Birthday suit

A humorous take on Adam (the one who lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden) and how easy it was for the entire human race to fall into corruption comes from a surprisingly funny source. I've been reading the writing of a guy called "Doc Love" who editorializes for AskMen. In his book "The System" he states:

Adam, the first wimp, had his shot, missed it, and it's been downhill ever since. Just because a Kim Basinger look-a-like named Eve walked by in her latest birthday suit, he didn't have to slobber all over himself and beg to take a bit - of the apple that is! Adam knew they had it made in the garden; no pollution, and the best, no parking enforcement!

What Adam should have said was, "Eve, forget that snake, or forget me." He might have even tried bluffing. But Adam was "whipped," and the rest is bad history. You guys must never underestimate the power of a woman, even without a serpent.

The Roman philosopher Seneca stated that, "He who boasts of his descent praises the deeds of another." I don't mean to sound like a misogynist because Adam was fully responsible for his own actions, but look at how easy it was for our descendant, Adam, to fall from his lofty position before God! On the other hand, look at how difficult it was for Jesus to redeem those who would be called sons (and daughters) of God! In order to repeal Adam's disobedience when he bit into the apple, Jesus had to bite, swallow and digest sin, death and the grave for us. Are you the descendant of Adam or Jesus? Just something to chew on as you consider the truth behind Easter...

The government gets the jam and we get the jar.

Concerning health care "reform" my dad wrote a nastygram to his Congressman that I thought would make for good reading. He writes:

I just sent this to my Congressman, Martin Heinrich:

Including the government takeover of the student loan program is reason enough to vote against this so-called "reform." I vehemently oppose centralized government control of education purse strings, with all its implications. Further, the President's expressed desire to subsidize the education of those who go into the bureaucracy guarantees ever larger government and higher taxes on the productive to support it. But hey, it's important to spread that wealth around. Inevitably, such a system will be manipulated so that the nomenklatura get the jam and the rest of us get the jar.

I will be campaigning for your opponent in the fall.

I'm "privileged" to be on Mr. Heinrich's mailing list. In his most recent letter he said "I voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, also known as the House health insurance bill, which passed the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009, by a bipartisan vote of 220 to 215." Emphasis mine. Hey, as long as they're making the rules up as they go along, why not rewrite the dictionary. I sent him a nastygram over that one.

An ode to my grandpa.

My grandpa's grandchildren wrote down our favorite memories or thoughts to be spoken at the funeral service. These are those words:

Evan
"Every time I talked with Grandpa over the past few years, he would ask me two questions: 'How's my favorite red-headed Marine grandson?' and 'Do you have yourself a woman yet?' What had the greatest impact on me though was his relationship with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through all things, he desired to give me the hope he had in life and the eternal life he now has with Jesus through death. He knew what was important and I will miss him."

Arwen
"I know it wasn't until I got older that I really learned to appreciate what a hard-working, strong and loving man Grandpa was. At a young age, it was easy to interpret Grandpa's sternness as him just being mean! But now I know he was just holding us to high standards which he set for himself. He just wanted his grand kids to grow up to be decent, hard-working adults. He will always be one I look to in times of moral or physical crises."

Adam
"I will always remember Grandpa as someone very kind and generous. He always cared about and took great interest in his grandchildren. He was always willing to spend time with them and encourage them. He was always willing to spend time with me, whether hiking or learning about engines and wiring. I will miss him greatly."

Lee
"Grandpa taught me how to be a caring, loving man, and showed me the true meaning of love and devotion to your family. I thank God for giving us such a great and wonderful grandfather and for taking care of us all. We will all miss him but he will love in our hearts."

Matt
"I remember when Grandpa and Grandma were babysitting me. We were driving in the car and the window was rolled down slightly. My fingers were in the window crack when Grandpa rolled it up, catching my fingers. After disengaging my fingers, Grandpa felt so bad that he spent the day playing croquet with me and making me lunch. It showed me he cared about the little things and making things right."

Sarah
"Grandpa is someone everyone knew as a very generous man. He loved his family more than anything else, especially our loving grandma. I remember him telling me all the stories of when he first met her. He was very proud of his family. His legacy will live on in each and every one of us."

Zack
"I was a little kid when I was at Grandpa's house one day. he took me downstairs into his study where he kept all the model airplanes and trinkets he collected over the years. i had my eye on the small, camouflage plane for a long time and wanted to ask Grandpa for it, but was afraid to request it. Grandpa knew it was close to my heart though and offered it to me. I was so thankful for this gift because it showed Grandpa's loving and compassionate heart towards me."

Ryan
"Grandpa was always happy and very kind. He always said 'Keep up the good work' and he always listened and was interested. He was a great man and he loved God as much as he loved all of us."

Wyldlife

I've slowly been taking more responsibility upon myself to get my church's "Wyldlife" program up and running. Wyldlife is a Christian-themed youth group for middle schoolers who may or may not know the Lord. Accordingly, we mostly play games and goof around before sharing a quick Bible story or talking about Jesus. Then we head out to McDonald's for a night time snack.

The responsibility I have taken upon myself is that of chauffeur. I drive to a club house that the organization has within an apartment complex here in Escondido. I would expect that the majority of the tenants there are Hispanic simply for the sheer number of brown kids running around unsupervised while screaming obscenities and taunts at one another in Spanish. It was actually quite endearing and I found myself laughing in spite of myself.

I was surprised to see so many kids out and about by themselves simply because we're following hot on the heels of the Chelsea King and Amber Dubois murders. There was one kid nobody recognized who said that his parents told him he could go. I didn't trust him so I asked to be introduced to his parents. His brother and dad came to the door and the father asked only, "will he be safe?" What do I say to that? "Of course he will be!" are the words that came out of my mouth. I exchanged a handshake with this father whom I had never met and whisked his kid away to be brought back two and a half hours later.

