Happy Birthday Mom

Today (Wednesday, August 15th) is my mom's birthday.

One of the best parts of being a parent is watching your parents being grandparents to your child.  Though with all of Joshua's grandparents there are conversations about who is their parent and who gets to make the rules (they all hate to hear him upset and love to spoil him), we love watching them with him.

My mom is such a great grandma to Joshua, Adelyn, Nolan and Ian and I'm sure she will be to the two others on the way.  Grandmas only have to have their excitement tempered at times; you never have to coax more love for them out of her.

Mom, it is so great to watch you love my son.  Thank you for loving me so well all of my life and for loving my children.

I love you!  Have a great birthday!

Enjoy Your Children While You Still Can

So many people around me are having children or have young children.  A buddy and his wife just had their first today.  I talked with a friend due in November tonight and then saw another set of friends and their two little ones.  My wife and I have Joshua and one more on the way in February.  

This stage in my life is about having young children in the house, whether they're mine or my friends' kids or my nieces and nephews.

There are times when this seems like a pretty amazing stage of life and some when it's downright rotten.  Joshua has been what we call a crankybutt the last couple of days.  He's been angry and sad and frustrated for no apparent reason.  There are times, when he's screaming at me for no reason, that my mind races to think what I would be doing at that moment if I didn't have an angry child.  I remember times when we could decide to do something last minute and just do it.  We could stay out late.  We could go places without bringing half the house.  We could go to the bathroom... alone.  We didn't refer to ourselves in the third person.

But then I think about how darn cute he is.  I think about how he's given me my favorite name.. Dad.  I think about what a privilege it is to be the earthly father of a creation of God.  I think about how I get to model in that madness the love of the Heavenly Father to my child.

Parents of young children, we don't have that much time with them.  They grow up way too fast.

I recently saw a stat on Twitter that made me think about Joshua and this little one growing in Christine.  It said, "When your child graduates from high school, you will already have spent 93% of the time you will spend with them over the course of your life."

93% of my time with Joshua will be spent with him before high school is up.  Over 5% of that time is already gone.

We have to remind ourselves that children are a blessing from God.

"Children are a heritage form the LORD,

offspring a reward from Him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are children born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Psalm 125:3-5a

Parents, soak in this time with your children.  Take advantage of the time you have to point those arrows at a target.  Parent in ways that don't just teach our children morality, but that teach our children the Gospel.  Enjoy the good gift that God has given you and steward that gift well today.

Saul Didn't Become Paul

One common misconception, and one that I had for many years, is the Saul became Paul.  If you remember the story of the murderous man named Saul that became the Apostle we call Paul you may have heard that Saul's name was changed to Paul, but it wasn't exactly.

Abram became Abraham.  Simon became Peter.  Saul did not become Paul.

In the book of Acts we do meet this man Saul and in the book of Acts his name is also Paul and there is a point when he is only called Paul, but his name did not change. 

"Then Saul, who was also called Paul..." Acts 13:9a

See, Saul and Paul are interchangeable names but there is a great lesson to be learn from these names.  Saul is the Jewish name and Paul is the Greek language equivalent of the same name.  Saul is a very formal name and Paul literally means small. 

See, Paul didn't get handed a new name, rather he adjusted himself to reach the audience to whom he was preaching.  In Acts Saul begins to be referred to as Paul during his first missionary journey and is always called Paul thereafter.

The Apostle Paul was willing to be flexible in culture in order to preach the Gospel to many.  Paul had the freedom and right to continue being called Saul.  He was not divinely re-named.  Instead he chose to change a very intimate part of his very identity in order to identify with the lost souls he was intending to reach.

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.  To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Do you see this?  Paul/Saul was so dedicated to being a part of God's saving lost people that he was willing to adjust his life in order to win souls.  He was willing to change his very name.  He was willing to change his very customs.  He was willing to NOT exercise the freedom he had if need be to win souls for Jesus.

Do you have that mindset?  Are you willing to sacrifice your preferences in order to share the Good News?  Do you become a slave to others on your own accord, disregarding the very freedom you have in order to approach those in need?  Do you immerse yourself in the culture of your neighborhood in the pursuit of gaining an open door to share Jesus' victory tale with them?

Saul did not become Paul.  No, Saul went by Paul for the sake of the Gospel.  Paul intentionally gave up a piece of his intimate identity to achieve the goal Christ set before him.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Our faith is about dying unto self and living for God and others.  How can you be like the Apostle Paul and die unto your self to share in the victory with Jesus today?

Worship is Warfare

Last night my wife and I read Psalm 119.  Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the entire Bible and it's all about King David's love of the law.  It's hard to read Psalm 119 and not be convicted.  It's difficult to read Psalm 119 and think that King David had possibly just read Leviticus before he wrote this song that reads like a love affair with the law.  I read Psalm 119 and often wonder why I rarely have ever felt like David did about the law.

