Merry Christmas to Everyone

We hope all of you had a great Christmas. We really hope that you had some good time thinking and meditating on the birth of our savior and king. What an awesome, humbling, and joyous event the birth of Jesus is.

Does is look better?

I hope this makes our blog look better!

Picture of downtown LA at night.

California and the kingdom of God

Last week my mom took Wendy, Riley, and I to California. Specifically, we went to Los Angeles. The weather in California is as advertised, AMAZING! When you come from a place with humidity like the deep South, to go to a place that has 0-10% humidity is pretty incredible. The temperature was in the low 50's and everyone was bundled up.

The thing that struck me the most about LA was the diversity. There are whole neighborhoods of Russians, Armenians, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and it seems like every people group a person could imagine. In these neighborhoods, signs are in their languages, stores cater to these groups, grocery stores carry items and foods that these people want (and that I don't recognize), and they have restaurants that serve their food.

Also, in downtown LA, they have different districts, like jewelry, fashion, toy, and even flower. Each district is a few blocks, and almost every store is dedicated to its theme.

Towards the end of the trip, I started to really love LA, probably for the first time (I've been going out there for 30 years now). It is like a small, broken microcosm of God's eventual finished kingdom. People from every tongue, tribe, and nation, with all their identities intact and perfected by the Holy Spirit. Our gifts and talents on display for God's glory and other people's good.

It took me 30 years to really like or love LA, but now I do.

Picture of Tide after big win over Florida

Here is the Sports Illustrated with Ingram on Cover

The article in this magazine about Ingram and his dad is really interesting. Mark Ingram Sr. made some bad decisions and really loves his son. It is a good picture of the human heart.

New Picture of Riley

The Joy of Suffering

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

I Peter 4:12-16

As I met with a group of staff guys this morning, we looked at these verses. We talked about suffering, what it is, how we view it, and how that view affects our view of God. Most of us had an interesting perspective that showed me that we struggle to embrace all sides of God. We embrace God the sovereign, God the powerful, God the holy, God whose thoughts are higher than ours, God who would not ask us for a cup of water if he is thirsty, God who disciplines those He loves. We all seemed to know that we are sinners in need of the refining hand of our creator. We seemed to all miss something too though. We seemed to miss the Jesus that said, "Let the children come;" we missed the Jesus that didn't let the Pharisees throw stones at an adulteress, we seemed to forget the Jesus that asked Bartimeus what he wanted, the Jesus that let Mary sit at his feet instead of working to "serve" him, the Jesus that let the woman break her container of expensive perfume and pour it on him instead of selling it to give to the poor. As I was sitting listening to my friends talk and listening to my own heart, I saw men who only believe and know half of God. We embrace the part that is like a coach, he tells us what is up and we do it. This reveals a misunderstanding of the gospel. We choose to view God like this because it is a way to control him. This God is easy to understand, he hates sin, he is the opposite of sin, and he is distant. Jesus is hard to control, hard to really even understand in that he is close, holy, and loving. He loves us with a love that is passionate and radical. It is full of intensity and delight. We know that a holy God hates sin, we see that in ourselves, so it is incredibly hard to embrace God's love for us. It hangs (literally) on a cross with a bloody, innocent victim who joyfully took our place. At least when I really go deep, I struggle to believe this. It is true though, and when I am repenting, I start to see that his love for us is vaster than the night sky.

God brings suffering on us that we may know his love the best we can. The Holy and Loving God does it for our good. It sharpens us, it humbles us, and it brings into focus his suffering for us.

Why I don't spend time with God...

I was just pondering why I don't spend time and walk with God. Why do I feel like I really love God and then my actions don't follow up. Like this morning, I was riding in my car listening to sports radio when I thought, "Man, I can pray for this 25 minute car ride. What a way to start my day." I knew when it ended my heart would be refreshed. I knew God and I would be close, He would be listening, and I would be worshipping. I didn't though. My actions revealed that sports radio was more important to me than God. That seems to be why I don't spend time with God, I think things are more important than God. I don't say they are, I would never SAY that, heaven forbid; I would never want anyone to think that about me. But I do act like that. Sleep, internet surfing, reading, video games, trying to learn info about politics and sports so I seem like I know what is going on. I think learning and knowing theology is more important than spending time and getting to know God. These take my time away from God, and if I'm honest, they don't have to. I choose that. I think and choose to give my time to something other than my God. If my wife treated me like I treat God, I think I would say she is unfaithful in a sense. I am unfaithful to God. I understand why God calls us adulterous. I fit under the definition of that word if you look at my actions.

I am really thankful today that God doesn't do that to me. I am glad He is never unfaithful to me, or even more so, His holiness.

God, may your faithfulness break my heart and lead me to repentance.

I really do love you, I just don't show it very well. You show it perfect, and I ask for your forgiveness.

We are back

OK, so we haven't blogged in a while. But we are back. We are closing in on the end of the semester. It has been incredibly busy. I have been working at NC State and UNC. However, God has done some great things lately, like last week 2 girls became Christians, and 5 students from UNC got baptized.

I'm going to try and keep up with this every few days. Pray for me that I do.