My commentary on the entire situation to a friend followed along the lines of, "This would never happen in a community of white folks." I was left thinking that this cultural innocence (if indeed it is not laziness) was a good infusion into our own communities and I hope that a happy medium can be found where kids are safe enough to run around and parents are thoughtful enough to keep an eye on them sometimes. Importantly, this is what I hope Wyldlife (and Young Life) will be able to do within our communities because, truly, the groups are an engine meant to drive the Gospel of Good Hope and salvation through Jesus into the homes of those who have no hope. That is the only meaningful way to change our communities and our actions that get us involved prove that!

Amber Dubois and Chelsea King

My heart has been so troubled by the Chelsea King and Amber Dubois cases recently. To find out in the same week that both are dead is devastating. I cannot stop contemplating how painful and meaningless this life seems to be. There MUST be hope though; there has to be. I thought of Psalm 73 (especially verses 16-17):

¹Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

³ For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.

⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.

¹¹ They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

²² I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

The search for Chelsea King.

A remarkable woman from my church wrote a very heartfelt message about the community that has mobilized to help the family of Chelsea King. It's something you need to read to see a semblance of joy through the sadness of Chelsea's death.

Hello everybody,

Clearly this family is on everyone's hearts. The news today has devastated a family and a community. I went to the prayer service at RB Community Presbyterian Church last night... it was very nice. Overall, seemed to be a real comfort to those who attended. My eyes (and heart) were drawn to the teens that were there, those who perhaps knew Chelsea personally. There were a lot of very, very sad hearts last night. Today, I'm sure, the grief is unbearable. Oh, Lord Jesus help us!

This morning, I received an invitation to go search for Chelsea... how could I not go? So I called in the "substitute" teachers (Arne and Margi), grabbed a water bottle, and headed to RB. The search effort was amazing... the volunteers were so organized! so kind! so grateful! so HOPEFUL! It really was an amazing display of support, sacrifice and love!

I don't have the exact quote memorized, but for those of you who have read Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, he says somewhere in there that... this life here on earth is the closest thing that believers will experience of hell and the closest thing that non-believers will experience of heaven.

I feel like I was there today... experiencing hell and heaven... hell in the news of her body being found in Lake Hodges with all the awful thoughts that go along with the brutality of it AND HEAVEN in the kindness, goodness, and sacrificial love of these volunteers, most of whom were strangers to this family. Even the camaraderie that I experienced today with people that I just met (especially Julie and Lisa), unified for a common purpose, determined to help, was a taste of heaven. Despite the awful reason we were gathered together, we even had some laughter...

God is good that way... to give us joy in the midst of sorrow, to give us relief in the midst of heaviness, to give us glimpses of heaven in the face of hell.

I had suggestions from people that we could try to pray at the same time each day. While that certainly doesn't need to be the case, for anyone interested, I will plan to pray at 9am every morning for this family... Chelsea's mom and dad, her 8 year old brother, her extended family... and her friends.

God can and will cause good to come out of the evil.

LIGHT always pushes back darkness.

God's JUSTICE trumps man's inept justice...

My thoughts in the midst of a heavy heart,

Jackie

Life sucks and then you die.

Where we come from is a mystery and to where we will go is unknown. The only certain thing is that from dust we were formed and to dust will our remains return. The sinner seeks justice from his oppressor and the righteous man dies of a broken heart. For what purpose does the one who seeks goodness work for? Assuredly, he will die just as the sinner. The lazy gambler loses his money in life just as the diligent worker loses it in death. Whether we tarry or hurry, the pursuit of wealth is foolish for what it purchases will decay away. To seek justice is a fool's errand for the grave will catch all in it's insatiable embrace. Whereas justice is never fulfilled, the grave is never filled. Regardless of the goodness we seek in life, at death we bequeath all things to those who did not earn them. The meaningless nature of this life is found in death.

You ask, "but what of justice? Is it not good that we seek it while we live?" Foolishness! Have you failed to examine your own heart? A man cannot live up to even the standards he strives for! We are marked by failure and deserve judgment at every step. We miss the mark of living up to God's law and prove the impossibility of living up to the law of man. Even as a law unto ourselves we are riddled with imperfection. We hate the people who murder in hatred and put them to death in our very hearts. We despise the jealous and the proud and drop the anchor of haughtiness deeply in the harbors of our souls. The secret places drip with venom and stink with the rot of death even as we polish the facade that we present to the world. We are white-washed tombs that look beautiful on the outside and contain nothing on the inside but decaying bones.

You want to judge but are already judged! Judgment brings no hope. The world knows this to be true which is why many rally around the banner of hating those who judge. Do you not see? Even in avoiding judgment we make ourselves arbiters of those who judge! If we could avoid judgment there is still no hope, for existence is joyless when wickedness goes unpunished. This is the crux of the problem we face as humans. With judgment no man escapes the murder in his own heart and without justice the murderer goes free.

Can this possibly be the end of the story for us? What is our purpose in this life and universe if all paths lead to hopelessness and death? There is only one answer and it must be found in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the king of all creation, Jesus Christ, who came to save all men from their sins! He is the "man of sorrows" who took the corrupted mortality of this life upon Himself to be with us. He walked in life among those who were dead to Him to serve their needs and take away their distresses. He came not to judge us according to our evil ways, but to be judged though His ways were pure and faultless. Open your eyes, sinner! The judgment you deserve has fallen upon the Savior of mankind! Seek out His forgiveness! In this way only can perfect justice be established for eternity. Judgment is passed, justice prevails, and mercy and grace reign in Him who is merciful and just to forgive. All who put their trust in Him will by no means be put to shame. Death has been swallowed up in life!