Vacation - a relaxing time so far.

I'm enjoying a rare "staycation" this week. Usually when I take a vacation, it means travelling somewhere. Those times are enjoyable too, but there is something particularly relaxing about having some time off at home.

But, it's not as though we've been idle. So far this week we've gone bowling and ice-skating, played at "Bouncing Bears" (an indoor playground for kids), and visited the Iditarod museum. Robyn and I left the kids with Gran and Papa one night and had a nice dinner together. And tomorrow we're having a large group of people over for Thanksgiving.

But it's been a lot of fun to spend more time with the kids as usual, and to have my parents visiting. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

This is Moriah's first day of ice-skating. We figure kids growing up in Alaska ought to learn how to ice-skate.

Meredith has come a long way since she first started ice-skating.

I'm also proud of the way Maggie has improved.

The same goes for Sander.

Gran and Papa Paul with the kids at the entrance of the Iditarod Headquarters.

Sunday recap, and the first day of vacation

Yesterday was a particularly busy Lord's Day. I taught the adult Sunday School class in the morning before the service. The passage was Genesis 9:18-29, which includes the famous - or infamous? - verse in which Noah curses Canaan to be a "servant of servants" for his father Ham's sin. Incredibly, this verse was often used to defend the slavery of blacks, on the supposition that Ham's descendants included black Africans. This is a good example of an abuse of Scripture, and thankfully this interpretation has long been discredited.

The morning service was special for a couple of reasons. First, a new family formally became members of the church with their profession of faith. Second, I had the honor of baptizing two little girls. One was the baby of the family we had just received as members, and the other was our very own Monica. What a privilege it is to apply the sign and seal of God's covenant promises to the children of God's people! Some people were surprised at how much water I applied to their heads. I used a handful of water for each word, "Father," "Son," and "Spirit." So, the babies got fairly doused. But, as the water signifies the washing away of our sins by the grace of God, why not use a lot of it?

Here is a picture of the two girls. Monica is the one sleeping!

After having company over in the afternoon, I then preached at the evening service. By the end of the evening, I was exhausted. But today was the first day of a week-long vacation. I've been looking forward to this week off for a while now. I can use the break. Here is a picture of our family after the morning service.

Moriah's baptism, and a rat

Tomorrow I have the great privilege to baptize our fifth child, Monica. Not only is it a blessing to have Monica receive the sign and seal of God's covenant mercies, but it is a great honor to be the one to administer the sacrament to her.

The only other child of ours that I personally baptized was Moriah, our fourth. That was in 2007, when I was still serving as the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Norman, Oklahoma. Here I am holding Moriah, with elder Dave by our side.

The baptism itself went well enough, but I'm afraid the the day will always be remembered for something far less auspicious. It was the day the rat appeared at church.

After the service was over, some of the kids were playing in the dining hall behind the sanctuary when they saw the grey rodent scurrying across the floor. The kids were besides themselves with excitement. They were not afraid, mind you, just delighted to see a rat running around dining hall. I grabbed a broom with every intent to kill it. But the children would have nothing of it. At first I ignored their protests, but then I figured the spectacle of my bludgeoning a little furry creature to death could create a scene so unpleasant I would soon regret it. So, I opted for a more palatable way to deal with the rat. With help from others, I managed to trap the little rodent it in an empty garbage can. We then drove it out to a field and let it go.

I hope nothing like that happens tomorrow. I'd like to remember the day Monica was baptized simply as the day Monica was baptized.

Here is the little creature who got far better treatment than he deserved.

"Where is your treasure?"

Every year at this time, as I'm thinking about my message the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I recall the sermon I heard many years ago that pricked my conscience and increased my desire to learn more about the Christian faith.

It was 1992, and I was living in Lexington, Kentucky, where I was wrapping up a master's degree at the University of Kentucky (I still root for the Wildcats in basketball). I was 23 years old and not a believer at the time. But God was at work on my heart. I started to take a real interest in Christianity, remembering some of the Christian friends I had in college and wanting to know more about their faith in God (I recognized they had something within that I lacked). So, out of the blue, with no invitation or encouragement from anyone, I up and visited a local Presbyterian church. I was disappointed in the message, though. Even though I knew next to nothing about Bible, I recognized something wasn't right about the sermon. It didn't scratch where I itched.

