Today was a day of hypotheticals. I may have awakened in Rio, and taken a tour of the Sugarloaf mountain and seen the giant statue of Christ on a nearby hill. I may have run up the steps rather than take an elevator for the last part of the way.
Other than those hypotheticals, it was a great day. God gave us very favorable weather, and our touring went famously. We sang several unplanned mini-concerts while waiting for the trains to take us to the giant statue of Christ [that made the "new seven wonders of the world" list]. They were literally begging for more and very interactive while we performed. In the later evening, we walked along the Copacabana and while we were sitting for a drink [they had _so_ many fruit juices], a small quintet sang for us.... they blended so perfectly, it was amazing. We surprised them by turning the tables and singing a song or two of our own! They were shocked, and stayed for a while, singing some American popular music that we were able to join in on.
All in all, a very one-of-a-kind day, to say the least. I took some amazing long-exposure pictures of Rio from the Sugarloaf, ... you'd think they were a postcard.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Rio: Copacabana!
Today was a pretty good day.... if you can call being driven around RIO DE JANIERO and seeing the waves of the COPACABANA and IPANEMA simply a "good" thing.
We started off the day by visiting the local "hippie market", essentially a craft fair on the streets of large proportions. Apparently it used to have something to do with hippies,... but no longer. I replaced the pair of sandals I lost in Salvador with a new one and picked up a few more trinkets for the folks back home. I also stopped to talk to and play checkers with some of the vendors; it was a bit harder because the rules are a little different. You can only move forward, but you can jump backwards. When you are "kinged," the king can move any number of spaces and can jump pieces along its diagonal at any distance. They were really fun guys, and I have a video of one of them offering a live pigeon that he had just picked up, suggesting that we could eat it, and then Hilary reacting as you'd expect some to react with a "no!!!".... good times.
After returning from the Hippie market, we were dropped back at the hotel where I mailed my postcards at last. Hopefully they'll arrive home before I do. We ate at a local supermarket that had a "pizzeria" restaurant in the back; I had a Calzone that included a lot of ricotta cheese, olives, peppers, tomato sauce and pieces of hard boiled egg! I'd never had one quite like it; I don't think they have pepperoni of any form, since hotdogs pass for "sausage" everywhere I've seen.
We performed at the Candelaria cathedral in Rio, an amazing place. We got there a little early and toured the cathedral of St. Sebastian, a giant cone-shaped building with massive paned stained glass on each of its 4 sides. Granite floors and an amazing structure... I took a lot of pictures! Our concert was well attended, and apparently recorded for a Brazilian television station! We won't get the recording for 6 months or so, since they want to edit it for broadcast and such, and we have to give them copies of our passports as a waiver of any rights to it, naturally. Still... it was a great performance on our part; all of the songs were right-on in a way that doesn't usually happen with all songs at once.
Afterwards, we ate at a local cafe; I had a lasagna dish and a milkshake that was really good, as good or better than Fuddruckers and for less dough. A Cuban athletic team came in while we were eating; Nan got some pictures with them, some with my camera.... I wish I'd had the chance to see some of the Pan-American games with them being in town, but I'll have to be satisfied with having heard the very loud music from their closing celebration echoing through the streets.
In the course of the day, I had opportunity to walk along some of the famed Copacabana beach and take some pictures, including one of the Copacabana name scratched into the beach sand (by moi). Tomorrow, we're going to go see the huge status of Jesus up on the nearby mountain, it's gotten a lot of international publicity [including a place in the revised "Seven Wonders" list]. We'll also go up the Sugarloaf, a local hill that forms a very sharp silhouette on the nearby skyline. It should make for some amazing pictures of the city. The waves on the copacabana are also huge, nearly 6+ feet ... I'll be looking for bodyboards and for parasailing opportunities.
So many things, so little time!
We started off the day by visiting the local "hippie market", essentially a craft fair on the streets of large proportions. Apparently it used to have something to do with hippies,... but no longer. I replaced the pair of sandals I lost in Salvador with a new one and picked up a few more trinkets for the folks back home. I also stopped to talk to and play checkers with some of the vendors; it was a bit harder because the rules are a little different. You can only move forward, but you can jump backwards. When you are "kinged," the king can move any number of spaces and can jump pieces along its diagonal at any distance. They were really fun guys, and I have a video of one of them offering a live pigeon that he had just picked up, suggesting that we could eat it, and then Hilary reacting as you'd expect some to react with a "no!!!".... good times.
After returning from the Hippie market, we were dropped back at the hotel where I mailed my postcards at last. Hopefully they'll arrive home before I do. We ate at a local supermarket that had a "pizzeria" restaurant in the back; I had a Calzone that included a lot of ricotta cheese, olives, peppers, tomato sauce and pieces of hard boiled egg! I'd never had one quite like it; I don't think they have pepperoni of any form, since hotdogs pass for "sausage" everywhere I've seen.
We performed at the Candelaria cathedral in Rio, an amazing place. We got there a little early and toured the cathedral of St. Sebastian, a giant cone-shaped building with massive paned stained glass on each of its 4 sides. Granite floors and an amazing structure... I took a lot of pictures! Our concert was well attended, and apparently recorded for a Brazilian television station! We won't get the recording for 6 months or so, since they want to edit it for broadcast and such, and we have to give them copies of our passports as a waiver of any rights to it, naturally. Still... it was a great performance on our part; all of the songs were right-on in a way that doesn't usually happen with all songs at once.
Afterwards, we ate at a local cafe; I had a lasagna dish and a milkshake that was really good, as good or better than Fuddruckers and for less dough. A Cuban athletic team came in while we were eating; Nan got some pictures with them, some with my camera.... I wish I'd had the chance to see some of the Pan-American games with them being in town, but I'll have to be satisfied with having heard the very loud music from their closing celebration echoing through the streets.
In the course of the day, I had opportunity to walk along some of the famed Copacabana beach and take some pictures, including one of the Copacabana name scratched into the beach sand (by moi). Tomorrow, we're going to go see the huge status of Jesus up on the nearby mountain, it's gotten a lot of international publicity [including a place in the revised "Seven Wonders" list]. We'll also go up the Sugarloaf, a local hill that forms a very sharp silhouette on the nearby skyline. It should make for some amazing pictures of the city. The waves on the copacabana are also huge, nearly 6+ feet ... I'll be looking for bodyboards and for parasailing opportunities.
So many things, so little time!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Rio! Day 5
We flew out of Salvador airport at a bright and early 9:00am [meaning up and at 'em at 6am], arriving in Rio without incident after a 2-hour flight. It's amazing how you take a safe flight for granted; the Lord is good.
Today was spent in traveling, checking in to the Hotel Luxor Continental, and driving along the Ipanema and Copacabana beaches... they're something else all right! It was raining most of the day, so no one was out, but I can easily see what makes them so famous. We will hopefully visit them in coming days, even better if we can get out at night and listen-to/dance-with a samba school on the beach. I'm currently researching doing para-sailing, beach walking, possible roller coasters, and perhaps even some dance practice if the situation presents itself.
As I will be unable to attend morning services tomorrow, and I will be on the bus during the approximate times of Mebane's web broadcast, I will be reading a lot of Ryle tomorrow. I sense that there are many believers among this bunch, both nominal and more serious, so hopefully the coincidence of the day, a long bus ride and my selection of reading material will generate some conversation of a spiritual bent.
We had an truly awe-inspiring concert this afternoon, after visiting the Casa de Santa Anna, a ministry where mental, emotional, and physical help is given to elderly of the area who would otherwise be, as the workers reported some of their patients saying it, sitting around waiting to die. The city of Rio de Janiero is a large one, about 6 million, but there are many slum areas that are very poor. From our short walkthrough of one on the way to Santa Anna, it was a real assault on one's senses. Even with the cleansing rain falling, refuse was everywhere and the stench of raw sewage and squalor was everywhere. There is a serious drug trade that is all around, according to Victor our guide, and it is doubtless similarly spiritually destitute. The work that that group was doing was remarkable, if judging only by the group of women who sang for us from among their patients, along with a group of children who are similarly cared for.
