So much to be thankful for...
Already had a beautiful wife, a fantastic daughter, a nice house and a great job. And this was all on top of a great group of family and friends. But I have to admit I've been blessed despite all of that.
This year, a new daughter (Ruby Jane, born Oct. 1), a bigger house to match, and positive developments professionally as well. Yes, there's much to give thanks for.
The only down-side is far less blogging. It's just getting too hard to find the time. But, in truth, that's not really that bad a thing, all things considered.
Anyway, for the many blessings I give my thanks to my God, my family, and my friends. And to you, I wish many thank-worthy moments whereever you are and whereever you go.
Happy Thanksgiving.
November 27, 2008
November 25, 2008
SOAP Notes
November 25, 2008
Matthew 20-22
S: Matthew 20:1-16
A: I recall a night in college, sitting and conversing with a group of peers in a Bible study-type group. We were discussing heaven and degrees of reward. There was talk of jewels in the crown and mansions in heaven and such, and I took umbrage. Why wasn’t salvation enough? In that group and in many others I’ve been in, there’s the ongoing search for the icing on the cake of Christianity. Much, I suspect, is geared toward trying to puff oneself up over our Christian peers. A thought of “sure we’re both saved, but mine’s better because…” Or, perhaps a matter of fulfilling the human need to find justification and reward to make sense of greater sacrifice. Or whatever.
But this parable as I read it confirms my suspicion that salvation is absolute and the same for everyone. And, at least to me, it highlights the danger of expecting anything more (and missing the fact that there can be nothing greater). There is no pride in salvation; it isn’t earned and can’t be improved-upon or adorned. To worry about trying to put icing on the cake is to miss the substance of it and to risk losing the reward in our jealousy.
P: Lord, help me not to take pride in my salvation and help me not to compare my walk with that of another. Simply help me to accept Your gift and to treasure it, and let my life and my actions reflect what You have done for me. Amen.
Matthew 20-22
S: Matthew 20:1-16
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.' When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.' But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous? So the last shall be first, and the first last."O: A parable explaining the absolute nature of salvation and showing that we are not to envy those who seem to have attained it more cheaply.
A: I recall a night in college, sitting and conversing with a group of peers in a Bible study-type group. We were discussing heaven and degrees of reward. There was talk of jewels in the crown and mansions in heaven and such, and I took umbrage. Why wasn’t salvation enough? In that group and in many others I’ve been in, there’s the ongoing search for the icing on the cake of Christianity. Much, I suspect, is geared toward trying to puff oneself up over our Christian peers. A thought of “sure we’re both saved, but mine’s better because…” Or, perhaps a matter of fulfilling the human need to find justification and reward to make sense of greater sacrifice. Or whatever.
But this parable as I read it confirms my suspicion that salvation is absolute and the same for everyone. And, at least to me, it highlights the danger of expecting anything more (and missing the fact that there can be nothing greater). There is no pride in salvation; it isn’t earned and can’t be improved-upon or adorned. To worry about trying to put icing on the cake is to miss the substance of it and to risk losing the reward in our jealousy.
P: Lord, help me not to take pride in my salvation and help me not to compare my walk with that of another. Simply help me to accept Your gift and to treasure it, and let my life and my actions reflect what You have done for me. Amen.
November 04, 2008
CONGRATULATIONS TO BARACK OBABA
And thanks to John McCain for being first-class in accepting defeat. Though I didn't vote for you, you are a great American.
September 30, 2008
Now, This IS A Scary Thought
From a Newsweek commentator, interviewed by CNN...
CNN: Does [the selection of Sarah Palin as VP candidate] make you concerned about Sen. McCain as a president?
Zakaria: Yes, and I say this with sadness because I greatly admire John McCain, a man of intelligence, honor and enormous personal and political courage. However, for him to choose Sara Palin to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. He did not put the country first with this decision. Whether it is appropriate or not, considering Sen. McCain's age most people expected to have a vice presidential candidate who would be ready to step in at a moment's notice. The actuarial odds of that happening are significant, something like a one-in-five chance.
Here's a link to Zakaria's artical at Newsweek, "Palin is Ready? Please." Frankly, a better title, there isn't.
CNN: Does [the selection of Sarah Palin as VP candidate] make you concerned about Sen. McCain as a president?
