Change in the New Year

This came in my email last week.  I was thinking of doing a prediction post, but I like this one better. ~PL

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

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“My days are like a lengthened shadow, and I wither away like grass. But You, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. (Psa. 102:11-12).

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Change -- it’s the slogan of politicians, the promise of unfaithful partners, the quest of scientists, the dream of inventors. Change is inevitable. While I type this my body will have changed microscopically so that I’m not the same person I was when I started -- having succumbed to the second law of thermodynamics.

But there are some things that will never change in 2012. Here are a few immutable things you can expect to happen this year: First, contrary to our relativistic culture, truth will not change in 2012. Truth by nature is immutable and eternal. If hypothetically all truth was capable of change, then the single truth that all truth changes would be immutable -- incapable of change (Psa. 117:2). Hence, proving the point.

Second, God’s nature, will, and glory will not change this year. Since God can’t increase or decrease, His plans can’t be frustrated, neither His glory diminished by any action or inaction of His creation. ". . . the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." (1 Sam. 15:29).

Third, Jesus Christ as our high priest cannot and will not change. “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “you are a priest forever” (Psa. 110:4). And if a priest, then effectual in being heard by the Father (Heb. 7:25) and sympathetic toward His people (Heb. 4:15).

Fourth, the inability of sinners to please God will be inexorable. Just as leopards can’t change their spots (Jer. 13:23) sinners can’t please God -- never have, never will. All the cajoling of religious authorities, all the charity of benevolent philanthropists won’t change a sinner’s status before God (Rom. 3:10-18) in calendar year 2012.

Fifth, the hatred of your spiritual enemies won’t change in 2012. Expect the accuser to accuse, the world to seduce, and the flesh to oppose. It’s what they do and the forecast is for more of the same.

Sixth, God’s grace won’t change in its sufficiency in 2012. Whether faced with the opportunity to bless (2 Cor. 9:8), or struggling with trials (1 Cor. 10:13), everything you receive will be a mercy from God.

But lastly, there are some things in 2012 that must change: God’s people must change. They must be born again (Jn. 3:7) because they must see the kingdom of God. They must repent of their sins because they can’t perish (Lk. 13:3), and they must believe and treasure Christ (Heb. 11:6), because their pre-ordained inheritance demands their trust and obedience. All these “must” changes never change in how God deals with His children. They’re as immutable as God Himself -- which is far greater than any resolution you can make for yourself in 2012.

HT: Mark LaCour

1-1-12

A new year. The name January comes from the Roman God Janus, who had two faces facing opposite directions. So we look ahead and hope for good things- or strength for the bad. And we look back and remember the good things- and hopefully learn from the bad. Let’s not boast of our achievements, instead, let us keep growing in the grace of the Lord.

I was thinking of wise, profound words to post, but I’ll instead give you the words of one wiser than I. My brother in Christ and former pastor Bob Jennings had this to say on his blog:

New year? The new year is a reminder of a great day coming when the Lord Jesus will return and make all things new.

Revelation 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Sin, sorrow, and sickness will be gone.

Revelation 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

These words are “faithful and true” but only for those who have had a new birth, John 3.3 – an invasion of the living God into the heart, causing a person to begin to be radically different than he was and different from the surrounding world. He is a “new creation”, 2Corinthians 5.17, and as such, the Christian is a partaker already of the coming universal new creation – all things new. All the more, I’m not sorry I began to follow the Lord Jesus 40 years ago. I’m not sorry I came to Him as a sinner, trusting His sin-payment on Calvary. He is all I have. He is all anyone can have. Everything else gets stripped away.

Snowball fight!

You’ve been hit!

Welcome to the 2011-12 snowball fight. Since we are getting our first snowfall of the year, let’s have some fun. Copy and paste this and email to anyone on your contact list. The only rule is that the person you send this to you cannot hit you back.

An arrow released

“Sad” day today. H is moving 70 miles away, to the town of her birth and home of my older two children. She won't be far, but she won't be here. Psalm 127 speaks of children as arrows in a quiver.  It is time to let this one go and pray/trust that God will direct her to His chosen target.  Since she will be nearby, we will see her often, just not every day.  And she gets to spoil the niece and nephew more often as well.

My favorite picture of H as a little girl.

So, P will have to put up with her two 50+ parents on her own. At 17, she thinks she'll be moving out next year, but I doubt it.  There are many things involved in leaving home, which she has not yet realized.  If she is ready next year, then I will gladly shoot the last arrow from the quiver in God’s will.

Post 101

I just realized that I have reached a “milestone”: I have 100 posts! To celebrate (which I should have done on my last post, since it was #100) here are not-quite 100 unrelated thoughts.