We went on after they performed a few pieces, and by the end when we sang Mui Rendera, almost all of them were right there singing along with us. After a long round of applause [we received a standing ovation after every single piece!] they spontaneously came up on stage with us, along with a large crowd of camera-bearers wanting to take pictures. We sung refrains from the Mui Rendera along with them, and had a really good time with it.
Afterwards, we ended up doing a bit of dancing with some of them in a side room where tea and coffee were being served... all and all the best concert I can remember being involved in. I hope that we can serve as an encouragement to them, both through our presence and the donation our group made to their work, because, although I know nothing of the spiritual dimensions of their work, I can't imagine a more Christ-imitating work than what they were doing. Sometimes I end up thinking "well I'd like to do that, but I don't know if I have the temperament or long-haul patience for it"... but that's really just the sin of selfishness rearing it's ugly head. Christ has done as much, and a million times over, for me; how could I think that I should do anything less? I don't know how I'd work it in, given my rash of travel recently, but I'd have to admit an interest in a mission trip in the near future. Too bad I missed the New Orleans trip a few months back; maybe something else will arise soon.
We ended up eating dinner at a fancy place in Rio that had a live band playing... except that we ended up leaving because the music start was delayed and we're all rather tired. If I go to bed this instant, maybe I'll get 8 hours.
"And the King will say to those on his right, 'Come ye, blessed of my Father, into the kingdom prepared for you. For you saw me hungry, and gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink. Naked, and you clothed me, and in prison and you came to Me.' And they shall say to him, 'When did we do this for You?' And He will say 'In that you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.'" --Matthew something:something
"We don't know who the elect of Christ are. Every time we see someone in need and refuse them, either explicitly or implicitly, we may at the last day find ourselves under the condemnation of this saying of Christ. What a horrible thing it would be to find yourself in heaven and have someone come up to you and gently remind you that you had spat in the proverbial face of one of Christ's precious ones." --yeah that's an self quotation
Today was spent in traveling, checking in to the Hotel Luxor Continental, and driving along the Ipanema and Copacabana beaches... they're something else all right! It was raining most of the day, so no one was out, but I can easily see what makes them so famous. We will hopefully visit them in coming days, even better if we can get out at night and listen-to/dance-with a samba school on the beach. I'm currently researching doing para-sailing, beach walking, possible roller coasters, and perhaps even some dance practice if the situation presents itself.
As I will be unable to attend morning services tomorrow, and I will be on the bus during the approximate times of Mebane's web broadcast, I will be reading a lot of Ryle tomorrow. I sense that there are many believers among this bunch, both nominal and more serious, so hopefully the coincidence of the day, a long bus ride and my selection of reading material will generate some conversation of a spiritual bent.
We had an truly awe-inspiring concert this afternoon, after visiting the Casa de Santa Anna, a ministry where mental, emotional, and physical help is given to elderly of the area who would otherwise be, as the workers reported some of their patients saying it, sitting around waiting to die. The city of Rio de Janiero is a large one, about 6 million, but there are many slum areas that are very poor. From our short walkthrough of one on the way to Santa Anna, it was a real assault on one's senses. Even with the cleansing rain falling, refuse was everywhere and the stench of raw sewage and squalor was everywhere. There is a serious drug trade that is all around, according to Victor our guide, and it is doubtless similarly spiritually destitute. The work that that group was doing was remarkable, if judging only by the group of women who sang for us from among their patients, along with a group of children who are similarly cared for.
We went on after they performed a few pieces, and by the end when we sang Mui Rendera, almost all of them were right there singing along with us. After a long round of applause [we received a standing ovation after every single piece!] they spontaneously came up on stage with us, along with a large crowd of camera-bearers wanting to take pictures. We sung refrains from the Mui Rendera along with them, and had a really good time with it.
Afterwards, we ended up doing a bit of dancing with some of them in a side room where tea and coffee were being served... all and all the best concert I can remember being involved in. I hope that we can serve as an encouragement to them, both through our presence and the donation our group made to their work, because, although I know nothing of the spiritual dimensions of their work, I can't imagine a more Christ-imitating work than what they were doing. Sometimes I end up thinking "well I'd like to do that, but I don't know if I have the temperament or long-haul patience for it"... but that's really just the sin of selfishness rearing it's ugly head. Christ has done as much, and a million times over, for me; how could I think that I should do anything less? I don't know how I'd work it in, given my rash of travel recently, but I'd have to admit an interest in a mission trip in the near future. Too bad I missed the New Orleans trip a few months back; maybe something else will arise soon.
We ended up eating dinner at a fancy place in Rio that had a live band playing... except that we ended up leaving because the music start was delayed and we're all rather tired. If I go to bed this instant, maybe I'll get 8 hours.
"And the King will say to those on his right, 'Come ye, blessed of my Father, into the kingdom prepared for you. For you saw me hungry, and gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink. Naked, and you clothed me, and in prison and you came to Me.' And they shall say to him, 'When did we do this for You?' And He will say 'In that you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.'" --Matthew something:something
"We don't know who the elect of Christ are. Every time we see someone in need and refuse them, either explicitly or implicitly, we may at the last day find ourselves under the condemnation of this saying of Christ. What a horrible thing it would be to find yourself in heaven and have someone come up to you and gently remind you that you had spat in the proverbial face of one of Christ's precious ones." --yeah that's an self quotation
Friday, July 27, 2007
Salvador day 4: walking and swimming
Today started with a nice early 8am rise, breakfast in the lobby, and a bus-tour of Salvador. It was a very interesting trip, stopping several times for pictures and such... including one stop at the beach where some men sold coconuts with straws attached... sweet but not that sweet. There was a walking tour of the local Market, where I bought more than my share of things. The highlight: I was offered a nice wooden carving for 140R, but I wasn't interested... I held the guy off for a while until it was down to 100 before walking away. However, before leaving, he caught me again and I again rebuffed him, until as I was walking down the stairs he came up and put in my bag... the final price was 30R. That's bargaining skills, baby!
It's 4pm and I'm heading down to swim in the bay, ... right down the slope [e.g. several hundred steps!] from the hotel. They have an awesome slide that dumps you off a 10-foot drop at the end... headfirst if you're like me! They also have a higher platform, maybe 25 feet, for a zipline that I was unfortunately stopped from using when I tried the other day. I just jumped off... it's quite a drop! Many pictures and movies, so you'll all get to see how cool I looked. Hopefully they'll end up on facebook eventually or some such. Ciao!
It's 4pm and I'm heading down to swim in the bay, ... right down the slope [e.g. several hundred steps!] from the hotel. They have an awesome slide that dumps you off a 10-foot drop at the end... headfirst if you're like me! They also have a higher platform, maybe 25 feet, for a zipline that I was unfortunately stopped from using when I tried the other day. I just jumped off... it's quite a drop! Many pictures and movies, so you'll all get to see how cool I looked. Hopefully they'll end up on facebook eventually or some such. Ciao!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Everywhere Portuguese
Wouldn't you know it that the Blog site sees me connecting from Brazil and translates all the menu items... good thing I can interpret some Portuguese or I'd be up a creek.
Day 2 and 3: Salvador
This one I'm writing as I post. They charge $10US for 24-hours of internet access, which I'm subletting to anyone who wants to use my computer... I'll probably end up making money in the end.
Tidbit of the day: the room keys must be placed in a jacket by the door to turn on the power circuit for the room. 20 seconds out of the slot and the power shuts off; I already trapped Chas in the bathroom once this way. Lesson learned.
It's 1:30am local time and it's been a long day of running around the town. Here's a brief timeline:
~3pm Wednesday July 27 [technically day 1]: we finally arrived in Salvador after arriving in Rio early in the morning and flying over here. This last flight was on the GOL airline... same one that had all those crashes and other mishaps; God kept us safe and we landed on time, though it's the only jet plane I've been on that was literally shaking us silly while just taxiing to the runway!
7pm Wed: Went to a local former church [I believe] and ate a buffet meal followed by a show ... meaning _dancing_ show. The first act was a very colorful display of samba dancing by men/women dressed as some of the traditional African god(esse)s that have been carried over in centuries past by the African slaves. Following that was an amazing display of several men "playing" capoeira, an acclaimed Brazilian fighting style that you have to see to believe. The amount of strength, flexibility, and stamina required to jump around a carry on like they did is tremendous; ask me for videos sometime or look up some for yourself... it's somethin' else.
