Mothers Day 2013

Mama and Kids

Sad Irony

from a "Parents Getting it Right" List

Kermit Gosnell and the Gospel

http://www.russellmoore.com/2013/04/12/kermit-gosnell-and-the-gospel/

Don Yer Hats!!!

The kids went to a construction themed birthday party today and brought home safety hats. Amazing the mileage we get out of the simple things at this age! 

Matthew Warren

Long, but so profound we didn't want to just post a link. 

The Asphyxiation of Hope: Matthew Warren (1986-2013) by Michael Patton

I got the news on the road to Florida. My family and I, along with my mother, are in Florida for the Gospel Coalition conference. After this, we will head directly to Dallas, where I will participate in the Christian Renaissance conference. News like this breaks me more than anything else. I fell completely apart. I probably should not be writing. I wept for a bit. We were already having so many other issues on the drive, and this nearly put me over the top.  I just wanted to turn around. The Gospel Coalition and Christian Renaissance conferences are incredible and so valuable . . . for a certain type of person. But for those who have a broken mind and broken spirit, where do they go? What conference is there for Christians who can't find any peace? What conference is there for those who have all the right doctrine and beliefs, but find no healing from them? What conference is there for those whose hope has been asphyxiated?

As I typed "2013 minus 27″ in my calculator to figure out when Matthew was born (1986), I realized I was too hurt to think deeply about that right now. How cold. For some reason, coming up with those numbers put me too close, so a distant calculator was better. But what good would these words be, if I selfishly let Matthew turn into just a set of numbers?  1986-2013. Let those numbers sink in.

I did not know Matthew Warren. I don't know his father, Rick Warren (at least not personally).  I am very familiar with his ministry. Unfortunately, most of the time I hear about Rick Warren is when someone tries to throw his life and ministry under the bus just to drum up some controversy. I have never joined this crowd in the slightest. Rick Warren's focus and heart are amazing. What he has done for so many to increase the glory of Christ is beyond measure. His book, The Purpose-Driven Life, is a wonderful book that lit a fire in the hearts of many stagnant Christians.

Yesterday, as I continued to drive after hearing the news, here is where my thoughts went.  Pastor Warren led millions to find their purpose in life.  Yet the one closest to him, the one for whom he undoubtedly felt the most responsible, the one whom he loved the most, could not find that same purpose to drive his life. I also bowed my head as I thought of critics, whose minds might be so poisoned as to make them want to turn the blame back on Rick Warren. I have not read or heard of any who have, but God help those who do.

You see, I know what it feels like, that darkness that led Matt to do what he did. I lived there for a short time. I know how easy it is to pull that trigger. I know what it feels like, the black hole that somehow drains you of every shred of hope you have. It is like hanging on a cross, where you cannot catch your breath anymore. Everyone around is quick to offer their "easy" solutions (which I did before I went through this), heaping shame atop the already insufferable pain. I came out of it, and I don't know how or why. Matthew never did.

My sister never did. Angie yelled in pain every night as she called on me to save her. I had never heard screams of emotional pain before. I had never experienced the wailing that a tortured soul could produce. The sound and the hurt were apocalyptic. "Michael! Get back up here!! You are a pastor. You are supposed to be able to do something." I walked downstairs each night for a year, lay my head on my pillow, and called on God to do something that he was not going to do—heal my helpless sister.

Put me in a den of atheists. Put me a room with people who hate me. Put me among those who deny God and my Lord, Jesus Christ. My faith will remain. But put me in the midst of people who are calling on God to save them from doubt, pain, and depression, and my faith will sink in the quicksand with them. Why? Because I don't know what to do.

Francis of Assisi used to sit with lepers and wash their wounds. He looked for those Christians who were falling apart, inside and out. God called Francis to "rebuild my church" and where does he go? He goes to those who could not be built back.