1. Since baseball is not a timed game, why is it called a “time out” when the coach wants to talk to the pitcher?
2. When the “occupy” protesters are done complaining about not having a job, will they refuse to clean up the mess they are making in various city parks, even if they are offered an hourly wage to do so?
3. And why are they protesting at Wall Street, when it is all the corporations represented on Wall Street that provide jobs?  Perhaps they should go to Washington and tell the Congress and President to remove hindrances to jobs, like over-regulation and high corporate taxes.
4. Why does the President think he needs to go give a speech to promote his economic recovery plan, when doing so costs millions of taxpayer dollars? A word to the press: point out to him that he could cut his own budget by those millions by staying in the White House and speaking from there. 
5. Why do so many people complain about colder weather in the fall, when they were looking forward to it in August?
6. And why do these same people blame the TV weather person for weather the latter cannot control?
7. And why does the TV weather person take credit for good weather?
8. Also, why do TV weather personalities act like nannies?  They tell us, “Put on your coat since it is cold.” Or, “Grab your umbrella, it’s going to rain today.” We can decide for ourselves.
9. Has anyone missed the NBA, since it is not playing ball this season because of a lockout?  I didn’t either.
10. Is it hockey season too?  Hmm, baseball ending, hockey starting, football half-way through. It must be October.

Okay, so I only could muster 1/10 of 100 thoughts. But hey, Game 7 is on now.

Thoughts on worship music

One of the topics that seems to get people going is music in the church.  Some churches sing only hymns, some only modern choruses, some only the Psalms.  Really, it matters not to me what a church sings, as long as the people enter in to true worship.  We sing a mixture of choruses and hymns, and are small enough that individuals request songs during the meeting. Many times, the Spirit of the Lord seems to pick the music, as someone will testify that all the songs spoke to his/her needs of the moment.


Anyway, I have been reading a biography of John MacArthur lately, written by Iain Murray.  In it, the Murray has a chapter dedicated to several objections to MacArthur’s ministry.  There is even a section on music in the church.  I find it refreshing that John MacArthur has a balanced view, not proclaiming that either form of music is best, only that the song leader must remember that many people will remember the words to the songs after they have forgotten the sermon.  The author quotes from O Worship the King, written by MacArthur, Joni Eareckson Tada and others. They write,

Like it or not, today’s songwriters are teachers, too.  Many of the lyrics they are writing will soon be far more deeply and permanently ingrained in the minds of Christians than anything they hear their pastors teach from the pulpit. How many songwriters are skilled enough in theology and Scripture to qualify for such a vital role in the catechesis of the people? (1)

Earlier in the biography, Murray quotes MacArthur saying, “I am convinced that the downgrading of worship, Scripture, and theology will ultimately usher in serious doctrinal compromise.” (2)  To me, that means that if all we sing are Scripture choruses, we miss out on the depths of theology in the older hymns. But by the same token, if we only sing the hymns in a dry, staid manor, we miss out on the emotional aspect of worship the great God and Creator.  Try singing “My Jesus, I love Thee” without any emotion.  Or, my favorite “And Can it Be” by Charles Wesley in a monotonic way.  It cannot be done by one who is in tune with God.

(1) John MacArthur, Joni Eareckson Tada, Robert and Bobbie Wolgemuth, O Worship the King (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2000) pp. 12-13
(2) Quoted in Iain H. Murray, John MacArthur, Servant of the Word and Flock (Edinburgh, Scotland, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011) p.188

Thoughts on how it used to be

It’s hot.  The weather icon on this computer says it is 99°F.  It’s September and we are getting a l;ate summer heat wave.  It always get hot around Labor Day, doesn’t it?  What did folks do in the old days when it got this hot?  Surely they endured and took a break in the shade, sipping well water or something.

I guess we are not as hardy as they were.  The schools around here that heave not gotten air conditioning are all closing early this week, including where I teach.  It was 86° inside my classroom the last few days, and  understand it was warmer at the elementary schools.  So, we got out at 1:15 yesterday and 11:00am this morning. I remember riding my bike to school, and not worrying about the heat.  Of course, I don’t remember if it got to 100° this late in the year when I was young. And there is a lot more humidity here than in Arizona, so if it did get this hot, we didn’t feel it as much.  Or we ignored it.

Now I see why schools in the old days did not start until later in September, or even October.  Not only was it cooler, but the children were needed on the farm to help with the harvest.  Now, their are fewer farms, and the farmers don’t require the extra hands as much.

So, if you are reading this and you are older than 40, tell me something you remember from “the olden days”.

How verbal are you?

Here is a vocabulary test I tried out, and was surprised at how well I did: Test Your Vocabulary.  You get two lists of words- the first tests your broad vocabulary level, with words like; the second your narrow vocabulary.  I am in the 45th percentile for adults over 18 years, with a vocab of around 26,000 words.  I did not think I was that verbal.

How well can you do?  Try it, then come back and brag about (or humbly admit) your score.

HT: First Thoughts blog

Grandson update

He’s now 5 weeks old.  Isn't he adorable?

The power of God in the storm

We had quite a storm Monday morning.  Winds at over 70mph tore through the area, downing many trees, including one in our yard.  We praise the Lord we were all well, though we lost a couple hours of sleep, and the electricity was off until this morning, about 36 hours total.

Storms are interesting in their display of the power of God.  This one had the strong winds and lightning that seemed to be a constant strobe light.  It took me a while to realize the power was out because of all the lightning.  All I could think was (and I know it is cliche, but it fits here): AWESOME!!!

Here are a few pictures of the damage and limbs we had moved to the street.  We thank our neighbors and their lawn tractors for moving the largest ones.