Deurpost

I was reading Matt Chandler’s blog entitled Inspirations, in which he was writing about what stirs his affections for Christ, and what robbed him of affection for Christ. And ends with the question what stirs your affections for Christ, truth and holiness?

I think this is an excellent way to see where you are at, and so here’s my first attempt to answer these questions:

What stirs my affection for Christ (in random order)
1. Watching my daughter Elora sleep
2. Seeing my wife smile
3. Reading or listening to John Piper or Mark Driscoll
4. The Book of Romans
5. Pick up my guitar, close my eyes, and just play
6. Contemplating on 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

What robs me of affection for Christ (in random order)
1. In whatever way, shape, or form be busy with CCIE study
2. Being sucked into unholy conversations and joking
3. Being lazy at home
4. Driving my car on a busy road
5. Not listening to my wife’s discernment
6. Thinking I know without realizing I don’t (which happens too much)

Last Thursday I went to see Paul Gilbert in the P60 in Amstelveen together with two friends. We got what we paid for. And I mean this in a good way. Here is a guitar virtuoso extraordinaire who toured the world with the band Mr. Big (yes, from the major hit “Just to Be With You”, which proves again that bands usually become famous by a song outside of their normal repertoire), has released many solo albums, but has no problem whatsoever to come to the tiny town of Amstelveen and play for not more than 100 people, and have fun as well!

Now I must admit that I knew Paul Gilbert, but wasn’t too much aware of his solo repertoire other than I knew he mixes up styles without scruples, sings sometimes, and seems like a nice fellow. So I entered the evening pretty blank. But I am not blank anymore! Boy, what a great evening! I have been to many many gigs over a period of ten years, seeing big names in big venues, big names in small venues, small names in small venues, and small names in big venues. But it doesn’t happen a lot that a big name in a small venue shows so much enthusiasm in his playing and seems genuinely interested in giving the audience their money’s worth (there are of course exceptions, like guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine). So, I had fun. A lot of notes where played, a lot of styles flashed by, a lot of guitars where tuned, and a lot of laughing was done… To me the musical highlights of the show where the “old” Racer X songs “Scarified” and “Technical Difficulties” and the fusion song “Burning Organ“.

Paul Gilbert is unique, his own class, rated PG, and does it an a way that is not offending or arrogant at all (and in that he is unique as well). Definitely someone to go see again for a good old night out.

I have mixed feelings about apologetics. On one hand I feel it is important to be able to engage in meaningful discussion with non-believers about Christianity. On the other hand I don’t feel compelled to try to convince non-believers that the God of the Bible is real, because ultimately it requires God’s saving grace. Now I realize by saying this that I am potentially opening a can of worms called predestination, but that’s maybe for another blog. Having said this, I did feel compelled to put this video on my blog.

In short, it is a video where Tim Keller, the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, visits Google’s Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, “The Reason for God: Believe in an Age of Skeptesism.” This event took place on March 5, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. It is an hour long lecture.

“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;  Make Your way straight before me. There is nothing reliable in what they say; their inward part is destruction itself their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Hold them guilty, O God; by their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You. But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5)

Approaching God
“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” (Psalm 5:1-3)
David makes it abundantly clear that he wants to talk to God. He calls for His attention three times! What I think is interesting is that David specifically says that he prays to God. Now this sounds kind of silly to say, but I do think it sort of affirms David’s awareness that he is approaching his holy Father, that we request to be in His presence. The fact that we can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) does not mean that we should confuse confidence with arrogance. Charles H. Spurgeon said about morning prayer: “This is the fittest time for intercourse with God. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. While the dew is on the grass, let grace drop upon the soul.” The idea behind direct is not “to aim” but “to order, to arrange.” It is the word that is used for the laying in order of the wood and pieces of the victim upon the altar, and it is used also for the putting of the shewbread upon the table. It means just this: ‘I will arrange my prayer before thee;’ I will lay it out upon the altar in the morning, just as the priest lays out the morning sacrifice. So just as we put lay our request before God before we pray, we should eagerly watch afterwards expectantly to heaven for God to answer.

Drawing Closer to Holiness
“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;  Make Your way straight before me.” (Psalm 5:4-8)
The more we meditate on God’s Word, the more we become aware of His holiness and our sinfulness. A direct result of our efforts of approaching the definition of holiness, God Himself. “This is a good way to measure how well you are praying and whether, as you pray, you are drawing close to God or are merely mouthing words. If you are drawing close to God, you will become increasingly sensitive to sin, which is inevitable since the God you are approaching is a holy God.” (Boice). But look at David’s confidence! Yet he doesn’t rely on his own righteousness or holiness, but his confidence is grounded in the mercy of God. And look at David’s humility! He recognizes or acknowledges that his godliness is a result of God’s mercy and power and work in him, and not of his own strength.

