Solid Stuff

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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 the jiggiest. Happy Birthday big fella (just pretend your name is "cubby").