worthy of the gospel

Power Point

2008-01-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

Sweet & Awful

2007-06-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

We sang this song at my church on Sunday Evening. The words really ministered to my heart.

How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
"Lord, why was I a guest?"

"Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there's room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?"

'Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly drew us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

Pity the nations, O our God,
Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy victorious Word abroad,
And bring the strangers home.

We long to see Thy churches full,
That all the chosen race
May, with one voice and heart and soul,
Sing Thy redeeming grace.

--Isaac Watts

it's a girl!

2007-05-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't posted anything in a long time, but this is definitely worth the wait. We had another ultra sound today, and we are going to have a little girl!

We got a bunch of 2D pictures as well as some 3D images. Here they are:

C.J. Mahaney on Humility

2007-03-08T11:02:00.000-05:00

I was excited about the opportunity to hear John Piper speak. He is one of the foremost expositors of evangelicalism and one of its most recognizable names. Unfortunately God saw fit to take his father home to glory on Tuesday night. You can read about it here (grab a hankey--it is very moving to see God's grace to the Piper family).

Although disappointed about not hearing Piper, we were blessed last night with the wonderful exposition of C.J. Mahaney. If you want a more thorough presentation of his sermon, check out Tim Challies's post on the session. In fact, he is live blogging the whole conference at his website.

Here is a summary of my sermon notes. It was one of the best sermons I have ever heard.

Isaiah 66:1-2 was his text. He made two points during his exposition of the passage:

The Perils of Pride (66:1).

Pride was the first sin, and is the source of all sin.
God hates pride (Prov. 16:5)
"Pride has many forms but only one end--self glorification."
It is not a question of if pride exists only where it is hiding.

The Promise of Humility (66:2)

Humility captures the attention of God: "the one to whom I will look..."
Humility is divinely attractive.

He went on to list several specific methods for eliminating pride (our greatest enemy) and promoting humility (our greatest friend). I will list them without much comment:

Study the Attributes of God.
Survey the Cross of Christ.
Study the Doctrines of Grace.
Study the Doctrine of Sin.

Learn about your depravity.

Apply the Doctrine of Sin.

Confess specific areas of your depravity.

Invite and Pursue Correction.

He especially encouraged us to pursue correction from our wives who know us best and love us most.

He then listed several areas specific to pastors:

Seize the humbling potential of the preaching task.
Use unflattering illustrations of yourself.
Recognize your theological limitations.
Prepare to be replaced.
Recognize your relative unimportance.
Play golf often

He views this as a definite means of humility =).

As if this wasn't convicting enough, he gave us several daily tasks he does to promote humility:

As soon as you wake, acknowledge your dependence on God.
Incorporate in your devotions specific times of thankfulness.

"Thankfulness is not a soil in which pride easily grows." --John Stott

Practice the spiritual disciplines (prayer, study and worship) as a means of admitting dependence on God.
Seize your commute as a time for meditation and Scripture memory.
Cast your cares on the God who cares for you.

Trying to solve our problems on our own is an exercise in self-dependence and pride.

At the end of the day, transfer all glory for what you have accomplished to God.
Before falling asleep, acknowledge your insufficiency that is manifested in your need for sleep. Thank God for the gift of sleep.

I wish I had more time to write my further reflections. Just writing this post has fed my soul again from this passage. I will try to write more as the day progresses.

Grace to you,
Christopher

Shepherd's Update

2007-03-07T20:08:00.000-05:00

We have heard two wonderful sermons (Dr. John MacArthur and Dr. Steve Lawson) as well as a very insightful seminar (Phil Johnson).

Here are my notes from Dr. MacArthur's Sermon on Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist.
I took notes on Phil Johnson's seminar and Steve Lawson's Sermon, but my laptop ran out of juice so I will have to type them out and post them later. Phil Johnson's session was entitled The Theory of Relativity and dealt with the pressing issue of Post Modernism. Steve Lawson's sermon on Apostolic Preaching was worth the price of admission.

