Sweet stuff

Sure it's only been a week, but i have concluded that marriage is sweet stuff. I have an amazing wife, which makes marriage better than i could have imagined. Being able to crawl in bed and read Hosea and pray and then wake up and read a Psalm and a Puritan Prayer first thing in the morning is great. Also, Joanna said i could do whatever i want with the office! Right now it is being transformed into a hunting/fishing shack with shed antlers and pictures and artwork. There's even a loveseat with deer on it! Speaking of deer, God had been so good to us in blessing Joanna and i with more food for the winter. We were in Madison on Thursday so we stopped for a few hours at the land to hunt and i saw 9 deer in about an hour, and pulled the trigger on 2 does. Now we have enough meat AND 2 buck tags for next year. Life is good.
Joanna is starting her first day of work with the county health department today. I hope she enjoys it. It's always nice to have a good start to things like that. I'm frantically trying to catch up with IV work. I had 55 emails in my work email this morning, but am getting through them surprisingly quickly. Tonight is large group on campus, and we have an evangelistic sermon by my pastor on the incommunicable attributes of God. It should be good, since he is a gifted speaker and God's Word is amazing and God's arm is not too short to save. I love what i do.

Genesis and deer hunting

My brother made a patch for a wedding quilt my church put together for joanna and i that quoted Genesis 1:28 that states "And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves over the earth." Then he put a blaze orange patch symbolizing deer hunting. This weekend was opening weekend of deer hunting, and i subdued a good 10 point buck on Saturday. Bigger than last year's, but not quite as big as i thought it was when i shot.
I've been talking to a lot of people lately who are interested in how the Old Testament and New Testament go together ot how the OT is used in the NT. I'd like to highlight a bew commentary coming out by Carson and Beale on the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but Mark Dever has good things to say, and that usually means it's good stuff. You can find it on the monergism website.

update

Well,
I just got back from a bunch of IV staff training in IL. One of my favorite parts was the long car ride, and it was a blessing to talk to Gus and Ben and Josh on the way. The training was good, we learned more about how to manage our time wisely and let our student leaders lead. I need to work on managing my time wisely. This week i am taking a few days off to hunt deer, and it will be good to get a bit of a break. I am realizing how easy it is to put in close to twice as much ministry time as campus staff are supposed to do. I have to work on not burning out and cherishing my time with the woman who will be my wife in two weeks.
I am thinking about the differences between accountability and discipleship, and hoping to encourage many of my students to be discipled. Any thoughts on the differences between true discipleship and just accountability would be greatly appreciated! I'll post again as soon as i get a chance!

#20

I checked my box of steel shot shells this morning to confirm my suspicions. Yup, 10 shells used since duck season began, and 10 ducks in the bag. That's not to say i haven't missed, i missed twice, but somehow got 2 bids with one shot on two separate occasions. That's a story of God's grace. Joanna and i have been able to eat enough duck and give a few away as well.
Thursday is my chosen day off, which sometimes means something and sometimes not. Today I am only filling out a few reports and doing some assigned reading. Also a few phone calls and emails, but not too much. This morning Ben and i were hanging out and we decided to make one more attempt at a musky. It was cold. Somehow a porky 38 inch musky mustered up enough energy to hit my big bait on a figure 8. My real was frozen and i couldn't release the spool for a bit, but we got it figured out eventually. Nice fish; rounded off the number to 20 on the year in the canoe.
I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow for another week, this time to Illinois for staff training. If you don't hear from me much the next month, don't worry. I'll be in Illinois, deer hunting, Thanksgiving, Madison, getting married, and i think a conference in St. Loius is in there somewhere as well. That's all coming up in the next month. I'm VERY thankful for Joanna's work on the wedding planning. It's true i don't have much time, but i'd also rather light myself on fire than do most of the stuff she's been doing.
I'll check in at some point soon to shoot out a quick update, but i hope to see many of you at the wedding December 1st!

Fall Conference

Fall Conference 2007 is over, leaving 600 students pumped to bring the gospel back their campuses and a handful of staff drained and needing sleep. I have to give some credit to my old boss David, who directed the entire event, and there was not a single visible glitch. It was also the smoothest check-in process we've ever had, mostly thanks to the hard work of my good friend Dave, our regional administrator.
To make some long stories short, when the dust settled at the conference center there were about 15 students who God had reconciled to himself. I helped lead a study on Luke, chapters 10-15, and the students there seemed to come away with a renewed passion for evangelism on their campuses and a new sense of why InterVarsity exists.
It is such a blessing to be able to watch God's Truth and Spirit change students so much in just a few days. He has done great things, and I am in feeling blessed to be able to watch it as a campus staff.

prayer

Sola Scriptura

Solus Christus

Sola Fide

Sola Gratia

Soli Deo Gloria

Happy Reformation Day y'all!

