I was driven to my knees this weekend. Well, actually, I mean that a couple ways. One in the not-so-pious sense. My mother, my wife, my daughter, and I all got the stomach virus.
The other in the traditional sense, and yet related to the former. Because I was not at work or church or play and spent virtually all my time sitting or lying down, I read R.C. Sproul, Jr.'s When You Rise Up.
Whatever your take on homeschooling, I would highly recommend this book. There are many excellent insights and challenging illustrations. I found myself convicted, not on homeschooling, but in my parenting approach to my children and even to my worldview in general.
You know, it's very easy to believe we have a biblical worldview. We can even take tests online to discover "how biblical" our worldview is. But how often are we only paying lip service to a worldview. How often are we really practicing it? How often do we really think and see and breathe and taste within that worldview?
The following is my own illustration and I may be about to prove I'm not smarter than a 5th grader by trying to remember my science here: But, IIRC, we inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is absorbed by trees, which essentially filter it and then release it back into the atmosphere as oxygen. (Rather makes you want to plant more trees, doesn't it?) I don't remember if there is anything making new oxygen or if this oxygen is constantly recycling like this all around us since the beginning of time. But I was suddenly struck with the thought, I may have just inhaled oxygen into my own lungs that was once inhaled into the lungs of Joshua. Then I struck that the stories of the Bible can become contemptably familiar. This of no fault to the Bible, of course, but to our own frailty. Have these become just stories to me? Has my love of Bible study reduced it to dry academics? Or do I pick up my Bible this morning, read it, and with a sense that the same oxygen passing through the lungs of my Savior as he hung on the cross and said about his tormentors, "Father, forgive them," could be the same oxygen that rips from my own lungs when I snap at my child for snatching the remote.

• In Southern Laos, two Christian men have been taken from their farms and put in prison. No charges have been filed and no news is forthcoming about their current situation. Pray God protects and encourages these men and their families in this difficult time.
• In North Central Laos, on January 18, five police officers showed up at a Christian brother's home and arrested him. VOM sources have known him and his family for 20 years. His wife and 12-year-old son did not get an opportunity to speak to him before he was taken away. All efforts to locate him or allow his wife to know where he is being detained have been unsuccessful. According to VOM contacts, in several similar incidents, the people taken by police were never found alive. Pray for this family, that has led more than 500 people to Christ in the past two years. Ask God to protect this brother and comfort his wife and child.

Used by Permission The Voice of Martyrs www.persecution.com

For the Way of the Master Sunday School class, we have ordered the following:

100 Billion dollar bills
50 A Gift for You
100 Atheist tests

You can click on the links above to read the text of the tracts and familiarize yourself with them.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ephesians 1:4-10

Shane Rangi is back! You remember him, right?
Here's a pic of him: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1432313/
Recognize him? Oh, that's probably because he was General Otmin the minotaur. He'll be playing Asterius the minotaur this time. (It's tough when you get in a typecast rut.)
You might remember him from Lord of the Rings, though. He was the Witch-King of Angmar. Oh, wait. He was wearing a helmet then, wasn't he?
Hopefully his mother understands if she still hasn't seen his face on the big screen.

I was just struck by my odd reading habits. This morning, I sat down with Spurgeon's Morning and Evening when I woke up.
At lunch, I picked up some new literature at the store, and sat down to enjoy the latest developments in Green Arrow. (It's the third part of a Batman crossover - good stuff).
Now I just hit Doxology Press to find a good book to listen to, and chose the Confessions of St. Augustine.

How often do you find a combination like that?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:1-11

Here's a character named Adam. Don't worry, he's not always this upset. I'm drawing a series of headshots of him with different expressions. I just did the "upset" one first.

(Drumroll)

Trumpkin the Dwarf ... Peter Dinklage
Doctor Cornelius ... Vincent Grass
Prunaprismia ... Alicia Borrachero

and, last but definitely not least:

Prince Caspian ... Ben Barnes

UPDATE:
Nikabrik the Black Dwarf ... Warwick Davis

Rachel, the links are to IMDB where you can see who the actors have played in other films. You might recognize Peter Dinklage from "Threshold." You'll definitely recognize Warwick Davis as "Willow." Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan will still be played by the original actors from LWW, and Liam Neeson will again be the voice of Aslan.

A co-worker asked for my assistance with Mark 10:7, Matthew 19:5, 6; and Ephesians 5.