I took some good videos of this... it's really something else.
Thursday (_today_): We took a walking tour of Salvador, visiting a lot of shops and encountering all the usuals of a big city: interesting graffiti [some was _very_ well done], old buildings, very old buildings, and street vendors like you wouldn't believe. I've been to NYC, but NYC has nothing on this place. I bought my share of trinkets using exchanged Reals [hhhhre-eyes if you will] and got a good amount for my cash [esp considering the Real trades at more than 2-per-$]. We ate at Pareira (if I spell correctly) ... 1.5 large steaks plus extras for about $19US [you had to split meals].
We did a few songs on the street in front of an apparently-famous drum school called Olorun, headquartered in Salvador; it had been scheduled for us by our tour manager. They are a patron-funded school that works with low-income families and street children, giving them something to do during their school day, since it only runs for half a day [7am-1pm]; they also performed for us and were excellent [yes, I have videos]
We performed a 1-hour concert tonight in Salvador [don't recall where], which was very well received. We really got into it, for a first concert, and I think we'll have a hard time topping it in our remaining 3 or 4 performances. If the Lord wills, we will be doing another tomorrow [today actually, it's 2am] after doing some more touring. As they say, boa noite for now.
Tidbit of the day: the room keys must be placed in a jacket by the door to turn on the power circuit for the room. 20 seconds out of the slot and the power shuts off; I already trapped Chas in the bathroom once this way. Lesson learned.
It's 1:30am local time and it's been a long day of running around the town. Here's a brief timeline:
~3pm Wednesday July 27 [technically day 1]: we finally arrived in Salvador after arriving in Rio early in the morning and flying over here. This last flight was on the GOL airline... same one that had all those crashes and other mishaps; God kept us safe and we landed on time, though it's the only jet plane I've been on that was literally shaking us silly while just taxiing to the runway!
7pm Wed: Went to a local former church [I believe] and ate a buffet meal followed by a show ... meaning _dancing_ show. The first act was a very colorful display of samba dancing by men/women dressed as some of the traditional African god(esse)s that have been carried over in centuries past by the African slaves. Following that was an amazing display of several men "playing" capoeira, an acclaimed Brazilian fighting style that you have to see to believe. The amount of strength, flexibility, and stamina required to jump around a carry on like they did is tremendous; ask me for videos sometime or look up some for yourself... it's somethin' else.
I took some good videos of this... it's really something else.
Thursday (_today_): We took a walking tour of Salvador, visiting a lot of shops and encountering all the usuals of a big city: interesting graffiti [some was _very_ well done], old buildings, very old buildings, and street vendors like you wouldn't believe. I've been to NYC, but NYC has nothing on this place. I bought my share of trinkets using exchanged Reals [hhhhre-eyes if you will] and got a good amount for my cash [esp considering the Real trades at more than 2-per-$]. We ate at Pareira (if I spell correctly) ... 1.5 large steaks plus extras for about $19US [you had to split meals].
We did a few songs on the street in front of an apparently-famous drum school called Olorun, headquartered in Salvador; it had been scheduled for us by our tour manager. They are a patron-funded school that works with low-income families and street children, giving them something to do during their school day, since it only runs for half a day [7am-1pm]; they also performed for us and were excellent [yes, I have videos]
We performed a 1-hour concert tonight in Salvador [don't recall where], which was very well received. We really got into it, for a first concert, and I think we'll have a hard time topping it in our remaining 3 or 4 performances. If the Lord wills, we will be doing another tomorrow [today actually, it's 2am] after doing some more touring. As they say, boa noite for now.
Brazil rocks; Day 1
As many of you know, I'm in Brazil now for about 10 days. I have limited net access but will post things as I can. Look for bursts of traffic. Since I have enough to say and only spotty posting ability, I'll try to limit my usual. personal ramblings.
Day 1- 24 hours of plane heaven
-----
It's about 1am and I'm midway on my flight to Rio from Miami; all seems well so far but it's in the hands of God regardless.
Knowing the will of God isn't a matter ot getting some special insight into the plan of God. Only by being conformed to His image do we come to value the things He values, love the things He loves, and hate the things He hates. I don't know His will by a mystical revelation, I know it by having my character conformed to His. The more my character is conformed to His, the more our wills will be in sync.
As I've said before, it's easy to trust that God is working things out when said things go as expected. Put simply, it requires no faith. Faith is the substance of things _not_ seen.
If only my reading light worked... I'd be reading Ryle. Ah well.
"The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth away." -- PotC:CotBP
According to The Italian Job, "fine" stands for "Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional".
------
...Later that day ... err 6am the next morning
------
Well, we are still flying. After arriving at Miami a slightly late 8:30pm, we had a litle less than the expected 3 hours layover. Flying out around 11 or so, we had a largely uneventfull flight to Rio on a 767 wiht DC power available. I didn't sleep much myself though there were many that did. I think we eended up flying until around 8am local time in Rio,which is about 1 hour ahead of us in Raleigh [they don't use DST]. We met Victor, our tour guide, shortly after we arrved in Rio; He speaks fluent English and he seems like a pretty cool guy. We wiated around until about 2:30 local time to fly out yet again, this time to Salvador. It's 4:12 right now, and I think we're just starting to decend... for the last time! It's been a long day, and is draining me slowly but surely. In a perverse way, it's a blessing that I keep such weird hours because it also makes it very easy for meto travel.
I have high hopes for this weke, having spend about 3000 dollars for it [upfront, plus other expenses] and it's the first I've been out of the country since going to England in 2003 and my first time ouside the Northern hemisphere. Throw in another language that I've never heard, another currency [thankfully better rates than the Pound], some jungles, and you've got a pretty cool trip.
God has kept us safe thus far, with the only casualty having been the luggage containing the programs [which an be regained, as Nancy has the original in her possession]. I don't know how much of a sense I'm going to get on this trip of the darkness of this Cathocism-darkened country that I'm going to see, but from what I've read it's pretty intense. I was speaking to Don earlier [a music minister from Greensboro] and he had talked about sending kids on mission trips to Mexico and how much it opened their eyes to the conditions that others in the world live with, which could be said even more in the spiritual realm. I've been given a pretty filled up storehousee of knowledge which puts quite the responsibility on my head. I don't feel it as much as I surely should, but perhaps this trip will put that a little more in focus. Oh look, it's landing time.
Day 1- 24 hours of plane heaven
-----
It's about 1am and I'm midway on my flight to Rio from Miami; all seems well so far but it's in the hands of God regardless.
Knowing the will of God isn't a matter ot getting some special insight into the plan of God. Only by being conformed to His image do we come to value the things He values, love the things He loves, and hate the things He hates. I don't know His will by a mystical revelation, I know it by having my character conformed to His. The more my character is conformed to His, the more our wills will be in sync.
As I've said before, it's easy to trust that God is working things out when said things go as expected. Put simply, it requires no faith. Faith is the substance of things _not_ seen.
If only my reading light worked... I'd be reading Ryle. Ah well.
"The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth away." -- PotC:CotBP
According to The Italian Job, "fine" stands for "Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional".
------
...Later that day ... err 6am the next morning
------
Well, we are still flying. After arriving at Miami a slightly late 8:30pm, we had a litle less than the expected 3 hours layover. Flying out around 11 or so, we had a largely uneventfull flight to Rio on a 767 wiht DC power available. I didn't sleep much myself though there were many that did. I think we eended up flying until around 8am local time in Rio,which is about 1 hour ahead of us in Raleigh [they don't use DST]. We met Victor, our tour guide, shortly after we arrved in Rio; He speaks fluent English and he seems like a pretty cool guy. We wiated around until about 2:30 local time to fly out yet again, this time to Salvador. It's 4:12 right now, and I think we're just starting to decend... for the last time! It's been a long day, and is draining me slowly but surely. In a perverse way, it's a blessing that I keep such weird hours because it also makes it very easy for meto travel.
I have high hopes for this weke, having spend about 3000 dollars for it [upfront, plus other expenses] and it's the first I've been out of the country since going to England in 2003 and my first time ouside the Northern hemisphere. Throw in another language that I've never heard, another currency [thankfully better rates than the Pound], some jungles, and you've got a pretty cool trip.
