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Pictures of Grandkids

January 24, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Today is our daughter Valerie’s birthday–she’s 28–and I’ve got pictures! No, not of her. Of our two grandchildren she’s carrying!

Valerie saw her doctor again this week and we got some pretty amazing shots of the twins via sonogram. One of the little units shows up really clear–a little ham! Evidently, the kid on the left side is mainly behind his/her brother/sister and much harder to see. The second picture shows a precious little hand. How awesome is that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valerie says this picture below is the best one of both babies at the same time. But the shy one on the left, in Val’s words, is “upside down, so it’s mostly a booty shot.” If the backside is the most prominent feature, then it’s definitely got lots of Stanglin in him/her.

As always, you can click on any picture to blow it up a little bigger. And, in case you’ve missed it, we know from blood work that at least one of these babies is a boy. It’s either two boys or a boy and a girl. It is not two girls. I’m not sure when we’re going to get visual confirmation, but I can’t wait.

They both measured a bit longer than the doctor expected so they moved Valerie’s due date up to July 22. And, again, they’re likely to come a little earlier. Valerie is checking out in really good health and the two babies are in excellent shape and we are deeply grateful and incredibly excited.

You’re going to get sick of me showing you pictures of my grandchildren before they’re even born!

Happy Birthday, Valerie! We love you, girl!

Peace,

Dad, Granddad

Magic Carpet Ride

January 23, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Okay, I’ve got a new little weird obsession that I’m really excited about. I am substituting the word “sermon” or “preaching” whenever I see the word “poem” or “poetry” and it is opening my heart to new ways of expressing what it’s like to be a preacher. The exhilarating anticipation. The tyranny of the Sunday sermon. The dread. The burden. The indescribable joy and blessing. The honor. The eternal power of the Word that is impossible to harness. The frustration. The surprise. Poetry and sermons have much in common, and so do those who write them.

I’ve come across a short poem from someone named Bill Knot. The poem is entitled “To Myself.” The first word is “poetry,” which I have changed to “preaching.”

Poetry
can be
that magic
carpet

which you say
you want,
but only
if you

stand willing
to pull
the rug out

from under
your own
feet daily.

Doesn’t this poem speak deeply to the sense of adventure there is in preaching? Yes. The mystery. The possibility. The certainty that your apple cart is going to get turned over without warning. The paradox of entering a sacred text hopeful for answers, only to come away with more questions. Continually feeling off balance. Daily.

Peace,

Allan

Coincidence or Strategy?

January 21, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Dan Snyder owned the Washington Redskins / Commanders for 25 seasons, from 1999-2023. And they were horrible. Washington recorded only six winning seasons during that quarter of a century and did not win a single divisional playoff game in that time. They changed owners this past offseason. The NFL basically forced Snyder to sell his team after a long track record of club mismanagement and personal misconduct. Josh Harris bought the team over the summer. In this first season of Harris’ ownership, Washington drastically improved from 4-13 to 12-5, plus two playoff wins and a spot in this Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

They changed owners.

And, in one season, they are now playing in their first conference title game in 33 years.

Just sayin’.

Peace,

Allan

Core Scriptures

January 20, 2025 / / 0 Comments

We all know that some Bible passages are more important than others.

Oh! Scandalous! What did he say?!

No, you can’t freak out about that.

But all Scripture is the same!

No, it’s not. Not all the verses in the Bible are on the same level. It’s not flat. And we know this. It’s not controversial. We all know this about Scripture.

Our Lord Jesus taught us this. He pointed us to what he calls the weightier matters, the parts of Scripture that are closest to the heart and will of the Father. He clearly believed and taught that some biblical commands are more important than others–he ranked them!

Plus, think about our own experiences within our churches. You probably spend a lot more time in the Gospels than in Haggai. You likely have more Bible classes on Exodus and Acts than you do in Jude. And you don’t think you’re preacher is bad because he hasn’t preached through 2 Thessalonians or Nahum. We all know and practice the fact that some Scripture is more important than others.

So how do we get those Scriptures inside us? How do we make the most important sections of the Bible part of who we are?

Our shepherds and ministers worked together for two months last fall to identify what we are calling our “Core Scriptures.” There are ten of them–the nature of God, his character and his mission, how we’re saved and why, how we treat others, where all this is headed–and we’re going to read one of them every single Sunday during our morning worship assembly. Over and over again, a different core Scripture every week. Regardless of the day’s sermon, the season of the year, or the theme for the week, we’re going to read the next core Scripture. And when we read the tenth one ten Sundays from now, we’re going to start all over at the top of the list and keep going. We’re not going to be afraid of repetition; we’re going to embrace it, because we think it’s critical that we get these foundational, essential passages inside us.

We believe these passages can change us. We believe if we’ll view the whole Bible through the lens of these key verses, we’ll be better interpreters. We believe we’ll have a more perfect understanding of the heart and will of our God and that it’ll lead to more Christ-likeness for our whole congregation.

Here are GCR’s ten “Core Scriptures:”

Matthew 22:37-40
1 John 4:7-12
Romans 8:28, 31b-35, 37-39
Matthew 28:18-20
Exodus 34:5-7a
Ephesians 2:4-10
Colossians 3:12-15
Philippians 2:1-11
Micah 6:6-8
Revelation 21:1-7

These are the passages that just soar. These are the verses that cultivate a love and adoration for God’s Word. Through these Scriptures, we see how large and splendid and magnificent life really is as a beloved child of God, redeemed by the blood of his Son, and restored by the power of his Holy Spirit.