A friend in school then invited me to a church he attended on Sunday mornings. I don't remember for sure, but I think it was a Presbyterian church as well. However, unlike the first church I attended, the preacher spoke as though he had a message from God to deliver. I don't remember much of the sermon, but I think the general theme was thanksgiving. What I do remember very clearly was him saying, on the basis of Matthew 6:21, "Where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Where is your treasure?" This last question drilled right into my heart. I couldn't stop asking myself, "where is my treasure, after all?" I knew it wasn't in heaven, and that that wasn't right.

Within a few months' time, after more study and after hearing more good preaching (though at a different church, because I soon moved from Kentucky to Missouri), I became a believer in Christ. As I think about that Sunday, though, I am struck by a couple of things. First, it is fascinating to me that of all he said in the sermon, it was one simple question that took hold in my heart. It wasn't even the gospel itself, but a word that spoke to my conscience and was instrumental in leading me to accept the gospel. Every sermon should center on Christ and the gospel, of course, but God may take one truth or one question and use it to speak to a sinner's heart. Second, I am reminded by the power of preaching. I don't think reading the same words would have had the same effect. There is just no replacement for the preaching of God's Word.

Gran and Papa Paul's visit

Today my parents, a.k.a. "Gran and Papa Paul", arrived today from Missoula for a ten-day visit. Their visits are a win-win-win situation for all involved: they get to spend some time with the grandkids, the grandkids get to spend some time with them, and Robyn and I get spend some time together.

Here they are yukkin' it up at the airport:

A thought on Romans 8:18-25, and dipnetting

I just finished preparing a sermon on Romans 8:18-25. In the course of thinking and writing, dipnetting - of all things! - came to mind. "Dipnetting" is catching salmon by extending a large net into the river. Alaskans have the privilege to dipnet on a few different rivers during the summer. The purpose is not so much the sport of catching the fish, although it's a blast, but to stock the freezer for the winter months.

After a very productive day of dipnetting last summer, we gave thanks to God for his bounty. And, we marveled at the way God, through the natural workings of his creation, provides such an abundance to meet our needs. While all of this is true, my passage in Romans brings another thought to mind.

According to Paul, creation, because of man's sin, has been "subjected to futility" (Romans 8:20). The apostle was thinking of the curse God put on the earth after Adam and Eve's sin, that the ground would not readily yield its fruit for mankind. Rather, "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;...by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..." (Genesis 3:17-19).

In the light of these verses, perhaps our success at dipnetting that day also should have reminded us that such tremendous bounty is the exception, not the rule. Usually, the earth yields its fruit, whether its grain or fish, only after much painful toil. How many places in the world are there in which you can catch dozens of large, delicious fish in a hour or two simply by scooping them out of the water? Precious few, I would guess. No doubt our success was a great blessing from God. But it was an exception to the way things usually are; it was the exception that proves the rule, and the curse. Most of the time, creation yields its fruit only with great difficulty.

And this brings to mind a not-too-serious question, but one which may concern many Alaskans: will there be dipnetting in the new creation? I say yes, on the basis of John 21. The Lord, in his resurrection body, commanded his disciples to cast his net on the side of the boat. The haul? 153 fish, "large fish" to be precise. Need I say more?    

John Murray on Romans (with a baby picture to boot)

At the Sunday evening services, I've been preaching through the book of Romans. Unlike my preparation for the morning sermon, which is far more comprehensive and thus takes much more time, I'm relying almost entirely on one commentary. And that is John Murray's The Epistle to the Romans.

In my opinion, this is a great commentary for several reasons. First, Murray writes so clearly. He makes it very easy to follow his reasoning, thought for thought, as he considers the meaning of any given verse or phrase. He's also succinct. It seems most newer, scholarly commentaries spend more time commenting on other commentaries than the text itself. To some extent, Murray does so as well, but always in a helpful way. I get the sense that he's writing to the pastor or interested layman, and not to the scholarly guild.