Here is my new desktop background if you are interested (this is for all of you poor non-widescreen folks).

Ultrasound #2

2007-03-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

Tiffany and I went for her second ultrasound yesterday morning. By God's grace, everything seemed to be going just fine. He [or She] was jumping around inside like he [or she] was on a trampoline. It was so cool to watch. Here are some pictures:

Update: I am at the Shepherd's Conference this week. I will be posting regular updates on the week. Stay tuned.

The Big Announcement:

2007-02-27T00:11:00.000-05:00

I am going to be a daddy!

I wanted to let you know that, as long as the Lord continues to give my wife and child health, we will be parents on September 15th. We found out on January 31st that my wife was 7 weeks and 4 days along. Tiffany went in for an ultrasound on the 31st to check on some possible complications. We were able to see our little ween (Irish: "we one") and hear his (generic masculine pronoun) heartbeat. We cried. It was amazing. When God grants new life, it is truly a miracle. Enjoy a few pictures. There will be many more to come, I'm sure.

p.s. I just wanted to add that birth control is not as effective as they say it is. But we are kinda glad it wasn't.

I can't tell you how excited I am...

2007-02-26T23:53:00.000-05:00

I just booked my plane ticket today for what promises to be an incredible week (March 6-12). I am going to the Shepherd's Conference in beautiful Sun Valley California. Shepherd's Conference is a ministry of Grace Community Church which is pastored by renown expositor and defender of the faith, John MacArthur. I am going to be enjoying helpful seminars from gifted teachers as well as wonderful expository sermons from some of the foremost expositors in evangelicalism. And if that weren't enough, I am going to be staying with one of my best buddies, Nate Williams, for the week. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the week. I can't promise anything because I don't know what my internet access will be, but I will strive to post regular updates about the conference. Stay tuned for at least one more post before I leave...it may be my best yet.

snow thoughts

2007-02-01T11:18:00.000-05:00

For those of you who read this blog from outside of the Greenville area, we got some snow today. Now, in typical Greenville fashion, it came early in the morning and turned into slush by 10am. But for a few fleeting moments we had some pretty white stuff on the ground. I did managed to get a couple of decent pictures of our church before it all turned to slush.

As I was walking around my cul-de-sac this morning, my mind was drawn to certain passages of Scripture that use a snow imagery to convey God's truth. Here are a couple of things to consider as you are thawing out after one-too-many snow angels.

Psalm 51:7 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
This is part of David's prayer to God after being completely told by the prophet Nathan. He comes to God in repentance and asks for cleansing from his sin. He knows that through His wonderful grace God can purge him to be cleaner than the purest snow (see also: Isaiah 1:18)
Job 38:22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail..." This is perhaps one of the lesser known references to snow in the Scriptures. This makes up part of God's response to Job's inquiries. He asks Job if he has ever visited the heavenly storehouses which hold the snow that God sends on the earth. What a neat picture of God's provision for us and a great place to build a snowman!
Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah uses the imagery of snow to portray the extent to which God's Word will impact its hearers. When you look outside in the early morning after a good snow, you see every surface covered in a blanket of white. In the same way, God's Word is pervasive in the extent to which it covers. Not only does it cover but it also is promised to accomplish the purposes for which it was sent.
Revelation 1:14 "The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire..." This may be the coolest reference to snow in Scripture. Imagine the awesome brilliance that Christ will exude as He sits on His throne. It is no wonder that we will fall in worship with all creation. I can't wait to be there!

There is much more that could be said, but that is all the time I have for now. My wife and I are going to go home after lunch because the weather is supposed to get nastier this afternoon (sleet, hail, ice...general yuck). I hope all of you stay safe and warm.

Grace and Peace,
CMW

Anybody want in?

