Nicholas and I loaded up after church yesterday and drove to Erick to hunt with our good friend, Don Loyd. This was the last day of a special doe weekend where Oklahoma hunters are allowed to harvest one additional doe before packing up the gear for the season.

If his dad was half-a-shot, Nicholas would be telling you this story while chewing on a fresh piece of deer jerky... but it just wasn't meant to be.

We still had an incredible time.

There is nothing like sitting in a blind with your son in one of the most beautiful places on this earth. The highlight was walking back to the truck at night, holding my son's hand, under the cover of a million stars.

Tonight, we had a wonderful Christmas Eve service at Heritage where we worshiped the one and only savior, Jesus Christ.

As we tucked the kids in bed tonight, we reminded them of what a great day we have in store for us tomorrow as we celebrate the day that Jesus came to live among us and to save us from our sins.

Merry Christmas!

John 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

We read this quote this week on the Truth For Life website:

In the matter of prayer, there can be no doubt that when the books are opened and the record of God’s dealings is made plain, it will be obvious that - to paraphrase Winston Churchill - "Never in the field of [spiritual] conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Part 4 of Alistair Begg's reminder that All of Our Times (not just some of them), are in God's Hands:

4) Prosperity should not be the occasion of pride.
A proud or arrogant individual is someone who has never come to grips with providence. The person who delights in saying, "I did it my way," puffs out his chest congratulating himself and is on the wrong end of discovering the doctrine of God’s providence.

The degree to which I boast of what I have achieved is an indication that I have not come to terms with the fact that my times are in His hands. It is an indication that I have not appreciated the words of Deuteronomy 8, which clearly tells me that when I experience wealth, it is the Lord who gives us the ability to produce it, and in doing so He confirms his covenant with us. When the doctrine of providence takes root within our hearts, we begin to say, "My times are in your hands…" and we recognize that prosperity is no occasion for pride.

To prevent a revolt from the grandparents, we thought we should post a few pics of the family from the past few weeks.









The end of November brought about deer season in Erick. This is the view from my favorite hunting spot that I call, "Hunting Spot #1."


Lastly, we had a pretty day in November and we decided to head to the lake. After the kids studies were done, we went to the Illinois River and had a rock skipping contest.

From Alistair Begg's thoughts about keeping tough times in perspective:

3) I am being trained in the school of God's providence.
The Christian affirms the truth that God has not abandoned the world He created — that is deism. Nor has He become absorbed by His creation, which is pantheism.

Rather, the Christian believes God is distinct from what He has made, and He is working out everything in relationship to His creation according to His plan. By the same power and divine energy in which He created this universe, He preserves all of His creatures. He operates in all that comes to pass in the world, and He directs everything to its appointed end to bring "…everything into conformity with the purpose of His will and to conform people to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As strange as it seems, the Sovereign Creator fashions everything in time and history to this eventuality: He will redeem for Himself a people who are His very own.

What does this mean for us? We are not trapped in the grip of a blind force or being tossed about by chance. It means we are being trained in the school of God’s providence. It means that our times are in His hands.

Part 2 of Alistair Begg's reminder to Christians that in times of great uncertainty, we need to know that our lives are governed and ruled by the LORD Himself. We don't live by chance or blind fate! You can rest in that.

His thoughts come from Psalm 31. This is his second of nine reminders that "our times are in His hands." You can listen to Alistair Begg's sermons by clicking this link: www.truthforlife.org.

Have a good weekend!

This good-looking kid is our nephew, Adam. And as you can see, he shot his first buck last week and we couldn't be happier for him.

I'm telling you, this guy is an outdoorsman in the making. He was sitting with his dad in a tree stand, when this nice deer strolled in front of them.

Congratulations, Adam!

We received a wonderful E-mail this week from one of our favorite preachers, Alistair Begg. He sent a note out to all of his listeners to remind them that in times of great uncertainty, we as Christians, have reassuring certainty.

