Distribution of Grace

The Distribution of Grace, a series on how God has shown His redemptive plan through the Bible and into our modern times. My goal with this series is not to incite a theological debate, but to bring out the truths of the Word about how God dealt with man, so that our students will have a greater understanding.The purpose of giving you a place to interact is just that, a place to post your thoughts and insights. I will moderate only the very decisive comments that do not fit our post.
The goal here is what should our response to God's grace be?

An Evangelical Indictment

Pretty harsh words to swallow, but I think we deserve them. Here's the findings of a recent Pew Foundation Survey of beliefs in America.
We've really messed up. A generation has lost sight of the harbor because we didn't keep the light on in the lighthouse.
A lighthouse has to have absolutely clean glass, the lenses were cleaned everyday, and they weren't just ordinary pieces of glass. At the time of manned lighthouses, the light used a Fresnel lens. They focused the light and intensified the beam to cut through the night and storms to show the way to the safe harbor.

I think some hard questions need to be answered:
Am I willing to take responsibility for my failure to keep the light on?
Am I going to re-trim the light, and clean the glass?
We have a generation that has already begun to sink and we need to get in the water to get them out, are we prepared?
Who will take over the light house when we are gone? The church is never more than one generation from extinction, and now more so than ever.
Do I know the truth of the Bible? Have I compromised it in my teaching or beliefs?

The clarion call of alarm has sounded, how do we respond?
(this is the reader participation part: comments.)

Special thanks to my friend at the court house who smuggled me and the camera into the empty court room for photos.

Working with one hand

A shovel in one hand, a defense in the other: Armed with an umbrella in my left hand, and a camping shovel in my right, battled the rain. It came down in buckets which is why I was out there, one tent was on one side of the campsite, the other tent was on the other side, but the rain came down the hill, crossed the road, and drained all across the campsite. The water was pooling up on the uphill side of the tents. It was only a matter of time, before my girls were sleeping in water. I trenched around the tents, but it was much like New Orleans during Katrina, there was so much water the trench was full and levees couldn't hold back the water very well. I trenched again, and again, I was soaked, but the girls slept on in the tents. I worked at it for a long time. When I was done, my hand wouldn't open up. It had gripped the shovel so firmly, it was nearly frozen in place.
It reminded me of Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem. The people were under the threat of attack. He armed the workers, a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other to keep rebuilding the wall.

Nehemiah 4:16-18
"From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me."

That's hard work, using only one hand just to scratch a ditch in some hard packed sand, they were carrying boulders and rock and mortar! This was not a human effort, only God could have sustained the work one handed. For He is able His strong arm is our shield and our refuge in a time of need.

II Samuel 23:9-10 (NIV)
"Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead."

My hand didn't save many, or a whole field of grain, but it saved three girls from sleeping in water (and myself).
When your strength gives out, God's strength begins.

God's Fireworks

In ancient times they were considered omens. Some cultures saw them as bad and some good. I think it's easier to think of them as God's fireworks. In this case, I didn't even see it with my own eye! I've enhanced the image, so you could see it better.
It reminds me of how small I am and how big God is. He's taking care of us each day at a time.

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

God is so big, and so good to us. He's still holding the world in the palm of His hand and has not grown weary or old. To me, there are no accidents (just convergence - that's for another post), there are divine appointments. I actually had two pictures back to back of a meteor! Two meteors, wow!
This summer take time to get away from the busy life, get away from the lights and see the awesomeness of what God has created reflecting the awesomeness of Him. Take a drive out into the country on a clear night, and gaze up into the open heavens.

C.S. Lewis wrote "Perelandra" the second book in his Space Trilogy. The king and queen there, the first man and wife (an Adam and Eve typology for you theological seminarians) were facing a very difficult temptation with the introduction of humans in the form of an evil physicist and his rocket.
Ransom, the main character is transported by "spiritual" beings to Venus to deal with mess that is about to occur, which will corrupt another planet forever. In essence Venus is a second Eden.
In Perelandra, the king and queen could not fathom looking beyond the golden dome of the sky to see the naked heavens and the greater universe that they live in.
It has a great ending, but I recommend reading the trilogy in order for it too make the most sense and even though they can stand alone, their is a far greater story by bringing them together.
Get out and enjoy our naked heavens, where God is the master artist who paints in fine strokes, the wonder and grandeur of the universe.

Cardboard testimony

A sermon about an indescribable, unfathomable, incomprehensible, all powerful God who comes into our lives and does what cannot be done to bring glory and honor to His Name.

This begs the question: If we did this at at my church, what would happen?

What's in a name?

I have been doing a lot of photography work, and part of the not as much fun side is the bookkeeping/processing. One of the things I noticed was the last names of the kids, many don't match the parents. I once heard of a couple who when they decided to get married, he took her last name, because it was respected and had a godly local heritage and he felt that it was important to his new family.

What's the value of a name?

• Heritage.
  
• Stability.
  
• Belonging.
  
• Security.
  
• Hope.
  
• Being known
  
• I am loved.

If all goes well, we shall adopt our niece and give her our last name sometime this year! She has found stability in her young life, here under our roof.

Unfocused Eyes

I was holding our new little Gwen, (7 lbs 11.5 oz, 20 inches) She finally opened her eyes so we could see more than a slit. She was searching for my voice, Dad was somewhere out there, just beyond sight. It is an interesting fact that babies can only focus their eyes a few inches out.
Here she was searching for the voice of her father, who loves her and will care for her, more than any other man in her life. I have her matching ID bracelet. Only her parents can access her and take her from the hospital. If anyone tries, the whole floor gets locked down! The elevators stop working!
There's only one relationship that has more love, more safety, and more security that than: God as our heavenly father loves us so much that no one can take us from His hand. His hand never grows tired or weak, and nothing has the power to snatch us away.
As gazed into her eyes of slate blue gray, she wanted to see me, she wanted to know who loved her so much, it hurt. Do I want to see God like that, knowing that He's there and loves me, holds me and cares about everything about my life. I can't focus on Him, because I can't see Him.
Do my spiritual eyes improve as I grow? Yes, but I'm myopic. Myopia which is the noun from which we get the adjective is defined by Miriam-Webster's as 1 : a condition in which the visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye resulting especially in defective vision of distant objects 2 : a lack of foresight or discernment : a narrow view of something.
I'll admit it, I am. God take away my myopia and focus my eyes on You.