Getting Christmas Trees

Messing around with my new video camera and editing software. Video from Thanksgiving Weekend at my parents' house getting Christmas trees.

Little Full...Lotta Sap.

Leah and I are heading to Indiana to spend some time with my family, and cut down our Christmas tree tomorrow. It's been a great tradition in my family for about 20 years or so, and combined with Thanksgiving, officially kicks off the Christmas season. I'll post some pictures once we have it this year, but in the meantime, to help kick off the Christmas season, a little taste of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Stephen Curry Held Scoreless

This is just strange. Stephen Curry, Davidson's star point guard who came into last night's game with Loyola (Md.) averaging 35 points a game, was held scoreless when Loyola's coach, Jimmy Patsos, decided to double-team him the entire game, no matter where he was on the court. Regardless of whether he had the ball or not, there were 2 defenders on him.

Curry, being a very intelligent kid, just went to the corner every possession and let his teammates play 4-on-3 for the entire game, which Davidson won 78-48. Loyola continued this ridiculous defense even down 30 points near the end of the game. Curry only took 3 shots, and the junior was held under double figures for only the 2nd time in his career.

You really have to wonder about Patsos' motivation for doing this. Did he really think his team had a better chance of winning 4-on-3 against a much better Davidson team?

This quote is pretty telling: “Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I’m a history major. They’re going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30?”

So who cares about winning? Let's try to be remembered because we held a great player scoreless. A player who cared so little about his personal scoring average and accolades that he was willing to stand aside and let his teammates shine for a night without complaining.

I don't think anyone's even going to remember this coach's name. But I think quite a few people will remember that Curry, despite having a chance at winning national player of the year this year, despite carrying a 35 point-per-game average, didn't force things to try to keep those things in tact. He put winning first, something Loyola's coach clearly knows nothing about.

10 Tips to Read More and Read Better

Tim Challies has a helpful post for those who want to read more, but don't know how, or those who do read a lot, and want to read better.

His 10 tips:

• Read
• Read Widely
• Read Deliberately
• Read Interactively
• Read With Discernment
• Read Heavy Books
• Read Light Books
• Read New Books
• Read Old Books
• Read What Your Heroes Read

See these points fleshed out on Challies' blog.

Obama's Interview with Cathleen Falsani

This came out last week, but I didn't get around to linking it until today. Back in 2004 (!), when he was running for the Senate (!), Barack Obama sat down with Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun Times to do an interview about his faith. It is very interesting to read.

He's much less guarded (obviously) than he was while running for president, so he actually answers her questions, even when he knows he really doesn't have a great answer for her. You pretty much just get to see the real Obama as it relates to his faith, not the one who was so worried about what he'd say he said "um" every other word while he chose his words carefully. He's just being himself here.

I'm going to avoid any real analysis of what he says. You can see some samples (which I tend to agree with) over at B2W. Other than that, I'll let you be the judge.

Among some of his more interesting (to me, at least) comments:

• "So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."

• "I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others. I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding."
  

• "Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history."
  

• "Well, my pastor [Jeremiah Wright] is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for. I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely."
  

• "I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my religious makeup."

• "Part of the reason I think it's always difficult for public figures to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you. Oftentimes that's by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the lowest common denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is."

• "What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing."

• "[Sin is] being out of alignment with my values..In the same way that if I'm true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I'm not true to it, it's its own punishment."

• "I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man who acted and risked everything on behalf of those values but never slipped into intolerance or dogma. He seemed to always maintain an air of doubt about him."

Music Video of the Week

Lecrae - "Don't Waste Your Life"



Lyrics (Pulled these from another website. Might not be exactly right, but they're close):

Verse 1:
I know a lot of people that scared they gone die
couple of em thinking they'll be livin in the sky
while I'm here livin man I gotta ask why, what am here for I gotta figure out
waste my life no I gotta make it count
if Christ is real then what am I gonna do about
everything in Luke 12:15 down to 21
you really gotta go and check it out
Paul said if Christ ain't resurrected then we wastin' our lives
well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive
everyday I'm living tryna show the world why
Christ is more than everything you'll ever try
better than pretty women and sinning and living to get a minute of any women and men that you admire
it aint no lie
We created for Him
outta the dust he made us for Him
Elects us and he saves us for Him
Jesus comes and he raises for Him
Magnify the Father why bother with something lesser
he made us so we could bless Him and to the world we confess him
resurrects him
so I know I got life
matter fact better man I know I got Christ
if you don't' see His ways in my days and nights
you can hit my brakes you can stop my lights
man I lost my rights
lost my life
forget the money cars and toss that ice
the cost is Christ
and they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price.