Rick Warren's ministry to his son was not unsuccessful. I am told he was with Matthew the preceding night. He was a devoted father. Even so, he will enter into a time of significant despair. Suicide is a death unlike any other. Those left behind imagine the thoughts, looks, and pain of the one who is finally finished. They picture the tears in their eyes and see them begin to pull the trigger. Angie died on the bed of a cold dark hotel room, legs folded, with Chuck Swindoll's Day by Day open in front of her. My other sister now has that book. She guards it like a treasure. Why? Who knows? We don't know how to process the pain and darkness of that moment, so we hold fast to a token that represents Angie's last thoughts or prayers. We do it as self-flagellation, penance for failing at a task we could not fulfill.

I don't know how Rick Warren and his wife (please don't leave her and the rest of the family out) are going to handle this. They may do like I did, and stay strong for many years for others' sake. But at some point, subconsciously, the dam will break and they won't know why (at least that is my experience). They may handle it like my mother did, with endless sleepless nights until the  pain eventually took her mind. They may handle it like my dad, who is plagued by unending guilt.

The questions are always the same: What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? Once they are exasperated and find no rest, they will have to find some other footing, or else remain completely adrift, without anchor in a sea of faith.

With regard to Angie, the anchoring conclusion for me is not the conclusion many others reach…yet I don't know where else to go, biblically. Who is at fault? God is. Not me. Not my mom. Not my dad. And not even Angie. For some reason, in this fallen world, God allowed darkness to rule her life to such a degree that she left this world in tears, crying to a God who did not show up in the way we all desired and prayed he would. His ways are not our ways. He is the one who works all thingsafter the counsel of his will (Eph. 1:11), including leaving countless people in pain as they cry out to him for relief.

I would imagine it was the same with Matthew. I don't suppose that God was a cheerleader in his pain, hoping that he would listen to the right advice or finally find the right pill. God took him violently. God took him darkly. And we have to accept this sometimes dark, violent, God as the one who loved him (and Angie) more than we can ever possibly imagine. If you can have that type of faith. . . if, by some miracle, you can drop that anchor quickly, you can continue your ministry in the hopes that you will join him one day.

I don't know what kind of advice or hope to give those who have lost someone who was outside of the faith. I am sorry.

To all of those like Matthew: I do not give you permission to die. Don't mistake my understanding for permission. The darkness that will overshadow the lives of the ones you leave behind is a darkness so terrible, no sun can fully break through it this side of heaven.

To Rick Warren and family: I am truly sorry for your loss. May Matthew rest from his pain, finally. May your pain one day turn to joy. Until then, may the Francis of Assisis of this world break through the judgment you feel, whether from within or without. May you be able to forgive all. May the asphyxiation of hope that Matthew felt be relieved in the arms of Christ, who loves you and gave himself up for you.

Sent from my iPhone

Happy Birthday Lily Grace Olsen!!!!!!

Our Lily Grace is 3 years old today. It was a beautiful spring day full of fun with presents and cake, and this evening with pink birthday cupcakes shared with her friends from church. And Lily got to choose her birthday dinner, which she enthusiastically decided would be: broccoli!! We decided to throw some grilled cheeseburgers in for good measure! Happy birthday baby girl. You are a blessing beyond words... our cup runneth over.

Easter Greetings

We've just finished viewing the film "Lincoln". As the spiritual reality of the freedom of Easter dawns across America this morning, it has been greatly impressed upon us that, if not for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, what occurred under our 16th President with the crushing of slavery would have been nothing more than a dream.

How privileged and undeservedly blessed we all are to have been born into a time when so much of what Christ purchased for the world has come to fruition under the political and constitutional umbrella of freedom that we as Americans freely take for granted every day.

James, the earthly brother of our Lord, may well have been speaking of our Christian brother in arms, Abraham Lincoln, when he said:

"...he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." -James 1:25

The apostle Paul echoed this when, speaking of the blood-bought spiritual man, he says:

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

So as we all "eagerly groan within ourselves", we look forward to the day that all of God's redeemed children are fully and finally delivered from our bodies of death, and we come together to look upon the glorious face of:

"him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." -Revelation 1:5&6

Amen.

Happy Easter to all.