Maybe most importantly of all, he seems to strike the perfect balance between a rigorous exegesis of the text at hand, with a sensitivity to, and respect for, the Bible's teaching as a whole. Again, modern commentaries often fail to do this, even those written by evangelical scholars. They tend to isolate the text under consideration from the rest of Scripture. It's as though it's wrong to bring any other biblical teaching to bear upon a given text or verse in order to help clarify its meaning. But no one who takes the Scripture to be God's Word actually reads the Bible in this fragmented way. No doubt the fact that Murray was both a exegete and a systematic theologian enabled him to strike this right balance.

In any case, it's been a blessing to work through Romans with Murray as my teacher.

Now, here is the picture of Monica. As you can see, it was taken just a few minutes ago right as I was about to start this blog. This is one of the few pictures we have of her smiling!

Sunday night recap

This is a real quick rundown on the day. Robyn and I have been watching the HBO miniseries John Adams on DVD on Sunday nights, and I want to catch as much of the movie as we can before it gets too late.

Today was quite cold. Tonight the temperature at the church was minus 8. But one thing I love about Alaska is that very rarely does the weather keep people at home. Whether it's bitter cold or driving snow, Alaskans just go about their daily routines. So we had the usual attendance at church.

Today we formally bid farewell to a special family who is moving to Jordan (the country, not the small town in eastern Montana where my dad was born!). They will be missed, especially by our children who have gotten to be good friends with their kids.

In Sunday School we discussed God's covenant with Noah (Gen. 8:20-9:17). We were reminded of how profound the difference is between the world view of one who accepts the Scripture as God's Word, and one who does not. For example, Genesis 9:6 grounds capital punishment for murder in the truth that man is created in the image of God. If a person does not regard Genesis as speaking with any sort of authority in regards to a contemporary issue like the death penalty, and if he does not believe man is made in God's image, then he may object to the idea of capital punishment. He may do this on the grounds that it is just another form of killing, or that it doesn't "work" (i.e., it does not deter other would-be murderers), or for some other reason. But if a Christian enters into debate with him on this issue, they will simply talk past each other because the real issue is not the death penalty itself but the authority and veracity of Scripture.

This holds true for a whole host of other hot-button issues, including abortion, homosexual marriage, and population control. Just below the surface in so many of these controversial subjects are two profoundly different, even antithetical, understandings of God, man and the world.

So much for a short rundown. I preached from Matthew 21 this morning, on the parable of the tenants, and from Romans 8:12-17 this evening, on our being children of God and joint-heirs with Christ by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Now - movie time!

Snapshots from the day

If it's really true that a picture is worth a thousand words, below are a few thousand words' worth of pictures from today.

Since snow is on the ground, I now do my running indoors. There's a great indoor track just five minutes from our house that is inexpensive and never crowded. It's located in what used to be called the "Multi-Use Sports Complex" (an uninspiring name, to say the least), but is now known as the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center. Here is the plaque at the entrance of the facility. Recognize any familiar names on it?

On Friday afternoons I often make this local coffee shop my "office". For some reason, whether it is the background noise, or the change of scenery, or - most likely - the caffeine, I'm able to be quite productive here. It's called "Pandemonium".

In front of the coffee shop is this giant wooden, saddled salmon. Where else but in Alaska can you ride a salmon?

And speaking of pandemonium, here are a couple of shots from home. This one is of three eager catechumens, barely able to contain their joy at learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism with dad.

Finally, here is a picture of Sander being, well, Sander. Robyn and I wondered, did he get this way because of too little attention, or because of too much attention?

The majesty of God

I've begun the second volume of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, "God and Creation." Bavinck begins by discussing the incomprehensibility of God, the teaching that we can never have an exhaustive knowledge of God. He is infinite, we are finite. He is eternal, we are time-bound. He is the Creator, we are the creatures. By virtue of God's transcendence and radical distinctness from all that we are and know as finite creatures (i.e., his divine majesty), complete comprehension of him is impossible. Yet, because God has revealed himself to us, we can still have genuine (but not total) knowledge of him. Though Scripture says, "Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable" (Job 36:16), we also read, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

After showing how Christian theology, including that of the Reformation, had always maintained this doctrine of God's ineffable majesty, Bavinck notes that over time the stress fell more on knowing the will of God rather than on the knowledge of God himself. He writes, "It is as if people had lost all sense of the majesty and grandeur of God. Disregarding all so-called metaphysical questions, people rushed on to the will of God in order to know and to do it" (pg. 41).

