Church Built for 150 MPH Winds Demolished

Something about this story immediately drew my thoughts to Matthew 7:26-28 [+/-] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,. I don’t know anything about the church, what they believe, etc., so don’t automatically assume I’m proclaiming divine judgment on the church. After all, we understand from Rev. 2-3 [+/-] [2:1]"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. "'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.' "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. "'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' [3:1]"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" that God has a message for every church that calls itself by His name, whether or not the purists of the day would look at that particular church as “right” or not, so it’s possible this was sent as a wake-up call. We don’t know and can’t assume. But like the folks at the Tower of Babel, the Lady Lake Church stands (or not) as a testimony that God will have His way, regardless of how sure and solid we think we’ve built things up.

This won’t be long. I’m officially trained as a preacher - so says my diploma - but sometimes preaching can muddy the waters. Sometimes it’s better to let a passage speak for itself. With that in mind, let me give some background before hitting my main point. This past Sunday, Chorale was scheduled to sing in the morning service on campus. Terry, the guy who runs the Calvary Quartet, with whom I sing tenor, has learned to accept the fact that one Sunday a month he has to find a replacement for me - prior obligations being what they are, I don’t ask to be excused from the Chorale’s ministry, even though I’m one of seven tenors there versus the only tenor in the Quartet. This past Sunday the Quartet was in Chattanooga, TN. Terry really wanted me the whole weekend, but he absolutely had to have me Sunday night. So we made a deal - I’d sing with the Chorale Sunday morning, pick up his van (which has cruise control and is more comfortable than It, my car) at his house, and book it to Chattanooga, a four-hour drive. I’d sing that evening, then try to get back to Greenville by midnight so I could be at work by seven the next morning. (It was closer to 2a by the time I got to bed.) Going into Sunday I admit I was viewing the Chorale activity as a bit of an inconvenience; looking back, though, I see God’s hand in ordering the schedules as He did.

The morning message Sunday was delivered by Dr. Berg. He preached from 2 Peter 1:1-15 [+/-] [1:1]Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.. As I read the passage between going onstage and actually singing, verse 12 popped out to me: “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities [that he just wrote about in verses 5-7], though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” Translation: I’m going to keep reminding you of what God’s done for and given to you, even though you already know about them. Dr. Berg then recited a list of those “precious and very great promises” (v. 4) - things like God’s promise of His constant presence (Deut. 31:8 [+/-] It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."); His promise that He works everything together for good (Rom. 8:38 [+/-] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,); His promise that what He does in my life is for good and not evil (Jer. 29:11 [+/-] For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.); and many, many more.

It was in that passage that it hit me - up until then, I had been questioning why God had brought these back problems into my life. (Quick recap - a work injury has put me in increasingly extraordinary pain for the last two months.) It’s not a sin to question. But it is a sin to question accusingly, which is what I was doing. Now, I know all these passages and promises. But I needed to be reminded of them. Badly.

God knew I needed that reminder, so He made sure I’d be in a place where I could hear them and be reminded. And so now I can actually rejoice in the middle of this pain. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt anymore. Trust me - it hurts. A lot. Doesn’t mean I’m going to give up trying to get relief. Doesn’t even mean that I’m going to be walking around smiling all the time. More likely than not it’ll be more like a grimace. It does mean, though, that I can thank God for working in and through my life. God has promised that all of His plans turn out for good - His good, it should be noted - which means that, when all of this is said and done, He will have glorified Himself through me. That’s an awesome thought! God has chosen to bring Himself glory through this temporary trial in my life. Not your life, my life. In short, God has given me this very unique chance to show His power and glory to others. That’s an honor and a big responsibility. So if you happen to see me walking with a 30-degree tilt to one side, do pray for me, but also think of me as a reminder of God’s goodness and his promises to sustain His children.

From time to time hymn texts hit me in a particularly special way. I’ve got a rare treat - two that I’d like to share in one day. First off is what Chorale did to kick off the Friday evangelistic meeting - a text entitled “I Could Not Do Without Thee” by Francis R. Havergal written in May of 1873:

I could not do without Thee
O Savior of the lost,
Whose precious blood redeemed me
At such tremendous cost.
Thy righteousness, thy pardon
Thy precious blood, must be
My only hope and comfort,
My glory and my plea.

I could not do without Thee,
I cannot stand alone,
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own;
But Thou, beloved Savior,
Art all in all to me,
And weakness will be power
If leaning hard on Thee.

