A Son of God, How Can it Be?

I just finished the chapter titled Sons of God, in J.I. Packers phenomenal book Knowing God, and it has opened my eyes to the reality of what it means to be a Christian more than any other singular book (the bible aside) that I have ever read. We've all heard the word 'adoption' before, and we've all read about how God is our heavenly Father, but these terms have always seemed (though I didn't realize it before) etherial to me.

But now, though I still feel that my eyes are almost completely shut, I feel as though I have caught a glimpse into just what it means to be a son of God. To be adopted into His family. To be reconciled to the Maker of all things by His own Son, and to now be counted a brother with Christ, heir to the inheritance of God. Just thinking about it make my head swirl, and my heart throb.

A Son of God. 

How is that even possible? We read about princes, and princesses, and knights, and royalty, and they all seem like such marvelous things... for other people. We even hear about people being adopted into royalty (more in the past then in the present though). Usually the adopted son or daughter is someone who is old enough to have proven that they are worthy of royalty. They have the character, discipline, intelligence, and insight to hold the position of familial relationship with those in power.

But our God, our King, the Creator of the universe, has adopted us into His family to be His sons and daughters, not because we were particularly mature, intelligent, or kind (quite the contrary) but simply because He loved us because of who He is. He didn't adopt us because we are lovable, He adopted us because He is loving. We have been made, by His free grace, sons and daughters of the one who is called the Most High, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. But there's yet another title by which He has said we may address Him, one of kindness, tenderness, love, affection, guidance, and closeness And one by which I feel I am just now beginning to truly comprehend it's depth:

I call Him Father.

I Don't Have Time. (Really?)

"When I get home from work I don't have enough time to do the things that have to get done, " You say. 

 "I just don't have time to read books, " You lament.

"I'd love to read more books, but..."

But, but, but.

Excuses, that's what I hear Paul, excuses. Reasons why you can't, or wont, do the things that you say are important to you.

But my dear Paul, don't you have two (government mandated) 15 minute breaks at work? 

"Well yes..."

And what do you do on said breaks?

"Oh I do lots of things, I check my G+, FaceBook, The Blaze, get distracted, go on rabbit trails, etc."

So you have time to do all that, and yet you don't have time to read books?

"..."

This was my conscience convicting me this morning as I was trying to figure out how I could get more book reading into my daily life. None of us have as much time as we would like. But that's why we have to be purposeful in how we spend the time that we have been given. Google+ is great, as is FaceBook and the rest, but on my work breaks I'm going to prioritize reading good literature (and occasionally posting about it).


How about you? How will you capitalize on the spare moments between tasks? Will you fritter them away, or will you "redeem the time" (Eph 5:16) for the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom?

Are We Here for the Long Haul?

"Any theology that does not live with the sense of the immediate return of Christ is a theology that takes the edge off the urgency of faith. But any theology that does not cause us to live as though the world will be here for thousands of years is a theology that leads us into social irresponsibility."
        ~Tony Campolo in Four Views on the Book of Revelation

Wow wow wow! This is really accurate! I remember the feeling when I became unconvinced of dispensational premillennialism that I had time here to plan for the long term. The feeling that I don't have to rush for fear of being raptured or called away any minute was profoundly impactful. Mr. Campolo's last statement I think is especially true, "... any theology that does not cause us to live as though the world will be here for thousands of years is a theology that leads us into social irresponsibility." How many Christians have given up on this world because of the faulty notion that we're not going to be here very long, and therefore don't have to worry about the world at large, socially, politically, or morally? 

Here's the book on Goodreads, highly recommended:

Goodreads

And if you want to pick up a hard copy, here's the Amazon link:

Amazon

~Paul

Furthering the Journey

Today I just started reading Always Ready by Greg L. Bahsen, thank Pinecone for the recommendation!
I read the first three chapters today, and so far, it's really good! He's very thorough and gets his point across in a clear way that even I can understand!
Along with afore mentioned book, I've also been listening to a couple different MP3 series on Dispensationalism and amillennialism.
The Series on Dispensationalism can be found HERE, and the millennialism ones HERE (the third series). They're quite interesting, and both sides make some good points. I need to find a good audio series on Post-millennialism. Could anyone recommend one?

Semper Reformanda!
~Paul

And the winner is...

And the winner of my very first blog giveaway, is:

(spoken in a deep booming voice)'

Peeeeteer Mixooooooon!!

Congratulations!!!

I'll contact you via email to arrange shipping!

Enjoy!

Be checking back in about a month, as I'll be giving away another book!

~Paul

Five Love Languages Giveaway!!

As you'll recall, I'm reading this book, and I've talked to several people from our home church, and a lot of them have heard the name before, some not at all, but non of them have read it. It's such a great book, and I think that it should be high up on peoples reading lists. So, rather then simply bemoan it's lack of popularity, I thought I'd do something about it! So I am going to do my first blog giveaway! Since My reader base is mostly younger single's, I'll be giving away the singles edition. Depending on how well this goes, there will probably be more giveaways in the future. Bear in mind that this is my first giveaway, so I might not have all of the procedures quite right.


I will announce the winner at around 5pm on Tuesday the Twenty-Ninth! 

All entries must be submitted by 3 pm eastern standard time. so if you're on the west coast, by noon.

So here's the rules of engagement:


For one entry:
Follow this blog, and then leave a comment saying so (if you already are, then just leave a comment)


For one extra entry:
Link to this giveaway on your social networking site, and then leave a comment saying you did. (I.E. Facebook, twitter, Etc. I have no way of verifying this, so be honest) 


For two extra entries:
Link to this giveaway on your blog, and leave a comment here with with a URL to your blog post with the link.


So, if you do all of these you'll have a total of 4 entries! If you do multiple of these, leave a separate comment for each one (I.E. One for following, one for linking on facebook, and one for linking on your own blog)


Thanks a bunch!

Review of "The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition" Coming soon!

A couple of weeks ago, A great friend of mine loaned me a copy of "The Five Love Languages". It's an amazing book, and has given me a new insight to my relationships with other people (Mostly my family at this point). It is directed primarily towards married couples, which made applying some of the concepts in is somewhat challenging. So it was with great delight that I found that, on at the back of the front cover, was a list of other books that he author had written, one of which the "For Singles" edition! Once I got to Michigan I ordered it and am now greatly looking forward to reading it late into the night, as is my habit with really good books. 

So, when I'm finished with it, or maybe while I'm reading it, I'll post my thoughts on it. So be watching!