Verse 2:
Armed and dangerous
So the devil jus can't hang wid us
Christian youth them a stand wid us
Livin' n driven/ given a vision/ fullfillin the commission he handed us
London to Los Angeles
Da rap evangelist
Ma daddy wouldn't abandon us
"I gotta back pack fulla tracts plus I keep a Johnny Mac"
So are you ready to jam with us
So lets go, gimme the word an lets go
Persecution lets go
Tribulation lets go
Across the nation lets go
Procrastination lets go
Hung on the cross in the cold
Died for da young and the old
Can't say you never know
Heaven knows
How many souls are going to hell or to heaven so we gotta go in and get em

Verse 3:
Suffer
Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life
if you make a lot of money hope you doing it right because the money is Gods you better steward it right
stay focused if you aint got no ride
your life aint wrapped up in what you drive
the clothes you wear the job you work
the color your skin naw you Christian first
people living life for a job/ make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog
when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn't ever really live at all
to live is Christ yeah and that's Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all
he's the treasure you'll never find in the mall
See your money your singleness marriage talent yo time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
that's why it's Christ in my rhymes
That's why it's Christ all the time/
see my whole world is built around him He's the life in our lives
I refused to waste my life
he's too true ta chase that ice
heres my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
If he's truly raised to life
then this news should change your life
and by his grace you can put your faith in place that rules the days and nights.

The Pleasure of Completed Tasks

Got this from C.J. Mahaney's blog today:

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Romney on the Detroit Auto Bailout

Mitt Romney, who is very familiar with the American auto business, has a great op-ed piece on the potential Detroit Auto Bailout package being discussed in Washington. He outlines some specifics about the steps he believes these automakers need to make, and presents a good argument for letting the free-market economy force changes into these companies.

He says:

If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it...

...[D]on’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

Read the whole article.

Dodson on Contextualization

Jonathan Dodson over at the Resurgence has another great post, this one on Contextualization. He uses the examples of Gregory the Great (540-604) and Augustine of Canterbury to show how to transform culture by contextualizing Christian principles in church planting. The missiology of Gregory can be broken down in 3 facets:

1. Adaptation - Adopting a cultural form for Christian purposes.

2. Gradualism - Implementing Christian ideals slowly, recognizing that individuals are undergoing an entire worldview shift.

3. Exchange - Creating an entirely new cultural form in exchange for an existing idolatrous one.

See these ideas fleshed out a little more at the Resurgence.

Fighting FOCA - Sign the Petition

Justin Taylor points out that there is a petition against the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), the first piece of legislation that will be signed if Barack Obama keeps his promise to Planned Parenthood (you can view the video here).

From the petition site:

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide.

• FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections.
• FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
• FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

Barack Obama believes this legislation will "end the abortion wars." To him, "ending the abortion wars" means eradicating every state and federal law on abortion — laws that the majority of Americans support.

Please consider signing this petition. You can view the Act in question in both the Senate and the House (thanks spud). We need to fight against this. Read the act. Read what it's going to do. Fight it.

The Abbreviated Jesus

iMonk has a great post on what he calls the "abbreviated Jesus." Does this sound familiar in your experiences with many Christians?

I’m beginning to get the feeling that when people say Jesus, I can’t trust the abbreviation.

I’m getting the feeling that we’re talking about a kind of “mini-Jesus.” A diluted, declawed, demoted savior who is a symbolic representation for a kind of anemic, watered-down, unBiblical, culturally acceptable Jesus...

...I’m not sure this abbreviated Jesus believes in hell.

He seems considerably more flexible on sexual matters than one would believe reading the Bible.

Living together before marriage? The abbreviated Jesus seems to have not issued a statement on that one.

I actually think the abbreviated Jesus doesn’t like to be bothered with issues of morality, character or behavior. He’s mostly interested in larger political and cultural issues, or your experience at your local church, or how you’re doing in your relationships.

The abbreviated Jesus has quite a bit in common with contemporary “life coaches,” talk show hosts, political apologists, faith-based advocates, teachers of “principles,” community organizers and family values lobbyists.

The people who talk about the abbreviated Jesus don’t seem to know much about the Bible. Not at all.

Unfortunately, the culture in America is very encouraging of this view of Jesus. Everything is very comfortable, people are supposed to be "tolerant" of everything except the truth. The abbreviated Jesus fits very nicely into this setting.

That's not who we follow.


