Vocational Visions

A Book Review

2011-03-18T04:23:00.000-07:00

God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of “Love Wins”

Thank you Kevin Deyoung!

Man Not an Oyster

2011-03-14T04:50:00.000-07:00

A gem from Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887):

"When God wanted sponges and oysters, he made them, and put one on a rock,
and the other in the mud. When he made man, he did not make him to be a sponge
or an oyster; he made him with feet, and hands, and a head, and a heart, and
vital blood, and a place to use them, and said to him, 'Go work.'"

Getting Sidetracked

2011-02-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post for a while, but I’m continually getting sidetracked. Since my last post, we have had the snowiest winter since I’ve lived in New England. The snow is a great reminder of how God covers our sin (even here in New England). I have also been blessed to see that God is afoot here, with Churches preaching and focusing on the Word of God. (See Jared Wilson, Wes Pastor, and Andy Needham.)

Moving back to my childhood home in Norfolk, MA caused us to change churches. We are now at Emmanuel Baptist Church, my church home since birth, as well as Colleen’s during her teen years. It was in this fellowship we met and married and were blessed to have a pastor and congregation stand with us and pledge to hold us accountable to the Word of God. They did this in more ways than I believe they ever imagined.
Colleen has not worked a day outside the home since our first child was born, not because we knew that we should honor God’s design (See Collin Hansen) but because we agreed in Pre-marital counseling with Pastor Gary Morris that she would.
We were given a foundation of Christ under us and through His Grace that has brought us to several other decisions; owning our own business, homeschooling the children, moving to the farm and the best choice has been to practice family worship daily for the past 7 years (See Joel Beeke's talk at the 2010 Desiring God Pastor's Conference).
When others look at our lives, we hear them say “That’s good for you,” or “If I had time.” We are blessed that the Lord has given us the strength to make some hard decisions, but He would do that for anyone who asks. As new decisions and choices arise, He continues to give us the strength to make God honoring, not easy decisions. I am so thankful that we have not looked for man to pat us on the back for the choices we have made; for man will always fail us.
There have, however, been many along the way that have helped us; our families, Heritage Christian Church, Pastor Ray Pritchard, the CSB family, Calvary Memorial Church and many others. We trust that this list will continue to grow through the years.

We are not bothered that our lives are different that those around us. We are only saddened when we hear fellow believers are upset with their lives or the way their families are turning out, and then they off-handedly condemn us for the way we live.
I am not saying we have it all right; but I will say we have a big God and I love loving Him with my life and with the life of my family.
To hear that the world is falling apart and to have folks come to us because they see something different, gives us joy. It gives us an opportunity to tell them about the difference that God has made in our lives.
We don’t have any big, extravagant, lightning bolt experiences; instead we have simply been plodding Christians (See Kevin DeYoung).
I am grateful that Christ called me His when I was 4, and that my parents showed me His love even when it hurt. I love the Church even though it is fallen (as I am). I find true comfort and peace knowing that as I plod through (sometimes looking very different from those around me) Scripture is my ally and it is only because of the cross that I desire this life to be lived for God’s glory alone.

May Christ’s love unify us to glorify Him; so that they will know we are Christians by our love.

The Pilgrims of New England

2010-11-24T04:21:00.001-08:00

We meet again, the children of the Pilgrims, to remember our fathers. The two centuries and more which interpose to hide them from our eye – centuries so brilliant with progress, so crowded with incidents, so fertile in accumulations – dissolve for the moment as a curtain of cloud, and we are once more at their side. The grand and pathetic series of their story unrolls itself about us, vivid as if with the life of yesterday. All the stages by which they were slowly formed from the general mind and character of England, the tenderness of conscience, the sense of duty, force of will, trust in God, the love of truth, and the spirit of liberty by which they were advanced from Englishmen to Pilgrims, from Pilgrims to the founders of a free church, and the fathers of a free people, in a new world, come before us.

The voyage of the “Mayflower;” the landing; the slow winter’s night of disease and famine in which so many, the god, the beautiful, the brave, sank down and died, giving place at last to the spring-dawn of health and plenty, - come before us. The meeting with the old red race on the hill beyond the brook; the treaty of peace unbroken for half a century; the organization of a Republican form of government in the “Mayflower’s” cabin; the planting of these kindred , coeval, and auxiliary institutions, without which such a government could no more live than the uprooted tree can put forth leaf and flower, - come before us. And with these come institutions to diffuse pure religion, good learning, austere morality, plain living, and high thinking; the laying deep and sure, far down on the Rock of Ages, the foundation-stone of the imperial structure whose dome now swells towards Heaven.

All these things, high, holy, and beautiful, come thronging fresh on our memories, such as we have heard them from our mother’s lips; such as we have heard them from history kings, of religion, and of liberty. They gather themselves about us, familiar, certainly, but of an interest that can never die, - an interest heightened by their relations to that eventful future into which they have expanded, and through whose light they shine.

It is their festival we have come to keep to-day. It is their tabernacle we have come to build. It is not ourselves, our present, or our future; it is not political economy, or political philosophy, of which you would have me to-day say a word. We would speak of certain valiant, good peculiar men, our fathers. We would wipe the dust from a few old, noble urns. We would recall the forms and lineaments of the honored dead, - forms and feathers which the grave has not changed; over which the grave has no power; robed in the vestments and all radiant with the hues of an assured immortality.

Where There is No Vision, Part 2

2010-11-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

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

The purpose of a Godly vision should be to glorify God by enjoying Him. I often hear or read about families or college students going into an enormous amount of debt to secure a degree and we call this a vision. We as a society are on a hamster wheel of education. We need this education to secure a better job so we can make enough money to provide said better education for our children and so on. When does the cycle stop? Should I instead ask, what kind of education is most able to drive us to the Godly vision He has set for us and those we love?
In the book of proverbs God’s word says true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. This wisdom begins with the fear of God Himself. Are we educating our children to fear God or are we educating them to fear failing to secure the worlds ideal?
My point being, are we training our children to desire the things of the world? Dare I say that we might be driving them toward the worldly pursuit of a better job, fancier car, the right house in the right neighborhood etc…? Are we helping them fill their lives so full of the stuff the world says they need to have; that we are helping them shut out what is truly important?
How do we get off the roller coaster? One way we saw to stop this cycle was to home school our children. We are able to teach our children from a Biblical worldview. Searching the Word to find what might be God’s best choice for each one. We can teach them daily that fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and education is a gift that can help us grow into men and women who can use this education to bring glory to their Creator. I pray it will make them wiser than I.
Whose standards are we measuring against? Should we not be concerned with God’s standards alone? I will be held accountable for the things my children are taught. As I stumble through this life, I can only claim God’s word as my standard and thus, if He so wills, my children will do all He has taught them for the generation to follow.

