Great Events of 2008

2008 is almost over today and it was quite a year. Something that many people did not believe could happen and many others thought would never happen in their lifetime happened in 2008. Of course I am referring to Notre Dame winning a bowl game, which they did on Christmas Eve against Hawaii. They were some other important events of 2008, maybe not quite as profound as Notre Dame's victory in the Hawaii Bowl.
Barack Hussein Obama was elected to be the next president. His victory reminded me of elections in high school for student body president. The person who wins is the person who everyone thinks is cool whether they know why he is cool or not. The student body president promises to get a new parking lot built and more coke machines in the cafeteria, even though he will have no power to get those things done. No one cares if he promises things that are not within his power to accomplish. President elect Obama promises to lower taxes, provide jobs and health care, end war and give everyone a canned ham. But I should not be so skeptical, because no politician has ever promised more than he could deliver.
Another I learned this year is that "Office of the President Elect" is a real position. I think that this is very cool and I hope to be elected to some office someday so I can be in the "Office of the ______ Elect" This sounds to me like a made up office, similar to Assistant to the Regional Manager. Maybe I could be "Assistant to the Office of the President Elect."
The financial crisis this year teaches us that is a bad idea to loan money to people who cannot pay it back. It is also a bad idea to buy an over-priced house with money you do not have and will not ever have. This situation shows me that I am not very smart because I did not think that it needed to be said out loud that you should not spend money you do not have. This probably also why I would not be able to work in Congress.
In the great state of Illinois we are preparing to send another governor to prison. In part I admire Governor Blagojevich. I think that you should go all out at whatever you do. If you are going to be a corrupt governor be the most corrupt governor you can be. Another interesting thing about my governor is that I have never heard anyone say anything good about him let alone admit to voting for him. Despite this he was elected, by a comfortable margin, twice. Someone out there must have voted for him at least once. If history has taught us anything about Chicago politics there are likely people who voted for governor Blagojevich many times in both elections.
In 2008 I learned many interesting things and I am sure that 2009 will bring many other memorable events to learn from. The early part of 2009 will bring momentous change when all over the air TV broadcasts go digital. We will also have a new president by then and that might be somewhat of a big deal.

The Unmerciful Servant

The parable of the unmerciful servant(Matthew 18:21-35) teaches a clear lesson of mercy and forgiveness. Jesus tells Peter that he must forgive always(seventy times seven) and must forgive no matter how large the transgression. The lesson of this parable is simple to see, but hard to carry out. Someone might ask does this mean that Christians are called to be pushovers and let people walk over them. When I asked this question to the Sunday School class someone pointed out that often we treat God as a pushover who will forgive no matter what and we take advantage of that mercy. I think that God will forgive sin no matter how large the sin. I also think that people take advantage of that grace. We are not only like the unmerciful servant who does not forgive as he was forgiven, we also continue to run up an immeasurable debt. So if God continues to forgive and allow such evil people to go on living is he a pushover? Of course he is not a pushover as the person who stated this to begin said "God is fearsome." We should never forget how fearsome and just that God is. Sin will not go unpunished and will be punished exactly as it should be. God's wrath will either be poured out upon the sinner himself or it is poured out on Christ. There is no third option to this situation. If this is kept in mind Christians can handle times they are wronged much better. If someone sins against me I know that God will punish that sin. I should want that person to repent and have faith in Christ and escape God's wrath for their sin. If the person does not repent then God will avenge the wrong committed. Paul addresses this in Romans 12 when he quotes the Old Testament verses concerning how to handle evil. He quotes Proverbs in Romans 12:20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head". This seems like a strange way to treat people, if they are bad to you then you should be good to them. This is how God treats the world, the world rebels against God and yet he continues to sustain life and bless the people of this world. So I must remember that no matter what someone has done to me, it is not as offensive as what the world does to God and I should be humble enough to be kind to people that offend me. I can also satisfy my desire for revenge with the thought of "burning coals on his head".

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is one that shows the need for humility before God. While discussing the importance of humility in Sunday School class someone commented that complete humility is necessary before God. I agree with this completely. John Piper describes humility in Don't Waste Your Life, by writing that people do not go to the Grand Canyon and talk about how great they are. They go to the Grand Canyon and are humbled. This is how people must come to God. They must come knowing that their greatness does not compare with the holiness and majesty of God. The pharisee came to thank God for how great he, the pharisee was, not how great God is. The tax collector came to God with great humility and acknowledged his place before God, a sinner. Humility is necessary in every aspect of salvation. I must be humble enough to admit that I was not good enough to come to God on my own. Jesus explains this in John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him". It takes humility to admit that even my best deeds were not enough- Isaiah 64:6 "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags". I must be humble to admit that even after being drawn to Jesus and repenting, I am still reliant upon him for my salvation. My security is not from myself but from "he who began a good work" in me. I know that I do not keep my salvation on my own, but is in God's hands and I am promised in Philippians 1:6 that it will be completed. Someone might say that anyone who believes that their salvation cannot be lost is not humble but arrogant. I would say that someone who thinks that they can keep their salvation by not sinning is being arrogant. I will readily admit that if my salvation depended on my ability to not sin, then I am in big trouble. I want to thank God that my salvation is not dependent on my righteousness but on Christ's. So when I think about humility and how someone must come before God the tax collector's prayer sums up what we all must say "'God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Will Ferrell impression of Harry Caray

A while back I said that impressions were the lowest form of comedy. I recently remembered an impression that I enjoyed immensely. Here is an impression that is worth watching by anyone. If you do not agree my friend I might bite your ear off.

