In the Bible a person’s name is a description of his or her character. Likewise, the names of God in Scripture are various descriptions of God’s character.  In a broad sense, then, God’s “name” is equal to all that the Bible and creation tell us about God  When we pray, “Hallowed be your name” as part of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9), we are praying that people would speak about God in a way that is honoring to him and that accurately reflects his character.  This honoring of God’s name can be done with actions as well as words, for our actions reflect the character of the Creator whom we serve (Matt. 5:16).  To honor God’s name is therefore to honor him.  The command, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in wain” (Ex. 20:7) is a command that we not dishonor God’s reputaion either by words that speak of him in a foolish or misleading way, or by actions that do not reflect his true character.

from “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem, Page 157

This one is very difficult for me.  This is the one that Jesus just had to keep for himself.  Baby #3 stretched Beth and I and really caused some breakthroughs in our lives.  I realized through some circumstances and events that I have searched my whole life for someone to comfort me.  I always relied on the people in my life when it was God I needed.    Beth had a hard time a few weeks ago as her orignal due date passed.  A lot of emotions flared.  It is so different to lose an unborn baby.  I can’t describe the feelings we had.  Two songs come to mind for this girl we lost.  The first is by Mark Harris.  It’s called  “Wish you were here.”  The video is below, although he doesn’t have one released.  This is the best one I could find.  She is growing in Christ’s arms wishing we were there to see everything she is. 

The second song is very personal.  I wrote it a couple weeks after finding out Beth was pregnant with #4.  I shared it with her and am posting it here now.  Please be respectful of it.  I don’t know why I said that, but this is very personal.

God’s Arms

In our arms we hoped to hold you, safe from all harm.

With our eyes we hoped to see you grow up and behold

The future that awaited you filled with hopes and dreams.

We wanted to kiss you and show you our love

And teach you the love of our God up above.

But God’s plans were greater than we can ever dream.

He planned your life perfectly,

Though too short it seemed.

For although I could hold you for moments at a time

His arms are greater, much greater than mine.

Now in my dreams I long to know you as the blessing you are.

As I wait for that glorious day, when your face I’ll behold.

And when the future that awaited us is finally revealed

I’ll run to you and hold you and fully understand

Of how the point of it all was hidden in His hands.

Because…

Oh how I wish I could hold you for moments at least,

But you were always God’s little one.

And, now you’re safe in His arms.

I’m going through the songs I would share with my kids as I see them growing up.  This is Landon’s turn.  Landon is a very energetic boy.  He likes to press the boundaries a lot.  He knows when he has done wrong, and he knows what’s coming.  As he grows, I will try to enstill in him the values that make God’ heart tick.  I will raise him to have a “wild heart” for God.  I want him to have a passion to be all that he can be in Christ.  I want him to surpass me. I want him to be the bold man I should be in leading a family.  I want him to see the woman he will seek to be his wife as God’s precious jewel that he should treat accordingly.  I want to be in awe of him when he is grown.  This starts with him knowing one truth about himself—-”I am nothing….”  I am nothing without God’s love.  I am nothing apart from God.  Left to myself, I am completely and utterly hopeless.  That is how I want Landon to see himself apart from Christ’s love and forgiveness.  Appropriately I chose “I am Nothing” by Jeremy Camp for Landon’s first song.  You can listen to a sample of this song here.  Also, here are the lyrics:

I’m always in this place,
Where the things I seem to take,
Are the things I wish would fade
I always purpose in my heart,
To do things the right way,
Then I realize I’m still clay
And this piece that’s being shaped,
Will be a beauty you create

[CHORUS]
I am nothing without your love
I’m unworthy but your death has been enough
I’m completed by your touch,
But I feel like I’ve been given so much and I thank you,
I thank you

I wouldn’t even face,
All the troubles of the day,
If it wasn’t for your grace
Sometimes I even wait,
To see if I’m awake,
Seems so good I can’t relate
Tour every word I crave,
And I’m grateful for every breath I take

When I’m feeling all my shame,
You won’t let it stay,
I sail away into your love
I’m taking every day,
To give my life away,
It’s the only way I know

