So Long Blogspot!

Well, the time has come for the blogspot site and me to part ways. I'm happy to tell everyone that I now have my own website! It's CaseyHarpe.com and I'm excited to see how the Lord will use it to glorify Himself. I hope everyone will come visit the new site and leave plenty of comments to let me know what you think.

Many thanks to Kevin Lester for all his hard work and patience in setting up the new site. He did a wonderful job, in my opinion, and I'm endebted to him for everything. A good bit of work has gone into the new site and I appreciate everything he's done. Thanks Kevin!

I'm going to leave this site up, at least for a while, (how long, I don't know) mainly for a backup but barring some catastrophe on the new site, everything from now on will be posted there.

Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope to see you at the new site!


Grace & Peace
Casey

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." 2 Corinthians 13:14

New Site Forthcoming!

It looks like the new website is coming right along quickly and will be ready very soon. I'm going to leave this blog in place and I've already imported most of the stuff from here to the new site so the older blogs will be available in two places.

I'm excited to have a new site and I hope everyone finds plenty of cool new features to play with and I hope it's easy to navigate. The new site will have lots of pictures, links to some of my favorite sites around the Internet, as well as some resources such as sermons from Southern Seminary's chapel services.

If you have any ideas about what you'd like to see, let me know. One of the advantages of the Internet is the vast amount of information that is literally at our fingertips. There are tons of things out there that can easily be incorporated.

Thanks for reading!

Casey

Created in His Image - Psalm 8

Recently I heard a sermon preached on the importance of remembering that Christians, "God's workmanship," (Ephesians 2:10) need to understand that we are empowered by God and should expect His favor to be on us. According to the speaker, we should expect the blessing of God upon whatever we try to do as ministers.

The sermon was in the context of speaking to present and future ministers of the Gospel and his point was that we should expect God to bless our ministry. While he was mostly true to the text he used, I believe this particular preacher was reading it with a false understanding of the whole of Scripture.

Of course it's true that we are God's workmanship and that we are creatures made in His image, but this should not be cause for us to think that God owes us anything or that we are guaranteed to be blessed by "success" in whatever we choose to do. The speaker I heard didn't say that explicitly, but his point, I think, came dangerously close to going down that trail. His point was that we should not be content to live with the same circumstances as the rest of the world. His implication was that because we are followers of the one true Lord of the universe, we should expect more.

I'm not saying the guy was a heretic, I just hope people understand that God is totally in control of everything. God's definition of "success" is usually quite different from ours. That means that if we are experiencing times of great blessing or hard times, God's in control. It may be hard, even impossible, for us to understand, but He's in control. I think specifically of two people as examples of this in my life: my friends Jean Ray and Theresa Norris. In both of their cases, it's really hard to see the good that God has planned.

Mrs. Jean is basically stuck at home with 2 broken legs; Miss Theresa recently found out she has liver failure and needs a transplant. Both situations are terrible and yet both of these women are examples of God's mercy and love. While they are going through miserably difficult times, both of these women have been forgiven of their sin and will spend eternity in the presence of a loving, merciful, just, and holy God. No matter what happens to them in this world, no matter how bad or how hard it gets, they both trust in Jesus Christ and will therefore spend eternity with Him. The God of the universe who spoke everything into existence is the same God who's involved in our lives at all times.

This is what makes the fact of Jesus' life so amazing. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Immanuel, God in human flesh, came and walked the earth in real human history. He was, and is, a real human person. He was crushed according to the Father's will, according to Scripture, and he really died; He didn't merely fall asleep. Three days later He was raised from the dead, a full bodily resurrection and subsequently ascended to heaven. Now, He sits at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us.

There really is a place called heaven. It's not just a place of enlightenment in our minds or some dreamed up "Atlantis" in the clouds. When Jesus returns, to claim his bride, all who trust in Him as their Lord and Saviour will be in His presence forever and ever, Amen.

Likewise, there really is a Hell. It's not just a place we talk about to make children "act right" in public. There really is a place of "outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:30. Being totally given over to our sin in eternal separation from God is a terrible place to be...a place where none of us will want to be but where every one of us deserves to be.

