The Importance of Fathers

"A house without a father is a challenge. A neighborhood without fathers is a catastrophe."~Bill Cosby

Recommended Blog Posts

I appreciate the thoughts of Mike at the Upper Room Blog. I don't know much about him, but I like the way he thinks and writes. In fact, I often say to myself, I wish I had written that post, after reading his blog. He has some good thoughts about "Rethinking Church" at http://theupperroom.typepad.com/the_upper_room/2008/06/rethinking-church.html.

John Piper has listed "20 Reasons I Don't Take Potshots at Fundamentalists" at http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1251_20_reasons_i_dont_take_potshots_at_fundamentalists/. I agree with almost all of his list (except my father is not a fundamentalist), but I especially echo the sentiments of Reason #20. People to my left also believe I'm a fundamentalist, and there are a lot of people to my left.

Offensive Kindness

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12, NIV).

I'm working on moving beyond passive and defensive kindness, the type of kindness expressed when I'm interrupted by someone in need. Such kindness is good, but I often feel awkward because I am caught off guard. I prefer to be prepared to help people.

I want to take the offensive in being kind. I want to be prepared, to take initiative, and to be intentional in expressing kindness. I want to wake up every morning thinking, How can I show kindness to someone today? Who needs an encouraging word? Could someone use a phone call? Could I send an e-mail, a message, or a comment to help someone or to brighten someone's day? Does someone need money, food, or a ride to work? Could I help a co-worker struggling with an injury, an illness, or a loss in the family? How can I let my wife know that I love her? What would my son like for me to do with him or for him? Could I come to the defense of someone being falsely maligned or abused?

How would my world change if I consistently prepared myself to take the offensive in showing kindness?

Global Food Crisis Part 2

This is from the most recent newsletter of the Christian Relief Fund (http://www.christianrelieffund.org):

"Spiralling food costs--called a 'silent tsunami' by the World Food Program--have sparked protests and food riots in 34 countries. The head of the UN World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, described the current food price crisis as a 'global hunger emergency.' The increase in food prices is costing the lives of 250,000 people every 10 days. Up to 100 million people are being pushed back into poverty. Rice prices have gone up as much as 250 percent in the past year.

"The world's poorest are the most vulnerable...

"Rising fuel prices have made transportation of foodstuffs increasingly expensive...

"Another factor creating the food crisis is that several African nations who used to produce enough food to feed their own populations are no longer able to do so. Zimbabwe used to export food to other southern African nations. Now because of civil unrest and internal wars, Zimbabwe's people are starving. Other African nations suffering food shortages are: South Africa, Malawi (annual, chronic shortages), Kenya (recent political instability saw food stores of certain tribes burned while others missed the planting season), and southern Sudan.

"The deputy of the UNCHR recently cited the huge number of refugees around the world. Wars and unrest have caused many to leave their homes and not plant during this spring season. The most vulnerable in this spiraling cost of basic foods are: refugees, internally displaced people groups, urban poor not living on farms, and orphans."

Sin, the Heart, and the Holy Spirit

Sometimes I sin in ways I don't understand. I say something or do something selfish without any regard to how it may affect God or others.

I confess those specific sins and ask for forgiveness, but I know something more is needed. I know that underneath the overt sin lies another sin. Whatever that sin is, it has led me to commit the sin I am confessing. The problem is: I can't quite figure out what it is. As much as I want to, I can't dig deep enough to get it out in the open. I can't find the words to articulate it.

I want to repent; I want to confess; but how can I, when I can't put my finger on my sin?

I could pray, "Forgive me of all the sins I don't know about", but it feels so inadequate.

I could pray, "Listen to my heart", but I think that's the problem. My heart isn't right, and I don't know what is wrong with it.

During such times of frustrating prayer, I take some comfort in Romans 8:26-27...

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will" (NIV).

God knows I want to be right in my heart. He knows I want to repent and confess the sins I can't even articulate. When I am in a place where I cannot do it, his Spirit helps by going to the Father on my behalf to express the words I cannot find within my limited vocabulary. At that point, I can only thank God for the Holy Spirit and his help.

The Little Boys of Summer

Christopher before one of his games this year.

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood ran a challenging series of posts about boys and baseball on its blog this week. I found the series to be not only challenging, but also inspiring as we wrap up Christopher's first season of Little League baseball. The series may be found at

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Take-Me-Out-to-the-Ballgame-Baseball-Biblical-Masculinity-and-Godly-Character-Part-I

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Take-Me-Out-to-the-Ballgame-Baseball-Biblical-Masculinity-and-Godly-Character-Part-2

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Take-Me-Out-to-the-Ballgame-Baseball-Biblical-Masculinity-and-Godly-Character-Part-3

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Take-Me-Out-to-the-Ballgame-Baseball-Biblical-Masculinity-and-Godly-Character-Part-4

The Perfect God

"One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving" (Psalm 62:11-12, NIV).

A strong, but apathetic, God would be worthless.
A strong, but hateful, God would be a nightmare.
A loving, but weak, God would be pitiful.

Since the true God is both strong and loving, he is worthy of our trust and our worship.