PLGRMSPRGRSS

[plgrmsprgrss]

Check-in

1/22/16 School started Wednesday - today is day three. It’s good so far. Syllabi, instructor introductions, feeling alone in rooms full of people. Classes get out early during the first week, mostly. I have a mix of mid to upper level classes for both majors. Full load this semester for sure: Philosophy - Intro to Logic, Understanding Science, 17th & 18th Century Philosophy, Philosophy and Feminism Psych - Experimental Methods in Psychology, Personality I’m hopeful I’ll be able to interact with things I’m learning via blog posts as I go. Didn’t really do that last semester. Turned 25 years old on Tuesday. I’ve been kind of depressed about getting older, which I started feeling in the second half of 24. 24 still felt like a kid. 25 is like, adult! People expect you to act certain ways and do certain things and not do other things as an adult. Not that I don’t want to do what needs to be done, and not that want to shirk responsibilities. I’m a husband and a Christ-follower. There is necessity laid upon me to own certain things and you just can’t get away from that. But I just still feel like a kid, you know? I think that’s the issue. I still feel young (even if everyone around me thinks I act like an old man, which I do), and want to be at liberty to feel young, but I feel like others would cast a disapproving gaze at me for not acting my age at this point. Plus I look much older than I actually am anyway, which is another part of the problem. My wife loves this game. We’ll be talking to someone and she’ll ask, “how old do you think he is?” They’ll look at me, tiptoe around an answer for a minute. Last time she did it, the person replied, “I’ll go with an even 30.” Killing me. I always feel a little out of place as an undergraduate at my age, but it’s a state school and I know it’s not a total shock to have older people in classes. Just got an email from someone at the school with the subject line, “Hello Adult Learners at UAlbany. Let’s do coffee.” Ugh. I’m in. What time? Got a new titanium wedding band to replace the one I lost over a year ago. For almost a year I’ve been wearing a hand-made wooden ring that a dear friend made for me as a replacement. I didn’t expect this one to last as long as it has but I love it and I’m grateful to still have it. Just gonna wear it on my right hand, dual wield. Recently recorded and released my first new song in over a year (Sons of God - posted it on the blog, go listen). Haven’t played a legit show in probably over three years, but now have one scheduled for next Thursday, 1/28. Pretty excited for this - the friend who made the ring, along with his wife, both own what I call an “eclectic boutique” in Glens Falls, NY, but are going out of business due to owning another business and wanting to allow her to spend more time at home with their 9 mo. old. The shop closing is a bummer, but when I heard it was happening, I suggested having a show in the shop itself in honor of the event. So myself and another friend will be playing, plus Sarah, the wife/owner, will be performing a few songs. It’s just going to be a sweet celebration of these friends and the closing of this chapter of their lives. Bittersweet. Well, running late for class, as usual. Stoked for a birthday dinner tonight with some friends, even if it is in honor of being one year closer to death. But, in reality, to live is Christ and to die is gain, am I right? Love you all!

[plgrmsprgrss]

And suddenly I’ll be 30 in a month. 

Honestly I’m stoked to find this post right now. Super pleased with how much I captured there to look back on. A lot has changed in five years and yet it’s impressive how little some things have changedl

I finished two years I switched back from that titanium ring to the wooden one made by my friend and I literally wore it daily until A FEW MONTHS AGO when I finally broke it in a an avoidable situation. But I never expected it to last that long. 

[plgrmsprgrss]

Guess every few Dec/Jan/Febs I’ve gotta follow the impulse to see what’s going on on Tumblr. 

Newest update: became a father on Jan 17, 2023. Baby boy brings me a lot of joy. I surprise myself with how taken I am with him, because I’ve NEVER and I mean never been a “kid person.” I never changed a diaper before his. I had barely held a baby. My wife, though, she’s been a kid whisperer for as long as I’ve known her. So I was never really worried. I’m just pleased with how much I like this kid. And how it makes me feel. <3

[plgrmsprgrss]

