Focused on Christ

THE Mighty Fortress

2011-02-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Confidence in God facing anything preserved in Luther's famous hymn...

"And though this world, with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him."

Find your rest in wonder

2011-02-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

by Joshua

This is what it looked like to have your mind blown away 1600 years ago. It still happens...

(Augustine here contemplates the unsearchable mysteries of God in predestination)

"You a man expect an answer from me: I also am a man. Wherefore, let us both listen to Him who says, 'O man, who are you?' Believing igorance is better than presumptuous knowledge. Seek merits; you will find naught but punishment.
O the height!
Peter denies,
a thief believes.
O the height!
Do you ask the reason?
I will tremble at the height; I cannot sound the depth. Paul found rest because he found wonder, He calls the judgements of God 'unsearchable;' and have you come to search them? He says that his ways are 'past finding out,' and do you seek to find them out?"
Augustine

Book Plan, Year Twenty-Ten

2010-02-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

2010 Book Pile as it appears thus far

As promised several weeks back, here is my reading plan for the year. I am in all these books now except for Finally Alive which I finished about a month ago. s for the rest of these books, I plan to take them in slow and easy. Especially the Greek textbooks.

Finally Alive - John Piper

In this book Piper unpacks the resplendence of the new birth in a God exalting manner.

Valley of Vision

The valley of vision is a collection of prayers from the Puritans. It's so good, I could write a meaningful post on it every time I pick it up. There's a prayer for almost every season of the soul. Here's a few excerpts.

"Help me to see how good Your will is in all. And even when it crosses mine, teach me to be pleased with it. . ."

"... let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley."

Communion With God - John Owen

Like Calvin before him, Owen is also known as the Theologian of the Holy Spirit. And he has a remarkable gift to the church in this book. In my life I have not came across many if any who point us towards fellowship with each person of the Trinity on the level Owen does. I intend to post a deal more on this later.

Lectures To My Students - CH Spurgeon>

Packed full of wisdom and instruction in ministry from the life of the prince of preachers Charles Haddon Spurgeon, this book is more than worth its weight in gold. The book starts out with a sturdy smack in the face and is fast moving. The first sentence is a direct quote from 1 Timothy 4:16. Right in there with the main tenants of this blog.

"Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine"

New Testament Greek For Beginners - J. Gresham Machen

Since I wrote a little about the Author of this book in my Greek Fire post a few weeks back, I will spare you any more details on it, for now.

Basics of Biblical Greek - William D. Mounce

William (Bill) Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek is the standard for beginning Biblical Greek in our time. He really wants to take every difficulty and hindrance out of learning Biblical Greek that he can. Who knows, in a few decades he may even reach legendary status.

I am also in a few other books,

Newton's The Meaning of the Jewish Tabernacle
and CJ Mahaney and Robin Boisvert's This Great Salvation

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Ministry to Orphans (Part 1)

2010-02-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

This video clip has been a long time in the works. In God's providence everything came together today, and I was able to finish up the work on it, and upload it.

In this video, my friend Shalem Raju answers two questions.

1.) What is life like for Indian pastor's children?

2.) Why would an Indian pastor's child need special care?

I added a few extra video clips, pictures, and best of all, subtitles for your convenience.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

what is your portion?

2010-02-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

By: Kwame

Can Christians be sick? Or should I say, are Christians supposed to be sick? Should Christians ever suffer, or is their "portion" the prosperity and the high life of "heaven on earth"? Is sickness a sign of you having little faith? Must we receive "it" more and more to move that mountain by our faith? Is your situation a result of your faith, your words of faith?

John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Please note: "but that the works of God should be made manifest in him"

Can God, through sickness glorify Himself or is he limited to using what pleases us to glorify Himself? Does man know all of God's ways...does the Omniscient God need instructions on what He is to do?

Joh 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Joh 11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Jesus loved Lazarus but he tarried for two days (John 11:6), Lazarus died and ultimately God was glorified in the end! Is God's glory of utmost importance? Is God able to choose different paths for His children with the goal of glorifying His name?

Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Please note: "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

Do we have power to say let there be light and for light to appear? Are we self-sufficient and all-knowing like God? Isn't God the Almighty one who has no beginning and reigns for ever more?

Why is God to be worshiped? Are we worshiping God because He is able to make "this year our year of promotion" ? our year of health? our year of heaven on earth? No, Jehovah is to be worshiped because He commands it and it glorifies Him.

I believe with all my heart that health and prosperity are gifts of God, however I ask these questions even as I think of what may/should be of first importance. Could we be neglecting the thing of first importance as we focus entirely on physical comforts? These comforts are very very important (as we all know) but is there still something which is/should be of first importance?

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Of first importance is that God may be glorified. After one has a relationship with the God who is in heaven (which in of itself is a hallowing of His name), we are to pray that His name may be hallowed...that His name may be venerated and that He may be worshiped by all whom He foreknew.

The propagation of His kingdom follows because this furthers glorifies Him...we are to share the gospel with ourselves and with others. In all this, praying and desiring that His will be done, not ours so that His name may be glorified. To be able to continue in these things, God lovingly meets our needs day in day out: He gives us bread, forgives us, allows us to love others, enables us to fight indwelling sin, keeps us safe....all for His glory and honor.

Are we not free to ask "anything" of God, to reason with Him (Isaiah 1:18)? He calls us to come boldly to the throne. Is God able to decide what comes our way? Are we to order God around? Can we expect much tribulation (Acts 14:22) in this pilgrimage, for His glory? Please let's ask for bread and clothes and peace and many more that we need and want but let's pray most importantly that His will may be done in our lives because He is El-Shaddai!! Through His providence, all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

Speak it and Receive it tries to put the power in man's hands. Yet we can see that all that happens, is by His Grace, and for His Glory. Power belongs only to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Let's not be like the folks who followed Jesus because of the bread and fish.

John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

Fellowship with God (not promotion, mercedes benz, children, education, houses etc) should be the ultimate source of our joy.

1John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Let's rejoice in Jesus and when other things are added, we will also rejoice gladly because our Lord and our God bestowed them upon us.

Having Jesus' righteousness imputed to us and being physically poor and sick and weak and seemingly insignificant and lowly is a joy because we have Jesus, and this is certainly better than the promotions of this world. Being justified before God because Jesus' work on the cross paid the price on our behalf and satisfied the wrath of God, and having many riches in this world is also a joy and this is certainly a gracious blessing that is due to the grace of our Lord and not because of the amount of faith we have. Man-centered thinking removes Jesus from the center.

I pray for grace and the diligence to know Him more this year. This year, like any other should be our year of more and more of Jesus. He is all that we need to seek like we would silver and gold, and all other things, by His grace, may be added unto us, for His glory.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Kwame

All Things are Better in Koine

2010-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Okay now, at the risk of going overboard and making too much of Greek, here is a video made by four year Bible Greek students on why we should learn Koine Greek. It's way better done, and far more funny than one would expect. Watch it and enjoy!

Thanks to my fellow Greek students Mike for the link!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

First Week of Greek

2010-02-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Good times in Greek Class

Okay, here's the low-down on Saturdays' Greek class:

We gathered at the kitchen table around seven-thirty am, prayed, covered chapter one of Machen's New Testament Greek For Beginners, and got a slight head start on verbs in chapter 3. Great discussion, as well as helpful q&a.

I am hoping to get the audio of the session on-line. If anyone has an idea of how to upload 2+ hours of mp3 to the web and link to it for free please let me know. Gcast is no longer allowing uploads, and it will be missed.

Homework for the next Greek class gathering is as follows,

For Session 2:

1. Write at least two rows of each letter
2. Learn the Alphabet in order and be able to say the sounds.
3. Be able to say all the sounds.
4. Learn vocabulary on page 20 very, very well.

Greek On Fire

2010-01-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

John Gresham Machen (1881 – 1937)

This is just a quick post. Tomorrow is a pretty big day, a kind of landmark for me. At long last, I am starting Machen's New Testament Greek for Beginners.

I'd like to save face and say that this was my first attempt, but it isn't..

I previously made about a quarter semester's worth of progress in this book. So now I am rallying. and resolved to try to make a serious effort in the quest for mastery (or basic grasp) of New Testament Greek for the glory of God.

Week1:

I spent some time this week reading the first few chapters of Machens' book. I discovered that while Koine (Common) Greek was spoken through practically the whole Roman empire, Biblical Greek brought the Koine up to a whole new level. The amazing thing was that it used the Greek language people in ever nation knew and spoke to explain things (spiritual mysteries, things of God) people had never heard of, and in a big way it also brought the language to new heights, while still remaining understandable to everyone who spoke Greek.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Spontaneous Discipline

2010-01-11T17:14:00.001-08:00

...just a preview

Since the last post was on new year's resolutions, I thought I would reveal a little of what I am planning to study this year.

I said planning to study rather than going to study because as Jonathan Edwards said, we need God's grace to keep our resolutions, and for them to matter. So inasmuch as God shines His grace on me, I am resolved to keep at it through 2010.

I would love to say that studying God's holy word and reading delicious books comes naturally, effortlessly, and spontaneously but that would be far from the truth. I mean, we all desire to be spontaneous. We all wish it would come naturally, and we know it should. At least for me I need to take hold of certain means of grace to keep myself in the Word and learning from God fearing men.

One of those means is to plan out what I want to read and not to overbook myself with too much. I can read a number of books in a year, but I am not a speed reader, and overloading myself is a good way to get discouraged and bomb out of reading books altogether for a season.

Last year I found out that a good read-through-the-bible-in-a-year-plan works for me.

There are several to choose from.

The Discipleship Journal plan is offers a 4 part, short selection of readings, starting in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew, and Acts at the same time. With 20 minutes a day read for only 25 days a month it gives much grace to the reader. I opted to choose this one for 2010.

The official Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers is also a great option. It has check boxes like the DJP, but instead of a monthly schedule it uses the weekly method with no dates. The reader gets a fantastic opportunity to dig into,

O.T. Poetry on Sunday,
The Pentateuch on Monday,
O.T. History on Tuesday and Wednesday,
O.T. Prophets on Thursday,
N.T. History on Friday,
and N.T. Epistles on Saturday

I have been thinking recently that I should toss out a reminder that discipline is a means of grace and often leads to the spontaneous. And I especially want to get this out;

if we are in Christ, then we are Sons of God by adoption and He looks at us as his children with the eyes of a Father rather than a judge. And it is only Christ's blood and perfect righteousness that is sufficient to give us the freedom to serve and know more about God because we are accepted, rather than to labor and study in order to be accepted by God. What a difference that can make for the troubled soul!

Romans 4:6-8 David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Edwards

Today I have been thinking about resolutions for 2010. Some thoughts came to mind.

1. Jonathan Edwards wrote one of the best lists of resolutions ever devised
2. Lists of heavy resolutions do not carry with them the power to keep them
3. Lists 'can' diminsh the gospel if we're not careful.
(ie. Saying 'I will live my life by such and such set of rules')
4. Keeping Christ, and the gospel central, I am still to watch my life and doctrine (1Tim 4:16)
5. One way to watch my life and doctrine is to resolve to watch my life and doctrine, knowing that
without God's grace, watching my life and doctrine is fruitless.

So without further rambling, here are Edwards' resolutions for Godly living.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723)

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the aforementioned things.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances don't hinder.

12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.

14. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.

15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

18. Resolved, to live so at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.

19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

21. Resolved, never to do anything, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

23. Resolved, frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God's glory, to repute it as a breach of the 4th Resolution.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

26. Resolved, to cast away such things, as I find do abate my assurance.

27. Resolved, never willfully to omit anything, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

31. Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is

perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.

32. Resolved, to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that in Prov. 20:6, "A faithful man who can find?" may not be partly fulfilled in me.

33. Resolved, always to do what I can towards making, maintaining, establishing and preserving peace, when it can be without over-balancing detriment in other respects. Dec.26, 1722.

34. Resolved, in narration's never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.

35. Resolved, whenever I so much question whether I have done my duty, as that my quiet and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it down, and also how the question was resolved. Dec. 18, 1722.

36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.

37. Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and wherein I have denied myself: also at the end of every week, month and year. Dec.22 and 26, 1722.

38. Resolved, never to speak anything that is ridiculous, sportive, or matter of laughter on the Lord's day. Sabbath evening, Dec. 23, 1722.

39. Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or no; except I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

41. Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

42. Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

43. Resolved, never henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God's, agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12. Jan.12, 1723.

44- Resolved, that no other end but religion, shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. Jan.12, 1723.

45. Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan.12 and 13.1723.

46. Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eve: and to be especially careful of it, with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented, easy, compassionate, generous, humble, meek, modest, submissive, obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable, even, patient, moderate, forgiving, sincere temper; and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to. Examine strictly every week, whether I have done so. Sabbath morning. May 5,1723.

48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.

49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it.

50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

51. Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.

54. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, Resolved to endeavor to imitate it. July 8, 1723.

55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments. July 8, 1723.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

57. Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether ~ have done my duty, and resolve to do it; and let it be just as providence orders it, I will as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty and my sin. June 9, and July 13 1723.

58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity. May27, and July 13, 1723.

59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July ii, and July 13.

60. Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination. July 4, and 13, 1723.

61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it-that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc. May 21, and July 13, 1723.

62. Resolved, never to do anything but duty; and then according to Eph. 6:6-8, do it willingly and cheerfully as unto the Lord, and not to man; "knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord." June 25 and July 13, 1723.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. Jan.14' and July '3' 1723.

64. Resolved, when I find those "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26), of which the Apostle speaks, and those "breakings of soul for the longing it hath," of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20, that I will promote them to the utmost of my power, and that I will not be wear', of earnestly endeavoring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him: all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance; according to Dr. Manton's 27th Sermon on Psalm 119. July 26, and Aug.10 1723.

66. Resolved, that I will endeavor always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

68. Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that which I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

69. Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.

Aug. 17, 1723

I'll Be Home For Christmas (Lord Willing)

2009-12-04T00:15:00.001-08:00

Nothing quite like a fresh cup of Joe!

It's about that time now. I am packing my bags and in a few days I will board a plane that will launch an arduous thirty hour journey back to my family.

It's been an amazing trip. Recounting all the times I experienced great measures of God's grace, warm fellowship and one-anotherness stirs my heart.

Where to start?

The joyful, loving children? The enormous ministry? The precious quiet times in the Word with the Lord? The heart warming fellowship? The ethereal sight of a full moon brightly shining through the palm fronds?

A lot has changed:

New friendships, new believers, more baptisms.
Started blogging.
Our Christian Chief Minister passed in a tragic helicopter crash.
Made and uploaded several new videos.
Attended about 60 birthday's and various functions
By God's grace brought 34 kids to new levels of academic success
Spoke almost every Sunday night consecutively for about six months.
Just a little less than a month away from completely reading through both the Scriptures and the Institutes during this year.
Learned how to sketch portraits.
Learned a little more guitar.
Discovered the greatest noodles on earth, Indian Masala egg noodles w/onions.
Discovered that I enjoy listening to Miles Davis.