I could not do without Thee,
O Jesus, Savior dear;
E’en when my eyes are holden,
I know that Thou art near.
How dreary and how lonely
This changeful life would be,
Without the sweet communion,
The secret rest with Thee!

I could not do without Thee,
For years are fleeting fast,
And soon in solemn oneness
The river must be passed;
But Thou wilt never leave me,
And though the waves roll high,
I know Thou wilt be near me,
And whisper, “It is I.”

Not sure why, specifically, this text hit me like it did…could have been the fact that after singing it twenty times through one is forced to pay attention to the words to project the meaning well. But nonetheless the text is a very emotionally charged work, emphasising our need for complete reliance on God.

The other one is from about 100 years earlier and was written by the Englishman William Cowper (that’s “Cooper” for all you folks who haven’t heard his name before). It’s called “Sometimes a Light Surprises.” Yes, title sounds dorky. But the words are great, especially the second stanza:

Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord, Who rises with healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining, to cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation we sweetly then pursue
The theme of God’s salvation, and find it ever new.
Set free from present sorrow, we cheerfully can say,
Let the unknown tomorrow bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing but He will bear us through;
Who gives the lilies clothing will clothe His people, too;
Beneath the spreading heavens, no creature but is fed;
And He Who feeds the ravens will give His children bread.

Though vine nor fig tree neither their wonted fruit should bear,
Though all the field should wither, nor flocks nor herds be there;
Yet God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice,
For while in Him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.

Haven’t heard a decent hymn tune for this…but Craig Courtney’s choral setting is second to none. It gently bounces along in a refreshing, spritely sort of way. (For you music people, he alternates between 3/4 and 6/8 meters every other measure, and there are little triplet sixteenth notes springing up everywhere.) Not very congregation-oriented, but it’ll sound great when we sing it on campus sometime in the next month or two.

Hope these do something for you.

…along life’s road. I’ve been doing a lot of singing recently. This month has been especially hard: Chorale sings at Anderson College. Dan Kreider’s recital choir meets twice weekly to prepare for the recital Nov. 19. Chorale sings for High School Festival. Chorale practices for concert. Chorale sings two concerts. Quartet sings in Indiana that same weekend.

Tom gets sick last Saturday. Click for more…

Ken Collier, director of The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center, always has at least one crunchy quote whenever he speaks. You can debate the possible shallowness of this quote all you want; you would have had to have heard it in context:

“While I’m making coffee, God’s making morning.”

This statement is taken from Job 38:12-13, where God asks a very humbled Job: “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?” Know those fabric softener sheet commercials where an alien housewife (no one on commercials is human, trust me) cheerfully snaps out a queen-sized sheet four times her size in slow motion, and all the corners billow out from the center, while she cheerfully smiles with this really vacant look on her face? That’s the picture I get when I read this verse. Look at the imagery - taking hold of the skirts of the earth and shaking the wicked out of it, like one would take a sheet and shake the wrinkles out of it. Snapping the morning out and laying it down across the earth. That’s God’s job each morning. On the other hand, one of my jobs, some mornings, is to make coffee. So the comparison statement, “While I’m making coffee, God’s making morning,” just goes to show the vast gulf between the extent of my responsibilities and the extent of God’s responsibilities. Some mornings, the only thing I can do right is make coffee. How insignificant I am compared to God! How puerile! And here I go, strutting around like I’m actually worth something.

Now, whenever I make coffee (this morning it was a combo of Starbucks’ House Blend, Starbucks’ Breakfast Blend, and Dunkin’ Donuts French Vanilla, a combination which can only be described as “interesting”), I can’t help but think that God’s out there making morning, just part of a daily routine, just like I make coffee on a regular routine. That’s something to think about.

A friend played this song for me a few days ago - about brought me to tears when I first heard it. Still does. Its beauty is in its simplicity. This song covers just about every facet of the Christian life from birth to death…and it’s message is so crystal clear that it’s almost impossible to miss…unless you don’t have a pulse. Here is the complete set of lyrics:

Weak and wounded sinner,
    Lost and about to die,
Raise you head,
    For love is passing by.
Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus and live.

Now your burden’s lifted
    And carried far away.
His precious blood
    Has washed away the stain,
So sing to Jesus, sing to Jesus, sing to Jesus and live.

Like a newborn baby,
    Don’t be afraid to crawl;
And remember: when you walk,
    Sometimes we fall,
So fall on Jesus, fall on Jesus, fall on Jesus and live.