Where There is No Vision, Part 1

2010-11-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

In response to Samantha’s post:

I believe she hit the nail on the head. As Proverbs 29:18 clearly states, all of God’s people need to have vision. We always need to look to the future and strive to work to the glory of God. If our visions are Godly, He will bless them.

I do not know how many times I have heard the catch phrase “one day at a time” and have had to bite my tongue. In one sense this can be a valid statement. . On the other hand, we are not to be revolutionaries in coming up with the new and improved ways to define God’s way of doing things. Ecclesiastes is adamant that there is nothing new under the sun. However, we need to be visionaries as we take dominion of the Earth for the King of kings.
How do we become “plodding Christians” as we become visionaries for the kingdom? If I may, we need to have visions that are Godly. What do I mean by this? As we secure a vision, we must ask the Creator what His vision for us is. He will guide. That is His promise. Here is what I believe He has shown me:
The first commands to Adam in the Garden of Eden are (Gen. 1:28) be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth.
1. Get that vision of subduing the earth, or at least our corner of it.
3. We do this by raising children to the glory of God. Having them catch the same vision, holding tightly to their heart strings and guiding them along.
4. At the end of the Old Testament the Bible says that if we as fathers do not turn our hearts toward our children and our children do not turn their hearts toward their fathers, God will strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. God’s word is clear; He wants Godly offspring to further the kingdom vision. We mustn’t strive for the worlds defining lifestyle. We must trust the Lord’s best for us is at hand. Whether it looks perfect or not…
5. I look forward to sitting at the great banquet table with my Father where we get to eat the fatted calf that was raised on the hill, the one in a thousand that I was managing for Him, and as I pass the dishes around I notice all those that I had lived with and discussed the Gospel with as I walked this proving ground. What a blessing to pass that simple vision on to my children.

Legalism

2010-09-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

I don't believe roller coasters are something Christians should participate in. Even those who enjoy them confess there is a fear factor involved, a "thrill" if you will. God has given us this natural fear sensation for our good, not our amusement. (We certainly don't have any indication in Scripture that Jesus pursued entertainment of any kind.) In addition, the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear and that perfect love casts out all fear. To cultivate fear, especially for the purpose of reveling in fear is spiritually perverted. Given all the suffering in the world, including that endured by our Christian brothers and sisters. Riding roller coasters, at the very least seems like a poor use of precious time and an obvious violation of Philippians 4:8. ~Thanks to http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2010/07/it-is-easy-to-do-this.html

It is very easy to think this way. We can pull scriptures out of context to meet our own needs. We live out our lives in our own ways and may even make a very good case for whether or not to wear a Red Sox head covering Vs Yankees Head covering, wash your hands with water or use sanitizer only, drink only Welch’s grape juice, read only scripture (maybe the New Living Translation), no age segregated teachings, or even elders that are right out of seminary approaching a church in need of leadership but the young man knows he does not meet the qualifications due the fact he is not married with children, and the list goes on.

What are we to do in a fallen world as ours? Go to scripture where truth is found! Allow the Spirit that lives within shed the light. By all means, read the dead guys that have finished the race well. Always have a body close by that is ready and willing to hold you close and lift you up in prayer. Our actions should be the catalyst used to hold others accountable in the areas that are somewhat non-descript in scripture. We need not place our selves on pedestals to point out the problems with everyone else. God bless and find the joy in the Lord, His burden is light. Glorify God by enjoying Him and all He has created!

You Can't Start in a Dream World

2010-09-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

A Guest Post by Samantha Axberg (aka my eldest daughter)

“Find your calling” and “follow your dreams” are two frequently used phrases when dealing with young men (and women) that are looking for their path in life. They’re often interchanged as meaning relatively the same thing; however, I believe that they are completely different.

Here’s an example:

Bob wanted to be a Texas rancher. However, when he settled down and got married he didn’t have the resources to do so. So instead of jumping into debt and “following his dream” he found a steady job and through his hard work become one of the top ten business men in the company.
After a while (with quite a few children too=) Bob realized that he had the resources that his family needed to buy the ranch.
Today, Bob has a wonderful family on a 200 acre Texan ranch outside of Dallas.

Bob didn’t start with his dream, he started with his calling. His calling (at that point in his life) was to work hard and prepare to live his dream. At the time, Bob had no clue he was ever going to be able to settle on a ranch, but he knew that if he was ever going to, he needed the proper resources.

Many young people today start out with big dreams (I mean, really, who doesn’t?) that they want to accomplish NOW. So we have song writers, novelists, instrumentalists, etc. who can’t fully provide for their family because they started with the dream.

Before I go any further, I want to make one point clear:

I have dreams.

Big ones.

They may seem simple to you, but I want to be a wife and a mother who can be known as her husband’s business and home manager, counselor, and entrepreneur partner. I want to be a mother who can raise a rocket scientist son or a daughter who turns out as the mother of a President or even an Idaho potato king.

But, I’m sitting answering phones at my father’s property management company waiting for Mom to pick me up and bring me to physics class.

Not exactly what I’d call “Living the dream.”

That also may be because I’m seventeen, haven’t graduated, and have no clue how to grow a potato or build a rocket=).
(Maybe physics will aid in the rocket part… I digress.)

Back to my point, in order to get to the end, we must be willing to accomplish the means. Our calling when we’re eighteen may not be what we’re going to do forever (I think Dad wrote a post about that a while back…), but at least we’re doing something. We’re supposed to always be working, and working HARD. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” indeed!

There’s nothing wrong with being a song writer, novelist, or instrumentalist, but if you can’t provide for your family (or even yourself) you may want to figure out whether you should find another job. Maybe writing is just supposed to be a hobby with computer programming as your full time job. Or maybe you split your time between being on tour with the band and acting as an independent salesman. Who knows, but as young people (and not-so-young-people) let’s make sure we’re where God would have us, not just where we “dream” to be.