Along with Paul, I have to say, that whatever I count gain in this trip, and in life, I must count loss in comparison to the value of knowing Christ. Whatever I have done for Christ, is a greater work than I am worthy of.

Please pray for my return trip. Boarding starts Monday morning.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

How Many Herods?

2009-11-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

Hi-rez Chart of the Herodian Succession. Feel free to download and use

In those dark days before the ESV study bible came out, I created this chart to help myself understand the Herods that kept popping up in the New Testament. There were several Herods living and ruling in the decades surrounding the advent of Christ. Distinguishing them from each other can be confusing.

I made the first version of this chart in January of '08 on a sheet of notebook paper. Several months later I decided to improve it, and so I transferred it into Mac's stellar graphing software, Graffle, which worked out just fine.

If you have an ESV study bible you can find a similar chart near the intertestamental period. (It might be a little more accurate.) I simply based this one on facts from FF Bruce's New Testament History book. If you own your own copy of the ESVSB, you can view the chart online and print it out.

Josh

Motivation for Reformation

2009-11-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

During the last few weeks in the Institutes I have been reading about the state of the church through the ages. Then on Sunday I watched about half of the latest Luther movie. I have watched it before, but this time I watched it with a beefier view of history, I discovered that what seemed like throw away lines, are actually very important.

After watching it, I felt inspired to put together a little clip for motivation for reformation. Watch the entire movie for maximum effect.

Enjoy!

Josh

My Most Listed To Music of '09

2009-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Keith And Kristyn Getty - In Christ Alone (2007)

This will probably not impress or be helpful for everyone, but I thought it would be worthy jotting down what I liked to listen to this year, at least for the sake of posterity. Who knows, maybe after another twenty years pass I might just wonder what on earth I enjoyed to listen to back in 09?

I am going to try to make this list somewhat scientific. Using iTunes I discovered that there is a discrepancy between what I think I like the most, and what I actually listen to the most. So I am not going to make this a list of what I "think" I liked the best, but rather a list of those I actually spent the most time listening to. It makes more sense to me to do it that way.

This little experiment turned out a little weird. First, for some reason some artists I really like, such as the Gettys didn't even make my great eight albums list this year. Then the odd thing is that there are only two genres on the list, Christian Rap, and Christian Rock. And Rap has seven of the eight places.

That is really strange.

It's odd for many reasons. For one, I listen to Classical music almost every day, and throughout the week some country, various contemporary Christian, worship, even country music. Yet, somehow these reformed rappers seemed to have stole the show for 2009. That is especially significant since before last year, listening to Christian rap had never even crossed my mind.

I credit the new change to their strong messages, coupled with heavy emphasis on theology in the lyrics. Starting there, the beats kind of grew on me.

Note: not all the albums were released in 08 or 09, but rather represent the albums I started listening to this year.

Great Eight List 2009

1. Lecrae: Rebel (Reformed Rap, Southern, 2008)

2. G-Notes: Bright Lights Magic City (Christian Rap, Techno-Hip Hop, East Coast, 2009)

3. Katalyst: Death By Design (Reformed Rap, Midwest, 2009)

4. The Ambassador: The Chop Chop From Milk To Meat (Reformed Rap, East Coast, 2008)

5. Tedashii: Identity Crisis (Reformed Rap, Southern, 2009)

6. Flame: Rewind (Reformed Rap, Midwest 2005)

7. House Of Heroes: The End is Not The End (Christian Rock, 2009)

8. Flame: Our World Redeemed (Reformed Rap, Midwest, 2008)

Dabbling In The Sea of God's Wonders

2009-11-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

So Close, Yet So Far
Our Children's Home Kids one foot from glory

This quote reminds me of a time about a month ago when we took the Children home kids down to the sea. The riptide was dangerous so we wouldn't let them go in. It took everything the wardens could do to restrain them. They practically went crazy just standing there in front of the ocean getting their feet wet, subdued from going in any further.

“This is my endlessly recurrent temptation: to go down to that Sea (I think St. John of the Cross called God a sea) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only dabble and splash.” C. S. Lewis, “A Slip of the Tongue,” in The Weight of Glory, page 187.

But how crazy would it have been if we had told them to go in and enjoy the sea to their hearts content, and they decided that enjoying the water wouldn't be as much fun as collecting garbage on the beach?

That is the bondage of our desire. Until the Holy Spirit comes in.

[HT: Ray Ortlund]

Making Progress

2009-11-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

George Mueller 1805-1898

A short word from George Mueller;

"Now . . . I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful . . . we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not pick out here and there a chapter. If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more."

A Plethora of Leadership Positions

2009-11-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

Lovely

This week I spent some time reading The Institutes of the Christian Religion. By God's grace I made it to the fourth book. According to the author it's about,

"the church and the communion of saints, or of the external means or helps by which God invites us to fellowship with Christ, and keeps us in it."

A few chapters deep in the book, he begins an examination of the government of the Christian church. He duly notes that Scripture makes mention of five offices; Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. (He also mentions a few other offices that scripture reveals.)

However, at some point not long after scripture was written it seems the church decided to create some new offices, and break those which were already instituted by God into smaller increments. After a few pages of reading about them, I really started to think for the first time about just how many offices have been created. It's simply staggering...

After taking some serious thought, I came up with a list of offices.

[Note: Sometimes there are several names for a single position. The offices in this list could be classified as biblical, essential, heretical, comical or even historical. But all have been used at one point or another. Oh, and I readily admit that I probably missed a lot of obvious ones, this is anything but exhaustive, which is more proof of the point.]

Here goes... enjoy!

Group 1

Archbishops
Archpresbyters
Presbyters
Bishops
Priests
Ministers
Prelates
Curates
Clerics
Elders
Rectors
Pastors
Padres
Reverends
Teachers
Schoolmen

Beneficiaries
Parsons
Canons
Chaplains
Abbots
Priors

Mercenaries (The ultra-spiritual who so utterly renounce the world that they have to steal food to live)

Group 2

Archdeacons (if your church doesn't have at least ten arch deacons, you've got problems)
Deacons (divided into those who care for the poor and those who disperse alms)
Subdeacons
Readers (they can read, use them)
Monks
Friars

Group 3

Acolytes (assist bishops)
Clerici (doorkeepers, I am partial to the name Clerici)
Tyros (assist bishops?)

Assortment of Contemporary Positions

Missionaries ( these are now available in short-term, long-term, and life-term options)
Husband and Wife Ministry Teams (Gotta love these, just add a bible, a guitar, and a tambourine...)
Single missionaries (These characters are twice as extreme as Delta force. They don't go on expeditions, they live them)

Assistant Pastors
Youth Pastors
Worship Leaders
Lay pastors and teachers
Itinerant pastors and teachers (Not sure if it's possible to be a faithful pastor if one's an itinerant)
Revivalist
Children ministry leader
...also Christian thinkers, writers, and musicians (These folks might just have the most influence)

Other Archaic/Roman Offices

Collators (sounds like an option on a Xerox photocopier/printer)
Pontiff (aka, The Pope)
Vicars
Deans (Deaneries?) (It's so much more than a university position)
Provosts
Cardinals
Inquisitors (If you're a time traveler, don't mess with these dudes; trust me, it's not a survey. Avoid Spain, Goa, etc.)

Future Offices
Someday when the church becomes even more democratic we will probably create some new offices. In reality there won't be anything 'new' about them, but they will have new names.

President/Prime minister/Secretary General of the universal church (It's the old Pontiff in a new way!)
Note: The former title is already claimed by private ministry leaders
Sheriff (Executes and enforces church justice over a certain district)
Member of Parliament/
Senator/
Congressman (These fellows interpret scripture, and make or repeal church laws, for the universal church)

Can you think of some more?

The Robe

2009-11-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

Demetrius sees Jesus for the first time

The Robe is a 1953 Hollywood film centered around a fictional Roman military tribune (Marcellus) who is involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. The tribune has a Greek slave named Demetrius who briefly meets Jesus during His triumphal entry.

The following will spoil some of the plot, so don't read on if you haven't seen it yet.

One of the amazing things about this movie is the fact that while Jesus is in a few scenes, we are not allowed to see His face. Instead, the director skillfully chose to show the facial reactions of the people who are looking at Jesus.

The effect is much more powerful than many other movies which show the face of the actor who is portraying Jesus.

Demetrius arrives at the cross

Demetrius' heart breaks

Tribune Marcellus thoughtlessly leans on the cross

The blood of Christ is on his hands


"It is finished!"

Marcellus is momentarily unfazed by the Crucifixion

Veteran's Day Thoughts

2009-11-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

WWII USMC Pilot, Capt. John Lucian Smith
(19 kills Pacific Theater)

There are so many Veterans from various engagements that could and should be mentioned here. However, due to time and space, I will mention just one of the less famous heroes from World War two who will take the part of representing them all.

John Lucian Smith was one of six US Marine Corps pilots who received a Medal of Honor for their valiant service during the 1942/43 turning point Battle of Guadalcanal.

It was a terrible battle that for some months looked as though it would swing in favor of the Japanese. However, providentially, the American force had strategically captured the only Japanese airfield on the island at the beginning of the battle. The Japanese would have to fly from their more distant base at Rabaul. The Americans renamed the airfield, Henderson field, quickly repaired it and soon began landing their own planes.

Henderson Field F4 Wildcat fighters (Note: the airfield is still under construction)

After an the initial landing and capture of the airfield the Japanese navy quickly reacted, fought back and managed to drive the American fleet away while they were in the process of landing the first batch of soldiers. They manged to sink several key American in the process. Subsequently the airfield and marines holding it were subjected to a fierce naval bombardment which destroyed and damaged numerous planes and much of their vital equipment.

With the support of the American navy lost, lacking adequate supplies and equipment, the American foothold on the island was precarious and became increasingly dependent on the aircraft and airmen of Henderson field to keep them from being overrun.

US Marine Patrol on Guadalcannal

While the Japanese had an numerically superior air force and slightly better aircraft, they were tenaciously repelled. John Lucian Smith heroically led his squadron to shoot down 83 enemy aircraft in the campaign, downing 19 total himself in the war. By the spring of 1943 the battle was over, and it proved to be a significant turning point in the war.

Smith, and five other airmen from the battle were awarded a medal of honor by President Franklin, D. Roosevelt. Later a movie starring John Wayne revisited their crucial role in turning the tide of the war.

John Wayne Portraying Capt. John L. Smith

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

He Will Never Leave Us or Forsake Us

2009-11-08T02:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a little Sunday special. Stand By Me played on location by a small multitude of artists from countries all around the world.

Watching it, I couldn't help but think of our inability and insufficiency in this life. And thankfully we do have someone who not only stands by us, but stands for us, and carries us through everything.

[HT: Challies]

What Did He Mean By Carry A Cross???

2009-11-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Something tells me this is not the kind of cross Christ said to carry

Over the past few days I have been musing on some of the implications of the gospel and the prosperity gospel.

One though is, where's the cross? The one Jesus said to take up and follow Him with. Where is the part where we walk the Calvary road? Where are the tribulations? Anyhow, that's all the negative side of the argument. I get a whole lot more excited whenever I take a peek at the positive side.

The Positive Side:

The prosperity gospel claims to offer more than the orthodox gospel.

But it's not that the prosperity offers more than the true gospel. It offers less, infinitely less when Christ is de-valued at the expense of material gain.

The prosperity gospel begins with Christ and then leads to other 'greater' things. Things that we can have in this life and the next.

The true gospel begins and ends with Christ who is far greater than anything we can have in this life and the next.

Applied Personally:

I don't believe in the prosperity gospel, but sometimes it might look like I did. Especially when it comes to what it takes to be satisfied. If it's Christ + anything, it's not lookin' good.

I have to ask, what's it going to take for me to be satisfied, cash or Christ?

After all, Jesus said, you can't serve both God and Mammon.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

More on The Prosperity Gospel

2009-11-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

Piper on the prosperity gospel in frank, honest, passionate, no-nonsense, biblical fashion.

One of The Worst "Gospels"

2009-11-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

The video is thoughtful, fair and well made. It takes you inside Africa to see firsthand what's going on with our exported 'gospel' experiment.

I am afraid this so called gospel makes my stomach sick almost every time I see or hear it preached.

Moving from good news to good advice and calling it gospel is not only an abominable heresy, it's wickedly cruel. I am thankful that God is not and cannot be foiled by wolves, He is actively rescuing his sheep from their hands.

My prayer is that by His grace more believers will see the diversion for what it is and instead discover Christ is their true treasure in the midst of every kind of poverty. In Christ all can find peace and joy in seemingly impossible situations. Let the rich of us say we are poor without Him, and poorest rejoice because they have gained the pearl of greatest price, in this life and the life to come.

[HT: Challies] [Vitamin Z]

Diligence

2009-11-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Chendu Sekhar thoroughly applying himself to his studies
(8th grade)

[Click Image to go to our picasa page for a hi-resolution download]

dil i gence 1 |ˈdiləjəns|
noun
careful and persistent work or effort.

I need to write a little bit about how Indian kids study. It's quite amazing, even somewhat entertaining to watch them. The amount of time they spend studying is simply staggering. Some kids start studying at 4am and continue until it's time to go to school about 8:30am. After school ends at 3pm, most will remain at school and continue studying until about 10pm.

Basically the entirety of every day of the week except for Sunday is spent on education.

While our school's level of performance is right up their with the best of them, our strategy has been to utilize better teachers in order to adequately compensate for less study time. Even so, they often study from 6:30-7:30am, and again in the late afternoon from 5-7pm, and finally from 8:30-10pm.

Regardless of how much time is spent studying, diligent is perhaps the word which best describes the ethic and effort of the average Indian student.

Inspired?

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

What Is The Main Message of Scripture?

2009-11-03T03:33:00.000-08:00

St. Augustine A.D. 354-430

The question of the day is, What is the main message of scripture?

There are many routes I could take to answer this question, but I am going to short cut and tell you what I believe the answer is, then go about explaining it.

I believe that scripture above all else, is a book primarily about God, specifically, Jesus Christ. This truth radically changed the way I think about the Old Testament, the way I relate to others, the lost, and especially God.

This truth is certainly the most fundamental change in the way I view the whole of scripture. My own personal discovery of it occurred only when God brought Luke 24 to light for me.

You know the passage, it's the one where Jesus is on the road to Emmaus shortly after his resurrection. He is walking with two men who don't recognize him and he has a powerful, conversation with them. There is a lot of meat there, but the portions which I am focusing on here are found in verses 25-26 and particularly verse 44 when shortly after Jesus appears to his disciples.

Luke 24:44

"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me."

Augustine sums up this passage well in a concise statement.

“Our whole purpose when we hear the Psalms, the Prophets, and the Law is to see Christ there, to understand Christ there.” Augustine

Well, that's all I have time for at the moment. It's a glorious and liberating truth, well worth looking into deeper if it's new for you. I find it helpful to remind myself as I am reading the New Testament, and especially the Psalms, Prophets, and Law - Christ is there.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

[HT: THE RESURGENCE]

Another Indian Adventure

2009-11-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

An unwelcome guest rests on the stairwell

Well this one's a little weird. It happened a few weeks ago and seemed just strange enough that I couldn't pass up posting it. All I can say is that I was hoping for gloves, tongs, anything but bare fingers. After watching the clip I think if you find yourself in the same situation you will think twice before going in barehanded.