Sometimes the way is lonely
    And steep and filled with pain.
So if your sky is dark,
    And pours the rain,
Then cry to Jesus, cry to Jesus, cry to Jesus and live.

When the love spills over,
    And music fills the night,
And when you can’t contain
    Your joy inside,
Then dance for Jesus, dance for Jesus, dance for Jesus and live.

And with your final heartbeat,
    Kiss the world goodbye;
And go in peace
    And laugh on Glory’s side.
Then fly to Jesus, fly to Jesus, fly to Jesus and live. (repeat)

I saw a stranger yestereen;
I put food in the eating place,
    Drink in the drinking place,
    Music in the listening place;
And in the sacred names of the Triune
He blessed me and my house,
    My cattle and my dear ones.
And the lark said in her song:
    Often, often, often,
Goes the Chrst in the stranger’s guise:
    Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.

—Gaelic text

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:31-46, ESV [+/-] "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.").

A few days ago I was flying back from Philly into Atlanta to start school. While in the air, a few devotional/inspirational thoughts came to me, and I thought I’d share them.

The weather in Philly was absolutely raw - upper 30s and on-and-off pouring rain. It was too warm for anything to be in danger of freezing, but on the other hand I felt very sorry for the ramp rats standing in the pelting rain guiding our Airbus A-319 into position at the gate. It was only a few seconds after take-off that we lost sight of land for the low rain clouds. And yet, after a few bumpy seconds, we passed above the clouds and into blue skies and sunlight.

The storm that just a few minutes before was now beneath us. That which we worried about so much (in one way or another) was past, and we could see it from a new angle. And you know what? From the new angle, what had looked so nasty and dreary really looked quite beautiful.

Those of you who have flown through storms know what I’m talking about. The clouds stretch beneath the aircraft like a sea of white fluff. Here and there ridges and plains in the cloudscape make it look like a landscape dotted with rolling hills and mountains. In short, it’s really something to see. (Don’t go spending money on a ticket just to see it, though.)

Not too much longer, we landed in Charlotte. The same clouds have moved in and were covering the airport. We descended below 2,000 ft., and there we were again - in the same murky rainy conditions that we were in before. But then we took off for Atlanta. Same thing - bumpy ride through the thick of the storm with an experienced pilot at the controls, leading us to (this time) a gorgeous sunset that turned the white clouds into shades of orange, pink, and purple. With the hum (more like annoying buzz) of the 737-300’s engines in the background (or foreground - I was sitting on the wing row) and the aerial landscape beneath me, I promptly fell into some semi-sleep state.

Here’s the point of all this - when you’re under the storm, things are certainly dark and gloomy.There’s no disputing that. But when you leave the clouds behind and get a new perspective, those same clouds suddenly look much, much different. Beautiful, almost, and you wonder how you ever thought the problem was really a problem. Sometimes, all that’s required to get out from under the gun is a change of perspective on your problem. Suddenly, you can see clearly. But, like flying, the only way to get that different perspective is to see things the way your Pilot sees them. Certainly God who not only created the storm but who cares for His own will guide His own through the troubles in their path. All that’s required is trust and obedience. Remember the kid’s song, “Trust and Obey”?

When we walk with the Lord,
   In the light of His way,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
   He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

At the risk of over-simplifying it, that’s all there is to it. Trust and Obey.

Well, the search is over. After two weeks of somewhat anxious waiting, I’ve finally gotten word that I’ve been accepted for a Grad Assistant position at the school’s IT department. This means that my grad education is effectively free. This whole episode has reinforced and retaught me the lessons and value of patience. In short, God opened so many doors to get me to the point where I was accepted into the program. Then, the bottom as I knew it fell out - the campus department that I thought was going to hire me said at the last minute that they weren’t sure they could offer me a job. This was two days before the semester ended. I had that morning passed my audition to start grad work, but I didn’t have the money to go to school without working as a GA. The whole thing sat for two weeks and change, and I waited. There was nothing I could do - I’m 700 miles north of the school, and everyone’s on vacation, anway. During this time, I had the strong feeling that the Lord would do something, but the trick was to keep believing that through the silence. I mean, all those opened doors to walk slam into a decidedly shut door? It didn’t make sense. But I can’t honestly say that I always believed that I would go back as a GA. My faith was wavering a little, even as I preached a message on New Year’s Eve about (in part) why the sovereignty of God precluded any possibility of worry - if I truly believe God is sovereign, and that belief is not just academic but lodged deep in my spirit, I won’t worry about things. Why worry when God is in control? But the lesson learned this Christmas is that I don’t really believe in God’s sovereignty as I should. I know it, but sometimes I don’t believe it.