2007-01-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Before you read any further: most of my posts thus far have not been interactive. I have written about things and you have read and hopefully been edified. This post is intended to be a discussion and an interaction. If you want to comment but don't have a blogger account, you can get one here. Its easy and painless.

Why do I insist on church membership? It is probably one of the few things I believe strongly in that does not have explicit Scriptural support. That's right. I admit that there is no explicit Scriptural evidence for church membership. There are some related passages we will get to shortly, but nothing explicit. So why do I believe in it so strongly? Well, I can sum it up in one word: accountability. The biblical picture of the New Testament church shows a strong interrelationship between the members of the body of Christ. This bond is intended to create a mutual accountability between believers that will encourage personal holiness (Heb. 10:24). So why the need for church membership? Let's take a look.

Key Passages that seem to indicate church membership:

1 Corinthians 5:1-13--this passage speaks of the removal of the incestuous brother from the church. Paul makes some interesting statements that give us the impression that the church in Corinth had a specific list of members.

"Let him who has done this be removed from among you" (5:2)
"For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?" (5:12)
"God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." (5:13)

2 Corinthians 2:6-7--this passage speaks of the comfort that comes from the majority of the church. This would imply that there was a way of determining a majority in the congregation.
1 John 2:18-19 -- the Apostle John mentions those who have "gone out from us" because they "were not of us" this implies that there was a clearly definable group that John could refer to as "us."
1 Timothy 5:9 -- Paul instructs Timothy to enroll widows who were indeed widows. The fact that there was a specific list concerning widows gives us some indication that there was a list of the church body at large.

Now you might be thinking, "That's not exactly the strongest biblical basis I've ever seen." To which I would answer, "Yep, it sure isn't." That is why I called them passages that seem to indicate membership not passages that require church membership. So then the question is, "If there is no specific biblical evidence for it, why have church membership at all?" To answer that question, we must consider what it is we are talking about? What is church membership? Or perhaps a better question is, "What is it that we are agreeing to when we become members?" Well, many churches have a covenant that new members must sign or agree to. This is our church covenant. But more generally, what are we agreeing to when we become church members. Let me suggest a couple of things:

Church membership signifies a church's corporate endorsement of a person's salvation. That is when a church places someone in the membership rolls they are testifying to the fact that as far as they can observe from a human perspective, this person is regenerate. This is an important differentiation between the type of church membership that has been practiced at other times in church history. We are talking about striving for a regenerate church membership.
Church membership signifies an individual commitment to grasp hold of one another in mutual love and discipleship. What we are suggesting here is that church membership is more than just a way to keep track of financial records. There is a purposeful accountability that takes place between members. We each promise, or covenant, as a body to help each other grow in Christ-likeness.
Church membership signifies a regular responsibility that involves people in each other's lives for the purposes of the gospel. I think the two key words here are involves. Naturally we do not want other people to be involved in our lives. We'd much rather prefer them to butt out. But church membership makes that different. The other key word here is gospel. Church leadership does not promote membership merely to send themselves on a power trip. They are trying to promote the saving and sanctifying work of the gospel in everyone's lives.
Church membership signifies an inward love for God and His people. Trust me, you won't go through the previous steps if you don't have this inward love for God and His church.

So what I am suggesting is not some loose affiliation like you would find at the local rotary club. I am not talking about a social club that meets occasionally for the personal enjoyment of its members. I am talking about fellow believers joining together and covenanting with each other to provide mutual accountability for one another. The encouragement is uplifting, the fellowship is sweet, the accountability is sanctifying, the correction can be painful, but the result, by God's magnificent grace, is transformation into the image of Christ.

Church Membership has a purpose, and it is a good one. Anybody want in?

Note: I must give some other people credit for some of these ideas. They are not all mine. You should check out what Mark Dever has to say about membership at his website. It is dynamite stuff. You will most likely notice some similarities.