Check-in

1/22/16 School started Wednesday - today is day three. It’s good so far. Syllabi, instructor introductions, feeling alone in rooms full of people. Classes get out early during the first week, mostly. I have a mix of mid to upper level classes for both majors. Full load this semester for sure: Philosophy - Intro to Logic, Understanding Science, 17th & 18th Century Philosophy, Philosophy and Feminism Psych - Experimental Methods in Psychology, Personality I’m hopeful I’ll be able to interact with things I’m learning via blog posts as I go. Didn’t really do that last semester. Turned 25 years old on Tuesday. I’ve been kind of depressed about getting older, which I started feeling in the second half of 24. 24 still felt like a kid. 25 is like, adult! People expect you to act certain ways and do certain things and not do other things as an adult. Not that I don’t want to do what needs to be done, and not that want to shirk responsibilities. I’m a husband and a Christ-follower. There is necessity laid upon me to own certain things and you just can’t get away from that. But I just still feel like a kid, you know? I think that’s the issue. I still feel young (even if everyone around me thinks I act like an old man, which I do), and want to be at liberty to feel young, but I feel like others would cast a disapproving gaze at me for not acting my age at this point. Plus I look much older than I actually am anyway, which is another part of the problem. My wife loves this game. We’ll be talking to someone and she’ll ask, “how old do you think he is?” They’ll look at me, tiptoe around an answer for a minute. Last time she did it, the person replied, “I’ll go with an even 30.” Killing me. I always feel a little out of place as an undergraduate at my age, but it’s a state school and I know it’s not a total shock to have older people in classes. Just got an email from someone at the school with the subject line, “Hello Adult Learners at UAlbany. Let’s do coffee.” Ugh. I’m in. What time? Got a new titanium wedding band to replace the one I lost over a year ago. For almost a year I’ve been wearing a hand-made wooden ring that a dear friend made for me as a replacement. I didn’t expect this one to last as long as it has but I love it and I’m grateful to still have it. Just gonna wear it on my right hand, dual wield. Recently recorded and released my first new song in over a year (Sons of God - posted it on the blog, go listen). Haven’t played a legit show in probably over three years, but now have one scheduled for next Thursday, 1/28. Pretty excited for this - the friend who made the ring, along with his wife, both own what I call an “eclectic boutique” in Glens Falls, NY, but are going out of business due to owning another business and wanting to allow her to spend more time at home with their 9 mo. old. The shop closing is a bummer, but when I heard it was happening, I suggested having a show in the shop itself in honor of the event. So myself and another friend will be playing, plus Sarah, the wife/owner, will be performing a few songs. It’s just going to be a sweet celebration of these friends and the closing of this chapter of their lives. Bittersweet. Well, running late for class, as usual. Stoked for a birthday dinner tonight with some friends, even if it is in honor of being one year closer to death. But, in reality, to live is Christ and to die is gain, am I right? Love you all!

[plgrmsprgrss]

And suddenly I’ll be 30 in a month. 

Honestly I’m stoked to find this post right now. Super pleased with how much I captured there to look back on. A lot has changed in five years and yet it’s impressive how little some things have changedl

I finished two years I switched back from that titanium ring to the wooden one made by my friend and I literally wore it daily until A FEW MONTHS AGO when I finally broke it in a an avoidable situation. But I never expected it to last that long. 

[plgrmsprgrss]

But the word of God, both as law and gospel, is the revelation of the will of God, the promulgation of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace… . Although in a broad sense the terms “law” and “gospel” can indeed be used to denote the old and the new dispensation of the covenant of grace, in their actual significance they definitely describe two essentially different revelations of divine will [Bavinck here cites many New Testament proof texts]… . In these texts law and gospel are contrasted as demand and gift, as command and promise, as sin and grace, as sickness and healing, as death and life … . The law proceeds from God’s holiness, the gospel from God’s grace; the law is known from nature, the gospel only from special revelation; the law demands perfect righteousness, but the gospel grants it; the law leads people to eternal life by works, and the gospel produces good works from the riches of the eternal life granted in faith; the law presently condemns people, and the gospel acquits them; the law addresses itself to all people, and the gospel only to those who live within its hearing.

Herman Bavinck

[plgrmsprgrss]

LOVE: a feeling or an action?