Someday our dreams may become reality like Bob, but for now let’s be content with answering phones and taking physics=).

Open Bar Politics

2010-07-29T08:11:00.001-07:00

OK, here we go again. I just had my class reunion adviser ask if we should pay $25.00 for dinner or $30.00 for dinner and an open bar for the first hour. All in all this seams Ok, for we will possibly cause people to come to the reunion early or on time. But, in reality people are going to come when they come. Now the open bar is going to cater to those who feel they need to drink their allotted amount or more to make the extra $5.00 worth it. I know, most likely they will not remember or even think about the $5.00 again. Many won’t even know there was an option. The hall will then pocket the $5.00 and be happy to have made the extra $. With all that said, let’s think about the extra $. It is to be for each of the attendees to have a couple of drinks before the dinner and festivities begin, right?
I personally love a good Guinness or strong stout brew but know they most likely will not have these at the function because they usually only have some kind of watered down, over fermented pilsner (ale). On the other hand, you can go for a hard drink that will get you tipsy quick. All in all the hall is making money. If they didn’t, they would not be in business.
I will be bringing my wife with me and that means we will be paying $10.00 for two watered down Pilsners that I could have purchased from the bar for $5.00. I, in turn am either fronting for someone else’s drinking habits or putting more money in the establishment’s pocket. Hey, I would be more willing to have one of my classmates ask me to buy them that drink with my $5.00. This way, they can keep up their buzz. Then at least they know where it is coming from and will have the guts enough to admit they have a possible drinking problem. I may then have an opportunity to help them to curb their habitual binges.
What is next, health care for all?
Just my $.02.

Go to Where Your Men Work

2010-07-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

This is the best article I have read in along time on Pastoral Ministry in action. Thanks to all those Pastors out there in the trenches not making what we "lay men" do for livings feel like it's not enough.

This post is from Buzzard Blog...

Pastors, go to where your men work.

During my past 4 years as a pastor in the Bay Area I quickly discovered that one of the most important things for me to do was to hang out with men in my church at their workplace.

This helped the men. It showed them that I care about their callings, how they spend 50+ hours of their week, and the people they work with.

This helped me. It taught me about the unique opportunities & challenges men were facing in their different workplaces, it opened my eyes to a world bigger than our church, and it helped set new trajectories for my preaching and discipling.

This is how I did it (and how I will continue doing it once I get started in Phoenix):

-Schedule a lunch-time visit with a man in your church. The best use of your time is to make most of these visits with men who are leader types. Schedule to meet the guy at his office, not at the lunch spot.

-Once you show up have the guy show you around his workspace. If you’re naturally curious like me, you’ll quickly have 20 questions about all that you’re seeing around you. Ask your questions. Learn the man’s world.

-Introduce yourself to his co-workers. Don’t tell people you’re a pastor, unless asked or introduced that way. They will find out eventually and they’ll be incredibly surprised that a pastor looks and talks like a normal person and doesn’t spend all his time on church property.

-Once you get the tour, take the man out to lunch (if there’s a lunch place on the work campus, go there, it will lead to more learning about the workplace) and let him talk to you at length about his work. You’ll quickly discover how you can best encourage and empower the man in his calling.

-Always speak out against the “higher calling of ministry” idea if it surfaces. Three out of five times when I meet a man at his work he talks to me about how the work I’m doing as a pastor is “so much more important” than what he’s doing as a software engineer, financial analyst, etc. I always immediately crush and correct this unbiblical view of vocation. Your men need you to tell them that all work is a means of glorifying God, and that working for a church is not superior to working for Google. It’s your job to empower your men, to help them see the nobility of the work God has called them to do.

Men need pastors to jump into the fire of their work world with them and empower them to keep their eyes on Jesus and do their work in Jesus’ honor, whatever that work might be.

Also, at least for me, doing this is a whole lot of fun. It’s been a blast visiting men at their work here in the Bay Area. I’ve been able to see:

-The financial analysis & game development sector at Electronic Arts.

-The inner workings of a Secret Service office.

-A two-person flower shop in the financial district of San Francisco.

-A small architect firm’s hip office quarters.

-A contractor’s truck-office.

-The sprawling, impressive campus at Google.

-Several software companies who do things I still don’t fully understand.

-The venture capital world on Sand Hill Road.

-Several impressive work-from-home offices.

-(And when I didn’t have a man working there, AnneMarie gave me a great tour of Facebook).

Pastors, if you’re not already doing something like this, start incorporating it into your schedule. I think you should aim for a minimum of 1 workplace visit per week. Doing this is part of what keeps my calling fresh and alive, and what keeps me connected to men and the larger working world.

And make sure you budget for this. This is just as important as your book budget. Budget funds to cover meals and mileage for these crucial visits.

(PS. I’ve written this post from an architect/contractor’s home office)

Photo: Took this shot last week of Boston firefighters fighting a 3 alarm fire in Beacon Hill.

For Business Education – Know yourself

2010-06-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Many business failures and failures in life are cause by lack of knowledge in yourself and how you will adapt to the ups and downs of business life. To put it another way, there are men who are ditch diggers that would have been better suited for a profession such as, lawyer, doctor or other professional. In contrast there have been a lot of doctors and lawyers that should have been farmers, laborers or the aforementioned ditch digger.

One of the essentials in starting out in life is being properly educated for the profession you naturally bend to.

The public education system is not always the best system to be used in this evaluation. There are many different options out there; from home schooling to technical and agricultural schools. If parents are open to the possibilities of looking for these alternatives, they may better equip their children.

Consulting the inclinations and adaptations of the youth should be of the utmost importance. We ought not to rely on others before careful consideration has been given to the youth. Success or failure generally hinges on a proper choice of vocation.

One way to accomplish this may be something most people have set aside as archaic: Apprenticeship. The old method of apprenticeship is to try out a profession before spending thousands of dollars on education for something that may never be used. Are you doing the thing you went to school to do? I am not… Here is an idea, go show someone how to do what you do, or go find someone to show you what they do. This just may foster the direction and confidence the next generation needs to find that success.