Solid Stuff

2007-01-23T00:56:00.000-05:00

I know you are all waiting with bated breath for my next post, but this week has proved to be busier than normal. While you are waiting, I want to highly recommend this post to you. I am a great fan of the guys over at teampyro. I have been a reader for several years now. This may be the best post I have read there. I highly recommend it. Now quit sitting here and go read it. Really, go read it. It is well worth your time.

Oil Change

2007-01-19T15:14:00.000-05:00

I realize that I have not posted in a while. I have a few things in the hopper that I should be done with soon, but I want to make sure that they are ready before I post them.
Until then enjoy this. I needed to post something funny anyway.

Have a good weekend.
pc

Puritan New Year's Resolutions

2007-01-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

New Year's Resolution:

"A commitment that an individual makes to a project or a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous."

I am not necessarily a fan of New Year's Resolutions. I don't often make them. There is nothing wrong with them. I just find that I need to make changes of this nature much more frequently than once a year. When I think of someone who was resolved to change his life to be like Christ, one man immediately springs to mind, Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards was a key figure in the First Great Awakening in the United States (1730s and 40s). He took over the Northampton Church after the death of his Grandfather, Solomon Stoddard who is most often remembered for his use of the Half-Way Covenant which opened up the Lord's Table to everyone in his church. It was Edwards' refusal to continue his grandfather's practice of the Half-Way Covenant that lead to his being kicked out of his church at Northampton. Yes, you heard me right, Jonathan Edwards, one of the greatest theological minds of all time, was given the boot from his own church, even though he preached sermons like this and these.

The reason Jonathan Edwards comes to mind when I think of resolutions is because he wrote down 70 of them that became quite famous. These were not mere flash-in-the-pan ramblings of a naive idealist. These were firm commitments to greater sanctification and personal holiness. I would like to look at just a couple of them. Some are repetitive, but they are all worth reading. You can find them all right here. Give 'em a look.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great so ever.

He decided to go for the gold on his first resolution. To me the most impressive part about this resolution is his dedication to the pursuit of God's glory despite the time it might take and the problems it might create. I think we all would say that we would desire God's glory to be manifest in our lives (Philippians 1:20-21), but how many of us give up when it becomes difficult or time consuming. Living for God's glory requires personal sacrifice.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.
52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

These are incredibly convicting. How many times do I waste an hour, or worse a day? We should take seriously the admonition of Ephesians 5:16, "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." Perhaps if we realized the transient nature of life, we would make better use of our time. If we numbered our days, we would have great wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.
70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak. Aug. 17, 1723.

This is incredibly difficult. How often do we like to have the scoop about someone or be privy to the latest tidbit of news or gossip? It is quite easy, in fact very natural, for us to speak ill of other people. James comments that people use the tongue to bless God and at the same time curse those made in His image (James 3:9-10). James goes as far as to say that the person who has controlled his tongue is a "perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body." (James 3:2).

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

Okay, all I have to say is, "OUCH, that one hurts." But we should glorify God in all things even eating and drinking.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

It is easy, after a long unsuccessful battle with sin, to give up hope of ever conquering it. Paul admonishes us to remember that we are no longer servants to sin but we have been delivered from it (Romans 6:6-7).

Again, I am not saying that New Year's Resolutions are necessarily bad. The beginning of a new year can be a good time to examine our lives and purpose in our hearts to change. But maybe this year our resolutions can go a bit deeper than usual as we seek by God's magnificent grace to pursue true righteousness and personal holiness.

"[you were taught] to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
Ephesians 4: 22-24

No Sweat: Part Deux

2007-01-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

I told you that my first plumbing project was to be soon followed by a second one. Well today was the day. It was the same project in our other bathroom. This one was leaking rather badly. I could not get any of the handles off of the old one so I got to break them off with a pipe wrench (great fun). Here are a few shots. For those who are interested, I'll walk you through the prosess...es...es.

Here is a before pic of the faucet.

First: cut a large hole in your wall (it helps to measure, first).

Second: remove old spigots and faucet.

