Thursday, January 22, 2009

He Knows Me
What matters supremely is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it–the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind.

All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is not a moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort–the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates–in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.
– J. I. Packer

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Toxic Talk
I have been working on a defense of why I still make New Year’s Resolutions and had hoped to post it by now. But it’s not ready so I throw out these thoughts. Yesterday was a historic day in the life of our country. Barack Obama is now President Obama. I’m old enough to remember when John Kennedy took the oath of office and made his very quotable speech. The excitement and optimism across the country was palpable. The same was true yesterday. Our country is in trouble and, for the moment, President Obama is our best hope. It seems that a broad spectrum of our people is willing to give him a chance, even if they did not vote for him.

I was in a meeting during the ceremonies and got into my truck in time to hear the last five minutes of his speech. The station to which my radio was tuned usually has a “conservative” talk program during that time slot. Within thirty seconds of the end of the speech, the host of the program was back on demeaning the speech and the person who gave it. I’m sure that he believes that is what he is paid to do but I immediately turned the radio off and gave thanks for my resolution not to listen to this type of hate speech this year. I am convinced that “conservative” talk radio has become a dishonest, divisive, and potentially destructive part of our culture. It is truly Toxic Talk and I am done with it!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana
By Anne Rice

This is the second book in the series telling the story of Jesus from his perspective: quite an ambitious undertaking. When I read the first book I expected to be disappointed and critical concerning all the “mistakes” I thought I would find. After all, what is right does an author known for vampire stories have to write about Christ? Ms. Rice answers that question in a lengthy personal testimony as an Afterward to the first book. It seems that a few years ago she returned to the faith of her childhood and felt that God was calling her to use her gifts in a way that would bring him glory. One of the things that made her vampire stories so popular is the research she did about the historical periods in which she sets her stories. Her readers learn a good bit of history and culture in each book. I remember hearing some critic commenting that she did a similar level of research as James Michener did for his epic novels. Ms. Rice shares with her readers that she read over 300 books in preparation for writing this series. That amount of reading, of course, does not guarantee success but in her capable hands it brings first century Palestine to life.

Now that I have finished the second book I confess that I was actually very intrigued by both the story lines and by the way Ms. Rice gives us insights into what the God-man may have been thinking. The first book begins with the return from Egypt and carries through the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is 12. The second book picks up just before Jesus begins his public ministry and carries through the wedding feast and the calling of the first group of Apostles. In the second book she gives her opinion on what it was like for Jesus to be tempted: both in the day-to-day occurrences of life and by Satan after his forty days in the wilderness. In some respects I don’t like to think about Jesus being tempted because I closely acquaint temptation with sin. How could Jesus look at a woman and somehow be sexually tempted? I don’t know – but if he didn’t then he has not walked where I walk and Scripture and the Church Fathers are wrong about his humanity. Even more interesting is the way she handles the encounter with Satan. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s reading, so I won’t give any details. I will say that it is very creative, consistent with the Biblical account, and, I think, most insightful into the character of the Great Deceiver.

Luke 2:52 tells us that after the visit to Jerusalem and Jesus’ encounter with the Teachers, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.” In both books, Ms. Rice gives an glimpse as to what it may have been like for Jesus to grow in wisdom while being fully God and fully man. I look forward to the next story.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Bail Out for the Bowls?
There may be a need for one more of those wonderful, outrageous bail outs we have now grown accustomed to. In case anyone has failed to notice, each bailed-out entity has expanded its size before letting anyone know how serious their problems were. In essence they became “too big to be allowed to fail.” General Motors was working hard to acquire Chrysler for that very purpose. We know now the college football bowl games are following the same outrageous method. The number of bowl games has been expanded to the point that there are now more Division 1 teams playing in bowl games than those teams sitting at home watching. Why the big increase? Because if the bowl system is replaced with an actual playoff system, the argument can be made that there will be some teams left out of the mix – and we wouldn’t want that to happen. The latest BCS calamity occurred this evening – Utah dominated the mighty Alabama team to become the only undefeated team in the country. The Utes have a legitimate claim on the #1 ranking but will not get the chance to either play for the championship or to be recognized for their achievement because the BCS has a vital interest in declaring either Florida or Oklahoma the championship. The “bail out” the bowls need is not monetary (thank God for small favors). They are going to need a credibility bail out because once again the BCS (and the bowl system) has failed to give football fans a true champion!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Goodbye 2008

“We always enjoy looking down a long road lined with beautiful trees. The trees are a delightful sight and seem to be forming a temple of plants, with strong wooden pillars and arches of leaves. In the same way you look down a beautiful road like this, why not look back on the road of the years of your life? Look at the large green limbs of God’s mercy overhead and the strong pillars of His loving-kindness and faithfulness that have brought you much joy. Do you see any birds singing in the branches? If you look closely, surely you will see many, for they are singing of God’s mercy received ‘thus far.’”

This quote is from the December 31 devotional in Streams in the Desert. It is such a fitting quote as I say goodbye to 2008. It was a year that was sprinkled with God’s blessings which stand out so brightly against the dark, foreboding background of much of the year. It was a year that was filled with much pain. It was a year in which I was forced to question some of the things that had become almost like bedrock in my life. It was a year in which emotional turmoil was manifest in real physical distress. It was a year in which others in my extended family were enduring different but very difficult circumstances. In my book, 2008 is being filed away with 2004, 1999 and 1996 – very hard years which would not have been endurable without those branches of God’s tender mercies.