(WARNING! Don't try this at home without leather gloves. Better yet, don't try it at all. Call a professional. Call a real batman.)

Marvel

2009-10-21T21:21:00.001-07:00

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Despite our nothingness, the Almighty God bestows His mercies and love upon us.

“Has Jesus saved me? I dare not speak with any hesitation here; I know He has. His Word is true, therefore I am saved. My evidence that I am saved does not lie in the fact that I preach, or that I do this or that. All my hope lies in this that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. I am a sinner, I trust Him, then He came to save me, and I am saved; I live habitually in the enjoyment of this blessed fact and it is long since I have doubted the truth of it, for I have His own Word to sustain my faith. It is a very surprising thing,—a thing to be marveled at most of all by those who enjoy it. I know that it is to me even to this day the greatest wonder that I ever heard of, that God should ever justify me. I feel myself to be a lump of unworthiness, a mass of corruption, and a heap of sin apart from His almighty love; yet I know, by a full assurance, that I am justified by faith which is in Christ Jesus, and treated as if I had been perfectly just, and made an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ; though by nature I must take my place among the most sinful. I, who am altogether undeserving, am treated as if I had been deserving. I am loved with as much love as if I had always been godly, whereas aforetime I was ungodly.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Let's marvel in His grace.

Sola gratia

Kwame

Am I alive?

2009-10-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

The picture was taken in Ghana. I have on my shoulders, my nephew (Nii Noi aka Jason)
and the lady in the picture is his mother (Jane - my sister-in-law).

by Kwame

Am I alive? Are you alive? Is this an important question?

Jesus said:
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” John 3:3
Jesus says again:
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Therefore, being born again means to “be born of water and of the Spirit.” Paul calls this “the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

Since Jesus expected Nicodemus, “a master of Israel”, to know of this truth, we can safely assume that there must have been an explanation of “born again” in the Old Testament scriptures that Nicodemus had access to.

Looking at Ezekiel 36, we see what Jesus is talking about.

Verses 25-28:
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Jesus was referring to the cleansing from spiritual filthiness and the creating of a new creature - the new birth! A supernatural act by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, which causes man to be born again. It is God (not man) who first CLEANSES with water (we know we are not saved by baptism), and GIVES the new heart, and PUTS a new spirit within man and then TAKES AWAY the old lifeless and dead heart.

The sequence should be noted. He cleans and gives, before He takes. We are called to come to Christ as filthy and dead as we are. He will cleanse us through and through. The washing of regeneration can clean to the uttermost - "ye shall be clean"!! He will give the new and take away the old!! The born again Christian is justified and then transformed into the image of Christ.

Also, since it is only the Trinity who has no beginning and no end, and only the Trinity (God) was there in the beginning, being born again can only be “The Life of God in the Soul of Man.” After all, who else has life to give life?

So am I born again and are you born again? Should we be convinced of regeneration based on knowing what has been shared?

There was a teacher of scripture who acknowledged that Jesus was a man from God (John 3:2), but was not at the time, born again. Also, Judas was one of the disciples but he did not have saving faith. And Legion, the unclean spirit(s), knew of Jesus and called Him “son of the Most high God” but was not saved (Mark 5:7). Furthermore, Jesus speaks of persons who think they know Him but in actuality, do not know him (Matt 7:21-23).

So does this mean that familiarity, association, knowledge, and proclamation do not give new life? Do you mean that praying every morning and the fact that I go to church and cast out demons and teach Sunday school and do the church bulletin and blog and do good works, do not give entrance into the kingdom of God? The answer is - yes, they indeed DO NOT give entrance into the kingdom. Praise be to God, who “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

Certainly, God chooses to be merciful, and the new birth is absolutely not man’s doing (Titus 3:5). When we do become born again, our lives should be living testimonies (2 Cor 3:2-3) and we are to be “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14), the chief of which is treasuring Jesus Christ and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with ourselves and others.

So the real question is “do you find in the Father's election, in the Son's atonement, and in the Spirit's quickening, all the grounds of your eternal hopes?” – Spurgeon

May we cherish the thought that “a holy fear of falling short, is a great means of perseverance.” – Matthew Henry

Soli deo Gloria

Kwame

October Rains

2009-10-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago the rain were falling hard on a daily basis. After the first few days the rivers overflowed their banks. The news said it was one of the worst flooding disasters in the last fifty to a hundred years. Whole villages were flooded and large sections of semi-metropolitan areas were flooded out.

Thankfully only a small area of my city was flooded. After a few days the water that flooded the other villages went down, and the government, and non-profit organizations have been scrambling to provide flood relief.

Don't Waste Your Legendary Notebook

2009-10-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Notebook containing Edwards' observations from the scriptures

A few days ago I was browsing the Yale University online digital library collection of some of the original writing of Jonathan Edwards.

Edwards' notes on 'particular redemption'

I have heard that Edwards wrote continuously. Whenever ideas would come into his head he would write them down as soon as possible. Often times he would be out walking, or on horseback and that meant he would have to write on scraps of paper, his coat, or saddle.

I don't know for certain, but I imagine he did the majority of his writing in notebooks. And back then it wasn't your dime-a-dozen spiral bound 'kiddie' notebook. No sir, back in Edwards' day, they used legendary notebooks. Those puppies were tougher than nails; Built to last, they bound hundreds of pages up in tough, hardbound leather covers.

'Kiddie' notebook

These days, it seems when most of us break away from writing on the pc, we use generic, run-of-the-mill spiral bound notebooks. However I have found a few guys like Mark Driscoll that are an exception to the rule. They use notebooks of the legendary quality to write down their ideas as God gives them. It could be that a good notebooks demands more from the writer. Or it could be that good ideas demand a good notebook. Either way, I think there might just be something to having a good notebook. (I personally have a dislike for anything spiral bound.)

These days if a guy wants a legendary notebook he picks up a Moleskine. They are made in Italy, but are available pretty much everywhere in the world. This is one company that still makes tough leather bound notebooks that are designed to last. No, they are not made from Mole's skin, but they are leather bound.

Moleskine Legendary Notebook

At any rate, if you do decide to pick up a legendary notebook, the standing challenge is to fill it up with as much meat as Edwards' did.

A Dedicated Servant of The Lord

2009-10-08T01:06:00.000-07:00

Shalem

Today I figured I would share a little about Shalem, one of the guys I am working with.

Shalem's role in the ministry is to administrate the children's wing. That means taking time to train and maintain staff, direct and care for the spiritual lives of the children corporately and individually, visit and administrate the five children homes, and ensure the essential needs of the children are provided.

Additionally he travels about the state and country conducting children's camps and participating in training seminars for others who are also working in children ministry.

It's a very demanding position, but he makes personal time every day to spend with the Lord. He is very serious about it.

Sometime soon I am hoping to interview him. Keep your eyes open!

Josh

Conducting a children's camp

Arcing For the Glory of God

2009-10-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

Arcing Chart (click to download)

Arcing is a wonderful tool for pulling the meat out of a text of scripture. By arcing you can follow the flow of the passage by examining the structure of it's propositions. The folks at biblearc.com have graciously provided an online video tutorial to help anyone learn how to make use of this helpful resource.

Arcing can be done on paper by writing the text out in columns of single line propositions, and 'arcing' their relationships, marking them with predefined symbols, or by using their helpful online tool.

In their own words,

"Arcing is a graphical tool used to determine, document,and discuss the flow of thought in the Biblical text.

The point... to rightly handle the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)"

That pretty much sums it up. I have found it one of the best tools yet for mining the intended meaning from the text.

From here you can, download the arcing chart, watch their online tutorial videos, Arc.

Enjoy!

Joshua

Moral lessons?

2009-10-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

In Ghana with my grandmother

By Kwame

Charles Spurgeon once shared a story about a young pastor and an older pastor. In the story, the older man encouraged the young man to preach Christ in every text of scripture - to preach Christ's person, work and promise in every jot and tittle of scripture; to see in every bible passage, the call to "look unto me [Christ] and be ye saved" (Is 45:22). In the same way, we should endeavour NOT to view various scriptural accounts as mere moral lessons.

As an example, let's take the passage where Jesus and his parents go to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover, and Jesus stays behind in the temple (Luke 2:43). One could say that, "Jesus spent time in the temple, so I will also try to attend church in order to grow in the word". That would be a great thought. After all, iron sharpens iron. However, we are encouraged not to stop there.

How does such a story point us directly to the gospel? It seems that this passage tells us (in addition to other things) that the Saviour's life was not different from ours. As a child, his parents were worried about him. He went to the temple like everyone else and celebrated the feasts along with everyone else. This story (and many more like it) tells us that our High Priest, was fully man and "He Himself hath suffered being tempted" (Heb 2:18). This points to the truth that Jesus was tempted in the very same ways that we are tempted since His life was like ours. Jesus being essentially God was also 100% man and had to deal with everything we deal with today. He had to live a normal life. He came into the world through birth like all of us, crying and needing his mom and dad's protection, like all of us. He wept like all of us and was hungry and tired at times, like all of us. Yet he was SINLESS!!

He obeyed God the Father perfectly!! He lived the normal life in a way that no one else can live. He is the SOLE Saviour of the world! He finished it all by dying on the cross and thus met the just punishment for sin...our sins. Who could have been the lamb of God and who could have taken away the sins of the world if the man Jesus was not sent!!!!!?? Nobody! Clearly Jesus is the only choice, naturally and supernaturally (before the world began). He is the perfect blameless lamb that willingly gave His life!! What joy to have such a Saviour who is absolute, omniscient, omnipotent, loving, just, mighty, awesome awesome awesome and yet was fully a man who had the pains and joys that I have today. In this way, "he is able to succour them that are tempted" (Heb 2:18).

Praise and honour to God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost! Amen!

Kwame

A Real Hard Day's Work

2009-09-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

Breaking The Concrete Ditch

A few days ago, I saw some city workmen and a city work woman breaking up a drainage ditch near the ministry. So, as usual, I grabbed my camera and captured it.

It's really amazing to see that without the aid of a jackhammer, or gloves, two men and a woman broke up the whole ditch in a single afternoon's work. And even more so since it was pouring rain.

(UPDATE: I think the idea here was to replace the above ground sewage ditch with one that would run down the street below the surface of the road. And since the men were wearing construction hats (off and on), I have to assume the city government is responsible for the work.)

Give Me Jesus

2009-09-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

I discovered this excellent music video by Fernando Ortega on Justin Taylor's blog a few days ago. It's Christ-centered and very well done!

On Vimeo's site, the description says,

"This music video was produced for the December 2007 Billy Graham Television Special in honor of Ruth Bell Graham."

[HT: JT]

A Tribute To YSR

2009-09-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

A famous Telugu Christian artist recently wrote a song in tribute to our late chief minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy. His team produced a video to go along with it.

By watching this video can get a sense of the ethos that has pervaded the nation during the last few weeks.

Treasuring Him

2009-09-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

This video asks and gloriously answers the question;

How Does Paul Make Christ Look Great In His Life And Thus Not Waste It?

Before you watch another youtube video, watch this one.

Questions For Thinking

2009-09-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

Adams Synchronological Chart or Map of History

by Joshua

Before going to work today, I consulted my copy of the Teacher's Guide for Adams time-line of history. In Appendix A, I discovered a table describing thinking skills that would be helpful for teachers who are looking to promote thinking in their students. The best part of the sheet is a list of questions to get things rolling.

There was also a brief reason why teachers should ask these kinds of questions;

"As teachers , we tend to ask question in the 'knowledge' category 80 to 90 percent of the time. These questions are not bad, but using them all the time is. Try to utilize higher-order level questions. These questions require more 'brain power' and a more extensive and elaborate answer. The chart shows the six question categories as defined by Bloom." Teachers Guide Pg 18

The Chart is more than 20 feet long

Sample Questions:

Knowledge:

Who, What, Where, When, How ...?
Describe

Comprehension:

Retell ____.
Summarize the main point, in the correct order.
What was the problem - how was it solved?
Predict how the story will end.

Application:

How is ____ an example of ____?
How is ____ related to ____?
Why is ____ Significant?

Analysis:

What are the parts or features of ____?
Classify ____ according to ____.
Outline/diagram ____.
How does ____ compare/contrast with ____?
What evidence can you list for ____?

Synthesis:

What would you predict/infer from ____?
What ideas can you add to ____?
How would you create/design a new ____?
What might happen if you combined ____?
What solutions would you suggest for ____?

Evaluation:

Do you agree ___?
What do you think about ___?
What is the most important ____?
Place the following in the order of priority ____.
How would you decide about ____?
What criteria would you use to assess ____?

Of all these sample question categories, I think comprehension is my favorite. Take for example, the grand narrative of the bible.

How well can we,

A.) Retell the biblical narrative to others who need to know their origins, their sin, need of a savior, and the gospel?

B.) Summarize the main point of the biblical narrative, in the correct order?

C.) Say what was the main problem and how it was solved?

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

One in Your essense, Three in Your Person

2009-09-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

Posing for the camera at a village in Ghana

by Kwame Nyarko

[FYI: Kwame is a great friend of the family who hails from Ghana Africa and is studying for his doctorate in the US. He loves Jesus, excels in his studies, and really enjoys reading theology by old dead guys in his spare time (of which there isn't much.) I am very thankful that he was able to make time for this post. My desire is to demonstrate the unity we have in Christ by linking contributions from Africa, America, India and around the world right here on this blog. - Josh]

This is a modified version of an email I sent to my dear cousin Atsu. Atsu and I had been emailing about “Paul, a servant of God”. However, at the time of typing, I had Matthew 4:19 and Luke 14:26 on my mind and I was listening to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. So I ask for your pardon for what may seem to be a scattered post.

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. Titus 1:1

I started off today thinking about the gospel- thinking about the hope that it presents to us. I thought I would share that with you.

Completely outside of man’s power, doing or ability, God the Father draws us, via the working of the Spirit, giving us faith in Jesus Christ. This free gift of faith enables man to “see” the sufficiency of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. We then begin on the narrow road of treasuring our Lord above all things and setting our affections on things above. Those who are truly the Lord’s remain His forever since there is no one that can pluck them out of His hands. Putting it another way, Jesus Christ becomes the author of our faith as God provides grace and mercy (that we don’t deserve), and the Spirit quickens us to life (we were dead). Jesus Christ is the finisher of our faith because He cannot (and will not) lose anyone that the Father gives to Him, and He serves as our high priest on the right hand of God, interceding for us. The Father also keeps us because He elected us and He cannot lose us. I could add that He keeps us also through His love, reprimanding and guidance; and the Spirit is renewing and preserving us for eternity.

What perfect unity in the Trinity! In the Pilgrim’s progress, John Bunyan talks about how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost all save us. Here is a little taste of a conversation between James and Prudence.