In the spirit of reformation, last week was a big week in changing student's perceptions of why InterVarsity exists on campus. We had a night for praying for the campus and our lost friends on Monday at large group. At one point, David, our chapter president, got up and asked the chapter what they thought IV was for. Many responded with things like "fellowship," or "spiritual nourishment," or "teaching from God's Word." It was horrifying, but i cannot say i was surprised. So David asked what the local church was for. "The same stuff" was the normal response. He asked why we are re-creating a church service on campus, and then challenged us with our specialized purpose, to be an evangelistic extension of the local church which engages the campus with the gospel. We are here to, by the power of God, seek and win the lost and build up The Church. It was an exciting time as i saw a few light bulbs go on in people's minds, but we have a long road ahead of us to change years of an inward-focused tradition.
Prayer is such an important thing. I've been blessed with many people who pray for me and with me, and it is the most encouraging thing in my ministry. I think God knows i have needed a lot of prayer recently. One great story pointing to this is of Caleb, the 2 year old son of my mentor Ben and his wife. For the past few weeks every night when his parents pray with him he wants to pray for me, and I've been thinking that this kid's perseverence in prayer puts me to shame. At any rate, I am leaving in a few hours to go to our Fall Conference, where all of the IV chapters from Wisconsin and the UP are coming together for a weekend of training. We are going to be talking a lot about prayer and an evangelistic vision with the Stevens Point students, and I am very excited for that. I'll write an update when i get back Sunday night or Monday morning. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

update

Well, Joanna and i are back from a fairly exhausting week away at training in Madison and La Crosse and all over the state. It was good week. We got a lot done, saw lots of people, and i even had time to get a deer. Now it's back to campus work. Our numbers at large group are getting lower, but that doesn't concern me much. It seems like the students who are really involved with Crusade are sticking to that instead of trying to attend both Cru and IV, and that is a good thing, even if it doesn't look good on reports.
This coming week at large group we are having a prayer and praise night to pray for friends who do not know the Lord, and encourage one another to tell them the Good News. I am looking forward to it. We are going through a paradigm shift in our way of thinking about campus ministry at Stevens Point, and it is a trying but exciting time. Instead of re-creating church on campus, we are beginning to see ourselves as an evangelistic extension of the local church, whose purpose is to, by the power of God, seek and win the lost and build up the Church.
I got to sell a bit of fur today to make some "fun money" that Joanna and i can do whatever we want with. In case anyone is wondering, the fur prices are down again this year. Sold 2 coons - $5 and $3, and the deer hide was $2, but it was starting to get old. Paid for gas, anyway.

A few thoughts

This is the last day i will be in Stevens Point for a week, so i figured i'd better write something. I've been lamenting the loss of being able to read many of my favorite authors. I just got an assignment for readings tomorrow for a staff conference in Madison. I have been keeping up with reading, but i have 2 more books to get cracking on by the first week in November. For Christ and the University and How to Read the Bible for all it's Worth are the other books that have to get read.
The coming week is training in Madison and visiting some supporters and hopefully meeting with some new ones. Joanna and i will also go together to La Crosse for some appointments and a bridal shower for her, so i hope to see many of you while we are there this coming weekend!
Being gone means this is the first week for the vision team to function without a staff, but they are more than capable. It also means no musky fishing with all the IV guys, but we got another one yesterday so we are up to 18 in the canoe this year. I'm feeling pretty good about reaching my goal of 22 by mid-November.
In other news, we sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in church yesterday, and it is a scary and amazing song. God's wrath and justice and truth are all attributes that make up what we call God's glory. Singing the verses to that song and the chorus of "Glory, Glory Halleluiah" was a humbling thing to think about.

muskies

So many people fish up here, i am seriously thinking about making this a musky fishing blog and sharing the gospel instead of a gospel sharing blog where i write about musky fishing-it might be more effective. Anyway, got 2 more with my friend Tom this morning, making 17 fish on the year. Lost 2 as well, with another hook malfunction and a line malfunction.
I've been wondering how in the world Joanna and i are going to make it financially this year. I would really love to pay off her college loans and be above water with things before we are married, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. God is always watching out for us, though. We received over $3000 in the mail this week, and that will help a ton. I can't believe how much God blesses us with everything, even when we definitely don't deserve it and sometimes don't really feel a need for it. Thanks be to God, the giver of all good things!

update

Once again it has been far too long since the last post. Campus work has been crazy, being gone every evening and most mornings. That is going to have to change a bit once Joanna and i get married. Things are going well, though. We had a vision team meeting Tuesday night where i think a lot of things just came together. I realized that we can have a single vision statement as a team, but each have a different vision to go along with the statement. I feel like we are closer to being on the same page after sharing some things at the meeting.
I'm definitely hooked on musky fishing. The last few times i've gone out with guys i haven't even taken my walleye fishing gear. I'm up to 15 muskies, almost all out of the canoe. None of them over 50 inches yet, however. Those fish seem to evade me all the time. I had one on yesterday for about 15 seconds that might have gone 50 inches, but one of the hooks on my treble hook broke off. What next? Anyway, i think i'm shooting for 22 muskies this year and a 50 inch fish as a kicker. I'll keep you posted on that. Maybe once they start hitting suckers we'll be able to get some monster fish.
In church on Sunday pastor Israel talked about giving our passions to the Lord for His service. I am so thankful that I am in a place like Stevens Point, where everyone i come across loves to hunt and fish. i can't believe how great of a tool it can be to take guys hunting and fishing and talk to them about Christ. I haven't found a better way to build relationships with students here, so i'm going to keep it up.
I have a little time to get some reading done, so i had better be doing it. I have to read a bunch of books for InterVarsity, and the one i am reading right now is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. There are about 10 more books on my IV reading assignment list, but i really just want to keep reading Bunyan and Edwards and Owen right now. Oh well.

musement?