Zakaria: Yes, and I say this with sadness because I greatly admire John McCain, a man of intelligence, honor and enormous personal and political courage. However, for him to choose Sara Palin to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. He did not put the country first with this decision. Whether it is appropriate or not, considering Sen. McCain's age most people expected to have a vice presidential candidate who would be ready to step in at a moment's notice. The actuarial odds of that happening are significant, something like a one-in-five chance.
Here's a link to Zakaria's artical at Newsweek, "Palin is Ready? Please." Frankly, a better title, there isn't.
September 28, 2008
September 27, 2008
"Everyone Has Their Dan Quayle"
I love my best friend, JLowe. But I can't, CAN NOT, see how we can let this person be a heartbeat away. I'm no state governor, and I'm certainly no vice presidential candidate, but I'd argue that putting this person in line to be president is reason enough to vote against John McCain.
Sarah Palin seems like a great lady. But she's not presidential, she's not vice presidential, and she's not the person to put in the batter's box.
Sarah Palin seems like a great lady. But she's not presidential, she's not vice presidential, and she's not the person to put in the batter's box.
September 23, 2008
SOAP Notes
September 23, 2008
Daniel 11-12; Luke 6
S: Luke 6:27-35
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
O: The Beatitudes section, where Jesus lays out desirable traits and, in the midst, offers a profound challenge to everyone who claims to follow Him.
A: It is amazing how often you can read the same section of the Bible and yet always find something new. I’ve read the Beatitudes numerous times. We all know the “blessed are the poor, the meak,” and so on. We all know the Beatitudes as a place that talks about turning the other cheek. We all know it as a place of some quaint blessings that can be inspiring or can be great throw-away lines in a Christian conversation.
I hadn’t noticed the challenge in them, though. I mean, I imagine I’ve seen it before, but on this night it really hits me. Jesus spends a fair amount of time confronting people who live a good life with the fact that they do it on easy terms.
As I look at others around me, and as I look at myself, I find that it is very easy to feel self-satisfied and pious after doing little things for others. Particularly when they are people that don’t offend, people that we think deserve our kindnesses and our time. We are kind to those who we like, or who we at least don’t have something against. We give to those who we know will share with us as well, or we give with the knowledge that our charity will be rewarded in another way. We act in kindness toward those who we feel kindness towards.
But the challenge is so much greater, and lays bare the failure that is inherent in us all. I sit at work, or at home, or in my car, and sometimes find myself plotting and scheming against perceived enemies. And the feeling in my heart is malice; there is no kindness there. I can think of a number of people who I dislike such that I would never lend them a pencil, let alone reach out to support them or speak out a kind word to them. I can think of a number of times in the past that I’ve failed the challenge.
I think of myself, and others think of themselves, highly for the kindnesses they do to those they care about, but Jesus makes it clear: how does that make me any different? My calling in this world, my purpose, isn’t to be just more of the same. I’m to be different, a reflection of something greater, and in simply upholding the status quo, I am failing monumentally.
The end of the passage deals with an ultimate reward. I don’t think that’s the point, though people always seem to need to feel that their labor isn’t in vain. What I know is this: I want to be better, not for an award, but for the difference I would be, and for the difference that would make in me. The ultimate reward is nice, but the immediate gain is just as important.
P: Lord, please help me to go beyond what everyone does. Help me to be a reflection of Your greatness. Help me to be different and to exhibit something more. Amen.
Daniel 11-12; Luke 6
S: Luke 6:27-35
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
O: The Beatitudes section, where Jesus lays out desirable traits and, in the midst, offers a profound challenge to everyone who claims to follow Him.
A: It is amazing how often you can read the same section of the Bible and yet always find something new. I’ve read the Beatitudes numerous times. We all know the “blessed are the poor, the meak,” and so on. We all know the Beatitudes as a place that talks about turning the other cheek. We all know it as a place of some quaint blessings that can be inspiring or can be great throw-away lines in a Christian conversation.
I hadn’t noticed the challenge in them, though. I mean, I imagine I’ve seen it before, but on this night it really hits me. Jesus spends a fair amount of time confronting people who live a good life with the fact that they do it on easy terms.
As I look at others around me, and as I look at myself, I find that it is very easy to feel self-satisfied and pious after doing little things for others. Particularly when they are people that don’t offend, people that we think deserve our kindnesses and our time. We are kind to those who we like, or who we at least don’t have something against. We give to those who we know will share with us as well, or we give with the knowledge that our charity will be rewarded in another way. We act in kindness toward those who we feel kindness towards.