This made me think that perhaps there is a profound theological problem that is common both to liberal Christianity and to much of today's evangelical Christianity. In many ways the two are far apart. But could it be that both movements spring from an impulse to stress the knowing and doing of the will of God, at the expense of focusing on the glory and majesty of God (and making God's glory central to the life and worship of the church)? Liberal Christianity long ago jettisoned serious consideration of the holy character of God in favor of social activism. Modern evangelicalism, on the other hand, while adhering to the basic tenets of orthodoxy, seems far too preoccupied with knowing the "how to's" of Christianity (how to have a good marriage, how to be good parents, how to have less anxiety, etc.). Both tendencies seem to share at least this in common, in Bavinck's words: it is as if people have lost all sense of the majesty and grandeur of God.    

McCheyne's hymn, "When This Passing World Is Done"

This Sunday evening I'm preaching from Romans 8:12-17, which ends with the promise that believers will be glorified with Christ. In the course of doing a little reading on what it means that we will be glorified with Christ, I came across this hymn. I didn't realize we had it in our hymnal, and I don't ever recall singing it. But it is a gem. It speaks not only of future glory with Christ, but also of the infinite debt of thanks and praise we owe to God for the riches of his redeeming grace.

"When This Passing World is Done"
Robert Murray McCheyne

When this passing world is done,
when has sunk yon glaring sun,
when we stand with Christ in glory,
looking o'er life's finished story,
then, Lord shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe.

When I hear the wicked call
on the rocks and hills to fall,
when I see them start and shrink
on the fiery deluge brink,
then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
dressed in beauty not my own,
when I see thee as thou art,
love thee with unsinning heart,
then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe.

When the praise of heav'n I hear,
loud as thunders to the ear,
loud as many waters' noise,
sweet as harp's melodious voice,
then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me,
wakened up from wrath to flee,
hidden in the Savior's side,
by the Spirit sanctified,
teach me, Lord, on earth to know,
by my love, how much I owe.

November 9th - First day of snow this winter

We knew the white stuff had to come soon. And it came, this morning - about six inches of it.

This is what we see when we look out our dining room window. Not a bad view!

This is the church:

The mist coming off the lake was pretty.

Another shot of Wasilla Lake.

Meredith is smiling after her orthodontist's appointment - maybe because it was painless.

The first snow always looks nice. In a few months we'll be sick of snow, but it was fun to have some today.

Sunday night recap

Tonight I'll begin and end this recap with a picture, and put one in the middle for good measure.

First, here are the kids after their visit yesterday with a face painter at Fred Meyer's:

Now for a rundown on the day. I had a full load today, filling in for Ron for Sunday School in addition to preaching in the morning and evening. The Sunday School lesson was on Noah and the flood. I've preached through Genesis before, but in my studies I didn't pay much attention to the chiastic that is present in various parts of the book, and which modern commentaries often discuss. Chiasms just never interested me much, but I was impressed with what appears to be a definite chiastic structure to the entire flood narrative (Genesis 6:9-9:19). It certainly supports the view (which I hold) that Genesis was substantially written by one author (Moses) and is not just a patchwork of various strands of oral tradition clumsily thrown together by a later redactor, as higher critical scholars have maintained.

While chiasm was on my brain, I also realized our children have a chiastic structure!:

A   Girl

B      Girl

C         Boy

B'      Girl

A'   Girl

In any case, it was good to look at the account of Noah and the flood from this different perspective.