God has kept us safe thus far, with the only casualty having been the luggage containing the programs [which an be regained, as Nancy has the original in her possession]. I don't know how much of a sense I'm going to get on this trip of the darkness of this Cathocism-darkened country that I'm going to see, but from what I've read it's pretty intense. I was speaking to Don earlier [a music minister from Greensboro] and he had talked about sending kids on mission trips to Mexico and how much it opened their eyes to the conditions that others in the world live with, which could be said even more in the spiritual realm. I've been given a pretty filled up storehousee of knowledge which puts quite the responsibility on my head. I don't feel it as much as I surely should, but perhaps this trip will put that a little more in focus. Oh look, it's landing time.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
my word do I need a sedative
I'm glad I don't remember all the words to the song that starts "I couldn't sleep at all last night" or they'd be looping around my brain right now. I need a neuro-suppressive. Badly.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Red letter doesn't quite cover it
Some days are red letter days. Some days are bold print. Some days are both, and then some. This would be one of those. Let me see if I can list the things that are going on:
- My company was bought by HP, causing the stock to jump 4 dollars [to $14], my options to more than double, and all the salary I'd been diverting to stock to nearly double. My job is secure, and I've been pulled into some high profile projects of late
- I'm leaving for a 10-day vacation, perfectly timed for a company-acquisition that I knew nothing about. I successfully handed off my work-in-progress, and I'm all packed.
- I had an amazing Lord's day that I have more than enough to blog about. Amazingly it happened to be on the hand of God in the backgrounds of our lives, from the book of Ruth. Amazing how God keeps doing that to me week after week, bringing things that have been on my mind the entire week.
- And that's not the half of it. Maybe I'll that part more fully into words eventually.
Except for a phone call that I must make, a hair cut, pants I have to buy, and a trip to the airport.... I'm finally ready for the trip. I'll, naturally, have my computer sewn to my hip much of the time, but I will hopefully be doing a lot and taking a lot of pictures. Pray for me; there have been a lot of plane crashes, flights turned back, and emergency landings in Brazil over the last month. As Stonewall put it, I am as safe on an airplane as I am in bed. I will be online a bit during my trip, and posting notes to my blog when I can.
To abbreviate my notes from the Lord's day, Savador Gomez was in town from the Dominican, having come up for a ladies' conference in the past week. He gave a report on the work at IBSJ in the Sunday school, focusing on their Christian school and Radio Eternidad ministry.
His morning message was a semi-evangelistic one, focusing on the doctrinal tuple of conversion, sanctification, and glorification. His central message, oft repeated, was that God wants us to change. It's why He performed the heart transplant, removing the heart of stone; it's why He implants the power of the Spirit to steadily purify us; it's why He will purge the very presence of sin from us at last.
The evening message was drawn from the book of Ruth; a sort of followup/review of what had been addressed to the ladies earlier in the week. Recent events have driven home to me the gist of the message, that God's Sovereign hand is always at work, though we may not perceive it until a long time afterwards. Despite our foolish plans [as Naomi's in chapter 3], He works out what we will soon readily acknowledge to be what was toward out highest good, both in this world and the world to come.
There's so much more, but it's 11:30, I've got a crazy amount of energy, and I need to wind down if I'm to have any hope of getting a reasonable amount of sleep tonight.
- My company was bought by HP, causing the stock to jump 4 dollars [to $14], my options to more than double, and all the salary I'd been diverting to stock to nearly double. My job is secure, and I've been pulled into some high profile projects of late
- I'm leaving for a 10-day vacation, perfectly timed for a company-acquisition that I knew nothing about. I successfully handed off my work-in-progress, and I'm all packed.
- I had an amazing Lord's day that I have more than enough to blog about. Amazingly it happened to be on the hand of God in the backgrounds of our lives, from the book of Ruth. Amazing how God keeps doing that to me week after week, bringing things that have been on my mind the entire week.
- And that's not the half of it. Maybe I'll that part more fully into words eventually.
Except for a phone call that I must make, a hair cut, pants I have to buy, and a trip to the airport.... I'm finally ready for the trip. I'll, naturally, have my computer sewn to my hip much of the time, but I will hopefully be doing a lot and taking a lot of pictures. Pray for me; there have been a lot of plane crashes, flights turned back, and emergency landings in Brazil over the last month. As Stonewall put it, I am as safe on an airplane as I am in bed. I will be online a bit during my trip, and posting notes to my blog when I can.
To abbreviate my notes from the Lord's day, Savador Gomez was in town from the Dominican, having come up for a ladies' conference in the past week. He gave a report on the work at IBSJ in the Sunday school, focusing on their Christian school and Radio Eternidad ministry.
His morning message was a semi-evangelistic one, focusing on the doctrinal tuple of conversion, sanctification, and glorification. His central message, oft repeated, was that God wants us to change. It's why He performed the heart transplant, removing the heart of stone; it's why He implants the power of the Spirit to steadily purify us; it's why He will purge the very presence of sin from us at last.
The evening message was drawn from the book of Ruth; a sort of followup/review of what had been addressed to the ladies earlier in the week. Recent events have driven home to me the gist of the message, that God's Sovereign hand is always at work, though we may not perceive it until a long time afterwards. Despite our foolish plans [as Naomi's in chapter 3], He works out what we will soon readily acknowledge to be what was toward out highest good, both in this world and the world to come.
There's so much more, but it's 11:30, I've got a crazy amount of energy, and I need to wind down if I'm to have any hope of getting a reasonable amount of sleep tonight.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
39 Articles... Steps... Hours
The Anglican church has 39 articles of faith
There is a spy novel named "39 Steps"
I have 39 hours before I leave the country
Coincidence.... I think not.
Today's excitement centered around my last Brazil rehearsal, my bowling for an hour with Warren, and watching Ratatouille with Evan, Christy, Warren, and Carrie. That, and sitting on my butt; we all know how exciting that is. The movie rocked; it was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. I lobbied for Die Hard 4, but everyone was pretty set on the Rat.
It's been a long time since Sunday; it always seems like that by the end of the week. I'm glad God didn't create the universe in more than six days or it'd be much to long time to go between spiritual fillings
It's sad how you can introduce someone to people and they use the word "keeper" without knowing anything of their spiritual walk or standing in Grace. I'm sure they mean well and realize they speak out of limited knowledge, but it's still slightly upsetting. If a girl's demeanor, way with children, or education were the barometer, then it'd be a pretty big pond. As my facebook paraphrase goes, "as a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is the most perfect perspective spouse without the indwelling Spirit." It's a pretty ring, but not when it comes with a pig attached. The Spirit is easy to spot, as easily as one can tell a beautiful person from a pig; He makes such an impact. Religiosity can't mimic it; living a moral life, going to church, undergoing sacraments, none of it will pass muster without the unassisted heart transplant of the Spirit. In a way, it's not tangible, but as the saying goes, you know it when you see it. And when you see it, it's more miraculously amazing than seeing a sea divided or water transformed into wine.
If only I were tired.... like I will be when I'm in Sunday school attempting to glean what I can from Ryle.
There is a spy novel named "39 Steps"
I have 39 hours before I leave the country
Coincidence.... I think not.
Today's excitement centered around my last Brazil rehearsal, my bowling for an hour with Warren, and watching Ratatouille with Evan, Christy, Warren, and Carrie. That, and sitting on my butt; we all know how exciting that is. The movie rocked; it was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. I lobbied for Die Hard 4, but everyone was pretty set on the Rat.
It's been a long time since Sunday; it always seems like that by the end of the week. I'm glad God didn't create the universe in more than six days or it'd be much to long time to go between spiritual fillings
It's sad how you can introduce someone to people and they use the word "keeper" without knowing anything of their spiritual walk or standing in Grace. I'm sure they mean well and realize they speak out of limited knowledge, but it's still slightly upsetting. If a girl's demeanor, way with children, or education were the barometer, then it'd be a pretty big pond. As my facebook paraphrase goes, "as a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is the most perfect perspective spouse without the indwelling Spirit." It's a pretty ring, but not when it comes with a pig attached. The Spirit is easy to spot, as easily as one can tell a beautiful person from a pig; He makes such an impact. Religiosity can't mimic it; living a moral life, going to church, undergoing sacraments, none of it will pass muster without the unassisted heart transplant of the Spirit. In a way, it's not tangible, but as the saying goes, you know it when you see it. And when you see it, it's more miraculously amazing than seeing a sea divided or water transformed into wine.