Prosperity in Business according to:

2010-06-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Safe Methods of Business- 1920

“Let a man in business be thoroughly fitted for the position he occupies, alert to every opportunity and embracing it to its fullest possibility and he is a success.

"Lay a good foundation of business principles and practices. Do a legitimate business. Aim to have a home of your own early in life. Be strictly honest; work hard; be earnest; seek to be an intelligent citizen. Marry a good, healthy, loving girl, keep a clear conscience; fear God and work righteousness, and life’s sun will set in tints of gold and splendor.”

Wow, business men, or men in general do not normally speak that way today. Those who are true successes will agree to all of the above though. Good practices never go out of style.

How Success is Won

2010-05-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

Safe Methods of Business, 1920-

“Success is a happy word for the average American. To achieve success is the aim of everyone. It would more frequently be gained were it not that it is too often wrongly understood to be innate smartness. Young man, the sooner you get rid of the notion that you are smart, the sooner will you win success. You may be a genius of exceeding brilliancy, but the chances are one to one hundred thousand that you are not. It is safer to conclude that you are just a plain ordinary mortal and then set about doing the best you can with the capital nature has given you. You may soar so high at first, but then, when your balloon of youthful conceit collapses, you will not have so far to fall. Bear in mind that there are thousands who consider themselves exceptionally smart and through a dependence upon that smartness have made utter failure of life, while on the other hand the apparently dull and stupid youth has by proper means overcome and is enjoying the prosperity that the supposed talented youth has dreamed of.

“Success must be won if it is to be enjoyed. The person who waits for it to come along is like a man who waits for the train to arrive before he gets a ticket. To use an ordinary term, both are apt to “get left.” Men ordinarily fail to succeed, not because they are naturally destined to fail, but they lack business ability, which is made up of equal parts of business knowledge, sterling integrity, strict economy and everlasting push.

“In our day knowledge can be acquired and is in the reach of all who possess the other qualities. The other qualities ought to be in the possession of every youth of sound mind. If not, nature can hardly be blamed for the deficiency.

“Again, success is the child of confidence and perseverance. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it, so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success. As the tide goes clear out, so it comes clear in. Sometimes business prospects may seem darkest when really they are on the turn. A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.

“A firm resolution, that barriers shall be surmounted, that difficulties shall be cleared away, goes far toward achieving success, Let us repeat, success must be won. It never comes uninvited, never without effort.”

*Isn’t it so true that success must be won through hard work…

The Business Man’s Code 1920

2010-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

“Business in every age of the world has been the chief pioneer in the march of man’s civilization. Blessings everywhere follow its advancing footsteps. We honor and respect our upright energetic business men. They start every noble project; they build our cities, and rear our manufactories; they whiten the ocean with their sails, and blacken the heavens with the smoke of their steam vessels and furnace fires; they draw treasures from the mines, and give to mankind the various products of every clime and the benefits of skilled labor throughout the world. These results are achieved not by love of ease or idle wish, but by energy that knows no defeat, by that indomitable spirit of push that lays the foundation of true prosperity and builds the structures of success and progress, right over the ruins of defeated projects and apparent failures. The man who was financially ruined by the Chicago fire, but who began his business at the old stand right in the midst of the burnt district and advertised his goods on a shingle the day after the fire, richly deserved that which he received – applause of the world and a successful business, with which his former business bore no comparison. Everybody admires the courageous spirit that overcomes difficulties and manages to rise in the world. It is the invincible spirit of the ‘get there’ that people like.”

We learn this same lesson from Jacob when he was dealing with Laban, his father in-law. Genesis 31 and 32 there is a story of the most amazing genetics project of all time. Jacob was the hardest worker in the herding business and Laban knew it. Jacob had worked for 14 years to gain the hands of Laban’s two daughters, in this time; he had increased Laban’s herds. As wacky as the stick trick was (see Genesis ) and the way the spotted and striped flocks came about, Laban could not deny that Jacob’s hard work was being blessed by God, and in turn blessing him. It intrigued Laban to the point that he wanted to be a part of the process even if Jacob’s herds were growing by leaps and bounds over his.

Jacob could have just packed his bags and gone home, but he didn’t. He stuck it out for another 6 years or so and largely multiplied his herds through the blessing of God.

In other words if life gives you Lemons, turn around and make lemon aid! Then watch and see how the work of your hands will be blessed by God.

The Cannots of Life

2010-05-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

When my work for good or evil is done; I cannot go back and repair what was amiss; I cannot now do what has been undone; I cannot recover the hours that have been wasted; I cannot correct the evils which may have resulted from my errors; I cannot overtake and arrest what I have spoken or written; as it has gone out into the world; I cannot summon back the opportunities for usefulness which have been neglected; I cannot obliterate the reality or the memory of wrong thoughts, or wrong motives, or wrong words, or wrong actions. All that has been thought or said or done in these past years has been fixed as a reality never now to be changed.
The only hope of a man – at any age – is not the errors, and sins, and follies, of the past can be changed: it is only that they may be pardoned by a merciful God; that they be covered over by the blood of Christ; that though they must remain forever as facts – facts fully known to the Great Savior of hearts – their quilt may be so taken away that they will not be punished; that by the bloodshed on the cross they themselves may be so covered over – so hidden that they will not be disclosed on the final trial before assembled worlds. That hope, the religion of Christ offers to all. No well-founded hope of heaven ever rests on our merits. The hope of any and every man is found alone in the blood of Jesus Christ which cleans us from all sin! Amen and Amen.

The end of the sermon on May 2, 2010

Making Memories, Instead of Filling the Landfill

2010-03-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

History, as I was growing up, was a bad word. It meant that I was going to have to learn a lot of dates, names, places and a bunch of other stuff that did not pertain to anything now.

WOW, was I wrong!

History is our connection with the past. You’ve heard it said that we are to learn from our mistakes... Well, how do we learn from them if we only look at the present and forget the past? There is a lot in our pasts that is good and should not be forgotten.

We all tend to take time to reflect on our pasts. It may be over a cup of coffee with your Dad, at a baseball game with your college roommate, shucking peas with your grandmother, or at the dinner table surrounded by your family. Where ever or when ever, we all do it.

