I received an email from my ex-wife this evening that struck me to the core. I am thankful for the healing that God has granted in our relationship in recent years, but I am currently falling far short of the standard that has been set for me in the eyes of both my ex-wife and my oldest daughter.

I was going to write a bit more about the situation and what I am wrestling with, but I think it would be best for me to leave this entry simply as a plea for prayer. Please pray that God would give me wisdom, and that He would provide me with guidance. My desire is to “walk the walk” so that, as was discussed in my previous blog post, I might be able to be used by God to point others to Him. I don’t want to be a distraction from His glory!

Today was a great day. I started the morning with a great conversation/devotional with Lisa and the girls around the breakfast table. We talked about God as an artist, and how we have an amazing opportunity to have an intimate relationship with this artist. The conversation turned towards why God created things of such beauty, like a colorful sunset. We also talked about the pleasures of biting into a crisp, cool apple on a hot day. God didn’t have to use the sky as canvas when the sun sets – He didn’t have to make that apple simply explode into flavor when we bite into it…Why did He do that? For our pleasure… But why our pleasure? So that we might give Him glory for the beauty of His creation!

It was so much fun to have all three girls (and Lisa) all focusing this morning on how we can give God glory throughout the day by simply opening our eyes and reveling in the way He provides for us, and does so with such style.

Little did I know that this mornings devotional was a pre-cursor to my class later in the day with Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost. I am taking a class with Dr. P. entitled, “The Christian Experience in the Epistles”.

God has gifted Dr. P. with an amazingly sharp mind, and the ability to recall and present appropriate scripture at a moments notice. At 94 years of age, his mind is sharper than mine even on my best days.

All creation reveals things about God. And when it speaks, it doesn’t speak in a whisper – it shouts! ~ Dr. P.

The primary focus of our conversation in class today was the glory of God. This morning my family discussed our need to learn more about the Artist each and every day, and to give Him glory for all He has done. In class today we talked about the different ways God’s glory is revealed. Through creation, we can learn of the existence of God, and of His great power. Through the Son we learn of His mercy, love and justice. God delights in revealing Himself and His glory to us.

The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him. He is glorified when we reveal Him to this lost and hurting world. Jesus revealed the Father in everything he did, and in everything he said.

How can I live in such a way that those who watch me will come to understand what God is like? That is my challenge and my call.

Have you revealed the glory of God to the world today through your words and your deeds? I pray that we would all be able to get out of the way, and allow the Spirit that dwells within us to point this world to a God of inconceivable glory!

Today was my first official day of class. It was interesting attending when I have yet to pay tuition or buy my textbooks, but I am confident God will provide in His time! As I have often said, God’s timing is perfect, but seldom convenient.

My first class this evening was Pastoral Ministries 103 (Preaching) with Dr. Kuruvilla. As can be expected, the first class was largely spent reviewing the syllabus for the weeks yet to come.That said, the class was still encouraging as we learned about some of Dr.Kuruvilla’s passions and what was ahead. I anticipate that this class will be a great time of discovering how God has gifted us as well as learning more about each other. The class size is intentionally kept small (12 students), so there is a great opportunity here to wrestle together through issues as a class, as well as learn from each other as we start to hone our preaching skills.

My second class was one I should have taken last year, but waited until this year so I would have the opportunity to sit under Dr. Hannah. The class is Church History – The Early Church to the Modern Era. That is a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time!

This class also began as a syllabus review, but as the class is nearly three hours long (!) we were able to dig into some of the meat tonight. Dr. Hannah approaches the subject of church history with the heart of a pastor. I was very encouraged tonight as he spoke. In particular, he spoke about how people often graduate from DTS feeling like an educated individual that is ignorant where it matters. He reminded us that our job is not to know the “How” or the “Why” questions. Those are questions that we will assuredly take with us to the grave. Our job is to know the answer to the “Who”question.

