Our Little Man

Here is an endearing video we have of our little man Isaiah. A covenant child doing some covenantal screaming.

Giving

One perennial issue that both churches and Christians must deal with is that of giving. Specifically, the issue of giving monetarily to the church. What is a Christian in our New Testament era supposed to think about giving? What about tithing? What is tithing? What do the Scriptures teach about tithing? These questions and many more arise when one reflects upon the topic of giving in the church. So how is one to think about this matter? One thing I think everyone agrees upon is that giving to the local church is something all Christians should do. The question is how, and to what extent, etc.

A prominent book on the subject offers a conclusion on the matter and so I thought I would share the quote and see if you the reader, give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the statement. Here is the quote:

"Therefore, among all the New Testament references to a tithe or 10 percent, there is no command to believers about the necessity of 10 percent. That's because tithing has never been an offering to God--it was always a form of taxation to support the government [i.e. the theocracy of Israel which we are no longer under]. The Bible's teaching about tithing versus voluntary giving is clear. Tithing in both Old and New Testament times was the paying of taxes, and the Jews under the Mosaic Law paid as much as 25 percent per year in tithes (that's far more than 10%) [...] The New Covenant principle on giving--the one you and I should live by--is not derived from some mandatory percentage. New Covenant giving flows from the heart and is personally determined [...] 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 is an excellent summary of how we should give to the Lord, 'he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, no grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.'"

Ok, thumbs up or down? Is tithing something that should bind the conscience of the Christian? That is, must Christians give 10% of their income or be open to the charge of sin? Or, is the quote a better conclusion of the biblical data? That is, giving is about the heart no matter the amount.

Thoughts?

Reloaded

Last night the 2009-2010 NBA season opened up with fantastic results. My Boston Celtics have been pegged as being "reloaded" in terms of its roster. We acquired some big names like Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, and yes Kevin Garnett is back and he has a new knee and was in the starting lineup last night. So all eyes were on the reloaded Celtics. How did they do?

Well they took Lebron's Cavs on the road 95-89! A beautiful thing. Good strong performances by all. Ray Allen said he's in the best shape of his entire career, having a rigorous off-season conditioning routine, which could make a huge difference offensively this year. He was dashing to the hoop and getting lots of great assists. Paul Pierce is just a warrior and continues to prove his worth and greatness to the Celtics franchise. He's clutch, he plays defense, and he's a team leader. KG was impressive for his first game in months, he took a double-double. And the biggest thing that stood out to me is that the Celtics bench gave them the needed push when the starters took a rest. I think the fact that we have Rasheed Wallace coming off the bench for KG will provide a huge boost to the secondary. Marquis Daniels showed promise as well.

So what do we need to do this season? We need to stay healthy. I think if we do that we can be in contention for the title. I am sorry. The Lakers were not the best team in the league last season. A healthy Celtics squad would have taken them in 7. The Lakers have not found a reliable way to score without standing around and letting Kobe do his thing. Which works against an immature Magic defense. The Celtics will not stand for this defensively. If the Nuggets would have played any defense at all I don't think the Lakers would have made the finals. In the words of Paul Pierce at halftime of the 2008 NBA finals, "i'll guard kobe." That led to banner 17. The question this season is who can defend Pierce and the Celtics if they stay healthy. I'll be watching with a certain Irish stout in hand!

'This is mine Soce!'

And by the way, when your ace-in-the-hole pitcher looks you in the eye in the ALCS elimination game and says 'this is mine,' you let that boy pitch! Fortunately the bats saved soce's butt and the angels still won the game last night. However I still got pretty steamed when the yankees scored six runs off the bullpen. When Lackey looks at you like the ultimate warrior and tells you the game is his, i'm sorry, i think its good servant leadership to keep him in.

Western States

Everybody needs to go the itunes store and search "Matt Haeck" because you will find his newest EP entitled 'Western States' for sale. These are the songs I rocked with Matt over on the left coast. I was just the drummer in the back having some new castle and mouthing off with the keyboardist in between songs. Now the record is out. This EP is great. Matt has worked his arse off on getting this out, and his set to work off more arse touring in support of the record. Treat yourself and buy his EP. And Matt, you should play in Omaha.

Nathan Clark George

This is way late in coming, but our church just hosted a concert by singer-songwriter Nathan Clark George. He has a few albums out and is the midst of touring quite a bit.

It was a fantastic show. Being a picky listener, I was at first skeptical about how the show would go. But I quickly became a fan. He was fantastic live. His guitar chops are sick, he has a great voice, and he played a real dynamic set. All kinds of different styles. And what made it super special was having it in Harvest's old building here in Omaha. The acoustics are awesome, you could here every little pick of the string, it was pristine. Anyway, I hope more music can be hosted in this building. It is really a treat.

Anyway, Check out Nathan if you get a chance, especially you Matt Haeck.

The Law and the Gospel

I am re-reading parts of John Colquhoun's book, A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel simply because it is an amazing read. I came across this quote today that was too good not to share:

Regarding the relationship between the law of God and the Gospel, Colquhoun writes:

:"The gospel is the law immersed in the blood of Jesus Christ." Amen. Thankful for my savior today. A savior who lived for my righteousness and died for my sins and is now restoring me as his image-bearer, saving me as lawbreaker and changing me into a lawkeeper. That's good news.