Prudence: Come James, canst thou tell me who made thee?
James: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost
Prudence: Good boy. And canst thou tell who saves thee?
James: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost
Prudence: Good boy still. But how doth God the Father save thee?
James: By His Grace
Prudence: How doth God the Son save thee?
James: By his Righteousness, Death, and Blood, and Life.
Prudence: And how doth God the Holy Ghost save thee?
James: By his Illumination, by his Renovation, and by his Preservation

They distinctly work together for their own glory alone!!

Concerning Titus 1:1, Matthew Henry comments:

“Here he (Paul) is described by his relation and office: A servant of God, not in the general sense only, as a man and a Christian, but especially as a minister, serving God in the gospel of his Son,….

Paul is described more especially as a chief minister, an apostle of Jesus Christ; one who had seen the Lord, and was immediately called and commissioned by him, and had his doctrine from him. Observe, the highest officers in the church are but servants.”

Would you agree that if I wanted to please you in some service to you, I would have to get to know you and know what pleases you? Also, to accurately tell other people about you, I have to know you and know what it is that you want me to tell about you. I don’t think this is any different from what we are to do with respect to the good news. Oh that we would in a way that pleases God, serve Him in the gospel of His Son. Let us ask and ask and ask for grace to dwell on the gospel, to continually etch the person of Christ into our hearts, to bleed bibline like the prince of preachers and to preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

To Joshua and to all who visit Focused on Christ, “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

Soli Deo Gloria

Kwame

Indian Children Artwork

2009-09-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

"I have set before you life and death" Deu 30:19

On Saturday afternoon we held a type of art day for the Children's Home kids. About one hundred and sixty children drew scenes featuring Christian based themes and Indian landscapes.

It was a lot of fun watching the children diligently creating their drawings. Some of the smaller children created some surprisingly creative scenes.

I made this short video to commemorate the occasion. I guarantee it will be worth your time to watch it: (Also, more pictures below)

Mostly Original Artwork:

Using Portrait From School Book For Reference (8th Grade)

Indian Village Scene

Local Mountains, Sky, Birds, Trees and Housing Style

Local Fruit Tree and Bird (6th Grade Student)

It was a great afternoon. The children really put a lot of effort into their drawings. The took special care with every pen, marker, and pencil stroke. We will have to do it again.

Post 9/11 And The Social Media Revolution

2009-09-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

WARNING! I may be out on a wire here

I think everyone can see that the world has changed quite a bit since 9/11; The social media revolution being one of the biggest changes. As far as I can tell, no where in the history of the world has global informational connectivity been as readily accessible as it is today.

The possibilities for Christians to make much of God on the Internet are endless.

The resurgence hosted this short clip a few days back.

Any thoughts?

[HT: RESURGENCE]

Reflections On The Second Month

2009-09-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

Alive and Kicking By God's Grace

Amazing! The second month in India has passed! It's time once again to pause and reflect on God's providence and grace over the previous thirty days.

I will start by going over some of the events that have happened here in the ministry and in India as a nation.

In India:

Independence Day Celebrations, India celebrated it's 62nd year of Independence.
The fantastic trip to the Mountain church. I enjoyed spending some time with Indian pastors who are serving in remote villages. The vast mountain scenery was also beautiful.
More than 20 believers were baptized. This was the most recent on campus baptism since Palm Sunday.
Was privileged to attended a wedding at a nearby mountain tribe.
For the first time ever (In India) I have electric power 24/7. Unless you have lived here, there is no way of really explaining how wonderful this is. It has to be experienced.
Our honorable chief minister, Rajasekhara Reddy passed away in a tragic helicopter crash during a violent thunder storm last week. Though deeply saddened by the loss of perhaps the greatest Chief minister in Indian history, Indian Christians are praising God for His kindness in blessing the state and nation through him .

Divine Providence At Work:

By God's grace I have been able to blog fairly regularly, and the content has been decent. In a unique way the blog challenges me to preserve ideas on a daily basis by recording them online. Focusing on Christ has been crucial even in directing the types of truths I have selected for this site.

In bible study this morning, providentially we re-examined this text;

"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6

Prayer Requests:

Please,

pray that I will not waste a day here in India
pray that deep affections for God will be my primary motivation
pray for growth
pray for contagious joy
praise God for keeping me physically healthy for an incredible amount of time

Thank you very much for all your prayers, emails, blog comments, and support. It's been an amazing two months.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

So How About Switching to Another Gospel?

2009-09-08T01:44:00.000-07:00

Satan's Subtle Lie's

My evangelist friend emailed me a copy of an essay on false gospels by A.W. Pink. It's called "Another Gospel" you can see the whole thing here.

Pink does an especially good job showing how subtlety the other gospel counterfeits the one true gospel. He begins his essay by saying, "Satan is not an initiator but an imitator." Pink then contrasts the things which God initiates and Satan imitates. Since Satan is a proven arch-counterfeiter it easily follows that he has counterfeited the Gospel also. Consider Galatians 1:6,7.

God Initiated:

Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ
the children of God
"mystery of godliness" (1Tim 3:16)
By his angles seals his servants their foreheads (Rev 7:3)
Christ performed miracles
Christ's Church
Christ is the light of the world
Made apostles
Gospel (Romans 1:16) [Added for emphasis]

Satan's Imitations:

"son of perdition" (2Thess 2:3)
"the children of the wicked one" (Mat 13:38)
"mystery of iniquity" (2Thess 2:7)
Puts a mark on the forehead of his devotees (Rev 13:16)
Satan's servants perform miracles (2Thess 2:9)
Synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9)
Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2Cor 11:14)
Made false apostles (2Cor 11:13)
Another gospel (Gal 1:6,7) [Added for emphasis]

AW Pink: 1886 - 1952 Pastor, Writer, Preacher

There is much more to be said, but rather than tiring you with a lengthy post I will leave you with the original article.

When a Man's Ways Please the Lord

2009-09-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy

You may have noticed in the news, a few days ago on September 2nd, a helicopter carrying the chief minister of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and a few of his key leaders crashed. (Rajasekhar Reddy was the chief minister of this state for the last four years.) For the first twenty-four hours officials were not able to determine exactly what had happened, whether they had crashed or made a forced landing. All that was known was that his helicopter had disappeared from radar over a remote mountain range.

He was on his way to a village to see how he could help them.

After a day of searching, and the largest scale man hunt in India history, they located the wreckage of the helicopter and recovered all the bodies. His pilot had crashed directly into a mountain side amid heavy rains.

This was not the death of an ordinary politician

Rajasekhara Reddy was a Christian, and it showed.

One of the many new IT centers

Under his four year watch the state of Andhra Pradesh experienced unprecedented economical growth. The poor found that they could move out of thatch-roofed huts into solid homes which they could own themselves. (It is projected that by 2020 nearly the entire population of the state will live in houses rather than huts) The middle class found they could upgrade from motorcycles to cars. And the rich found they could become even richer. From the poorest to the richest, opportunity abounded for all social classes more than it ever had in all of history.

I witnessed it myself.

Vintage Car Show Held in The State Capital This Year

Moreover, Indian believers were able to exercise their constitutional rights of sharing the gospel and ministering without the fear of persecution.

Signing a measure that gives 30kgs free rice for the starving
and 9 hours of free power to farmers

I have been told, that whenever he was praised for his achievements, he would point upwards and say, "it's not me, it's God who has done it."

Perhaps the most amazing thing I saw in the wake of his passing was his fiercest political opponents weeping and recounting his many accomplishments. That was in addition to almost unprecedented mass public sorrow.

I was reminded of Proverbs 16:7

"When a man's ways please the LORD,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Rajasekhara Reddy was no ordinary politician. And his God was no ordinary god. He had won the admiration of the poor and the rich. Even his enemies couldn't help but honor him in his death. He worked hard, brought prosperity to his state amid fierce opposition; kept his integrity in a politically corrupt environment, was a model example of how a Chief Minister should run his state, died while serving his people, and gave the glory to God.

He is gone. India has lost one of its greatest leaders, and he will be remembered.

Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship

2009-09-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Gospel-Centered (Christ-Centered)

I recently read Jonathan Dodson's curiously titled book, Fight Clubs. Dodson is the pastor of Austin City Life Church. He has made his book free to download. Fight Clubs weighs in at a light 51 pages.

In Fight Clubs, Dodson briefly relates his personal experiences with accountability groups he was involved in and how he moved away from Legalistic-checklist-Keeping-the-rules-Duty-driven-accountability-groups to God-honoring-Motivated-by-holy-affection-for-God-sin-fighting-groups.

Dodson worked to create a practical, Christ-centered accountability/discipleship model that would;

"avoid legalism by promoting a Christ-Centered reading of the scriptures... [and] avoid license by taking seriously the fight of faith against the flesh... [and] promote lasting joy in Jesus."pg 50

How Gospel-Centered Discipleship Works:

"Gospel-centered discipleship focuses the heart's attention onto Jesus, beholding and becoming like him." pg 15

Dodson calls on Christians to start fighting sin in a Romans 8:13 way. And he defines the fight in great part as "a fight to believe that the image of Jesus is the best image to fight for" pg 16

Dodson asserts that discipleship is a community project and outlines a model he calls Fight Clubs.

"Disciples of Jesus are part of a community that fights the fight of faith. What we need are small fighting communities that are committed to gospel-centered discipleship."pg 36

Dodson describes these communities (fight clubs) as, small, simple groups of 2-3 who meet regularly to help one another beat the flesh and believe in the promises of God.

There are three rules to Dodson's Fight Club:

1.) Know Your Sin
2.) Fight Your Sin
3.) Trust Your Savior

"The greatest weapon against our opponents is Spirit-empowered faith in the promises of God that have been guaranteed by the death of Christ."

After pondering what I read, I found the Fight Club model to be great for accountability and fighting sin, but not entirely adequate for believers to plug into as the complete solution for discipleship and community assisted spiritual growth. Dodson has developed other outlets that focus on those particular goals more effectively. Before ironing out Fight Clubs, he developed City-groups. (small groups that impact the city as well as the believers)

"City groups are geographically-based, city-focused communities of people that gather throughout the week to share life and truth, love God and one another, and engage the social and spiritual needs of our city. They're awesome, a place where the church can be the church to one another and to the city."

Any thoughts?

The Dodson Family

Milton Friedman on Greed and Corruption

2009-09-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

20th Century Economist Milton Friedman
(Jul 31, 1912 - Nov 16, 2006)

An evangelist friend of mine shared this video with me today. The video serves as a good example of the global corruption of man as a result of the fall.

Interesting Bird Of Prey: Hawk? Falcon? Raptor?

2009-08-31T23:46:00.000-07:00

The Mighty Shikra: An Indian Bird of Prey

Thought I would pass this on. Right before breakfast this morning, I looked out the window and saw one of these little guys sitting on the edge just outside the window. At first it stood with its feet forward and its head facing completely backwards and towards the ground below. After a few minutes it turned its whole body around, perhaps so that it could face the direction it was planning to fly. Then a few minutes later it flew away.

After taking some photos and video clips I performed a quick google search, and was able to identify the bird as the Shikra raptor.

The one I saw this morning had intensely red eyes. But for some reason my camera wasn't able to catch the brightness of the color through the window. You may want to see the full resolution images on my picasa page if you wish to have a clearer view.

First position

Second Position

A Skilled Workman

2009-08-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

A Skilled Indian Carpenter Installs Our Door Latch

skilled |skild|
adjective
having or showing the knowledge, ability, or training to perform a certain activity or task well : a lab technician skilled in electronics | skilled draftsmen.
• based on such training or experience; showing expertise : skilled legal advice.
• (of work) requiring special abilities or training : a highly skilled job.

(See 1 Corinthians 3:10)

Last week we were blessed to have a door latch installed on our door. During the previous five or six years there were only two possible positions the door could be in;

1. It would hang wide open.
2. It could be dead bolted shut.

To solve this, we sought out a skilled carpenter to install a door latch. (spring door catches are still new here in India) It was quite interesting to watch the carpenter working with the door to get it the way he wanted it. He did a great job, and it was noticeably different from the typical Western approach.

For your enjoyment and viewing pleasure, I made a quick video of the process. It's Indian carpentry in action!

Enjoy!

We Fade Like Grass

2009-08-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

US General Douglass MacArthur

In his farewell address to congress, US General Douglass MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." MacArthur then described himself as "an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty."

Concerning War itself, MacArthur restated what he had said after accepting the formal surrender of Japan; "The problem basically is theological."

French General Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch (Fo-sh) is one of those "old soldiers" who have faded away in the mists of time. At the beginning of World War 1 he was in command of part of the 2nd French Army, by the end of the war he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies.

General Foch is a man worth researching. Here are some of his more notable quotes.

Only a week after taking command of 9th Army during the great allied retreat to the sea with allied armies retreating all around him, he held his ground tenaciously and said this: "Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack."

After liberating Châlons and being congratulated by the Bishop of Châlons he replied: "Not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, (Psalm 115:1)"

On the treaty of Versailles: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years."

Foch, a triumphant hero in his day, like countless others is now long forgotten by most. However I don't think we should be overly surprised or dismayed by this. God speaks very clearly in His Word on what we should learn from this phenomenon.

(1 Peter 1:24, 25)
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

From before Cain through this very moment the problem of war has been a theological one. Mankind is helplessly caught up with itself rather than God the creator.

The problem with great men fading from memory is also theological. Because the glory of the great ones is a far cry short of the glory of God. Even much more than the glory of a grass hut is from the glory of granite palace.

In every age great ones have come and gone. Great speeches have been spoken, and forgotten.

Even if they are not forgotten yet, ultimately those words (and the ideas they represent) cannot stand the test of time - yet by faith we know the Word of God will. Untold millennia from now who will remember anything from our world? Who will want to? The only things that will last from our time will be those things done for Christ in accordance to His Word. To be truly great in an eternal, everlasting sense is for God to be shown great in our lives.

Forever is still a hard concept for me to grasp. I can't force my mind to feel the weight of it, but I can rest assured that the Word of God will endure f o r e v e r.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Marriage In The Mountains

2009-08-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

The Wedding in the Mountain Village

Yesterday morning I attended a wedding in a nearby mountain village. This was the first village wedding ceremony I have attended. It was noticeably different than the other weddings I have seen here. (See my friend Jeevan's excellent wedding at, An Indian Wedding Brief Photo Journey)

Some things were similar to the others. For example, the message was delivered by one of our seasoned pastors. Several of the marriage passages in the Bible were touched; Genesis 2:19-24, John 2:1-10, Ephesians 5:22-33. . .

Beyond being an outdoor wedding in a village, it's difficult to pinpoint precisely what the other differences were, although I distinctly sensed a different ethos in the ceremony than the others.

One thing is certain, it was quite hot outside.

The closer the service came to high noon, the more sweltering it became. It definitely ranked as one of the hottest weddings I have experienced.

Watch the fast paced video and check out the pictures of the ceremony to get a better glimpse. (Smells and heatwaves not included.)