Next cut your pipes. I used a hacksaw cause I didn't have one of these. The towel is for the water that goes everywhere (Don't use one of your wife's good towels. I made that mistake on the last job).

Remove the old faucet assembly.

Measure and cut your new pipe pieces. You can sweat them on a thick board to catch the excess solder.

After applying thread tape, tighten all of the joints.

This may look like an ordinary loaf of white bread, but it is actually a plumber's best friend. If there is water in your pipe, ball up a piece of bread and cram it into the line. It will absorb the water and allow you to sweat your joint. When you turn the water back on, the bread will wash out of the pipe. If there is even a tiny drop of water in the pipe, its gonna leak...big.

Sweat all the joints and test for leaks.

Attach a board between the studs and secure the plumbing assembly to it for stability.

God was very gracious and allowed my joints not to leak on the first go around. This plumbing job only took me about 2.5 hours as opposed to the 8+ hours of the last job. I still wouldn't consider myself an expert plumber. Maybe a hack with a propane torch. I'm off to watch the CFB Nat'l Champeenship.

pc

Corrosion

2007-01-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

We just got back from visiting family in Houston. We had a good time, but the drive home seemed to be unusually long and arduous. I went to bed very early last night, and got up rather early this morning for a men's prayer meeting at our church. I started my car ('95, Ford Contour named Lilly) and backed it out of the driveway. My car died and wouldn't start so I took my wife's car.

I came back home after the prayer meeting and lifted Lilly's hood only to find that one of the battery terminals was quite corroded. I cleaned the end with some baking soda mixed with water (tip: any carbonated beverage will do in a pinch, but it makes you think--if that stuff eats battery corrosion, what is it doing to my insides?) and a wire brush. After a short jump, she was g2g. I took her to the twilight zone and had a load test put on the battery, and it held up fine.

Why do I tell you this story? It highlighted two needs that I have in my life. The need to take preventative measures and the need to deal with the sin.

Take Preventative Measures:
The first lesson here is to take the proper preventative measures to avoid the corrosion in the first place. If I had regularly checked the battery terminals and cleaned them at the first sign of corrosion, this problem could have been avoided. In the same way, we must deal with sins that slowly corrode our lives. The writer of Hebrews (Appollos, in my estimation) speaks of these sins as weights in our race for Christ that easily entangle us (ESV "clings so closely"). These weights are not necessarily outright sins, but activities that distract us from the race (e.g. TV, Video Games, sleep, friends). These become sins as they distract us from our goal. We have to keep a constant check on these and many other areas of our lives in order to keep them in balance.

Deal with the Sin:
The unfortunate reality is that despite preventative measures, we still stumble and fall. We regularly allow sin to build up in our hearts. Unconfessed and not dealt with, this sin creates a blockage between us and our God. It may not seem to be such a big problem. Afterall, it is only a little bit of corrosion. What harm can that do? James makes it very clear that sin starts out in the deceitfulness of our own hearts. This lust gives birth to sin which ends in death, which is in my estimation physical as well as spiritual. The sin may not seem to be a big deal at first, but it can become a much bigger problem which results in destruction on every level. It is important to take measures to deal with sin in its earliest forms before the damage is more severe. The steps are repentance and confession followed by a renewed godward vision. We must regularly check our lives to ensure that we do not allow this corrosion to grow into a debilitating sin that renders us useless.

I've brought up several issues that should be flushed out in greater detail, but they will have to wait for a subsequent post.

Happy New Year to all.

cmw

it's no sweat

2006-12-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: before you read this you should read my previous post. it is way more important than stupid plumbing.

Update: can anyone find the discrepancy between the pictures? look closely...it is there.
Hint: I forgot to take a certain "before" shot, so I cheated.

Just wanted to give everyone an update. Just a few minutes ago I finished my first plumbing project ever. I learned all about flux, solder and sweating copper joints [hence the horrible pun in the title]. I started it yesterday afternoon. No, I didn't work all night, I went to bed at a decent hour for the sake of me and my wife. Thanks to some expert advice and timely assistance from my pastor, we have two working bathrooms again. Enjoy a few before and after pics.