In the morning I preached from Matthew 21:23-32, which includes the parable of two sons who are both commanded by their father to go and work in his vineyard. The first one says he won't, but later changes his mind and goes. And the second says he will, but doesn't go. The point is, notorious sinners such as tax collectors and prostitutes (the first son) were entering into the kingdom before the religious leaders of Israel (the second son). One application I made from this parable was for those growing up in the church. Being a member of the church does not save a person. But, I said, you are saved in the same way that drunkards, and drug addicts, and the promiscuous, and the adulterous, and cheaters and liars, and every other great sinner is saved, by the blood of Christ shed upon the cross. In other words, all who enter the kingdom of God, come in the same way - by God's grace and the work of Christ.

Here is Monica and Moriah at the morning service:

It's not the most flattering shot of Monica we've taken!

At the evening service, I preached from Romans 8:5-11. In a nutshell, we have the hope and promise of resurrection in the face of death since the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us and will also give life to our mortal bodies.

Finally, the night ended with some serious excitement: SNOW! Even though this will be our third Alaska winter, the kids were thrilled to discover there was snow on the ground outside. Here the kids are checking it out.

The Heidelberg Catechism

Today Robyn and I (and Monica, of course!) attended a Reformation Day Conference hosted by Covenant Bible Church in Chugiak. The speaker was Dr. Lyle Bierma of Calvin Theological Seminary, and his subject was the Heidelberg Catechism.

Being Presbyterian, I am much more familiar with the Westminster Standards than the Heidelberg Catechism, which is used as a confessional standard by Dutch Reformed churches. In fact, apart from small portions, I had never even read it until this week. But knowing this conference was coming, I decided to read through it ahead of time. I didn't quite finish, but got a good taste of it.

As Dr. Bierma pointed out, the Heidelberg catechism is much more pastoral and applicatory in tone than the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The theology is the same in both, but the Heidelberg speaks more directly to the heart. I thought, how much more valuable is this little catechism, written sometime in the 1560's, than so much of the popular "inspirational" Christian literature on the shelves today? It's too bad more Christians aren't familiar with it (and obviously I say the same for the Westminster Standards!).

One good point Dr. Bierma made was that the stress on assurance found throughout the catechism was a response to the general lack of assurance medieval Christians suffered because of Roman Catholic teaching. I've heard before that the Protestant teaching that we can be assured of our salvation, by faith in Christ, was considered the greatest heresy of the Reformation by some Catholic theologians. But what a great doctrine it is - that I can know I am saved by the finished work of Christ on the cross!

That theme of assurance is present in Question and Answer 26, which I thought was wonderful:

What do you believe when you say, "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth"?


That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth
and everything in them,
who still upholds and rules them
by his eternal counsel and providence,
is my God and Father
because of Christ his Son.


I trust him so much that I do not doubt
he will provide
whatever I need
for body and soul,
and he will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends me
in this sad world.


He is able to do this because he is almighty God;
he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.

Meditating on these words is good for the soul!

Leviticus and Christ

As long as I can muster the necessary mental focus, I enjoy listening to sermons, lectures, and theological discussions on my mp3 player while I run. During my run today, I heard a very timely discussion about the significance of the Old Testament sacrifices that are spelled out in the first five chapters of Leviticus. It was "timely" in a purely personal way, as I'm now reading through the book of Leviticus in the course of my regular Bible reading. The guest of the discussion was an Old Testament professor at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary by the name of Dr. Ben Shaw.

Leviticus is not the first place I would go if I just wanted to read some Scripture for edification or comfort. I'd be surprised if there is anyone who would! But Dr. Shaw explained how the various sacrifices detailed in Leviticus point to Christ, and shed light on his work on the cross. A couple of points he made were helpful to me, even if by way of reminder. First, the animal sacrifices were given by God in order to teach the Israelites that, if they are to worship God and be in his holy presence, there must be atonement for their sin. And that needed atonement was signified by the killing of various animals at the altar of God.

This idea, that their must be the shedding of blood to take away sin (Heb. 9:22), is not popular, both in general thinking and in some quarters of the church. It is seen as primitive, offensive, and somehow contrary to the idea of a God of love. Yet how else to explain the death of Christ on the cross, especially in the light of the old covenant sacrifices? "You know that he appeared to take away sins" (1 John 3:5).