Many of the events of our lives that we tend to remember are times of conflict. Such as vacations when the family car got a flat on the way to Disney, the Thanksgiving turkey that burned and forced you to eat at Wendy’s, or the time that your canoe flipped over and you lost you week’s supply of granola bars… Whatever it is, it is a memory of the past.

So, go make a memory instead of filling the landfills. Instead of getting Christmas gifts, try something our family has been doing for quite a few years now…hold a Cousin’s Christmas. Cousin’s Christmas is a time where we bring the cousins all out for a night they will remember for the years to come. We have been to the Boston Tea Party, Old Sturbridge Village, and several other great places. This past year, we froze while skating on the Boston Frog Pond, ate dinner at a quaint Irish pub, and ended our night remembering past years over some DELICIOUS pastry from Mike’s…

Another thing my family’s been trying to do is have a seasonal gathering for all of my employees/co-workers at our home. We share an evening of memories of the past. We have learned quite a bit about each other’s memories over the past several years and in doing so have created some of our own.

We have also learned much about the people we serve in our business. We love meeting with them and working through things that need to be repaired or dealt with. We have learned that:

• Water is the number one thing that we have to contend with.

• All clients have basically the same needs; the biggest is that they want to know that they are heard and valued.

• Snow plows are never on time.

• Plumbers get paid good money.

• Young people have no fear of computers and can do more for the look of a newsletter than I ever thought possible.

• Older people bring stability to all of our lives.

• There is no such thing as a bad pet, only bad pet owners.

• There is always one in the crowd who believes the rules do not pertain to them.

Memories are what last, not the stuff. Go ahead, try and do something out of the box. Who knows, you may learn something you never knew about even those closest to you. I know I have!

2010-02-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

Most pastors, church elders and churches as a whole would say that we need to exhort our congregants to be sober minded, full of charity and attend church each Sunday.

The church needs to remember that every worker is commanded by our Lord to be the best in their field and to accomplish his work as unto the Lord. The plumber in the pew (no pun intended ;-) is to be the best pipe fitter there is…When we do this, we glorify God by enjoying Him. We ought to be serving our Creator through our professions not leaving our faith at home.

The Apostles complained about having to serve tables because it took them from their vocation of preaching the Word. Might I suggest that the chef or cook may have an equal right to complain if asked to leave their vocational service at the table to preach the word?
We should not leave our vocation in order to do ecclesiastical work. In reality, doing so could be against God’s will.

We are all called to preach the Word in season and out of season, to be hospitable, and so on. However, we need not change professions to do so. The contemporary church wastes time and energy, and moreover, commits sacrilege as they demand that secular workers should neglect their given vocation in order to do Christian work.

Christian work is work done well; work done to the glory of the Father. How many of us, if honest, can say we go to work each day to show a lost world the Savior, simply by the way, we do our job. The way we speak to those around us, and especially the ethics with which we handle all of our affairs.

What a marvelous task the preacher of the Word has, he gets to show us all how to do such things. That’s him: just doing his job…

Check it Out!

2010-01-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

At Monday night's rally, I was interviewed by the Boston Herald. Yesterday morning, my wife found this article by Hillary Chabot and Edward Mason: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1226592
(I'm quoted at the bottom.) God really does wok in amazing ways!

A Note to all America, but Especially our MA Friends...

2010-01-19T06:53:00.001-08:00

Last night our family attended a rally for Scott Brown in Wrentham, MA. If Mr. Brown is successful in this election, it will be the first time since 1967 that a republican candidate has been elected as a US Senator for Massachusetts. This is HISTORY playing out right before our eyes... To learn more about Mr. Brown please click here.

We also found this video of Dr. Paul Jehle. He is speaking to spiritual leaders, but it applies to all of us around the country.
So, all of our Massachusetts friends, we're asking you to make sure you get out and vote today. Voting is our civic right, and one we are blessed to have!
May God bless all of you, and may He be glorified through this election!
~The Axberg Family~

Harvard

2010-01-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

Last week, I stole away for an afternoon to see what the Lord is doing at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. I enjoyed an afternoon of history and Christ, with Chaplain Jeremy from RUF. (Reformed University Fellowship: http://www.ruf.org/.) If you get a chance, check out their website, and if you are a student, look for a RUF group on your campus.

Jeremy and I had lunch at John Harvard's. Has some great food and really cool website http://www.johnharvards.com/ (The virtual tour is exceptional:)

...And the back wall is the exposed field stone foundation. Cool huh?!Notice the books on the Harvard Seal. The three books on the seal represent the Old and New testaments and the Book of Nature (information from this article by Michael Welker.) The founders had the book of nature face-down in the original seal (pictured above) because they believed that no one had discovered all there was to know about God's creation. However, Harvard's seal now has all three books facing upwards.

The Massachusetts' Bay colony's reason for founding Harvard University.The Chapel is a memorial to all the graduates of Harvard that have died in the wars of the past centuries, except the Confederate soldiers of the Civil War. (Side Note: There are Nazi soldiers memorialized here, but not our Southern brothers... Think about that for a minute.)

While quartered in Cambridge, George Washington's troops stayed in this building. After the War, many repairs needed to be done to the building. As a result, Harvard sued the Continental Congress for damages.

2010-01-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Self-education, by whatever degree, is not intended to make the dreams of leisure a reality.
Education is to enrich the soul with the discoveries and possessions our Lord has placed in this world. To give us pleasure, however, ultimately meant to give God glory. These aforementioned discoveries and possessions are under the common fatherhood of God. They are to be consecrated alongside the principles which underlie society. They imply a brotherhood of men which demands that our talents, however many, uplift the groveling, struggling multitude of the world.
When we humble ourselves and are strengthened by the power of this religious faith, we are able to stand up with its primal strength and beauty to realize true happiness. In turn, when each member of the community, no matter what sphere, shall, under the discipline of self education, learn to really think for himself. He can only then act in the radiance of his own enlightened reason. In turn he can fear God, and therefore fear no one else. No longer shall these imaginations and fallacies pervert the judgments of men.
If all this is practiced we will see a Republic rise that far transcends the loftiest conceptions of our founding fathers. It shall be a republic of which poets have dreamed and prophets have spoken; it can be “A city on a hill.”We will then see a most radiant and fragrant Christian civilization.
~My thoughts inspired by a lecture on self-culture, written by Joseph G. Hoyt in 1863.