But the challenge is so much greater, and lays bare the failure that is inherent in us all. I sit at work, or at home, or in my car, and sometimes find myself plotting and scheming against perceived enemies. And the feeling in my heart is malice; there is no kindness there. I can think of a number of people who I dislike such that I would never lend them a pencil, let alone reach out to support them or speak out a kind word to them. I can think of a number of times in the past that I’ve failed the challenge.
I think of myself, and others think of themselves, highly for the kindnesses they do to those they care about, but Jesus makes it clear: how does that make me any different? My calling in this world, my purpose, isn’t to be just more of the same. I’m to be different, a reflection of something greater, and in simply upholding the status quo, I am failing monumentally.
The end of the passage deals with an ultimate reward. I don’t think that’s the point, though people always seem to need to feel that their labor isn’t in vain. What I know is this: I want to be better, not for an award, but for the difference I would be, and for the difference that would make in me. The ultimate reward is nice, but the immediate gain is just as important.
P: Lord, please help me to go beyond what everyone does. Help me to be a reflection of Your greatness. Help me to be different and to exhibit something more. Amen.
September 02, 2008
SOAP Notes
September 2, 2008
Ezekiel 17-19; Revelations 7
S: Ezekiel 18:20 & 30a
"The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD.”
O: The Lord clarifies accountability; we are each judged by our own actions and aren’t judged by the conduct of others.
A: Two separate trains of thought for the day.
1) It is sometimes easy to try to pass through Christian life like we pass through so much of our life, on appearances and not on substance. One of those appearances is the company we keep. If I hang with Christian people, I’m a Christian. If I spend my time with people who love and obey God, I’m assumed to be like them, and (in fact) I internalize that assumption into a belief that I’m doing just fine.
In the past, I’ve focused on a saying I picked up from a sports talk guy I like to listen to. “You are who you roll with.” For me, that means that a person can be judged (at least to a certain extent) by the company that they keep, without taking the time to evaluate the person on their own merits. That dovetails nicely with a bit of intellectual laziness that I’ve always, quietly, held dear and close. That stereotypes exist for a reason, and that very often they are somewhat grounded in truth. So, therefore, it’s okay to embrace them and approach people through the applied stereotypes that fit with who they are. Racial, sexual, whatever.
While it may be true that people gravitate towards groups they identify with, or that stereotypes can be a useful tool in social interaction if properly (and judiciously) used, it is important to note that each person is special, is their own wondrous creation. To discount them or, worse, disregard them based upon our judgments of who they are based on where they’re from is a sin. Not a deep thought, but a thought nonetheless.
2) Deeper question: How does this passage relate to other parts of the Bible?
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:5)
I cheated here. I was looking for the verse and found a sermon someone wrote about it here. I don’t know who this Ray Fowler is, but he distinguishes between the idea that we are doomed by our forefather’s sins, which is false, and subject to certain consequences of them, which is true.
One can misread the Bible to say that we are bound. We are bound by God’s will. We are bound by a certain destiny. We are bound by the evil that others have done before us. We are doomed to failure if God wants us to be, or destined for success if that’s what God’s plan is.
The support is found in verses like Exodus 20:5. If our father’s sins are passed down, I’m subject to the damnation, and there’s no point in trying. But this is not what the verse means.
We should not be so foolish as to believe we live in a vacuum. Like the butterfly in China whose wing-fluttering creates the gust of wind elsewhere, we are each affected by the behavior of others. We are more affected by the people we are more bound up with. The things that my father (and mother) do (or don’t do) have an affect on me, whether I perceive it or not. I am a part of the world in which I lived, and my actions are informed by that which occurs around me. Likewise, my daughter is subject to what I do, and the example I set, and the behavior I portray, and will live a life which mirrors or responds or portrays that. Which is not to say that she’s doomed to repeat my mistakes. Indeed, she may learn and grow from them, or avoid them, or whatever. But the hurdles I lay out will be hurdles she has to clear. How she lives her life, the decisions (or, more importantly, The Decision) she makes will be her own, and will be the sole basis of her judgment. But I can either help or hinder her, and that is what to take away from today.