In thinking of our place in God's creation, I think Psalm 8 gives a great description of God's glory and how everything has been created for the purpose of His glory. Specifically, verse 4 points out that while humans have been crowned with God's glory and majesty, and are made to rule over His creation, we don't deserve His grace in the least.


1 “O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 8

May you know Him better and worship Him continuously.
Grace & Peace

Casey

Winter Storm

Just to let everyone know, I survived the Louisville Ice Storm 2009 with no problems. I stayed in my dark and cold apartment despite the many warnings from campus security. I know it's not the best idea in the world to try to stick it out through such conditions without heat or electricity but honestly, it wasn't that bad. I have a down comforter and a Mag Lite flashlight, so this Boy Scout was able to stay quite comfortable and safe throughout the entire power outage.

I did spend one night with my friend Michael who had power the whole time, but to tell the truth, I was colder there than in my own apartment. It was my own fault though. To keep my load light, I only took a small blanket to his house and just slept on the floor. I slept well but my feet were a little cold. While in my apartment, the temperature was quite low (I meant to get a thermometer to see just how cold, but never did) but goose down does wonders for keeping heat in so I was toasty warm the whole time. I don't know how cold it did get but I do know that there was a little bit of ice forming in the sink where I had the faucets dripping. Some of the water that splashed to the side would freeze.

The initial snow storm wasn't bad but the second day everything turned to ice and there was accumulation of ice on some trees and power lines that was over an inch thick, by my unofficial measurement. There were thousands of people here without power after the ice did its thing. As a matter of fact there are still a lot of people without power...or "without electric," as the locals say. We didn't know when we'd get power restored. Sunday afternoon, I saw 2 trucks that made me more hopeful about it. I saw an Alabama Power and then a Georgia Power truck. I knew once them good ole boys got to work up here, there would flat be some changes made.

I was right. About 3 hours after I saw those 2 trucks, my power came back on. I was without power for 4 days so I was very happy for it to come back on. The heat was off long enough for the entire building to get really cold so it has taken all night last night and prettymuch all day today for it to get back to a normal temperature inside. Now it's toasty warm and so I'll be able to sleep with my fan on.

I did have to do some repairs to a window sash to keep some of the cold air out. The other day, Kevin and Tracey noticed that the top sash of the window in my living room had about an inch open gap at the top. They had stuffed some towels in the gap to try to cut out some of the cold air. I found a nail in the window that had been put in by someone who had no idea how to use a hammer. The nail was bent about halfway down and it was obvious some doofus had worked on it. I removed that nail and put one in a better location. Now, that icy draft is gone.

My house guests really had no reason to stick around for the duration, so after a day of no power or heat, they quickly escaped to warmer climates and electrified conditions in Georgia. They surprised kin folks by showing up unannounced and stayed for a couple of days. Classes here were canceled through today so they made their way back up and arrived a few hours ago. Now we're all contemplating bed since Tracey and I have class tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my long day. I have 3 classes, convocation chapel service, and work tomorrow. It's probably going to be a really long and tiring day so I'd better not spend too much more time on here. I'll just let everyone know that things are getting back to some semblance of normalcy around here and we're going to be able to get the semester going again without too much interruption.

So, I've been here in Louisville for almost 7 months and I've gone multiple days without power on 2 separate and distinct times. So far, Louisville doesn't have such a good track record but I still like it here. It's adventurous, if nothing else.

Casey

Prayer Request

I have another prayer request. Sometimes I feel like all I do is ask God to do stuff or to help people or to heal people and stuff like that. First and foremost, I thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ. I thank Him for who He is, what He did, and the unmerited grace and favor He continues to show me. I am, most assuredly, the wretch mentioned in Amazing Grace. Before we make any request to God, we should rejoice in the Lord and thank Him and worship Him. In his epistle written to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul wrote:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

So, it is with much thanksgiving to God and with the understanding that not one of us deserves God's grace, that I ask God to help my dear, sweet friend Jean Ray.