Charity: Who Cares?

2009-12-18T16:07:00.001-08:00

Thought provoking data on Charity in America...

Charity: Who Cares?

Posted using ShareThis

2009-12-18T16:03:00.001-08:00

http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CharityWhoCares-3.jpg

A Christmas Song

2009-12-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

There’s a thrill in the air,
There’s a joy in the heart;
There is generous stir
In the home and mart;
For the Yuletide is with us; make ready to greet
The Child of the Manger; lay gifts at His feet.
No time for complaining, For envy or strife;
Let the swift-flying hours
With laughter be rife;
Put by all forebodings, your murmuring cease;
All hail One the cometh, the bringer of Peace!
If, led by false glitter,
You’ve wandered afar, Come back to your loyalty,
Led by the star;
Give up your vain quest and wandering wild,
For the pearl of great price is the Wonderful Child.
Ring out the glad carols,
Old strifes put away;
Deck chapel and church
In His honor today;
Let the great organs tremble with symphonies grand,
And send the glad tidings all over the land.
O sing little children, And sing, young and old;
Though the joy of the Christmas
Can never be told –
But sing and rejoice, with your banners unfurled,
For the Christ that is come is the hope of the world.

A Thanksgiving Day Quote...

2009-11-26T05:52:00.000-08:00

“In the midst of plenty…let us not forget the struggles of the past and what we owe to the pioneers who first adventured into this wilderness and made a path for those of us who have followed them. Though they nearly perished of hunger and cold in the beginning, they failed not in faith. When they had but a few kernels of to eat, they still gave thanks, choosing like Daniel to live on pulse with a good conscience rather than to eat from a king’s table. As the Lord prospered Daniel, so hath he prospered us.
Then they all stood with folded hands and bent heads, while he gave thanks for the abundant harvest and prayed that they might be guided to us every blessing to the honor and glory of God. And the Captain said, ‘Amen.’”
~Puritan Twins, by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1921)

Amen and Amen!
May God bless you all this gorgeous Thanksgiving Day, and may He be honored through it!

~David~

P.S. Enjoy the turkey :)

Are you living by the sweat of your own performance?

2009-11-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

I have been reading Jerry Bridges’ excellent book Transforming Grace. It’s an absolute must read if you haven’t already read it. And if you have, I encourage you to re-read it. As is the case with everything Jerry writes, it is delectably deep and down to earth. I read these sentences last night once again and they really reminded me of just how easily I can drift into a performance driven relationship with God. He writes: My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well–whatever “well” is on our opinion–then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the “sweat” of our own performance. Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to “try harder.” We seem to believe success in the Christian life (however we define success) is basically up to us: our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. We give lip service to the attitude of the Apostle Paul, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10), but our unspoken motto is, “God helps those who help themselves.” The realization that my daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of my own performance is a very freeing and joyous experience. Amen. As I said in my sermon last week, the difference between living for God and living for anything else is that when we live for anything else we do so to gain acceptance. When we live for God we do so because we are already accepted. Real freedom (the freedom that only the Gospel grants) is living for something because we already have favor instead of living for something in order to gain favor.

Posted June 5th, 2009 by Tullian Tchividjian

2009-11-11T04:43:00.000-08:00

While considering potential husbands for our daughters, let’s look at the heart and vision of the young man instead of whether he is completely stable financially. I have a couple of ideas as to what to look for in a young suitor for my daughters. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start.

1. He must love the Lord with all his heart mind and soul. (The only way to know this is to know him)(Thank you Jesus)
2. His desire must be to glorify God by enjoying Him. (Thank you Dr. Piper)
3. He must have boldness in his faith and an assurance that has lead to a godly vision for his future family. (Thank you Vision Forum)
4. He must see his godly role in the marriage as Priest, Profit, Protector, and Provider. (Thank you Dr. Bachman)
5. He must be sacrificial in his laying his life down for his family (Thank you Dad)
6. He must be teachable and willing to listen
7. He must be a member of good standing in a local church under the headship of several elders.

This is not a recipe on how to find the perfect husband for your daughter, and everyone has their own specifics. However, right now my family believes these are the things we need to be looking for in potential suitors. This is also what we need to be cultivating in my sons. (I’m sure this list will be added to as we approach “courtin’ season” but I doubt we’ll withdraw from it) This means that our future sons-in-law may need a little financial assistance here and there, but I believe that’s what generational faith is. As I see it, we need to look beyond the financial and focus on the spiritual.

2009-11-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

How to care for your pastor/elder

Churches must give their leaders the opportunity to fail. The Holy Spirit often inspires spontaneous ministry and opens unique doors of outreach. These may look risky, probably are, but giving pastors freedom to step out into unknown areas of Christ-centered projects is essential. If failure comes, evaluation is fine, but not recriminations.

The deadly threesome of “woulda, coulda, shoulda” must be avoided at all costs.

BURN-OUT – Perhaps ‘stress’ is a better word. A sense of being driven by deadlines, events and expectations of others, or the animal type of survival instinct – these express the elusive nature of burn-out. That pastors can come to the end of themselves emotionally, spiritually and physically is all too obvious. Let them talk about it without close scrutiny and then love them through it.

Give them rest!

The Ageing Youth and its Effects on the Family

2009-11-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Young people are getting married at an older and older age each year. We are “fish in this world and we don’t even know we are wet.” I am a conservative, homeschooling, environmental, Reformed Christian; but I have not found in the Bible where it says a young man must be finished with his education, have a house, a supporting job, and a life’s calling as an elder in a church before he gets married. I believe we are requiring too many so called “Biblical” traits from our children before marriage. We may be doing it for their “best,” but I think we may actually be exasperating them. I don’t know about you, but I am a first generation, multi-generational minded believer. This means that I was not given the advantage that some of our young people have in being debt free when they get married. And guess what? I still have a mortgage. God has been working in our family in a mighty way, but my family is still paying for the sin of their father’s self-indulgence. I will say that those early marriage struggles were hard, but refined us as a couple fully dependent on God. The idea of having to be completely established before being married is possibly a way for the Enemy to keep us from having children during our youth. I believe we, as parents, tend to think that as soon as the child leaves the nest they are on their own. Not me. If I believe I should be debt free; then I will help my children and anyone else I can to be debt free. Our life can’t stop because we have debt. God promises food and clothing to those who love Him and keep His commandments. However, He may not grant shelter from the storm. He is the shelter in the storm, and we tend to forget that. We cannot plan out our lives so much that we completely leave out God’s providence (James 4:13-15).

