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!