A friend on FB posted the above question. Here was my response:

My idea of love has been most defined by what Jesus says in the gospel of John: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). I've come to think love is measured by a willingness to sacrifice on behalf of another, regardless of the feelings one has about that person. Jesus doesn't just say this but gives the ultimate demonstration and definition of it in his own death on the cross on behalf of sinners. The New Testament seems to understand Jesus' sacrifice in this way. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Interestingly, we see that Jesus sacrificed and laid down his life in proof of love not only for his friends, those whom he presumably liked, but also his enemies. I don't often feel emotionally positive toward my own enemies, but I am still able to choose to act in loving ways toward them, by acting on the foundation of my commitment to their well-being. Another word for this is grace. It's the idea that even when someone wrongs me, offends me, gives me every reason to feel something other than warm, happy feelings toward them, I still remain, at a foundational level, committed to their well-being and to the preservation of our relationship, and choose to act - often self-sacrificially - not on the basis of feelings, but on the basis of my commitment to them. Of course, God's perfection and ability to act in love can't be perfectly mirrored in our human imperfection, so our subjective experience of emotions and their link to the ways in which we act and express commitment to others mostly won't reflect the ideal relationship between them as we see expressed in Jesus. Still, as a Christian, I see Jesus' conception of love defined by both his words and example as laying the perfect foundation for an ideal way of understanding and approaching love in my own life (though the degree to which I live out this ideal is debatable). As a related aside, I don't think emotions are divorced from the picture, and I don't mean to insinuate that acts of love shouldn't or won't involve emotions. I just can't base my choice to love someone on the way I feel about them, because logically if my feelings for someone erode, apparently so does my love for them. Is that why divorce rates are so high? I wonder. People enter relationships with the wrong expectations of love and end up disappointed and disillusioned. In conclusion, I commend one of my favorite Thrice songs, "The Weight," which seems to say much more artfully, emotionally and enjoyably everything I've just said. "Because love is a loyalty sworn, not a burning for a moment. Come what may, I will be standing right here by your side. I won't run away though the storm's getting worse and there's no end in sight. Storms will surely come. True love is a choice you must make and you are the one that I have set my heart to choose. As long as I live, I swear I'll see this through."

[plgrmsprgrss]

Struck by this passage today. (at Albany, New York)

[plgrmsprgrss]

On repeat this morning.

Come Lord Jesus, come...

[plgrmsprgrss]

Truth

[plgrmsprgrss]

Why did Jesus come?

Our church has just started an eight week series on the eighth chapter of Romans. We’re also being challenged to personally read through the chapter every day on our own. I joined in on that today, a little late to the game, and I didn’t get very far before a verse caught my attention and I was drawn to thinking about its reality. It gave rise to a question: If asked, “why did Jesus come,” or, “why did God send Jesus,” do we think of such a simple answer as verse three gives? 

"By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh...” (Romans 8:3) Don’t get hung up on the word “flesh;” it’s a Bible word that is used commonly in the New Testament to talk about the biblical concept of human sinfulness. And that’s important, because that directly answers our question from earlier. Why did Jesus come? “For sin.” Jesus came simply because* we are sinful people, and because sin needs to be addressed in our lives and ultimately taken away in order for us to enjoy connection and relationship with God, which He created us for and which He still wants for us, despite our sin.  Do we imagine that it is this simple? I think we forget. I forget. Or, we fail to believe. But we can’t afford to gloss over the reality of why Christ came. Sin is a very real and serious problem. The Bible is very clear that because of sin in the world and because of sinful things we do, God’s perfect justice and glory evoke His wrath. Sin is ever-present in our world, and we have all the evil we can think of owing to it; the evil and pain we’ve experienced in our own lives, and the harm we’ve caused others. It’s at the root of the oppression of women we’re discussing in my feminism class. It’s at the heart of racism in societies. It’s the root of corruption in politics. Every evil stems from the root of sin that exists in every human heart. It’s immorality in every sense. And Christ came for it, to condemn it, to take it away from us - because love is an ever-more powerful force than hatred and evil. 

