The Law

Last night at our midweek service we had meetings as family groups. Our group is about 20 people or so and we meet at the house of someone in the group, and this week it was at the house of the couple who leads our church. We usually have great discussions when we meet like this, because there are some people in our group who have been disciples for a long time.

This week Dave used a paper he had written on Galatians for a master's theology course to guide our discussion. Being written for a master's level course it was wordy, but it was very well written and gets to the point of the law. One thing that really struck me was the idea of pedagogy. I had never heard of this before, and I am generally intrigued by contextual stuff about the times certain biblical texts were written. My wife usually says things like; 'how can I apply this to my life?" Her attitude is good because I usually can't see the forest for the trees. I get so caught in the details that I miss the big picture. But this point of pedagogy really caught me. I wanted to know more about this and how contextually it assists in making Paul's point. For although God intended Paul's letter to be read by us today, it is possible that Paul didn't know that it would be read 2000 years later.

I will try to briefly explain the idea of pedagogy. Essentially, wealthy Greeks would have a slave who would teach their sons. This slave would teach, discipline and practically raise the son, with full authority over the boy. But when the boy was grown, he would have the rights of the heir, with authority over the slave and then, the slave would be subject to the young man. In Galatians, Paul uses this idea to describe the law. God gave us the law to teach us, to discipline us and even to have authority over us for a time. But we are God's children. When we are grown, the law no longer has mastery or authority over us. We have been instructed and disciplined by the law, but at a certain point, we outgrow the law.

There is a harmony that a Christian must have in his/her life. This great 'balancing act' is more than finding balance, because if you are at balance, you are not moving. But harmony is in motion, moving to different places and coming back again. A disciple of Christ must always be in motion, moving in step with the Spirit. Many 'Mainstream' churches preach that you are saved by faith, and that deeds or acts don't save you. Others would say that you need to do A, B and C or you will not be saved. Both would be correct. God is after our heart! He has given us grace, and to God be the Glory! Amen! But if we do nothing with the gift He has given us, then what credit is that? If we feel justified by the things we have done; giving to the poor, helping children, sharing our faith with the lost, we should feel glad that we have done the things Jesus commanded us to do, yet that doesn't save us either.

We are not saved by our own actions. Neither are we saved merely by faith in Jesus. There is a harmony that leans towards faith. God's grace and our faith in Christ are what saves us (mostly), but because of this wonderful blessing, there is an action that is required (and should come without prompting). Jesus' brother James says it well, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18b) Jesus is the cure for what ails the world. If you call yourself a Christian, what are you doing to spread His message? Do not feel as if I am judging you, because truly as I write this, the three fingers are pointing back at me. As I attempt to peck the splinter out of your eye, I know there is a plank in my eye. I am writing this because I felt the Spirit move in me last night, and I wanted to share that on this crazy thing called the World Wide Web. God has a plan. God knows what it is. God knows how it works. I hope that I can do a better job to be a light to the world, and at the same time live more for Him because soon and very soon, I hope to be an heir!

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:1-7)

Vacation

Well we finally took a much needed vacation. It was great except for the day of mandatory assault by the salespeople. Hopefully they will leave us alone from now on. Anyway, we did buy into the timeshare and honestly it is a great deal. I just hate being harassed, and the paperwork which is supposed to be quick takes forever. By the end the kids were cranky and hungry, but we got a $25 gift card to the Rainforest Cafe out of the deal. The way this timeshare works, (I don't know how all others work but I've heard of some where you get one week a year and that's it) is you pay a set amount for the amount of points you get (plus a small monthly maintenance fee) and once it's paid off you own it and can give it to your children, grandchildren etc. and you are only required to pay the maintenance fee. You can go to any resort, at any time and never have to use the one you 'own a piece of,' if you don't want to. You get your points issued every year and can pretty much use them as you want to. There are probably about 40-50 resorts, plus thousands of affiliated ones which don't cost too much more to use. All in all, its a great deal, and it's better to stay in a condo than a hotel any day. It saves not only on hotel costs, but also food costs. Besides that afternoon we had a good time, and got to relax and hang out on the riverwalk for a few days. I didn't think the river would be drained, (they drained it two weeks early this year) but it was filled up by the last two days we were there. Also, we saw Tim Duncan at the zoo. I restrained myself and didn't approach him because he was spending time with his family, but I couldn't resist giving the 'head nod.' Anyway, it was a great time, but its still great to be back.

Iowa Caucus

Well I'm going to post about the Iowa Caucus. In my opinion, it doesn't prove a whole lot. It does prove that Hillary is beatable, yet she still has more than twice as many delegates as Obama. It does show that Huckabee is strong among Evangelicals, but how will he do among a more balanced electorate? Also, Romney still did well among Evangelicals. My predictions are this:

There will be a tough fight between Hillary and Obama for the democratic nomination, but I think in the end she will win. I think Romney will control the next few primaries, but I think Giuliani will do well once the bigger states are involved. I think Giuliani (but very possibly Romney) will pull out the Republican nomination. I think Clinton will win the Democrat nomination (with Obama pretty close). Huck will do well, but once he gets into the bigger states, and once more people realize his record on immigration and justice don't match what he is saying, he will fall back.