Two Destinies
“There is nothing reliable in what they say; their inward part is destruction itself their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Hold them guilty, O God; by their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You. But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:9-12)
Wickedness is displayed in what a man says. Jesus said: “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matthew 12:34), and James said: “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-6,8). David prays that He will hold them guilty, to let them fall, to thrust them out for their rebellion. But the righteous, the ones who put their trust in God (and not just pay lip service) should rejoice! Let them sing for joy, and find shelter and a shield in the LORD. And what a great blessing it is to find favor in the LORD! Knowing that God says: “This is my child, in whom I am well pleased”. Awesome!

“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him. Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD. Many are saying, ‘Who will show us any good?’ Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety” (Psalm 4)

David Talks to God
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer” (Psalm 4:1)
On the surface it looks like David is commanding God to answer, because He is not. But that is not the case. There is passion in David’s cry to the LORD. He is not trying to persuade or command God to answer, but he is expressing passion. God wants us to care about the things that He cares about. Isaiah says “there is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities” (Isaiah 64:7). David is calling on His name and is arousing himself to take hold of God. I love how it says “You have relieved me in my distress”. Looking at the Hebrew text gives in a more visual picture I think. The Hebrew word for “relieved” is “rachab,” which means “broad or roomy pasture”. The Hebrew word for “distress” is “tsar,” which means “narrow, tight”. The Message translates this as “Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!“. And so we see that God answers prayer and that we can call upon the LORD always in times of trouble, for He will relieve us in our distress.

David Talks to Men
“Sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him” (Psalm 4:2-3)
David shifts gear and addresses the ungodly men, questioning how long his glory would turn to shame. But we should also ask this ourselves when we are on a course that is compromising. How long will I play around with this sin? How long will I love something that is not building up treasure in heaven? How long will I continue not only being deceived but actually seeking deception? But know (find out, discern, know by experience) that the LORD has set apart the godly men for Himself. What a beautiful realization! To really know that the LORD has set you apart. And what an assurance we have that the LORD hears when we call on Him! We should be confident that God answers our prayers. And when we see that our prayer is not answered, it would be good to figure out why. Many reasons could cause this, like not abiding in Jesus (John 15:7), unbelief (Matthew 17:20-21), unconfessed sin (James 5:16), or a lack of Bible reading and teaching (Proverbs 28:9).

David Talks to Himself
“Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD. Many are saying, ‘Who will show us any good?’ Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:4-8)
We are in the same situation as David, and that is that we are surrounded by ungodliness. Seeing this ungodliness could (or sometimes should) be reason to be angry, but yet we never have a reason to sin. We should take the same advice as David gave himself, and that is to turn to God and meditate within our heart, filling our heart and mind with God’s Word. Being surrounded by ungodliness could make us doubt if God will show us any good, yet David trusts the LORD that He will. He turns to God’s promise in the book of Numbers where it is written: “The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26). Knowing that the LORD make His face shine on you should put gladness in your heart, regardless of the circumstances. It should make you sleep well at night, knowing that the LORD bless you and keep you, “for You alone make me to dwell in safety“

I just realized that it was seven years ago today that the U.S.A. witnessed its blackest day. I can still remember where I was when I heard it. I can still remember switching on the television and just being nailed to the floor watching the scenes. I can still remember the face of Osama Bin-Laden appearing on the screen every couple of minutes.

Anyways, I never studied out the Biblical significance of the attack before (although I am confident there is), but considering it has been 7 years I thought I’d share an article from Chuck Missler’s Koinonia House on the matter. Food for thought!

http://khouse.org/articles/2001/371/

Jihad in America
by Chuck Missler     

Even now, none of us have recovered from the shocks of September 11, 2001. We cannot resist noting the following Scripture:

“That day is a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of wasteness and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloominess,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
A day of the trumpet and alarm
… against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.“
Zephaniah 1:15-16

There were those who received a prophecy that “America would be dialing 911.” Little did we realize how literally that would happen on the 9th month, 11th day!

We certainly were shocked, yes; but it should not have come as a surprise. Over the past several weeks we have participated in prophecy conferences at the International Prophecy Summit at Branson, Missouri; the Steeling the Mind of America Conference at Keystone, Colorado; Solidarity for Israel Conference at Fort Worth, Texas; and, the Great Lakes Prophecy Conference at Appleton, Wisconsin. The potential dangers and upcoming events were all well highlighted.

And just weeks ago, Avi Lipkin, from our own platform in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, warned specifically about the likelihood of an attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

Our lives – and our nation – will never be the same.

