Top Ten Books Read for 2014

1. Deep and Wide - Andy Stanley
2. A Life Observed - Devin Brown
3. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church - Mark Dever
4. Communicating for a Change - Andy Stanley & Lane Jones
5. The Source of My Strength - Charles Stanley
6. The Grand Weaver - Ravi Zacharias
7. 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness - Eric Metaxas
8. Pursuit of God - A. W. Tozer
9. With Calvin in the Theater of God - John Piper & David Mathis
10. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

December Reading List

1. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church - Mark Dever
2. Communicating For A Change - Andy Stanley & Lane Jones
3. Deep and Wide - Andy Stanley
4. Pursuit of God - A. W. Tozer

Christmas Cantata & Candlelight

Mere Christianity Discussion Group

November Reading List

1. The Business of Heaven - C. S. Lewis
2. A Year with G. K. Chesterton - Kevin Belmonte
3. The Ball and the Cross - G. K. Chesterton
4. The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
5. Breakout Churches - Thom Rainer
6. The Horse and His Boy - C. S. Lewis
7. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

On another note, I read the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) over the past three months.  I began September 1 and finished at the end of November.   I was reading at a slow pace, a little each day.  My point is this: you can read the Bible.  It doesn't take that long.  Begin today!

Fear

I picked up the paper this past Wednesday, and found the Opinion page.  After reading four articles, I realized they all had a common theme: fear.  Four fears in four articles: fear of pain leading up to death, fear of shattering comfort zones, fear of racism, and fear over ebola.  Was this a deliberate grouping by the newspaper?  I don't know, but it really matters not.
Some fears are worked for evil (such as demonstrated in the racism article I read).  Other fears are used for good and are useful for life.
Where does fear come from?  Is it caught or taught?  I can only answer "both".
G. K. Chesteron wrote the following in Tremendous Trifles:

"Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already.  Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey.  What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey.  The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination.  What the fairy tale provides for his is a St. George to kill the dragon."

So, how do you help young children to grow and develop in this fear-filled world?  How to you teach them to overcome their fears?  Allow me to offer a few suggestions.

1. Read to them, and don't stick only to the soft, pansy children's literature.  Read the classic fairy tales from the Grimms.  If you're really daring, find a copy of Roald Dahl's book of fairy tales.  Read The Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potter series, or even St. George and the Dragon.  As you read, you will have the opportunity to teach them when (not if) they ask questions.
2. Let them watch good movies, like the three from The Chronicles of Narnia.  Watch Percy Jackson.  "Oh, that's too scary for my kids."  Are you sure it is not too scary for you?  Watch it with them so you can be a good parent and guide, commending the good, pointing out the bad.
3. Read the Bible to them.  Teach them a whole different fear, and not a bad one at that--the fear of the Lord.  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7).
4. Teach them to know Jesus.  As the old saying goes, "No God, know fear; know God, no fear."

Fear is a reality--the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Don't run from them; face them in the strength of the Lord.

Worldviews

Search the world over, and you find basically seven major worldviews.  Each of those seven worldviews are intrinsically different.  Each one as something that drastically separates it from the other six.  The seven big worldviews are theism, atheism, pantheism, panentheism, deism, finite godism, and polytheism.
You may think, "Big deal!  So there's different beliefs out there.  It doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you sincerely believe it.  Their all equally valid and true.  Right?"  WRONG!
Logically, only one worldview can be true, which means the other six must be false.  You may interject at this point, "Wait a minute.  Who cares about logic?"  Well, if you're not interested in what's logical you may as well start talking about a square circle or a one-end stick.  Actually, forget about communication at all because all language is based on logic.
Now, let's delve into the seven worldviews and briefly define and describe them.

Theism
Theism is the belief that an infinite personal God exists (theos=god).  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are great examples of theistic worldviews.

Atheism
Atheism says that no god exists (a=no, theos=god).  This universe is all that there is; there is nothing beyond.  Some famous atheists include Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Pantheism
Pantheism claims that the universe is god, and god is the universe (pan=all, theos=god).  There is no separation from creator and creation; it's one and the same.  Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, Christian Science, and most New Age religions fall into this worldview classification.