The second song I chose is “Carry Me” by Scott Krippayne.  This is the response I want him to have in every challenge, trial, tragedy that he faces in his life.  You can hear a sample of the audio here.  And, once again, here are the lyrics:

Reaching the waters edge
Finding there’s nowhere to go but through
Searching the depths within
Seeing there’s no place to hold onto
But your feet have walked
Through every wave that I’ll ever face

CHORUS:
Carry me
Over the water
Carry me
Through the darkest night
Carry me
Over the water
Safe to the other side

Facing an endless tide
Constantly pulled out away from shore
Feels like it’s sink or swim
And I just can’t fight anymore
But you take my hand
Here is my heart, You understand

CHORUS

You are the one I need
Holding me close
Safe in your arms

CHORUS

In a recent post, I shared what songs I would most want to share with each of my kids as a picture of how I see them.  The next four posts, including this one, will each be for one kid. 

Like I said, Kaitlyn is my princess.  She is unlike any son I can ever raise.  I will raise her as a priceless treasure to be passed on later in life.  I am her source of wisdom, protection, and comfort.  No one in her life will be able to have the relationship I have with her.  That is until that day when “Mr. Approved by Daddy” comes along. I say that jokingly, but it’s true.  We joke about the gauntlet of questions that dads throw at potential boyfriends.  Girls seem to think that Daddy has no say, but if I raise my daughter correctly to understand that I am responsible for her, and that I am passing my responsibility onto this man she’s “in love with,” then she will want my approval of any man she desires that with.  But, for now, she is mine.  Yes, I know.  She is God’s.  I gave her back to God January 19, 2004.  She is my entrustment to hold until it i time for her to go to the man of her dreams, of God’s design. 

Right now, the song I choose for her is “May I have this dance?”  by Scott Krippayne.  He wrote this song for his daughter when she was about three.  He was in Starbuck’s with her when a song she liked came on.  She asked him to dance, so in the middle of Starbuck’s they danced.  It’s a beautiful song.  Check out the video below.

As she grows and will meet “Mr. Takeover” there is a special song by Mark Harris.  It’s called “Find Your Wings.”  As she goes with this man, my prayer is that she finds her wings as a Godly woman, wife, and mother.  Check this video out below as well.  It isn’t the official video, but the person who put this one together did an awesome job.  You can see Mark’s official video here.  These are Kaitlyn’s songs.  Someday she will understand the message of each as I live them out with her.

My wife and I recently downloaded a few songs on Itunes.  She wanted some new music for the time she is labor, and I had been wanting a couple just to have.  Now, I don’t normally start off liking the songs she likes right away, but they usually grow on me.  Today, as I was driving home from work, I started asking myself the question “if I were to play one song for each of my kids, what would it be?”. 

For Kailtyn(age 3) I picked “May I have this dance?” by Scott Krippayne.  It is a song he wrote for his daughter after she insisted on dancing with him in the middle of Starbuck’s.  The memories a dad has with his daughter as his little treasure and princess are priceless.  Sometimes, when I pick Kaitlyn up, she wraps her arm around my neck and just pats me gently.  For any who think boys and girls are anything alike, forget about it.  I will raise my sons to grow and depart from me as men.  My daughter, I will raise her as a priceless treasure entrusted to me until the day I must pass her to someone much more suited to walk with her.  When she is grown and finds the man I’ve done enough background checks on and found not even a stolen cookie form his friends, the relationship I have with her will be gone.  I will no longer be her shield.  I will no longer be her source of comfort.  I will be her dad.  He will fulfill all those roles as God intended.  I will be able to watch and see how God shapes her into his princess through this man.

For Landon(age 2) I had a couple.  The first is “I Am Nothing” by Jeremy Camp. Great title to build up your son eh?  “I am nothing without your love.  I’m unworhty but your death has been enough….”  I want him to grow up with this truth in his heart, so that he always has the true perspective guiding him.

The second one for Landon is “Carry me” by Scott Krippayne.  As he reaches times in his life where he realizes it’s either sink or swim, I want him to trust God to lead him through.  My prayer before every time I speak, whether a sermon or a lesson to kids, is that God speaks his words through my mouth.  My prayer for Landon is that God displays his strength through landon’s walk.