Comfort is not found in knowing all of the answers – comfort is found in the relationship we can have with the One who has all the answers…Comfort in life is not a “Why” question. It is a “Who” question.

There is such truth in that comment. When Lisa and I have been completely wiped out by our circumstances, absolutely despondent, we didn’t find any comfort with “why” or “how”. It is only through looking to Christ that we can possibly have any peace. He is our rock, no matter how violent the storm may be.

I can’t answer definitively the great theological questions, and I know that I never will – many minds far greater than mine have tried over the centuries.  But one thing I can do – and I pray I do boldly – is to point people to Christ. It is only through Him that we can find any answer that has any merit in this life, or the next!

I have no idea what God has planned for us when our time here at DTS is done. I have no idea how God is going to provide for us even in this next week. But I do have peace. It makes no sense, by my human reason…but I have no doubt that God is going to provide for us in a way that will make it clear to everyone that it was His doing. All glory belongs to Him, and none to me! I pray that I will live my life in such a way that I never steal His glory.

Tomorrow, the classes continue!

Our experience at Pine Cove Family Camp was like nothing we have ever experienced before. We left our apartment after an intense season of Greek, a move across town into a place that is smaller than half the size of our previous home, and complete and total stress. God in His sovereignty definitely had a hand in bringing us to Pine Cove when He did!

Wow! I can’t believe I survived “Suicide Greek”. What an experience!  32 weeks of Greek packed into 10 weeks. With multiple quizzes every day, frequent unit exams and finals rearing up with unexpected frequency, this crucible of learning was quite demanding!

But now that the Final Exam is complete, I can look back at the past ten weeks with a different lens. What a blessing! I’ve always been a little critical of the Greek language requirement, but now that I have had the opportunity to dig into the Greek text with just a little aptitude, I have been amazed at how the text of Scripture leaps to life in new ways!

Our professor (Dr. David Hoe) made the comparison of watching a movie in Black & White and then seeing it in 1080i High Definition color. It is true – the nuances present in the Greek don’t make it fluidly into the English. It has been a lot of fun to be able to see a more complete picture as we have explored the Greek NT.

But now the class is done, and I am heading with my family on a long-awaited, much anticipated vacation to Summer Camp! I will be experiencing a bit of a technology fast during our time there. Not sure how I will survive that, but I will do my best!

When I return I will have some photos, and will reenter the world of blogging with pseudo-regularity.  Thanks for bearing with me this summer, and I will see you in a week!

I am enjoying what is affectionately referred to as “Suicide Greek” at DTS right now.  Essentially, 32 weeks of Greek study is packed into 10 weeks.

My brain is full of paradigms, vocabulary, and odd grammatical rules – I have a blog post rolling around in my mind right now on something I’m experiencing right now that I’ve termed “excuse-based theology”.  I hope to get things under control soon and be able to get something posted – but I guess that sounds like another excuse…

I shall return – until then, have a Greek day!

We made the (painfully) long drive from Dallas to Peoria, IL this weekend to spend time with friends and family. This morning we went to church at Harvest Bible Chapel of Peoria.

I can’t begin to tell you how great it was to go to church and see so many familiar faces.  We enjoy our church in Dallas, but it is so large that we typically go, listen to the message, and leave without any significant interaction with anyone.  We’ve been gone from Harvest for nearly a year now, but in many ways it felt as though we never left. This church has truly become our family in so many ways.  It is bittersweet to come for a week with the realization that it may be longer than a year before we return.

These are relationships that I cherish.  As I meet new people, forge new relationships, and continue to worship and learn together with other people of God, I know it will be difficult to maintain contact with those whom I don’t see on a daily or weekly basis. But we are all brothers and sisters in Christ…and we’re supposed to stay in contact with family, right?

I am looking forward to this next week of reestablishing contact, and growing deeper in relationship during the limited time that we have – every moment we are given is precious.  How better to spend it than by giving God glory by investing in the relationships we have been given?