God is smart!

Note to the faithful readers: Ryan pulled a Jeremiah Johnson on me, so I guess I’m temporarily in charge…

My dad, Bob, just got back recently from Cameroon and I wanted to share a very exciting aspect of his trip. Dad works with ITEM to train African pastors how to better shepherd their flocks in a biblical manner. Many of the local church leaders suffer from limited resources and bad training. Because of this, there are many issues of concern for the African church such as the wealth and prosperity doctrine and syncretism.

Dad has been to different parts of Africa many times, but there was an exciting new wrinkle in his last trip that just goes to prove who is really running the show. Prior to Dad’s trip a friend of the family who is a deacon at my church felt led to accompany him to Cameroon. Bob typically travels to French-speaking areas because of his fluency, so Tim was thinking he would go along as a source of encouragement and support.

As the departure date came closer, the details crystallized and Dad let Tim know that they would actually be going to one of the few English-speaking areas in Cameroon. While this was all well and good for Tim, what didn’t sit as well was when Dad told him that he could now teach some of the sessions!

Unsolicited Peace

I have been blessed with peace in my life recently, but not the peace I wanted.  It’s a peace I’ve been blessed with before, however it is somewhat precarious because I sometimes find myself forgetting, ignoring, or fighting with it.  To better understand, here’s a short history of my (short) adult life:

2002 – Got laid off, got married, moved to Seattle, started junior year of college, got job flipping burgers
2003 – Tons of schoolwork, lots of burgers flipped, we got pregnant
2004 – Graduated college, moved to Kent, Daniel born, got job at a bank call center
2005 – Raising Daniel, changed departments at work, we got pregnant
2006 – Moved to Fife, Jonathan born
2007 – Raising boys, work moved to Tacoma, we moved to Tacoma, labored on fixing up new house
2008 – We got pregnant, wrangling boys, Megan born

It would be an understatement to say we’ve been busy the last seven years.  So when 2009 came around, Michelle and I were excited at the prospect of a down year.  My tenure at work earned me a boost in vacation days, and we were finally going to have a year where we weren’t anticipating moving or having a baby!  The Allen Family ship was sailing out of chaotic waters towards peace on the horizon.

Then there was an emergency meeting at work.

I was joking with my manager going into the meeting: “hey, are you giving references? yuk, yuk, yuk!”  The message at the meeting was, in a nutshell, “You guys are awesome, times are bad, we’re closing this call center… Sorry”  I turned to my manager, “no seriously, are you giving references?”

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Today, praise God for the miracle of life and pray that our country
would repent of what we have done in the name of choice and rights.

“For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.”
Psalm 139:13-14

A story of prayer

Since the last time I wrote, some time has passed and many diapers have been filled.  Sometimes I think my new daughter is an undercover agent for Huggies.

On December 17th, our daughter Megan Elizabeth was born, and our lives changed again.  I have many thoughts, emotions, and anecdotes about the labor, birth, and life with the baby, but I will leave most of that to my wife.  I wanted to share here a special interaction I had with God during the birth of my new little girl.

Coming into December, my wife was getting more and more uncomfortable everyday, and the doctor scheduled an induction for December 17th.  We were looking forward to the day, but with each day came more and more ominous reports from the weather folk of a horrible storm coming.  The storm was going to bring feet of snow to all of western Washington and everyone should take necessary precautions.  This did not help my wife’s state.  This could be bad in a lot of ways; my Mom (who was going to watch our boys) might not be able to get to us, my Mom might not be able to bring the kids to the hospital to see their sister, Michelle’s family might not be able to come.  Really the biggest and most important concern was getting Michelle and baby safely to and from the hospital.  I neglected to take that “Emergency Childbirth” class in college, though I am trained in CPR… which probably wouldn’t have come in handy.

I tried not to think about it and just resolved to wait and see.  Then, on Sunday the 14th, I woke up slowly and started praying as I sometimes do in the morning.  As I was laying there, verses started coming to mind such as James 1:6-8, Matthew 17:20, Hebrews 4:16, and especially James 5:16b:

“…the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”

Right then I started praying for God to hold the storm back for us.  

Through the Institutes in 2009

With 2009 being the 500th anniversary of one of Christianity’s greatest theologians, John Calvin, I (along with many others) plan to read through his monumental and foundational work on theology, Institutes of the Christian Religion.  The reading schedule starts today and continues through the year, with sections to be read 5 out of every 7 days.  If you’d like the reading schedule, you can get a pdf version here.  Also, the guys over at Reformation 21 are doing daily postings that correspond to the reading schedule.  As I can, I too hope to post thoughts and comments on the reading, here at Out of the Miry Clay.