P: Lord, help me to consider people on their own merit and to see them for who they are in and of themselves. And help me to think about my actions globally, not just in the moment, but in the aftermath as well. And help me to help my children to make wiser choices than me, even if they are stuck in the wake of the bad ones I’ve made. Amen.
Ezekiel 17-19; Revelations 7
S: Ezekiel 18:20 & 30a
"The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD.”
O: The Lord clarifies accountability; we are each judged by our own actions and aren’t judged by the conduct of others.
A: Two separate trains of thought for the day.
1) It is sometimes easy to try to pass through Christian life like we pass through so much of our life, on appearances and not on substance. One of those appearances is the company we keep. If I hang with Christian people, I’m a Christian. If I spend my time with people who love and obey God, I’m assumed to be like them, and (in fact) I internalize that assumption into a belief that I’m doing just fine.
In the past, I’ve focused on a saying I picked up from a sports talk guy I like to listen to. “You are who you roll with.” For me, that means that a person can be judged (at least to a certain extent) by the company that they keep, without taking the time to evaluate the person on their own merits. That dovetails nicely with a bit of intellectual laziness that I’ve always, quietly, held dear and close. That stereotypes exist for a reason, and that very often they are somewhat grounded in truth. So, therefore, it’s okay to embrace them and approach people through the applied stereotypes that fit with who they are. Racial, sexual, whatever.
While it may be true that people gravitate towards groups they identify with, or that stereotypes can be a useful tool in social interaction if properly (and judiciously) used, it is important to note that each person is special, is their own wondrous creation. To discount them or, worse, disregard them based upon our judgments of who they are based on where they’re from is a sin. Not a deep thought, but a thought nonetheless.
2) Deeper question: How does this passage relate to other parts of the Bible?
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:5)
I cheated here. I was looking for the verse and found a sermon someone wrote about it here. I don’t know who this Ray Fowler is, but he distinguishes between the idea that we are doomed by our forefather’s sins, which is false, and subject to certain consequences of them, which is true.
One can misread the Bible to say that we are bound. We are bound by God’s will. We are bound by a certain destiny. We are bound by the evil that others have done before us. We are doomed to failure if God wants us to be, or destined for success if that’s what God’s plan is.
The support is found in verses like Exodus 20:5. If our father’s sins are passed down, I’m subject to the damnation, and there’s no point in trying. But this is not what the verse means.
We should not be so foolish as to believe we live in a vacuum. Like the butterfly in China whose wing-fluttering creates the gust of wind elsewhere, we are each affected by the behavior of others. We are more affected by the people we are more bound up with. The things that my father (and mother) do (or don’t do) have an affect on me, whether I perceive it or not. I am a part of the world in which I lived, and my actions are informed by that which occurs around me. Likewise, my daughter is subject to what I do, and the example I set, and the behavior I portray, and will live a life which mirrors or responds or portrays that. Which is not to say that she’s doomed to repeat my mistakes. Indeed, she may learn and grow from them, or avoid them, or whatever. But the hurdles I lay out will be hurdles she has to clear. How she lives her life, the decisions (or, more importantly, The Decision) she makes will be her own, and will be the sole basis of her judgment. But I can either help or hinder her, and that is what to take away from today.
P: Lord, help me to consider people on their own merit and to see them for who they are in and of themselves. And help me to think about my actions globally, not just in the moment, but in the aftermath as well. And help me to help my children to make wiser choices than me, even if they are stuck in the wake of the bad ones I’ve made. Amen.
August 29, 2008
I have a dream, too...
That some day, this day, a man will fulfill his promise.
And that this country, our country, will let him.
Go Barack.
August 26, 2008
SOAP Notes
The latest SOAP Notes entry:
August 26, 2008
Jeremiah 50-51; 3 John 1
S: Jeremiah 50:3-5
"For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.”
O: Although this particular verse discusses a particular time, wherein the sons of Israel will seek the Lord in despair and be given a great victory, I think it pretty well wraps up the sort of situation that, typically, helps Christians remember what (or rather Who) they’re about.
A: The funny, or tragic, thing about Christianity for many people, often including myself, is that it’s a religion of desperation. My faith is strongest when I’m in the direst straits, which isn’t saying much, because so often my faith is barely existent. For so many, the time that we come to the Lord, where we draw near to Him and whisper hymns of praise and love, are those times when we’re just looking for a deliverance or a miracle or a provision. We’re suck-ups and sycophants, suddenly playing Yes-Man in the hopes that we’ll get what we want out of the relationship through sheer flattery and lip service.