For baby #4(hang on, number 4?  what about #3)

For baby #3, we have never met, and will some day in glory, I picked “Wish You Were Here” by Mark Stewart.  It is a song from the perspective of the one who has passed and is sitting at the feet of Jesus.  “….finally free, to run with the angels on streets made of gold, to listen to stories of saints new and old, to worship our maker that’s where I’ll be when you finally find me.”  I also have a song I wrote for her, but won’t post it here until Beth sees it too.

For #4(J.C.B.)/To be born in the next couple of weeks…  I picked, among many, three.  First, “The Best is Yet to Come” by Scott Krippayne.  The title says it all. 

Second, “Holy Moment” by Matt Redman.  I prefer the Superchic(k) version.  As I meet my son for the first time, look into his black eyes that can’t yet look back, and say, “Hey Buddy!” while he hears that familiar voice that has been muffle by mommy’s belly for 9 months, it is truly a holy moment. “Let this be a holy moment now, as something of Heaven touches Earth.  Voices of angels all resound.  We join their song!  Come. Come. Come.  Let us worship God!  With our hands held high and our hearts bowed down.”

Third is the one I didn’t hink I’d like an wouldn’t if the baby was dropping into place so fast.  “Proud Father” by Jon McLaughlin.  “A proud father, of me, you have already made.”  Nuff said.

If you were to pick a song to share with your kids what would it be and why? 

I had a good conversation with an old friend today.  On the way to the Dick Tracy Days parade, in Woodstock, IL, we were talking about church and mission.  He posed the question to me, “Which is more important: perfecting your doctrine or being involved in the lives of those around us?”  I quickly answered that they go hand in hand.  I said that in order to fully have either to be effective you have to have both.  He agreed somewhat and said, “I will never darken the door of another church, as long as I live, that won’t hit the streets.”  As we talked I explained myself and finished my answer.  I think aside from having a correct understanding of my own salvation, my biggest calling is to do works.  The greatest commandment is to love God with every part of your being.  The second greatest is to love others as yourself.  To be frank, if you come to me and try to tell me everything I’m doing is wrong and that I need to repent, I’m going to filter these words through my perspective of the person that you are.  On the flip side, if I see you serving me for no reason but to serve and love, I will start to wonder what it is that drives you to do such. 

The danger is my first answer to the question.  I can have all the correct theology I want and not serve.  I can know my Bible in and out(which is what I’m striving to learn) and never set foot in culture.  How does a monk fulfill his calling to tell others about Christ?  If he is locked up in a compound 95% of his life, who is he reaching? 

Now look at the other side of it.  If I am devoting everything I am to being in the culture and serving all I see, I’m doing what Christ has commanded me to do.  However, what am I leading them to?  We have a church in our town that has every religion I can think of each practicing its own beliefs and ceremonies under their roof.  So where a monk is not doing an effective job of reaching out with his beliefs, the other danger is reaching out and sharing false beliefs. 

So, I’m curious.  How would you answer the question?  What is the biggest part of our mission as the church: our doctrine or being in the culture serving others?

I found this John Piper video on another blog.  It’s a very powerful message.

Ever been to an event that just makes you sit and think?  Weddings do that for me.  1 1/2 weeks ago Beth and I went to a wedding out in Michigan.  The groom is one of Beth’s ex-boyfriend’s and old family friend of hers.  He’s really an outstanding guy.  I’ve told Beth that he ranks number two in all her guy friends to me.  While we were at the wedding, I started to notice some things that I never thought of before. 

The church they attend and were married in has been through some very rough waters these past several months.  The reasons for the hardships centered around the pastor and his family.  I realized, watching the ceremony, that what we take from someone(meaning our interest in what they have to say and how we interpret what they say) depends a lot on how we view the person.  The words he spoke throughout the ceremony were excellent and he said the right things that this couple needed to hear starting out their lives together.  The problem was that I felt no depth or connection with what he said.  I kept entertaining the thought, “Hah, not true for you huh?”  I told Beth’s mom after the wedding that, aside from this, this, this and this, it was a great ceremony.  While I lay in bed that night, I started thinking of how we interpret what God’s word says.  We interpret it all too often based on how we view him.  Let me explain.

