Happy Hallow's Eve!

Today we took Isaac and Abigail to the Nash Ranch Pumpkin Patch. Isaac is still too young to go trick-or-treating and we're not even sure we want to start him on the tradition of the annual candy hoard and gorge anyway.

Isaac in his new puffy jacket courtesy of Aunt Grace

It's interesting to think how this "holiday" morphed into a commercial affair as it is the second most popular time for decorating (Christmas is #1). American tradition has seemed to desensitize us to the fact that nearly all the themes of Halloween are not very good, especially for children. We'll see how our family will approach this as the kids grow older. But for now we will simply enjoy the nicer aspects of this fall ritual, like picking pumpkins!

Jenney & Isaac with their new pumpkin

Our Civic and Sacred Duty

It's amazing to think the elections are just around the corner. Jenney and I just finished our absentee ballots. We had some difficulty understanding the ramifications of a few of the propositions but when it came to supporting one presidential candidate over another, the choice was simple. Before I continue, let me just say I have never been too immersed in politics. Apart from a political science course in college, my knowledge, experience, and passion of government are very limited. Although I may favor a particular perspective or idea, I cannot be certain which candidate's policies will ultimately be better on issues such as foreign relations, terrorism, immigration, health care, social security, education, environment, or the economy. However, there is one issue that seems poised to take either a good or bad turn depending on the next president. It is the issue of abortion.

Either Obama (pro-choice) or McCain (pro-life) will most likley have the opportunity to appoint 2-3 Supreme Court Justices in the next four years. Obviously, the make-up of the Supreme Courty influences many controversies other than abortion but I will only focus on this issue because I believe it is our most pressing concern at this time. The big question is determining when life begins- conception, third trimester, birth? According to the Bible, these are all incomplete theories. God says in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you".

Life begins in the mind of God.

If this is the case, the real question we should be asking is what God thinks of abortion. If God views fetuses in the womb as His children that He created, we are guilty of shedding innocent blood whenever we allow an abortion. When we consider the history and breadth of abortion, it becomes clear we are in the midst of a legalized holocaust. Let us seek the Father's heart for his precious children and pray for the end of abortion.

This is a video from CatholicVote.com. Check out the site for more resources about the upcoming election.

Purity

There are two books on our school reading list by Kris Vallotton- "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty" and "Purity: The New Moral Revolution". Even though the book on royalty is really the foundation of our program, we were assigned to read "Purity" first. Jenney and I were pondering the reason for this and then realized that our school is mainly comprised of young, passionate, single students, many of whom have are living away from home for the first time. Our teachers are very wise...

Whether you are dating, married, or retired with grandkids, this book is a much needed message for the present generation when it comes to sexual purity. Kris also includes a powerful chapter on abortion. As people just celebrated the 40th anniversary of the summer of love (the sexual revolution) it is time the church stands up for a moral revolution in the form of purity!

A Brush In God's Hand

We had a surprise guest at school today- Heidi Baker. She and her husband Rolland are the founders of IRIS Ministries, a missions agency based in Mozambique with a special emphasis on orphaned children. If you have never heard of IRIS or Heidi and Rolland, I encourage you to learn more about them.

A video of "Mama Heidi's" story
in reaching out to the poorest orphans in Africa.

The Baker's testimony and faithfulness are amazing. God is using them to reach thousands with the Gospel through signs, wonders, and divine compassion. What struck me most about seeing Heidi this afternoon was her genuine love for Jesus. Everything else is simply an overflow of her relationship with Christ. Her daily prayer is to be a brush in God's hand so that He can paint something beautiful.

In my desire to minister in the supernatural I must understand that this will naturally come about through my intimacy with God. This is the message of John 15. Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." May we learn to abide in Christ so that we may bear good fruit for the Kingdom!

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish,and it will be given you.
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:7-8

Hearing the Holy Voice

The Gospel of John contains many profound statements by Jesus which shed light for how we are to live. Jesus was intimately connected to the Father, speaking and doing only what God said and did.

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19

“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” John 12:49

“So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” John 8:28

We are to follow Jesus' example.

"He who belongs to God hears what God says." John 8:47

We are to know the voice of the Good Shepherd in our lives.

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” John 10:3-4

We must hear and obey the Holy Spirit.

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." John 16:12-13

The important idea is listening to the voice of God, whether it is through the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Do we hear God in our lives? Granted God can speak to us in many different ways (i.e.- Bible, people, circumstances, etc), but do we know and recognize the divine voice when we hear it? I have mainly been in circles where this sort of thing is not taught nor even encouraged. In fact, certain people are weary of those who proclaim to hear from God. To some it is even a sign of mental illness or at least instability. I am beginning to move away from this perspective into earnestly seeking and hungering after the voice of God because it is the foundation of intimacy. How can I fully love without being able to communicate with God?

I have shared my recent experience of hearing the Holy Spirit in a previous post. I believe that as I draw closer to Him, I will grow in my ability to hear His voice. I hope it is the same for you. If you have a moment, I would love to learn how you hear from God in your own life.

Isaac & Daddy listening for God's voice

Date Night

Last night Isaac and Abigail went to sleep fairly early (before 10 pm) so I made tea, put out some caramel corn, and set up Scrabble for an impromptu date night with Jenney. The game was pretty close until Jenney played "ZEN" on a triple word score for 36 points and I was left with an unusable Q at the end for minus 10 points. But, alas, it's not important who wins or loses...