Favorite Posts of 2008

Sorry we haven’t been posting lately. Chris is trying to get his second novel finished (more excitement from Hunter Brown!), Dave has a beautiful new baby girl, and our church is having its first service this week as Edgewood Bible Church (the name of the new church following the merger of Valley Bible Church and Edgewood Community Church).  Needless to say, all of us have been busy!

I’m hoping to get back to posting regularly starting next week, but I thought I’d put up today a little list of my favorite posts from Out of the Miry Clay’s 2008.  Now, these weren’t the posts with the highest traffic, and I didn’t sort through the posts written by Dave and Chris; I just skimmed through the ones I’d written and put together a list of posts I either really enjoyed writing or that hold a special place for me.  Here it is, top ten style:

10. On Demand Repentance?

I remember reading through this particular section in Thomas Brooks’ Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices and really being impacted by how foolish it is to think we can just repent any time we choose.  If repentance truly is a divine work in us, then we shouldn’t take it lightly.  This post really challenged me intellectually and spiritually.

9. Daily Rejoicing in the Gospel

I wrote this post after getting permission from Milton Vance to post his “Gospel Narrative” here as a permanent page on the blog.  I put a lot of time into that page, with all the texts hyper-linked, but I’m really glad it is here.  Since putting it up in June, that page has had 115 hits.  I hope God continues to use the page to proclaim the wonderful truth of what has been accomplished in Jesus Christ!

8. The Testimony of Two More

This last year, with preaching on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and getting involved in 40 Days for Life, I found myself more active in the Pro Life cause.  During this time (and as I continue) I’ve tried to get others to join me.  I appreciated this post, not only for what was written, but that is was the work of Jenaya and Becky, two who joined me in taking a stand for the preciousness of human life.

7.  When New Meets Old/ Resurrecting the “Hymn”/ Master of the Song’s Voice

I love the hymns, so I really like to see these wonderful treasures passed on to the next generation and to hear of powerful new hymns being written.  Writing about this “resurgence” is hymnology was really a joy, especially taking the time to do “research” by listening to music that I love!

6. Knowing You

This was one of those posts that broke my heart!  I really enjoyed writing it, but I think like 3 people read it.  I know that to some it probably reeks of Calvinism, but the thought of God’s affections set on me from eternity past is something that has a wonderful fragrance to me and I wished that more people would have read this post and just delighted in the glorious truth of being “known” by God.

5. Jr. Theologian?

Amy and I have really rejoiced to see Rylie grow in her knowledge about God and are looking forward to the day when we can watch her truly delight in God.  We took this video as we were in the process of teaching her catechism questions and answers.  I love it because her voice is so precious and she gets so excited about the answers. The world is a better place with Rylie in it!

4. Boys, Baseball, and a Venture into the Unknown/ Cotton Candy, Extra Innings, and Sleepy-Eyed Fireworks

To say that I had a lot of fun writing these two posts would be a serious understatement.  I probably overdosed the narrative with adjectives, but I had a blast reliving this evening with my nephews through the lens of a little hyperbole!

3. Job, Grief, and the Cross of Christ

This was the not one of my favorite posts to write this year, because the events behind in are still so painful for Amy and me, but I wanted it here to be remembered.  I didn’t enjoy writing about our loss, but I am so thankful for the God who has carried us through and for the wonderful, rich, healing power of the Cross of our Savior.

2. Of a Caveman and an Angel

A lot has happened to us in 2008 and I praise God that He gave me a faithful, beautiful, wise and loving co-laborer to walk through it all with me.  Next to my salvation, Amy is the best thing that has ever happened in my life and it was a real blessing for us to be able to celebrate 10 years of marriage this year.  She is truly a gift from God!

1. Worth the Wait!

Our precious, beautiful  (and wild) daughter Anna arrived this year and she was definitely worth the wait.  It is amazing to see how her excitable and adventuresome personality has blossomed over these first 10 months.  2009 should be an precious year with her, as she begins to walk  (heaven help us!) and really starts talking (she says a few words and makes a lot of noise even now).  What a blessing to have two beautiful daughters… now if I could just figure out a way to keep them from growing up so fast!