Panentheism
Panentheism simply says that god is in the universe, kind of like a brain is in a body.  So the universe is god's body.  Panentheism also claims that god is in the constant process of changing., which is sometimes referred to as process theology.  Some notorious panentheists are Alfred North Whitehead, Charles Hartshorne, and Schubert Ogden.

Deism
Deism is the view that holds that god is beyond the universe, but not in it.  Miracles are denied.  A god created the universe, but then he left it to manage itself.  Sometimes this is described as the clock-maker religion: god wound up the clock and just let it run on its on.  Some well-known deists include Francois Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine.

Finite Godism
Finite Godism is similar to Deism in that it claims a god outside of the universe, but he is also involved in the universe.  However, as Deism would say that god is infinite, Finite Godism says that he is limited in his nature and power.  Miracles are denied.  Some who have held this belief are John Stuart Mill, William James, and Peter Bertocci.

Polytheism
Polytheism says that there are many gods, but they are finite or limited in their nature and power.  The gods are active in this world.  Some well-known representatives in this camp are the ancient Greeks, Mormons, and Wiccans.

I know I have been very brief in the descriptions, but I want to emphasize the major differences in the worldviews.  If Theism is true, then logically the other six must be false.  For example, God cannot both be infinite and finite at the same time.  That violates the law of non-contradiction.  He can't be both personal and impersonal, involved and uninvolved, beyond the universe and not beyond the universe, able to perform miracles and not able to perform miracles, changing and immutable.  All worldviews cannot be true.

October Reading List

1. How Biblical Languages Work - Peter James Silzer & Thomas John Finley
2. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer - C. S. Lewis
3. Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
4. The Weight of Glory - C. S. Lewis
5. Poems - C. S. Lewis
6. Present Concerns - C. S. Lewis
7. The World's Last Night and Other Essays - C. S. Lewis
8. Manalive - G. K. Chesterton

How Many Wives Did Moses Have?

I've always thought that Moses had only one wife, Zipporah the Midianite.  Exodus 2 tells us about how he met and married her.
Yesterday, a dear friend and fellow church member put the question to me yesterday about Moses having a second wife.
My friend asked me about Moses marrying an Ethiopian.  I admit that the question puzzled me, so I went and did some research.
The verse in question is Numbers 12:1, which states, "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman)."  Nearly all modern translations (NASB, NLT, RSV, HCSB, LB, ESV, etc.) say "Cushite", but the KJV and NKJV both say "Ethiopian".  I can see where that would be confusing.
So, I consulted my Hebrew Bible.  The term used is clearly "Cushite", so why the confusion?  Why did the KJV translators use Ethiopia?  It's because the land formerly known as Cush is now known as Ethiopia.  The translators saw the term "Cushite" and immediately thought about Cush.
However, the term "Cushite" could describe a person from quite a few different groups of people in different areas.  So, let's consider Exodus 2 again, which states that Zipporah was a Midianite.  I find it interesting enough that the area around Midian was also referred to as Cushi.  Now, Miriam and Aaron complaining against Moses because of that Cushite woman makes more sense, at least to me.
Of course, I may be wrong; I don't claim infallibility on this point because it very well could be that Moses married another woman besides Zipporah.  John MacArthur teaches that Zipporah probably died and Moses remarried.  Is it likely based on this one unclear verse?  You decide.  But even if he did marry again, I think it would be highly unlikely that he married a woman from Ethiopia.

September Reading

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
2. Text-Driven Preaching - Daniel Akin, David Allen, and Ned Mathews
3. Surprised by Joy - C. S. Lewis
4. Reflections of the Psalms - C. S. Lewis
5. The Four Loves - C. S. Lewis
6. Four Blood Moons - John Hagee
7. Autopsy of a Deceased Church - Thom Rainer
8. D. L. Moody - Kevin Belmonte
9. The Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan
10. The Pilgrim's Regress - C. S. Lewis

August Reading List

1. Winston Churchill - John Perry
2. Holman Old Testament Commentary Vol. 1: Genesis - Kenneth O. Gangel & Stephen J. Bramer
3. The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis - John Walton
4. The New American Commentary Vol. 1B: Genesis 11:27-50:26 - Kenneth A. Mathews
5. The Communicator's Commentary Vol. 1: Genesis - D. Stuart Briscoe
6. Exploring Genesis - John Phillips
7. Genesis - John Calvin
8. Layman's Bible Book Commentary Vol. 1: Genesis - Sherrill G. Stevens
9. Genesis Vol. 3 - J. Vernon McGee
10. The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis
11. The Holy Bible: New Testament (ESV)
12. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis
13. How to Preach without Notes - Charles W. Koller
14. A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis - Devin Brown
15. Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis

"Leaving It Behind" (Part 2)

"Leaving It Behind" (Part 1)

Imitation

Both of my girls are really into Star Wars right now.  It's all they really want to watch.  Each of the six movies is their favorite.  Now with that comes the imitation.  Isabella runs around with a light saber pretending to be Luke Skywalker (much in the same way as I did as a little boy, except I didn't have a light saber, just a flash light).  Sophia pretends to be Leia.  Together they run around the house and the yard saving the galaxy from Darth Vader and the Empire.
Malachi is also learning the fine art of imitation.  Just yesterday I was holding him outside, and the neighbor's cow went, "Moooooooo!"  Right after the cow said it, Malachi mimicked it by saying, "Mooo!"
Malachi is also imitating his father.  We were together at the kitchen table, and the cat jumped up into the outside window ledge (I guess it was curious about what goes on inside).  On a whim, I hissed at the cat.  Likewise, Malachi did the same.  I did it again, and he copied.  This continued for a little bit, and we both had a good laugh.
Now consider the words of the Apostle Paul when he says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1 NASB).
If we are the children of God, it only makes sense that we also imitate our Father.  What kind of characteristics does God reveal about Himself?  Imitate that.  Of course, to get an accurate picture of our Father, we must know His Word.
On the other hand, if we refuse to walk in the ways of our Heavenly Father, then there is good biblical reason to wonder who our father really is.  1 John 3:1 says, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother" (NASB).

Say Grace

"You say grace before meals
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and the pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink."
                              --G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton had it right.
Of course, what he referred to as saying "grace" is what we might call "saying the blessing" or "asking the blessing."
Of course, we may have to define that a little bit, too.
What we are actually doing is asking God, the Creator and Father, to give His blessing on something, whether it be our food or journey or something else.
It is asking God to "grace" us with His good and bountiful blessing.
Grace is a gift.  It is freely given.  Even when we ask God to bless our food, or our home, or our business, we need to understand that even those things are not "ours", but a gift (grace) from God.
So, when we ask the blessing, we are to be thankful to God as well.  Sometimes it is even put as "returning thanks."
Now back to Chesterton's poem.
Life should be lived to the fullest.  And if we are going to do that, by necessity, God has to have a grand role in it.  Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). (That is also a great grace in that Jesus came to us.)
If we are to live life abundantly with God in an attitude of thankfulness to Him, then we are going to do exactly what Chesterton wrote about doing.
We won't simply pray just before, or even a few bites into, our meal; we will pray asking God's blessing in everything we do.
If we ask God for His blessing in everything we do, that will also keep us from doing some things that we know that God certainly will not bless.
Say grace before your next party.
Say grace at the grocery store.
Say grace before you enjoy your next latte or mocha.
Say grace before you play tennis or golf (especially if you play as badly as I do).
Say grace at the game.
Say grace before you wash the dishes at home.
Say grace before you go to work.
Say grace at the recital (sometimes it is a grace to get through it).
And, for heaven's sake, say grace before you go to church.
The point is, whatever you find yourself doing, ask God to give His blessing, His grace upon grace.

"Rejoice always;
Pray without ceasing;
In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
                                           1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

July Reading List

1. The Grand Weaver - Ravi Zacharias
2. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
3. With Calvin in the Theater of God - John Piper & David Mathis (editors)

June Reading

1. Power For Living - Jamie Buckingham
2. The Secret of Father Brown - G. K. Chesterton
3. The Sacred Meal - Nora Gallagher

The Boy and the Bee

The boy ran up to the bee and said, "Move!"  The bee just sat and looked.

The bee flew up to the boy and said, "Move."  The boy ran away as fast as he could go.

