A Souk of Thoughts

Pirates, Food, and God's Goodness

2009-04-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Who among us have never had the experience of sharing the gospel with someone and their response was, "How can a good God let people starve in Africa?"

I was thinking about that as I was listening to NPR the other day as the whole Somali Pirate Attack was unfolding. The report said, "Nearly half of Somalia's 7 million people depend on food aid." These people will go hungry unless these pirates are stopped and these ships containing said help are released by these.

God provides people with food, it is the sinfulness of men that prevent his goodness to be shown forth. Now God is an ALL-POWERFUL God, He can accomplish what he wants, yet this is a reminder of that this world is broken, full of sin, and ultimately men are completely depraved.

Thanks for reading,

gap

It's time to Restart this thing...

2009-04-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I have been away for the last few months and a LOT has happened.
I started my last semester of School, even though I am only taking 2 classes, it has been one of the hardest semesters ever. So I was not posting because I honesly had no time. All of that changed last week when I was laid off work.
Now, I figure, that I have more time to post my thoughts, things that I am learning, and even funny things that I have seen.
You can be praying for us, I am in need of a job, but one that will be flexible with my school schedule and my schedule this summer. I will be going to Spain twice, once to teach and once to lead a STM (Short Term Mission's Trip).
I will try to keep you updated on how we are doing...

Thanks for reading,

gap

Thankfulness and Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

Last night Melissa and I took Cael to Walmart to do our weekly shopping. Cael usually has fun, we go shopping and he sits there and points to everything and utters gibberish. Though last night was different, he was a bit tired and feeling extremely sinful so he started to complaint. He was not yelling per se, but he had a nagging soft complaining whine. We knew that he was hungry so we gave him animal cookies and water, yet he continued to complaint. I started to talk sense into him, he is only 18 months, but I thought I could and I said to him, "Cael, don't complain, remember to be thankful. God has given us everything." OOPS... As I started saying this to him, I realize how whinny I sound to God. Granted, I do not probably yell and kick and scream, but I do have my own way of nagging and soft complaining. God has given me everything, I have to be thankful.
I need to renew my mind into making thankfulness a way of life!

A New President...

2008-11-04T20:30:00.001-08:00

I am a big fan of Betweent Two Worlds. Not long ago, Justin Taylor wrote this
I think it is very thoughtful!

Consecrated... Do you understand what you are singing?

2008-10-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

It was in Acts 8 when Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch and sees him reading the prophet Isaiah and asks him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" Sometimes I feel like doing that to myself as I sing songs and hymns of praise to God. Yesterday during our Crossroads service we were singing a great version of the song Take My Life and Let it Be, the next line is "consecrated Lord to Thee." I asked myself right a way... Do you know what you are singing. I answered myself quickly, of course, I know what consecrated means, I am in graduate school!
The problem became as I thought what I was singing; I sang "take my life and let it be consecrated...
Consecrated--

1. to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity: to consecrate a new church building.
2. to make (something) an object of honor or veneration; hallow: a custom consecrated by time.
3. to devote or dedicate to some purpose: a life consecrated to science.

Lord to Thee..."
Is this what I want to do? Am I consecrating my life to the Lord? Do I want him to take my life?
As the song ended I felt like a hypocrite, you see I understood the words, I just did not mean them all the time. The issue is not understanding the words, but the question we need to ask is "Do you mean what you sing?"
So next time you sing, yes understand what you sing, but also to quote our Pastor Rick, "Sing it like you mean it!"

thanks for reading,

~gap

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2008-10-02T21:32:00.001-07:00

My friend John Fonville posted a great quote in his blog. I wanted to share it with you:

“The knowledge of our union with Christ provides us with great dignity. As I look at myself I see failure, sin, sometimes shame and disgrace. But that is neither the ultimate nor the whole truth about me as a Christian. No! I am united to Christ, a joint heir of his riches, a child of God. Knowing this to be the real truth about me lends grace and power to my life.”

Sinclair Ferguson, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction, p. 113

8 years and Counting!!!

2008-10-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

8 years ago today, October 2nd, I asked Melissa Lawler to take our friendship to the next level and to start getting to know each other for the purpose of marriage (this is dating).
There are a few things in life that I do not regret, this is one of them!
Thank you Melissa for your friendship all these years and for saying YES that very night, before you asked me... "What level would that be?" =)

Happy 8 YEARS!!!!!!

thanks for reading

~gap

Christianity and Politics

2008-10-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

Elections are here again... What should we do?
I was listening to the White Horse Inn, a great Reformed radio show and I thought I would share this with you.

Click Here (a two part series on Christianity and Politics)

It's been DRY for a LONG TIME!!!!

2008-10-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hi all... I know that most of you have stopped reading, except for my wife. I was encouraged to keep going.
A LOT has happened since the last time I posted. I was still in summer school mode, but now I am in full FALL semester mode.
This summer was very busy, I took two summer school classes, work was crazy, my territory increased exponentially.
After summer school, I was privileged on going to Spain and Scotland to check out some future ministry opportunities. I was shocked on how the Lord blessed my trip there. I preached in Spanish for the first time ever! Yes, though I speak Spanish, it is quite different to attempt to preach, since all of my theological training has been in English; but the Lord gave me the words necessary to communicate his message.
After my time in Spain, I spent 10 days in Scotland visiting with Carrubbers Christian Centre, a church that is a light in such a dark city. I also preached there, the message was the Life of Abijah, interesting fellow. Also, I was able to help with evangelism and playing music at their coffee shop called Room 65.
I was so humbled by my time in Europe, but I really missed my wife and child. It was very hard not to come home at night and not being able to debrief with Melissa. It was hard also to not hold Cael and see his progress in walking.
Overall, my summer was busy, but the Lord has given us a desire to pursue ministry overseas. If you think about it please pray for us. Pray that God will make our desire a reality so that we would be able to serve him.

Thanks for Reading...

~gap

RESOLVED-- Enfield, O For That Day: A Review

2008-06-19T05:52:00.000-07:00

Finding good, thoughtful, and listenable Christian music is quite difficult for me.
Usually, Christian Music, seems to be a rip-off of what was hip 5-7 years before and the fact that makes it worst is that most of the "Christian" labels are owned by 2 or 3 major secular labels, that do not discriminate against inaccurate theology, rather they discriminate against poor sales.
In Enfield, the official band of the Resolved conference, you have a group of people whose ultimate goal is to bring glory to Christ by singing songs that will cause the believer to worship. Their first release, O For That Day has fast become a favorite of mine, not only for the superior music, but their lyrics truly make me long for that day.
Having known the band for years is also a big plus, knowing that their hearts match what they sing helps in my worship as I listen to the CD.
I highly recommend this CD as an example of thoughtful worshipful lyrics set to good contemporary music.

Catching some ZZZ's

2008-06-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

My Brother had this as his status report on his chat icon with this caption: "NAP TUTORIAL...." Enjoy!

Resolved: AMAZED

2008-06-17T12:59:00.001-07:00

The Resolved Conference this year was an incredible testimony of God's grace in the lives of those who attended.
I am sure that you probably could read a more detailed account of the conference in another, more eloquent, blog; but suffice it to say that this year was quite amazing and God worked in my heart.
The theme of the conference was Heaven and Hell and boy did the speakers deliver!

It was great to see the ARMY of people serving at the conference and once again I was humbled by the selflessness of many who missed many sessions so that others could enjoy the experience of Resolved.

The band was incredible... They named themselves ENFIELD, a town in New England where Jonathan Edwards preached his famed "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and they also have a new CD. GET IT!!!!

I will try to give me more updates, but know this that I LOVED IT!!!!

To get the free downloads go here

to get ENFIELD's New CD go here

To see what's happening next year go here

RESOLVED- Behind the Scenes (Doxologies)

2008-06-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

For months now I have been looking forward to RESOLVED. I have been quite excited to see what the Lord was going to do in my heart because the topic of the conference was HEAVEN and HELL.
I had the priviledge once again to be the the band's (which is called ENFIELD now) chaplain. We had some time together before all the sessions and went through different Doxologies.
We started off with Romans 11:36 where Paul with an informed mind (the first 11 chapters of Romans) pour his heart into worshiping his GOD.
Jude 24-25 was the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time together where we saw that God was our PRESERVER, PERFECTER and PRAISEWORTHY. Then we looked at 2 Old Testament heroes of mine who in tough times wrote doxologies: Asaph in Psalm 73:25-28 and Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3:17-19; both of them writing praise to God in very difficult times.
We ended our time together last night looking at one final doxology, 1 Timothy 1: and we all crafted our own doxologies. That was the highlight of these times together; to hear the members of ENFIELD crying out to the Lord and worshiping him with humble hearts was incomparable.
I praise the Lord for being led in musical worship by men and women that are wholly devoted to God and especially by a man like John Martin whose ultimate goal is to glorify his Lord in everything he does!

What Happens Infants when they die?

2008-05-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Chase Sears writes a thoughtful article about this difficult topic.
click here

Sproul Six Day Creationist?

2008-05-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Noted Theologian and Conference speaker R.C. Sproul is now a Six Day Creationist.
Read all about it here.

I know, I know, but I have been busy

2008-05-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

If you are a Souk enthusiast, which I doubt, except for my wife, you might have noticed that I have been gone for a month or so. I have been busy with my hardest semester yet. Even though the semester ended, I am currently enrolled in summer school, taking two classes 3 weeks each. So I am still busy, but now I attempt to post, from time to time.

Wellhausen without bias?

2008-04-08T04:48:00.001-07:00

I have been taking Old Testament Introduction, a class that deals with the inspiration, inerrancy, canonicity, and textual criticism of the Old Testament.
For my class project, I decided to study and write on Julius Wellhausen, as many call him, "the father of Old Testament Liberalism."
Here is a sampling:
Julius Wellhausen was born into a Christian home, his father was a Lutheran Cleric that was part of a movement that opposed theological liberalism. By the time that he went to the University of Gottingen, he was already corrupted in his thinking. At Gottingen he studied under famed OT scholar Heinrich Augustus Ewald. As he continued to study he became familiar with Karl Heinrich Graf's theory of Documentary Hypothesis, he writes about this experience:

“It my not be out of place here to refer to a personal experience. In my early student days I was attracted by the stories of Saul and David, Ahab and Elijah; the discourses of Amos and Isaiah laid strong hold on me, and I read myself well into the prophetic and historical books of the Old Testament. Thanks to such aids as were accessible to me, I even consider that I understood tolerably, but at the same time was troubled with a bad conscience, as if I were beginning with the roof instead of the foundation; for I had no though acquaintance with the Law, of which I was accustomed to be told that it was the bsis and postulate of the whole literature. At last I took courage and made my way though Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and even though Knoble’s Commentary to these books. But it was in vain that I look for the light which was to be shed from this source on the historical and prophetical books. On the contrary, my enjoyment of the latter was marred by the law; it did not bring them any nearer me, but intruded itself uneasily, like a ghost that makes a noise indeed, but is not visible and really effects nothing. At last, in the course of a casual visit in Göttingen in the summer of 1867, I learned through Ritschl that Karl Heinrich Graf placed the Law later than the Prophets, and, almost without knowing his reasons for the hypothesis, I was prepared to accept it; I readily acknowledge to myself the possibility of understanding Hebrew antiquity without the book of the Torah.”

(Julius Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel, (Glouchester, Mass.: Meridian Books, 1973), 4)

Wellhausen opposed the supernatural, he could not and would not believe in the stories of the OT.
Wellhausen, who believes that the first few chapters of Genesis were myth, he writes, “A true myth is never invented; it is handed down. It is not true, but it is honest.” (Prolegomena, 314) On the patriachical history of Israel, he commented, “The materials here are not mythical but national, and therefore more transparent, and in a certain sense more historical.” (Prolegomena, 315)

Wellhausen is the face of OT liberalism, his views on the Documentary Hypothesis, although having sustained much revisions, still are held by many scholars. Yet the damage done by his discrediting of Scripture lives on. However, one cannot but to think about his bias and conviction that lead him through that path.

For Melissa:

2008-04-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

In October of 1991, Christo and Jeanne-Claude began work on two great art projects in Bakersfield, CA and Ibaraki, Japan.
Over 3,100 umbrellas were set YELLOW (Bakersfield) and BLUE (IBARAKI)

You can see some more pictures here.

Lukas makes it BIG!

2008-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Lukas VanDyke is featured by Tim Challies.

Read here his interview.

Facebook, part deux

2008-04-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to mention this little deuce about Facebook.
In fact, just by looking at Chase Sears, it reminding me of mentioning this.

The status update Bar.
At the risk of sounding heartless I will only say, "Why?"
If we all truly cared what you are doing 100% of the time, we would be living together.
I do not need to know that you are "watching TV," nor that you "have not gotten enough sleep," or that you are "feeling tired." Honestly, if something truly important happens in your life, then BY ALL MEANS post it. However, if you just want attention, tell me so.

Gus is... SEEKING ATTENTION FROM YOU

Facebook: Friendship with no Strings Attached

2008-03-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying, I do have a facebook account and I use it.
Facebook has become a crazed in the last few years, in fact it was launched in February of 2004 a mere 4 years ago. By september of 2007, facebook had over 64 million subscribers and about 14 million uploads DAILY!
Facebook is a new technology that I call Friendship with No strings attached. It is easy to be a "friend" in facebook, you only have to ask someone to be your friend and 99% of the time, they will say, "YES."
The amazing fact that I have people on my "friend's list" that I have NEVER EVER EVER spoken to. In fact, I was asked to be friends with people at the School that I attend that I normally would not recognized.
Another "important" aspect of facebook are applications. One can get the "daily verse," or "the farside of the day," or "fun fact." However the most revolting part of this application comes by way of SUPERPOKE. Superpoke, which I could never sign up for, is an application that allows you to, "dance with," "throw a sheep at," "hug," "eat thanksgiving with," etc. This application allows you to do things with people that you would never do in real life.
Facebook is a great technological advance, it allows people to keep in touch with others, and helps you find people that you have not seen. YET I have to ask, if you have lost touch with someone, why do you need to find them again?
If you are not friends with someone, why are you looking to be "friends" with them over facebook?
If you are not going to throw a live sheep; why must you do this on facebook?

Facebook is Friendship with no strings attached! I wanted you to know that.

gap

With all this busyness... Here is a Proverb!

2008-03-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have not posted for over a week.
It has been quite a busy couple of weeks at school and work, and I could not get time to post.
I was thinking about what to post early this morning. The truth is that for days now, I have had in my head the passage that I will be teaching on this Friday night at Hillside.
Proverbs 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!

Sheol was consider for the Jewish people as the place of the dead.
Abaddon was the place of destruction.
The NIV says, "Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD;"
This is an argument from the Greater to the lesser; that is, God can see Death and Destruction open before Him... How much more can He see your small heart.

I will not give you the whole lesson, but suffice it to say that Knows it all, even your heart.
As I was thinking about this for Friday, I pondered on the fact that God is omniscient and that He is omnipresent. These truths should not only be a deterrent to not harbor hidden sin, but they also should be an encouragement to look for vindication only before our God.
As we think of our God, let us worship him and fear him because even Death and Destruction Lie open before Him.

Worshiping Jesus Christ

2008-03-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was quite surprised as I was watching a re-run episode of the Simpsons about this line.
Though it seems like a shot a Christianity, I could easily imagine how this can become true in the minds of unbelievers.
Take a quick sampler of some of our Christian songs,

"I love You, I need You
Though my world may fall,
I'll never let You go My Savior, my closest friend
I will worship You until the very end"

"My heart is glad that You've called me Your own
Cause There's no place I'd rather be
Than In Your arms of love, In Your arms of love.
Holding me still, holding me near, In Your arms of love.
I sing a simple song of love To my Savior, to my Jesus.
I'm grateful for the things You've done, My loving Savior, my
precious Jesus."

What are the songs that we should sing?
How should we sing to our God? How are we to worship him?

I will attempt to develop this in the next week...

Here is a song that will wet your appetite for true worship:

Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

American Karaoke!

2008-03-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

Melissa, my dear wife, convinced me that I should prefer her and that I'd watch American Karaoke err... Idol with her.
I did, well I guess I am. She told me that tonight they were going to do songs from the Beatles and I love the Beatles.
American Karaoke is probably the biggest show in television right now, but I do not seem to understand the point.
I told Melissa that if I wanted to see average singers, I would go to my local bar, which I do not frequent, and see some dude attempt to sing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
But I digress, these Beatles songs were completely trashed by these amateurish mediocre singers. Melissa kept asking me if I liked the singers, I kept saying, "they are nothing special."
American Karaoke might be huge in pop-culture, but I will stick to NOT watching, unless my sweetheart insist.
For now, I will continue to listen to my IPOD, where TRUE artists reside!

gap

News: New Seven Deadly Sins

2008-03-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this in a couple of blogs.

Look at this

I wonder if they will make a new Movie?