The stable Christians, the real devout ones, see this for what it is. So, of course, does Jesus. Although Jesus is always happy to have our attention, and always longs to have us focused on Him for our provision, how off-putting it must be to only see us when we want something out of Him. Whereas devout people of God make Him a part of their daily life and include Him in their ongoing struggle, the fledgling masses continue just to see Him as a shelter in a storm.
I know the difference between friends of commitment and friends of convenience. I have friends who are always there for me, who care about me when their life is good or bad (and, likewise, when mine is good or bad), and who aren’t there to use me. And I have “friends” who only show up when there’s something in it for them.
Worse, I’m that “friend” to some, and I know it going in.
In those times of “friend”ship, where I’m being used, I can’t wait for my “friend” to leave so I can get back to enjoying true friends. In those same times, where I’m the one glad-handing and siphoning from the goodwill of others, I know they’re just humoring me as long as is necessary to get me away.
And, so, the application: I need to be a friend to Jesus, and not just a “friend.” I need to spend time with Him everyday, whether I have an acute need to attend to or not. For although Jesus, miraculously, doesn’t lose patience with our failings, God forbid someday I should show up in a time of need and have Him say “get away from me, you parasite! You pay me lip service, but I know you don’t really care.” God forbid that moment come, because (of course) He’d be speaking the truth, and I’d have no defense. Thank God that moment won’t come, but it makes my heart sick to think of such a time…
P: Lord, thank you for my true friends, and for the model they are to me of what true friendship is. Help me, Lord, to understand that You, too, are a friend, and that You want a relationship with me. Not one of convenience, and not one born out of acute need. Help me to respect You enough to include You, and help me to be a true friend to You, just as You have always been a true friend to me. Amen.
August 26, 2008
Jeremiah 50-51; 3 John 1
S: Jeremiah 50:3-5
"For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.”
O: Although this particular verse discusses a particular time, wherein the sons of Israel will seek the Lord in despair and be given a great victory, I think it pretty well wraps up the sort of situation that, typically, helps Christians remember what (or rather Who) they’re about.
A: The funny, or tragic, thing about Christianity for many people, often including myself, is that it’s a religion of desperation. My faith is strongest when I’m in the direst straits, which isn’t saying much, because so often my faith is barely existent. For so many, the time that we come to the Lord, where we draw near to Him and whisper hymns of praise and love, are those times when we’re just looking for a deliverance or a miracle or a provision. We’re suck-ups and sycophants, suddenly playing Yes-Man in the hopes that we’ll get what we want out of the relationship through sheer flattery and lip service.
The stable Christians, the real devout ones, see this for what it is. So, of course, does Jesus. Although Jesus is always happy to have our attention, and always longs to have us focused on Him for our provision, how off-putting it must be to only see us when we want something out of Him. Whereas devout people of God make Him a part of their daily life and include Him in their ongoing struggle, the fledgling masses continue just to see Him as a shelter in a storm.
I know the difference between friends of commitment and friends of convenience. I have friends who are always there for me, who care about me when their life is good or bad (and, likewise, when mine is good or bad), and who aren’t there to use me. And I have “friends” who only show up when there’s something in it for them.
Worse, I’m that “friend” to some, and I know it going in.
In those times of “friend”ship, where I’m being used, I can’t wait for my “friend” to leave so I can get back to enjoying true friends. In those same times, where I’m the one glad-handing and siphoning from the goodwill of others, I know they’re just humoring me as long as is necessary to get me away.
And, so, the application: I need to be a friend to Jesus, and not just a “friend.” I need to spend time with Him everyday, whether I have an acute need to attend to or not. For although Jesus, miraculously, doesn’t lose patience with our failings, God forbid someday I should show up in a time of need and have Him say “get away from me, you parasite! You pay me lip service, but I know you don’t really care.” God forbid that moment come, because (of course) He’d be speaking the truth, and I’d have no defense. Thank God that moment won’t come, but it makes my heart sick to think of such a time…
P: Lord, thank you for my true friends, and for the model they are to me of what true friendship is. Help me, Lord, to understand that You, too, are a friend, and that You want a relationship with me. Not one of convenience, and not one born out of acute need. Help me to respect You enough to include You, and help me to be a true friend to You, just as You have always been a true friend to me. Amen.