The second helpful point Dr. Shaw made was, the fact that the sacrifices were repeated over and over pointed to the need for a once-for-all, perfect sacrifice. This was not new to me, because Hebrews teaches this very thing (Hebrews 10:1-18). Yet it helped to think about it from the perspective of the Old Testament saints. Here they were, watching over and over again, year after year, the continual sacrifice of animals. Some, by faith, must have understood - there is a better, more perfect sacrifice coming that will take away my sins once and for all.

I don't know if I'll ever preach through Leviticus. But there is nothing like knowing it, like all of Scripture, bears witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Bavinck on Apologetics

No argument, proof, or evidence, no matter how compelling to the mind of the believer, can by itself convince a person of the truth of the Christian faith. Only the Spirit of God can engender faith in the human heart. That much is sure. But, one apologetic appeal that I believe can be useful is the perfect sense Christianity makes of the world, and our experience in it. That is not to say Christians have all the answers (indeed, believing in Christ raises all sorts of new and unanswerable questions), but only Christianity provides the comprehensive worldview that comports with all the facts of life.

I came across this quote from Herman Bavinck's Prolegomena that says it well. He's speaking of the benefits of apologetics:

Secondly, it (apologetics) teaches that Christians, even though they cannot confer faith on anyone, need not hide from their opponents in embarrassed silence. With their faith they do not stand as isolated aliens in the midst of the world but find support for it in nature and history, in science and art, in society and state, in the heart and conscience of every human being. The Christian worldview alone is one that fits the reality of the world and of life. (pg. 515)

I thought this was a good reminder that the truth of Christianity is never totally foreign; at some point the truth must resonate with every person because it describes how things really are.

Trueman on ministry, the internet, and so-called "British pubs"

At Westminster one of my church history professors was Dr. Carl Trueman, who at that time was fresh off the boat (O.K., airplane) from England and just beginning his new teaching position here in the States. He was an immediate hit among us students, not only for his engaging lectures, but also for his unique perspective on almost everything.

His latest article at Reformation 21 is, as usual, thought-provoking. As the title of this post indicates, he does write about America's versions of the "British pub" (which he says resemble nothing back home), but more significantly he offers some good thoughts about the nature of God's call upon his people to service in his Kingdom. Most of us, Trueman argues, are called to serve locally: Like all believers, I am called to serve others, and primarily to serve where God has placed me.

He goes on to say:

This realization that the Lord has called me - and I am guessing, most of us - to serve first and foremost wherever we actually are - our families, our congregations, our denominations, and our workplaces - is surely a sobering one. It lacks so much ambition, and shows such a limited vision, after all. Yet in this regard, I think the church is best served by those with such limited ambitions and myopia. I am not much of a web-wandered but on the odd occasion I do a bit of websurfing, I am struck by how many Christians, pastors, professors, and laity, have blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitters going. How many millions of Christian hours are wasted writing this stuff, engaging in mindless blogthreads, and telling the world about personal trivia?

And further:

When I see Christians blogging so much, I wonder how many sermons are being prepared on the fly because of lack of time, how many parishioners go unvisited, how many prayers remained unprayed, how many words of love and affection to spouses and children are never said, how many books - let alone the Bible - are left unread, and how many fellowships atrophy through lack of any real, meaningful social and spiritual intercourse. Indeed, to summarize: how many online "communities' (sic) prosper to the detriment of the real, physical communities into which the Lord has placed each and every one of us? How many complain of insufficient time to do the boring routines of the Christian life - worship services, Sunday School, visiting the sick and the aged, fellowship, Bible reading, prayer - and yet always somehow manage to fit in a quick twitter or blog or podcast or change to their Facebook status?

As a pastor - and speaking as one who started blogging again recently! - I find these challenging thoughts. There is an undeniable appeal to blogging, and to using the internet generally, in that it offers an escape from the too-strict confines of the local and the routine. Yet, as Trueman reminds us, that is just where you and I are called to serve.

