Sorry it has been a while since I last posted. Not that I think anyone missed it, since I have all of one or two readers who show up every once in a while. Rather, I am trying to stay disciplined and not doing very well. It isn't that I haven't had thoughts that I could blog about, I just haven't taken the time to sit down and write. So, a few updates on things recently...
- Started geocaching recently. Lots of fun for the whole family. Hikes with a mission.
- Had an earthquake today... 5.4, just south of Palm Springs. We could feel it pretty strong where we live. Pretty weird to feel the ground/floor moving under your feet.
- Speaking of the ground shifting, this article from Al Mohler took my breath away (in a bad way)... just amazing how sinful we humans can be.
- When they say leadership involves spending 90% of your time with 10% of your people, they speak truly. It makes it all the more a joy to sign good conduct medal and promotion certificates. It reminds me that the majority of my Marines are motivated professionals who want to do the right thing.
07 July 2010
21 June 2010
Grandad
A great man went home yesterday. My Grandad was a man's man. He grew up slinging around 100lb sacks of grain and 200lb bales of wool on a sheep ranch. He would kill a snake by grabbing its tail and cracking it like a whip. The Australian Army tried to draft him during World War II but didn't due to a heart murmur. So instead, he served God in probably harsher conditions as a missionary to the aboriginal people in Western Australia. He was three days drive into the desert from the nearest civilization, and that was just a ranch. Because of the petrol shortage during the war, he was able to adapt a method of using charcoal gas to power the truck they used for the mission. He continued mission work and started a family at another mission station near Alice Springs. He pastored churches, he started a travel agent business, he started the Australian Christian Businessman's Association, and he coached the national lawn bowling team. He could succeed at anything he put his hand to. He also grew flowers, did amazing woodwork and took incredible photographs.
My Grandad could claim accolades for all his accomplishments. But, what he would want most of all is for God to be glorified for what He did in and through Grandad's life. I didn't get to spend nearly as much time with Grandad as I would have liked since most of the time we lived on different continents. Whenever we talked he would exhort me to succeed with a casual optimism. Even more, he would exhort me to serve God with my life and encourage me to keep seeking Him in prayer. Nothing about Grandad was accompanied with fanfare. He just quietly and humbly served God and cared for his family and his church.
Now, Grandad is with his Lord being crowned with the crown of glory. And, knowing Grandad, the first thing he will do with that crown is cast it down at the foot of the throne of God.
My Grandad could claim accolades for all his accomplishments. But, what he would want most of all is for God to be glorified for what He did in and through Grandad's life. I didn't get to spend nearly as much time with Grandad as I would have liked since most of the time we lived on different continents. Whenever we talked he would exhort me to succeed with a casual optimism. Even more, he would exhort me to serve God with my life and encourage me to keep seeking Him in prayer. Nothing about Grandad was accompanied with fanfare. He just quietly and humbly served God and cared for his family and his church.
Now, Grandad is with his Lord being crowned with the crown of glory. And, knowing Grandad, the first thing he will do with that crown is cast it down at the foot of the throne of God.
15 June 2010
Husband and Wife
I love how this post by Ray Ortlund derives the needs and roles of the husband and wife in a marriage from the Creation story.
13 June 2010
Paradox
I am a paradox. I am a sinner - at least I sin a lot, yet I am a redeemed, cleansed, child of God. I loathe myself in my sin, yet I selfishly want to sin more. I think I am the worst of people - a recipient of God's grace who yet spurns that grace by continuing in sin, yet I pridefully think of myself as the best of people - at least better than that guy over there. I have been made a new creature in Christ, yet I act like the old monster. My spirit is made new and yearns to draw upward into the embrace of God, yet my flesh still yearns to go down and wallow in the muck of the world. I am torn apart. I am at war in myself. We talk about fighting the battles between good and evil in our society and culture, but what am I to do about that battle in me? In both places I know who will ultimately win, but that doesn't change the battle that rages each day. Who will set me free from this existence of sin and death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! I look forward to that day when His work in me is finally complete.
07 June 2010
Discover the remnant
Consider for a moment this quote from Marilynne Robinson about Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
"He [Bonhoeffer] is using the scandal of the cross to discover the remnant church among the multitudes of the religious". (from the essay on Bonhoeffer in "The Death of Adam").
