Month: March 2005

This week I am studying Revelation 7 in preparation for the talk on Wednesday night. To say that it is a difficult passage is an understatement.

Most people tend to focus on the 144,000. Other than that number being picked up upon by some cults of Christianity though… There isn’t really much interest in this. To me, it is simple. God will seal those 144,000 descendents of the 12 tribes of Israel in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. I don’t think there is much room to wiggle on that. Whether it will be exactly 144,000 or just a symbolic number… I don’t know because the bible is so unclear. But I know this for sure. God keeps His promises.

To me, the hard part of the passage is the second half. It screams out… “Who are these people?” While John makes it abundantly clear that these people are saved from among the tribulation, it isn’t clear if they were saved during the tribulation or not. For a pre-trib person like me this implies that these are new believers that were martyrdom during the tribulational period. (Since all believers were ruptured before the tribulation began.) In fact, this is a place where the post-trib view shines.

Application-wise. I’m still studying. Perhaps I will go with “in times of trouble, will you step up?” or something like that.

It’s been a long time since I did this, but it is an All Blogs thing.

Monday: Today I plan on getting my talk on Rev 7 going. Also, have some follow-up stuff to do for the 30 Hour Famine later in the week.
Tuesday: My morning will start off early with the Bible Study, the girls are almost done with Revelation! Wow, that went fast. Bob will be in the office, so I am certain at least half of the day will be consumed with non-StuMin work. We have an ever-growing list of things that we are working on. If I have my talk most of the way done, I can finalize LF by picking out the games and setting up my PowerPoint. Later in the afternoon I’m meeting with the folks from St. Thomas to go over the final preparations for the 30 Hour Famine.
Wednesday: If I get everything done right Monday & Tuesday, I should be able to take Wednesday morning off and come to work around lunch. The idea is this will leave me “fresher” for Light Force. (Lately I’ve felt so run down by 7 PM.) Scratch that… I’ve got a meeting at 10:30 about health insurance. Drats!
Thursday: Most of my day will probably be consumed with setting up our new PC’s for the sanctuary. I’ll also have some running around to do setting up the games for Friday night. But it will hopefully be a good day for getting all of the bells and whistles installed. Of course, lunches at RHS.
Friday: Off in the AM, 30 Hour Famine starts at 5. I’ll be here closer to 3 to get all of my games set up, sign-in table, etc. This will go from 5 PM Friday to 4 PM Saturday.
Saturday and Sunday: For the most part, I get to relax. We do have a Chicago team meeting in the evening.

Wow, this is a wail of a week. Unfortunately I didn’t even mention my homework. Crap, I got a lot of that too. Busy week.

The thought

In my studies, I’ve come across a few places where a church leader really remembered their spiritual heritage. They would remark in their autobiography that their ministry was the result of someone else’s who stepped into their lives at a young age. Their heritage went through that person.

The Evans

This is Dan & Barb Evans. I attribute much of who I am today to this faithful couple. When I was going through a terrible time in high school, this couple stood up to fill the gap. In the course of doing so I got introduced to Jesus Christ. I don’t want to get mushy or anything, but just state a fact… This couple is part of my spiritual heritage and I am thankful. If you know me… Would you consider sending them a word of encouragement right now? You can e-mail them at dan.evans@cadence.org.

Pass it on

I know the vast majority of the people who read this entry will be able to look back on their spiritual journeys and point to someone like Dan & Barb. If you want to, leave a comment and tell me your story. Better yet, leave me your e-mail address and I’ll follow up and post the story here on All Blogs.

After I wrote “paying the piper” I thought to myself… what the hell does that mean? So I did a google image search and this is what I came up with.

Now it all makes sense. Paying the piper really means That’s all folks!

Yep, I’m in the office instead of playing with my kids! I am working on grad school work today. I will admit that it is all my fault… I’ve not managed my time wisely.

I have to get going on about 5 papers for my current class. Today’s goal is to knock off one of them. Here is what the docket looks like.

1. 2 Reflection papers on a topic from A History of Christian Education and Church History in Plain Language. These are 2-3 pages each and take a couple of hours.
2. An old fashioned book review of Churches Without Walls. (3-5 pages)
3. A research paper on the topic of the formation of the Latter-Day Saints and it’s possible relationship with the Burned Over District of Northern New York. (15-20 pages)
4. A final exam (6-10 pages)

Each time I sit down to do this work I am filled with the same overwhelming self-doubt. Not just doubt that I need to be in this seminary work, but also that I need to continue in student ministry at all. It’s my belief that Satan has a special ministry of discouragement for people in ministry… Like a side business… And I have always felt this way because I have almost always seen the manifestations of the enemy’s handiwork in my role. Right now I am so tired and so weary from these battles that I really do want to just chuck it away. In no way do I mean that I am about too… Just that I am absolutely overwhelmed and burdened by the urge and the idea of freedom from ministry.