Beginning prayer

Bridegroom and Bride

Final prayer at the end of the ceremony

What To Do About Closed Doors

2009-08-27T09:04:00.001-07:00

God has set an open door before us

Here at the ministry all the doors are locked with padlocks. From time to time keys are lost. Today was one of those days when all the keys to one room were lost.

To share the unique experience of what re-opening a room in India looks like, I am posting a video.

Even though the door was locked, it was not that difficult to open, unlike the doors the Lord shuts. Providently our door was opened in short order and Lord willing it won't become 'shut' again. When God shuts a door, it's shut. When He opens one, nothing anyone can do will close it again. God is the sovereign gatekeeper of every event.

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...

I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Revelation 3:7,8

So what to do about closed doors? Seeing if a door is truly closed/opened by God is often difficult to see through the fog of human events. If we have a sincere desire to put God's will first (both decreed and commanded will) and sanctified reasoning coupled with prayer says 'it can and should be opened', I say go for it, and God permitting it can and will be opened since heaven has directed it. Otherwise, if God in His infinite wisdom decreed it not to be opened, all the pounding away will not budge it. And regardless if the door is open or closed our attitude ought to be,

'not my will, but yours, be done.'

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Electronic Revolution: Phase 2

2009-08-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Refurbishing the Refrigerator

Skilled Technicians Work Quickly To Bring Our ARTIFICIAL COOLING UNIT Online

Phase 2 of our Electronic Revolution was completed late this afternoon. This phase of the revolution dealt primarily with the cooling, freezing and preserving of our foodstuffs. In other words, we needed the refrigerator (which was previously little more than a glorified cabinet) to be refurbished.

I used Quicktime's basic cut and paste features to create a semi-detailed video of the procedure.

Enjoy!

Electronic Revolution: Phase 1 (Video)

2009-08-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Electricians Work Feverishly To Get The Power Online

It's been a long time in coming, and now it is nearly here - we are installing a battery backup for the entire floor that I live on. This may not sound like anything special, but after a few years of so called "roughing it" during the hundreds of power blackouts that occur every year it's a real treat. It's electronically revolutionary, for me, here in India

Today is phase one of the installation. Basically re-wiring the floor so that we can receive electrical current from both the backup and the main line. It switches itself on automatically when there is a power outage.

Battery Backup

Tomorrow is phase two, installing the battery backup system itself and hooking it into the newly re-wired floor. Lord willing a day will come when a guy can make it a whole week here without the single loss of fan, fridge, lights or computers.

August Baptisms

2009-08-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

For What Reason Do You Want To Be Baptised?

Shortly after the Sunday morning service today, the church held their first baptismal service since Palm Sunday. All together around twenty believers were baptized in our pool.

I am posting a short video that does a good job showing the enthusiastic, joyful spirit this afternoon.

Enjoy!

Some children look on

The Believers Singing

Don't Waste The Death Of American Idols

2009-08-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little bit dated already, but I think this video really demonstrates how we can take advantage of the passing of our American Idols for the purpose of the kingdom. In so doing, even the "untimely" death of superstars like Michael Jackson have purpose, design, and aren't wasted.

May God use us more and more in this capacity.

Go Tell It On The Mountain!

2009-08-21T02:15:00.001-07:00

Plateau High Up In The Mountains

Thank you for praying. By God's grace the trip went well yesterday. It was a trip with a single purpose, to fellowship with and encourage our dear brothers and sisters who are serving faithfully in the remote mountain areas of the state.

We started first thing in the morning with several brothers and drove for about an hour on level ground before reaching the mountains. From then on our trajectory was vertical. We wound our way up though the mountains for two hours before arriving at the village which was tucked away in a small valley.

The mountain driving portion of the trip was slightly harrowing since following the road meant the vehicle's direction would change constantly as we zigzagged our way up the side of the mountain as fast as we could - all the while dodging oncoming traffic because the road was one lane wide.

That was pretty exciting stuff, and consequently one of the brothers lost his lunch a few times on the way back. After the last time he was moved to the front, and I ended up taking his seat and discovered that the seat was still yellowish and moist since all the mess hadn't been cleaned up.

I faced it like a man, and after an hour or so, it reminded me (in an incomparable way) of my sin, which reeked infinitely more, yet Christ valiantly took it upon Himself and bore it on the Cross, along with the sin-stench of countless multitudes of others whom He died for. In life sometimes taking up my cross has meant taking the seat no one else wants to sit in. It's messy business.

Christ Came To Take Our Filth To Himself

The time at the village was wonderful. The director was blessed to fellowship with a few pastors and their wives from the area. I really enjoyed seeing them all as well as breathing the relatively fresh mountain air and soaking in the majesty of God's creation.

I was basically along to pray, take pictures, and smile at the people. And I definitely consider it time well spent.

For your viewing pleasure, I created this four and a half minute youtube video which will rapidly take you all the way though yesterday's exciting journey in less than five minutes. I am still experimenting with Google soundtracks, so please bear with the audio selection.

Enjoy!

Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ

Away For The Day

2009-08-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

One of India's beautiful mountain ranges

(Posting one day in advance)

Sorry everyone, I am going to be out and about in one of the mountain areas for the day of August, 20th. Lord willing I will be back on the 21st with a story of God's providence and some interesting photos and video footage. In the meantime, please pray that the Lord will bless this time and be glorified in it.

Grace and Peace,

Josh

Tears Of The Saints

2009-08-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

Considering the length, this is without a doubt the most realistic, most compelling missions video I have ever seen. (6 Min.)

[HT: JT]

Obed's Interview

2009-08-17T02:24:00.001-07:00

Obed Shares His Heart

[Download Mp3!]

On India's 62nd Independence day (63rd if you count the first year) I interviewed Obed. He is the newest addition to our ministry and hails from Mokokchung, Nagaland.

Mokokchung, Nagaland:
Obed's home is just left of the lower-left hand corner

Obed dedicated his life to the Lord in 2001 with a goal to serve the nation of India and particularly the Naga people of India. In his own words he wants to be "a change maker in the ailing society."

He has studied in William Carey's world famous Serampore university and by God's grace, holds a Bachelor's of Divinity.

Obed has committed himself to work with our ministry for the next two years before returning to his native state to serve there. He is currently teaching computer and guitar classes in our school, and leading worship on Sunday night service at our main campus church.

You can download the compete interview by clicking here.

The video interview is also available in High Quality, so please select it if you want it.

List of questions selected for the video edition:

1. What has the Lord done in your life?
2. What are the main dangers facing the church in India from without and within?
3. If you could change any one thing in the Indian church, what would be the one thing you would change?
4. What is the main message pastors are preaching these days?

Christ-Centered Worship

2009-08-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

This video is a helpful introduction to Bryan Chapell's new book, Christ-Centered Worship: letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. I appreciate Bryan's Christ-centeredness, and his work in Christ-Centered homiletics. Like many around the globe, I have immensely benefited from utilizing his seminary's worldwide classroom resources where he has made more than twenty seminary level courses available for free download. Also, a friend of mine, Gray Ewing is currently attending his seminary.

[HT: JT]

India's 62nd Independence Day

2009-08-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

10th Class Boys From Our School Salute The Indian Colors During Their March Today

It was sixty-two years ago today that India became an independent nation. This morning our school held a celebration in honor of this event. [Video at bottom of post]

10th Class Boys Demonstrate Their Acrobatic Skills

10th Class Science Project Award Winner

8th Class Science Project Award Winner

Indian Airforce Maneuvers

Here is a little video I put together from the event this morning;

Warnings About Words

2009-08-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Calvin and Hobbes on Writing

Today is my Dad's birthday, so I am dedicating this post to him. Dad, if you're reading this, Happy birthday, and thanks for being such a great dad, and teaching me to love God, and treasure truth about Him!

This comic strip is both funny and clever because of its witty insight into one of the most extravagant travesties of modern day academia.

The point is this, people, especially those of the scientific, teaching, or preaching realm are all too often speaking and writing, not to bring clarity, understanding, and truth but to obscure it in darkness by the means of a grandiose misuse of words and language.

I am a believer in big words - believe me, I believe in using them, and I do use them as much as I can. Especially when discoursing about our sovereign God. However, what I am convinced is important, is that we should (as much as is humanly possible) use words fitting for our great God. An infinite God should not be marginalized in our talking and writing by using small words. This is something worth fighting for, because it's about God's glory, and because people's understanding of it in our speaking and writing is at stake.

So in this post I want to take another look at words and language. The last time I took a stab at it [Words of Life], I focused on the current language of theology and our need to reestablish and recover theological language that has been carelessly dropped out of the church's every day vocabulary.

One of our endeavors is to work towards bringing back to light, propositional truth about God (and knowledge of ourselves) so that it (the truth) does not lie scattered on the floor of the theological wasteland that is the 21st century; and all preceding centuries to various degrees for that matter.

So in order to ramp this topic up to the next level, I am going to reflect on words themselves, particularly how they are used and misused. I am also going to use to our advantage, a few helpful thoughts penned by Isaac Watts, a Christian preacher, and writer from the 18th century who had an acute understanding of words and language, and the dangers attached.

Isaac Watts: The Father of English Hymnody, Pastor and Logician

"Do not always imagine that there are ideas wheresoever there are names. . . too often we use some words in mere waste, and have no ideas for them; or at least, our ideas are so exceedingly scattered and confused, broken and blended, various and unsettled, that they can signify nothing toward the improvement of the understanding" Watt's Logic pg 82

"Never rest satisfied, therefore, with mere words which have not ideas belonging to them, or at least no settled and determinate ideas. Deal not in such empty ware, whether you are a learner or a teacher; for hereby some persons have made themselves rich in words and learned in their own esteem, whereas in reality their understandings have been poor, and they knew nothing." Watt's Logic pg 82

Watt's goes on and explains that there are those who use great words such as Gospel, God, Redemption, Atonement, etc. but have no concrete idea as to the propositional truth that those words signify.

". . . neither they themselves nor their hearers have any settled meaning under those words: and thus they build up their reasonings, and infer what they please, with an ambition of the name of learning, or of sublime elevations in religion; whereas in truth they do but amuse themselves and their admirers with swelling words of vanity, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. Watt's Logic pg 82,83,

Commemorative Statue of Watts, Abney Park, London

That is sobering, and I can see much truth in his assertions. It seems to me that words such as the word Gospel are used by people everywhere in Evangelical circles, but often without any proper knowledge as to what it signifies. (i.e. Gospel means good news, not good advice. The Gospel is primarily about God, and the great things He has done for us in the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, and exaltation of His Son, Jesus Christ, all according to a determined plan and purpose.)

Conversely there are also those who do know the historic, orthodox Gospel, but they are seeking to bury it in a cloud of obscurity. But perhaps most often we see words like Gospel, redemption, etc. used flippantly by Christian preachers and teachers who used them to add force to their messages without having a clear grasp of the words themselves.

So I, or anyone could quite convincingly say "The gospel is glorious. It is wonderfully fantastic. The gospel is the best hope that God ever gave us." without ever meaning a thing about Christ's finished work. Or the power of God to forgive sin because of Christ's historic suffering and death. In fact, I could mean something entirely different, and I could be using the word Gospel, which is a word most Evangelicals treasure, to hide a fallacy that I could be slyly trying to feed you. That's pretty scary.

In other words, it is quite possible to use the word 'Gospel' without even talking about the Gospel. Crazy huh?

We should use big words, and we should know what they mean, and those who listen to us should especially know what they mean, and how we are using them. To do otherwise amounts to nothing less than chaos, confusion and ignorance, and does not glorify God.

"Have a care of making use of mere words instead of ideas. . ." Watt's Logic pg 82

What do you think?

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Two Nagaland Fellowship Music Videos

2009-08-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

Nagaland Hymn: Very Interesting, A Cultural Masterpiece

Blessed Assurance: Listen to this guy's surprisingly powerful vocals!

These videos were taken at the annual Nagaland fellowship function last month. This is part of Shitio's vision for Nagas.

Enjoy!

Josh

India's Famines

2009-08-12T00:54:00.000-07:00

1943 Famine in Calcutta, India

India has advanced considerably since their independence from the British empire in 1947. No longer a third world country, they haven't suffered from major famines since the early 1970s which even then was averted by emergency foreign aid.

During the middle ages famines were so bad that entire provinces of India were depopulated. Famines continued to rage through the centuries claiming millions of lives up through the time India was incorporated into the British empire.

India was and still is (to some extent) heavily dependent on massive amounts of rainfall for a good harvest. However this year has been a dry one for several regions of India. I have been told that millions of dollars of crops have been lost already, and that there has been some talk of famine. By God's grace it does not appear that this year will be anything like the famines India has experienced in the past.

Famines are pretty sobering experiences, the bible has a lot to say about them. It is natural, even healthy for us to ask ourselves why they happen. Ultimately God says that He is sovereign over all things, including rain (Jer 5:24, Amos 4:7) Jesus points out that it is really amazing that God ever allows rain for those who don't believe in him. (Mat 5:45)

We can't say that anyone deserves drought more than another. Ultimately none of us are innocent - as Christ says about those whom the tower of Silaom fell on (Luk 13:4) - they were no more deserving of that terrible fate than any others. None of us are innocent, we all (Americans) deserve a 9/11, a hurricane Katrina, a Southeast Asia Tsunami, an Iranian Earthquake, and ultimately the greatest disaster of all, the second death that awaits everyone who's lives are not hid in Christ.

It's very sobering.

Here are a few photos that tell the stories of famines past in India.

Relief in Bellary, Madras Presidency 1877; more than 5 million died in India

Drought was a major cause of famine

Terrible

The 1876-1878 Great famine was tied to increased taxes and drought

Binnamungalum Relief Kitchen Bangalore 1877 same place as above photo

December 28th, 1943 Famine relief. Royal Air force airman hands out food.

As I write this article all I can think is how merciful God has been to withhold famine from our land for so long, and how great a warning the previous famines stand to instruct us not to turn away from Him. I pray also, that we will see the goodness of God in sending Christ to die for all our sins, and will live accordingly, by His grace.

I think there is a helpful connection between these two verses:

learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow." Isiah 1:17,18

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

The Lesser of Two Weevils

2009-08-11T01:50:00.001-07:00

Weevils

Today as I was sitting with Shalem Raju in his office he pointed out some fresh dates which he had been eating. As it turned out they had tasted bland. After a quick examination he had discovered the dates were infested with hordes of Weevils.

This morning they were still there.

It was interesting, it's not every day you get a chance to see a Weevil, so I started to take a picture of the little buggers. Then suddenly I had an idea - what if I set up a race between large Weevils and small Weevils? So as an experiment we set two of them on the table to see if it really was true that it's always better to choose the lesser of two Weevils.

Shalem's Tainted Dates: Deseeded, but not debugged

The Race of the Weevils

Reflections On The First Month

2009-08-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

A Happy Indian Villager

Well it has happened - the first month is over. It went by quickly, and now it is time to reflect on some of the Providences of God at work during this period.