August 21, 2008
August 12, 2008
SOAP Notes
The latest SOAP Notes entry:
August 12, 2008
Jeremiah 10-12; John 14
S: Jeremiah 10:3-8; 12-14
For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. "They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good." There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion--their idol is wood!
It is He who made the earth by His power, Who stablished the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.
O: This section laments the people who worship false gods over the True God, but further highlights the tendency of man to put the cart before the horse, in worshipping the created over the Creator to their detriment.
A: My SOAP times are constantly annoying to me, in the sense that what I see in these verses is always a rather simple and obvious shortcoming in myself. And today I see the rather straight-forward issue of priorities. Worship, in so many ways, is a concept in the Bible that simply points out prioritization. Worship = attention = time = devotion = investment, so that when there’s discussion of worship, what it really highlights is that to which we are devoting and investing our time and attention, which in turn illustrates how we rank things in our lives.
Another annoying thing in my SOAP times is the realization that there are so few of them. It seems that my Bible reading almost exclusively consists of these SOAP periods, so as I look back and see I haven’t done a SOAP in months, it highlights just how low this exercise (Bible reading) is in my prioritization scheme.
Thinking over my last month, what has occupied my time? Noble things, like my wife and daughter and moving and work. Spending time with friends, doing favors for people here and there, reassuring clients who need someone to tell them things will be okay. But, just as often (or more often) I’m doing useless, inane, foolish, trifling things. Facebook MobWars or TV or beer drinking or reading magazines or telling stupid jokes or whatever. And both of these lists, the noble and ignoble, consist of things that are all priorities that should fall behind my God. They are all benefits that flow from him, so to worship them, or devote time to them, or pay attention to them, or invest myself in them to the exclusion of their source is ridiculous, short-sighted and wrong.
What to do? Well, the first step in solving any problem is recognizing it. The next step is addressing it. I clearly need to devote time that goes to other things (particularly the useless ones) to my God, and I need to place the noble things in their proper perspective, as things secondary or tertiary or whatever to the source from whence they came. And while appreciating them and servicing them is well and good, to look at them as being primary in importance is wrong, and I must catch myself when that occurs. To fail to address this is to invite ruin, and also to risk losing the benefits of the Creator by excluding Him from my life.
P: Lord, please help me to develop a proper value system in my life, and help me to establish priorities that reflect the correct weight of the things that I devote and invest my time and attention into. Help me to appreciate what You’ve provided without letting those things rule me, and help me to be mindful of their Provenance and to focus my attention appropriately toward You. Amen.
August 12, 2008
Jeremiah 10-12; John 14
S: Jeremiah 10:3-8; 12-14
For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. "They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good." There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion--their idol is wood!
It is He who made the earth by His power, Who stablished the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.
O: This section laments the people who worship false gods over the True God, but further highlights the tendency of man to put the cart before the horse, in worshipping the created over the Creator to their detriment.
A: My SOAP times are constantly annoying to me, in the sense that what I see in these verses is always a rather simple and obvious shortcoming in myself. And today I see the rather straight-forward issue of priorities. Worship, in so many ways, is a concept in the Bible that simply points out prioritization. Worship = attention = time = devotion = investment, so that when there’s discussion of worship, what it really highlights is that to which we are devoting and investing our time and attention, which in turn illustrates how we rank things in our lives.
Another annoying thing in my SOAP times is the realization that there are so few of them. It seems that my Bible reading almost exclusively consists of these SOAP periods, so as I look back and see I haven’t done a SOAP in months, it highlights just how low this exercise (Bible reading) is in my prioritization scheme.
Thinking over my last month, what has occupied my time? Noble things, like my wife and daughter and moving and work. Spending time with friends, doing favors for people here and there, reassuring clients who need someone to tell them things will be okay. But, just as often (or more often) I’m doing useless, inane, foolish, trifling things. Facebook MobWars or TV or beer drinking or reading magazines or telling stupid jokes or whatever. And both of these lists, the noble and ignoble, consist of things that are all priorities that should fall behind my God. They are all benefits that flow from him, so to worship them, or devote time to them, or pay attention to them, or invest myself in them to the exclusion of their source is ridiculous, short-sighted and wrong.
