Welcome Rose Elizabeth

We are happy to welcome Rose Elizabeth into our family! She was born on Monday, January 19th at 9:12pm. She weighed 7lbs. 7oz. and was 19 inches long.

We had a false alarm earlier in the day that sent us to the hospital, but after returning home and repacking, Jen started having contractions at 5pm. We got to the hospital at 6pm, and by 9:15 had a baby girl in our arms.... this one was quick!

She has passed all of her tests with flying colors, is a great eater, sleeper, and pooper--which means she grades ahead of the curve :).

Anyway, we're all doing fine. I realized when I went to post this that I haven't written anything on here in about 10 years, but I figured I'd put it up, just in case there are people still reading who aren't on facebook.

Here are some pics!

This is silly.

Okay. I know that we're in some tough times, financially. And I know that Obama needs to start picking his cabinet, etc. But what is this goofy "Office of the Presiden-Elect" all about? I've never heard of anything like this before. I remember back during the election season he had a special seal made up for himself as well.

I may be wrong, but it looks like Obama is a bit enamored with the trappings of power.

God's Grace

How do we know that God's grace toward us was not in vain? That we really, truly are experiencing the grace of God?

I used to think that grace was fairly passive, a mystical process that somehow changed us.

But I am reminded by these words from 1 Cor 15:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

God's grace will lead us to work--it will change our hearts and minds and wills in such a way that we will be inclined to put our very best on the line for the sake of the gospel. That's why there is no room for being lukewarm as a follower of Christ.

The key to understanding Paul's words here is to think about who gets the glory. If we work to EARN something from God, we get the glory and the bragging rights. God owes us. Grace is opposed to EARNING, but not opposed to EFFORT. As followers of Jesus, we work hard to serve God, to bring him glory, to give him everything we can, but it's not to earn points with God or merit our salvation--it's the evidence of true grace and repentance.

So work hard today, by the grace of God.

Pray for India

If you aren't already aware of the recent (and current) violence against Christians in India, please take some time to read about it and become more informed. And most of all, pray.

Most of the violence is happening in the state of Orissa and is against lower caste Hindus who have converted to Christianity. 50,000 Christians have fled the region and several hundred have been killed.

You may remember this area from the murder of an Australian missionary and his family back in 1999.

Two Perspectives on Abortion and Politics

This site does a great job of contrasting two very different political and theological positions on abortion. Check it out.

One, Donald Miller, thinks that working to end abortion through legal means is a "pipe dream" and is far too idealist for the realities of modern America. His goal is to reduce abortions (which is a good goal, I will agree), but he gives up any hope of actually ending the practice of abortion.

The other, John Piper, points out the clear biblical teaching that life is not the result of mere natural processes, but that we are spiritual beings knit together by God in the womb. Life begins at conception: we see a human being with unique DNA and the ability to grow and develop as a distinct human life. You just don't mess with that. If abortion is the willful and premeditated killing of an innocent human life, then the goal should be more than to simply reduce it, but eliminate it, regardless of how idealistic it may seem.

The elimination of slavery was probably seen as idealistic in the days of William Wilberforce, but he labored to ensure that blacks were treated as people and not property because it was morally right.

Political pragmatism is becoming the norm of the evangelical left (those like Donald Miller). They have given up any countercultural voice they may have had (by resisting the modern slavery of abortion) to join the Obama bandwagon. I won't argue that the Republicans are offering us anything radically new this election, but I'm amazed by the number of young Christians I meet who truly think that Obama and the Democrats represent biblical Christianity. It's a tragic deception that shows just how pragmatically oriented the church has become.

It's just a pipe dream... Well, it's a pipe dream I'll hold on to until I see Jesus face to face.

Where there is no vision, the people perish... Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)