Ministry:

God has blessed every day with much joy in Him, it has been fruitful. Fellowship with brothers in Christ has been excellent. One of the fruits has been this Blog. It has been a joy that I look forward to every day. I pray this grace continues and improves.

The interview series has been a challenge and a joy at the same time. I have some new ideas that I am planning to implement in the future interviews. I have at least three more scheduled at this point. Lord willing I will be able to take them and get them online this month.

Study:

I have been blessed to eat richly from the word and observe the transforming work of God on me. That has been wonderful.

While I have certain books I am studying, I am pursuing a special study of the Gospel and the effects and implications of the Gospel on the Christian life. I am hoping to write about some of this in the posts to come.

Culture:

Since I arrived I have been living on a diet consisting mostly of fried vegetable curries with a weekly meal of chicken curry.

As it turned out I experienced a few ugly encounters with rogue goats - you might be able to tell that I am not particularly fond of them - I think they despise me. However, one thing is certain, I do enjoy eating them. Curried goat on rice, mmm, tasty.

Got Goat?

Weather:

It has been raining sporadically. The weather has been warmer than usual for this time of year. It was only a few years ago this time there was so much rain that the streets were flooded.

The monsoons have a cooling effect that brings the temperature down into the 80s and 70s. But if the sun comes out the day after a hard rain the temperature skyrockets and the humidity reaches an insane level.

As I write this post it is 9:45am and the temperature is already 84 degrees even though the sky is overcast.

Lots of rushing water in front of the home base

Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate your support, it has been good, and I encourage you to continue to pray for the ministry and for me also.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Legal Conviction, Evangelical Conviction

2009-08-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

Legal Conviction:
Sinner is aware of his sin and filled with terror of the Wrath, Holiness and Justice of God against sinners and flees from Him

(Examples: Cain, Esau, Saul, Judas...)

What's the difference between Legal conviction of sin and Evangelical conviction of sin?

Evangelical Conviction:
Sinner is filled with fear and dread of God's justice, but also has a Godly sorrow over sin, repents of it and
turns his eyes to Christ in a just hope in the Gospel for forgiveness of sins.

(Examples: Hezekiah, the Ninevites, David, Peter...)

"Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off"

" and said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die." Exodus 20:18-19

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" John 3:14

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:32 ESV

I have been thinking about this for a few weeks. Any thoughts?

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Those Who Went Before

2009-08-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Madras Christian Cemetery

A few years ago I visited the cemetery of a major church in Chennai, India. Cemeteries are located sparsely in India since the vast majority of the deceased cremated. Cemeteries are mainly used by minority populations of Christians and Muslims.

This particular cemetery was an old one that the British established back in the late 1700s or early 1800s. I was struck by the heroic epitaphs which revealed how they lived and died a few centuries ago. So many long forgotten stories.

One epitaph in particular caught my attention and so I decided to see if I could find out more about the guy.

John Noble's Resting Place

NAT 1779
OB XVI. July 1827
AET 48

Here Rest
The Earthy Remains
Of
John Noble C. B.
Founder Of The Corps
Of Horse Artillery
On The Madras Establishment

Distinguished By All That
Adorns The Soldier The Citizen
And The Christian The Ardour
Of A Chivalrous Spirit Tempered
By Sound Judgment And Sustained
By A Just Confidence In His Own
Resources Generous And Warm
Affections Regulated By Strict
Integrity And The Crown Of His
Other Virtues Unaffected And
Humbly Piety

After A Brilliant Career Of
Military Service He Returned
From The Short Enjoyment Of
His Well Earned Honours In His
Native Land To Lay His Ashes In
This Theatre Of His Former Glory

G.552

Royal Horse Drawn Artillery

A few days later I googled him and found some hits that revealed more about his life. I discovered that most of the resources on his life are available in Google books. Apparently Noble was a good friend of the Duke of Wellington. You history lovers out there will remember him as the able British commander who defeated Napoleon at the decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Duke of Wellington

Here is Col. Noble's obituary;

THE LATE. COL. NOBLE

We have to add another to the long list of distinguished individuals whom this present year has taken from amongst us, in recording the demise of Lieut.-Colonel John Noble, of the Madras Artillery, Companion of the Bath, in his 48th year: which event took place during the night of the 16th instant, on board the Roxburgh Castle, when she had just completed her voyage from England.

The military career of Lieut.-Colonel Noble, C. B., was equally brilliant and useful. He participated in most of the principal services of the coast army, during the last 32 years, and was, on all occasions, distinguished for judgment, spirit, and decision. He formed the noble corps of horse artillery, both European and native, for which command he was selected in 1805, by Sir John Cradock, on the recommendation of his Grace the Duke of Wellington, whose confidence on service, and whose friendship in private life, Lieut.- Colonel Noble enjoyed and merited.

An obituary notice is, generally speaking, of all things the most difficult to pen. There are the many to conciliate and the few to satisfy; but, in the instance of Lieut.-Colonel Noble, the suffrages of most men will surely be united ; for while few have attained a more honourable distinction as a soldier, still fewer have acquired an equal degree of love and esteem as members of society. He had the happy talent to command without severity, and to preserve discipline and good order without losing the affections of his officers and men. He ruled through the medium of attachment, and those who served under him were professionally efficient and privately happy. He may, in word, without out disparagement to others, and without the fear of envy, (for envy dwells not in the tomb,) be held out as an example to the generality of those he has left behind him. His abilities were of the first order; and his tact and observation, aided by experience, had gained for him an unusual knowledge of his profession. He was pious without ostentation, just from principle, friendly from feeling, generous from the nobleness of his nature, brave and enterprising from a chivalric spirit, decided from an excellent judgment and consequent self-confidence. Character distinguished him, truth guided him, and honour accompanied him. He is gone! and his fame is the comfort and consolation of his surviving friends.—Mad.Gov.Gaz. July26,

Madras Horse Artillery in Action

It seems to me that this man was a Christian, a warrior, and a gentlemen. A lot has been recorded about his military career, I wish more had been recorded about his walk with the Lord as he served in Southeast Asia. It was once said, "how often faithful work is forgotten, and forgotten work is recorded above."

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Fighting For Joy

2009-08-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

Fight for Joy!

As the post title intimates, this is about fighting for Joy. A few years back I read Piper's book, When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy. I found it quite helpful and practical. It was a much needed sequel to Desiring God.

While Christ is the supreme object of our affections and giver of joy, Piper believes God uses means - means which point us back to Him.

"I believe untold resources for mental health and spiritual joy in God lie all around us if we would but open our eyes." Piper pg 197

Piper's old teacher, Clyde Kilby shared one way of overcoming, (as Piper calls it), our bent toward blindness for the wonders of the ordinary.

While I found this quite helpful, I urge caution and discernment. I understand them more as supplementary suggestions than imperative commands. Enjoy!

"1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above me and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death, when he said: "There is darkness without and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then there is nothing."

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what [C.S.] Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying, and ecstatic"existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is just now.

10. If for nothing more than the sake of a change of view, I shall assume my ancestry to be from the heavens rather than from the caves.

11. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life in the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls Himself Alpha and Omega." Clyde Kilby pg 197-198

The Book, a Supplementary Aid

Thanks for checking it out. I found this book chock full of helpful tools, and especially helpful in pointing us back to the Word and Prayer. Piper delves into how we can so read the text and so pray as to meet with God and enjoy Him; that we would glorify Him, and that He would fill us with joy in Him.

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

How To Read a Book

2009-08-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

Mortimer Adler

I just recently finished reading Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. It was the third edition of the original which was published in 1940.

I found it quite helpful in improving my approach to reading, and so I decided to share some of the highlights today.

First thing, before I begin, I have to say that while this guy was not a Protestant believer, he was a guy who knew books - he read a lot of them, and pretty much from every age. In the back of the book he has a recommended reading list which lists the books he considers the 137 greatest books ever written, from Homer and the Old Testament to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius to Calvin's Institutes, to the writings of Isaac Newton and Leo Tolstoy.

He was a Syntopical reader

Okay, now onto the helpful stuff

The book is not primarily a guide on how to become widely read, but how to become one who can read well, thus the name of the title. Not far into the book he states that he is aware that there are many out there who have read widely but have not read well, and cannot recall what they learned from what they read, they are poorly read, he says.

Oh, shame on me.

He makes a good contrast between passive reading and active reading.

"reading can be more or less active... the more active the reading the better... He [the reader] is better if he demands more of himself and of the text before him." Pg 5

He makes a big deal of the difference between reading for information and reading for instruction. He explains that reading for information is what happens when we read a newspaper, or magazine, or some book which informs us about something we don't know, or don't know very well. Reading for instruction is when we read with the purpose of actually increasing our understanding, or as he puts it, reading to be enlightened.

One way of explaining this he says is that, it is that it is the difference between being able to remember what's in the book and being able to explain it.

"Enlightenment is achieved only when, in addition to knowing what an author says, you know what he means and why he says it."

One of the signs, he says, that our understanding is growing is when we feel the shock of puzzlement and perplexity that comes from getting in over our depth. If we read though the entire work and find it has matched our current skills and talents and was altogether thoroughly intelligible to us, we are merely increasing our store of information, and our understanding remains at the level it was before we began the book.

Towards the end of his book, Adler asserts that the great majority of the several million books that have been written in the Western tradition alone-more than 99 percent of them-will not make sufficient demands on you for you to improve your skill in reading.

Adler Describes the Art of Reading a Book in This One and a half minute Interview

In the beginning of the book, he also makes a case for books as a means of education stating the difference between aided and unaided discovery (Pg 13), and Present and Absent teachers. (Pg 14) When learning by books we must ask questions of the books, since we can't ask a teacher, and we must find the answers by ourselves.

Adler asserts that there are four levels of reading. They are to be taken as consecutive co-dependent stages, not as separate methods for reading. Level 2 depends on Level 1, and so Level 4 would depend on Levels 1,2,3.

The Four Levels of Reading

1.) Elementary Reading
Basic reading skills, passing from non-literacy to literacy

2.) Inspectional Reading
Getting the most out of a book within a given period of time, much shorter period than needed for a full read.

3.) Analytical Reading
The best reading you can do. Reading preeminently for the sake of understanding. (Very demanding of the reader)

4.) Syntopical Reading
Reading several books on a particular subject with the purpose of constructing an analysis of the subject, which may not be found in any of the books. (The most demanding reading)

An Aged Adler, Still a Reader

Because serious readers will spend most their time reading analytically, he devotes most of the book to that. Adler explains that analytical reading consists of three stages.

Stage 1: Rules for Finding What a Book is About

1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter. (Know what kind of book you are reading)
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity. (A single sentence, a few at most)
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve

Stage 2: Rules for Finding What a Book Says (Interpreting Its Contents)

5. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words. (Find the most important words and through them come to terms with the author)

6. Grasp the author's leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences. (Mark the most important sentences in the book and discover the propositions they contain)

7. Know the author's arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences. (Locate or construct the basic arguments in the book by finding them in the connection of sentences)

8. Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as to the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.

Stage 3: Rules for Criticizing a Book as a Communication of Knowledge

A. General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette

9. Do not begin criticism until you have completed your outline and your interpretation of the book. (Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment, until you can say "I understand.")

10. Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously
11. Demonstrate that you recognize the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion by presenting good reasons for any critical judgment you make.

B. Special Criteria for Points of Criticism

12. Show wherein the author is uninformed
13. Show wherein the author is misinformed
14. Show wherein the author is illogical
15. Show wherein the author's analysis or account is incomplete.

I found Adler quite helpful in urging me onto more active and lively reading. His counsel on becoming a demanding reader is very practical. In short, as far as I know this is probably the greatest book on the subject of reading methodology that has been written to date. I hope you found something of this post helpful. I enjoyed reading the book and writing this article.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Joshua

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Even Sparrows

2009-08-05T03:58:00.000-07:00

An Indian House Sparrow

Four days ago as I was grabbing a cup of coffee from my percolator I noticed a sparrow perched on the ledge outside of the window. It was chirping and seemed distressed. As I began to watch the creature it started moving about rapidly, chirping and glancing about now and then. Suddenly it dawned on me that this was the first time I had really taken time to examine an Indian sparrow.

It's appearance was not much different from the American Midwest sparrows that live where I come from. In fact I couldn't discern any difference without googling for a photo of one from back home.

It didn't take long before the idea came to get up really close and take a detailed clip of it. I find it helpful to every now and then examine and meditate on God's creation as an aid to seeing the majesty and glory of God.

Here is the clip,

(Hint: I made this one available in High Quality, You might want to switch to 'HQ' to see all the clarity possible.)

Enjoy!

Joshua

Words of Life

2009-08-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Antoine Lavoisier Father of Modern Chemistry 1788

"...Ideas are preserved and communicated by means of words, it necessarily follows that we cannot improve the language of any science without at the same time improving the science itself" Antoine Lavoisier

Big concept here - if we improve the language of a science, improvement in that science automatically follows.

Inversely, it must follow that if we weaken the language of a science, that science will weaken accordingly.

Most of us have observed that there are many basic Christian terms that are considered "too difficult" for average believers. The language of Christianity and Christian theology in our time has in many ways has become forgotten, trampled and imprecise.

Ambiguity is rampant

Rather than improving our Christian vocabulary, and prizing precision, scholars and teachers everywhere are deconstructing it. Our theology is suffering and the words of our faith like, Justification, Atonement, Redemption, Adoption, etc. are rarely treated with care by those who should treasure them. Some are even purposefully redefined to the point of heresy.

Let us strive to speak simply, sincerely and passionately of divine matters, with an aim for clarity and helpfulness. Let us work hard to understand, treasure and teach the rich bounties God has accomplished and revealed in words like propitiation and expiation.

Grace and Peace,

Joshua

Reform Your Life And Doctrine, Meet With God In The Text

Naga Spear Dance

2009-08-03T00:24:00.001-07:00

Nagaland Sparring Match

Culture | Action

It's time for some action footage. In this clip some Nagaland boys demonstrate their traditional spear kicking contest by using a sandal instead of an actual spear. As far as I can tell, the idea here is to see who can kick the spear the highest. The higher it goes, the more popular he will be with the Nagaland ladies.

Nchumbemo Shitio Hosts Spear Kicking Contest

Monsoon Rains

2009-08-02T01:58:00.001-07:00

Lighting Strikes Near Our Headquarters

If you have been tuning into the interview series, you might have noticed that the sky has been overcast in every interview. Monsoon season is in full swing now, and we have been the recipients of some serious cloud bursting carnage over the past few weeks. It has actually been a challenge to find a slot for our outdoor interviews in the small windows of opportunity between rains.

This video is a collage of clips from around the headquarters typifying the Indian monsoon season. Enjoy! ...oh and the lightning strike is for real.