What to do? Well, the first step in solving any problem is recognizing it. The next step is addressing it. I clearly need to devote time that goes to other things (particularly the useless ones) to my God, and I need to place the noble things in their proper perspective, as things secondary or tertiary or whatever to the source from whence they came. And while appreciating them and servicing them is well and good, to look at them as being primary in importance is wrong, and I must catch myself when that occurs. To fail to address this is to invite ruin, and also to risk losing the benefits of the Creator by excluding Him from my life.
P: Lord, please help me to develop a proper value system in my life, and help me to establish priorities that reflect the correct weight of the things that I devote and invest my time and attention into. Help me to appreciate what You’ve provided without letting those things rule me, and help me to be mindful of their Provenance and to focus my attention appropriately toward You. Amen.
July 02, 2008
June 26, 2008
Should We Kill the Kiddie Rapists?
Exciting night in Portland. NBA Draft, lots of news on the Blazers front.
On most NBA Draft nights (like last year), I'd be going crazy with excitement over the team and what's going on. It's a time of great promise and great hope.
But, instead, my mind is stuck on something it was seizing upon this morning: the recent US Supreme Court decision ruling that capital punishment shouldn't apply to people who rape children.
Background: as most of my actual readers know, I'm a lawyer. I'm also a person, so any legal insights I have are tempered by my human frailties (emotion and irrational, illogical thinking, for instance). Further, I've read a nutshell summary of the opinion created by a law student at Willamette, so don't think for a minute that I've read the actual opinion, the facts of this particular case, or the legal reasoning involved as applied to the case.
What I know: a guy raped his step-daughter, who was under the age of 12. He may or may not have done it. He was convicted and, under state law, sentenced to death. The Supreme Court essentially found that killing a person for rape was disproportionate to the crime and created too many problems to allow it to stand.
The case is a messy one to serve as a foundation for my premise, even with the scant amount of knowledge that I have. The premise being that few crimes are more deserving of the death penalty than raping a child. So, I discuss generally, and not in the particulars of this case.
I went into my office today and decided to launch the rare idealogical bomb to see what happened. I commonly rest on my philosophical laurels and lead a live-and-let-live sort of existence. Everyone's free to think or feel what they want, provided it doesn't create a mess for everyone else at work, because I'm not to judge them and I expect them not to judge me on the basis of our variant opinions, ideals, or beliefs.
But I was so beside myself with consternation at the Court's ruling that I decided to share it with my peers.
One was predictably on my side, as she always is in any real debate. Another was, again predictably, contrary to me, as we tend to have a different idealogical bent, despite being very close friends who respect and trust eachother inherently. The last, a college student interning with us, was a wild card, as she's only been around for a week.
I forwarded my position: the Supreme Court called it wrong, and child rapists should be fair game in a society that condones capital punishment. My agreeable peer agreed, as I previously alluded. My disagreeable peer gave good reasons for his disagreement.
His primary thesis is that capital punishment is wrong, that it constitutes us playing god (despite he, himself, being somewhat agnostic), and that the whole freaking system of capital punishment is out of order anyway. The intern primarily jumped on the faulty-system bandwagon.
I, of course, have to agree that the system is out of order. There are people subject to the death penalty that shouldn't be. I allowed for this truth in my argument.
But, I opined, if our society and our courts are going to deem it appropriate to terminate some criminals' lives for some crimes they've committed, then certainly child rape should make the list.
My main thrust in the argument was that few crimes are as injurious to society and to the actual victim as raping them. Although I didn't voice it, I was thinking more particularly of adults in a position of trust, such as parentals/teachers/baby-sitters, taking advantage of the youths in their care. But, certainly, any rape of a child is among the most reprehensible of all crimes. In fact, I think it's worse to rape a kid than to murder someone, because while the murder of someone has the effect of cutting off their future, the rape of a child has the effect of completely marring, scarring, and destroying a future that they must live through.
To his credit, my friend saw my points regarding how child rape was worse than many of the murders committed to get people on death row. But he opined that the death penalty's aim in these cases was to appease ourselves as opposed to creating justice. It was to make us feel better.