If the depth of meaning, and relevance to our current cultural situation, in this simple statement doesn't blow your mind you haven't thought about it enough.
"He [Bonhoeffer] is using the scandal of the cross to discover the remnant church among the multitudes of the religious". (from the essay on Bonhoeffer in "The Death of Adam").
If the depth of meaning, and relevance to our current cultural situation, in this simple statement doesn't blow your mind you haven't thought about it enough.
06 June 2010
Christians in the military
I got in a bit of a discussion today about whether a Christian may serve in the military. This has been answered before by many people smarter than I using rationale such as God identifying Himself as a mighty warrior; His praise for David and Joshua, who were warriors; and the absence of condemnation toward soldiers by John the Baptist and Jesus when given the opportunity. One of the arguments often given by those claiming Christians should not serve in the military is that the governmental authorities may use the military to do something unjust or immoral. I grant that the occasion may arrive in which a Christian would have to choose to disobey military orders in order to stay true to Biblical principles. However, I get annoyed with those who make a facile assumption that they know why a country is taking a particular military action.
Take as given for the moment that it is not prohibited for a Christian to serve in the military of a secular government (no prohibitions were given to the centurion who impressed Jesus or to Cornelius). This government will make most of its decisions to employ the military using self-serving Machiavellian motivations, not generally God-honoring motivations as if it were a God-centered theocracy. God's chosen people, Israel, weren't even able to stay true to God-honoring purposes in the use of their military. There may occur moments when a nation will openly state wicked purposes for engaging in military action. The military may be ordered to invade another nation to take possession of its land and to exterminate the population in the process. That would be one of the more obvious cases where a Christian soldier would have to make a choice between his vocation and the God he serves.
However, it is not usually that obvious, at least in the modern era. In the case of two of the more maligned recent conflicts, Vietnam and Iraq, people like to glibly say they were about oil or money or whatever. However, in both cases the stated reason was to neutralize a threat to the United States and to support and enable the local government (in Iraq that second reason came in after Saddam Hussein was deposed). For the service member in the military, there is no obvious reason to object to the strategic mission. Sure, we could all second guess various aspects and claim various hidden agendas but, really, we don't have sufficient evidence to go against our orders. Then, military commanders at various levels could interpret or apply their mission in ways that contradict Biblical principles. That could happen in business or other organization as well. As members of a military unit, we know that if an immoral order is given, such as happened at Wounded Knee or My Lai, we have the right and the obligation to refuse the order and to report the incident. In 99.9% of situations, the actions of American military, at least, are consistent with Biblical injunctions and what would be expected of being part of the sword wielded by the state. Those that are not usually violate the law of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions and/or the Uniform Code of Military Justice and those individuals are punished.
All that having been said, I am not happy with the direction the national government is currently headed and the implications that will have for the military. I can imagine it will become more difficult in years ahead for a Christian to serve in the military in good conscience. And if that happens the absence of salt and light can cause a downward spiral that is difficult to reverse.
Take as given for the moment that it is not prohibited for a Christian to serve in the military of a secular government (no prohibitions were given to the centurion who impressed Jesus or to Cornelius). This government will make most of its decisions to employ the military using self-serving Machiavellian motivations, not generally God-honoring motivations as if it were a God-centered theocracy. God's chosen people, Israel, weren't even able to stay true to God-honoring purposes in the use of their military. There may occur moments when a nation will openly state wicked purposes for engaging in military action. The military may be ordered to invade another nation to take possession of its land and to exterminate the population in the process. That would be one of the more obvious cases where a Christian soldier would have to make a choice between his vocation and the God he serves.
However, it is not usually that obvious, at least in the modern era. In the case of two of the more maligned recent conflicts, Vietnam and Iraq, people like to glibly say they were about oil or money or whatever. However, in both cases the stated reason was to neutralize a threat to the United States and to support and enable the local government (in Iraq that second reason came in after Saddam Hussein was deposed). For the service member in the military, there is no obvious reason to object to the strategic mission. Sure, we could all second guess various aspects and claim various hidden agendas but, really, we don't have sufficient evidence to go against our orders. Then, military commanders at various levels could interpret or apply their mission in ways that contradict Biblical principles. That could happen in business or other organization as well. As members of a military unit, we know that if an immoral order is given, such as happened at Wounded Knee or My Lai, we have the right and the obligation to refuse the order and to report the incident. In 99.9% of situations, the actions of American military, at least, are consistent with Biblical injunctions and what would be expected of being part of the sword wielded by the state. Those that are not usually violate the law of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions and/or the Uniform Code of Military Justice and those individuals are punished.