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).  “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6) Sin is almost entirely the subject of Christ’s coming to earth. It is at the heart of the gospel, revealing our need for mercy and finding an answer in God’s love for us revealed in Jesus’ death on the cross for sin.  The only appropriate (and biblical) response to this reality is repentance. Repentance means to turn away from, to forsake, to leave behind fully. If we get the magnitude of sin, and if we understand how much God loves us, we’ll desire to turn away from former sins and toward Christ for forgiveness. And it’s not a one-time thing. Repentance and faith (consciously turning from sin, actively believing God’s promise to forgive (1 John 1:9, etc.)) are the lifeblood of the Christian life. Because we never stop sinning this side of heaven. And in repentance we always find a Savior who is waiting to receive us, who has proven that He’d do anything to be with us, regardless of what we’ve done. His love for us goes deeper than any sin. 

We lose sight of Jesus’ purpose and glory when we lose sight of the magnitude of sin. If we stop thinking of Jesus in relation to sin, or minimize its gravity in various ways, we will have to interpret Jesus’ coming in light of some contrived purpose and we will find ourselves, ultimately, with a false Christ. This is easy to do and it happens all the time. So remember who He is and why He came. Believe. *Simply because doesn’t mean only because. There’s more to the story, yes. All that Jesus’ life and death accomplishes is amazing and is filling many books on many library shelves (and online articles, and sermons, and conversations over coffee) at this very moment. But still, the gospel’s simple. God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh for sin to condemn sin. For us. 

[plgrmsprgrss]

Conversation with God leads to an encounter with God. Prayer is not only the way we learn what Jesus has done for us but also is the way we “daily receive God’s benefits.” Prayer turns theology into experience. Through it we sense his presence and receive his joy, his love, his peace and confidence, and thereby we are changed in attitude, behavior, and character.

Day 13 of Prayer: A 14-Day Devotional By Tim Keller

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Edmund P. Clowney wrote, “The Bible does not present an art of prayer; it presents the God of prayer.” We should not decide how to pray based on the experiences and feelings we want. Instead, we should do everything possible to behold our God as he is, and prayer will follow. The more clearly we grasp who God is, the more our prayer is shaped and determined accordingly. Without immersion in God’s words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like. Indeed, if left to themselves our hearts will tend to create a God who doesn’t exist. People from Western cultures want a God who is loving and forgiving but not holy and transcendent. Studies of the spiritual lives of young adults in Western countries reveal that their prayers, therefore, are generally devoid of both repentance and of the joy of being forgiven. Without prayer that answers the God of the Bible, we will only be talking to ourselves.

Day 10 of Prayer: A 14-Day Devotional By Tim Keller

[revelation19]

Prayer is an earnest and familiar talking with God, to whom we declare all our miseries, whose support and help we implore and desire in our adversities, and whom we laud and praise for our benefits received. So that prayer contains the exposition of our sorrows, the desire of God’s defense, and the praising of His magnificent name.

John Knox (via revelation19)

[ihopkc]

Nothing holds greater power to transform your inner life than that moment when God’s voice touches your heart with revelation of who He is.

@ihopkc (via ihopkc)

And so often this happens at the moment a particular truth of scripture just comes home to your heart as the Holy Spirit enlightens the eyes of your understanding. Praise God for these life-changing moments!

[plgrmsprgrss]

Christian, your identity is wholly found in Christ. He alone defines who you are. Nothing else does. No accomplishments, titles, wins, failures, or sins define you. It's all Jesus. Your old self died and Jesus is alive in you. In a sense, you don't even exist anymore. The old you is off the grid; he's gone dark, never to surface again. When Jesus hung on that blood-soaked tree, you were there too as a dying participant. And when he rose from the grave, you were right behind him. Christianity is a religion of coattails; we cling to a Galilean carpenter's coat all the way to heaven.

J. A. Medders, Gospel Formed

[plgrmsprgrss]

I think about you all the time How can someone I've never seen be so real?

[ihopkc]

How did you come to know the Lord?

@ihopkc (via ihopkc)

"Like many Christians I know, I grew up with the idea that I could have a personal relationship with God by receiving Jesus Christ as my savior. While this was innocent enough to believe and didn’t seem to require too much of me, in time, I learned more about what it truly meant to be a follower of Christ. When I began to understand that a Christian was by nature a disciple of Jesus, a person whose life and decisions are completely oriented around Jesus’s life and teachings, I realized this would require everything of me, and because I preferred being free to do things my own way, I rejected the offer of a relationship with God."

