YOU ARE HERE!

The following is a story by Timothy Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary.


Most of us have had the experience of going to a shopping mall and trying to find a place to eat or a certain shop to shop in. At the entrance of most malls there are large maps showing all the stores in the mall, and there is, mercifully, a large red arrow pointing to a certain spot with the words in large letters: YOU ARE HERE! This allow us to situate ourselves within the larger map, and, without it, the big map is useless. The Bible is like a gigantic map which reveals to us the over-arching work and unfolding plan of God for his creation. However, many of us wonder how we fit into this big plan of God.


There are two main places where God, in this inspired map, has lovingly placed the words "YOU ARE HERE!" The first is in the Garden of Eden where Adam rebelled against God. Scripture teaches that in one act of rebellion the entire human race was bound up in sin. When we read the story of the Fall, we should not read the story without seeing ourselves in that story of rebellion. However, the other place where God has placed the words YOU ARE HERE is in Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. Just as Adam's sin brought condemnation to the human race, so the righteous obedience of Christ brought salvation to the human race (Rom. 5:12-19). In the final analysis, the entirety of creation is either "in Adam" or "in Christ." This is why Jesus is called "the second Adam." He provides an alternative to the story of sin, rebellion and pride. The story of Christ is the story of righteousness, obedience and humility.


May you also find the words "YOU ARE HERE" in the life of Christ during this Lenten season.

People Matter to God

Our Sunday school class is working through a book on evangelism right now, titled "The Unexpected Adventure" by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg. The final story in the series of 42 stories that make up this book knocked my socks off.

It was a story about a man named Robert. Robert got "his thrills by cheating death." In fact he was rich because of it. He lived a life of riches, women and booze, always pushing things to the limits. By his own admission, he made $60 million, but spent 61. He was so arrogant that one time he had both his private jets fly next to one another, for no other reason other than that he could sip champagne and look at his name on the tail of the other jet! "Robert didn't hate God; in a way, it was worse than that. At least despising God would have required emotion. Instead, God was simply irrelevant to him. Unneeded. A non issue."

One day Lee Strobel received a call from across the country from Robert (whom he had never met). Robert said that he had began to inquire about the Christian faith and someone had given him a copy of "The Case for Christ" authored by Strobel. Robert had read it and something amazing had happened. He believed in Jesus Christ! "I just got on my knees and prayed that God would never, ever let me go."

Several years later Robert died and many attended his funeral in Butte, Montana. The Inscription on the tombstone reads:
Robert "Evel" Knievel
"Believe in Jesus Christ"
Not long after he was converted, Knievel was baptized and gave a testimony at a large church in Southern California. It is reported that the testmonial of his changed life brought over 500 people to Jesus that day.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

The Indestructable Doc Marten

Even though I am not quite the minimalist I used to be when I was single and backpacking, I still consider simple living as the best living. I like to go through everything every now and then and make sure it has its place. The problem I have right now is what to do with my Doc Marten shoes. I think I purchased these babies when I was a senior at Mizzou in 1995. I wore them heavily during that year and the following years in Evansville, Indiana. I have never had a shoe last so long.

For the last five years they have been stored under the futon in our study. Several years ago I got them out and was going to wear them somewhere and my wife made some kind of comment about being seriously out of date or something. The picture above does not do justice to the thickness of the soles of these shoes. I feel like I am 6'4" when I put them on.

So now I have come across my ol' Docs again. What should I do with them? They hardly have a mark of wear on them, I think they are made out of kryptonite or something. I am not oblivious to the needs of the world, but they are so heavy it would probably be more efficient to send money instead of ship them somewhere. Should I shellac them? I think not. Should I save them and see if the style comes back around? (I still have a few paisley ties just waiting for this ;)). No, I guess I will contact the Better Living Center in Macon. Surely these 15 year old shoes will find a new home somewhere.

Goodbye Doc Martens, and thank you for your service.

Top Ten!

The Top Ten reasons why raising kids is similar to being a Wall Street Tycoon**

**The general idea for this is taken from "Parenting" magazine. February 2010 issue. I made several edits to personalize this particular Top Ten.

#10..You're all about the Perks...at least three cups of coffee per day.

#9...Your bonds are very rewarding...group snuggles on the couch.

#8...You will gladly accept a bailout..."Thanks for babysitting Grandma and Grandpa!"

#7...You constantly watch the markets...for sales on ground beef, etc.

#6...You dole out sweet bonuses...hey, a handful of yogurt covered raisins can go a long way.

#5...You keep a sharp eye on interest rates....in green vegetables and chores.

#4...You're sentenced to several years in a maximum security facility....safety gates and security latches are a way of life.

#3...Every night you may be subject to a hostile takeover...toddlers love hopping in that king size bed with you and momma.

#2...You have weekly board meetings...scrabble or hungry hungry hippo depending on age range.

And the number one reason that parenting is similar to Wall Street!.......................You're gross domestic product rises dramatically with each diaper change!!

