Archive for December, 2005
December 19, 2005 7:27 am
The fruit of our five15 Christmas Party festivities. I’m sure you’ll figure this out, but your substituted words are bold. Enjoy.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Guam,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a dog.
The socks were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their shoes,
While visions of planets danced in their heads;
And Mama in her tree and I in my tiger,
Had just settled down for a squishy winter’s pizza.
When out on the lawn there arose such a snowflake,
I swung from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the icicles I flew like a flash,
Ran open the shutters, and fell up the sash.
When what to my squirrely eyes should appear,
But a miniature manger and eight red reindeer,
With a slippery old driver so hairy and bald,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name—
“Now, Travis! Now, Suzanne! Now, Mike and Patricia!
On, Steve! On, Katherine! On, Ed and Regina!
To the top of the Brussels Sprouts! To the top of the orangutan!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the aardvark,
The slither and scamper of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in vacuum cleaners, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with bracelets and Virginia.
A bundle of dung beetles he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a beautician just opening his pack.
He had a broad face and a little round fruitcake
That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of bubbles.
He was sticky and stinky, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word , but went straight to his fingernail,
And ate all the stockings then turned with a jerk.
And laying his bacon aside of his nose,
And giving Hawaii, up the chimney he rose.
He ripped to his sleigh, to his team gave a sister,
And away they all puked like the down of a Christmas.
But I heard him create as he drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good guitar!”
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December 17, 2005 5:32 pm
 This is interesting:
“The U.S. Air Force closed its Project ”Blue Book” by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.”
But something else flew on this day.
“On Dec 17, 1903, Orville & Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C.”
Quoted from World Magazine Online.
I’m not going to comment on the UFOs, but that the Wright brothers were able to fly is a screaming reminder of God’s grace freely given to sinful humanity. Just think about how far and how fast we can travel, just over 100 years later. Truly amazing. We have gotten what we don’t deserve, and we’ve not gotten what we do deserve. Let’s thank God.
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 Wednesday’s post (What Happened?) got me thinking about another comment from D.A. Carson that I’ve been thinking about for a few days. In For The Love of God, he comments on 2 Chronicles 11-12, noting the sad history of King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and grandson of the great King David. Dr. Carson notes that Rehoboam was “a mediocre king whose overall effect was bad.” Here’s why:
“There is a kind of evil that is not very bad and not very good, not too terribly rebellious yet not hungry for righteousness, a stance that drifts toward idolatry and hastily retreats at the threat of judgment. What it lacks is David’s heart, the heart of a man who, despite failures, sets himself to pursue God wiht passion and delight. The final verdict on Reheboam’s reign explains the problem: ‘He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.’”
Let us ask God to give us passion and fervor for holiness that keeps us from this. And ask your parents what you can do to grow in personal passion for God.
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December 16, 2005 12:24 pm
 Last week, Mark reminded us that we are memorizing 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 together. Do any of you have it memorized? The main reason to memorize these verses is that it is good for your soul. See Psalm 119:11 if you’re not sure about that.
A secondary motivation to memorize these verses before the Christmas party is: you may be eligible to win something. That’s right, I’m looking for a couple motivated teens who have 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 down cold. I’ll explain more tomorrow night.
Here are the verses:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…”
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I like D.A. Carson’s comments on Revelation 7 in For the Love of God. He writes:
“There is not a whiff of racism here… in Revelation 5:9 (NIV), the elders sing a new song to the Lamb: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’ The ultimate community of God is transnational, transtribal, transracial, translinguistic. In that sense, Los Angeles is a better anticipation of heaven than Tulsa, Oklahoma. Let the church, strengthened by the grace of God, live out now, as largely as possible, what she will one day be.”
I love this vision of the church as it will be in heaven. And I love that here in the DC area, we have a pretty good picture of what heaven will be like as well. It never ceases to amaze me how the whole world is here: in one shopping center, you might find a Korean restaurant next to a Latino market. I’ve probably eaten at restaurants of a dozen different ethnicities in the last year. Several nations are represented on street.