Instead of reading through the whole Bible this year, it might be better to dig into a few core passages and really get them inside your soul. Memorize them, meditate on them, read them and recite them out loud, pray them, journal them, make them a part of who you are. Just try it. And see if you don’t have more strength and stability and better balance. Who you are and everything you do is connected to and extends from your core.

Peace,

Allan

The Bible: Our Transformation

January 17, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Continuing our conversation on whatever Bible reading plans you have for 2025, and reminding you of this statement concerning what the Bible is and what the Bible does: The Bible is God’s revelation for our transformation. This is what the Bible is and what the Bible is for. We addressed the revelation part of the statement in the last post. Today, let’s tackle the transformation.

“The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~Hebrews 4:12

“When you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” ~1 Thessalonians 2:13

The Bible works in us. The holy words of Scripture do something inside us. They give us health and wholeness and life. They give us holiness and wisdom and hope. The words of the Bible are supposed to get inside our souls and shape us; they’re intended by our God to change us into a people who are more and more in tune with the new world he is creating, the salvation he is bringing, and the people he is gathering.

These are formational words. They’re intended to transform our lives, not just stuff more information into our brains. We want the Bible to get into our guts, not just our heads. We want the words of Scripture flowing through our bloodstreams. We want to receive them in a way that changes us and shapes us more into the image of Christ. And that takes a different kind of reading. We’ve got to chew on these words and swallow them. The holy words of Scripture need to become a part of you.

What happens when you eat something? It becomes a part of you. You assimilate it. You are what you eat–that’s exactly right! And we know this, we experience this. If a nursing mother eats fajitas for lunch–with onions, jalapenos, pico de gallo, and salsa–she’s going to be up all night. Not because she’s sick, but because her baby is sick! The fajitas have become a part of her! You are what you put inside you. I look in the mirror and I can see Whataburger and Blue Sky. It’s become part of me. The biggest part.

The words of Scripture are written by the Holy Spirit in a way to get inside us. They’re intended to become a part of us and change us. In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul prays that the Christians there would be filled with the knowledge of God and God’s will “in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work” (Colossians 1:9-10).

The true test of whether the Bible is in you is seen in your transformed life. Your Christian formation is measured or proven by bearing fruit through your good works as a result of a changing life.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the child of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ~2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is not primarily about theological doctrine or the right facts or being more correct. It’s not. The Bible says the Bible is all about changing lives and producing good works. We don’t read the Bible to know more, we read the Bible to do more!

We don’t study the Bible. We don’t learn it. We don’t use the Bible. We eat it. We ingest it. We assimilate it. We take it into our lives in such a way that it metabolizes into acts of love, cups of cold water, hospital and prison visits, casseroles and cakes, comfort and encouragement, evangelism and justice.

So, how do we get the Bible inside us? How do we make the Scriptures a part of who we are?

What about focusing for a full year on just ten core passages? Reading just those ten. Dwelling in them. Praying them. Meditating on them. Memorizing and reciting them. For a full year. More on that tomorrow.

Peace,

Allan

The Bible: God’s Revelation

January 15, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I want to continue the conversation about our Bible reading plans for 2025 with this statement about what the Bible is and what the Bible does:

The Bible is God’s revelation for our transformation.

Let’s start with revelation. Consider just two key passages that remind us the Bible is a communication from God given to us by God himself.

“When you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God.” ~1 Thessalonians 2:13

“All Scripture is God-breathed.” ~2 Timothy 3:16

The Bible is not just a collection of truths or a set of laws. It is a very complex, multi-faceted thing through which God has spoken, God is still speaking, and God promises to keep on speaking. Our God has not stopped talking. He hasn’t developed laryngitis. He’s not silent. He reveals to us who he is and his character and his will. He personally reveals to us what he is all about and what he is doing in this world all around us. He tells us how and why we were created and what his plans are for us. And the primary way he does that is through the Bible.

So, reading the Bible is everything. It’s life and death, and what you had for breakfast, and what you’re planning to do in April. It’s everything. So, you read the Bible with your whole life, not just with the gray stuff inside your skull.

The Bible is God’s Word straight from God himself. That’s what we believe. So, we know it’s right and we know it’s true. But sometimes we let the right and the true get in the way of our God. The whole Bible is about God–every line, every word. It’s about God. But we lose that sometimes. We’ll read all four chapters of Jonah and then spend eight weeks arguing about and trying to figure out how a man can live inside a whale and, if so, what kind of whale was it? Wait! Jonah is about God, not a whale! We’re missing it!

It’s like the football player who’s so in love with his uniform, he forgets he has a game to play. Or like the college student who finds a wonderful social life, but forgets to study. True, you can’t have Jonah without the whale, you can’t have a football game without the uniform, and college doesn’t really work without a social life. But they’re different things! We can’t miss the point!

The Bible is a revelation from God about God. And this direct revelation from God carries ultimate authority. But it’s not an impersonal authority like a collection of science facts and truth. It’s not a legal authority like volumes of legislation in a law library. It’s not a factual authority like a geometry textbook. It’s not historical authority like an ancient artifact under glass in a museum. The Bible is a personal, relational revelation that carries personal, relational authority. The Bible is God letting us in on something, showing us what it means to live as women and men created by him and in his holy image.

So, how we read it matters. We don’t pick and choose or copy and paste different verses together to win an argument or prove some point. When we open up the Bible, we open up something big, something huge and eternal, something personal from the Creator of Heaven and Earth and the Sustainer of Life. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived has been revealed to us now by God’s Holy Spirit.

We don’t read the Bible like we read the internet or a cookbook or a James Patterson novel. It’s not a constitution or a rule book or an owner’s manual for life. It’s God’s revelation. How we read it matters.

Peace,

Allan

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