The Case of the Lasagna Frittata

When stubbornness and strong will meet head to head it is just like the cliche' of the immovable object meeting the unstoppable force. It is ugly. This ugliness brings us to the case of the Lasagna Frittata. The pic above is one of two frittatas I prepared the other night. Sauteed fresh spinach and garlic, whole wheat lasagna, 10 eggs, enough half n half to make Julia Child proud, halved grape tomatoes, basil, sharp cheddar; served with a fresh fruit bowl and a glass of Merlot, mmm mmm!

The unfortunate thing that is on this particular night, Momma was working late and the only peeps to enjoy this fritatta with me were a 4yr, 3yr and 21 month old. In Ben's defense, he devoured it quickly and wholly. I was very pleased with him. Isaac began his stubbornness at 6:20pm, as did Daniel. I insisted that they finish their plates as usual. But nothing seemed to work. At 7:00pm (forty minutes after dinner start) I threatened a swat for whom ever did not take a bite within a minute. At 7:01 pm I administered a swat to each of two boys. The pain was real, but at 7:05pm new fun of goofing up, rolling sippy cups and bouncing in booster seats continued. At 7:30pm (a whopping hour and 10 minutes after dinner start) I instituted Martial law, that is no speaking until the food is gone. At 7:33pm I administered another swat to one boy. The extra noise and crying had good effect. At 7:40 pm, Daniel finished his frittata. At 7:43pm Isaac finished his.

It may sound like the home team won this battle. But the home team is worn out. Why does it have to be so hard sometimes? This closes the case of the Lasagna Frittata.

Aflac Scam -- Watch Out!

Watch out for this scam. Police say that the gang usually is comprised of four members, one adult and three younger ones. While the three younger ones, all appearing sweet and innocent, divert their 'mark' with a show of friendliness , the fourth -- the eldest -- sneaks in from behind the person's back to expertly rifle through his or her pockets and purses or bags for any valuables being carried. The picture shows the gang in operation.

Book Review - The Last Disciple

The Last Disciple is authored by Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer. Hank Hanegraaff is host of "The Bible Answer Man" radio show which I listen to occasionally and enjoy. I found this book at our local public library while perusing for a good novel to read over the New Year's holiday.

The book is historical fiction set during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire (approx AD 60-70). The main character is a Roman commander named "Vitas" who has fallen in love with a Jewish slave whose freedom he purchased but has lost contact with her. Vitas has a unique situation in that he is in Nero's inner circle but also has respect from the Senate. Most of Nero's other cronies despise Vitas because of his virtue and truthfulness. We learn about half way through the book that Vitas' love "Sofia" is also a member of the "cult" who follows and believes in "The Christos."

This book reads like a Peretti novel in that there are about five different scenes going on, all bouncing back and forth constantly. This type of writing engages your interest but also can be hard a little hard to follow. There are numerous characters also involved in the plot but two quickly worth mentioning are a Jewish Rabbi named Ben and a former Gladiator champion named Maglorious who both sidekick with Vitas at various times as he chases his love and also tries to make sense of the madness which has become the Roman Empire. There is a symbol which you can see from the picture above which comes up occasionally as a secret code among the believers throughout the book. The last disciple of Jesus, John son of Zebedee has a few cameo appearances through out the book, the first at the beginning of the book when Vitas rescues John and some other Christians from a small house which Nero himself is persecuting. The final part of the book also deals with John, but I will say no more to that as I don't want to be too big of a spoiler.

This book is historical fiction, but we all know how influential this type of writing can be. Hanegraaff counters Tim Lahaye's "Left Behind" series and the dispensational premillennial view with this novel and it's Partial Preterist view. Partial Preterism takes a basic historical approach to the Biblical book of Revelation; Nero is The Beast, Rome is Babylon and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the onset of the church age are all part of the prophecy of Revelation. Full Preterism apparently is the minority view in Preterism as it holds that the onset of the church age is the return of Jesus, but Partial Preterists still believe in the physical bodily return of Jesus and several other prophecies yet to be fulfilled. A strength of this view is that in Hebrew Gematria some interpret that the number 666 means "Neron Caesar." Another strength is that the phrase "the time is near" is mentioned at the beginning and end of Revelation. A clear weakness is that many in church tradition have held that Revelation was written around 90 AD, after the fall of the Temple.

Overall, this book was a good read and I would recommend it. I consider Hanegraaff a very sound theologian. He has boldly diverged from much of Protestant eschatology of the last 100 years with this view of Revelation. As he mentions in the Afterward, his view of the end times he has coined "exegetical eschatology" or E2. This also is a bit of a bold name as there are varying views of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and I am sure every one believes they are using proper exegesis with their own interpretation. I was reminded the other day by my Dad of the preacher we had at Woodville Baptist Church when I was in high school late eighties/early nineties. Once, during a sermon on Revelation he said "I am so Pre-Trib that I refuse to eat Post Toasties for breakfast!!!!!" Classic!

"This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." Revelation 13:18