A Memorable Memorial Day

On a day when most Americans, at least the ones with good sense, are grilling out I am eating at a vegan restaurant. It is un-American I tell you! While normal Americans are eating hotdogs, pork steaks, steaks and hamburgers, I am stuck eating tofu. It is neither American nor Christian.

But, that is what I was more than willing to do for my father, who is a strict vegan. Actually it was not all that bad. Some of it is really good. While I still prefer a beef burger over soy, it can be made to taste really good. They also have a burger patty made out of nuts that is excellent.

The first vegan restaurant that I ate at, Spiral Diner & Bakery, I said to the smiling, light-loafered waiter, "I'll take a ribeye medium well." His liberal, new age grin swiftly disappeared and in return I garnered a very intolerant glare. I think possibly the Lord may have wanted me to stand up and yell, "Long live George W. Bush," but instead I allowed my allergic reaction to pain to lock my jaw. Being that my dad is so weak and frail from not eating meat, he would not have been able to help me fight my way out of the mess that I would have gotten into. :)

John Gill: The Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:45-46 ESV

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

"This parable may be understood of Christ's seeking, finding, and purchasing his elect: for, certain it is, that he has sought after them; which implies, that they were lost and going astray; expresses his great love to them, value for them, and desire after them; in doing which, he took much pains, and used much diligence: and certain it also is, that he finds them in redemption, and in effectual calling; and that they are to him a pearl of great price; as very precious to God, so highly esteemed of by Christ, as his portion, his inheritance, and his jewels. He has also parted with all he had for the sake of these persons; he became poor, emptied himself of everything, even gave himself a ransom for them, and so made a purchase of them, with the price of his own blood:"

This post was inspired by a sermon my father preaches called, "God's Jewels." (See: www.acfw.org)

The Necessary Risk of Maturity

Christian maturity, like infant maturity, comes with inherent risks. It is inevitable that a maturing infant is going to fall and scratch a knee, bloody a nose, or possibly worse in many attempts to walk. But the damage caused by trapping the child in perpetual infancy is much worse than bloody noses or scratched knees. It is not the normal course of life for a child to advance in age, but not maturity. It is better for the child to experience all of the hurts and pains of life than to mentally remain an infant while physically becoming an adult.

When it comes to our walk with God, let us mature, even at the risk of a few mistakes. It is better that we fail on our way to spiritual maturity than to perpetuate spiritual infancy, and never fall down and scrape our knees. Let's grow up in Christ in all things, and allow the Spirit to mature us.

Hope Is Rude

How dare hope ignore my decision to quit? Hope's assiduous insistence on my believing that my future is bright can get annoying. Hope refuses to listen to my calm, collected and evidence-based case proving my fatalistically determined fate of failure. Hope is rude! Instead of just accepting my demise, it is peskily insistent that I believe for greatness.

The other thing that can be annoying about Hope, when you have determined to quit, is its sneakiness. You think that you have convinced Hope that there is no hope, and you are content with being despondent, then out of no where you are blinded by the glimmer of possibility and all you can see for a moment is a bright future. But, then you have to calmly remind yourself that you are a loser. The only problem is, Hope does not give up so easily.

Hope always finds a way, like the woman with the issue of blood, to crawl and claw its way through the crowd of fear and unbelief and touch the hem of Jesus' garment. The Holy Spirit produces hope in the life of the believer. It is impossible to have the Holy Spirit and not have a hope that continues to resurface in your spirit. While the sinner may have to struggle to get a hold of hope, the believer has to fight to resist hope. Hope is a natural characteristic of the Spirit-filled life (like Grace, Hope is not a blue-eyed blond).