This is who we follow:

I want to know Jesus. The untamed, old school, offensive, mysterious, demanding, awe-inspiring, transformational, life altering, crucified, risen, ascended, revolutionary Jesus.

Spell it out: He’s the creator. The mediator. The fulfiller and establisher of the law. His the passover lamb. He’s the head of the church. He’s the heart and key to Holy Scripture. He’s the meal on the table. He’s life in the living water. He pours out the Holy Spirit. He’s the rider on the white horse. He’s the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s the eternal God.

He doesn’t need my explantations, endorsements or euphemisms. He isn’t reading my note cards and nodding. He doesn’t tolerate my sin. He’s the life of God for the sin of the world. He’s righteousness, sanctification and holiness. He’s the Kingdom bringer, the executor of judgement, the one who is worthy to open the scroll and read the books. He’s the light of heaven and the conquerer of hell, death, sin and the grave.

He’s the one in whom all history, poetry, story and theology come together into the great I AM. He’s the mystery and the Word that reveals God to all persons. He’s the Gospel itself, the meaning of every message and the open door of God’s mercy.

You can’t abbreviate him.

You fall at his feet and worship. You get up and follow. You die and he raises you on the last day.

That’s Jesus, and I’ve got a feeling a lot of people really don’t have a clue.

Twittering

So in my attempt to be really cool and join in every internet fad...I joined Twitter yesterday. Think Facebook status updates on speed. Basically just a running conversation with others where you constantly answer the question, "What are you doing?" Who needs privacy, right? Anyway, if you want to "follow" my Twitter updates, you can go here. I also added a widget on the right of my blog.

How Should Christians Engage Culture?

Jonathan Dodson over at the Resurgence has 6 Ways to Engage Culture:

1. Engage culture prayerfully.

2. Engage culture carefully.

3. Engage culture biblically-theologically.

4. Engage culture redemptively.

5. Engage culture humbly.

6. Engage culture selectively.

His summary of these 6 ideas:

When engaging culture prayerfully, we depend on the wisdom that comes from the Spirit who searches out all cultures, who can enable us to recognize and rejoice in what is true, beautiful, and good, and reject or redeem what is false, ugly, and immoral. As a result, engaging culture can become an act of communion with God. Relying on the wisdom of the Spirit will also mean careful investigation of cultural issues, being critical of our own biases while maintaining an open ear to the arguments of others. However, we're not left to navigate the turbulent waters of our culture with only prayer and reason. God has given us his Word, a divine and authoritative Text from which we can glean wisdom and theological principles to engage culture.

When wrestling with issues, we must be careful to bring questions, not assumptions, from our culture to the Word, following a pattern of Text-Theology-Culture. This biblical-theological engagement with culture should always lead to redemptive action, restoring what is ugly and immoral from our position as accepted children of God, citizens of Zion. In turn, we can engage culture humbly and selectively, recognizing our limitations and rejoicing in our unique opportunities to engage the world around us.

Finally, try to practice these six ways of engaging culture not just as an individual but in community. To put a spin on Rufus Wainwright's words: Only when the Church in this country becomes obsessed with glorifying God in all things will we critically and redemptively engage our culture on all kinds of subjects.

Read the whole article.

Music Video of the Week

Disciple - "Game On" (300 Version - someone put the song to clips from the movie 300 - viewer discretion advised...)

Can We Question God?

Al Mohler:

Is it legitimate for a believer to question God? Yes and no. Even the Apostle Paul admitted to being perplexed [2 Corinthians 4:8], but by his own affirmation he was not crushed. We have no right to question the steadfast love of God for us, however, because this insinuates that God is either unable nor unwilling to keep his word. As the Bible reveals, He is neither unable or unwilling. He is ever faithful, even as his ways are "past finding out" [Romans 11:33].

One day, we will be beyond asking any questions about God's ways. Until then, it may help to remember that even the Apostle Paul was sometimes perplexed. Perplexed, that is, but not unfaithful.

Read the whole article.

Testing My New Flip Mino Video Camera

So with my son about to be born very soon, Leah and I decided to purchase a video camera to document things in his first few years. We finally decided on a Flip Mino, a very small camera designed to be convenient and easy to upload to the internet to share with people. Since those were my two main criteria, it fit. The video quality is not amazing, but considering the size of the camera (basically the size of an iPod), it's quite impressive. Also, it has built-in software to edit videos together.