I just met with an area pastor who talked a bit about studying the bible for recreation. I must confess, i never really thought of it happening that way. I realize that sometimes we fall in love with the intricacies of doctrine and fail to have it change us. Is it a habit many of us are making to study God's Word just to have ammunition for arguments rather than for edification and sanctification? Are we not given the gift of scripture to the end of the Holy Spirit revealing truths about God and what He requires of us and our relationship with Him with respect to His Son? Do we study scripture for the purpose of recreation, and if we do, is that OK?

more fishies

Wow, i can't beleive how great the fishing is here. The fish are a little difficult to find, but i think growing up doing a mix of big river fishing and trout fishing has given me some good stuff to work with as far as knowing where fish are going to be. Thanks dad.
I think fishing is the best way to do evangelism and ministry at Stevens Point, as well as the best way to build rapport with new students. I took one of my freshman guys, Tom, out on Sunday night and we got 67 walleyes, plus the usual catfish and smallmouth, as well as some crappies and rock bass. This morning i got a chance to go with our music leader, Eric, and we caught a lot of walleyes. When we first got out, we couldn't get a walleye to hit where i usually get them every cast, so i picked up the musky rod. I make a habit of ALWAYS doing a figure 8 at the end of each cast here, because it's impossible to know when you have a follow. For no reason whatsoever, on my third cast i decided to forgo the figure 8, and a musky almost jumped into the boat trying to snatch my bucktail. Duh. I guess i'll have to go out again sometime.
New Student Outreach is winding down after 2 weeks here, and i'm feeling pretty good about settling into a more normal campus routine. This fall is going to be a little odd, because i am going to make myself work on raising support a lot. I am operating at around 70% of my budget right now, and i feel like i need to get that up over 90% before December. God has been faithful up to now, and He'll provide, but i have a lot of work to do for the ministry He's given me!
On a different note, Kyle Borg and I have been talking, but i'm working on a model for our IV chapter actually being an extension of the local church, instead of a separate entity. If any of you out there have some good ideas or advice for me i'd love to hear it!

Gospel Objectivity

Last Friday some good friends from church and i went downtown to give away hot dogs and talk to people about the free gift of grace from God through Jesus. It was a good time, but i became more and more concerned as we talked to more people. An alarming percentage of the people we talked to thought it was great that we believed in Jesus for our salvation. They found it so important to believe in something but "Jesus is different for different people." What!? That makes me want to puke. The saving acts of Jesus have all taken place apart from us and are in no way dependent upon our belief or disbelief. I just got done giving a talk to IV based mostly on 2 Timothy 2:8. There is definitely one particular Jesus that Paul is talking about in his gospel, the one risen from the dead, the offspring of David. "But if even we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." Galations 1:8. I said that it's like we create an imaginary friend that we trust our eternal souls with. Joanna said "I hope we are not content putting that kind of trust in a product of our own imagination." She's great. It is good that many people today feel a need for faith in something greater than ourselves, but concerning that we make up the "greater thing" on our own. I don't get it. Please turn to Jesus, the One "risen from the dead, the offspring of David," and not a Jesus of your own contrivance. Somehow God seems to have used my little talk at IV tonight, and more people are being brought into the family of God. I pray that He would continue to gather His elect here in Stevens Point. I'm so thankful He is faithful, even when we are faithless.
In other news, caught 67 walleye last night. It's getting colder, so i think the fishing, expecially for muskies, will actually pick up a bit. We'll see!

book thing

I guess i'm supposed to do this book list thing. It looks like fun. I wrote it all yesterday, but when i tried to post it it erased it instead. Maybe the list will be the same today, we'll see. The Bible is omitted from the answers, otherwise this list would get redundant. Here it goes:
1. One book that changed your life.
The Soul Winner by Charles Spurgeon. So good.
2. One book you've read more than once.
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. I had to, and i'll have to read it at least a few more times, because my brain is too small.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island.
Besides the Bible, it would probably be The Complete Works of John Bunyan that my fiancee and LaX IV guys got me as a going away present. That thing is amazing. John Bunyan is amazing.
4. One book that made you laugh.
Lectures to My Students by Spurgeon. He can be so hilarious and make his point stick. I'll never forget, "If you be lax in secret devotion, not only will you need to be pitied, but your people also." Well, i guess that part wasn't so funny.
5. One book that made you cry.
Women's Liberation, Jesus Style And not in a good way.
6. One book you wish had been written.
What it Means to be a Para-Church Organization by Geerhardus Voss or someone like that. Maybe A.W. Pink.
7. One book you wish had never been written.
A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McClaren. Why confuse people anymore? You can't say "I am a fundamentalist Calvinist" on the cover and go on to call Calvinists "Indian killers" and other names and expect it all to make sense. Seriously.
8. Some books you are currently reading.
Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen, Spurgeon's Sermons, The Bruised Reed by Sibbes.
9. One book you've been meaning to read.
The Life and Death of Mr. Badman by Bunyan. Actually, Joanna and i started it and will continue, it's just hard to read when we are several states apart. We each have a part to read, and read it like a play. All couples should read Bunyan together.