See the rest: http://plgrmsprgrss.tumblr.com/story

[plgrmsprgrss]

I will bless you all of my days, Lord I will praise you always, my God and King I will bless and honor your name, Lord Always and forever my soul will sing

Such a vast, unsearchable greatness Great is Yahweh, worthy of all our praise Let your people sound through the ages All your awesome works ‘till the end of days

We have seen your splendor in glory We have seen your wonders and stand amazed Every tongue will echo your story Everyone will sing of your righteous ways

O let all that lives ever bless His name

All that you have made, Lord, will praise you All your saints will worship in joyful strains Praise the Lord who ransoms and rescues Praise the God of glory who ever reigns

He is holy, judging the wicked Guarding those that love Him and fear His name All that call out, Yahweh is with them He will hear their cries, He is strong to save

He upholds the one who is stumbling Lifting up those burdened with heavy loads Opening His hand to the hungry Blessing all that look to their Lord in hope

He is tender toward His creation He is faithful, gracious in all He does Great is Yahweh, full of compassion Slow to anger, filled with unfailing love

O let all that lives ever bless His name O let all that lives ever bless His name

[plgrmsprgrss]

Check-in

1/22/16 School started Wednesday - today is day three. It's good so far. Syllabi, instructor introductions, feeling alone in rooms full of people. Classes get out early during the first week, mostly. I have a mix of mid to upper level classes for both majors. Full load this semester for sure: Philosophy - Intro to Logic, Understanding Science, 17th & 18th Century Philosophy, Philosophy and Feminism Psych - Experimental Methods in Psychology, Personality I'm hopeful I'll be able to interact with things I'm learning via blog posts as I go. Didn't really do that last semester. Turned 25 years old on Tuesday. I've been kind of depressed about getting older, which I started feeling in the second half of 24. 24 still felt like a kid. 25 is like, adult! People expect you to act certain ways and do certain things and not do other things as an adult. Not that I don't want to do what needs to be done, and not that want to shirk responsibilities. I'm a husband and a Christ-follower. There is necessity laid upon me to own certain things and you just can't get away from that. But I just still feel like a kid, you know? I think that's the issue. I still feel young (even if everyone around me thinks I act like an old man, which I do), and want to be at liberty to feel young, but I feel like others would cast a disapproving gaze at me for not acting my age at this point. Plus I look much older than I actually am anyway, which is another part of the problem. My wife loves this game. We'll be talking to someone and she'll ask, "how old do you think he is?" They'll look at me, tiptoe around an answer for a minute. Last time she did it, the person replied, "I'll go with an even 30." Killing me. I always feel a little out of place as an undergraduate at my age, but it's a state school and I know it's not a total shock to have older people in classes. Just got an email from someone at the school with the subject line, "Hello Adult Learners at UAlbany. Let's do coffee." Ugh. I'm in. What time? Got a new titanium wedding band to replace the one I lost over a year ago. For almost a year I've been wearing a hand-made wooden ring that a dear friend made for me as a replacement. I didn't expect this one to last as long as it has but I love it and I'm grateful to still have it. Just gonna wear it on my right hand, dual wield. Recently recorded and released my first new song in over a year (Sons of God - posted it on the blog, go listen). Haven't played a legit show in probably over three years, but now have one scheduled for next Thursday, 1/28. Pretty excited for this - the friend who made the ring, along with his wife, both own what I call an "eclectic boutique" in Glens Falls, NY, but are going out of business due to owning another business and wanting to allow her to spend more time at home with their 9 mo. old. The shop closing is a bummer, but when I heard it was happening, I suggested having a show in the shop itself in honor of the event. So myself and another friend will be playing, plus Sarah, the wife/owner, will be performing a few songs. It's just going to be a sweet celebration of these friends and the closing of this chapter of their lives. Bittersweet. Well, running late for class, as usual. Stoked for a birthday dinner tonight with some friends, even if it is in honor of being one year closer to death. But, in reality, to live is Christ and to die is gain, am I right? Love you all!