Astonished

I am astonished! (filled with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amazed)

Acts 13:9-12

9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and his companions were on the island of Paphos. The proconsul, Sergius Paulus, had asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician opposed them and was trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith – that’s’ where verse nine picks up.

Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, confronts Elymas the magician and God strikes him blind. Sergius Paulus sees the power of the Holy Spirit in a radical, physical manifestation as God strikes Elymas blind before him. Sergius has just witnessed a bona fide miracle with his own eyes. In verse twelve Luke describes the what, when, and why of what happens next.

What – the proconsul Sergius Paulus Believes!

When – when he saw what had occurred

Why – he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord

Sergius Paulus has just witness a physical manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit as a man is struck blind before him – yet what he is ASTONISHED at is the teaching of the Lord. He witnesses a miracle and hears the Gospel and the thing he is blown away by is the Gospel.

As I read this passage this morning, I was astonished. I was astonished at how quickly I can grow ‘familiar’ with the Gospel and lose my sense of amazement at Christ’s sacrifice and love. I was astonished at the passage and the truth that all miracles pale in comparison to the miracle of what Christ has done for us. I was astonished again by the Gospel – that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My prayer for you this Easter season is that you find yourself astonished at what Christ has done and believe!

Should Christians Vote?

Yesterday an acquaintance on Facebook posted the following:

3 Reasons For Christians NOT to Vote

1) It is a waste of time. Making an informed decision at the polls requires a great deal of research. Better to spend your time seeking the Kingdom of God.
2) The person you vote for will let you down anyways. And then you will be stuck knowing you helped contribute to giving that person power.
3) Jesus and his disciples did not participate in politics.

This was my response to his post:

I respectfully (and lovingly) disagree with your reasons and believe that Romans 13:1-7 not only refutes all three reasons but compels disciples of Jesus (who are citizens of a country that allows it) TO vote. Responding to your reasons from Romans 13:1-7 in reverse order:

3) The text declares that “there is no authority except from God” and that “whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed”. It goes on to make it completely clear that this is civil government that rules, bears the sword, and to whom we pay taxes. Since Jesus IS God, there is no way He could be MORE involved in politics than this. You would have been correct if you had said that there is no record of Jesus ‘casting a ballot’ in the scripture – but to say God (Jesus) does not participate in politics is to deny what God states about His participation in politics in this text…. See More

2) Again, in Romans 13:1-7 God declares that HE appoints those in authority. Regardless of the form of government a country may have, it is still GOD who appoints those in government. It is ultimately God who “helped contribute to giving that person power”, not you. The purpose of voting is not for you to avoid a politician letting “you down anyways”, but rather, it is the means by which (in a republic with democratically elected officials at least) God carries out His participation in politics.

1) Romans 13:1-7 declares that God (Jesus) is involved in politics by establishing and appointing every authority, including civil government that rules, bears the sword, and to whom we pay taxes. In a republic with democratically elected officials the method He uses to do this is the voting of the citizens of that republic. If our voting is Gods method of appointing those he wants in authority – how could it possibly be “a waste of time”. You imply that voting and “seeking the Kingdom of God” are opposed to each other but in light of Romans 13:1-7, voting and “seeking the Kingdom of God” (for disciples of Jesus) are one in the same.

I look forward to your response.

Your Brother in Christ

So what do you think? Should Christians vote or not? Feel free to leave your two cents in the comments as long as you have a Biblical rationale (and please include chapter and verse).

They stole my Christmas lights!

I walked outside the house this morning and discovered that the Christmas lights along the driveway and over our entry way had been stolen. I want to know what you think I should do. I am specifically interested in thoughts regarding a Christian’s responsibility to create culture/art/beauty.

1. Are Christian’s responsible for creating culture/art/beauty?
2. Do Christmas lights qualify as culture/art/beauty?
3. Should I keep putting lights up no matter how many times they may be stolen?

Give me your feedback in the comments or just take the poll below (or both).

Pieces of Eight!

Stevie Ray

18 years ago I made a fateful mistake that I still regret to this day. On November 29, 1989 Stevie Ray Vaughn was going to be playing at McNichols arena in Denver Colorado (where I lived at the time as a guest of the U.S. Army). I had training that night and if I was going to go to the concert I would have to lie about being sick, go to see an Army doctor, and actually fake an illness.

I decided that there would be other opportunities to see Stevie Ray. I was sure that he would make his way back the following year and my Army contract guaranteed that my first assignment would be in States. I had nothing to worry about.

The following year didn’t play out like I had hoped. I ended up being deployed to Desert Storm and on August 27, 1990 Stevie Ray Vaughn was killed in a helicopter crash.

I should have lied and gone to the concert.

Give me a BRAKE!

The first night I tried to replace my rotors and brake pads, I didn’t realize I was missing a tool I needed until after I had taken one of the wheels off.  I put it all back together and bought the tool the next day.

A few nights later, I broke one of my sockets trying to remove the bolts that hold the caliper assembly on. So, I put it all back together until I could get another socket set.

A few nights later I tried again, breaking one of my friends wrenches. I decided since I had the wheel off (for the third time) I might as well go ahead and change the pads out at least. They had given me the wrong size brake pads. So, I put it all back together.

Tonight, I decided to give it one last try. In less than two hours I finally got my front rotors and pads  replaced. Thank you Jesus. Seriously.

Sink or float

I am driving myself nuts. I am trying to do some planning and writing for Veritas Fellowship (the church we are planting) and I just can’t focus. I am thinking about a million details at once and feel like there is no way I can get it right. When I try to focus on just one issue at a time, I start to think about how that one issue is interconnected/interdependent with dozens of others and I start to feel overwhelmed again. I can feel myself sinking. Drowning.

Monday night we were at Deep Eddy Pool. I was attempting to teach Sarah some basics to prepare her for learning to swim. We were working on floating on her back. With my hands beneath her and her on the surface of the water, I would explain that all she had to do was relax and trust me. It sounded simple enough – the only problem was, in order to do that, she had to resist every instinct to fold her body up and fight for dear life. If she would only listen to me, trust me, she would be able to float. She would discover that total surrender is the only way to survive when you find yourself in water that’s too deep for you.

I can feel myself sinking. Drowning. Jesus, help me to listen to you, to trust you. I am in water that is too deep and I know that total surrender to you is the only way I will survive.