morning devotional for my software team

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

As we take a closer look today at all that we've been doing, all that we've accomplished, and how we can improve for the future, let's give thanks to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Deism is a constant temptation for us, as we walk in the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in each day. Though we probably don't imagine God booting up his laptop at 8am every work day, sipping some coffee, and clicking on a shortcut on his desktop so that He can hit the beach for the rest of the day, doesn't our lack of daily thanksgiving suggest that we sometimes do?  We easily forget that God is  the Extreme Programmer.  The Spirit is always faithful to pair with us. Not one line of code is written, compiled, or executed apart from the Father's decree. The Son will not even let one single appointed whitespace or comment pass away until all is accomplished.  Think about all the things we can give thanks for, when we realize He is with us in all of this, for from him and through him and to him are all things .

But what about all those things that seem to get in our way for doing all the good works we've planned?  Surely, God is out to lunch when those happen!  Those twenty emails that arrived after I just caught up. Those jira issues that seem to come in faster than we can fix them.

Our God is not just Lord of the finished product in all its glory, but over the entire process, however frustrating or time consuming it may seem sometimes.  We want all that is glorious now, all at once, apart from inconveniences, apart from pain.  Our Creator is not only interested in our software passing all the tests, but our very hearts.  When push comes to shove, it is our attitudes and character that God gives priority in his heavenly triage. We need constant debugging. He has taken ownership over our development, even when He isn't to blame for the bugs we'd rather call "features" in our hearts, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.

He is much more patient with us than we are with Him.  He is a God who pleases to take His time. He took six days to call all things good, savoring the last day as best. He delighted in the development process, when He could have just clicked on a shortcut. His Spirit took over a thousand years to inscripturate the Holy Scripture. He endured thousands of years of rebellion until time was appointed to labor in birth with His promised Son. The Son learned the obedience of an eternal priest for us through the things he suffered. And it pleased His Father to take time to crush the Son on our behalf. 

Look at the bigger picture now. The whole creation still groans with childbirth pains for our glorification. We are participants in that new creation, the regeneration of all things. Christ is the firstborn and His church is the center of that new cosmos to come. We are the temple from which His glory will fill the earth. Every day, new stones are being made alive, sons of Abraham, crying out, declaring His glory. 

Programming should be for us an act of faith that God is using to build His church. We are not just IT support. We are Holy Temple support. Not only is our software development an act of mercy for missionaries, it is an act of war.  As technology has developed, so has the sophisticated tactics and defenses of our enemy. True, we are not on the front lines, but our tools are being employed for front line usage. Wherever there is development of literacy in the world, Scripture will continue to gain ground through the gates of Hell in hearts that hear.

Can't you hear the Lamb in heaven breaking the seals of His scroll across the globe, shaking all that remains to be shaken? (Rev 5:9) Countless peoples are worshipping God in their own tongue. Praise the Lord!

I am loved

Every so often my friend, Phil asks, "So when are you coming? It's time for you to visit us again." The last time I visited was last year right after Katrina hit. I watched his family mobilize others in the church to house huricane refugees. I was due for another visit.

Phil helped me carry my bags and clothes into the guest room. When we opened the door, it appeared that several items were still on the bed. My initial thought was, "Oh, is this not where I'm staying?" Phil asked his wife Amy. She explained that she had not yet taken the time to cleanup the room after their son's birthday party. I thought it was funny that she had not cleared off the bed in expectation of my coming. I told her it made me feel like I was part of their family that she didn't feel anxious about making everything look all perfect just for me. Sometimes you know you're loved when you don't receive special treatment. I'd much rather people feel they can be "at home" around me than running a hotel in their home.

I am sad.

During Ed Welch’s lectures in Dallas this past weekend, I just heard for the first time that one of my favorite professors Al Groves is in the latter stages of melanoma cancer. I’m not sure how I missed the news. Even when our new professor Adrian Smith prayed with boldness for Al’s health during our Convocation ceremony, I guess I just wanted to believe it was a special prayer for Al’s chronic fatigue.

Dr. Welch spoke of Al most gloriously during his lectures on Suffering. How everyone who visits him goes to encourage and to bless, and leaves surprisingly encouraged and blessed by Christ in him.

My brief conversations and times with Prof Groves seem especially heightened in significance for me. I had the honor providing transportation for him after one of his lecture visits in Dallas. We talked about Sailhamer and movies like Magnolia. I think it was Al who introduced me to Magnolia, which continues to be a redemptive treasure full of treasures.