Mrs. Jean is a walking, talking testimony to the power and grace of Jesus Christ. I got a message last night that she has "double pneumonia" and won't be able to visit with her friends in the Internet world for a while. There have been so many problems that she and Mr. Ted have had, yet they remain faithful and loving followers of Christ. They may not know it but they are examples to me. I'm inspired by their faith and love. Through all the hardships they've endured, from multiple health problems including so many allergies that it's hard to count them all, to the threat of job loss, to their son Chris' health problems, to almost anything imaginable, I've never once heard them complain.

The only thing I've ever heard from either of them is praise to God for His many blessings. Some days have been harder than others to endure but both of them will greet you with a smile, even on the worst of days. I hope I can be like them when hardships come. I hope that my attitude remains one of thanksgiving to God. I don't hope these things so the world will think more of me but rather so the world will know the hope that Mrs. Jean, Mr. Ted and I have is from a source foreign to many...the grace and peace and hope we have through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please join with me in lifting up the Ray family. Please pray that the Lord would continue to show them His lovingkindness and that He would use them as He has for so long, to be the salt and light in a world of darkness.

Mrs. Jean and Mr. Ted, if you read this, please know that my prayers are with you. Also know that I love you both very much and I am inspired by your faith and witness.

The Peace of Christ to You,
Casey

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4:19-20

And Is There Hope For Me

I read something this afternoon that I just had to share. It's a poem by Charles Wesley and it's beautiful. The poem is actually unfinished and it is a prayer that Wesley probably wrote around December 20, 1748. I can't help but pray this prayer for myself. I found the poem in a book (somewhat ironically) entitled The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley.

And Is There Hope For Me

1. And is there Hope for me
In Life's distracting Maze,
And shall I live on Earth to see
A few unruffled Days?
A Man of Sorrows I,
A sufferer from the Womb,
'Twas all my Hope in Peace to die,
And rest within my Tomb

2. How then can I conceive
A Good for me design'd
The greatest God Himself could give,
The Parent of Mankind?
A good by Sovereign Love
To sinless Adam given
His joyous Paradise t'improve,
And turn his Earth to Heaven.

3. God of unbounded Grace,
If yet Thou wilt bestow
On me the Vilest of the Race
Thy choicest Gift below;
My drooping Heart prepare
The blessing to receive
And bid the Child of sad Despair
With Confidence Believe.

4. My new & strange Distress
To Thee I simply own,
Inur'd to Pain I start from Peace
And dread a Good unknown:
My Heart Thou seest it ache
Its dearest Wish t'obtain
And know'st my Fear of measuring back
My steps to Earth again.

5. Assure my trembling Soul
Of they decisive Will
My endless Doubts & Fears controul,
And bid my Heart be still:
Regard thy Servant's Call
And shed thy Love abroad,
The Sign Infallible that all
My Works are wrought in God.

6. Thou, Lord, direct my Ways,
On all my Counsels shine
And lead by thine unerring Grace
This feeble Soul of mine;
Thy Pard'ning Love reveal
In Proof of thy Decree,
And stamp Her with thy Spirit's Seal
The Friend design'd for me.

7. With stedfast Faith & Love
Le me thy Creature take
As a good Angel from above,
Sent down for Jesus' sake.
Not to inthrall my Will
Not to put out my Eyes
But fix my Heart & fire my Zeal
And lift me to the Skies.

8. I have not time to finish: Your Heart will
say Amen to a Prayer in which yourself are
so nearly concerned. L[ondo]n. Tues. N[igh]t.

Kimbrough, ST, Jr., Beckerlegge, Oliver A. (eds) The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 1, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1988. ISBN 068743310


My heart does indeed say "Amen" to this prayer.

I found this book at a local bookstore here in Louisville called The Christian Book Nook. I'd never heard of the book before but I've really been enjoying it lately. I've tried to find subsequent volumes but no store here has them. I'm sure Amazon or one of the other online bookstores has them available. If you've never read anything by or about Charles Wesley, you should. Just pick up a hymn book somewhere and notice how many hymns are credited to him. For all my fellow Baptists, you can even find some of his hymns in our hymnal.