It boils down to a question of priorities. Based on my few years' experience as a pastor, it seems to me that so much of the work of ministry is getting priorities straight. There are a million worthy things to be done. But what is most important (not "pressing", but truly important)? I could be missing the mark even while doing that which is valuable in itself. There's no question I can spend too much time on the internet, or blogging (and sometimes do). But I can also spend too much time reading the Bible, or studying, or talking on the phone, or visiting, or counseling, or even praying, if there is at that time some more important work I ought to doing.

The crucial question is, from the perspective of eternity, is this activity the most important for me to be engaged in, right now? There's no easy answer to that question. But in general, as Trueman argues, God calls you and me to serve him right where he's placed us.

Monday meanderings

First, here is a picture of Moriah's odd choice of places to sleep that I described in yesterday's post:

Here's a girl who takes Psalm 84:10 very seriously: "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Not even sleep will keep her from her post!

We did something unusual today. At the advice of a friend who is a mom, we went to the local humane society to play with the cats and dogs. I had never done that before, so I didn't know what to expect. But it was great fun both for the kids and for us. The workers were very welcoming and gave us access to almost all the pets with the exception of the puppies who have already been claimed for adoption. Apparently they don't let strangers play with them for fear of their getting injured somehow. I didn't quite follow, but that's their policy. 

In any case, we first played with several different kittens. Growing up, it seemed we always had kittens around. I had forgotten how playful they are. Next, the older kids spent a little time with the one puppy there who was yet to be adopted. Finally, we took an adult lab to a yard outside for a few minutes. He seemed like a good dog - full of energy and eager to fetch. 

After that, we looked at a pop-up camper for sale at the Butte (there is a local town called "Butte", but everyone here refers to it as "the" Butte for some reason). We liked it but are not sure if we'll see it again.

Here are some pictures from the humane society.

Sunday night recap

I'll start this Sunday night recap with a little incident that happened Saturday night. Caught up in the excitement of the evening, because we had so many trick-or-treaters coming to our door, Sander got carried away and somehow hit his head on the edge of a desk. I didn't see it happen; I just saw a kid coming upstairs with blood all over his face. It would have made a pretty good Halloween get-up, only it was for real. For all the blood, though, the cut wasn't too deep - no stitches or super-glue required. Best of all, at least from Sander's point of view, he got to go to church sporting this big colorful band-aid on his forehead.

At Sunday School, Ron did another fine job teaching from Genesis. One verse we discussed is, I think, one of the most intriguing in all of Scripture: "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). It is so matter-of-fact, and raises all sorts of unanswerable questions (Was his body transformed into an immortal body? What will happen to Enoch at the resurrection? Why did God do this?). Hebrews tells us this, at least: it was by faith that Enoch was taken up by God (Hebrews 11:5).

In the morning I preached on Matthew 21:18-22, in which Jesus cursed the fig tree for not bearing any fruit. When his disciples asked him about it, he taught them about faith and prayer. I said that, first, Jesus cursed the fig tree as a sign of God's judgment that hung over Israel because of her fruitlessness. Next, I argued that Jesus then taught his disciples about faith and prayer in order to show them how they, unlike Israel, may bear genuine spiritual fruit. I think the most salient point was, in order for us to bear any good fruit, we must be united to Christ by faith.

In the evening it was Romans 8:1-4. I followed John Murray in saying that the freedom from condemnation in view in v. 1 ("There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus") is not so much freedom from the guilt of sin as it is from the power of sin (though obviously Paul, and the Bible, teaches that in Christ we are free from the guilt of sin). It seems counterintuitive, but I believe the context supports this understanding.

The last couple of days I've had a few meetings with different people about various matters, sometimes of a more difficult and delicate nature. I found myself more than once wishing I had more wisdom, and wishing I knew just the right words to say.

We had a "where is a camera when you need one?" moment after the evening service tonight. Somehow Moriah managed to fall asleep on the floor in the doorway separating the sanctuary from the fellowship hall. Her body was propping open one of the doors, so people could walk in or out of the sanctuary by stepping over her. One member did take a picture, and I hope to post it after she e-mails it to me.

Finally, here is a great quote from Augustine that a member of the church e-mailed to me recently (along with many other memorable quotes):

The church is like Noah's ark - if it were not for the storm outside no one could stand the stench inside.