May Reading List

• Blessed Hope - John F. Walvoord and Mal Couch
• Genesis Vol. 2: A New Beginning - James Montgomery Boice
• Excellence In Preaching - Simon Vibert
• Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life: From the Cross, For the World - Stephen J. Nichols
• Jesus the Son of God - D. A. Carson
• The Man Who Was Thursday - G. K. Chesterton
• Father Brown: The Essential Tales - G. K. Chesterton

April Reading List

1. Saint Patrick - Jonathan Rogers

2. Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity In Christ - John MacArthur

3. John Bunyan - Kevin Belmonte

4. A Third Testament - Malcolm Muggeridge

5. The Yellow Feather Mystery - Franklin W. Dixon

6. Genesis: Vol. 2 - J. Vernon McGee

From Old, Even From Everlasting

March Reading

1. The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan
2. Living With Confidence In A Chaotic World - David Jeremiah
3. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
5. Choosing a Bible - Leland Ryken
6. 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness - Eric Metaxas
7. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
8. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess - Jen Hatmaker

Pair of Sevens

I recently read two extraordinary books that I highly recommend.  What do they have in common?  Yes, of course, they are both books written to encourage and motivate Christians.  However, that's not all they have in common.  Interesting enough, they both have "Seven" in the title.

The first one I recommend is 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas.  Many of you may recognize Metaxas as the author of Bonhoeffer, which I also highly recommend that you read if you haven't already.  Metaxas' humor, whit, and distinctively Christian-worldview perspective makes 7 Men a fascinating and fresh approach to seven great men whose examples we would do well to emulate today.  Of all the people that he could have written about, the author limited himself to these seven: George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Jackie Robinson, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Paul II, and Charles Colson.  One thing men seriously lack in our culture are good role models, and Metaxas has ventured out to try to reverse that trend.

The second book I'd like to mention is 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  Hatmaker's experiment involved seven months of seven identified areas of excess and seven simple choices to fight against those excesses.  The seven identified areas of excess are food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress.  Through the process, Hatmaker, in decluttering her life, experienced God in ways that she couldn't before because of all the "noise."  I found the book to be a delightful read.  In fact, Hatmaker had me laughing out loud several times.  More than that, though, I was led to identify and examine the excesses in my life and to come up with ways to knock them down.  I'd like to attempt my own 7 experiment soon!

Sheep Without a Shepherd

In the Gospel of Matthew we find these words:

"Seeing the people, [Jesus] felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'"

I just returned from a trip to Montreal, Quebec, where I met with a few church planters to hear and observe their mission field, vision, and strategy for reaching the most unreached city in North America.  Montreal is 99.5% lost.  It is a spiritually dark place, and yet the light of Christ is beginning to shine in significant ways.  Although the task is overwhelming, the situation is not hopeless.  Jesus told us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send out workers to accomplish the mission, and that is just what I did.

Oratoire Saint Joseph overlooks Montreal from Mount Royal.  As I stood on the highest point that I could get to, I prayed, "Lord, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are so few.  Please send your people here to reach this city for your glory.  Jesus, bring your light to this dark place."

I invite you to begin praying for Montreal as well.

• Pray that God would send church planters to Montreal and the surrounding areas.
• Pray that the Gospel will be demonstrated and magnified in the lives of the people.
• Pray that God would raise of people of peace within Montreal.
• Pray that God will continue to provide for the church planters and missionaries already there.
• Pray about how you might be involved with what God is doing in Montreal.

My hope and prayer is that one day Montreal will be so radically changed for the glory of God that they begin to reach and transform other nations with the power of the Holy Spirit and the light of the Gospel.

February Reading

1. Embracing the Ends of the Earth - Jim Richards

2. The Definitive Guitar Handbook - Rusty Cutchin

3. The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan

4. The Source of My Strength - Charles F. Stanley

5. Radical Together - David Platt

GROWTH

Go to God in prayer daily.
Read God's Word daily.
Obey God, moment by moment.
Witness for Christ by your life and words.
Trust God for every detail of your life.
Holy Spirit--Allow God to control and empower your daily life.

"Grief and Grace"

January Reading

1. Si-cology - Si Robertson

2. Why Men Hate Going to Church - David Murrow

3. The Heart of Worship Files - Matt Redman

4. A Guide to Effective Sermon Delivery - Jerry Vines

5. Saving Eutychus - Gary Millar & Phil Campbell