A quick update

New Student Outreach has been going well. We have been able to make conections with many freshmen and transfer students, and i pray that the Christians will start coming to church and the unbelieving students will continue to be drawn by God until they are in a saving relationship with Him. I already see much evidence of God's grace in the way many have responded to the gospel. Two guys have decided that they want to follow Jesus during college instead of giving in to peer pressure, and one of my leaders and i got to pray for a man who was having a really hard time as his parents are in a hospital far away.
Pray that the leaders here would be faithful and clear in communicating our vision for IV this year, and that the chapter would own what we are doing, and not just leave everything to the student leaders and staff. That has a tendency to happen, and there is not a stron tradition of student ownership at Stevens Point. I have to get back on campus, but i'd love to hear from you all!

A Little Payback

Well, thanks to Jay Anderson for coming down from Eau Claire to teach me a bit about musky fishing. We boated 4 muskies. This musky fishing thing is a whole lot easier than i thought. Fish of 10,000 casts? More like 20 or so. Ok, i got really spoiled. They were having a sale on musky lures at Fleet Farm, and i had to buy a bigger net. I'd better not get too into this new sport, it could get expensive!
I was talking with a local pastor again today, and he had a very intriguing thought. We don't have very many really interesting writers with really good theology and sound doctrine these days. I wish Bunyan were still alive. Seriously, i think the reason C.S. Lewis is still so popular, and why McClaren and Miller have such a following today. I appreciate what men like John Piper and R.C. Sproul are writing, but it does not seem to engage and intrigue much of today's culture in the same way writing like Blue Like Jazz or Velvet Elvis has. I can see reasons why this seems to be the case, since many of the theologically-minded Christians enjoy more heavy reading and arguments and exposition. I tend to fall into that camp, but always want to find ways to engage and influence more young people in our culture with sound doctrine and good theology. How else can we know and love the one true God? How else can we learn to glorify and enjoy Him. How else do we know what we ought to believe about God and what He requires of us? If someone could write like some in the emergent movement yet build it upon sound doctrine i think we might have more of an impact on the post-modern culture and be more effective in what Mark Driscoll calls "reformission." I'll try to get my brother to convince my brother to write this stuff, i guess.

local church membership for students?

Here is an interesting thought. I've been attempting to create a good model for local church/para-church org relationships over the past few years, and it's tricky! I just read an article given to me by a pastor in Stevens Point about just that, written by a man named Byron Straughn. He suggests local church membership as a vital part of that partnership. So far my ideas have relied heavily on local church involvement for students, but not membership. I would hope membership in a local church would provide a sense of belonging in that congregation for a student. They may be more apt to see the primacy of the church, which is what we want for them as an organization, and they might feel like their main source of spiritual growth and help would be the local church. This would help organizations place importance on ordinary means of grace and the sacraments, and would in turn help the para-church realize its mission of evangelism and winning souls on the campus. Instead of "recreating church," as Straughn puts it, the para-church would be able to use up less of the students time attempting to do things like preaching and corporate worship and could focus more effort on evangelistic relationships and activity. I know i would rather have a student be part of an intramural volleyball team for the purpose of evangelism than be part of our large group planning team.
My question is, is this practical? Do churches want students to be members for a few years and then leave? Can this kind of relationship be realized with mere local church involvement rather than membership?
The statistics show that over 70% of students claiming to be Christian entering college leave college unsure or sure that they are not, but if those students are involved in a para-church org they are 95% certain to "retain the faith." Also, 98% of students who come to a saving faith in Christ during their college years give some credit to para-church org activity, and 90% of college-age converts coming to the local church are brought there by para-church members. I do not mean to belittle the purpose or work of the para-church in any way, i just want to fulfill our true mission to the best of our ability for the glory of God, and i believe doing so centers around an emphasis on the local church during the college life. I want students and pastors and IV staff and ex para-churchers alike to comment on this so we get ideas from all perspectives!

thoughts on baptism, please

I'm playing games with the muskies, and losing at them all. Turns out they love to eat walleyes, bluegills, and bullheads when they are on the stringer next to the canoe, but they do not like to eat bullheads or suckers when they are on a hook on a musky rod in the middle of the river. Oh well.
Here's a potentially controversial question. What do you think scripture says about infant vs. believers baptism? Use Spurgeon/Gill and Sproul/Berkhof for their exposition of scripture, but please don't rely too heavily on arguments that are not scriptural. I'd love to hear some good arguments here. I'd also like to hear some advice about potentially being a paedo/credo married couple. Something besides "don't have kids" would be helpful. Thanks guys and gals, have at it!