Casey

"be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father" Ephesians 5: 18b-20

Prayer Request & New Blog Site

The appearance, web address, and content of my blog will be changing in the near future. My tech support and marketing genius, Kevin Lester, is moving to Louisville in a couple of days just to help me with the changeover, so it should be exciting and forthcoming.

I'm just kidding. Kevin and Tracey Lester are moving up here (Hooray!) but it's not merely to help me with my blog. That's not the primary reason, anyway. Tracey is going to continue her education here at Southern Seminary in the area of Biblical Counseling. She has a semester under her belt, so she and I both have a long way to go.

Please pray for them. Kevin will be searching for a job once they're here and subsequent to finding one, they will be searching for a residence. They have a place to stay temporarily until Kevin can start "winning some bread." Also pray for their families. Understandably, both the Lesters and the Bookers are sad to see their children move away.

As far as the blog goes, I'm trying to come up with a new name. Kevin, the marketing genius, has given me a whole bunch of suggestions and I'd like to get some more. If you have a suggestion, just leave it in a comment. If you don't know how to leave a comment, just email it to me and I'll post a comment for you.

Here are some of the suggestions Kevin has given me so far:

harpesofheaven.com
younggiftedreformed.com (I like this one but I'm not very gifted...or young.)
caseycannotcomeupwithaname.com (obviously)
foghornleghorn.org (I say, read this boy!)
DrAlisMyBuddy.com (Dr. Al Mohler)
bloggingforjesus.org
myfrienddidthis.com
reachingforthehem.com (read Luke 8: 43-48)
seminaryrocks.org
lookouttheresjesus.com

And probably my 4 favorites so far:

nealismyhero.com
listentothedonkey.com (read 2Peter 2:15-16)
readthisorthegiraffegetsit.com (Giraffes are so jealous.)
electedbyunpopularvote.com

Thanks for the prayers and input!
Casey

Keshia is Awesome

My friends Keshia and Jacob Shatzer are expecting a baby. HOORAY!!! Keshia told me a while back that she was expecting and I couldn't be happier for them. As far as I know, they don't have names picked out so if you know the Shatzers, you may want to suggest some prospective names. I have already recommended the name "Casey" but that got denied pretty quickly.

I suggested it because it's a great name and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it's my name. At this point, before the gender is known, I reasoned that it would be best to use a name that would work whether it's a boy or girl. Casey is actually a male name but with a little finagling on the spelling, it works either way. I suggested this to Keshia but she said that Jacob didn't like bisexual names. I told her that I didn't care what Jacob said, I am not bisexual.

Anyway, please pray for the Shatzers and their soon-to-be-non-bisexually-named baby. They will make wonderful parents and I pray the Lord blesses them with the wisdom, patience, and grace they will need as new parents.

Casey

(The title of this blog was Keshia's suggestion.)

Baptism (part 2)

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog entitled “Baptism (part 1).” I realized the other day that I never followed it up and had therefore, left the topic hanging. This is the second part of what I wanted to say about baptism.


The Roman Catholic church, as well as other "sacramentalist" denominations, believes that baptism is salvific...that is that it provides redemption. In most Protestant or reformed churches, as an effort to get away from this teaching, the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction. This has resulted in many churches lowering the importance of baptism. There is confusion in many churches about what baptism is, what it means and how it should be handled. I’m not an expert on the subject by any stretch of the imagination and I’m not trying to get into the denominational debates about who should be baptized and by what mode…that’s for other entries…probably several many other entries. I will, however, offer 3 points about baptism that hopefully help express and explain its importance.


Baptism in itself is not a means of salvation but it is also not merely a symbolic act. It’s more important than we sometimes treat it. It was no accident that one of the last things Jesus told His disciples was to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 (emphasis added)


All too often in our American individualistic mindset, we tend to think of baptism as a simple symbol of something that happens between a person and God or (even more distressing) the main requirement for a young child to become a member of the church, but there is much more to it than that. It’s more than just a name on a membership roll or just a symbolic expression of being buried with Christ and rising again. The symbolism is part of it but there is much more.


