vassal of the King

We made it safely to Israel and are having a wonderful time. Our first day was in London as we toured the city and went to the British Museum and saw many archaeological artifacts (yes I'm a nerd). Our first day in Jerusalem was a New Testament day. Then our second day was an Old Testament day. Today was our Jerusalem Approaches/Mt. of Olives day. Please continue to pray for us and we'll write more as time and opportunities allow. Blessings...

You can be in prayer for me and Elizabeth over the next few weeks as we travel around the land of Israel. We'll be going to many (I mean, many) sites and reading the passages which are pertinent to each site. I've made up a note packet for her (only 150 pages) of maps of Israel, Jerusalem, site diagrams, phone numbers, relevant Scripture passages, and of course, some Hebrew words to learn (e.g. "where's the bathroom?"). Please keep us in prayer these next few weeks. Blessings... PS -- The above picture is one of my favorite Tells in Israel -- can you guess which site it is? (Hint: See Jeremiah 34:7)

Here are a few ways in which a husband can (and should!) treat his wife as his companion: 1. By being with her and involving her . The husband must plan time to spend with her alone. He must also develop common interests with her. He must also let her know how she can help him and work alongside of him. He must call her from work. he must tell her about what he does (regularly/on a daily basis). 2. By seeking to understand her and help her . The husband must ask what she did today and then listen to her. He must inquire as to her well-being and then pay attention. He must plan a regular time to talk about her concerns and then pray/study/and help her find solutions. He must ask her how he can pray for her. He must pray with her. he must assist her when she needs it. 3. By appreciating her . He must thank God for her. He must think and verbalize specific qualities or deeds that he is thankful for. he must speak well of her to others. He must leave her a note of appreciation to encourage

I am aware of the wise warnings against using words like "all," "every," and "always" in what I say. Absolutizing one's pronouncements is dangerous. But I'm going to do it anyway. Here it is: It is impossible for any Christian who spends the bulk of his evenings, month after month, week upon week, day in and day out watching the major TV networks or contemporary videos to have a Christian mind. This is always true of all Christians in every situation! A biblical mental program cannot coexist with worldly programming. From: Hughes, R. Kent. Disciplines of a Godly Man (Wheaton: IL: Crossway, 2001), 71-72.

A few things that are on my mind as of late: First, just yesterday , from San Francisco and FOX news ( see also the LA Times' article ), "The California Supreme Court overturned a ban on gay marriage Thursday, calling such a ban unconstitutional and paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry." The justices released the 4-3 decision Thursday, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will support the decision. "I respect the Court's decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling." The cases were brought by the city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples, Equality California and a

Godly wisdom is pure and clean. That is, it is found where the pollution and defilement of sin is absent. Listen to how the old church father, Tertullian (c. 200AD) wrote regarding this: Be clothed with the silk of honesty, the fine linen of holiness and the purple of chastity; thus adorned, God will be your friend.

Since I finished my class class of my MDiv career on Wednesday, I have been able to do some pleasure reading. One book - which I used as a source for my biblical decision-making paper - which I have been reading is by Bruce Waltke entitled: Finding the Will of God: Pagan Notion? And this book is superb! In a nutshell, Waltke reveals that "finding the will of God" is a pagan notion which has a lot of pagan connotations back to the ancient world of casting lots and inquiring of some pagan "god" in order to find his "will." Regarding this, Waltke says: In the New Testament, God never calls us to "seek His will," but rather to seek His kingdom and do His will. We ought to stamp out of our vocabulary the nonbiblical and misleading expression "finding God's will." Rather than talk about "seeking the will of God," we ought to speak of following the guidance of God. This is not just semantically different, since He is calling us

HT: Justin Taylor. Blessings.

These are some notes I took from class last week. I thought they may be of help: 1. BUT...WHAT DO I DO IF I JUST CAN’T GET TO SLEEP? OR IF I WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND CAN’T GET BACK TO SLEEP? I must see the inability to sleep in the light of the sovereignty of God. Believe that these times represent opportunities from God. a. An Opportunity for Examination (1) Guilt? Sin? Lack of trust in God? Lack of biblical mindset? -this is where our thoughts should go. (2) Ps. 139:23-24 – ask God to search our hearts; know my anxious thoughts; lead me in the way everlasting. b. An Opportunity for Meditation (1) Ps. 119:148 (2) Ps. 16:7 (3) Ps. 77:6 – think of your favorite hymns and worship songs and sing them (to yourself! J). This is what Asaph does!! J (4) Ps. 77:11-12 (5) Ps. 4:4 c. An Opportunity for Communication (1) Ps. 4:1 -this person who has trouble w/ insomnia needs to call on the LORD (2) Ps. 77:1-2 (3) Phil. 4:6-7 (a) Pra