Amidst the struggles, and attempting to recover from the countless tragedies and disruptions, it has been a heartwarming surprise to see the American flags emerging everywhere. As President Bush highlighted, “They are displayed with pride, and they wave in defiance.”

There are some who suggest that there never would have been a State of Israel but for the Holocaust in Germany. And, in a sense, this “holocaust” in New York and Washington appears to be having a singular role as a “wake-up call” for America; not only a call to arms, but a call for a renewal of our heritage, our fundamental values, and our priorities.

The Nature of our Adversary
A wake-up call it is, and it certainly isn’t over. We are, indeed, at war. We are engaged in Islam’s “Jihad in America.” Most Americans – and even most Christians – have no real awareness of the nature of Islam: its origin, its agenda, and its methods. We each must understand the realities and not be blind-sighted by misleading propaganda.

There is, of course, a concerted effort to avoid offending the “moderate” Muslims throughout the world who are peace-loving and not characterized by the “extremists” or “fundamentalists.” But we also need to recognize the root teachings of the Koran, and the call to violence that has been spread throughout the world:

“Fight and slay the pagans (infidels) wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war” Quran, Sura 9:5

“Prophet, make war on unbelievers and hypocrites, and deal rigorously with them.” Al Tawbah (The Repentence) Sura 9:73

“Let not the unbelievers think they will ever get away. They have not the power to do so. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy… Prophet, (Muhammed) rouse the faithful to arms! If they (the non-Muslims) incline to peace (accept Islam) make peace with them.” Al Anfal (The Spoils) Sura 8:59

“If they reject your judgement, know that it is Allah’s wish to scourge them for their sins.” Al Maidah (The Table) Sura 5:49

“Believers (Muslims), take neither Jews nor Christians to be your friends: they are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number, and God does not guide (those Jewish and Christian) wrong-doers.” Al Maidah (The Table) Sura 5:51-5:74

Among the most shocking images on the news broadcasts were the unbridled celebrations among the Muslims and “Palestinians.” We saw an unveiling of their real hearts that even their leaders were unable to mask, hide, or deflect through intimidations.

What Is the Real Issue?
But our real warfare is not against flesh and blood. We need to look behind the carnage and the legacy of hate that now reaches our shores and plagues our communities and families. Let’s try to put this in a Biblical perspective.

This is, indeed, a “religious” war. It is an open, bloody, conflict over a real estate issue!

Every nation-except one-on the Planet Earth is presently occupying its geography as a result of a history of conquest. Only one nation has a legitimate, documented land grant from the Creator Himself: Israel.

It is a challenge to that land grant-and Israel’s right to occupy that land-that is at the root of the current conflict that caused the wanton murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children… and this was just a beginning.

The land involved does not belong to the PLO (despite Clinton’s franchising this band of cutthroats as the principal negotiators for the “Palestinian” cause). The land involved also does not belong to the UN. This particular real estate is the specific subject of a most sacred oath delivered by God Himself! God indulged in participating in, what was in that day, the most sacred form of commitment. (Genesis 15:7-21). (However, Abraham was put in a deep sleep so that God alone incurred the commitment. It was an unconditional covenant.)

Note especially Genesis 15:18: “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:“

[When people speak of the "West Bank," I like to ask which river they had in mind-the Jordan...or the Euphrates!]

This land grant is the root issue behind the terrorism against Israel and against America as its patron. Reducing the borders of Israel will not solve the problem. It is not the size of Israel that is the issue; it is the presence of Israel that is the issue.

Islam regards Israel as simply a puppet of the United States. They believe that they can destroy the puppetmaster to destroy the puppet. But make no mistake: Islam is not simply anti-Jewish: it is also anti-Christian. (Koran, Sura 5:51-74)

Their children’s street ditty goes, “Today Friday; tomorrow Saturday; then Sunday.” (Friday is the Islamic holy day; Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat; and Sunday, the Christian’s day of worship.) That’s their agenda. And it is inculcated into their children at the earliest opportunities.

It is imperative for every Christian to really understand the realities behind Islam. With the resources now available to them, their agenda can no longer be ignored.

The Biblical Relevance
And we need to recognize the spiritual warfare that lies behind the legacy of hate that now attempts to envelop our own communities.

There will also be those who will point to Zephaniah 1:14-18 and Revelation 18 as specifically pointing to the events of September 11, 2001. Perhaps they do in a connotative sense, but I personally believe that those passages are specific to events which are yet still in the future.

But we do need to recognize the Biblical nature of the Middle East conflict. It is, indeed, time to “do our homework.” This is a time to be diligent. To study carefully for ourselves and not simply parrot the prejudices of our favorite teacher(s) (Acts 17:11).