If only I were tired.... like I will be when I'm in Sunday school attempting to glean what I can from Ryle.
Thank God It (was) Friday
I think it's an artifact of the crazy hours I kept during my school days that when I get tired, at the normal time, if I don't go to bed right away I become alert again within about 30 or so minutes and can no longer fall asleep. Maybe that's the curse of being an engineer. Lord knows I'm not an English major.
After a few zany hours at work going back and forth with Dan yet again, I drove up to Lynchburg to see Cherise for a few hours, subsequently getting my ass handed to me in mini-golf. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I won the second 18-hold round because she had pity.... though I did shoot a little better. Apparently, Wii baseball didn't help me much either, since I missed every single pitch at the batting cages. That said, she easily managed to make the completely sucktastic sports performance well worth the trouble. I don't usually have a personal cheering section when I'm playing the Wii, maybe that's what threw me off.
I've come to be a fan of Melissa Scott's TV program, in which she continues her husband's long standing ministry which concentrates around delving into the original languages of bible texts, in a way that's both succinct and clear and at the same time broad-based and confusing. The text from the other day concerned Paul's reference to power being "in" Christians by means of the Spirit and noted the similarity between the language used and that used in reference to Christ dwelling in flesh.
The divinity of the Son of God was made manifest in a real human body and soul; in the same way, the Spirit enters in at conversion, enlivening the dead nature and investing in it a divine power; this is what Paul means when he speaks of the power of Christ being in us. It's not a power that acts on us, as if God were the one acting without our efforts, but God acts through our efforts; as Paul put it "it is I who live, and yet not I, but Christ in me." It's an incredible context, in the real meaning of that word, because it invests a wealth of meaning into even the smallest everyday events. None but that power can truly mortify sin. None but that power can truly accomplish anything for the cause of Christ.
People think miracles are things that have no discernible human agency. God's greatest miracles aren't divided Red Seas, walking on water, or healing with a touch; His greatest miracles are worked out, under the proverbial radar, in and through the everyday lives of Spirit-empowered human agents. Every day is the Lord's day, because He's got first dibs on every minute. Every day is the Lord's day, because He's the only One for whom I am living.
After a few zany hours at work going back and forth with Dan yet again, I drove up to Lynchburg to see Cherise for a few hours, subsequently getting my ass handed to me in mini-golf. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I won the second 18-hold round because she had pity.... though I did shoot a little better. Apparently, Wii baseball didn't help me much either, since I missed every single pitch at the batting cages. That said, she easily managed to make the completely sucktastic sports performance well worth the trouble. I don't usually have a personal cheering section when I'm playing the Wii, maybe that's what threw me off.
I've come to be a fan of Melissa Scott's TV program, in which she continues her husband's long standing ministry which concentrates around delving into the original languages of bible texts, in a way that's both succinct and clear and at the same time broad-based and confusing. The text from the other day concerned Paul's reference to power being "in" Christians by means of the Spirit and noted the similarity between the language used and that used in reference to Christ dwelling in flesh.
The divinity of the Son of God was made manifest in a real human body and soul; in the same way, the Spirit enters in at conversion, enlivening the dead nature and investing in it a divine power; this is what Paul means when he speaks of the power of Christ being in us. It's not a power that acts on us, as if God were the one acting without our efforts, but God acts through our efforts; as Paul put it "it is I who live, and yet not I, but Christ in me." It's an incredible context, in the real meaning of that word, because it invests a wealth of meaning into even the smallest everyday events. None but that power can truly mortify sin. None but that power can truly accomplish anything for the cause of Christ.
People think miracles are things that have no discernible human agency. God's greatest miracles aren't divided Red Seas, walking on water, or healing with a touch; His greatest miracles are worked out, under the proverbial radar, in and through the everyday lives of Spirit-empowered human agents. Every day is the Lord's day, because He's got first dibs on every minute. Every day is the Lord's day, because He's the only One for whom I am living.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sometimes things just work
My stock is up, both literally and figuratively. And no, I haven't bought any cows.
Work went pretty well today- things got done, I was able to answer the questions put to me, and bugs seemed easy to fix. I'm not really a people-person by nature, but I think having a job that involves a lot of back and forth with a variety of people has done wonders.
Ironically, it's harder to trust in God's providence when things are going well. I guess that proves how deep our autonomous streak goes; even while realizing a need for God when things are bad, we forget him when things are good. As Agur put it: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion. Lest I be full and deny You and say 'Who is the Lord?' or I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God."
---
4.5 more days before I get exported
Work went pretty well today- things got done, I was able to answer the questions put to me, and bugs seemed easy to fix. I'm not really a people-person by nature, but I think having a job that involves a lot of back and forth with a variety of people has done wonders.
Ironically, it's harder to trust in God's providence when things are going well. I guess that proves how deep our autonomous streak goes; even while realizing a need for God when things are bad, we forget him when things are good. As Agur put it: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion. Lest I be full and deny You and say 'Who is the Lord?' or I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God."
---
4.5 more days before I get exported
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Man I need a break
Having just celebrated my one-year anniversary of getting a real job, I find myself hip-deep in it. Between traveling, having several projects at once, paranoid security setups with my customer contacts, combined with the ant problem in my apartment... I scarcely have time for anything besides.
Hopefully a Friday off and a long trip to Brazil will return things to some semblance of normalcy. My trust is not in circumstances to relieve my stress; God will bring me what I need in His own time, especially if it's not what I think it to be. "The of flesh will fail you; you dare not trust your own" applies as much to the musings of my mind as the efforts of my arm. Effectual Grace is the only true security.
I hit 6 birdies in Wii golf just now, ... and a triple bogey on the last hole. So close to breaking my record. If only normal golf were as easy as Wii golf.
We [Warren + Keith + Mike + I] went to trivia at the Saucer last night... nearly won again this time, but no dice. It's the type of place that I both would and would not want to bring a girl along. I wouldn't bring one because I wouldn't like any girl who's not bothered by their waitresses' attire, but at the same time I'd need one to keep me honest. That, and my interest in alcohol does not extend to beer; I guess those'd be two significant reasons not to go there, which is enough for me.
If I could only remember to buy batteries.
Hopefully a Friday off and a long trip to Brazil will return things to some semblance of normalcy. My trust is not in circumstances to relieve my stress; God will bring me what I need in His own time, especially if it's not what I think it to be. "The of flesh will fail you; you dare not trust your own" applies as much to the musings of my mind as the efforts of my arm. Effectual Grace is the only true security.
I hit 6 birdies in Wii golf just now, ... and a triple bogey on the last hole.
We [Warren + Keith + Mike + I] went to trivia at the Saucer last night... nearly won again this time, but no dice. It's the type of place that I both would and would not want to bring a girl along. I wouldn't bring one because I wouldn't like any girl who's not bothered by their waitresses' attire, but at the same time I'd need one to keep me honest. That, and my interest in alcohol does not extend to beer; I guess those'd be two significant reasons not to go there, which is enough for me.
If I could only remember to buy batteries.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Check your pride at the door
It's been a normal day- went to the office, realized how much trouble it is to work with some customers, got over it- the usual. It's funny that just a line from a song can slap you in the face with how sinfully you're reacting to something. And then it happens again not too much later. And again. God rounds off the rough edges, but it takes a lot of abrasion, a lot of hard work, and a lot of pieces of your pride that you have to leave behind in a pile on the floor. God is the ultimate craftsman, working in the medium of human hearts.
The character of a person is known by the way they react to adversity. As Liz Eliot said in her book Mark of a Man, character is forged in the furnace of self-control and self-denial. There are those who try to hem their children about, keeping them from every single thing in which they could do themselves harm. I understand why they would do this, but it's a defective strategy.