The Legend is True

I am still soaked as i sit down to write this post. I talked to a kid yesterday who told me a story of a five and a half foot muskie that lives where i've been fishing. "A new world record" he said. It's not the first time i heard that story, so i didn't take it seriously until today. My friend Jordan and i were fishing walleyes, catching quite a few. I bet we had caught close to 20, and i had a nice 16 inch walleye on my metal stringer, dangling in the water. I was fishing away when the canoe shook with such force i thought Jordan had fallen off his seat or something. I looked at him and he was looking at me and the canoe shook again with such force i thought it might tip. I looked down over the side and a big red tail came out of the water, soaking both of us and dumping about 2 gallons of water in the canoe. The muskie was not going to give up on that walleye, so i had time to look at it, get the net, stick the net in the water and get it on her head. I lifted her head up and all i could see was the tail of the 16 inch walleye sticking out of the mouth, and the thing's head was about the size of the back of one of my kitchen chairs. We made eye contact. Needless to say, the rest of the muskie didn't fit in the net, so it rolled back in the water, still ferociously yanking on the walleye. By this time i was just trying to get the muskie off the stringer to keep from tipping the canoe ( i didn't want to go for a swim with that fish!). It finally broke my steel stringer and took the walleye, leaving us soaking wet with no dinner. The fish was so huge, i can't believe it. Now i have a reason to fish there, and it's personal. If i catch that thing it is going on my wall, above the bed, as long as I can convince my future wife. This time it's personal. I hope Kyle or Jeremy or someone can come up and help me finish the job. I'll make time whenever you have time.

Random Stuff

I hope we can continue the conversation on the past post. It's raining here, and it's supposed to be that way for the next week. I would build an ark, but i'd like to see how many animals i could fit into my canoe. I've finally forced myself to eat most of the ice cream from the bucket i bought a month ago. I got a vanilla/chocolate mix because i wasn't sure which i liked better, but the last time i opened the bucket there was only vanilla left. Guess i solved that one-chocolate.
I caught myself in a disturbing thought a minute ago. I was looking for my Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening," and found it where it usually is-next to the bed. My thought in exact words was "I love being able to wake up and see Spurgeon laying next to me." That thought didn't form quite right, but i knew what i meant. Speaking of that subject, did you know there was a Charles Spurgeon honeymoon suite in Indiana? You can look it up online. I'm thinking about changing plans from Yellowstone next summer to the Spurgeon honeymoon suite, but it might feel kinda weird. There's a huge picture of Spurgeon on the wall, and his eyes follow you around the room.

I'm reading Acts at the moment and have a question about Acts 8. What are verses 12-17 saying about baptism and the Holy Spirit? I'm assuming a lot of it has to do with gifts, since there can't really be baptism without grace, and grace without the Holy Spirit. Odd. And if you're really ambitious i need some help with Calvin's commentary about the laying on of hands that he puts in with this section of scripture. "the Church was beautified for a time only with these gifts; whereupon it followeth that the laying on of hands...had an end when the effect ceased." What, laying on of hands is dead? Hyper-cessationism?

Kyle Borg's question

Here's another one from one of my famous friends. I'd like to spend a little time discussing it, so nobody is allowed to post an answer that just says "yes."
Well, here's another question for anyone to mull over. I've been wondering, is it okay to pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit even though Scripture never says we should, and even Jesus prayed only to the Father?

Places to Pray

Where are your favorite places to pray? I hope there are places where you feel drawn to prayer when you are there. Actually, i hope you feel drawn to prayer wherever you are, but because of my forgetfulness, i love having places to pray. I don't recommend this normally, but the bed has been a consistent place for a long time. It is the greatest way to start my day. I roll over and see my Bible and Spurgeon's Morning and Evening sitting right there on the nightstand. It's also nice to just close my eyes again and pray right away instead of sleep. I realize this would not work for everyone. I also love going on walks. Lately, the trail along the river next to my apartment has been amazing. Quiet places out in nature are my absolute favorites. I also feel a need to pray in the truck on long drives. Those are my consistent places. But i guess the Lord is everywhere, and we don't need places to pray. The main point is that we are praying to our God, who is able to do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine, and who holds everything in His sovereign hands. I am preparing some stuff for my vision team with InterVarsity about the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala. I would recommend other books on prayer, such as John Bunyan's Prayer , but Cymbala's book makes me want to keep praying more and more. I want to be in earnest prayer for my students and Joanna, for my family and for circumstances. The sweetest times, however, are spent in worship of God for who He is and meditation of Christ. God does good things all the time!

A rough day

I just sent a letter declining my entrance into seminary. That was a tough one to write, because i really don't want to put it off. In other news, i was not being smart with the canoe last night in the dark and broke a truck window. There goes a couple hundred bucks that i don't really have, but i'll have to deal with it.
I realize that i have a tendency to mess things up. I'm so terribly happy that salvation does not depend on my will or effort, but on God's. His covenant is his and becomes ours as a gift. I like how in Genesis 4 God puts a rainbow in the sky. When i see a rainbow i sometimes think to myself "this is a gift God gave to remind us of His covenant." But Genesis 4 says otherwise. In it, God says "I will look upon it that I may remember my everlasting covenant." It is good to remember God's covenant, but the covenant itself depends on God's memory, not my forgetfulness. Spurgeon points out, "It is not my remembering God, but God's remembering me which is the ground for my safety; it is not my laying hold of His covenant, but His covenant laying hold of me. Glory be to God! The whole of the bulwarks of salvation are secured by divine power...and are guarded by almighty strength."
On the same note, i heard a sermon on the Passover the other day. It was not a great sermon, but it reminded me of a great sermon that my friend Jeremy gave on the same text. The Isrealites were to put the lamb's blood on the doorpost, and God says "When I see the blood I will pass over the house." It was not dependent upon the Isrealites seeing the blood, but God looking upon it and acting. It puts a depth into the words "God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." It is God looking to Christ for our salvation and righteousness, for we have no merit or righteousness on our own, all is Christ's and has been imputed to us by a miraculous act. I guess today is rough, but it is still a good day. I have nothing that is worth complaining about and plenty worth rejoicing over.