Hope you enjoyed this little stroll down 2008′s blog-post-memory-lane.  Makes you wonder what God has in store for 2009.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

On this glorious Christmas day, I hope these words of prayer and reflection resonate with your heart.
May you have a wonderful and worship time with family and friends, rejoicing in our Lord who stepped so low to rescue us and raise us up to him!

“My heart melts at the love of Jesus,
my brother, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,
married to me, dead for me, risen for me;
He is mine and I am his,
given to me as well as for me;
I am never so much mine as when I am his,
or so much lost to myself until lost in him;
then I find my true manhood.

But my love is frost and cold, ice and snow;
Let his love warm me,
lighten my burden,
be my heaven;
May it be more revealed to me in all its influences
that my love to him may be more fervent and glowing;
Let the mighty tide of his everlasting love
cover the rocks of my sin and care;
Then let my spirit float above those things
which had else wrecked my life.

Make me fruitful by living to that love,
my character becoming more beautiful every day.
If traces of Christ’s love-artistry be upon me,
may he work on with his divine brush
until the complete image be obtained
and I be made a perfect copy of him,
my Master.”

from “The Love of Jesus” in The Valley of Vision

Thank you, Jesus.

Christmas Music I Actually Enjoy!

I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music.  I know that makes me the odd man out, especially this time of year.  Our church secretary would probably start playing Christmas music in July if she could, and she (and Dave… and many others!) usually give me a hard time for being such a “Grinch” about Christmas music.

However, this year I’ve found a Christmas album I can’t stop playing.

One of my favorite musicians, Fernando Ortega, has just released Christmas Songs.  Like he does so wonderfully and so often, he has taken songs that most of us could sing our our sleep and breathed new life into them. Christmas favorites like “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Angels We Have Heard on High”  are arranged in such a way that numbing familiarity melts away and the beauty of the lyrical message comes shinning through.

Take a few moments to watch this little video, in which Fernando explains some of the stories behind the songs, his reason for doing new arrangements, and plays through a couple of the pieces.  Then go to iTunes or Amazon and buy this album.  I’m enjoying it so much, you might even find me listening to it in July!

more about “Fernando Ortega – Christmas Songs on …“, posted with vodpod

Memorizing the Hymns

Covenant Life Church, where Josh Harris pastors, has devoted itself to spend the next 10 months memorizing some of the great hymns of the faith.  Each month, as a church, they will be memorizing a hymn in order to be obedient to Colossians 3:16 and also to make sure they don’t lose connection with the great songs of God’s people from generations past.

Here is the list of hymns they’ll be (and have been) memorizing:

NOVEMBER – Amazing Grace
DECEMBER – Before the Throne
JANUARY – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
FEBRUARY – Be Thou My Vision
MARCH – And Can It Be
APRIL – Crown Him with Many Crowns
MAY – A Mighty Fortress
JUNE – Be Still My Soul
JULY – How Firm a Foundation
AUGUST – Great is Thy Faithfulness

They’ve also used their great musical resources to put together an album of these hymns.  You can listen to samples and purchase the music here.

What a wonderful idea.

Polishing God’s Monuments

The “Why?” question is a biggie.

We all probably know of someone or some situation that challenges what we believe about God: the godly couple who remains barren after years of prayer and faithfulness, the child who dies of a mysterious illness, the young man with all the spiritual gifts in the world who falls into sin and ruins his bright future.

When we think about what happened or to whom it happened we’re tempted to ask God “Why?”  However, there is usually a lot of tone in our “why?” question- it is not the innocent “why?” of a three-year-old trying to gain more information, it is an accusatory, “God, what is wrong with You?! Why did you let this happen?!” type of question.

Jim Andrews has written Polishing God’s Monuments: Pillars of Hope for Punishing Times to help us wrestle with this biggie.  However, the book he has written is not a treatise coming down from the ivory tower of scholarship; it is the insight and wisdom of a godly pastor who has lived inside of this question- in that world that challenges what we know of God- for the better part of two decades.  He has written not just to raise the question, but to help those who wake up each morning and will battle all day with this question.

This book is the work of a pastor’s heart- it is practical, rich, powerful, and filled with care and compassion.  It doesn’t just bludgeon the “why?” crowd with theological answers, but it unpacks the truth of God with heart and wisdom and honesty (even pastors struggle with the way God’s plans work out? Imagine that!).

I came across this book as I was looking for something to give to my mother to encourage her.  As many of you know, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last spring.  She had a major surgery in August, and now, as  she recovers from the surgery, she wrestles with  the possible (and probability) of the cancer returning.