Before

This was the mess we had before. That's not mold its the solder from the goober who did the half-hearted first attempt.

A closer look.

Yes they were old, ugly and they leaked too!

After

This is the finished product. All the copper you see is new. It doesn't leak and now I own a blow torch. How cool is that?

Another look. Once again, notice the blow torch.

Everybody with me know, "Ooooh, shiny." I still have to clean the tub, but that will come.

Don't always expect me to post so frequently. This was a grand announcement, so I made a special exception.
Have a great weekend.
--cmw

with much anticipation...

2006-12-21T10:01:00.000-05:00

My family has a tradition. It is a good tradition. Every Christmas Eve, we read the Christmas Story. So many families do the same thing. We begin the story of the coming of Messiah where most people do--in the New Testament. But a careful study of Scripture will reveal that the preparation for Messiah's coming started long before there was a "silent night" or a "midnight clear". The preparation for Messiah begins far back in the OT. Each section of the OT portrays a different element of what Messiah would be.

The Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) shows the need for a Perfect Priest.
The Historical Books (Joshua-Esther) show the need for a Perfect King.
The Poetical Books (Job-Canticles) show the need for a Perfect Shepherd.
The Prophetical Books (Isaiah-Malachi) show the need for a Perfect Prophet.
(for a more in depth look at this subject, see my notes here).

Jesus Christ was, of course, the complete fulfillment of all of this foreshadowing. As I think of Christmas, I remember the great anticipation that we all had for opening our presents on Christmas morning. We should have the same anticipation as we read the OT and its revelation of who Messiah would be. We have been given a Perfect Priest who has offered the ultimate sacrifice, the Perfect King to reign over all, the Perfect Shepherd to comfort and counsel us and the Perfect Prophet to declare God's message and change our hearts. Our hearts should burst with anticipation because Messiah came to die for us, and he is coming again to take us home. Perhaps we would also consider telling someone else about our Great Priest, King, Shepherd and Prophet?

Thanks for stopping by. Grace and Peace--CMW

i'm not totally sure myself...

2006-12-20T09:34:00.000-05:00

Why?
I'm sure that there will be many people who will ask, "Why are you starting a blog?" The answer is, "I'm not totally sure myself." In many ways blogs are nothing more than a venue for the 'inane babble' [identify the quotation] of relatively insignificant people. That having been said, I reserve the right to end this thing at any time if it (1) becomes too distracting for me, (2) fails to live up to the title (more on that later), or (3) just needs to be ended for whatever reason. I do hope this blog will serve to edify God's children and point them to Him. If it doesn't, then there is no use in having it.

Title
Perhaps a few of you are wondering the significance of the title. I chose the title from one of my favorite passages of scripture, Philippians 1:27. Paul is instructing the philippian believers to live their lives in a way that is in keeping with the gospel. He tells them that a life worthy of the gospel is one lived in unity with other believers, "...standing firm in one spirit, with one mind..." This means we do everything in our power to maintain the proper spirit among our fellow believers. If it is one thing I have observed in the blogosphere (I have been a lurker for several years), it is that the spirit that exists even among fellow evangelical Christians is not always congenial. Paul goes on to say that this unity is directed towards the "faith of the gospel." It is imperative that the things we do (including blogging) should support and point others to the faith of the gospel.

Miscellany
As you already may have noticed, I have a penchant for obscure quotations. I will identify these in my posts with "[ITQ]" It is a little game I play with my wife and brothers, but I will quit playing if it overshadows the actual reason why I posted. I don't know how frequent or in depth my posting will be so this blog will be a developing organism. We'll see how far she goes.

One more thing...
I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my BIG little brother t he jiggiest. Happy Birthday big fella (just pretend your name is "cubby").