Jonah Chapters 3 and 4

When I taught a Sunday School lesson on Jonah chapter 3 and 4 I tried to emphasize two things that we could do after studying the book. The first thing that I thought we needed to practice was having real compassion for unbelievers. Jonah showed little or no compassion for the people of Nineveh. He knew that God was compassionate (Jonah 4:2), but he was rebuked by God in verses 10 and 11 for showing more concern for a vine than the people of Nineveh. Jonah prayed that the reason he went to Tarshish was because he knew God would relent from the destruction he threatened Nineveh with. Jonah proved that he knew God by praying Psalms and his description of God in 4:2. However he also proved that he did not think and act like God. Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed and he was likely justified to think that way. Nineveh was the capital of the nation that was to invade Israel and likely Jonah and his fellow Jews would have benefited from Nineveh's destruction. At least that is likely how Jonah would have thought. Of all the evil that Nineveh stood for and committed they had offended God first and foremost, rather than the people of Israel. If God, being the most offended party involved, wanted to show mercy toward Nineveh then the prophet should have rejoiced that his God was so merciful. I think that Christians today must see that all of the evil things that people do today offend God much more than anyone else. We should see that if God wants to show mercy to people that offend him then we should follow that example and be merciful as well. In order to do that we must learn to be compassionate as God was in Nineveh's case and Jesus modeled many times in the Gospels.
The second thing to learn and practice from the book of Jonah is to do what you are supposed to do. When you know what God wants you to do, then do it without hesitation. God intended for Jonah to preach to Nineveh and no matter what Jonah did he was going to preach to Nineveh. We should see that if God intends for us to do something that we will do it whether we want to or not. I would like to perform my tasks from God after being told once rather than going through problems like those of Jonah. This seems like a simple thing to do but is much harder to practice.
Jesus sets the perfect example of both of these ideas. He showed great compassion throughout his ministry and up to his death. He also perfectly performed his mission here on earth by doing the will of the father. I know that am often more like Jonah than like Jesus in these two areas. I also know that by grace I can become more like Jesus and less like Jonah.

Alice's Restaurant

Alice's Restaurant is one of the only Thanksgiving songs that I know of, and it has little to do with Thanksgiving. It is entertaining and funny if not a little subversive and long.



I found it in two parts and without video, audio only



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGpijVPIwPY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJx3WIMiatg

Jonah Chapter 2

I taught a Sunday School lesson on the second chapter of Jonah yesterday and two things stood out to me from the chapter: Jonah acknowledged God's sovereignty and Jonah prayed Psalms to God. Jonah acknowledged that God had put him in this situation in verse -"you hurled me into the deep". Even though the sailors had thrown him overboard, Jonah seemed to understand that God had used the sailors perform his will. I do not see that Jonah was blaming God for his predicament as Adam did in Genesis 3:12. When God confronted Adam for eating the forbidden fruit Adam said that the woman God gave him gave him the fruit. Both men directly disobeyed God's command for them but Adam made excuses and blamed others while Jonah seemed to accept God's control and ask for deliverance.
The second thing that stood out to me was Jonah's use of the Psalms in his prayer. Almost every verse of his prayer is from the Psalms. When God's children are in very difficult circumstances the best thing to do is to cry out using God's word. Many Psalms were written by men in desperate circumstances and their words should speak well for many situations. I do not know what would go through my mind if I were thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish, I hope that some part of God's word would come to mind. I know that if someone has no familiarity with God's word they will have a difficult time recalling some portion of scripture that would speak to their situation.
It is important to remember that God is sovereign and no one cannot get so far off track that they are outside of his control and protection. I also think that everyone needs to read and study God's word, so that when they are faced with a difficult situation they have something to speak to their situation.

Jonah Chapter 1 and Judgment

I recently taught a Sunday School lesson on the first chapter in Jonah and we discussed many aspects of that chapter. The idea of God's judgment against a nation or city prompted the most discussion. There was no disputing the fact that God has the right to judge a city or group of people because of their sin. The main point of discussion was about the present day and the United States. The question was "how long before God will judge the United States for the sins that are committed and seemingly celebrated by our culture?" I do not know the answer to this question. It is possible that God has already begun to punish the United States. The obsession with possessions and greedy nature of many Americans has led to a collapse in the housing market and apparently a very serious economic crisis. The change in morals has led to the destruction of the family in many places in America. Of course defaulting on your mortgage and losing your house is nothing compared the punishment that God has in store for people who ignored him and focused on themselves and possessions their entire lives. Overall the first chapter of Jonah shows us that God will judge sin of groups of people and of individuals. It also shows us that God is merciful and provides a way out of his wrath. In Nineveh's case it was the prophet Jonah offering a chance to repent. In the case of the United States we have grace provided through Jesus Christ. Grace is the only thing that will fix the problems that the United States of America faces.