Here's a quick example I made from video of my nephew, Baron. Just took a couple clips, clicked a few options, and it produced this:




Here's another quick example of video of Leah and our dog, Lilly:

Learning About Part of the Curse

Leah and I attended an all-day childbirth class at the hospital where we plan to have Leah deliver when the baby decides to show up. 9:00 am to 5:30 pm on a Saturday is a long time to hear about birth-related things, but we learned a lot and I'm glad we did it.

Just a few observations from the day:

• They should not show actual birth footage right before and right after lunch. It's rough...
• I hate birth-related words beginning with the letter "E" (this would include Epidurals, Episiotomys, etc.).
• Apparently, I'm rather queasy about some things.
• These classes are great for knowing what to expect...they're also great for freaking out the dads.
• I've been very proud of how Leah has handled pregnancy, but I have new respect for what she will be going through during the birth.
• I'm glad they gave us something for Leah to squeeze during labor (other than my hand).
• They said we should actually have our bags already packed by the end of this week. Are we seriously almost there already?!
• I'm now even more mad at Eve...Genesis 3:16 is a slight understatement in my opinion.
  
• I'm very glad that I'm a man.

Music Video of the Week

Day of Fire - "Cornerstone" (Not their video - someone made it with clips from "The Passion of the Christ" in it.) I really like the song, though, and thought I'd share.

Some Thoughts on Matthew 5:29-30

I'm currently reading through my Bible again over the next year with my wife. We purchased ESV Study Bibles when they came out, and Justin Buzzard posted a good reading plan around the same time , so we decided to do it together. As part of that, we read Matthew 5:29-30 the other night. Just thought I would start posting about things the Lord reveals to me during my reading over the next year.

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

There's an interesting tension in this passage that I never actually noticed before, but which has become very applicable to me recently. The context here is lust, but Christ is clearly saying that it is better to completely remove yourself from any circumstances where you may sin rather than end up in hell. The imagery is violent and compels us to understand the seriousness with which we should take our sin. Nothing is more precious than God and nothing can be put before Him.

How far should this be applied, though? If you're like me, you're prone to sin in almost all situations, and we're obviously not called to remove ourselves from the world ("be in the world, but not of it"). We cannot remove all temptation, so where do we draw the line and say, "I cannot handle this situation, so rather than continue to sin, I will remove myself from it completely"?

I'll give an example from my own life, which actually spurred these thoughts. I love sports. When I played basketball in high school and college, it was for all intents and purposes my god. I took it very seriously, and it caused many of the bad aspects of my personality to come out. Although I have, by God's grace, improved in this area, I am still prone to the sins of pride and anger when competing. I've taken steps to try to prepare myself before playing through prayer and fasting, have asked people to help hold me accountable, and I have many times where I can compete in a godly way. But there are other times where my sin defeats me within this context. It's frustrating and I definitely understand what Paul means in Romans 7:21-24.

This has led to some questions for me. Is this a "hand" or "eye" that needs to be removed? Should I continue to fight sin in this area, or flee from it? I would rather give up something I love (like basketball) than bring God shame because of my actions. I'm just not sure what that balance looks like. Just some interesting questions that my reading has provoked lately. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Have Your Way

This song has been very meaningful to me lately. Just thought I'd share.

From Andrew Peterson's Resurrection Letters - Volume II (external link to iTunes):

"Have Your Way"

Father, hear me now when I am humbled
I fear that I will soon forget
Now I have no strength to stand and stumble
I have no wish to leave you yet

O Holy Father, hear me now
When flesh is strong and spirit weak
Please break my back if I won’t bow
Won’t you have your way with me

Father, hear me now when I am humbled
When I am bent with holy shame
All the lies that I believed have crumbled
The blood of Christ my only plea

I cannot trust my own designs
My heart is prone to disobey
So listen, Lord, while there is time
Chain me fast if I won’t stay
Take my life and have your way

Please hear me, Lord, this blessed hour
When sin has loosed its hold on me
Thy mercy is a mighty tower
So why should I not trust in thee?
Father, have your way with me

Piper's Kid on Obama

Abraham Piper over at 22 Words has been (shamelessly) using his absolutely adorable son, Orison, on his blog. (Just kidding...My son will be all over this blog once he arrives.) Anyway, just had to share these 2 awesome clips of him:

The Magnitude of the Moment



Go Rock Obama!