His thoughts come from Psalm 31 and contain nine reminders for the Christian to remember. They were so good that we wanted to share them with you - part one is below. If you've never listened to Alistair Begg, you can listen to him everyday by clicking on his website: www.truthforlife.org.

Enjoy the read, Christian. Your times are in God's hands!


1) I am not trapped in the grip of blind force.
The blind impersonal force has been referred to simply as “nature” for centuries, just as it is today. You only have to turn on the Weather Channel to hear talk of Mother Nature and her forces.

This notion is more profoundly evident in the pantheistic ideas of earth prayers that are frequently propounded not only at New Age gatherings, but unfortunately, also in many church buildings. The idea that we are viewed as individual cells in a single global organism that constitutes the earth. God is not distinct from His creation, but instead, is part of it. Have you embraced this philosophy too? If so, then how do you sleep at night? When you wake up in the morning, what puts a spring in your step? Are you living life trapped, caged by a blind, cold, merciless fate, destined to die and go to an unknown eternal destination?

One of the most distinctive features of the Christian today is the way in which we are able to articulate our view of the world. The believer says, "My times are in your hands, and I am not trapped by a blind force."

The PCA has a quarterly magazine called By Faith. It's very well written and I always enjoy reading it. In the most recent edition, there was an interview with author Gary Haugen about his newly released book, Just Courage. Mr. Haugen was a former Director for the United Nations Genocide Investigations in Rwanda.

As a husband and dad who likes to minimize risk to protect my family, this was a very interesting topic to me.

Q. Why is risk-free living opposed to God's will for believers?

A. I think that many Western Christians believe that if they somehow insulate themselves and their families from the dangers they perceive in the world, they will find security and peace that will bring a deep and real experience of God. But this is not what we find in Scripture. We find that God is calling us to follow Him into the hard things, the scary things, and the dark corners of this world in order to bring His goodness, His truth and His light. And we find that in order to be brave enough to walk with God on this journey, we must choose not to be safe.

Q. How would you encourage believers to live a life of courage?

A. First, do less, and reflect and pray more. At 11:00 a.m., we gather together to pray - every day, in every International Justice Mission office in 12 countries. Over time, we have found that in the struggle for justice, there isn't much meaningful work that is actually going to get doing unless we spend at least an hour every day "doing nothing" - nothing but seeking the God of justice.

Second, search the promises of Scripture and take a risk. As you wrestle with a decision, ask yourself, "Am I being safe, or am I being brave?" And trust Jesus to take care of you so well that it is actually safe to be brave as you follow Him. Take a risk and live as if the promises of Scripture were true -- because they are.

Third, embark on a lifelong journey of spiritual formation and renovation. We do not become brave by sheer willpower. No, the courage God longs to give us comes through doing things that require it, and through reformation of the heart. God does not call us to try to be brave - He calls us to train for it.

Saw this headline in the news today:


When I read it, I wasn't totally surprised. Most in our community would say that our teenage years are the ones filled with more rebellion and self-centeredness than others. But it's these "no-one's-going-to-tell-me-what-to-do" teenage years, if unrepented of, that produce adults who go on to lie, steal and cheat - but with your 401(k) savings, instead.

Not what I believe our founding fathers had in mind when they settled this great land.

There were a few surprises in the article that I found alarming:

Despite no significant gender differences on exam cheating, students from non-religious independent schools had the lowest cheating rate, 47 percent, compared to 63 percent of students attending religious schools.

"As bad as these numbers are, it appears they understate the level of dishonesty exhibited by America's youth," the study warned, noting than more than a fourth of the students (26 percent) admitted they had lied on at least one or two of the survey questions.

"Despite these high levels of dishonesty, these same kids have a high self-image when it comes to ethics."

Some 93 percent of students indicated satisfaction with their own character and ethics, with 77 percent saying that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

The independent study properly pointed out that the resulting information "doesn't bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation's politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals."