One of the greatest games ever invented

Now that we are away from the grandparents, Jenney and I haven't had much time without the kids. We really have to make an effort to build into our marriage because our responsibilities are constantly growing. I love my "baby" more than ever and am so thankful for this amazing gift. We've been married for over four years and I treasure each day with her. Hopefully, we can have another date night soon!

A "pre-children" photo. I couldn't find any recent
pictures of us because they are all of the kids.

Divine Favor

There is a curious statement at the end of Luke 2, right after the boy Jesus frightened his parents by staying in Jerusalem without their knowledge. Verses 51-52 state, "Then (Jesus) went down to Nazareth with (his parents) and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." The phrase is easy to glance over in light of the story of a 12 year old Jesus at the temple, but it says that he grew in favor with God. The question that comes to mind is why Jesus needed to grow in favor with God. We can understand his need to grow in favor with people because he was merely the supposed son of a carpenter. But didn't Jesus already have complete favor in the eyes of his Heavenly Father? The answer may lie in Paul's "Christ Hymn" passage in Philippians 2.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Although we acknowledge that Jesus is both fully God and fully human, Paul teaches that Jesus emptied himself while on earth. He voluntarily humbled himself by becoming human, even a servant, and being obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, Jesus had the potential to grow in the favor of God because he gave up his favored status by becoming a man.

This is an amazing idea to grasp because of its implications. If Jesus humbled himself to the level of humanity, then his relationship with God as a man is our model for how we are to grow in the favor of God. Jesus did everything as a man and not as God. If this is true, then how was he able to perform the many miracles and wonders during his ministry? The Bible teaches it is through the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 4:14). The disciples were also able to heal and cast out demons because they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. All believers have this same Spirit living in them (cf. Romans 8:11) and Jesus said his followers will do even greater works than him (John 14:12-14). Is it possible that as we grow in favor with God, our Heavenly Father is pleased to demonstrate His power in us through the Holy Spirit? Can we afford not to live a supernatural life in our call to advance the kingdom of God?

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk
but of power." I Corinthians 4:20

Introducing The Holy Spirit

The second book on our reading list is Benny Hinn's "Good Morning, Holy Spirit". Hinn shares about his transformational experience with the Holy Spirit and pleads for all believers to get to know this person of the Godhead. It really is an amazing testimony. Growing up in the Presbyterian (USA) church I learned very little about the Holy Spirit. One pastor I served with remarked that our church preaches the Trinity but seems to practice a duality (Father & Son). I will be writing more about this topic in future posts because I feel this is the key to the supernatural life we should be living as Christians. How well do you know the Holy Spirit? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences.

"But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you." Acts 1:8

Our Impossible Faith

It has been said that the Christian life isn't hard, it's impossible. Think about this revelation for a moment. We can easily understand this statement in terms of our salvation, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). There is absolutely no way for people to come to God apart from His grace to us through Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:6). However, if we take this idea even further, our daily walk should also be viewed as impossible without divine intervention.

To clarify, Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven". I have always understood good deeds to mean practical acts of kindness to others- i.e. sharing, giving, encouraging, etc... But I am beginning to see the limitations of this view. How do my good works differ from those who may not necessarily be Christian? Do people praise God when they see the service of a Boy Scout, Rotary club, or even the Red Cross? Many non-believers seem to live more righteous lives than people of faith. What is the distinction of Christians from others who do good works? I believe it is because we serve the God of the impossible. Our good deeds should not be limited to things we do on our own strength, but include supernatural acts through the Holy Spirit. Jesus' ministry was characterized by miracles, healing, casting out of demons, and raising the dead in order to bring people closer to God. He wants us to carry on his work. It takes faith to believe this is possible for us today and great risk to strive after it. Our Heavenly Father receives praise when people realize only God can do the miracle and not us. May we truly let our light shine as we advance the Kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit!

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name,
and I will do it." John 14:12-14

This is one of Isaac's favorite praise songs, also very appropriate for this post: Hillsong Kids "Let Your Light Shine". This is dedicated to everyone from SMCC VBS '08!

Godly Government

It has been a long time since my last entry. I just returned from a three day retreat at the YWAM base in Chico. Isaac got sick last week, and then Jenney, and then Abigail. Jenney and Abigail are still trying to get well. Your prayers for complete healing and divine health would be appreciated. There is much I would like to write about but in honor of the Vice Presidential debate that took place tonight perhaps it is appropriate to highlight this important election.

Whenever I observe politicians speaking, they always seem to have the solution to all of our problems. If only that were true. I have great respect for our elected officials and I believe that the majority are sincere in their intentions to serve people. However, the issues facing our nation today are beyond the capacities of mere human thought and effort- they require divine guidance and intervention. The Bible commands us to pray for those in authority so that we may live peaceful lives in all godliness and holiness (I Timothy 2:1-2). It is not difficult to see that we are far from being a godly and holy nation. The remedy is not necessarily a Republican or Democratic administration in the White House but a people willing to humble themselves, turn from evil, and seek God's face in prayer. One day this vision will be realized as Psalm 72:11 declares, "All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him". Let us do all we can to press into that reality!

"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:7

On a lighter note, Tina Fey does an amazing impersonation of Sarah Palin. Check out this performance from SNL.