Obama's Election Night Speech

Living Soli Deo Gloria Under Obama

Eric Redmond, in a guest post on Justin Taylor's blog:

My Duty to Christ and the King

The question for me at this time is this: Can I continue to live Soli Deo Gloria under a President whose moral judgment already is questionable before he takes the oath of office? Yes I can, for I can be obedient to Scripture, praying for the one in authority (I Tim. 2:1-8), honoring the one in authority (1 Pet. 2:13-18), submitting to the one in authority (Rom. 13:1-7; Tit. 3:1), and seeking righteousness for the entire citizenry (Prov. 14:34). These I will seek to do by grace. I will "honor the good appointment of God."

Moreover, I can follow the admonition and example of Calvin, who, in the quote above, preached that believers should impute to themselves the ills of government and recognize the common grace given to mankind through human governing authorities. For example, in our day, it is not the governmental regulation that slaughters the innocent; it is the people who chose to end the lives of their children, and the willing executioners who kill for the sake of the monetary gain afforded by the abortion industry. The government only allows this sin to receive legal permission and protection. Nevertheless, that same government provides many laws that allow me to worship in freedom, preach the Gospel freely, vote in an election, and write blog posts like this one without fear of censorship or death. I readily can recognize the retention of "some kind of just government" under President Obama's rule.

Read the whole post (it's worth it).

Al Mohler on Our New President

From his blog:

[Obama's Election] is a hallmark moment in history for all Americans -- not just for those who voted for Sen. Obama. As a nation, we will never think of ourselves the same way again. Americans rich and poor, black and white, old and young, will look to an African-American man and know him as President of the United States. The President. The only President. The elected President. Our President.

Every American should be moved by the sight of young African-Americans who -- for the first time -- now believe that they have a purchase in American democracy. Old men and old women, grandsons and granddaughters of slaves and slaveholders, will look to an African-American as President...

...Beyond this, we must commit ourselves to pray for this new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation. We are commanded to pray for rulers, and this new President faces challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous. May God grant him wisdom. He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office. May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.

We must pray that God will protect this nation even as the new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.

We must pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of our crucial concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.

Without doubt, we face hard days ahead. Realistically, we must expect to be frustrated and disappointed. We may find ourselves to be defeated and discouraged. We must keep ever in mind that it is God who raises up nations and pulls them down, and who judges both nations and rulers. We must not act or think as unbelievers, or as those who do not trust God.

America has chosen a President. President-Elect Barack Obama is that choice, and he faces a breathtaking array of challenges and choices in days ahead. This is the time for Christians to begin praying in earnest for our new President. There is no time to lose.

GO VOTE!

...and while you're at it, go to Abraham Piper's blog and cast your vote for who you want to lose the election. And then ponder your choice...

Also, Al Mohler shares his prayer for this election.

Finally, Mark Driscoll shares a great perspective on what this whole election process says about people and their need for a savior.

Justin Taylor on Piper and the Election

Justin Taylor responds to John Piper's video on the election (a couple days below) and subsequent blog post about gender, abortion, and the election.

In introducing the post:

In the following, I'm going to express some reluctant qualms about what Piper said in the initial video. Everything I say, however, should be understood beneath the banner of my enormous appreciation for Piper in countless ways. One of the things I learned during my time in Minneapolis with him is that he invites criticism and believes in the serious (and at times spirited!) exchange of arguments in the marketplace of ideas. I hope everyone will understand the spirit, then, with which I write these thoughts.

It's a great read and well worth the time.

Also, Piper posted another election-related post today. This is his prayer for the election:

Father in heaven, as we approach this election on Tuesday, I pray

1) that your people will vote,

2) and that they will vote with a sense of thankfulness for a democratic system that at least partially holds in check the folly and evil in all our hearts so that power which corrupts so readily is not given to one group or person too easily;

3) that we would know and live the meaning of

* being in the world, but not of it,
* doing politics as though not doing them,
* being on the earth, yet having our lives hidden with Christ in God,
* rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are God’s;

4) that we would discern what truths and values should advance by being made law and which should advance only by the leavening of honest influence;

5) that your people would see what love and justice and far-seeing wisdom demand in regard to the issues of education, business and industry, health care, marriage and family, abortion, welfare, energy, government and taxes, military, terrorism, international relations, and every challenge that we will face in the years to come;

6) and above all, that we will treasure Jesus Christ, and tell everyone of his sovereignty and supremacy over all nations, and that long after America is a footnote to the future world, he will reign with his people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

Keep us faithful to Christ’s all important Word, and may we turn to it every day for light in these dark times.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Music Video of the Week

Needtobreathe - "Washed By The Water (Live Acoustic)"
(I love at about 1:45 when the 4-part harmony really kicks in.)

John Piper on the 2008 Election