I had read some good reviews of this book, so I picked up a copy to give to her.  However, I figured I should read through it first, since I hadn’t read anything else by the author.  Several nights during the week I read this book, I was up way later than I should have been simply because I could not put the book down.  It challenged me, captivated me, and really helped me work through some things I was personally wrestling with.  I was delighted to give the book to my mom the next week, and she continues to tell me how much she is enjoying it and how it is ministering to her.

Polishing God’s Monuments is really two books in one.  It is a pastoral and theological work explaining how, as believers, we endure suffering and trust God, and it is also the story of a family who walked through suffering like most of us will never face (or would never have imagined possible).  Between each chapter that explores and offers counsel on how to deal with suffering, Pastor Andrews has inserted letters (which were originally written to his church) sharing the updates on his daughter and son-in-law’s battle with debilitating illness that robbed them of the opportunity, not only to serve God as foreign missionaries, but to have any kind of “normal” life.  It is in these letters that you see the overwhelming burden this trial put upon the entire Andrews family, and you, as a reader, realize that the advice just offered in the previous chapter has been battle tested and proven faithful.

And this is why I believe this book is so powerful.  It is not simply theorizing about how we might be able to endure suffering; it is the testimony and wisdom of a man who has been there and continues to walk in it, sharing with his fellow pilgrims that truth and wonder of learning to truly take God by the hand and venture on amidst (and in spite of) the often overwhelming “Why?” questions of life.

Pick up a copy of this book, read it, and pass it on.  It truly is a blessing.

Congrats Dave!

…and Michelle (who did all the hard work!).  Today, at 1:18, their third child (and first daughter) was born.  Welcome, Megan Elizabeth; Dave needed more pink in his world!
For all the info, check out Michelle’s blog.

Isaiah 45 – Blinded by Sovereignty

A month ago I happened to read Isaiah 45 and was really struck by it.  I was going to post about, then the hiatus came, then I forgot about it…

But then Ryan preached a great sermon on God’s sovereignty, and then wrote that examination on God and “fairness”, so I figured I should get in on the party.

There’s a lot in this passage I wanted to touch on, but instead of listing the entire chapter, I think I will humbly request that you read the whole chapter first.  Don’t forget to come back when you’re done!

…

So, do you feel puny and in awe of our great Creator?!  If not, let’s look at a few parts of what the prophet was writing here.

God will use the tools He wants based on His purposes, not necessarily that person’s merits.
The beginning of the chapter relates how God called out Cyrus the Great to be his instrument to subdue nations for the benefit of Israel.  It is interesting to see God remark that He is calling Cyrus in spite of the fact that Cyrus does not acknowledge God.  It is important to also see God’s purpose in this is so that “men may know there is none besides Me.” (v 6)

God alone creates and distributes righteousness.
Verse 8 was the reason I read this chapter and just thinking about it was filling me with wonderment.  Think about the seeming randomness of nature.  Rain drops falling here and there, flowers and plants growing in variety and uniqueness.  We Christians see these things, but don’t deny that God is controlling all of it.  Yet here, God is comparing that apparent randomness to how He distributes righteousness and salvation.  It may seem random, but He is in control.  He not only is sovereign in it’s distribution, but also in it’s inception! (I, the LORD, have created it)

God has the indisputable right to do as He pleases.
The next five verses show that God is aware of our inability to understand all this and provides His response to human questioning of His methods.  The potter and clay image is even more well known thanks to Paul using it in his own writings and is very powerful.  God’s claim to sovereignty is found in the fact that none of us would be here if it weren’t for Him.  He created us, thus He owns us.

God answers only to Himself.
If you feel you are being repressed by an unfair authority, you would seek the judgment and delivery from someone in higher authority, right?  Well, I think this is the reason God makes so many declarations of His exclusivity in this chapter about His sovereignty.  Consider:

“I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
“I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right”
“And there is no God apart from me”
“a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but Me”
“I am God, and there is no other”

If we are even going to entertain the evil attitude to question God’s practices, who are we going to complain to?  Does God have a superior who can put Him in His place?  Is there a law above God that we can point to to show Him the err of His ways?  To entertain a question of the “unfairness” of God is to presume that God must answer to something or someone.  Maybe it is the case that we have set up our own ideas of morality and truth as an idol above God…

So I ask again, do you feel puny?  Are you in awe?  If not, you should probably read Isaiah 45 again.  Don’t despair at God’s sovereignty, rejoice in it.  We are sustained every day by it, we are saved by it.