Beyond Mediocrity Blog

(Image courtesy of author.) My wife and I had our first baby last Friday.  What made the event even more incredible than it already was, was that she was born on my birthday - July 22nd.  I could not have asked for a greater celebration than what was given to us on that memorable day. As soon as little Brielle was born, and the doctor showed her to us, my wife and I thought she was the most beautiful baby on the face of the earth.  And at four days old, she looks even more beautiful than she did when she was first born.  We often tell her, "You are so beautiful."

(Image courtesy of http://rest.net.nz.) Recently, I started a new job as athletic director and teacher at a private school. On top of that, my brother-in-law and I are attempting to start a small tree service business with machinery that was graciously given to us, but does not work yet. I have been working for an existing local tree service business this summer as well, amounting some extra income before the school year starts. I am allowed the opportunity to preach once a month at our local church, lead music there on occasion, and lead a men’s group on Saturday morning. In addition to all of these things, my wife and I are looking to purchase our first house - we are currently living in my parents’ basement, an arrangement we are thankful for, but did not intend to last more than a few weeks; it’s been over a year now. To top it all off, we are expecting our first baby in only a few short weeks. With all these changes taking place, there is also the insurance switches, the bank ...

(Image courtesy of http://st-takla.org.) How could Paul be so joyful before God when he knew his sin was deserving of death? This is the man who hated Jesus, God’s anointed, with intense zeal. Why, then, after the truth was revealed to him on the road to Damascus did Paul not take part in penance or self-mutilation or self-loathing to absolve himself from his sins? Is that not what our guilt-laden nature requires of us: restitution for our wrongs? Do we not all feel that payment is necessary for our sins? Yet, there is no joy found among self-mutilation or self-loathing, for there is no absolution from sin apart from Jesus Christ.

(Image courtesy of http://www.bible.ca.) God told Abraham in the book of Genesis, "I will bless you and make you a great nation.  The number of your descendants will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore, or the stars in the heavens."  This promise was given when Abraham was 100 years old and his wife was ninety - and they had zero children.  But God is always faithful in fulfilling His promises.  Fast forward past Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers, and the promise is fulfilled.  During Israel's captivity in the land of Egypt around the time of Moses, God blessed Abraham's descendants so that they were in the millions.

(Image courtesy of http://bibleencyclopedia.com.) This saying is trustworthy and true: "History repeats itself." Most everyone has heard the phrase, but why is it true?  It is true that history repeats itself, not because all the individual circumstances and characters line up exactly as they were in any given historical account, but because the natural world has not undergone extensive, redefining changes.  Nature continues its constant, un-rushed, consistent pattern of absolutes. Here are a few examples of nature's absolutes that I am referring to: Men and women still attempt to usurp the throne of God as sovereign ruler and law-giver.  The earth's heating and cooling patterns cycle every once in a while because God designed it that way.  There is no such thing as global warming.  The seasons continue their changes, uninterrupted and certainly never rushed.

(Image courtesy of http://www.lifenews.com.) One of the most common phrases among young people today is, "don't judge".  This short phrase is packed with intended meaning and it stems from the humanistic belief of relative truth.

(Image courtesy of https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/16/f3/25/16f32512f9eda761a847a01389c71375.jpg.) "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).