The First War of the 21st Century
We also need to recognize that the 21st century is destined to be dramatically different than anything of the past. The events of September 11th are just a beginning. And the threats will not be limited to the logistics of airline high-jacking.

The next challenge to our national way of life is likely to come from biochemical weapons. These emergent technologies are a terrorist’s dream: They are inexpensive, they are easily delivered to metropolitan environments, and they are virtually impossible to satisfactorily guard against.

And there have also been reports that Osama bin Laden-and other radical Islamic groups-may now have possession of nuclear devices. Informed experts are anticipating nuclear possibilities as well: “not if, but when….”

The 20th century was the bloodiest century in human history, and the coming decade clearly is not going to be characterized by “peace and safety.” Furthermore, the draconian measures which are inevitably going to be instituted for security requirements will seriously infringe and curtail the freedoms that we all have taken so for granted.

Joe deCourcy, former publisher of The Intelligence Digest, pointed out to me that, in his opinion, we will look back on the ’50s and ’60’s as the “Golden Age” of personal freedom. But there are dramatic changes continuing on our horizon. (See our website, www.khouse.org, for a summary of these various strategic trends and sign up for our free weekly newsletter, eNews, which will help keep you up to date on the Biblical relevance of current events. Yes, it’s free.)

The Opportunities
The good news is that people are now more open and inquiring as never before. It is not “business as usual.” Everyone’s priorities are being drastically reexamined and revised. People are desperately seeking answers to fundamental questions. The opportunities to be a witness for Christ-and to provide a Biblical perspective on what’s happening-is unprecedented in our lifetime!

But we need to be prepared.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee that thou shalt be no priest to me…” (Hosea 4:6)

The Armor of God
We are, indeed, at war, and Ephesians Chapter 6 enumerates our arms inventory. We are (twice) commanded to “put on the whole armor of God.” We need to know what these seven elements consist of and how to don them daily. And we must put on the whole armor-not just our favorite pieces! It is time to know what you believe and why you believe it. It is inexcusable for people who are as immersed in available resources as we are not to have meaningful answers to life’s most critical questions. If you are not exercising your spiritual gifts you are defrauding the Body. Let us help you. Let us know what you need. The time for harvest may be shorter than any of us realize!

On September 11th, we experienced a gigantic “non-linearity” in our lives. More are coming. We need to rearrange our personal priorities. And our most precious resource is time.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Let us continue to mobilize our heavy artillery: prayer. Let us pray for the families affected; for our leadership, for discernment in their decisions and resolve in their commitments; for ministries, to repair misconceptions and to be ever more responsive to the opportunities; and, let us pray for Israel and Jerusalem.

With our home group we started a book study on prayer. The book is called “Prayer, the Great Adventure” by David Jeremiah. We all read the first two chapters of the book in the last week, and yesterday was our first evening discussing what we read. I realize that blogging my thoughts on the book may not make much sense if you have not read the book, but I figure that God is smarter than that, and that it may serve as some encouragement to know that not everybody has the amazing prayer life that everybody is talking about. It’s always the other guy, right?

Three words come to mind when reading chapters one and two: conviction, encouraging, and more!

Let me start with the introduction. It was encouraging to read that “prayer is not a normal activity”. Good, because that’s how I always feel about it. Prayer is something extraordinary. He continues saying that “prayer is everything; a duty as well as a privilege; a right as well as a responsibility”. I felt convicted here. It sounds stupid, but I don’t think I consciously realize that God is holy and I am not. This sense of awe of approaching the definition of holiness. Yet also realizing that He is my father and he wants to talk to me. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). I also hardly use prayer as a first line of defense. Again, conviction.

I think I had the most problems with chapter one. I get what he’s trying to say, but it sometimes sounds too simple. Yes, it’s encouraging to read Matthew 7:7-11 and read that if we ask Him He gives us what is good for us. I believe this (I think), but it sounds too simple. Too “prosperity” religious, if we do not take into account that “praying in the name of Jesus is praying in accordance with His nature”. A huge difference!! What I do get from the Scripture is that Jesus tells us to have intensity and passion in prayer, and that God promises an answer if we diligently seek Him. And although it may not be the answer we are looking for, it is encouraging to know that God does answer. Question is though: do we (want to) hear the answer? What I did like in this chapter is that we should be persistent in prayer (without nagging or begging I would say) and his advice to ask God what you can accomplish in the meantime if it feels/seems that your prayer is not answered immediately. A great way to stay humble and keep your heart open and let God change you.