Instead of singing about the glories of God's law I find myself sinning.  I may not sing about my love for those sins, but with my actions I show that I love those sins more than I love the laws of God.  In fact, I have some pet sins that I could write a glowing song about.

How do I fight my passion for sinning?  How do I get to where David was when he wrote Psalm 119?

Well, there are many answers but I will argue that worship is perhaps the best way.

Worship, as I have defined it in the past, is anything that demonstrates what you value or desire.  But perhaps that definition is insufficient because there are many times when my worship fuels my desires more than it stems from my desires.

So, sin fighting worship is necessary because it pours gasoline on my desires for God and His ways.  In worship, and by worship I don't just mean singing, we declare the worthiness of God.  Sin fighting worship can involve prayers that declare the excellence of God.  Sin fighting worship can include reciting the wonderful, redeeming works of Jesus.  Sin battling worship may be singing words written by others and listening to ourselves sing them as a sermon to ourselves.

See, we always do what we prefer.  When we sin we do so because in either the moment or in the long run we had preference for what we did versus the alternative.  So, to fight this we must do things that help us see the surpassing greatness of the LORD.

Worship, gazing at the beauty of God, helps us prefer the best by reminding us what is the best.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good;" Psalm 34:8a

"One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek Him in His temple."  Psalm 27:4

Whether you do it in a sanctuary (and I hope you do as often as you can) or in your car or in your bedroom or boardroom, whether you do it out loud or in your head you need to worship to battle sin.

When we get to Heaven we will never sin again and we will never want to.  Is this because God will turn us into robots?  Most certainly not.  No, we won't sin because we will see God as He is and when we see Him rightly we will never be tempted to prefer anything else ever again.

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3

Friends, we won't see God perfectly as He is on this earth, but good worship is about seeing Him more rightly here and now.  So, worship with that Christ exalting hymn, read that mind expanding book on the attributes of God, sing that song that makes your heart burn with passion, walk in the woods and think about the Creator... do worship that helps you prefer God and His ways and by doing so deal a blow to the sin that wants to take your life today.

Senator Grassley's Response

A month ago I wrote an e-mail to my senator and published it on this blog. 

Because my e-mail to him was open, I want to allow his response to be open.  I have done this: 1) out of fairness to him 2) in an effort to show one way that communication with an elected can work and 3) to encourage people to do less social media commenting and more communication like this.

July 17, 2018

Dear Mr. Ray:

Thank you for taking time to express your concerns with separating families who illegally enter the United States at the Southern border.   As your senator, it is important for me to hear from you.

Obviously, I disagree with the policy and am working with my colleagues to write legislation so children and their parents aren’t separated.  

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), since early May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern border. In April, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered prosecutors along the border to “adopt immediately a zero-tolerance policy” for illegal border crossings. That included prosecuting parents traveling with their children as well as people attempting to request asylum but who were not entering through ports of entry. On June 20, 2018, after a great deal of bipartisan encouragement, President Trump signed an executive order that halts the policy of separating families.   It will allow families to be detained together. On June 25, 2018, it was confirmed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan that the agency is no longer referring for criminal prosecution all families caught crossing the border. However, the agency will selectively continue to refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution.  

On June 27, 2018, US District Court Judge Dana Sabraw ordered a halt to most family separations at the U.S. border and the reunification of all families that have been separated.   The court order specifically requires federal officials to stop detaining parents apart from their minor-aged children; reunify all parents with their minor-aged children who are under the age of 5 within 14 days and reunify all parents with their minor-aged children 5 and older within 30 days.   The order mandates that officials provide parents contact with their children by phone within 10 days, if the parent is not already in contact with their children.    This order does not stop the administration from prosecuting people who cross the border illegally.

However, while I am glad President Trump signed an executive order and children will be quickly reunified, the plain and simple fact is that executive and court orders come and go, but legislation provides a more permanent and long term solution. In response to this matter, I have cosponsored Senator Thom Tillis’ legislation, the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act, which would keep families together while safeguarding the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws.   This legislation would require that children and their parents remain together during their legal proceedings. It includes provisions to ensure the humane and fair treatment of migrant children and families by setting mandatory standards of care for family residential centers.  In addition to keeping children and their parents together, this legislation would keep children safe by requiring children to be removed from an individual who presents a danger to the health and safety of the child, including situations in which DHS cannot verify an individual is the parent of the child, a parent with a violent history of committing aggravated felonies, a child who is a victim of sexual or domestic abuse, and a child who is a victim of trafficking.

The Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act also authorizes 225 new immigration judges and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to prioritize resolving the cases of children and families in family residential centers. Unlike other proposals, which incentivize illegal immigration by codifying   the “catch and release” policies of the previous administration into law, this legislation would keep families together while ensuring the integrity of our immigration laws. This is a practical, straight-forward solution to a problem we all agree needs fixing.   It reflects the American people’s humanity and respects the rule of law by permanently ensuring that families can stay together while their cases are pending. There is an urgent need to respond    and to overrule the 1997   Flores   settlement, a series of court agreements that prevent children brought into the country illegally from being held in custody even with their parents,    so I look forward to the bill’s rapid consideration.

