1.12.2012

iSpy

iSpy is a new, daily photo blog I've begun here.
The subtitle is: iPost what iSpy with iPhone

Here's my rationale:

God is sovereign over the majestic, the minute and even the mundane.  We should find Him there.  This simple project is my daily attempt to do just that. I will try to post one photo, each day (I hope) of some simple evidence of God's creation - something we might normally pass by without notice.

I'm not trying to get published in National Geographic, but I am trying to publish God's handiwork for others to see.

I am not trying to worship creation. I am trying to worship the Creator as prompted by His creation.

This does not come naturally for me. I am, by nature, a self-worshiper.

This is my personal attempt to put into practice such passages as these:

    The heavens declare the glory of God,
            and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
        Day to day pours out speech,
            and night to night reveals knowledge.
        There is no speech, nor are there words,
            whose voice is not heard.
        Their voice goes out through all the earth,
            and their words to the end of the world.
        In them he has set a tent for the sun,
            which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
            and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
        Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
            and its circuit to the end of them,
            and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
    (Psalm 19:1-6 ESV)


    It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
            to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
        to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
            and your faithfulness by night,
        to the music of the lute and the harp,
            to the melody of the lyre.
        For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
            at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
        How great are your works, O LORD!
            Your thoughts are very deep!
    (Psalm 92:1-5 ESV)

Related post here.

I was challenged to do this last year while reading John Piper's book, When I Don't Desire God.  In his chapter entitled, How to Wield the World in the Fight for Joy, he listed 11 resolutions written by his mentor for the purpose of "overcoming our bent toward blindness for the wonders of the ordinary." This one in particular stood out:
I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what [C. S.] Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic” existence.
Read the entire book online
View iSpy photos on Facebook.
View iSpy photos on Posterous.

1.06.2012

You Two Work It Out

In a way-back sermon from 1984, John Piper explains two of the both/and passages we find in the book of Philippians that hold in perfect tension God's work IN us and our work FOR Him.

The best commentary on Philippians 3:12 is Philippians 2:12–13: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you." Go hard after Christ, because Christ is at work in you! "Strive for . . . the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14), for the Lord is working in you what is pleasing in his sight (Hebrews 13:21).
The reason the Bible can make our salvation depend on our pursuit of holiness without turning us into self-reliant legalists who have no assurance is that it makes our pursuit of holiness depend on the sovereign work of God in our lives.

Work out your salvation, because God is at work in you.

Your work is his work for his glory when done in dependence on his power.

The most fundamental reason why you must go hard after Christ is that Christ is in you, moving you to go hard after him.
Read or listen to the entire sermon here.

12.19.2011

Christmas Memories 1973

Below is a series of pics from my 3rd Christmas as a human boy. Pardon me while I relive the moment...
[scratching chin & gazing contemplatively into nowhere ]
The year was 1973... this was the first Christmas that I had to share with a sibling, evidenced by the presence of a crib in several of the pictures.
Now, when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, I was known for getting up at unreasonable times Christmas morning & waking my parents so my sister & I could tear in to our loot. If this 3rd Christmas was like the later ones, it could've been anywhere around 4 or 5 AM when this picture was snapped.
What every parent longs for... why they charge up their credit cards each year...
to see the look on their child's face on Christmas morning.

12.15.2011

What Child is This?

A couple of years ago I realized that there was another version of this sweet Christmas carol.

Try reading it....slowly. Notice the first two verses are in the forms of questions, the last verse being a command. Then the refrain gives the answer - the response.  The proclamation uses such language as:

"THIS, THIS IS CHRIST THE KING...HAIL THE WORD MADE FLESH...RAISE A SONG ON HIGH"

Next time you sing it, may the chorus be your proclamation to the world - your "song on high", of the Christ child, the King, "the Babe, the son of Mary".

May your "loving heart enthrone Him."

What Child Is This?
Words: Will­iam C. Dix, The Man­ger Throne, 1865.
Music: “Green­sleeves,” 16th Cen­tu­ry Eng­lish mel­o­dy

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

REFRAIN:
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

REFRAIN:
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

REFRAIN:
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

12.01.2011

Anything Meretricious?

My Hearer, are you seeking salvation by works—by anything that is meritorious or meretricious?
You are spending your money for that which is not bread!

Are you seeking a knowledge of salvation by your own feeling? Do you consult your frames of mind, hopeful or desponding, as one marks the rise or fall of a barometer? Do you dream of being prepared for Christ and fitting yourself to receive mercy?
This is to impose on yourself and to insult the Savior!

Christ needs nothing from you—He comes to bring everything to you! Even your sense of need He gives you.

All your fitness is to be unfit!
All your preparation for washing is to be foul!
All your prerequisite for enriching is to be poor as poverty can make you!

Come as you are to your God through Christ, the Mediator, and in Him you shall find salvation!