I really liked chapter two. I zoomed in a bit on two verses he mentioned. “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). The Greek word used here for “Devote yourselves” is “proskartereō” and means to “to be devoted, steadfastly attentive, persevere, constant readiness, be strong”. Wow, to be devoted to prayer means to be constant ready, to be steadfastly attentive. Prayer is hard work. I never considered prayer to be hard work. I mean, do you ever need to take a shower after you’re done praying because you sweat so much of the hard work? I don’t! The other verse is “Epaphras… always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12). The Greek word for “laboring earnestly” is “agonizomai” meaning “to contend with adversaries, fight, to endeavour with strenuous zeal”. So it’s not only hard work, it’s a fight. The first thing that comes to my mind here is ultimate fighting (sorry, I am a guy). Now, I have never done it (thank God!), but I can imagine that going all out for ten rounds of three minutes each is hard work. The amount of hours of training and discipline that goes into this, to be able to actually stand a chance when entering the ring, must be enormous! I think I should start seeing prayer more like this. Yes, in its basic form it is just talking to my (holy) Father, but prayer is also a powerful weapon against the enemy, who “prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). I don’t feel ready at all to step into the ring, because I have never put in the hours of training and be disciplined to build up the stamina. The other thing I got from this chapter is the planning. We should plan our prayer. (Like he said, you don’t just go on vacation, you plan it). He talks about a time, a place, and a procedure. I think it’s a great idea to allocate some time to devote to God. Yes, we should pray without ceasing and can pray whenever we want, but I think it’s honoring to God to give Him some quality time too. I also like to think that giving more thought to planning prayer means to think ahead. Where do you want to go to? What do you want to achieve? It’s setting up a goal (something counter culture in Holland – setting goals). It’s also a way to get more insight if your prayers are answered and if you see progress (stamina) in your prayer life. I like this quote by Dwight Eisenhower who said: “plans are nothing, planning is everything”. To me that means: it’s ok to “talk the talk”, but without making a planning and actually start doing it, you will never “walk the walk”.

Anyways, these are some of my thoughts on what I’ve read so far. I am a morning person, and so what I am going to do (and possibly fail at although but I hope not!) is to allocate some time in the morning to devote to God. I heard this great thought the other day from Chuck Missler. He said: “When are sheep fed? In the morning.” We are His sheep, and we need His food. Best to get some in the morning. (Yes, my mom – like most moms – was right: breakfast is the most important meal of the day ;-)

I was tagged by my friend Marco. The rules are as follows:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you’re tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

So, here are the six random things about me:

1. Did you know that my birth was a miracle? My mom had an ectopic pregnancy (a complication in which the fertilized ovum is implanted in any tissue other than the uterine wall – in this case the abdomen), and nobody knew until the delivery! Thank God my mom was in the hospital and they could perform a C-section. If the echo equipment and technology would have been better in 1974, they probably would have found out way sooner and have me aborted. A miracle indeed!

2. Did you know I have a brown belt in the martial arts Nunchaku-Do? I was actually quite talented, sometimes gave lessons, and achieved the brown belt within only two years (started back in 1987!). I practiced it for about eight years. The only reason I don’t have a black belt is that to qualify for the black belt exam you had to be a referee as well, which I did not want to. Looking back I should have done it though. Black belt sounds so much cooler!

3. Did you know I used to be (actually still am) a huge Bruce Lee fan? Yes, I devoured his movies, have a whole bookshelf full of books from him and about him, and my old room did not need any wallpaper (if you know what I mean). Some people actually called me Bruce. I was quite the trivia expert. I wonder if I still know as much as back then.

4. Did you know that I am a huge math geek, and that if I had the choice I would still want to get a master’s degree in it. It goes without saying I have all the seasons of Numb3rs on DVD.

5. Did you know I used to have my own company? In 1999, together with two friends, we started up Primal Grunt, a non-profit booking agency for Christian bands to “inject” them into the secular music world. For as far as I know it is still the only one of its kind. Primal Grunt is still thriving, and very much needed in today’s music scene,

6. Did you know I am a poet? I love poetry, although I haven’t spend that much time on it lately. Although already a songwriter, I was inspired in 2000 by a beautiful Dutch/American/Canadian girl (you shall remain unnamed). My favorite poet is E.E. Cummings. In my own opinion, I wrote some great poems. I would love to pick it up again, expand my reportoire, and do something fruitful with it. Maybe I should use my blog for publicating them.

I’m not sure who of the following actually read my blog. But I appoint them to accept the challenge!

1. Todd Watkins
2. Michael Belgraver
3. Joy Maul
4. Sander Chan
5. Brett Poppleton
6. Jenni Lafferty