Many agnostics have rejected God, whether they admit it or not.  When faced with the O.T., they will be looking for things to pin against God.  So when they read of the war, and the women and children being killed, they see him as a narcissistic, genecidal tyrant.   A Christian, who is seeking God’s truth and not his/her own agenda, will know that God is righteous and holy above all others and perfectly just.  When faced with the same passages, he/she will see God displaying his power, glory, and agreement with his chosen nation.

You can apply this to the whole of Christianity.  How you look at God will determine, many times, how you interpret his word.

The next thing that I realized came during the video that he and his bride made for the reception.  There was one picture where, as a little girl, she looked just like my daughter.  Now, Jim’s new wife is a very beautiful woman, and I freaked out.  I realized that one day Kaitlyn will also become a beautiful woman, and she’ll find the man of her dreams.  Amazingly, I wasn’t scared like most of us dads joke about.  I look at the man this woman had just married and realized there is hope.  I actually look forward to the day that I can walk Kaitlyn down the aisle to give her to the man of God created to join with her.  It was such a surprise to me to feel that way. 

What are the events that make you think the most?  What do you usually find yourself thinking about?

This video uses graphic scenes from “The Passion”.  It’s hard to watch but needs to be shared.  So many of us follow and worship a Jesus of our own making.  We want him to be handsome and dashing.  We want him to fit our agenda and opinions.  The Bible(in both testaments) makes it clear that he is not that Jesus.  He had nothing about him to draw people to him(Isaiah 53).  He was beaten and scarred(Isaiah 52:14, 53, Matthew 27, Mark 15).  He was slandered as many things for who he spent his time with(Matthew 11).  We need to get back to the Christ of the Bible and worship as He was and is.

We are warned of false teachers in the later books of the New Testament(1 Timothy, 2 Peter, Jude) coming into the church and leading sheep astray.  Many times we glance over these parts of scripture, as we think we would spot them so easily that they wouldn’t be a threat.  Well start looking a little closer and you’ll see we have missed many of them. 

First let precede my post with this.  I respect many atheists that I have dialogued with over the past couple of months.  I have seen a greater example of how Christ would have us interact with each other in them than I see in many Christians.  I recently frequented a site run by agnostics and atheists geared mainly toward the “errancy” in Christianity and the Bible.  This I believe does not exist, but their arguments are very convincing as Jude warns it will be.  I was shocked by the harsh and disrespectful responses to their arguments by so-called Christians.  So please don’t see this post as a personal attack on atheists or agnostics or those who simply choose not to believe in Christ. 

While on that site I found “christians” stating that there is no real Heaven and Hell.  They conceded that God is not able to do all that he wills.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  When I clicked on the link to one of their sites, I was shocked.  I found a man(whom I won’t link to his site or say who he is, for fear that many will go there and attack him) who calls himself a Christian, frequently dialogues on many atheist sites(not a bad habit), and pastors a church here in Illinois.  As I discussed issues of homosexuality with him and abortion and God’s unchanging person, I realized I was not even arguing with someone I would consider a Christian at all.  By his own admission, he believes in evolution, errancy in scripture, two different gods of the Bible(OT god and the “god of Jesus”), gay marriage is acceptable, abortion is best kept legal, and that Christians should not correct each other in their sins.  An atheist friend of his placed a post on his own site to allow questions to be directed to this pastor about Christianity.   Basically the hundreds of lost people seeking answers about Christianity on this site are getting their answers from someone who rejects seemingly 75% of the Bible.   You think we need to worry?  I do.  If one man from Illinois is making this impact, think of how many more are doing this.  They label themselves as the  emerging church, which is not a bad movement, but they are not really that church.  They are a very liberal side of it and are leading many from the true Christ.  Let me make it clear that this post is not an attack on this individual.  This is one example I have found that just disturbs me.  The point of this post is to raise awareness of what is going on under our noses and tagging us, Christians who believe the Bible is the written word of God, as the heretics.