In spite of myself, though, God did what He would do. Even though I didn’t believe like I should have, God saw fit to give me the job anyway. Soli Deo gloria!

[Listening to: Chichester Psalms: Andante con moto, ma tranquillo - Croydon Singers - Chichester Psalms (05:51)]

First, a music update: OneVoice recorded our first session at Brightwater Digital Studios (their site is probably still under construction). I can’t emphasize just how professional Gary Emory is over there. The studio’s top-notch, with a digital mixing board and a kickin’ Mac G5 with 23″ widescreen monitor to boot. I don’t even want to guess at the output capacity of his mixing room speakers. And he knows his music, too - from what I hear he’s a phenomenal musician and an excellent producer. (He’s the guy that does all the work for SMS and Patch the Pirate.) We have another five-hour session tomorrow afternoon, and possibly an over-dub and fix-up session on Saturday. The CD’s going to sound really good - mostly a capella Christmas music. Good stuff. We’re supposed to get a website soon, so I’ll update you when that gets up.

Now, the devotional thoughts for the evening. I was sharing with my prayer group a number of thoughts regarding the turmoil of the past few days trying to get everything finalized for our recording sessions. To be vague, it involves three of the eleven of us and varying degrees of disciplinary probation. We ended up doing the recording in two shifts, which was a pain and wasted a little time. But, as I was reminding our group (and my prayer group this evening), God Moves in a Mysterious Way, and What God Ordains is Always Good. Those are titles to two wonderful lasting hymns. You probably haven’t heard of either of them, because they’re not too popular. They’re coming into acceptance now, which is a good thing. Here are the links to the pages for What God Ordains is Always Good (MIDI) and God Moves in a Mysterious Way + MIDI. The story behind What God Ordains is particularly inspirational. Samuel Rodigast, a 17th-century Lutheran, had a good friend named (I’m not making this up) Severus Gastorius. Gastorius was deathly ill, and Rodigast wrote a poem to cheer him up and encourage him - the poem we now call What God Ordains is Always Good. Years later, after Gastorius recovered from his illness, he wrote a tune (WAS GOTT TUT) for this poem. Not many people other than Lutherans sing it, and it’s a shame - it has wonderful theology and a good message. God Moves is an equally theological song; both songs when taken together are a source of great encouragement. Yes, God sometimes moves in strange ways, at least as far as we can see. But, if we remember that anything God ordains is inherently good, we should be all set. I don’t have time to get into the theology of God’s sovereignty, but to sum it up, God has ordained the course of everything and everyone in this world, and He has ordained our involvement in the same. We, as His people, must accept that and not fear what He has in store for us. As the end of the first stanza of What God Ordains says, “God indeed in every need / Doth well know how to shield me; / To Him, then, I will yield me.”

Finally, a coffee recommendation - Cafe Latté with blackberry Toriani syrup. The blackberry latté, whether iced or hot, may well be the best mead I have ever tasted. I highly recommend it. Althought the spiced wassail at Biltmore was surprisingly good…

[Listening to: Here We Come A-Wassailing - King’s Singers - Little Christmas Music (02:15)]

As blogged before, today was a Christmas concert at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. Nice place, but I can’t imagine ever living in a place like that. It’s too big, too ornate, too…overdone. Not to say it’s not a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to spend more than a few hours there. To think…was it the Vanderbilts that lived there for a while? Wow.

I, of course, am always hyper-critical of my work, especially my musical work, so don’t ask me how the concerts (all three of them) went. There was one funny incident in the whole thing - an older gentleman came up to me and a girl we’ll call butterflysong (an campus-IM screen name) and asked if I was her boyfriend. Bear in mind that this isn’t the first time someone’s asked that of us. To make it funnier, he apparently didn’t remember fifteen minutes later that he had spoken to us and asked us the same questions (the boyfriend one included) again! It’s all good. She’s too busy for a boyfriend at the moment, so I took the hint and backed off. Otherwise…anyway, no sense killing our friendship over my impatience. Hence Dr. Bob’s phrase: don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate. I’m not sure I’m taking that in its correct context, but it still applies. Good lesson to learn there.