I’ve been bragging ever since about his Deutoronomic history class. Definitely one of my favorite OT courses. If the Lord ever calls me to be a professor some day, I would cite Al as a chief influence and role model. I am ever thankful that His love for the Lord and intimate knowledge of the Scriptures has overflowed the banks of Philly and spilled down to us in Dallas, as annointing oil trickles down from the head and onto a man’s beard.

Solomon & Solomon - the wisdom of forgiveness in Magnolia

The last time I watched Magnolia, I noticed something else I had not previously noticed: the furniture store Solomon & Solomon represents riches and wisdom. At the beginning of the movie, it's money from his employer that the "stupid" Donnie Smith feels he needs most of all to win the object of his misdirected love. At the end, it's outside Solomon & Solomon that the Quiz Kid adult confesses he lacks wisdom in love: "I have lots of love to give, I just just don't know where to put it."

It's outside Solomon & Solomon that Jim the Cop demonstrates the wisdom of forgiveness in helping Donnie return his stolen money. For the first time in the movie, Jim sits and fully listens to a someone without judging them. "Some people you need to forgive. Some people you need to put in jail. That's the tough part of the job. Who can we forgive?" Governing and executing the Law with wisdom, is not simply a matter of putting people in prison or shooting them.

The movie begins with a kind of angelic merciless justice. The narrated series of "coincidences" at the beginning involve divine judgments all ending in death or imprisonment. The cop's monologue at the beginning of the movie focuses upon man's need to "be good to each other" setting the standard by which the rest of the character's lives are judged or being judged. The cop represents God's Law. But the movie ends, not with simply fatal judgments, but with a dying wish fulfilled, second chances, reconciliation. Redemption. Thus, Jim's character moves from "strict justice" to the wisdom of forgiveness. If Jim can learn the wisdom of forgiveness and not being too quick to judge, than his budding relationship with Claudia (the sinner drug-addict) has hope. And if their relationship can work, the whole world has hope.

Wisdom is one of the main themes of the movie. This becomes most overt when all the characters join in the movie's climatic music video "It's not going to stop, till you wise up". The game show "What do kids know?" play upon the competing relationship between knowledge of adults vs. kids in the context of authority structures. Kids and their knowledge are held hostage to the abuse of adult authorities. Authority asks questions and makes imperatives, kids answer trivia for the sake of cheap adult entertainment (or, in the case of parents, exploiting children for lucrative gain). In the end, Stanley wises-up and realizes that there is an authority that is higher than the oppressive uses of adult authority and education. He begins to ask adults questions. "It's not a dangerous thing to confuse children with angels." After "getting" the divine revelation at the end, Stanley functions as an angelic messenger to warn his father against abusing his authority: "Father, you need to be good to me." Will his father wise-up and see that it is wrong to use his child for fame and fortune? Will he realize that he is not the ultimate authority in his and his son's life? In the end, divine judgment remains penal, but this serves to "Let my people go."

solipsism

to body and
to Body and
to BODY
the mouth and mind of a babe cleaves and cries for strength until
"He silences foes and avengers with perfected praise."

from BODY and
from Body and
from body,
the leprous mind and mouth severs from self until
"it passes through waterless places, seeking rest,
but does not find it."

studying for biblical counseling final exam

Since I'll be devoting the next week or so preparing (coram deo) for my Theology and Secular Psychology final exam, I thought I'd leave you with a couple more papers I submitted to that class this semester: An eye opening movie with some pizza food for thought. Behold and bon appetite.

Next on Seinfeld: Mailmen are closet mailbox critics

Our mailman knocked on our door today since he had a package for me. I answered the door to receive the package and the mailman paid a compliment to our new mailbox:

"I like your new mailbox. It is much nicer looking than that old one."

"Yeah, it's a little smaller than the other one. I hope that works."

"Well, you don't receive a lot of mail. But there are heavy mail days and the smaller boxes just can't handle it."

"I went for the cheapest box." Pointing to the old box on the ground next to some bird droppings and a broken egg, I continued, "The birds were making a nest out of that one. I just wanted to get one that could close its lid." (Not to mention had the same bolt configuration. I didn't want to drill new holes in the wall to accomodate a different shaped box.)

"I suppose you get what you pay for. Next time when this one wears out, you should consider getting the longer box, instead of the deeper box model."

So, that's how it ended. He began with a compliment and ended with a critique of our new mailbox! He must have a lot to say about mailboxes. I bet that mailman walks around the neighborhood evaluating homes by their mailboxes: "Egads. Get a new mailbox, bud." or "Now this is a man who knows his mailbox." or "Hey, Fred, on the Bradford route, what did you think of the Johnsons' mailbox? Don't ya just wanna stand on their porch all day, taking mail out and putting mail in. Smooth, huh?"