-EnJ

The Most Important Day in History: Reflecting on Good Friday

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Several days ago I did an extensive Google search on the "most important day in history". The answers were obviously very subjective, but the results were fascinating. Most were centered around war: the end of the American civil war; the birth of the atomic age at Hiroshima; July 4^th, 1776. But also named were events like the invention of the light bulb, Henry Ford's first Model A or that great moment that Al Gore invented the Internet. And of course there were some, albeit few, who put religious events at the top: the conversion of Emperor Constantine, the birth (rebirth?) / enlightenment of the Buddha, Luther's challenge to the church at Wittenberg or the advent of the King James Bible. But fewer yet referenced the life of Christ or, to specify a day, his crucifixion as being "the most important". 

A few years back, writing for Newsweek, editor Jon Meacham called history's "two most significant events the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth." It would be difficult to argue. 'Christian Post' columnist Lane Palmer laid it out like this:

"If Jesus had never been born, the world would be a much more primitive place where women are slaves of free men, children are sacrificed to idols, and the concepts of charity and love are all but missing from society. If Jesus had never been born, education and science would look very different and much more primitive, and most likely the United States of America would have just been an unrealized historical dream. But worst of all, if Jesus had never been born, there would exist only one spiritual destination for our eternal souls; a dark and tormenting place where we would be eternally separated from God.  Jesus Christ came to earth as a man to live a perfect life, die a horrible death, and rise from the grave so that the penalty for the world's sins would be paid in full…and eternal life made available to anyone who puts their faith in Him for salvation."

Palmer's summary could be expounded on ad-infinitum. For all of the liberal, revisionist history that the church of Christ receives nowadays, the truth when honestly weighed and considered is too dark to even imagine. Christianity has far and away fed and clothed more poor, liberated more oppressed and done greater good than any other movement in human history. And of course for the believer, Christ's death secures our redemption from sin and reconciles us to God. 

And it all began on that horrible day that this obscure Jewish rabbi submitted himself to the most humiliating and excruciating torture ever devised by fallen mankind ('excruciating' comes from the Latin word 'excruciates' that literally means, "from the cross"). 

Jesus' subsequent resurrection so shocked and emboldened his followers that this ragtag group deserted their former lives and rushed to spread the news (Gospel) of salvation to every corner of the Roman Empire. History tells us that, except for one, all of Christ's disciples fully embraced horrific deaths and considered it their highest honor to die for the message that their Messiah commanded them to preach "to the ends of the world".

Good Friday. It is infinitely good for us now. But on that day, roughly 1985 years ago, Jesus suffered "the most wicked fate, on the cruelest creation of man".

So today, we have the opinions of bloggers and historians, and of believers and non-believers. But what about scripture? Is there solid, biblical merit in declaring this day "the most important day in human history"? Should it reside in our hearts and affections as paramount above all of our other holidays and traditions, including Christmas, or maybe even Resurrection Sunday?

The last survivor, the Apostle John, imprisoned on the island of Patmos, his body old and broken from years of torture, was gifted a terrifying vision. Strange, enigmatic and mysterious, the aged "disciple whom Jesus loved", under the command of Christ himself, applied pen to parchment and scribed for us "The Revelation of Jesus Christ".  Within these pages are revealed the end of human history and the consummation of the ages, when Christ finally wipes away every tear, death is vanquished and He makes all things new.

Beginning in Revelation chapter 5, we are presented with the vision of a Lamb, and the prophet says:

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
 and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
 be praise and honor and glory and power,
 for ever and ever!"

What follows after this is the entirety of the book of Revelation calling Jesus Christ, almost exclusively, "The Lamb of God", "the Lamb who was slain," and proclaiming the redeeming power of "the blood of the Lamb." All of this is the culmination of what began with Moses in Egypt, where the blood of the sacrificial lamb was the salvation of the Hebrews, as Death himself passed-over the Jews and slew the firstborn of every Egyptian household.

And then came Jesus. His cousin John the Baptist, believed to be a seer prophet who could see into the spirit realm, saw him by the Jordan river and declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" At the apex of human history, as the final atonement for sin and separation from the Creator, the Lamb that God Himself provided willingly became the final sacrifice.

