2 Peter 1:5-9

Tough times are not the time that you want to be developing a robust theology. 2 Peter 1:5-9 says "...[M]ake every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." I would encourage anybody I interact with who has a love for theology or desire to study, to grow while you can, as you don't know what lies ahead. I know that I am grateful for the truths on which I now stand and for those one whose shoulders I depend.

Faith, virtue, knowledge, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love.

I know that weeks and months like the past few show my faith to be weak, yet show our Savior to be strong, and show the body (His church) to be His instrument of love - primarily through my wife, lastly I'm so grateful that if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself (1 Tim 2:13).

I've debated the helpfulness in journaling over the last

Six months and have deliberately not written as I have had significant struggles. Have you ever had trouble pushing through something? No, not just something hard, but something simple. Everybody is supposed to struggle when running a marathon. But were you supposed to struggle writing that last sentence? Not everybody gets to go through this one.

I was reading from my favorite series The Chronicles of Narnia to the kiddos last Saturday night... We're in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I like the book, not in my top three, but I like it a lot. Well, chapter 12 The Dark Island now has a special place in all our hearts.

Oddly enough, this is the verse that the family guide to Narnia had as the beginning of that chapter...

Job 4:12-14 "A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake."

Lucy is fearful as they enter into a dark and mysterious misty island, which they find to be an island where nightmares come true. When they try to escape, they row in vain. At the point when all seems lost,

Lucy whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, If you ever loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little - a very, very little better.

At this point an albatross comes and lights the ship with radient lights, whispers words of comfort to her alone, and leads them from the darkness.

Also, at this point, I go into an episode which effectively ends my reading for the night and traumatizes my three and four year old for a day. They get over stuff so fast (I'm so grateful for that!) My son Hudson and daughter Emma were regular EMT staff and took care of the rest by getting the help necessary. We are blessed by great neighbors and friends. Thanks to Dave and Jen, Brian and Kristin, Isaac, Ed, Mike, Ken, and the Laytonsville FD.

We were able to put these connections together between the story in the book and Christ and his nearness to all of us who are going through suffering in whatever form it may take. For my kids, it may just be a bad dream at night, or a mean neighbor. For me, it may be a time of physical pain, dreading an upcoming medical test, or pushing through another week of medication. For my dearest wife she has to put up with all of us(which is by far the hardest job) and exhort through it all! We thought it cool enough to share with anyone else who might want to read it.

Matt

Common Grace

Not trying to lean toward the fringe here, but I have truly enjoyed many of God's kind graces toward me since the surgery and ongoing trials. Takes rough times to refocus perspective. I know how much I've enjoyed putting my kids to bed, getting kisses from the little guys, spending time with my wife doing seemingly meaningless stuff, feeling the new baby move in her stomach, playing cards with my friends, and - yes - even having a pint every now and again. Perhaps I'll be able to elaborate more on this another post, but... The truth IS that this post is about beer. Not having a profound beer knowledge, I can't review them in any meaningful way but to say that these all fall into different beer type categories, have a lot of good flavor, and most importantly are enjoyable.

In no particular order:

Redhook's ESB - an American version of the British ESB (Extra Special / Strong Bitter).

Clipper City's Loose Cannon

Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA (60 is good, too)
Hefeweizen - Harpoon's Unfiltered Offering (UFO)

Christian Behavior

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Eph 4:30

In the middle of his instructions on our renewed (by the Holy Spirit's work) lifestyle, Paul throws this comment in. I had to pause here because it seems so out of place. Why did he throw this in just after talking about speech and just before talking about bitterness and rage and anger? I wish I could expound the deep theological truth or give the greek hermeneutics or something, but I can't. 

I can only say that God stopped my mind on this passage. These words bring a reality to what happens when I sin. Yes, my sins are forgiven in Christ. And yes, there is no condemnation... BUT God is saddened and grieves when his children don't live in the new life He HAS given them. I live in light of what was accomplished (in the death and resurrection of Christ) and in continuity with what is yet to be realized. 

This passage demonstrates to me how actively God is involved in our lives. Excepting large sins, I don't usually grieve when my children sin (which demonstrates my wrong view of sin - because all sin is SIN). But God is so aware of what has been accomplished and the loss I experience that He is saddened by my sin (for my sake - I think).

Why did Jesus die for us?

Why did Jesus die for us? What was Jesus getting out of it? Remember, he already had a community of joy, glory, and love. He didn't need us. So what benefit did he derive from this? Not a thing. And that means that when he came into the world and died on the cross to deal with our sins, he was circling and serving us. "I have given them the glory that you gave me" (John 17). He began to do with us what he had been doing with the Father and the Spirit from all eternity. He centers upon us, loving us without benefit to himself. (emphasis mine)
Tim Keller in The Reason for God

When I read this it hit home. In my limited understanding, I've always pictured God getting some benefit out of us. For instance, the Westminster catechism describes the main purpose for human existence is to glorify God. In my mind that means that God's benefit is being glorified by us. Or the fact that the biblical story is about God redeeming a people for himself. In my mind that means that God's benefit is getting a people for his own possession (this is, in part, very biblical by the way).

The problem with these statements is that I have been finding an intrinsic value in myself and other Christians. How is this a problem? In a subtle way I've been believing that God's love is, in part, a self serving love. As if He's getting something out of the deal. Oh, the arrogance of that statement!

The realization that Jesus already had the perfect community of joy, glory, and love means that he needed nothing. This also means that His sacrifice was one of pure love and in no way self serving.