Temptation, of whatever flavor, is well represented by the metaphor of fire. Of itself, it destroys everything before it, but under the control of a skilled blacksmith, it is absolutely essential in tempering and strengthening metal. Unless one's character has been tempered, it remains brittle and isn't going to last the battle. While temptation is to be denied battle when possible, it is essential to the development of strong character.
As a man thinks within himself, so he is.
If God changed your mind,... how would you know?
The character of a person is known by the way they react to adversity. As Liz Eliot said in her book Mark of a Man, character is forged in the furnace of self-control and self-denial. There are those who try to hem their children about, keeping them from every single thing in which they could do themselves harm. I understand why they would do this, but it's a defective strategy.
Temptation, of whatever flavor, is well represented by the metaphor of fire. Of itself, it destroys everything before it, but under the control of a skilled blacksmith, it is absolutely essential in tempering and strengthening metal. Unless one's character has been tempered, it remains brittle and isn't going to last the battle. While temptation is to be denied battle when possible, it is essential to the development of strong character.
As a man thinks within himself, so he is.
If God changed your mind,... how would you know?
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Here am I; send me!
God knows what I need. While I'm all to aware of this, it's slammed home when I hear a sermon [the evening message, this time] that directly addresses something I put in the previous day's blog. While it's hardly comfortable to have yourself pegged by an unsuspecting pastor, it was a pretty good day. And that's even counting the many dozens of ants that I noticed when I picked up a container of recently purchased truffles to take to the Christoph's. Apparently the seal was broken during my flight, and a few days was enough to get their attention and have them flocking on my bedroom table.
The SS lecture continued the study in Ryle, coming to the chapter on the Cost; specifically, counting it. While I didn't have a pen for notes because I was late cleaning up the ants, I do recall that there were 4 specific things Ryle notes that we must give up in following Christ -- my self-righteousness, my sins, my reputation, and a life of ease. Self-righteousness is perhaps the hardest of all, because pride sticks to your bones even when you've been regenerated. There's always little voice saying "well, you're a sinner, but you're not as much a sinner as that guy."
The morning message focused on the accessibility we have to the power of Christ, accessed through His word. Paul's expressed wish that the Colossians would be "being strengthened, according to His might" brings this to the fore. To paraphrase John Piper, Christ is most glorified in us when we depend on Him fully. We have an all-powerful, completely accessible, able-and-willing source; what kind of people should we be? In that light, how could we anything but filled with "patience and longsuffering, with joy," even i n the face of the worst trials life throws at us?
The word Paul uses for patience means literally to "remain under"; it is translated "endurance" in 2 Thess 1:4 and and "perseverance" in Romans 2:7, and refers to much more than simply holding on. Its usage refers to a growth, even flourishing, even in opposing circumstances which would seem to produce the opposite. Colossians 1:11 - strengthened with all power according to His glorious might; it's the only way that such can happen.
Pastor Gary closed with the question; given what we've seen, is it ever legitimate to look for ways out of trials, given that we have access to such power? While I would have thought he was leading to answer "no", he pointed out that every single person who is recorded as coming to Christ came for deliverance from their suffering, not for "patience" to bear it well. Christ's response in each and every case was to enact the requested relief. It is therefore legitimate to seek relief unless there are no morally acceptable means available.
The evening message was the one that really got to me, drawn from the last verses of James 4. James condemns those who, in their speech, act as practical atheists in their planning. As Pastor Andy pointed out, to live life without God at its focus is the essence of worldliness. We often rationalize passages that speak of avoiding being stained with the world, as if we are fulfilling them by avoiding the "big" sins that characterize our culture. When we do acknowledge God's providence, it's often simply lip service or even as a complaint or expression of mistrust when our wills are crossed by His.
It's a rebuke to think of how often I am a practical worldling, implicit though it may be. Is God's expressed will a controlling feature in your plans? Is His decreed will something you tolerate or even chafe against, or is it a source of comfort? As Isaiah put it, "here am I; send me!" As Abraham's servant put it, "I being in the way, the Lord led me." That's how I want to be.
The SS lecture continued the study in Ryle, coming to the chapter on the Cost; specifically, counting it. While I didn't have a pen for notes because I was late cleaning up the ants, I do recall that there were 4 specific things Ryle notes that we must give up in following Christ -- my self-righteousness, my sins, my reputation, and a life of ease. Self-righteousness is perhaps the hardest of all, because pride sticks to your bones even when you've been regenerated. There's always little voice saying "well, you're a sinner, but you're not as much a sinner as that guy."
The morning message focused on the accessibility we have to the power of Christ, accessed through His word. Paul's expressed wish that the Colossians would be "being strengthened, according to His might" brings this to the fore. To paraphrase John Piper, Christ is most glorified in us when we depend on Him fully. We have an all-powerful, completely accessible, able-and-willing source; what kind of people should we be? In that light, how could we anything but filled with "patience and longsuffering, with joy," even i n the face of the worst trials life throws at us?
The word Paul uses for patience means literally to "remain under"; it is translated "endurance" in 2 Thess 1:4 and and "perseverance" in Romans 2:7, and refers to much more than simply holding on. Its usage refers to a growth, even flourishing, even in opposing circumstances which would seem to produce the opposite. Colossians 1:11 - strengthened with all power according to His glorious might; it's the only way that such can happen.
Pastor Gary closed with the question; given what we've seen, is it ever legitimate to look for ways out of trials, given that we have access to such power? While I would have thought he was leading to answer "no", he pointed out that every single person who is recorded as coming to Christ came for deliverance from their suffering, not for "patience" to bear it well. Christ's response in each and every case was to enact the requested relief. It is therefore legitimate to seek relief unless there are no morally acceptable means available.
The evening message was the one that really got to me, drawn from the last verses of James 4. James condemns those who, in their speech, act as practical atheists in their planning. As Pastor Andy pointed out, to live life without God at its focus is the essence of worldliness. We often rationalize passages that speak of avoiding being stained with the world, as if we are fulfilling them by avoiding the "big" sins that characterize our culture. When we do acknowledge God's providence, it's often simply lip service or even as a complaint or expression of mistrust when our wills are crossed by His.
It's a rebuke to think of how often I am a practical worldling, implicit though it may be. Is God's expressed will a controlling feature in your plans? Is His decreed will something you tolerate or even chafe against, or is it a source of comfort? As Isaiah put it, "here am I; send me!" As Abraham's servant put it, "I being in the way, the Lord led me." That's how I want to be.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
the Holy Spotlight
Today was an ordinary Saturday, aside from the Wii hacking, glass buying, and seeing the Romantics for the first time in concert. I managed to break the glass pane I bought right as I left the store and had to go back to the same guy to get another... sometimes I surprise even myself with my lapses of coordination.
You can tell you're an engineer if you get your kicks by spending time trying to find a way to interface the wireless controllers of your game system with 20 year old console games being emulated on your laptop computer. I can now use my Wii remotes to control applications on my computer, including older Nintendo games that are running through an emulator. The more technology changes,... the more it stays the same. 4 arrow keys, A, B, Z, and Start buttons, and you've got yourself a game system; all these have been around for 20+ years.
It's been about a week since the memorial service; it's hard to tell how much of what was a very heart-impressing sermon have stuck. The one con, perhaps, of getting so much serious instruction one day a week is that much of it seems to be in one ear and out the other. Sure, you can remember it for the day, but it's amazing how hard I have to think sometimes during the week, ... what was preached last Sunday? I take some comfort in noticing that I am similarly amnesiac when it comes to other events as they happen, but it's still a bit unnerving that things which seem to grip me at the time also seem to fade with alarming rapidity.
John 14:26 - "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
I'd take that text to be as applicable to me during my week as it was to the apostles. The Spirit's principle work is to shine a spotlight on Christ, both through His written word and in its verbal exposition through preaching. Maybe that's why things I've heard on His day seem to come to mind through out the week. Maybe that's why I most most enjoy a service that is centered around around said Word, not liturgical ceremony, a preacher's funny stories, music, the Eucharist; they're all very poor substitutes.
---
9 days till I get exported.