All that having been said, I am not happy with the direction the national government is currently headed and the implications that will have for the military. I can imagine it will become more difficult in years ahead for a Christian to serve in the military in good conscience. And if that happens the absence of salt and light can cause a downward spiral that is difficult to reverse.
03 June 2010
Mountains as witness
This past weekend my family and I went to the mountains near us for some camping. It was beautiful, with gorgeous trees and flowers and majestic peaks. The mountains are good for my soul. It was interesting then, that one of the mornings, as I was sitting on a boulder looking at the mountain peak, I read in my devotions Micah 6:1-2, which reads:
"Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. "
I think the Lord has an indictment against the Church in this land as well, and the mountains can be a witness. We have sold out to the cultural pressures around us like the Israelites sold out to the pagan religions surrounding them. Unless the Church returns to its first love and becomes again the pillar and ground of the truth, this nation will continue in its precipitous slide to immorality. The meat without salt will become rancid, and we have already begun to see the rot set in. Reform and revival must begin with the Church. Lord God, have mercy on us. We have walked far from your truth and have done what seems good in our own eyes. Please create in us clean hearts and renew right spirits within us. Amen.
"Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. "
I think the Lord has an indictment against the Church in this land as well, and the mountains can be a witness. We have sold out to the cultural pressures around us like the Israelites sold out to the pagan religions surrounding them. Unless the Church returns to its first love and becomes again the pillar and ground of the truth, this nation will continue in its precipitous slide to immorality. The meat without salt will become rancid, and we have already begun to see the rot set in. Reform and revival must begin with the Church. Lord God, have mercy on us. We have walked far from your truth and have done what seems good in our own eyes. Please create in us clean hearts and renew right spirits within us. Amen.
02 June 2010
Discipline: FAIL
So, one of the main reasons I decided to start this blog was to try to develop some discipline in writing, to make myself sit down and put my thoughts (some of them) in writing. Obviously I am not doing very well. I am finding it very difficult to make the time after a full day of work and needing to spend time with my family when I get home. I have thoughts that seem worthy to put in a blog post fairly frequently, but they are not at a time when I can actually put them in writing. Most often, it seems, they happen while I am commuting. And then, when I do finally sit down at the computer I can't think of what seemed so good to blog about. So, maybe blog posts won't be as frequent here as I was hoping for. Or, maybe I can develop some discipline to keep writing. It would help if I got more comments so I would see feedback on what I write. I guess it takes time, though, to build up enough of a reader base that comments are regular. I'll just keep taking one day at a time and try to write more often. We'll see what happens.
24 May 2010
Insurgency and Counterinsurgency
OK, I'm back. I was in a class on counterinsurgency all last week, getting ready for my deployment next year. By the time I finally got home each evening I didn't have the energy to write a blog post. One random thought from the class was was the applicability to the Christian life. Metaphors abound that compare the Christian life and evangelism to military action. So, I wondered, is the Christian life more like insurgency, or counterinsurgency? On the one hand I thought it is like an insurgency: Satan is the Prince of this world and he holds the reigns of power from our perspective. We Christians are a minority and we are trying to undermine the legitimacy and power of the evil one. On the other hand, I considered that it might be more like a counterinsurgency. God is the legitimate sovereign government and Satan and his minions are the insurgency. Christians in this model are like a special forces team behind enemy lines, trying to win the hearts and minds of the population and restore governmental control. Of course, neither metaphor is perfect. If anyone is still reading this blog, which do you think fits better, and why?
13 May 2010
Roosevelt on Immigration
I knew I liked Teddy Roosevelt! Here's what he had to say about immigration:
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American.There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
--Theodore Roosevelt 1907
I don't think that means that ethnic/cultural heritage cannot be celebrated. It is just that ethnic/cultural heritage must be subordinated to the new loyalty and identification as American.
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