The article made me think of one of the lessons in the kids' Polite Moments book I've blogged about previously. With so much biblical wisdom in this little book, maybe we should find a way to get it into the schools' curriculum to help bring some balance in training tomorrow's adults. Better yet, as believing parents, let's make sure we're training our own children.

"I Will Be Back In Six Hours"

Having left you a list of jobs to do, your employer leaves for the rest of the day. Your work while not being watched should be work that pleases the Lord. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Col. 3:23

Do your jobs thoroughly in the order in which you are expected to do them. Your emplyoyer should be able to trust you to work alone because you have endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Heb 11:27 Prov. 15:3

While your employer is absent, you have many unspoken responsibilities. Stay alert as you work, and be aware of what is going on around you. Whereas before you had someone to turn to in time of trouble, now you may be required to make more serious decisions if something goes wrong. Gen 39:4 Be ready to answer the phone, to meet someone at the door, or to take on other responsibilities as necessary. Prov. 25:19

WHO THEN IS A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? BLESSED IS THAT SERVANT, WHOM HIS LORD WHEN HE COMETH SHALL FIND SO DOING. Matthew 24:45,46

Jesus just keeps showing his face everywhere. Even today, there were two accounts.

The first comes from Kingsville, Texas where a report says the image of Jesus showed up on a light pole in an alley way.

The second story comes from Palm Springs, where the image of Jesus has shown up on a doggy door. What did the owner do with this pearl of great price? Put it on E-Bay, of course - with a starting bid of $990.

As odd as these "Jesus sightings" seem to me, it does bring to mind a really interesting sermon I listened to last week by one of my favorite pastors, Alistair Begg.

Pastor Begg was preaching on the second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself an idol
in the form of anything in heaven above
or on the earth beneath
or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those
who love me and keep my commandments

In my simple mind, I always thought this commandment simply prohibited the worship of any carved idol (as in another god). But in reading the Heidelberg Catechism and listening to Pastor Begg, I'm learning that it's much, much more.

Listen to these Catechism questions from the Heidelberg:

96. What is God's will for us in the second commandment?
That we in no way make any image of God nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded in his word.

97. May we then not make any image at all?
God can not and may not be visibly portrayed in any way.

Although creatures may be portrayed, yet God forbids making or having such images if one's intention is to worship them or to serve God through them.

98. But may not images be permitted in the churches as teaching aids for the unlearned?
No, we shouldn't try to be wiser than God.

He wants his people instructed by the living preaching of his Word --
not by idols that cannot even talk.

In G.I. Williamson's commentary on the Second Commandment in the Westminster Confession, he addresses the issue of pictures of Jesus (pg. 292).

The Bible presents no information whatever about the personal appearance of Jesus Christ, but it does teach that we are not to think of him as he may have appeared "in the days of his flesh," but as he is today in heavenly glory, in his estate of exaltation.

Inasmuch as the Bible presents no data about the personal appearance of our Savior, all artists' pictures of him are wholly imaginary and constitute only the artists' ideas of his character and appearance.

And this was a point of Alistair Begg.

How can a created man - with limits to his creativity, understanding and knowledge - capture the essence of God? The artist may render his interpretation of Christ as a compassionate man or a determined man or a loving man or a teaching man. But would any of these pictures be able to describe to the viewer who God is?

The most striking point Begg made in his sermon was his observation that many believers identify themselves as Christians with the symbol that best describes Christ - The Cross. But he goes on to remind us that as absolutely wonderful as the cross is to the Christian, the story didn't begin there and it doesn't end there. Christ, who gave his life for us on the cross, was also present at the creation of the world, and is, as we are speaking, sitting right now at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, ruling the world and interceding on our behalf.

Is there any way that any picture or symbol can properly express our God?

Begg's ending point was a strong reminder that the great "I AM" describes himself to us in words and He's given us a a great book in the Bible to show us what He's like.

A much better view of God, if you ask me, than a light pole or doggy door.