In one breath I can’t see myself doing anything else with my life, in the next I feel like begging the role to be taken from me.

The Date
For Christmas this year I surprised the two ladies of my life, my wife and daughter, with tickets to see Cinderella. I did this for a couple of reasons. First off, I knew they would love it… And second off I want to make sure that I, as a man, am treating my girls right. (Showing my daughter how a man treats a lady.) They were surprised when I gave them this… Not just that I had gotten them something like this, but also the magnitude of the gift. We did it right.

The Opera House
For those who have a poor view of Detroit, get over it. Every trip I have made downtown has been fantastic in the last 2 years. Ford Field, Comerica Park, Fox Theater, the skating rink, and now the Opera House. All fantastic. All great experiences. All great staff with great attitudes. The House itself is just finishing it’s restoration. The Art Deco interior is well preserved. While not spacious like a “neo-renaissance” houses in Chicago, this is original and wonderful in every way. The ushers and staff people were perfect! (All volunteers) A great overall experience… All awesome with my 3 year old daughter.

The Show
I will admit that I am a numbskull when it comes to the ballet. But I do know that this was not an ordinary ballet. This was a contemporary rendition of a classic. The sets were incredible in their simplicity, the costumes seductive and sensual, the dancing both classical ballet, with some funs twists, and a hint of playful sexual tension. I found myself drawn into the familiar story. The lowly maiden dreaming of her prince charming was from beginning to end. But they also included the love story of Cinderella’s parents and her mom’s gorgeous and simple white dress. This was far from Disney though. The characters and choreography were adult enough to be fun but not overly sexy.

The Bonus
During the intermission as I walked around, I was overcome with one reality. For a couple hundred dollars my family got to feel like millionaire society people for a night. They were proud of me for showing them something of this magnitude, grandeur, and class. A good investment.

Since I will be in class for the next 24-36 hours… I was wondering if I could break ranks and turn around to my audience and ask…

Is there anything about me you’d like to know? I’ll answer just about any question. Just about.

So, if you are passing by… take a couple of seconds to post a comment and ask a question! I promise to respond.

As usual, my talk for tonight is available for download by clicking on this link. You can view all of my talks by clicking the PA Talks link on the sidebar.

Personal note: This has been a very short week for me. I’ve spent more than 75% of my time investing in people and about 20% of my time working on non-Student Ministry things. While fantastic relationally, I am not feeling prepared for Light Force at all. Likewise, I leave for Huntington in about 16 hours… I have none of the class work I need completed ready. In times of high relationship, there is no time for the tedium of daily work! While I praise God for what He has allowed me to do this week, it isn’t what I feel I needed done.

The Scrolls
As I get back to Revelation this week, we are jumping right into chapter 5. In a very real and literal way there will be a scroll that entails exactly what judgments Christ the Judge will exert on the earth. As the passage notes… Everyone will see that there is a scroll to be opened and yet know one will be worthy to go there and do that. After some searching, Jesus emerges and everyone knows he is worthy.

The description of Jesus is incredible in it’s simplicity
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne” Revelation 5:6 The lion and the lamb are two analogies we see again and again in Revelation for descriptions of Jesus. On the one hand, Jesus was innocent on earth. Yet he was punished for our sins, laid bare for the whole world to see. On the other, He is God… Capable and willing of judging humanity. He is the King of this jungle.

He can go there
Students are, like adults, guarded. They are a lot like this scroll that John describes. They are looking for someone to come into their lives and prove to them that they can let their guard down… And open the sealed up stuff into their lives. My challenge tonight is simple. Jesus is worthy to go there and do that. As J. Vernon McGee so correctly preached in his series to James 5, “You’ve got to tell it all to Jesus. Though he already knows it all, tell him anyway.” Why? Because Jesus is the only one worthy to hear it all. He can handle it, He knows what to do with it, and if you confess with your mouth and belief with your heart, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

This is about how it feels in Romeo this morning. We got about 4 inches of fresh snow last night and we are expecting 5-7 more as the day goes on.

It’s March
The old saying goes, March is in like a lion and out like a lamb. This seems to be coming true in 2005. This has been a rather harsh winter. Sure, we’ve had winters in the past that were colder or with more snowfall, but it has been cold here in Michigan since late October.

A simple goal
March in my mind means golf. I will make this promise. In the month of March I will play at least 9 holes. It might not be warm and it won’t be dry, but I will start my golf season this month… outdoors.