help

I don't know what to do right now. I just found out that i am accepted to begin seminary classes online beginning this November. I am starting a new job right now and getting married in December, however. The seminary students say that i will need to put in about 15 hours per week of studying to excel in my classes, but will that be possible if i am working on campus with students full time and becoming a husband a few weeks after classes begin? If some of you old married guys could give a little advice it would be much appreciated! I just don't know what to do. I want to start seminary asap, but would have to wait a year if i do not begin this fall. I know seminary and IV would conflict, especially with 3 road trips each month for InterVarsity. So i need to pray about this, but i'd like to hear what you all have to say!

Saying hello to walleyes

I'm trying to decide if having the Wisconsin River a quarter mile from my front door is good or bad for me. It's hard to stay off the water, but so far i have been able to make myself get my work done before going out, so that's good. Today i caught 20 walleyes before i got out of sight of my truck. My fiance wants to bake fish, so i kept 2 good ones to try baking. I only bake salmon, but i'll try these 'eyes and see what happens. I guess baking fish will make me live longer or something. I told her there should be enough mercury and pcb's to make baking the fish not worthwhile. She didn't find that as amusing as i did.
I got a chance to be on campus and pray for a while this morning. It's great. I have been very impressed with the city and campus of Stevens Point. I'm excited and glad God has led to this place, even though it will take some time to get life rolling here. God is good all the time. Starting in three weeks the road trips begin again. Over the next 6 months i will be all over Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. There's a chance i'll be driving through your neck of the woods as long as you live in the US. Things will be so busy, but there should be time to pop in and say thanks to all you who support my ministry with prayer and finances. I'm a little nervous about being a husband and being gone so much, but i'll try to get as much out of the way as possible before Dec. 1st. I guess we'll have to deal with that. I'm thankful i'm not Adoniram Judson or one of those old time missionaries who had to leave family for months at a time without phones or emails or even letters when they went on a trip. I guess we'll be able to handle a few weekends apart if need be, because He is worthy.

Too many goodbyes, not enough hellos

Today i got to spend some quality time fishing with one of my closest friends Josh. I realized the past few weeks that saying goodbye is one of my least favorite things to do in the whole world, and i'm not good at it. It feels like I have been saying goodbye to everybody lately, and not saying hello to anyone. Today was the last day i got to spend with Josh before he and his family get to go back to East Asia for a few years. It's good, though, because we have work to do on both sides of the world. I guess i just want to say that I'll miss you bro, and i'll try to keep praying for you every day. But even if i'm not faithful, God will be. After all, you have "the favor of the Lord!"
It seems that sometimes God calls us to things that seem a little tough, but it is a joyous thing to be in the service of the King! It's been a while since i've last listened to it, but my mind goes back to the revival hymn and Paris Reidhead preaching about God being so deserving of His reward. God willing, there are future beneficiaries of Christ's sacrifice where Josh is going and there are some in Stevens Point and there are some in La Crosse and wherever it is that you are. Let us run the race marked out for us and fight the good fight wherever it is we are called to be missionaries, for he is more than worthy. Not that we can pay God back by working for Him, but He is simply worthy, and we exist to glorify and enjoy Him.

It's been a while

Whoa, sorry this took so long. I've been in Illinois, South Dakota, Wyoming, and moving to Stevens Point these past few weeks. I haven't had internet, but thankfully there is an unsecured wireless nearby (is that wrong?). So, most of my stuff and most of Joanna'sstuff is moved into the apartment. The last big thing to move in will be the girl. She will have the place to herself for October and November while i live with my brother, then i'll move in with her December 1st! But for now i have a big place all to myself, with no friends or students around. There's plenty to do, so i'm not bored, but i am a little lonely i guess.
Yesterday i got the canoe out on the Wisconsin River, which is right next to my apartment. Caught about 30 bass, 20 catfish, and a walleye an 2 hours before i ran out of bait. Josh, you gotta make a trip up here, it's ridiculous. Trolling for catfish is my new favorite thing to do. I bet it wouldn't be a stretch to catch 100 nice cats in one day. Now if someone could give me some new catfish recipes that would be lovely.
Spurgeon's morning devotional was convicting for me. He writes, "I myself must mount the watchtower, and watch unto prayer." I could make plentyof excuses for not praying nearly enough recently, but instead i'll resolve to do so. I have to go for my prayer walk now, and that is bound to be more beneficial than posting on this blog. If anyone reading this has a bunch of free time, you should come visit! My new address is 1200 River View Ave. apt. 144, Stevens Point, WI 54481. Grace and Peace!

stir things up

Well, it seems people have gotten tired of leaving comments, so i thought i'd throw out a quote i just read. My good friends Jeremy talked to me about Spurgeon's sermon "Jacob and Esau," so i'm reading it right now. He is talking about facts, specifically the fact of God's election unto salvaion. Here's his quote- "however much you may object to it, it is actually true that God did love Jacob, and did not love Esau." That's all i'll write, but you all can go ahead and critique Spurgeon on this one if you feel up to it!