30 Seconds of Monsoon Madness!

"Christ Is The Greatest Thing In My Life"

2009-08-01T07:52:00.001-07:00

Pastor Rajesh from Chhatisgarh

Download MP3 Of the Complete Interview Here;

Okay, here we go again, its time to resume our interview series. I am really excited about this one. Rajesh has been a friend of mine for the past three and a half years. He is a friendly, easy-going, yet hard working pastor/leader from Chhattisgarh, India. I don't think I can count the number of times we have stayed up into the late hours of the night enjoying pleasant fellowship and discussing the wonders of our savior as we walk together towards the celestial city.

Chhattisgarh, India

Rajesh has been blessed to travel to Europe where he spent some time at theological schools there. Yet, even while he has spent time abroad and in academia, he never lost his desire to share the gospel with the diverse peoples of his home state of Chhattisgarh. For several years he has relentlessly traveled the rough mountains of his state to unreached villages where people still often live naked.

On a few occasions he was mistaken by government soldiers for a guerrilla fighter. There are many groups operating in the mountain regions. The people who live in the plains and cities rarely venture into the mountains, so goverment troops are highly suspicious of any they find out there. Because of that, he has spent a few times in prison for the sake of the name before being vindicated.

To be an even more effective steward of the gospel, Rajesh has opened up a training facility to equip others to do the same work. Rajesh has taken great pains to diversify his ministry. While he has a desire to reach those people in the mountains, he has not forgotten those in the city who are just as eternally lost as those living in the mountains.

**************************************************************************
DOWNLOAD THE MP3 OF THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW > HERE <
**************************************************************************

In the Youtube Version of the interview Rajesh tackles the following questions*;

*I have supplied a brief summary for each of Rajesh's answers

1.) Q. What has the Lord been doing in your Life?
(What are the greatest lessons you have learned?)
A. Christ has removed my sin

2.) Q.What are the main dangers facing the Indian church from without and within?
(Help us to understand how we can pray for the Indian church and how we can help.)

A. Sound doctrine is sometimes not in the church. Churches are sometimes growing, but sadly not in sound doctrine.

3.) Q. If you could change any one thing in the church, what would it be?

A. Trust in God, not in man. Depend on God, not on man.

4.) Q. What do you think the main thing being preached from the Indian pulpit today is?

A. They don't want to hurt anyone. Therefore they are mainly telling the love and compassion of God.

5.) Q. Do you have any special goals for improvement and growth this year?

A. Leadership programs in the church. Bringing up the local people.

6.) Q. As you visit churches, what signs do you look for that tell you if they are a healthy church or an unhealthy church.

A. The level of preaching, and how the people are concentrating on the word of God. (Singing and emotions not necessarily sings of a healthy church.) If the leader is taken away and the church can't stand anymore, then it's probably not a healthy church.

7.) Q. Is there anything on your heart that you would especially like to share with the church in the West?

A. The church is growing. The Indian church is not mainly in need of dependence on money, but they need the support of prayer, counseling, books, and teaching.

Dead Tired

2009-07-31T00:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm Tired

I am a bit tired, but I am going to take a crack at this anyways.

5AM Thursday, July 30th
I had a great 24 hour day yesterday. Shortly after the five O' Clock AM prayer meetings, we drove to the airport and picked up our director. From there we had a short time of thanksgiving and debriefing.

1PM Thursday
Got in some good reading and much needed prayer.

4PM Thursday
Later in the afternoon, the director asked me if I wanted to go with him to the 5th anniversary meeting at a church five hours drive South of here. I accepted his offer and we left at 4Pm. Thankfully we drove at only a moderate speed, even then we narrowly escaping death with each passing moment. Check out Peaceful Insanity to get a faint idea of the experience.

9PM Thursday
By the time we reached the meeting it was 9PM, and I had a smashing headache. And yet in spite of a three day journey across the world, the director still looked very much at the top of his game. (The meeting had been going on for a few hours by the time we arrived)

We walked from the car past the meeting into the house where we were served delicious fried snacks that tasted something like a doughnuts with a sweet honey filling. (Sorry no pics)

9:30PM Thursday
Beyond all my wildest expectations the director produced a type of headache relief pill from his briefcase. Amazingly, it didn't seem to help at all. I was not able to feel one ounce of relief the whole night . "There must be a design in this headache" I thought to myself.

About this time, our director joined the meeting, and I went out and sat down with the crowd. I whipped out my camera and took this video.

Sadly, that would be the first and last video/picture I would take. The freshly overnight-charged battery was dead after a few seconds. I reminded myself that God was in control, and thankfully my spirit remained at peace.

11:15 Thursday
The meeting was over and the believers dispersed for dinner. For some unknown reason my energy level was well depleted by this point.

Since the meeting was over we walked over to the parsonage... hm, before I go on, I should mention something about the meeting ground. It was situated on a plot of ground in the middle of a rice patty bog and was about 150 yards long by 75 yards wide and thankfully was raised up about a foot and a half above the bog that it was situated on.

I estimate conservatively that the surrounding rice field held just shy one million croaking frogs that night.

These little guys croaked up a storm

They fed us a delicious meal of fish, chicken, rice, curd and chilled monkey brains. I opted for just the rice and curd. I was surprised to see the director still going on strong after a three day round the world trip + a five hour drive + speaking for more than an hour at this meeting.

Dinner is Served

(just kidding about the monkey brains, to this day I have never encountered anything of the type)

12:00AM Friday
After finishing dinner, our merry band hopped in the car and we raced back to home base narrowly avoiding death every five minutes or so.

2:00AM Friday
After driving for some time it became apparent that our rent-a-car driver was having a hard time staying awake. This came to my attention after I noticed that he would stop the car every fifteen to thirty minutes to get out walk around and then come back and sit in the car and sleep for five minute power naps. I really wish I had been able to take a video of this. It was one of the more notably odd experiences I have had. Anyhow because of all the stops our homeward progress slowed to a crawl even though the roads were almost completely empty.

Somewhere about this time our director fell into a peaceful slumber.

5:00AM Friday

Hooray! By five in the morning we had made it safely back to home base and I silently gave a prayer of gratitude for our safety.

5:30AM Friday

I took a short nap and then woke up to write this blog post.

I'm out folks.

Grace and Peace

Luther on Salvation

2009-07-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

Martin Luther elegantly answers the trillion dollar question in a single sentence.

He-Man Versus Jesus

2009-07-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

Contender #1: He-Man of Eternia (Special Ability: Incredible Strength)

False Idols Vs. The King of kings

As I was growing up, like everyone else born in the last five decades I experienced several waves of super-hero cartoons that hit the networks. As a kid I discovered that my peers were enamored with them and could name off all the characters, their sidekicks, and their special abilities and powers. While there are different heroes on the networks today, at one time He-Man was the one who was revered by American children to be the most powerful being in the universe. As they saw it in their imagination, not even Jesus rivaled his power.

Why is Jesus thought to be a weakling?

Maybe because he is often portrayed as one.

One of the reasons Jesus appears weak to the masses is because of the way the church has portrayed him. This in part has to do with the fact that we believe in the incarnation of Jesus. But sometimes the church has gone too far with the incarnation and portrayed him solely in light of his human nature, particularly human frailty. It is brilliantly shown in Isaiah 53.

As important as the incarnation is, we must also take care not to forget the exaltation of Jesus. But more on that later.

Is this Jesus?

An Adult's World

Cartoon fantasy aside, we live in a world where we are faced with wave after wave of local and world leaders who are portrayed as having the power (or ability) to give a peace to the nations. People place their hope in them, in many ways they serve to replace the heroes of childhood.

Contender #2: Next Gen Politician (Special Ability: Tongue of an Asp)

I am reminded that all power and ability is given from God. Not even the secretary general of the united nations can lift a finger apart from the power which God has placed in his hands.

". . .For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."
Romans 13:1

Interestingly enough, even if they accomplished all their promises for a happy life, they could not stop death. The statistic is true, 10 out of 10 people born die, no leader in his right mind would dare to attempt to promise eternal life. No leader could promise that, except Jesus.

Feathered Hair Model Jesus: This is really sad

The Power of The Risen and Exalted King

Forget the two photos of Jesus you just saw, lets see what scripture says about Him.

"Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Mat 28:18

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" Heb 1:3

"In Him all things live and move and have their being" Paul: Mars Hill (Acts 17:28)

After Jesus accomplished his mission of redemption, the bible teaches us that he ascended into heaven where he is now seated at the right hand of God ruling in power. (Ac 7:55, Ro 8:34, Eph 1:20-22, 1Pe 3:22) This is Jesus in His exalted state. I can't show you a picture of the exalted Jesus. In fact no one is capable of drawing a picture of of Him in His magnificence.

God knew this, and He allowed men like John in the bible to record majesty of Christ in heaven by the written word. Since we don't have accurate pictures the only place for us to get a vision of the majesty of God is to read about it in the text. It really helps us to read passages like Isaiah 6, (He is holy) Revelation 5 (Heavenly worship) and Revelation 19. (The Word is mighty in Battle) If the Spirit doesn't illuminate your soul after that, all I can suggest is to pray for some faith and a new set of eyes.

The real hope for a better life doesn't come from cartoon heroes or world leaders, it comes from Jesus and His gospel of peace. Not only does the gospel give hope, but it compels us to forsake this life and serve God in light of the hope of a better life to come - Your Best Life Later.

The Power of Jesus' Message

The gospel is powerful, it has to do with huge, earth-shaking, life-changing things. In fact it is the central, unifying message of the bible. At the center of the gospel we see Christ and the justice, power, love and wisdom of God displayed with unparalleled clarity.

Not only do we see the power of God to save sinners, but we see the power of God to continue to change the lives of believers. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul states that of everything he taught, the gospel is the thing of first importance. Our lives must be lived in light of the good news.

We can never move away from the gospel. Its the main issue at hand for everyone, and if I'm not mistaken, something is wrong when we make secondary issues the main issues.

Jerry Bridges puts it well when he states;

"The gospel is not the most important message in history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living their lives by it."

Lets work on preaching the gospel to ourselves. Every day we are in serious danger of taking our eyes off Christ. We need to remind ourselves that we are still sinners in need of a savior. We need Jesus as much today as the day we first believed - We will never reach a point in our lives where the saving blood of Jesus is no longer needed. In the end after all we have done for the Lord it's only Jesus who can present us faultless before the throne of God.

Contender #3: God (Special Ability: All Power in Heaven and Earth)

Recap

Well that's it, I hope and pray that we will spend more time seeing and savoring the savior in the text; Meditating on both His incarnation and His exaltation. May we truly treasure Christ and the Gospel of peace we have been entrusted with.

Please feel free to add to this. I am searching for some comments on this one. I actually turned comment moderation off in hope to get some discussion going.

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform Your Life And Doctrine, Meet With God In The Text

[HT: Resurgence]

Lyrical Theology

2009-07-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

Shai Linne

Another dose of lyrical theology is due. In our last helping, I featured Shai Linne's catchy Q&A catechism. This time around I am going lay down a few more lyrical morsels for us to chew on together.

Since I mentioned Shai Linne, lets start with him.

The Atonement: In Adam All Die (Shai Linne)

We’re cursed from our birth, sinning from the beginning
The womb to the tomb, depraved to the grave
Astray every day, every breath brings death
In Adam all die, In Adam all die

Rebel: Go Hard (Lecrae)

Lord kill me If I don't preach the gospel

Running from my trials thinking everything's groovy
If the Cross don't move me, then I don't wanna breath no more
If I ain't seeing Christ partner, I don't wanna see no more"

Identity Crisis: Make War! (Tedashii)

Persistently attacking me - they're even in the back of me
It's either fight or loose my life and I can't take this passively
So what you think I'm bout to do - I'm bout to do what I can do
Trust the ONE who got me through - and fight like it was after school
Never giving up - steady, standing on the battle field
Feet firm to the ground like I stepped on Chappel Hill

I MAKE WAR! - Cause sin never sleeps
It's got me in a trance - you can see it in my dreams
I MAKE WAR! - Man I beat my flesh
To the death - every breath - like I beat my chest
I MAKE WAR - sun up
I MAKE WAR - sun down
I MAKE WAR - time in
I MAKE WAR - time out
I MAKE WAR - against lust
Against pride - against me - until I die

Any thoughts?

An Indian Wedding: A Brief Photo Journey

2009-07-27T00:11:00.001-07:00

Jeevan and Paulina Gorantla

Many Peoples, Yet One People

One of my desires for the use of this blog is to bring at least two worlds together. Though we are one body in Christ, believers all across the world are still very much separated from each other both geographically and culturally.

While our unity is in Christ, His word and the truth it contains, (things we hopefully have come to terms with) we could all do better to understand the contexts in which Christian ethnic groups all around the world live the Christian life.

In a small way I will contribute by utilizing this blog for that purpose. It should also be fun and exciting while informing us and bringing about a better understanding of God's world.

Today I am posting some photos from a good friend's wedding which took place last month.

Brief Background Bios

Jeevan has been based in Sweden working for ST-Ericsson for the last few years and has a strong desire to support ministries back in India. He is a really fun guy who loves the Lord, and it has been my privilege to be his friend. Paulina comes from a strong Christian family that has been involved in gospel ministry for several years. She also has a desire for ministry.

The Bride: Paulina

The Groom: Jeevan

The Message

Exchanging Rings

The Rings (Accidentally smaller than the ring finger)

The Obligatory Showering

First Cake

Music On The Mountain

2009-07-26T00:05:00.000-07:00

This video represents three week's effort on the part of Steve McGarvey and myself back in the summer of 2006. Neither of us were very familiar with the process of creating a quality music video. Nevertheless we took a crack at it and armed with a guitar and a 3 CCD camera we crawled up the mountain, fought hoards of army ants, wild goats, strange bees, thorns and the blistering heat.

The filming turned out to be the easy part. After climbing down the mountain we spent an hour or two every day for the next three weeks in the recording studio working on the audio. In the end the sound was satisfactory, but still needed some work.

The video was originally filmed in the PAL format. I recently recoding it to match Google's NTSC format so it's a little choppy now, but definitely viewable.

Goats: Nuff Said

2009-07-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

A Deuce of Goats Stand Defiantly on Our Baptism Pool

Bad News

A goat herd took up residency in our garden late yesterday evening.

While much of the damage occurred in the night, this video reveals the continuing demise of our luscious garden as it is beset by the herd today. Everything green will be gone in the next few hours. (Take careful notice of the master goat waggling his ears menacingly at me.)

The Ballad of Tyler Bell

2009-07-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today I feel compelled to post a little something about my good friend Tyler Bell. He has been faithfully serving the Lord in Ponca, Nebraska as a full time worship leader since June this year. It was six years ago now that as we were jogging together on one of those breezy summer evenings he relayed to me that famous statement,

"God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him."

and also

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever."

That was a radical concept to me at the time. Although I was familiar enough with the Westminster catechism to know that the chief end of man was "to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever", this "new" idea of glorifying God by enjoying Him took some time to understand. As I recall, I think I spent several months wrestling over it before I started to see the truth in it by God's grace.

The Westminster Standards

So I thank God for that timely introduction to a great truth, and for the wonderful fellowship I have with Tyler, and for the continuing work of God in his life. By the grace of God that little conversation six years ago ultimately made a considerable impact on my soul.