Good Friday is a holiday that scripture tells us will be celebrated for all of eternity, as forever and ever we see our great and victorious King as God sees Him, the slaughtered Lamb, who is:

"Worthy to take the scroll
   and to open its seals, 
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
 from every tribe and language and people and nation"  -Revelation 5:9 

     

The verdict has long been established. The resurrection of Easter (and our subsequent resurrection from death) is the vindication of Christ for what he suffered.  It is God's endorsement of the perfect sacrifice of His Son. But it reminds us that the Word of God and all of eternity declare and resound with the echoes of "the Lamb slain before the foundation of the earth." 

It is and forever will be the most important day in the history of the world. 

"It was my sin that held him there

 Until it was accomplished

 His dying breath has brought me life

 I know that it is finished"

Oh come, let us adore Him!

-E          

Empty Hands

He rode into town on a white horse

With nothing in his hand

He came to gather his people

And take them to their promised land

When he came, he knew there would be bloodshed

But still no violence made his plans

He came to fight in a battle, with no guns or money

But with his empty hands

 

They said, "hey boy, what you looking at"

As they eyed his dreaded mane

He said,

"My Father has sent me, I've come back to reclaim,

The children whose hearts were so whole and pure

Now it's you who'll die in pain"

So they lynched the man, who fooled the world

And all the children gathered

In his empty hands

                                 -Lenny Kravitz

 

 

The Creator on His Knees

On Maundy Thursday the Creator of the universe bent down to his knees to wash the dirt from the callused feet of his followers. And as he scrubbed away the dirt, he scrubbed from his Bride all possible justifications for ethnic and economic hierarchies. He radically upset cultural norms. And now he calls us to go low in foot-washing-like service to one another.

But most importantly, Maundy Thursday reminds us the Son of Man willingly came to earth as a lowly slave, to serve us, to be crushed for us, to free us from the sin slavery that leads to eternal death. On his knees Jesus enacts for us a parable of the cross.

The disciples could not yet see the symbolic anticipation. The full explanation for why Jesus washed their feet would only become clear after the blood-bought atonement on Good Friday. Then the disciples would look back and understand the act of deep humility in the cross that brought us a once-for-all, head-to-toe, cleansing from all our sin.

An Easter Invitation

Our church is hosting Easter at Rockford's beautiful Coronado Theater. Our brother Chris has taken the invitation to new heights.  We just don't know how to top that!!!  :) 

Father & Daughter Phelps perform "Agnus Dei"

Simply beautiful.

 

Sledding

We took a day off of everything and played in the snow. Wow, playing is exhausting!

Chinese New Year Celebration

Snow Babies

40 Years

We Know They Are Killing Children—All of Us Know

by John Piper | January 22, 2013

One biblical principle of justice is that the more knowledge we have that our action is wrong, the more guilty we are, and the more deserving of punishment (Luke 12:47–48). The point of this blog post is that we know what we are doing — all America knows. We are killing children. Pro-choice and Pro-life people both know this.

But before I show that, let's clarify what the Supreme Court did forty years ago today. InRoe v. Wade the Supreme Court in effect made abortion on demand untouchable by law. The way this was done was with two steps.

One step was to say, laws may not prevent abortion, even during the full nine months, if the abortion is "to preserve the life or health of the mother." The other step was to define "health" as "all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman's age — relevant to the well-being of the patient."

For forty years this has meant that any perceived stress is a legal ground for eliminating the child. We have killed fifty million babies. And what increases our guilt as a nation is that we know what we are doing. Here's the evidence that we know we are killing children.

1. Anecdotally, abortionists will admit they are killing children.

Many simply say it is the lesser of two evils. I took an abortionist out to lunch once, prepared to give him ten reasons why the unborn are human beings. He stopped me, and said, "I know that. We are killing children." I was stunned. He said, "It's simply a matter of justice for women. It would be a greater evil to deny women the equal right of reproductive freedom." Which means women should be no more encumbered by the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy than men. That equal freedom from the burden of bearing unwanted children is the basis for abortion that President Obama refers to again and again when he talks about equal rights for women. We know we are killing children.

2. States treat the killing of the unborn as a homicide.

We know what we are doing because 38 States (including Minnesota) treat the killing of an unborn child as a form of homicide. They have what are called "fetal homicide laws."