Thanks Spurgeon

God gave me a lesson in lots of things this week. I've been looking for housing in Stevens Point for Joanna and striking out on everything. It was really frustrating, and I felt bad because i wanted to have a place prepared for Joanna when she comes home. My heart was unsettled because of this, and i was definitely not content because of the situation. Tonight's devotion by Spurgeon was humbling and helped put things back into perspective. He used some passages from the Psalms to say these words; "Learn to comfort thyself in God's gracious dealing towards the church....What though thy way be dark, canst thou not gladden thy heart with the triumphs of His cross and the spread of His truth? Our own troubles are forgotten while we look, not only upon what God has done, and is doing for Zion, but on the glorious things He will yet do for His church." OK. He then went on to convict me by talking about forgetting our "little concerns" for the bigger picture of seeking the welfare of the Church.
I love being a missionary because all i have is what God gives, and i spend myself for the welfare of the Church. I hope i won't get caught up in worrying over trifles that are in God's hands, anyway. At the end of it all, it looks like God has worked through my impatience and given us a beautiful apartment to live in. He has always taken care of us before, why wouldn't He now? But i hope the rest of this post would have been the same had i not yet found a place to live. We can rest in Him in any circumstance, ad find our peace and joy in His work. I've met homeless people so full of joy because of what the Lord has done for them that it has put me to shame. I guess the "perks" God gives us in life are not worth comparing with the eternal blessings Christ has earned and given to us.

a better picture

Here's a picture of what Joanna looks like when it is not rabbit hunting season. Sorry about that last one.

Has anyone ever read or heard of John Flavel? I'm thinking about reading some of his stuff next, but i'd like more insight first. I guess it will be a little while before i finish Owen and Bunyan, but i'm excited to read more books!

This week contains a lot of packing and cleaning the apartment and getting ready for another wedding next week, then a trip out west, then moving to Point August 1st. But i got a lot done today so i am going fishing tonight, as long as Jon and i can fight the wind in the boat! I'll put a report up later. My goal is 50 fish, and a few bass over 20 inches. We'll see what happens!

A thought on marriage from John Piper

OK, OK, i guess i have a one-track mind since getting engaged a week ago; but there is so much to think about and learn! Here's something that amazed me from Piper's sermon "Staying Married is not about Staying in Love, Part 1." He talked about how It was God who acted as the father of the bride in the marriage between Adam and Eve. Genesis 2 talks about how God created Eve and then "brought her to Adam" and gave her to him. It put this fatherly act in a whole new perspective. Then i thought about how that mirrored Christ. Genesis 2 also says "Therefore and man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Christ left His Father to come to earth (Hebrews 12), and God brought Him his Bride and gave her to Him (John 6:37, 17:2, 6, 12). They will be "one" through Christ for eternity. It's really a neat thought, and puts some of our ceremonial tradition in a new light. It's also another way marriage displays the glory of Christ!

July 9

Here is my favorite pic of my beautiful fiancee. Her parents have this picture and one of my wearing her pink vest on their fridge. It's a little embarassing. Hopefully i'll have some pictures of her not holding dead animals soon.

I just returned from month-long travels. I want to give a special thanks to Mike and Katie and Shep for hanging out and letting me crash at their place. Also to Woodlands Church in Stevens Point for being so welcoming.

My least favorite part of the trip was looking for Mike and Katie's cat for an hour from 2:30-3:30 in the morning because i thought i accidentally let her out and she ran away. Turns out she was in the house the whole time. I think i drove around the block 10 times in a sleepless stupor looking for that thing, and then got up 3 hours later and headed to Stevens Point.

My favorite part of the trip were the weddings. I got to attend two wonderful weddings for Aaron and Michelle Larsen and Eric and Alaina Lashbrook. It got me thinking about covenants, specifically God's covenant of grace with His people. Oh I hope everyone reading this will be under that covenant! Spurgeon's morning devotion this morning was on the text from Psalm 103- "bless the LORD, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits." It is a wonderful thing Christ has done for us, making full atonement for our sin and bringing us into a covenant relationship with God that can never be broken. We have been brought from death to life, the most miraculous act, but more than that, we have been given a standing with God and a relationship with the Most High that sustains us and will guide us safely to our eternal home. "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun." I am excited to see how these two marriages bear witness to God's covenant with His Church. What do you praise God for when you think of the verse "forget not all His benefits?"

Announcement

Thanks to all who commented on the little works and grace deal. I liked it, so keep going on it! This is just a little update to all who care and read my blog; i proposed to Joanna on Monday and she said yes. So i guess i'm getting married-that's so wierd. She's back out in South Dakota already until mid-September, so i had to squeeze it in before she left. I got to read the end of Ephesians 5 in a new way last night. It's crazy. God is good all the time. I was pretty scared about all of this, but found some comfort in God's reasoning to the Israelites in Isaiah 41 last night- "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Thanks be to God that's true all the time, but it's especially sweet when being faced with something like marriage. "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." If you want to comment on something, please comment about the right hand of God. I think we had a post on this already, but it's too good to pass up in this case. Grace and Peace to you all!

a thought on works and grace

I've been talking to people a lot this past year about grace, and it seems like most people, whether we are Christian or not, believe grace implies some kind of license to do whatever we feel like doing. I love the doctrine of grace, and the concept of justification by grace through faith. It is by grace alone i have been saved. But i would love to put to death the idea that grace means God does not care what we do as long as we love Him. I hope to start a bit of a discussion on this, so please comment. I won't write too much on it here, i'll just quote the text that initiated this post. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age..." -Titus 2:11-12.