In a Giuliani/Clinton race, I see Giuliani winning in a landslide. He will pull NY, NJ, CT, PA, OH and FL and maybe a few other blue states. The red states will reluctantly vote for him knowing that even though they disagree with his social policies, he is FAR better than Hillary. I think Giuliani/Obama would be a little closer since Obama has a more limited record, and people generally know less about him. He is almost a feel-good candidate. Romney/Clinton would probably be close, but for many of the reasons Giuliani would win the south, I think Romney would as well. I do think a Romney/Obama race would be a dogfight. If Huckabee were to continue his success or Thompson got going, I think we would see a similar situation to '00 and '04 with the election hinging on one, purple state. If Edwards somehow got the nomination, well, that would be good news for whatever Republican won. It would probably be a landslide for the Republicans, whoever it was.

New Year's Resolutions

Well it's been awhile since I posted something. I had started to a few days ago, and realized it needed more work. But I thought this would be a good opportunity to post about New Year's Resolutions.

I haven't really been a person who makes resolutions. I guess I figured I'd end up breaking them, so why make them in the first place right? Well this year I think I will go against my personal grain, and make some resolutions. Some will probably be vague and some specific.

1. Develop my personal relationship with God.
Specifically:

Reading my Bible, DAILY.
Having meaningful daily times of prayer (not just at meal times, as I do more than I ought to)
Sharing my faith much more readily and frequently.

The last two will be hardest since I am not really good at communication (face to face at least)

2. Spend better quality time with my family.
Specifically:

Restarting weekly family devotionals. (Something always seems to come up once we get into a groove on this)
Having devotionals with my wife.
Being more patient with my children.

3. Take better care of myself.
Specifically:

Eat Better.
Exercise more consistently.
Focus more when I am studying.

Summaries:

1. While I had a good year spiritually, it had its ups and downs, especially since the end of the semester. Not having a routine has hurt my prayer times and bible study. If I am not spending time with the Lord, how will I know what he wants for me? Also, I have a hard time reaching out to strangers about my faith and I have to do a better job of upholding the great commission. I have heard it said; "If you had the cure for cancer, would you keep it to yourself?" Well Jesus is even better than the cure for cancer, yet I'm often afraid to talk about Him. I resolve to do better this year.
"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

2. Those who know me pretty well know that my schedule is pretty crazy. Yet somehow I make it through. (Unfortunately it sometimes is due to more caffeine than is righteous, more on this later) Because I am so busy, it can be easy to let important things like family slip through the cracks. God has given me a wonderful family and it is my responsibility to raise them up properly in the Lord. But far too often our times of family devotional to the Lord are pushed to the side for other important, but far less important things. I resolve to be consistent this year with family devotionals. I also resolve to have devotionals with my wife. When we have had them in the past it was always a good occasion to work on our relationship without being in the middle of a bump/disagreement/argument. (many people use different words, but generally they mean the same thing) I will be more patient with my children. This is difficult at times because my 8 year old seems to have this idea that he can question my authority and what's worse, my 2 year old picks up on it. (she's too smart for her own good) I tend to get frustrated and upset with them, and far too quickly. I will be more patient and understanding, yet firm that they will 'RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!' ;) , but do it in a more loving way.
"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

3. My wife being the Nutrition Coach/Personal Trainer extraordinaire that she is has given me inspiration on this one. She has decided to go vegan with the exception of honey. (some people consider honey vegan, it's a technicality I guess. After studying biology, I would say honey is NOT vegan, but biologists could be wrong, most are wrong about the fundamental religion of biology, evolution) One thing she said caught my attention. She wanted to train someone using the 300 workout. I said, 'I'll do it!'. (BTW I need to do work to get into good enough shape to do the 300 workout, but I'm getting there.) Partly, I want to help her with her business, but mostly I need to be in better shape to keep up with my psychotic schedule. Also, my wife takes such good care of herself that she'll live to be at least 100 (unless Jesus comes back first) and I don't want her to be too lonely, so I need to take care of myself. I also would like to be around to see grandchildren and great grandchildren etc. About studying, I just need to do a better job of focusing. Studying now will pay the bills later, and I need to remember that. I resolve to eat better, exercise consistently (even when my school schedule becomes demanding, because it will) and focus my energies on studying when it is time to do so.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

I mentioned before about caffeine. Well, anything done to excess is sin, and so is not relying on God. Last semester I drank too much coffee and I will cut back. Not only is it bad for health and sinful in excess, but it shows a lack of trust in God to get me through hard times.

Anyway, I am WAY long winded here. Have a GREAT twodoubleoeight!