He is, of course, right. By killing a person, you remove their capacity to reform, to learn from their wrongs, to change. But, by killing that person, you let people know how their conduct is viewed, you state in the strongest possible way to the victim that they are valued and protected by society, and you, in no uncertain terms, mete out the highest degree of allowable punishment available for an extremely high degree of evil that has been committed. And, in acknowledgment of my friend's concern, it absolutely is a way to exorcise the rage we feel towards these people for what they've done.
We ended up debating the death penalty, ultimately, and essentially agreeing to disagree. Thus is the nature of a reasoned society debating openly about various views.
But I still ask, is the Court right? Should capital punishment be reserved to only murderers?
On most NBA Draft nights (like last year), I'd be going crazy with excitement over the team and what's going on. It's a time of great promise and great hope.
But, instead, my mind is stuck on something it was seizing upon this morning: the recent US Supreme Court decision ruling that capital punishment shouldn't apply to people who rape children.
Background: as most of my actual readers know, I'm a lawyer. I'm also a person, so any legal insights I have are tempered by my human frailties (emotion and irrational, illogical thinking, for instance). Further, I've read a nutshell summary of the opinion created by a law student at Willamette, so don't think for a minute that I've read the actual opinion, the facts of this particular case, or the legal reasoning involved as applied to the case.
What I know: a guy raped his step-daughter, who was under the age of 12. He may or may not have done it. He was convicted and, under state law, sentenced to death. The Supreme Court essentially found that killing a person for rape was disproportionate to the crime and created too many problems to allow it to stand.
The case is a messy one to serve as a foundation for my premise, even with the scant amount of knowledge that I have. The premise being that few crimes are more deserving of the death penalty than raping a child. So, I discuss generally, and not in the particulars of this case.
I went into my office today and decided to launch the rare idealogical bomb to see what happened. I commonly rest on my philosophical laurels and lead a live-and-let-live sort of existence. Everyone's free to think or feel what they want, provided it doesn't create a mess for everyone else at work, because I'm not to judge them and I expect them not to judge me on the basis of our variant opinions, ideals, or beliefs.
But I was so beside myself with consternation at the Court's ruling that I decided to share it with my peers.
One was predictably on my side, as she always is in any real debate. Another was, again predictably, contrary to me, as we tend to have a different idealogical bent, despite being very close friends who respect and trust eachother inherently. The last, a college student interning with us, was a wild card, as she's only been around for a week.
I forwarded my position: the Supreme Court called it wrong, and child rapists should be fair game in a society that condones capital punishment. My agreeable peer agreed, as I previously alluded. My disagreeable peer gave good reasons for his disagreement.
His primary thesis is that capital punishment is wrong, that it constitutes us playing god (despite he, himself, being somewhat agnostic), and that the whole freaking system of capital punishment is out of order anyway. The intern primarily jumped on the faulty-system bandwagon.
I, of course, have to agree that the system is out of order. There are people subject to the death penalty that shouldn't be. I allowed for this truth in my argument.
But, I opined, if our society and our courts are going to deem it appropriate to terminate some criminals' lives for some crimes they've committed, then certainly child rape should make the list.
My main thrust in the argument was that few crimes are as injurious to society and to the actual victim as raping them. Although I didn't voice it, I was thinking more particularly of adults in a position of trust, such as parentals/teachers/baby-sitters, taking advantage of the youths in their care. But, certainly, any rape of a child is among the most reprehensible of all crimes. In fact, I think it's worse to rape a kid than to murder someone, because while the murder of someone has the effect of cutting off their future, the rape of a child has the effect of completely marring, scarring, and destroying a future that they must live through.
To his credit, my friend saw my points regarding how child rape was worse than many of the murders committed to get people on death row. But he opined that the death penalty's aim in these cases was to appease ourselves as opposed to creating justice. It was to make us feel better.
He is, of course, right. By killing a person, you remove their capacity to reform, to learn from their wrongs, to change. But, by killing that person, you let people know how their conduct is viewed, you state in the strongest possible way to the victim that they are valued and protected by society, and you, in no uncertain terms, mete out the highest degree of allowable punishment available for an extremely high degree of evil that has been committed. And, in acknowledgment of my friend's concern, it absolutely is a way to exorcise the rage we feel towards these people for what they've done.
We ended up debating the death penalty, ultimately, and essentially agreeing to disagree. Thus is the nature of a reasoned society debating openly about various views.
But I still ask, is the Court right? Should capital punishment be reserved to only murderers?
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