Deuteronomy 9

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting on the blog. I'll be at staff training for a few more days here in Madison. It is good training, but i think i'm ready to go home and see Joanna. One thing that has really impressed me this week is looking at how far the organization has come in the past 50 years. Around 1950 there was a man named Stacey Woods who went all over the country planting Christian fellowships (in that day there were not very many Christian orgs. besides IV). One time, while on his way across the country his plane made an emergency landing in a town which also had a university, so he planted a chapter there as long as he had stopped. He also went around and gave resources and advice to many of the chapters he planted. Before there were very many of us staff, a staff would have to oversee every chapter over an area of several states. One day when Stacey was headed out the door of the national service center in Madison to give literature to chapters in Georgia and North and South Carolina an advisor yelled out the door "and take Florida, too!" We've come a long way.
We read through Deuteronomy 8 as a group this week. When looking at that chapter by itself it seems like God is saying "if you keep my commands and remember me I will give you a good land." I wish with all my heart that we would have done a better job of putting that chapter into context of the whole of scripture. If we read the very next chapter, just a few verses down, we see God declaring "Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness." It is because of God's promise and covenant that Israel gets this special grace of God. For us it is much the same. If we imagine for a moment that we could keep all of God's commands and not forget Him we are very wrong. But His grace is amazing, and i stand in awe. So when looking at Deuteronomy 8 we see God's free gift of grace and our brokenness. God's love and our response. God's faithfulness to His covenant and our undeserved grace. Instead of taking from the passage "look at what we need to do for God to take us to the promised land of ministry," we should say nothing because of our sin and sensing what huge grace has been given. It is His work, from the first to the last, and His love that will bring us where we go on earth and will guide us safe home. That makes me want to love and serve Him. Father, help us do that for Your Name. To Him be glory forever.
"At your right hand are pleasures forevermore." -Psalm 16:11
"Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God..." -Acts 2:33

Thoughts from Staff Orientation

I've been at InterVarsity staff orientation in Madison for almost a week and have 5 days left. My mind has been wandering a bit, but today is a day of rest for us so it's OK. I find myself being very thankful for the men's bible study Jeremy and i led this year through Romans. I am reading John Owen's The Mortification of Sin in Believers right now and he is using Romans 8 and Romans 9:30-32 to explain the work of killing sin can only be done by the Holy Spirit. The term for it is monergism, and the base idea of it is that the Holy Spirit is the only agent which can truly affect regeneration in believers. It is such an important doctrine today, as we seem to often be inundated with Christian literature focused on self-help and making the best of ourselves with what God has given us. It's true that the first books we see when we walk into most Christian book stores are this genre. I write "the first books we see" because sometimes it takes a while to get past all of the Christian scented candles and crafts and whatnot. But anyway, Owen states that "Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world." The Holy Spirit is the cause and the means for the mortification of sin in our lives, for without Him we would have no desire nor much reason to do the task. In Romans 8:1-11 this fact is proclaimed, and the Spirit and His work is mentioned 11 times, while the futility of attempting any good in the flesh is mentioned about the same number of times. To deny the fact of monergism is to make an attempt to rob God of His power (if that were possible) and transmit some of that power to ourselves. Our flesh desires this power, and i know attempting to believe we have some of it is a big downfall. But David once said (in my favorite passage to use in defense of free will, 2 Samuel 24:14), "Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man." Charles Spurgeon once wrote "I fear most my being left to my free will." We are in the hands of a God who is great and merciful, worthy of our fear and adoration no matter what our circumstances are. His are the glory and the power forever and ever. I'm thankful for the rock that He is and the work He does in us. What do you think?

What am I getting into?

So, i started a blog i guess. It was kind of an accident, but i think it is a good idea. We'll see where this goes. I think it will be helpful for keeping you all updated with life and ministry when so many things are changing. I hope that this blog will help a the few people who might stumble upon it to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. May it be used by God for His purposes.
I'm going to start these posts with something other than what might be expected. Instead of talking about what I just started reading (Deuteronomy and The Mortification of Sin in Believers) i'd like to write down a quick testimony. A few weeks ago i read a book by Leonard Ravenhill called Why Revival Tarries. He talked an uncomfortable amount about prayer in his book. I realized that there may not be a more important thing for me to be doing than praying for the students and all of the people involved in my ministry, and spending time meditating on God's Word and enoying Him. I committed to spending 2 hours each morning to focused prayer, and it has been absolutely wonderful. I feel like i don't pray nearly enough or put as much effort into it as i should, and that is not good. However, God is good all of the time, and he is faithful when we are not. I'm learning that it is an amazing and wonderful thing that we have the Holy Spirit to interceded for us, because my praying is so broken and confused. I don't know what to ask for, but God knows my needs. I pray that God will give you a growing desire to focus your prayers and turn your thoughts to Him, and i pray that He will grow in us a heart to know Him. What more could we want?