And our church is growing in racial and ethnic diversity, especially with the start of ESL. In light of the comments above, we should thank God for the ethnic diversity of our area and our church, and pray that our church would continue to grow to be a church that is more and more of an “anticipation of heaven.”
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December 15, 2005 4:31 pm
December 14, 2005 8:25 pm
Sometimes we wonder what happened to a young person who appears to be walking with the Lord, but seems to wander from the faith later in life. Was this person ever really a Christian?
 In his daily devotional, For the Love of God, D.A. Carson offers two meditations on the life of King Asa, king of Judah, great-grandson of King Solomon. Asa began well, bringing reforms to the kingdom, but in the end, abandoned his faith in God and trusted in his own schemes. In his meditation on 2 Chronicles 16, D.A. Carson explains how this could happen:
“…people can have a heart for God for a long time but wilt before demonstrating final perseverance. In a disciplined person, it may take a while before the truth comes out. But when it does, the test, as always, is fundamental: Am I number one, or is God?”
How can we avoid Asa’s tragic mistake, abandoning the living God after years of apparent faithfulness? It’s a mystery, to be sure: we need God’s sustaining and preserving grace, but we are also responsible to persevere in the faith. I think Philippians 2:12-13 captures this dual emphasis very well:
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
For our part, we must resolve to live the truths of 2 Corinthians 5:15:
“…and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
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December 13, 2005 9:44 pm
Another choice tidbit from a recent World Magazine: a feature on Takeru Kobayashi, the reigning world hotdog-eating champion. I bet his parents are proud.
Though only 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 145 pounds, Mr. Kobayashi can eat more than 20 pounds of food in a single sitting. If I understand it right, he’s only lost to a grizzly bear.
The rising star in the mass-food-consumption category is one Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas. She earned her nickname by defeating larger, hungrier men. In July, she scarfed 37 hot dogs in 12 minutes. The pictures are amazing, but not to be reprinted for my sensitive readership. Here are some of her other eating records (though not all at the same sitting):
- 8.4 pounds of baked beans in 2 minutes, 47 seconds
- 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes
- 80 chicken nuggets in 5 minutes
- 65 hard-boiled eggs in 6 minutes, 40 seconds
- 4 pounds, 14.25 ounces of fruitcake in 10 minutes
- 43 soft tacos in 11 minutes
- 8.31 pounds of Vienna sausage in 10 minutes
I’m not going to name names, but I suspect that there are some of you who could top this.
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December 12, 2005 10:01 am
A few years ago, Covenant Life Church did a sermon series on Worldliness, and they put out a small booklet with helpful quotes and other resources. In it was a list by CJ of questions for evaluating our behavior. We can easily apply these questions to our online activities:
Does it present a temptation to sin?
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
2 Timothy 2:22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Is it beneficial?
1 Corinthians 6:12a “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.”
1 Corinthians 10:23 “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.”
Is it enslaving?
1 Corinthians 6:12b “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.
Does it honor and glorify God?
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Does it promote the good of others?
1 Corinthians 10:33 “just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.”
Does it cause anyone to stumble?
1 Corinthians 10:32 “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God…”
Does it arise from a pure motive?
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
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This is interesting:
Wednesday’s post (What Happened?) got me thinking about another comment from D.A. Carson that I’ve been thinking about for a few days. In For The Love of God, he comments on 2 Chronicles 11-12, noting the sad history of King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and grandson of the great King David. Dr. Carson notes that Rehoboam was “a mediocre king whose overall effect was bad.” Here’s why:
Last week, Mark reminded us that we are memorizing 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 together. Do any of you have it memorized? The main reason to memorize these verses is that it is good for your soul. See Psalm 119:11 if you’re not sure about that.
Don’t forget: our five15 Christmas Party is Saturday night.
In his daily devotional, For the Love of God, D.A. Carson offers two meditations on the life of King Asa, king of Judah, great-grandson of King Solomon. Asa began well, bringing reforms to the kingdom, but in the end, abandoned his faith in God and trusted in his own schemes. In his meditation on 2 Chronicles 16, D.A. Carson explains how this could happen:
