There are so many reasons why people walk away from the church and Christ but I have come to believe more than ever it is because we are assuming the Gospel and preaching sanctification.  This message sums it up much better than I ever could.

Matt Chandler – 20/20 2010 Session 1 from Southeastern Seminary on Vimeo.

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This is a great video from the Resurgence.  As someone who has worked in youth ministry I found the book Soul Searching that Dr. Horton refers to to be a shock.  It is well worth the look.

The census here servers two purposes according to my study bible to show that the promise to Abraham was fulfilled in the number of his decedents and to show the fighting force of Israel, both should give confidence to the people as they enter the promise land.

Any way back to the numbers, they must have been exact counts because when the count is given for the Levites the number is 22,273; it would make little sense to round of all the other numbers.  Anyway this is the first time I really noticed this although I have asked this question every time I have read this before.

It donned on me that I have done very little in the way of trying to see Christ in all the scriptures like I said I wanted to and this section of scripture didn’t do much more for me…

Num 6

24The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

This is one of my favorite passages in scripture, it was the closing of almost all of my Lutheran services, our regular benediction.  One thing I loved about those services is that most of them were the same.  I can still repeat the liturgy almost all of the way through.  ( I may write more about this another time)

At any rate, I have taken to repeating this blessing as a prayer every night over both of my daughters when I lay them down to sleep.  I now some people don’t care much for prayers that aren’t improvised but my daughters are memorizing scripture every night and it will help to tie them to the word and tradition that Christians have enjoyed for generations.

Yea, that is me she is talking about I love you babe http://bit.ly/c07Bw8 #

Zoe apparently chipped two of her teeth either trying to climb out of her crib or when her sister pushed her into a table #

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Prayer is something that to many people, particularly men, seems impractical, I would almost be as honest as to say a waste of time.  I am not saying that it is a waste of time , of course, but I often have to fight to keep myself from thinking that way.  It is a sign of my sinful arrogance and self reliance.  Why should I bother God when I can take care of part of it or all of it myself.  Perhaps I am not thinking big enough or perhaps I think to highly of myself.

You Actually Have to Pray | TheResurgence.

I love the quote in this section from Martin Luther “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”  I don’t act on it but I think it is sound.  I have found that if I am to pray I must do it first, if I do not do it first thing I will not do it at all.  I always have time for the things I put first, it is just unfortunate that I do not always look at prayer as something that actually needs to go first.  I usually look at it as a formality but not as

Prayer is the Priority | The Resurgence

There is a rumour amongst charismatic Christians that praying is only really worthwhile if the Holy Spirit leads you to pray (and by this they mean that you already feel like praying). Jesus was much more straightforward: he told the disciples that the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41).

As a recovering Charismatic this really resonates with me.  Prayer has always been one of the places I have struggled in my walk because I assumed, much like the quote says, that it will be a leading of the Spirit that will make it easier.  But is appears more and more that it is only through actually doing that things become easier.  It isn’t helped that in most of the Charismatic circles I have run in no one ever admits their faults.  So, while they tell the stories of getting up to pray every morning at 4:00am they don’t tell you how much they hated it.  This year my wife and I have been rising early to read out Bible and pray as a couple and it has become easier but I am still not satisfied.

Prayer is Rigorous | the Resurgence

Leviticus gets a bad wrap as far I am I concerned.  Sure, it is one of the few books full of do’s and don’ts but it also shows just the depth of depravity humans will stoop to.  It is a kind of snapshot of the troubles with all humanity.  After all there were and still are in some occasions,really people looking to do the things God forbid.

But one passage I really struggled with was the passage of the death of Nadab and Abihu.  They were the sons of Aaron who offered up unauthorized or strange fire before the Lord.   As a result of not following God’s prescription for his own worship they were struck down instantly.

This passage is a major proof text for those who believe in what is called the Regulatory Principle.  If you aren’t familiar with the Regulatory Principle of Worship it is summerized in the idea that the Bible tell us explicitly how we are to worship God and implicitly excludes everything else.  So if the Bible doesn’t say it we can’t do it.  Taken to the extreme this would mean we can sing only the psalms, and can not sing the name of Jesus.

I really don’t know much past that and while I don’t believe it is a sin to sing the name of my savior I do wonder if there is still a particular way in which God desires to be worshiped?  I always seem to be writing in a hurry and I wish I had more time to study these types of things out.

Hmmm, we have church from 5-7. Heather will be just getting back in town so don't expect anything special. #

Watching my daughter play wii reminds me of my mom playing my c-64, she was ahead of her time acting like the joystick had motion tech. #

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This is  a great reminder of why we should read the Old Testement and not just skip forward to the new.

It can really get hard this time of year in Bible reading, the emotion is gone no longer pushing you forward, the cool stories are past leaving you with the law but to fully understand Jesus coming you need to know the OT.

You know spending most of my walk with the Lord in modern Evagelical churches I was never really taught much about older traditions in the Church.  Having gone to a Lutheran church when I was first saved I have at least heard some of the titles.

Today is Ash Wednesday, it marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is a traditional time of preparation, via repentance, prayer, alms giving and self-denial, for the Holy Week and celebration or Easter or Resurrection Sunday.  Mardi Gras literally “Fat Tuesday” was the last chance to eat the rich fatty foods before a period of fasting.  A sort of “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” kind of day.

Most people think of Lent as the 40 days before Easter but many denominations count these times differently. (See this article for more information)  No matter the duration you observe the purpose should be the same.

No matter which way you choose to observe the season it is a wonderful experience.   The years when I have taken is seriously it has been an enriching time of growth.   Take some prayerful time to consider what God would have you to do to observe Lent and prepare for the Holiest of day in the Christian year.

There are traditionally three types of Justice to be observed in the Lenten Season: Justice to God, yourself, and others.

(God)Dedicate more time to prayer by giving up: TV, Video Games, sleep or something else that takes up your time.

(Self)What can you do?  Many people give up a certain type of food: meat, red meat, caffeine, candy and sweets.

(Others)Dedicate the money you save in doing these thing to give away to others, your local church, homeless shelter or other ministry.