Pretty much it. I’m recording galore next week - two evening marathon sessions for OneVoice (no website yet, I don’t think), and one weekend session with Concert Choir. Oh, and my grad voice audition comes in there somewhere. Not next week, I think, but the week after. Will I be ready? I sincerely hope so…

The other day Robb and I were in Dr. Lawson’s office (Dr. Lawson is the Dean of the School of Fine Arts and a shaker on the administrative board) going over last-minute details regarding the upcoming Carol Record Attempt. We were listing all the logistical “loose ends” that needed to be tied up. We needed clipboards. I suggested that the M&G had some that we might could borrow. He turned to his phone, went on speakerphone, and dialed the number from memory. Twenty seconds later the ball was rolling on getting clipboards from M&G. Then we talked about posters - the ones for the dorms needed to be initialed by Dean of Men staff; he again went on speakerphone, dialed DOM from memory, and had his secretary out there in less than a minute. Then we talked about the TV spot coming up the next morning. He again went on speakerphone, dialed the RTV (Radio & Television Broadcast) department, and had them set the VCRs to record the spot. While he was on the phone that time, Robb and I looked at each other, laughing a little. It was like having a presidential Red Phone sitting on your desk - that phone could connect anywhere and the caller could do anything with it. Robb remarked, “I think everyone should have his own Dean.” He apparently heard that, because when he got off the line, he deliberately folded his hands across his desk and said, in a very servant-to-master tone, “Is there anyone else you would like me to call?” It wasn’t a reproof at all; he was just joining in the fun.

I got to thinking about that situation last night. On more than one occasion through this whole ordeal, I’ve referred to Dr. Lawson as the “administrative muscle” behind the attempt. I do that because, as a Dean, he can get the ball moving on just about anything on campus, if need be. Robb and I could do very little, if anything at all, without his support and near-sovereignty over the affairs of campus. Guess where this is headed…

This is a great commentary on the Christian life. Oh, I know the example breaks down (as all examples eventually do), but the principles are still the same. Man can do nothing without God’s power behind him. We go to God to find out what He wants us to do, what His plans are, and where He wants any given affair to end up. We say that we’ll do what He wants us to do, but we still need to return to him often to get the strength to do something or get the roadblocks in front of us cleared out. And, we have instant access. In my case, I have an email address (for Dr. Lawson), and I can get a response within the hour, usually faster. But how’s this with God - we have a full-time dedicated line direct to the Throne by means of prayer. Better still, He’s never out teaching a grad class, leaving a secretary or answering machine to pick up His calls while He’s away. He’s never too busy to reply to our queries.

And yet, we still go around on earth thinking we can do what we want, when we want, and how we want. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work, certainly not for the Christian. We have that “red phone,” so to speak. Use it!

[Listening to: Track 3 - Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1 In D Major (10:57)]

Today in chapel we had the “President’s Club Awards” - a series of awards given to people who, basically, are consistent in their spiritual life. There’s the Sower Award (goes to someone who’s demonstrated unique soulwinning zeal), the Second Miler Award (goes to someone who goes the second mile to help someone), the Overcomer Award (goes to someone who overcomes great obstacles to do what’s right), and the Prevailer Award (goes to someone who prevails in prayer for someone or something). Sometimes it’s not for something great and grand; the recipient of the Second Miler award ironed a shirt for a visitor.

As I told my prayer group this evening, the proceedings of the day fit perfectly with what we’ve been studying in Philippians. In chapters one and two (the first half of two, at least), Paul instructs the believers to have the mind of Christ - live like Christ, think like Christ, act like Christ. Can’t do that? Then imitate me, Paul, in those ways. Still too tough? Let me introduce you to a few regular guys. You play golf with them. They’ve babysat your kids. You sit next to them in choir. Meet Timothy (2:19-24), a half Jew; and Epaphroditus (2:25-29), a complete Gentile. Guess what? Those two are living like I’m talking about.

Suddenly, Paul takes a very hard command (”Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” - 2:5) and brings it down to real life. Suddenly he demonstrates that the Christian life really isn’t hard to live. It’s not something esoteric and completely unattainable. For crying out loud, if a Gentile can do it, can’t you, a full-blooded Jew? No doubt Paul was digging at their pride a little bit. But really, there are Christian heroes all around us. You can be a “Christian hero.” The trick is to keep your eyes open. Just this evening, I spent two hours talking with a guy who was thinking of attending BJU. He just got out of the Coast Guard, and now he wants to go to a Christian college. He’s got a hunger to know what the Bible says, that much was obvious. I pray the Lord leads Chris here or to another good school where his thirst will be quenched. But the point is, he asked a simple question: “How hard is it to configure your laptop to get online here at the Library?” From there we started talking about BJU. God will give opportunities quite often. You have to look for them and act on them when they come.