You can tell you're an engineer if you get your kicks by spending time trying to find a way to interface the wireless controllers of your game system with 20 year old console games being emulated on your laptop computer. I can now use my Wii remotes to control applications on my computer, including older Nintendo games that are running through an emulator. The more technology changes,... the more it stays the same. 4 arrow keys, A, B, Z, and Start buttons, and you've got yourself a game system; all these have been around for 20+ years.
It's been about a week since the memorial service; it's hard to tell how much of what was a very heart-impressing sermon have stuck. The one con, perhaps, of getting so much serious instruction one day a week is that much of it seems to be in one ear and out the other. Sure, you can remember it for the day, but it's amazing how hard I have to think sometimes during the week, ... what was preached last Sunday? I take some comfort in noticing that I am similarly amnesiac when it comes to other events as they happen, but it's still a bit unnerving that things which seem to grip me at the time also seem to fade with alarming rapidity.
John 14:26 - "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
I'd take that text to be as applicable to me during my week as it was to the apostles. The Spirit's principle work is to shine a spotlight on Christ, both through His written word and in its verbal exposition through preaching. Maybe that's why things I've heard on His day seem to come to mind through out the week. Maybe that's why I most most enjoy a service that is centered around around said Word, not liturgical ceremony, a preacher's funny stories, music, the Eucharist; they're all very poor substitutes.
---
9 days till I get exported.
Topsy Turvy
Today was a little more active than most, but at the same time not-- between a long conference call, finding out I'm going to be the technical answer-man for a site visit to a nearby customer with one of our program managers in a few days, getting my upgraded laptop memory, and watching the new Harry Potter flick,.... eh I didn't do that much. Well, I'm leaving out some of the highlights, but you'll have to ask me for that. It's definitely been an up day. Seeing the Romantics in concert tomorrow after having waited all summer won't hurt either.
It's a strange semi-coincidence that things which should be easy aren't and things that shouldn't be are. I suppose it's yet another way sin has twisted out natures around. The fact that I have to ponder something that I know I should do is depressing at times, even when they're not moral choices. When they are, it's downhill from there. Romans 7 is an ironic comfort, knowing that even the most eminent have experienced exactly the same malady. At the same time, the struggle itself is evidence of spiritual life. Dead fish float downstream, only live fish feel the current as they struggle to swim upstream.
"You have not because you ask not. You ask and do not receive because you ask in vain, that you may spend it on your pleasures... Purify your hearts, you double-minded."
"We're all bastards but God loves us anyway"
--the gospel in 10 words or less [Phillip Yancey]
It's a strange semi-coincidence that things which should be easy aren't and things that shouldn't be are. I suppose it's yet another way sin has twisted out natures around. The fact that I have to ponder something that I know I should do is depressing at times, even when they're not moral choices. When they are, it's downhill from there. Romans 7 is an ironic comfort, knowing that even the most eminent have experienced exactly the same malady. At the same time, the struggle itself is evidence of spiritual life. Dead fish float downstream, only live fish feel the current as they struggle to swim upstream.
"You have not because you ask not. You ask and do not receive because you ask in vain, that you may spend it on your pleasures... Purify your hearts, you double-minded."
"We're all bastards but God loves us anyway"
--the gospel in 10 words or less [Phillip Yancey]
Friday, July 13, 2007
Kickin' it east coast style
It's been a pretty good day, in most ways. The office was still there, just like it was a week ago. Kyle was in town from Redmond, so we got to talk to he and Kevin over dinner and an extended time afterwards; it's 2am now and we ate 5 hours ago and we just wrapped up talking. He picked up copies of Vista for us, so I'll have something cool to try out once I get the time.... and the memory I just ordered.
Anyone can pray for something and believe that God is going to answer it. Few people can pray with the persuasion that I don't know what's best for me, and God may in fact be doing me the most good by not giving what I ask.
According to my fortune today, 1) my luck is about to change and 2) I will be on top of the world soon. I think that means that I'll soon be banished to Nepal by the end of the week.
What can I say?
I put my hand on my mouth
and repent in dust and ashes
Oftentimes maturity is not found in learning new things but learning old things in new and deeper ways. We know that God is sovereign, but we are learning that God is sovereign.
--somebody's article
Anyone can pray for something and believe that God is going to answer it. Few people can pray with the persuasion that I don't know what's best for me, and God may in fact be doing me the most good by not giving what I ask.
According to my fortune today, 1) my luck is about to change and 2) I will be on top of the world soon. I think that means that I'll soon be banished to Nepal by the end of the week.
What can I say?
I put my hand on my mouth
and repent in dust and ashes
Oftentimes maturity is not found in learning new things but learning old things in new and deeper ways. We know that God is sovereign, but we are learning that God is sovereign.
--somebody's article
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
It's been a bumpy ride
I'm back in North Carolina finally, after an interesting few days. To start with, I found out soon after arriving in California that my trip was a complete bust. Apparently the boot camp for which I was traveling was moved to August, and nobody managed to update the wiki page or tell me so. It's not my money, so I didn't really mind, but it still sucks to have gone through a lot of trouble and a lot of company money for something that ended up being a nothing but a working vacation.
I spent much of the Lord's day visiting Micah and Vielka and tooling around the city while I waited for their church service to be over [I ended up at the first service, they hit the second one]. I finally got good picture of the Golden Gate bridge; I've repeatedly either forgotten my camera or arrived too late in the day until now. Tuesday evening I was able to hang with Jay and Anuja, who were out of town until the day before.
The real piece-de-resistance happened monday afternoon when I apparently lost my phone in the parking lot while leaving the building. On returning to the scene it was nowhere to be found, and after searching exhaustively, I'd given it up for lost. Turns out someone turned it in, apparently during the scant minute or so before I returned, and the secretary had it all along. After recovering it the next day, it was a definite load off. God is good.
I will give serious thought before flying out of Las Vegas again. For the third time in a row, I think, I've ended up sitting proximate to a child making a big disruption. Adding to that bad weather in Raleigh which diverted our flight back to Greensboro, we arrived about 2 hours late, causing me to miss my second straight rehearsal for the Brazil trip. Needless to say, I'm glad that's over.
Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day, for more than a few reasons-- rest from a trip, continuing mental headaches with a project at work, being back in the office for the first time in a good while, and that's just the stuff I'll talk about. Here's hoping it goes well.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths
I spent much of the Lord's day visiting Micah and Vielka and tooling around the city while I waited for their church service to be over [I ended up at the first service, they hit the second one]. I finally got good picture of the Golden Gate bridge; I've repeatedly either forgotten my camera or arrived too late in the day until now. Tuesday evening I was able to hang with Jay and Anuja, who were out of town until the day before.
The real piece-de-resistance happened monday afternoon when I apparently lost my phone in the parking lot while leaving the building. On returning to the scene it was nowhere to be found, and after searching exhaustively, I'd given it up for lost. Turns out someone turned it in, apparently during the scant minute or so before I returned, and the secretary had it all along. After recovering it the next day, it was a definite load off. God is good.
I will give serious thought before flying out of Las Vegas again. For the third time in a row, I think, I've ended up sitting proximate to a child making a big disruption. Adding to that bad weather in Raleigh which diverted our flight back to Greensboro, we arrived about 2 hours late, causing me to miss my second straight rehearsal for the Brazil trip. Needless to say, I'm glad that's over.
Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day, for more than a few reasons-- rest from a trip, continuing mental headaches with a project at work, being back in the office for the first time in a good while, and that's just the stuff I'll talk about. Here's hoping it goes well.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths
Sunday, July 8, 2007
How do I know the will of God?
It's been a busy-busy-busy past few days. After changing several flights at the last minute, I flew to Newark NJ to attend the visitation and memorial service for a childhood friend up at Trinity church in Montville. I spent some time with the folks [in NJ] before flying over to San Jose last night and spent this Lord's day in San Francisco with Micah and Vielka.
It's sad that as one gets older, you fall out of touch with people even without meaning to. As the saying goes "weddings and funerals, weddings and funerals." That's what ends up bringing people together. While the cause for such a get together was surely the worse, gatherings of far flung brethren are perhaps the best ways I can imagine spending time. As a pastor put it recently, ... that's what the bread-and-butter of heaven will be-- spending time with fellow redeemed sinners. I had time to talk to Mike Thomas, Cinthia, Rachel, Nate and Lisa, to name a few; it really was a blessed time. Pastor McDearmon preached an abbreviated sermon for the memorial service, much of which was laid out in great detail by Dan and Priscilla a month earlier when it was clear that the end was imminent. I believe it was the best, clearest, most heart gripping sermon I've ever heard him preach. All in all, an amazing day, fitting of the sure hope that the power of Christ provides even in the face of the last and greatest enemy.