May God direct and bless fathers and mothers as they grapple with these things.

2009-10-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

Can you learn how to work diligently while blessing others?
This was the question I asked my two young warriors for the Lord.
Yes! This is actually the best way to work.
To prove this, the boys are dutifully doing a simple household chore for my wife and daughters this week: the laundry.
One MAJOR priority while doing this specific task is separating the whites from the darks. (I wear red socks, and if they are thrown in with the whites, well, all those beautiful white shirts turn pink:)
“Now sons,” I asked my boys, “Why do we separate the whites from the darks?” (The answer is a great biblical application.) We do it so that the colors from the darks do not run and cause the whites to be stained.
In relation to our friends, we need to be careful who we hang out with because their habits tend to rub off onto us. You could argue that just as our friends may influence us, we may influence them more. It is like a white load that has bleach in it, if a stray colored article gets into the load it will be ruined, whereas the rest of the load will be spotless white. (I think the Lord used the example of leaven in the batch of dough;), but the same thing applies). Nothing is untouched by sin. You will be stained.
Back to our challenge…
They’re doing well so far, but they still have several days to go.
I think they might do the ironing next… (You hear that Ben?)

2009-09-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

The following cartoon was done by my fourteen year old political satirist. Really hits the nail on the head, eh?

"A Hymn for Ordinary Christians- Great is Thy Faithfulness"

2009-08-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Vocational visionaries come from all walks of life. Here's an example from Bob Kauflin:

"Our church as been trying to memorize one hymn a month for the past ten months. This month we’re working on Great is Thy Faithfulness. I had the opportunity to introduce the hymn yesterday morning and was moved by its history. Here’s what I shared.

The story behind Great is Thy Faithfulness should encourage every Christian who thinks of their life as ordinary. There’s no tragic story (think “It Is Well” by Horatio Spafford) associated with this hymn. It’s just the fruit of a faithful man with a simple faith in a faithful God.

Thomas Chisholm, who sometimes described himself as “just an old shoe,” was born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1866. He was converted when he was 27, became a pastor at 36, but had to retire one year later due to poor health. He spent the majority of the rest of his life as a life insurance agent in New Jersey. He died in 1960 at the age of 93. During his life he wrote over 1200 poems, most of which no one will ever hear.

But back in 1923, at the “beyond his prime” age of 57, Thomas Chisholm sent a few of his poems to William Runyan at the Hope Publishing Company. One of them was Great is Thy Faithfulness, based on Lamentations 3:22-23.

Lam. 3:22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Runyan was particularly moved by Great is Thy Faithfulness and sought to set it to a melody that would reflect the response of wonder and gratefulness to God’s faithfulness conveyed in the lyrics. Apparently, he succeeded.

The song quickly became a favorite Moody Bible Institute, and later George Beverly Shea sang it at Billy Graham crusades. Now it’s known all over the world and has been used to encourage millions of Christians to trust in a faithful God.

Pretty impressive spiritual fruit from a life insurance agent.

When Chisholm was 75, he wrote in a letter:

“My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

The hymn has three verses and a chorus. Verse 1 speaks of God’s faithfulness revealed in his Word, and is adapted from James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Verse 2 tells us of God’s faithfulness revealed in creation. The seasons,the sun, moon, and stars all continue on their courses perfectly, orderly, quietly - guided by God’s faithful hand, without any help from us.

Verse 3 reminds us of God’s faithfulness revealed in our lives. He pardons all our sins, fills us with his peace, assures of his presence, gives us strength, hope, and blessings to numerous to count!

Whatever challenges, trials, or disappointments you might be facing right now, this hymn reminds us that God’s promises are true, that he never changes, that his compassions never fail, and that his faithfulness to us in Christ Jesus is more than good—it’s GREAT!
God doesn’t need incredibly gifted or wildly famous people to proclaim those truths from his Word.

Just faithful ones."

The Puritan

2009-08-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Puritans were men who derived a peculiar character from the daily contemplation of superior beings and eternal interests. Not content with acknowledging in general terms an overruling Providence, they habitually ascribed every event to the will of the Great Being, for whose power was nothing too vast, for whose inspection nothing was too minute. To know Him, to serve Him, to enjoy Him, was with them the greatest end of existence. They rejected with contempt the ceremonio0us homage which other sects substituted for the pure worship of the soul. They aspired to gaze upon the intolerable brightness of the Deity, and to commune with Him, face to face. Hence their contempt for worldly distinctions. The difference between the greatest and the meanest seemed to vanish, when compared with the boundless interval which separated the whole race from Him on whom their eyes where constantly fixed. If they were unacquainted the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God.

Thus the Puritan was made up of two different men: one, all self-abasement, penitence, gratitude, passion; the other, proud, calm, inflexible, sagacious. People who saw nothing of the godly but their uncouth visages, and heard nothing from them but their groans and their hymns, might laugh at them. But those had little reason to laugh who encountered them in the hall of debate, or on the field of battle. They brought to civil and military affairs a coolness of judgment and an immutability of purpose which some writers have thought inconsistent with their religious zeal, but which were, in fact, the effects of it. The intensity of their feelings on one subject made them tranquil on every other. Death had lost its terrors, and pleasure its charms. They had their smiles and their tears, their raptures and their sorrows; but not for the things of the world. Enthusiasm had made them stoic, had cleared their minds from vulgar passion and prejudice, and raised them above the influence of danger and corruption. It sometimes might lead them to pursue unwise ends, but never to choose unwise means. We acknowledge that the tone of their minds was often injured by straining after things too high for mortal reach, and they too often fell into the vices of intolerance and extreme austerity. Yet, when all circumstances are taken into consideration, we do not hesitate to pronounce them a brave, a wise, and honest and useful people.