It is illegal to take the life of the unborn if the mother wants the baby, but it is legal to take the life of the unborn if she doesn't. In the first case the law treats the fetus as a human with rights; in the second case the law treats the fetus as non-human with no rights.

Humanness is defined by the desire of the strong. Might makes right. We reject this right to define personhood in the case of Nazi anti-Semitism, Confederate race-based slavery, and Soviet Gulags. When we define the humanness of the unborn by the will of the powerful we know what we are doing.

3. Fetal surgery treats the unborn as children and patients.

High risk pregnancy specialist, Dr. Steve Calvin, in a letter some years ago to the Arizona Daily Star, wrote, "There is inescapable schizophrenia in aborting a perfectly normal 22 week fetus while at the same hospital, performing intra-uterine surgery on its cousin." When the unborn are wanted, they are treated as children and patients. When they are not wanted, they are not children. We know what we are doing.

4. Being small does not disqualify personhood.

The five-foot-eight frame of a teenage son guarantees him no more right to life than the 23-inch frame of his little sister in her mother's arms. Size is morally irrelevant. One inch, 23 inches, 68 inches — does not matter. It is morally irrelevant in deciding who should be protected. We know what we are doing in killing the smallest.

5. Not having developed reasoning does not disqualify personhood.

A one-month-old infant, nursing at his mother's breast, does not have reasoning powers. But only a few dare argue that infanticide is therefore acceptable. Most know better. Outside and inside the womb the infant cannot yet reason, but is a human person. We know what we are doing.

6. Being in the womb does not disqualify human personhood.

Location or environment does not determine a right to life. Scott Klusendorf asks, "How does a simple journey of seven inches down the birth canal suddenly transform the essential nature of the fetus from non-person to person?" We know what we are doing.

7. Being dependent on mommy does not disqualify personhood.

We consider persons on respirators or dialysis to be human beings. The unborn cannot be disqualified from human personhood because they are dependent on their mother for food and oxygen. In fact, we operate on the exact opposite principle: The more dependent a little one is on us, the more responsibility we feel to protect him, not the less. We know what we are doing.

(Those last four observations, #4-7, were summed up by Scott Klusendorf under the acronym SLED: Size, Level of development, Environment, Degree of dependence — none is morally relevant for the definition of human life.)

8. The genetic make up of humans is unique.

The genetic make up of a human is different from all other creatures from the moment of conception. The human code is complete and unique from the start. Once that was not known. Now we know. 

9. All the organs are present at eight weeks of gestation.

At eight weeks of gestation all the organs are present. The brain is functioning, the heart pumping, the liver making blood cells, the kidney cleaning the fluids, the finger has a print. Yet almost all abortions happen later than this date. We know what we are doing.

10. We have seen the photographs.

The marvel of ultrasound has given a stunning window into the womb that shows the unborn, for example, at 8 weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. Watch this four-minute video of the developing unborn child. We know that they are children.

11. When two rights conflict, the higher value should be protected.

We know the principle of justice that when two legitimate rights conflict, the right that protects the higher value should prevail. We deny the right to drive at 100 miles per hour because the value of life is greater than the value of being on time or getting thrills. The right of the unborn not to be killed and the right of a woman not to be pregnant may be at odds. But they are not equal rights. Staying alive is more precious and more basic than not being pregnant. We know what we are doing when we kill a child.

---

For Christians who believe the Bible, we could add at least ten more reasons why we know what is happening in abortion, and why it is wrong. But the aim here is threefold.

1. To make clear that we will not be able to defend ourselves with the claim of ignorance. We knew. All of us.
2. To solidify our conviction to resist this horrific evil.
3. To intensify our prayer and our preaching toward gospel-based soul-renovation in our land, because hardness of heart, not ignorance, is at the root of this 
4. Raise Your Hand If You Agree

Brushed & Ready for Bed

Presidential Pro-Life Marching Orders

Whoa. This is really powerful! Please share!!!

"Because He Lives" from Passion 2013

David Crowder performed this week at the just-ended, 4 day Passion 2013 conference in Atlanta. This is a beautiful rendition of a Christian classic. The intensity of worship is tangible. 60,000 college students lifting high the name of Jesus.

New Casa