G Notes

Over time words can take on a meaning which is completely different than their original intent. As culture and society change so does the language. Words evolve and their semantic ranges shift. Most of the time this is a non-issue. However, there are occasions in which a word must be rescued from improper use and returned to its proper meaning. Some words matter too much! Some words so perfectly capture an idea that to allow their meaning to meander is to allow the significance of that idea to be destroyed. Among Christians there's a word which has radically departed from its original and intended meaning. This word has evolved into something less biblically accurate. Christians are misusing and misapplying this word, and in so doing the word is being stripped of the idea it once perfectly captured. It's time to recover this word and to rescue it from its meandering. So with that, I set out on a potentially dangerous quest: to redeem the word "sacrifice." It...

Most of us in the U.S. don't have to go out and split wood. During the winter months, our homes are maintained at a comfortable 74 degrees fahrenheit by either a gas or electric heater. Many homes still have wood burning fireplaces but they are more of a novelty. They are more part of the homes decor rather than a functional heater. At best, wood burning fireplaces are simply nice to have if ever the mood strikes the homeowner.  What is interesting is that most of us genuinely enjoy a good wood burning fire. There's something about the smell of a wood fire, the sound of the cracking and popping, the sight of the flickering flames. But more than that, there's something especially warming about a wood fire. It not only warms our skin but somehow the warmth reaches down into us. Yet, we are quick to forgo the soothing pleasantries of a fireplace. We are quick to exchange the smells, sounds, sights, and warmth of a fire for the convenience of a heat pump. We are quick to set...

My 22 month old daughter is a total carbo-loader. And her carb of choice is bread, particularly toasted bagel. Edie loves her some bread (pardon my southernism). It's astonishingly amazing how much she craves bread. I guess she needs the carbs to fuel her daily naps, her diva tantrums, and her very demanding potty training regimen. But something drastically changed recently. Plain toasted bagel is suddenly not adequate. The problem is that Edie has discovered the joy of butter. (I suspect this was the doing of a grandparent, though I've been unable to prove it. That's a topic for a different post - " How to confront your baby's daddy's daddy "). So now, not only does Edie demand bread but she demands bread with butter (pronounced "bowda"). Given her new found obsession with butter, an ample amount of that savory, fatty goodness must be liberally spread onto her toasted bagel. But here's where it gets tricky. The bagel must pass the butter t...

“…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” ~ Philippians 4:11-12 The use of antidepressant drugs in the U.S. doubled between 1996 and 2005 ( WebMD Health News - August 3, 2009, Kathleen Doheny ). "According to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They're prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches" ( CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S. - July 09, 2007|By Elizabeth Cohen CNN]. Dr. Ronald Dworkin, an anesthesiologist and senior fellow at Washington's Hudson Institute wrote in his book "Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class" that "doctors are now medicating unhappiness." Dr. Dworkin adds: "Too many p...

It’s Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem. The crowd shouts: “Hosanna in the highest.” The people celebrate. The long awaited Messiah arrives. This is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. But before the end of the week Jesus will be executed. In just a few days, He will be nailed to a cross. Yet, this is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. What is the Triumph? In Exodus 19:5-6 God said, “ Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation .” God makes a conditional agreement with the people: IF you faithfully obey all of My commands all of the time, THEN you will be saved. In other words, salvation is completely dependent upon perfect obedience. Sounds like a terrible deal doesn’t it? Well, it is a terrible deal! Simply read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and examine how well you obey just those ten requirements. I...

This past Saturday my house came awfully close to being dismantled and destroyed by a tornado. I was in my living room with my wife and my two daughters as a storm approached, but my home was never in danger. Lightning began striking all around my house, but my home was never in danger. Thunder shook my house, but my home was never in danger. The wind grew furious, but my home was never in danger. Siding ripped off the house, but my home was never in danger. A wall caved into the attic, but my home was never in danger. A terrible storm roared, but my home was never in danger. You see, my home is not in Holly Springs, NC. My home is in heaven in the presence of Jesus. My earthly house may have been threatened by the roar of an earthly storm, but my eternal home has been secured by an eternal roar. My home in heaven has been secured by the roar of Easter. It is the roar of my sin being placed on the perfect and sinless Son of God. It is the roar of divine wrath being poured out ...