~Macaulay, 1894

Our Fathers and their Homes

2009-08-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

Nurse of the Pilgrim sires who sought,
Beyound th’ Atlantic’s foam,
For fearless truth and honest thought
A refuge and a home,
Who would not be of them or thee
A not unworthy son,
That hears amid the chained or free
The name of Washington?

Cradle of Shakespeare, Milton, Knox

King-shaming Cromwell’s throne,
Home of the Russells, Watts, and Lockes,
Earth’s greatest are thine own;
And shall thy children forge base chains
For men that would be free?
No! by the Eliots, Hampdens, Vanes,
Pyms, Sydneys, yet to be.

No! for the blood which kings have gorged
Hath made their victims wise;
While every lie that Fraud hath forged
Veils wisdom from his eyes;
But time shall change the despot’s mood;
And mind is mightier now than then,
When turning evil into good,
And monsters into men.

If round the soul the chains are bound
That hold the world in thrall;
If tyrants laugh when men are found
In brutal fray to fall;
Lord, let not Britain arm her hands
Her sister States to ban,
But bless through her all other States, -
The family of man!

For freedom if the Hampden fought;
For peace if Falkland fell;
For peace and love if Bentham wrote,
And Burns sang wildly well;
Let Knowledge, strongest of the strong,
Bid Hate and Discord cease;
Be this the burden of my song, -
Love, Liberty, and Peace.

~Ebenezer Eliot

2009-07-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

Vocation is God's call to social, economic, civil, and religious roles or behavior. Individuals must use their talents, which come from God, wholeheartedly in fulfilling a call; however, they must not carry their behavior to extremes. Richard Baxter (1615-1691) explains the danger of excessive behavior, "Overdoing is the most ordinary way of undoing."

In Matthew George Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), he describes Providence as:
“Providence literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes. God's providence extends to the natural world, and the affairs of men, and of individuals. It extends also to the free actions of men, and things sinful, as well as to their good actions.
As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God's permission, and as controlled and overruled for good. God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, and overrules it for good.
The mode of God's providential government is altogether unexplained. We only know that it is a fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions; that this government is universal, particular, and efficacious, embraces events apparently contingent, is consistent with his own perfection, and to his own glory."
God reveals His will in many ways. In the words of William Cowper (1731-1800), "God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain." Puritans actively sought to learn God's will. To fulfill this duty, they read the Bible; listened to sermons; studied daily events; analyzed nature for signs; paid particular attention to out-of-the-ordinary events, like earthquakes and material prosperity (which were called remarkable provinces); and reviewed the events of their lives and the state of their souls, usually by recording them in a diary and looking for patterns and spiritual meanings.
As you read through the Bible do not just look to the things that need to be addressed in your own life but look to see the patterns of fallen man. As you do so, you will come to realize that you have an advantage that the world does not have. Proverbs is God’s wonderful book about the ways of the world. We are instructed all throughout the scriptures to focus on Christ (the Messiah) not on the things of this world. If we focus on Christ and the cross, we will see more plainly how we are to be different than the world. Our lives are to be 180 degrees in the opposite direction of the world. We are to live in this world, but not be part of it. How? You will find what the world values in the Proverbs and elsewhere in the Scriptures, and will be able to set yourself above the temporary. You will be persecuted for your standings, but the world will not be able to find fault with you. They may want to separate themselves from you or your business because they do not understand your beliefs. Anything that is different than that which they understand will cause them to pull away from you. You will need to be counter to the migration by appealing to their need of self worth but never compromising God’s Word. The separation line that will need to become more and more defined as you grow in the Lord is black and white; and also needs to be loving. Remember that living your life according to scripture is not legalistic; however, it is often viewed this way because if you live according to God’s word, you will convict people of their sin just by the way that you live your life.
Remember that we are to be a people set apart, aliens in this fallen world, because of the imputed righteousness of Christ in our regenerated, sanctified and glorified lives. To God alone be the glory!

2009-07-16T12:46:00.001-07:00

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl trailer from Gorilla Poet Productions on Vimeo.

2009-07-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

In talking over what young people can do to prepare themselves for marriage, we have come to the conclusion that young men who think they are ready for marriage need to ask themselves three questions:
1. Do I know Jesus as my personal savior?
2. Do I know God well enough to bathe my wife in His Word?
3. Do I have clear direction in my vocation to have someone come along side of me?

Young maidens have four things to ask:

1. Do I know Jesus as my personal savior well enough that He will not be replaced by another?
2. Do I know God well enough to teach my children the Gospel?
3. Do I know how to be a keeper of home?
4. Have I been behind my father advancing his mission with a servant’s heart, so as to do the same for my husband-to-be?

2009-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Vocational Visions come in many shapes and sizes. You should always be willing to have a big vision, but also be willing to plod along in the fulfilling of that vision. There are many of you who have a hard time in deciding what to do for a vocation. My only answer is the book by Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something.

(Click on book cover for link to Rev. DeYoung's website)

We often blame God for our laziness and claim that He has not given us direction yet. Instead we need to get off the couch and get a job. Shut off the television and read the dead guys. C.S. Lewis challenges us to read one dead guy (who finished the race well) for every two contemporaries. This is good advice for a world that is changing history because we’re not going back to the sources. Go back and read His-story the way it was written.

2009-07-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting here trying to decide on what to write for the first post of this blog. I am listening to Indelible Grace and it occurred to me that I should first state what a Vocational Vision is. Sipping some Improper Bostonian Tea, I was also thinking of the great men who came to this country looking to set a city on a hill, to be the example of God’s grace to the entire world. Oh, how have we fallen! As I write this, men like Jonathan Winthrop, the Mather family, Sam Adams, John and John Q. Adams and many more too numerous to speak of, are rolling in their graves.

Vocation – (from the 1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary) 1. Among divines, a calling by the will of God; or the bestowment of God’s distinguishing grace upon a person or nation, by which that person or nation is put in the way of salvation; as the vocation of the Jews under the old dispensation, and of the Gentiles under the gospel. 2. Summons; call; inducement. 3. Designation or destination to a particular state or profession 4. Employment; calling; occupation; trade; a word that includes occupations. Let every divine, every physician, every lawyer, every mechanic, be faithful and diligent in his vocation.

Vision – 4. In scripture a revelation from God; an appearance or exhibition of something supernaturally presented to the minds of the prophets, by which they were informed of future events.