I hope senators are willing to take action and I urge them to join Senator Tillis and many of their colleagues in cosponsoring the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act and agree to let it pass quickly by unanimous consent.   Sixty votes are necessary to pass this legislation in the U.S. Senate so we will have to have good will of the minority party   to pass this bill.

Again, thank you for contacting me regarding this very important issue.   Please keep in touch.  

Sincerely,

Chuck Grassley                       

	COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
CHAIRMAN,  JUDICIARY	FINANCE AGRICULTURE BUDGET	CO-CHAIRMAN, INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL CAUCUS

Life in Joppa

It was recently presented to me that two major characters in the Bible spent some time in the city of Joppa and had similar calls.  Peter and Jonah had a moment of decision in the city of Joppa.

"The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Ninevah and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.

But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.  He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port.  After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD." Jonah 1:1-3

As you may recall, Jonah fled from the LORD because he didn't want to preach against Ninevah.  Why?  Because he knew the LORD (when in all caps means Yahweh) was a God slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  Jonah knew Yahweh's character and he knew that forgiveness of sins was Yahweh's modus operandi and Jonah hated the Ninevites.  Ninevah was the capital of Assyria in modern day Mosul, Iraq.  The Assyrians were brutal oppressors of the Israelites and insufferably wicked.

Jonah did not like "them" and didn't want to share God's mercy with "them".

In Acts chapter 10 Peter was in Joppa.  To summarize: while in Joppa, Peter saw a vision from God.  In the vision God showed Peter a *sheet with clean and unclean animals and told him "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."  Now, Peter was a good Jew and refused (despite the fact that he was staying at the home of a ceremonially unclean tanner, but that is a different story for a different day).  The vision was repeated two more times.  While that was happening a Gentile, Roman centurion had a vision of his own.  In his vision an angel told him to go get Peter from Joppa.

So, men from the centurion named Cornelius came and got Peter to take him to a Gentile, Roman centurion's home.  Peter obeyed and went and preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his whole house and they were powerfully converted because Yahweh is a God slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Peter, like Jonah, had every reason NOT to go the right way out of Joppa.  Jews never went into the home of Gentiles because that was extremely taboo.  The Roman army was the oppressor of Peter's people.  This centurion was part of the system that robbed Israel of its freedom in the Promised Land. 

Yet Peter obeyed despite all the reasons to hate the "them" that he was sent to and he shared God's mercy with "them".

Christian, are you in Joppa? 

Life in Joppa is where the intersection of cultural taboo and Yahweh's call happens.  Life in Joppa is where our hatred of "them" is confronted with "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness," (Exodus 34:6).  Will you run from the call of this unique God or will you follow His call to be a minister of the Good News?  Will you hold on to your dislike of them, even if it has some good reason, or will you go from Joppa and be a vessel of the message of God's abounding love and mercy?

Know yourself.  Who are the "thems" God is confronting you with here in Joppa?  Will you crucify your "right" to hate and submit to the very God who died to love them and save them?  Will you follow Jesus rather than cultural, nationalistic, tribalistic norms?

Rise to the call that life in Joppa presents you today.




*Some scholars guess the sheet in the vision was the sail of a ship in the sea Peter was staying near as he sat on the roof by the sea.  Interesting thought given what Peter did when he saw a ship's sail versus what Jonah did.

Sweet and Strong

I'm currently in the process of reading The Spirit, The Church and The World by John Stott.  A couple of weeks ago I was stopped by one line.  By the way, isn't it funny how people can write whole chapter and books or preach whole sermons and it's a sentence that slays us in our tracks.

Stott, in his chapter "Stephen the Martyr", spends a moment on two words that describe Stephen.

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."  Acts 6:8

Stott takes a moment to point out what a stunning combination grace and power are for a man to possess.  He says that G. Campbell Morgan explains grace and power as "sweetness and strength... merged in one personality".

Could those words describe you as a Christian?  Would someone describe you as a woman full of God's grace and power?  Could your children describe you as a man full of sweetness and strength?

As I pondered God's grace and power filling a person, I wondered how I might do that better.  Too many times we may have one and not the other or none.  I especially wondered how I might put those characteristics into practice so that my children will one day say that of me.

Strength is wrapped up in the boldness of knowing the truth yet sweetness is dressed in the ability to not have to win every argument.  Grace makes a man or woman approachable by all and power makes that man or woman someone people desire to be influenced by.  It would be an amazing thing to be able to wield great power and amazing graciousness.  It is exactly a way one could describe Jesus as well. 

Matt Ray

A Man Full of God's Grace and Power

Now, that makes a nice epitaph.  The trick now is to live a life worthy of that description.  And living a life worthy of that description can only be accomplished by drinking the sap of the Vine that is the source of God's grace and power. 

Go live in a way that exudes God's grace and power today.