I thought this might be beneficial to many others, so I'll post my response here:

Your first reference, Mark 10:7, is in context within Mark 10:1-12, where the Pharisees are questioning Jesus concerning divorce. Of course, they’re not looking for answers, they’re hoping to trip up Jesus.

Jesus shows that Moses’ law allowed divorce, but that permission should not be used: It was because of the hardness of heart that Moses wrote the commandment (Mark 10:5). It was to keep them from murdering their wives if they could not divorce them. So no one should divorce unless he were first willing to admit that his heart was so hard that he needed this permission.

Jesus reminds them that God made them “male and female.” One man. One woman. Notice that Adam could not leave Eve for another woman. There was no other woman to have. It is a mindset for every married couple to continue in: there is no other man or woman for you to go to. Remember also that Eve came from Adam’s rib. He could not remove her from himself without literally removing a piece of himself. Also notice that, although all other creatures were made male and female, only man is given this command. Marriage is for a higher purpose than pleasure and procreation. Marriage is a rational choice in humans, and it is for the noble purpose of helping each other. Remember that God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 1:18) (Also we alone of creation were created in the image of God. Seriously consider that: as bearers of the image of God, whatever we do reflects on God. If we murder, as representative images of God we declare to the world that God is a murderer. If we lie, we represent God as a liar. How can we pray, “Hallowed be your name” if by our actions we drag his name in the mud.)

The law stated that the man must “leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife.” The marriage relationship is closer than even the bond between parent and child. By nature, you can never stop being your child’s parent. It is a biological certainty. Yet God will separate you from your parents and bond you to your spouse with a bond greater than nature. Not only is the relationship intimately close, but it is eternal – without end – forever. [Cue: Natalie Cole, “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)”] The man is to hold fast to his wife so that he cannot be separated from her. The result: they are no longer two but one flesh. There is nothing more intimate than this. Your child is a piece of you, but your spouse is you. And it is a sacred thing and must not be violated. God has fitted them together and intends for them to live together in love until death alone parts them. Man did not invent marriage. It is divine, and should be seen as such.

As marriage is a type of the relationship between Christ and the church, anyone lightly considering divorce should strongly consider the implications if Christ were to take His relation to them as lightly. Malachi 2:16, “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

Your second text, Matthew 19:5, 6, is in the context of Matthew 19:3-12, which is Matthew’s account of the same scene from Mark 10.

Now to Ephesians 5:21-33. Notice that I started with 5:21, not 5:22. “Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Submission is mutual as we bear one another’s burdens. No one “lords” over another. We all do our many duties as unto Christ. It is always easier to be submissive and yielding to someone else who is also being submissive and yielding to you.

Now, on with verse 22-33. A wife’s duty is to submit to her husband as to the Lord. This, of course, includes honoring and obeying him, because you love him. You do this also because God has commanded you to do it, so in doing it you are obeying God. Notice that you give glory to God by having a right relationship with your husband, and also that God wants you to have a right relationship with your husband to the degree that he has commanded it.

Paul says that the husband is the head (not the tyrant) of the wife. Your head is very important to your body. Without it you can’t think or feel – or eat! Your man has a great responsibility handed to him by God. Remember what God said to Eve, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” The concern that immediately flares in women’s minds over this is the effect of sin coming into the world. Were we in our original created state, there would be no concern over this submission. A man would love his wife as he should, and his wife would gladly submit to him. Sin has spoiled this. But that’s not the end of it! Remember, in Christ we are the New Creation. By going to God, through Christ, in His Spirit, a believing wife can gladly submit to her husband as Eve still in her perfection submitted to Adam. Which leads into the next phrase, “as Christ is the head of the church.” In a marriage relationship, the husband represents Christ’s authority over the church. “And is himself its Savior.” How does Christ exercise His headship? He delivers His church from evil. He gives her everything good for her. So the husband must protect his wife. He should never place her in a compromising position. He must deliver her from evil. He also provides for her. That doesn’t mean a Cadillac in the driveway. But he does see to her needs. In other words, he does everything within his power to make it easy for her to submit to him. Sometimes he’s going to have to make very difficult decisions – as when he must withhold something she thinks she needs but he knows would place to great a weight of temptation on her, and so he could not both provide this to her and protect her from evil. But he should also have such a reputation of provision and love to his wife that she knows he is acting in her best interest. (And that’s a lesson we should strongly remember in our relationship with God. When has God not acted in your best interest? Don’t doubt Him when things seem difficult. He’s always working things out for the best.)

“Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” The church should gladly, faithfully, exactly, humbly submit to Christ. So that is how a wife should submit to her husband in everything that is not contrary to her duty to God. (Your husband cannot order you to commit murder or adultery or perjury.)

“Husbands, love your wives.” This should prevent their abusing their wife’s submission. Christ’s love for the church is true love. It is complete love. Utter love. There is nothing inappropriate in this love. It is passionate. Could there ever be a more burning love exemplified than for Christ to transcend time to choose his Bride before He ever created the universe, to witness her fall and willingly deliver Himself up for scorn, abuse, violence, and death to redeem her... And a passion so great that death itself could not keep him down! He shattered the bonds of death and rose victoriously to place his Spirit within her as an engagement bond until the day when He is reunited with her in perfect bliss. That’s passion! And that’s the love a man must have for his wife. She must be his greatest joy! She is his every delight. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, and that love will more than overcome any fear of subjection.

“That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Look at the end goal of Christ’s sanctifying the church – she will be glorified. Husbands, what’s the end goal of your ardent, passionate love for your wife? Also notice that he is presenting her to himself. You alone know all the glories of your wife.

“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.” Men do not naturally deny themselves, so they should not deny their wives. Nourish your wife. Cherish your wife. Isn’t it amazing with how much care and tenderness a man can treat himself? And if a man sees a gadget that’s going to make his life easier, he will buy it. A man doesn’t starve himself. Treat your wife the way you want to treat yourself. Christ will do whatever it takes to present you holy and blameless to himself. A man must love his wife the same way.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Again, we go back to Genesis. This does not mean that a man is no longer obligated to his parents or other relations. This means that the marriage relationship takes top priority. If ever pushed to choose between a parent or his wife, the man must choose his wife.
So, husbands let your passionate love for your wife prevail as your primary desire in all of life. Wives, love your husband. Prize him.

That is how God intends marriage to be. Pray for it, knowing you are asking for His will to be done.

I sent one of our elders at church my posts on eschatology for review. He was interested in what I had written and wanted to ask me about my hermeneutic. He pointed out that the different eschatological views all stem from the individual's hermeneutic. I had not really sat down and tried to put my hermeneutic into words yet. So here goes:

First of all, I believe the Bible is true and the inspired Word of God. I've written before regarding the proven historical prophecies of Scripture.

Second, there is a lot said about reading the Bible literally, or with the "plain sense." That sounds well enough, but what is often missed is the fact that the Bible contains many different genres of literature. There are poems, histories, prophecies, gospels, epistles (letters). You would not read Emily Dickinson with the same interpretation as you read your American History textbook. (At least I hope not). I do not approach the Psalms the same as I approach Romans.
So, I do not read everything in the Bible "literally." I do not believe that because of Psalm 23, the Lord is telling me to go lie down in a green pasture. (At least not unless He means it as discipline. I'm allergic to grass.) That's an easy one.
But I'm afraid that many people miss this simple principle when they read prophecy. Prophecy also has its own language and draws on rich Biblical themes. The Bible has its own system of symbolism. This symbolism of the Bible is not metaphysical, but an analogy. Consider the many types of Christ in the Old Testament. Moses was not a Christ, but he was a type (analogy) of Christ. Marriage is an analogy of the relationship between Christ and His Church.

So, here is my process of interpretation:
1) What genre am I reading? (usually very obvious)
2) What is the author trying to say?
3) How did his original audience understand this? (for 2 & 3, I like to check the history of the time, check the original Hebrew or Greek, check Bible customs, etc.) I try very hard not to impose 21st century ideas onto 1st century authors.
4) How does this fit with other Scripture? The Bible NEVER contradicts itself. If the New Testment mentions a "new heaven and new earth" look to see if the Old Testament also mentions it. What do they both say? Do they match up?

If you think a passage means one thing, but find it contradicts something said in another passage, go back and recheck your work. The Bible's not wrong. You've missed something in your observation or interpretation.

I also don't expect to understand everything perfectly the first time I study it. You may have to take something on faith (shocking, I know). I'm finding that when dealing with a difficult passage, my understanding of it will not improve until I do choose to accept it on faith. After I do that, it might be days, weeks, months or even years later that God will direct my research to the answer.