work in his heart on this trip. Pray for spiritual growth - for all of us.

Thanks.

10 Commandments - Help Me Understand

The 10 commandments are one of the deepest and most profound sources of insight in the Bible. It's very important to know that they are primarily given so that we can know God. One might say that they are primarily revelatory (reveal God), not redemptive.

Each commandment comes from the very character of God. God could not have said the opposite of any of the commands. They didn't come out randomly. They directly reflect God's character. He could not have commanded us to lie because He is truth. Such facts can be pointed out about each of the commandments. When God tells us not to covet, we are learning that God is the Provider (which means He is sovereign and wise, among other things)

My Pastor pointed out today something he learned while unable to sleep the other night. One of the 10 commandments does not seem to reflect God's character nearly as much as it is there simply for our benefit. Which command is that?

The command to remember the Sabbath by keeping it Holy is a command that doesn't clearly come from His character - because God does not need rest - though he did rest during creation (for a reason - for man). In fact, Exodus 31:17 says 17"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."

So what does the Sabbath reveal about God's character? It doesn't fit nice and neatly like the other one's do (at least, not in my mind).

What else can you tell me about the Sabbath and what it reveals about man and about God?

10 Commandments - Help Me Understand

The 10 commandments are one of the deepest and most profound sources of insight in the Bible. It's very important to know that they are primarily given so that we can know God. One might say that they are primarily revelatory (reveal God), not redemptive.

Each commandment comes from the very character of God. God could not have said the opposite of any of the commands. They didn't come out randomly. They directly reflect God's character. He could not have commanded us to lie because He is truth. Such facts can be pointed out about each of the commandments. When God tells us not to covet, we are learning that God is the Provider (which means He is sovereign and wise, among other things)

My Pastor pointed out today something he learned while unable to sleep the other night. One of the 10 commandments does not seem to reflect God's character nearly as much as it is there simply for our benefit. Which command is that?

The command we have to remember the Sabbath by keeping it Holy is a command that doesn't clearly come from His character - because God does not need rest - though he did rest during creation (for a reason - for man). In fact, Exodus 31:17 says 17"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; ^(B)for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."

So what does the Sabbath reveal about God's character? It doesn't fit nice and neatly like the other one's do (at least, not in my mind).

What else can you tell me about the Sabbath and what it reveals about man and about God?

"Just give me the application" (confession of a recovering legalist)

"Just give me the application. Tell me what to do." I just heard that phrase the other day from a dear saint in our church. This person didn't want to spend time in the nitty-gritty of the text, but just wanted to know what to do.

We often teach that in devotions, church, - all that good stuff - the main point is to "get something out of it" - to apply it personally to our lives. I do believe applying God's Word to our lives is basic, important, good. But there is a "but".

I really think that personal devotions and church are more about spending time with God than they are about getting good application. I'll save you from the whole story - but there was a controversy on the merits of going to church (I don't remember one sermon out of the 3000 I've heard) - until one man wrote in and said that his wife had fixed him more than 30,000 meals in their marriage and he couldn't remember a single menu - but they nourished him and gave him strength each day. I think just meeting with Jesus will nourish us - whether or not we apply something.

I see this Wednesday night - youth group - so many students come to youth group down (beat up emotionally, relationally, and spiritually). When they leave, they are ready to go back out and face the world - apart from any great application I may have tried to share.

I am a recovering legalist. I like rules. I follow rules well. Rules are so much easier than relationships. I'm learning all this stuff - slowly. I can confess that dancing is still one of those areas that I can really get upset over (the fact that other believer's don't take my stance on it).

Good old application so easily becomes a rule, rather than a relationship. I'm sure this dear saint wasn't trying to avoid the relationship. I know I've walked away from my devotional time without some "deep" application and felt like a failure. How foolish. The big question should have been, "Did I meet with God?" Instead, I want something to do (not content to just have spent time with Jesus (sounds like Martha and Mary - Luke 10:38-42)

I hope this is making some sense. Maybe I'm one of the few recovering legalists out there. I just know that I struggle with legalism big time. "Just give me applicaiton."

Wasteful Worship

I came across this article on Wasteful Worship (Sometimes Extravagance Is Called For). It was powerful. Mary - the Alabaster Jar of Perfume - yeah. Check it out.

District Conference Highlights

District Conference (Evangelical Free Church - Central District - in Des Moines at Valley Free Church) was very good this year. I really enjoyed all the speakers. I am going to put up some of my favorite quotes/thoughts from them. Know that my quotes may not be perfectly exact as I can't always write fast enough to perfectly get the quote.

Rick Cornish Quotes
- The greatest danger to spiritual growth is an excess of busyness. The demands on us are extraordinary... and they never end. We must simplify life.

- How can a person attend church for decades and know next to nothing about church history? (quoted from J. P. Morgan)

- The spirit is not given to make study unnecessary, but to make study effective (not sure which great christian said that)
- I must plan my time and arrange my day for the good of my soul"

Arlyn Abrams Talked About
- Why men hate the Church (from a book - check out the website here) - very fascinating
- Why the church plant he's working in is doing everything differently from how he's done it before - and he likes that. I'm going to pick his brain some time

Steve Farrar Quotes
- We've lost the doctrine of the providence of God
- The providence of God never comes early and it never comes late
- Job did not say - "The Lord gives and Satan takes away" - but the evangelical church says it
- All assignments are preparation (Eph 2:10)
- All we need to know in any assignment is that God is with us

Phil Calaway Quotes
- The world is on fast forward
- Laughter sure beats Prozac
- Even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat
- Failure is succeeding at something that doesn't really matter
- Live life on purpose
- Live so the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral
- Poverty is hereditary - you get it from your children
- Heaven is a place where question marks will be come straightened into exclamation points
- Let your wind blow free where ere you may be, holding it in was the end of me