Today's message was a good one; I visited City Church of San Francisco where Micah and Vielka currently attend. The service wasn't quite what I am used to, but seemed appropriately Christ centered. The message centered on the well known verse from Proverbs 3:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not upon your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.
Pastor Scot made the point that the issue in knowing God's will is a matter of trust, not one of information. There are many who would say they want to know God's will in the sense that they want to know what He has planned, so that they can then be arbiter over whether they will God along with that plan or not. God knows exactly what is best for me and how to carry it out, and it is nothing but pure arrogance to presume that I have the right to sit as judge over Him. While most people would say "I'm not like that at all," self-centeredness is wrapped around our nature so tightly that we often do not even perceive it.
There was a quote in the worship bulletin; I don't remember the author name, but I'll summarize [and embellish according to my understanding] its gist. Knowing the will of God is not achieved by impressions, nudges, or other mystical communications of the Spirit. Editor's note: shame on all those believers, both true and sham professors, who would say "the Lord told me" or suchlike as a justification for their course of action. It is by being conformed to His image, by the progressive work of the Spirit, that we begin to love the things that He loves, value the things that He values, and desire the things that He desires. Learning the will of God is not knowing His plans, so that we may judge them, but having our will conformed to His so that we don't have to think "well what does He want me to do" in some kind of "slug it out and follow His orders." Instead, I notice myself being changed to such an extent that I don't need to follow His orders, because what my Spirit-renewed self-will most wants lines up perfectly with His character, without needing Law-induced rule-following to prod it to conform.
More trip-updates and craziness of my life at a later time.
It's sad that as one gets older, you fall out of touch with people even without meaning to. As the saying goes "weddings and funerals, weddings and funerals." That's what ends up bringing people together. While the cause for such a get together was surely the worse, gatherings of far flung brethren are perhaps the best ways I can imagine spending time. As a pastor put it recently, ... that's what the bread-and-butter of heaven will be-- spending time with fellow redeemed sinners. I had time to talk to Mike Thomas, Cinthia, Rachel, Nate and Lisa, to name a few; it really was a blessed time. Pastor McDearmon preached an abbreviated sermon for the memorial service, much of which was laid out in great detail by Dan and Priscilla a month earlier when it was clear that the end was imminent. I believe it was the best, clearest, most heart gripping sermon I've ever heard him preach. All in all, an amazing day, fitting of the sure hope that the power of Christ provides even in the face of the last and greatest enemy.
Today's message was a good one; I visited City Church of San Francisco where Micah and Vielka currently attend. The service wasn't quite what I am used to, but seemed appropriately Christ centered. The message centered on the well known verse from Proverbs 3:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not upon your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.
Pastor Scot made the point that the issue in knowing God's will is a matter of trust, not one of information. There are many who would say they want to know God's will in the sense that they want to know what He has planned, so that they can then be arbiter over whether they will God along with that plan or not. God knows exactly what is best for me and how to carry it out, and it is nothing but pure arrogance to presume that I have the right to sit as judge over Him. While most people would say "I'm not like that at all," self-centeredness is wrapped around our nature so tightly that we often do not even perceive it.
There was a quote in the worship bulletin; I don't remember the author name, but I'll summarize [and embellish according to my understanding] its gist. Knowing the will of God is not achieved by impressions, nudges, or other mystical communications of the Spirit. Editor's note: shame on all those believers, both true and sham professors, who would say "the Lord told me" or suchlike as a justification for their course of action. It is by being conformed to His image, by the progressive work of the Spirit, that we begin to love the things that He loves, value the things that He values, and desire the things that He desires. Learning the will of God is not knowing His plans, so that we may judge them, but having our will conformed to His so that we don't have to think "well what does He want me to do" in some kind of "slug it out and follow His orders." Instead, I notice myself being changed to such an extent that I don't need to follow His orders, because what my Spirit-renewed self-will most wants lines up perfectly with His character, without needing Law-induced rule-following to prod it to conform.
More trip-updates and craziness of my life at a later time.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Normalcy, my kingdom for some normalcy
It's been a long few days, despite the relative dearth of substantial work. I'd really give anything for a weekend that has nothing happening, because there's been something I've been meaning to do for a while now and been completely thwarted by coincidental providences. Faith is easy when things are going according to plan; real character is shown by how one deals with divine-ordained circumstances that cross your will. I'd have said that that's what I've learned over the last year or so... but I'm still in the proverbial classroom.
It looks like I'll be flying to Newark sometime on Friday, attending a visitation and memorial service for Dan, and then flying straightaway to the west coast for a few days. After that, who knows. More on that later.
It looks like I'll be flying to Newark sometime on Friday, attending a visitation and memorial service for Dan, and then flying straightaway to the west coast for a few days. After that, who knows. More on that later.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Sunday, blessed Sunday
It's been a pretty good day; I managed to get to sleep at a reasonable hour last night, though I missed my nap. All the Christoph kids were in town save Lydia, so I was able to talk to them for most of the afternoon instead.
The adult class moved on the the next chapter in Ryle, titled Holiness. We began with a quote. "Sound Protestant and even Evangelical doctrine is worse than useless without a holy life; it does active harm." Casey began at Hebrews 12:14 and I Peter 1:15-16, and moved on to Jesus' denunciation of the Pharisee's attention to outward religiosity while making no effort to address their own hearts.
Holiness is an inside-out process. Outward morality can be achieved without the grace of God, so that everyone you see would assume one to be a follower of Christ, but only the indwelling Spirit can affect a climactic breaking of the power of reigning sin in the heart. A holy life won't earn you squat with God, but the Spirit-implanted faith that _does_ impute Christ's righteousness will not sit idle.
Sanctification does not save, only justification, but the two are married; you will never find one without the other. The God who justifies by faith alone effects a sanctification that, while it is only possible by His strength, demands our constant conscious effort.
"Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth." --Jesus
Sanctification effects a change that makes its objects resemble Christ in all aspects of His perfect humanity. "And beholding Him as in a mirror, we are being transformed into His likeness." Acts 4:13 - apostles are recognized "as having been with Jesus." There was something in their words and behavior that was reminiscent of the behavior of Jesus. Those who are becoming like him will increasingly love what He loves and hate what He hates.
I didn't really take decent notes from the morning message [from Colossians 1:10] and the evening message [from James 4:11-12], though they were both excellent messages. Perhaps I'll remember somethings to jot down as I recollect them during the week.
The adult class moved on the the next chapter in Ryle, titled Holiness. We began with a quote. "Sound Protestant and even Evangelical doctrine is worse than useless without a holy life; it does active harm." Casey began at Hebrews 12:14 and I Peter 1:15-16, and moved on to Jesus' denunciation of the Pharisee's attention to outward religiosity while making no effort to address their own hearts.
Holiness is an inside-out process. Outward morality can be achieved without the grace of God, so that everyone you see would assume one to be a follower of Christ, but only the indwelling Spirit can affect a climactic breaking of the power of reigning sin in the heart. A holy life won't earn you squat with God, but the Spirit-implanted faith that _does_ impute Christ's righteousness will not sit idle.
Sanctification does not save, only justification, but the two are married; you will never find one without the other. The God who justifies by faith alone effects a sanctification that, while it is only possible by His strength, demands our constant conscious effort.
"Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth." --Jesus
Sanctification effects a change that makes its objects resemble Christ in all aspects of His perfect humanity. "And beholding Him as in a mirror, we are being transformed into His likeness." Acts 4:13 - apostles are recognized "as having been with Jesus." There was something in their words and behavior that was reminiscent of the behavior of Jesus. Those who are becoming like him will increasingly love what He loves and hate what He hates.
I didn't really take decent notes from the morning message [from Colossians 1:10] and the evening message [from James 4:11-12], though they were both excellent messages. Perhaps I'll remember somethings to jot down as I recollect them during the week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