Tyler and Joana will be getting married in a few weeks

Wrapping It Up

Here is a clip where Tyler plays one of his favorite Phill Wickham songs by the light of a campfire along the Missouri river several miles up North from the Ponca landing. Sounds pretty good huh!

Give The Gospel Not Gimmicks

2009-07-23T02:58:00.001-07:00

Get it? [Click to Enlarge]

Oh no, Not another Polemic!

Here goes... this is a serious subject, but I will try to make it as winsome as possible. A few years ago I listened to Keith Green's message, What's Wrong With The Gospel? The message was a response to the average evangelical "gospel" message. As you may know, Keith was not on target everywhere (imputation in particular) but he made an excellent thrust in the right direction with it. Keith's point basically boiled down to this; the pure gospel has been perverted, and now has both missing parts and added parts.

Keith Green preached Christ

There is nothing wrong with the true Gospel in its purity, and so there is no need to water it down or sugar it up, it is the power of God unto salvation... Romans 1:16

However in spite of this truth, we often hear the "gospel"portrayed as;

"Let (or ask) Jesus into your heart."
"Make Jesus the Lord of your life."

...or even more blasphemously, "Put Jesus on the throne of your life"

So What Is The Gospel Then?

It's good to mention this again, the gospel is good news, not good advice. That is one of the key distinctions in which Christianity differs from every other religion. The pure gospel is not about something, or anything that we must do.

The gospel is about what God has done in Jesus for us, not what we must do for Him. It is amazing that while in our time of relative ease people feel it isn't good enough Paul said in his day of affliction that he was not ashamed of it.

The gospel consists in the narrative of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as recorded in the four New Testament gospels. This is good news beyond all we could ever hope for - even though we are undeserving, God had mercy on us. He did this for forgiveness and removal of sin, satisfaction of the justice of God and declaration of righteousness for a right standing with God for those who believe in Him. All this as Peter put it, that He might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

"Having made peace through the blood of his cross... in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight. If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel." Colossians 1:20-23

By God's grace lets stand unashamed and uncompromising for the gospel in this age of subtle reconstruction of the truth.

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform Your Life And Doctrine, Meet With God In The Text.

Hallelujah! All I Have Is Christ

2009-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am posting a music video clip from this year's NEXT conference. I thank God that songs like this are still being written!

The Next conference featured excellent speakers including; Joshua Harris, Kevin DeYoung, D.A. Carson and Sinclair Ferguson amongst others. Messages dealt with foundational topics such as The Preeminence of Christ, Christ's Life, Death, Resurrection and Return, and Just Do Something. (knowing the will of God, very helpful) You can browse and download the messages here.

I recommend that you read these powerful lyrics. They are worth meditating on.

ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

[HT: BKauflin, GWyoming]

The Earth: A Visual Aid To Understanding the Glory of God

2009-07-21T01:47:00.001-07:00

First Earthrise sighting, Apollo 11 Mission

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. In a recent article, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon recently commented on the significance of the historic event;

"The pictures we and our fellow lunar astronauts took of the moon and the Earth changed forever our concept of our place in the universe. We saw the Earth as alone, fragile and in need of protecting and preserving. Those images helped give birth to the environmental movement."

Lunar Module Pilot, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

Wouldn't it have been great if that historic moment had instead given birth to a widespread movement of man towards God? If we were as 'enlightened' as we think we are in our free-thinking society then I am certain we would have. Alas, Adam's posterity is as spiritually blind as ever. Only a move of God could give birth to such a thing.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. (Psalms 19:1)

The heavens are provided by God as a visual aid to help us apprehend His glory. That is one place to start in apprehending the majesty of an infinite God.

Issac Watts said the following in his treatise on Logic,

"If finite beings are not adequately known by us, much less the things infinite: for it is of the nature of a finite mind not to be able to comprehend what is infinite"

Watts also points out that while we cannot comprehend God in the sense that we can't wrap our minds around Him comprehensively, we can apprehend what truth is revealed about God in scripture. So we should not say that God is an ineffable mystery, that is, He is too mysterious to be expressed or described in words. (oddly enough, the word "ineffable" is a word used to describe things which can't be described with words) While as great and mysterious the Godhead is, we can and do describe God with words, and this is okay, because He describes Himself in great detail with words in His word.

Particularly we know God best as seen in the incarnation and exaltation of Jesus, He is the best visual representation of God, He is God.

I do wonder sometimes if the human mind in it's current state of frailty and weakness prefers to believe in what it can comprehend. Buzz Aldrin was right. "Earth worship" has become increasingly popular since people first saw in full color how small the earth really is. Suddenly the earth was larger than just the neighborhood, city, state or country one was living in, it was a planet in its entirety. It could be comprehended as a whole, yet today we are still having a hard time comprehending all its parts.

And here's the shocker, even if we could, we could never concentrate on all the parts comprehensively in any one given moment of thought. Amazingly, God can.

Space exploration comes up from time to time in conversations. So I am resolved by God's grace to use the opportunity to demonstrate that the wonders of creation (such as outer space) serve to point us to the Creator.

"For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform Your Life And Doctrine, Meet With God In The Text.

Serving Christ in Orissa

2009-07-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Pastor T.K. Raju

Today I am introducing Pastor T. K. Raju, a Children's evangelist and pastor from Orissa. T.K Raju hold a Bachelors of Arts from a school in Orissa, and a Master of Divinity from ICCS (International College of Cultural Studies, Operation Mobilization)

Serving Christ in the North

While T.K. Raju pastors a small church, he is also working with the I.E.T (Indian Evangelical Team) in children ministry. Each week he visits an average of two churches, training Sunday school teachers with a goal of bringing children into a saving knowledge of Christ. By the grace of God he has trained teachers in all thirty districts of Orissa. This year they held 130 children camps around the region teaching about 15,000 children.

He says his vision is to someday build a home for children and drug addicts.

Brief testimony of persecution

Last year one night as he was sleeping peacefully at his home in Orissa, a mob of around 4000 (many drunk and armed with pistols) stormed into a nearby village and began to destroy Christian property and to search for believers. Raju and many from his village managed to escape into the mountains, but some did not make it and died for their faith.

In the youtube version of the interview TK Raju answers most of the ten previously asked questions. All the questions are treated in the mp3 version.

I trust everyone has benefited from this interview series. It has assisted me personally as I search for answers and pray for understanding. And not only that, but by God's grace the nature of the questions has sparked some serious thinking amongst those who are participating, including those who are behind the scenes.

Click here to Download the Interview Mp3 Audio!

"My Grandfather Was A Headhunter" Part 2

2009-07-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

Black and white photographs taken by R.G. Woodthorpe, c.1873-1875 Tangkhul Nagas photographs Tangkhul Woodthorpe/ R.G.(1873-1875). Pitt Rivers Museum Archive, Oxford AL.62.1.4

As promised, here is the complete interview with Professor Shitio in audio format. All the questions are treated here as well as additional impromptu questions which show up sporadically.

MP3 DOWNLOAD

Click this link to download the mp3.

"My Grandfather Was A Headhunter"

2009-07-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Professor Nchumbemo Shitio

As crazy as it seems, I have already arrived at my second Sunday in India since leaving the States. That said, I am going to use today's post to return to our Indian leader/pastor interview series. Today I am introducing professor Nchumbemo Shitio, a seminary lecturer from Nagaland. He is quick to point out that his name is difficult to pronounce, and so he simply goes by Shitio.

He has a special burden to return to his state and strengthen his people in the Lord by preaching, conducting seminars, and raising up Christian schools. His native state of Nagaland is home to an hard working people who seriously took up the evangelism of their own tribes. While the Nagas previously consisted of several tribes of fierce headhunters, including Shitio's grandfather, today by God's grace at least 95% of the people in the state claim Christianity as their religion.

However with Christian apathy, humanist philosophy and secularism on the rise in Nagaland, Shitio often stresses, "I feel like a Jonah running from where God wants me." "I should clean my own house before attempting to clean my neighbor's." His humble plea to the West is to remember the too often overlooked Christian states in their prayers and support.

The original interview was 35+ minutes, and it was painful to trim it down to fit Youtube's ten minute time constraint. So sadly, for brevity's sake I left out some important points. I will be posting them in either video or audio form (maybe both) in the near future.

Questions treated in this condensed version of the interview;

1.) Tell us about yourself, how you came into the ministry, and what you are doing now.

2.) What are the greatest lessons God has taught you in the last year?

3.) What is the main motive for your ministry?

4.) Is there anything on your heart that you like to share with the church in the West?

The full list of questions asked in the original interview:

1.) What has the Lord done in your life?

2.) What are the greatest lessons you have learned?

3.) How have you observed Christ building his church in India?

4.) What is your greatest motivation for ministry?

5.) What is your vision for ministry?

6.) What are the main dangers facing the Indian church from without and within?

7.) How does an Indian evangelist reach his people with the gospel?

8.) Can you give me an example of a typical gospel proclamation in a village, street corner or city?

9.) What are you reading these days and have you learned anything important for your life?

10.) Do you have any special goals for growth this year?

11.) Is there anything on your heart that you would especially like to share with the church in the West?

Reflections on the First Week

2009-07-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is my new friend Fluffy, or was it Scruffy?

From Blog External Photos

Well this is amazing. My first week in India has passed and it seemed to last for only a moment. Here are the highlights;

1.) Great reunion with the family, staff and children.

2.) Very much needed time to reflect on my life and lessons learned this year, and especially time to spend in unhurried communion with God.

3.) I'm back in action on the front lines.

4.) Lots of feasting (This is serious business now, we had three back to back functions this week, so lots of good food)

5.) Met this year's DTC class and got to know some of them a little bit.

6.) Simply fantastic fellowship with some brothers from Nagaland.

7.) This blog! By God's grace I found time and motive to blog a little bit in the morning before I start the day. That's pretty cool.

8.) Yesterday was Isaac Watt's birthday. It's still 'today' for all of you living in the past on the other side of the world. He is the father of English Hymnody. God used him at great pain to his own life to move the Church in England away from solely reciting the psalms in their worship services.

Check out this excellent mini-documentary of his life if you haven't seen it yet.

Thank you for your prayers, please be encouraged to keep them up.

Soli Deo Gloria

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Tochimong's Testimony

2009-07-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I will post some videos featuring interaction with Indian pastors and leaders. Some will be from local areas, others will be from different states. In particular, I am planning a series of interviews that may shed more light on the current state of Christianity in India.

Today I am posting a five minute clip featuring selections from yesterday's interview which I held with a young pastor from Nagaland, India who is just setting out on the mission field.

For the sake of brevity I have condensed this interview down to three questions out of the original ten.

Questions treated essentially consist of;

1.) What has the Lord done in your life?

2.) What are some important lessons you have learned?

3.) Is there anything on your heart that you would especially like to share with the church in the West?

To assist some or most of you who may perchance have difficulty understanding his accent, I am posting the transcript of the interview below.

[Joshua]
Okay, so I am here with Tochimong who has just completed his bachelors of theology. And he is originally from Nagaland - born and raised in Nagaland. And ah - why don't you just start by telling us a little bit about yourself - where you were born, what kind of environment it was, and how God brought you into the ministry - Just a short five minutes or less summary.

[Tochimong]

Okay, let me tell something about my life, how I came to study theology.

I was born in a Christian family. Even though I was born in a Christian family, most of the time I used to go to church and I used to lead the children and the young people, I never committed fully my life to God. Because when I was studying at high school I did not learn fully about Jesus. At one time I thought to study theology, but because of some financial problem I could not study theology. But one time God called me and showed me in my vision to go and tell whatever he speaks to me. Then I committed fully my life to Jesus.

One time I got sickness. At that time I was praying for healing but at that time I did not commit my life fully to Jesus so He didn't heal me. I was praying... but at last I committed my life fully to Jesus. And after three days I took fasting and then God healed my sickness completely. And then I committed my life fully to Jesus and I started to study theology.
. . .

[Joshua]
Are there any particular lessons in your life which God has taught you, that are important to you?
. . .

[Tochimong]
Yeah. Even though I was born in a Christian family I never did good things for the Lord, though God has done great things through my life. Many times God saved me from the grave.

. . .

And once, the great thing in my life. One vehicle came and hit my body recently. But a very amazing thing happened to me, even though the big vehicle came and hit on my back I did not feel pain on that day and the vehicle owner came and asked me what happened. Then I told the vehicle owner, because I didn't feel anything even though with a broken kidney. So I told that vehicle owner, 'no problem, you don't worry, but you drive carefully, if you hit another person, he will die.'

On that day when the vehicle came and hit me, the sound also came. "Thud" But it never hurt - my life. So God has done great things in my life. Even though I don't have a mother and father, I lack nothing. Every time whatever I need, God provides everything.

[Joshua]

So the final question and this is the one that is probably the most important question and - the least amount of pressure. Is there anything on your heart that you would especially like to share with the church in the West? Anything that is just burning on your heart that you think would be of service to Christians around the world? From your life - from your knowledge of God - anything?

[Tochimong]

Yeah, anytime I am thinking about the Westerner's life, even though I never visited their village - place. I have seen on the television how the Western lifestyle is. Even my people also, they used to imitate how the Westerners are using the phones and speaking. And most of the people they used to imitate the style of speaking, so I want to encourage the Western people to improve their spiritual life and how they are growing their spiritual life. And I want them to come and share their spiritual life.

[Joshua]

Excellent. Well thank you Tochimong for sharing with us. And may God bless you in ministry.

Creative Culture

2009-07-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well here goes nothing. Today I am posting a 2 minute clip featuring one of our school's musicals. Now before you perchance dismiss this as yet another school program, let me assure you that it is anything but ordinary. I am fairly confident that you will be shocked when you witness the high energy on display. Michael Flatley eat your heart out, these kids rock!

It's programs like this one coupled with an ambition for excellence that sets our school above the local competition. Private education is very competitive here in India. But by God's grace our principal Sunitha has done a great job in transforming a small school into a quality institution that generates revenue and provides a place for the education of the children staying in the children's home.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Peaceful Insanity

2009-07-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a few posts ago you saw the city from the air. Now lets zoom in and take a closer look. This clip shows the view from the back of a Tata Sumo which we rented. We were driving on a small section of the National highway that runs from near Calcutta (Kolkata) all the way down the East coast to Madras (Chennai). It's a relatively peaceful stretch of road, so I don't think you will find yourself getting queasy whilst watching it.

One important thing to keep in mind is that there is a method to the madness. You may have noticed that those motorcyclists who were weaving through traffic appear quite calm. However it's still quite a hair raising experience for first timers.

God has been especially gracious to me in that He has not subjected me to any major accidents. Up to this point it has only been the occasional fender-bender. Most of the time the drivers that Providence has appointed are easy-going and willing to follow the pace of traffic. However I have experienced some rides in India where the drivers thought that driving is a Nascar style sport and therefore we must fly though traffic and livestock at speeds just shy that of light.

"Run little goats, run for your lives" passes through my thoughts during those times.

I will post some more extreme driving clips in the posts to come.