1. Water:
It’s significant that it’s done with water. The first thing on earth was water. In the Genesis account of Creation, the second verse of the Bible says the “Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2b) Water is a paradox, and it especially was in Biblical times. It’s a paradox in that we can’t live without it, but, at the same time, it can be deadly. When God destroyed the world the first time around, He did so with water. Often in Scripture, the sea represents chaos. It’s not an accident that people are baptized in water and not dirt or covered with a sheet or some other alternative symbolic gesture.


2. Union with Christ:
Secondly a baptism is the church’s announcement or declaration that the person being baptized is in union with Christ in His death, His burial, and His resurrection. The church as a whole, under the authority of Jesus Christ, is declaring to the individual, to the community, and to the principalities and powers that this person is indeed our brother.


3. Repentance:
By participating in baptism, the believer is confessing that he agrees with the judgment of God that he is a sinner and worthy of death and Hell. He admits that he is a sinner in need of a savior and, through faith, knows that his savior is Jesus Christ alone, THE only Savior.


I saw a video once of a kid who was about to be baptized and when it was time for him to enter the waters, he decided to do a cannonball into the baptismal pool and splash water all over the place. The congregation broke out in laughter and the whole service was totally disrupted. While the stunt may have been pretty funny, I seriously doubt it was exactly what Christ had in mind.


The video I saw didn’t show what happened afterward but I hope the pastor or the parents, or all of the above counseled the child and postponed the baptism for a time when the child had a better understanding of just what was taking place. I’m not advocating that anyone seen smiling should be rebuked but baptisms should be conducted with reverence. Any candidate for baptism should be, at least a little bit nervous about the proposition, if he understands exactly what’s going on.


While they should be reverent, baptisms should also be joyous. I’ve heard my pastor describe a joyous baptism service he witnessed in Russia. While the person being baptized was submerged, the congregation began singing a song of celebration and praise. That meant the first thing the baptized person heard when he was resurrected from the water was that song of joy. If I were a songwriter, I’d try to write a hymn specifically for those services.


May the Lord bless us and the Holy Spirit give us all understanding of His truths! Amen

Casey

"Peter said to them 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 2:38

My Top 10 Events of 2008

I’ve noticed, more this year than in the past, that people love to put together Top 10 Lists at year’s end. Well, I’ve been called many things and you can add copycat to the list because I’m putting my own top 10 out there too. I’ve read and heard several different types of lists that range from the top 10 books of 2008, top 10 world events, top 10 movies, even the top 10 naked celebrities on the cover of magazines…good grief. This world needs Jesus.


Anyway, my top 10 is a more personal list. It’s the Top 10 Events of My Life in 2008. These events aren’t necessarily the most exciting or the most enjoyable events in my life, but they are probably the 10 most important of this past year.


Usually top 10’s are listed descending from 10 to 1 with the last one being the most important, but I don’t really see mine that way. Rather, I’ve arranged them, as best I can remember (as Pop Moultrie used to say, “my memory ain’t what it used to be”) chronologically. There may be a little overlap…so sue me if they’re out of order. I’m just kidding…please don’t sue me. You’d probably win but you wouldn’t win much.


So, here we go:

1. Graduated from the University of West Georgia
That’s right, after many attempts at a college degree, I finally had enough credits to get one. At the ripe old age of 31, only 13 years after graduating high school, I finally finished my undergraduate degree. Hallelujah!

2. Camp Viola
A small group of my friends and I had originally planned to go on a short-term, overseas mission trip last summer. When time ran out and money was short, we decided to make other plans. It worked out by God’s grace that the very week we had planned to travel, there was a day camp in Mountville, Ga. that my aunt Becky and aunt Faye were organizing. They desperately needed help with it so we decided to do that instead. It was a wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is a slideshow of pictures from camp.

3. Preacher-Man
Twice this past summer, I had the privilege and honor of preaching. It was a humbling, difficult, and wonderfully fierce and furious experience. I was surprised at how hard it was but how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part was in the preparation. The Holy Spirit does terrific things through the study of Scripture. My prayer is that He used my feeble words to pierce the heart of lost people. I long to do that more.

4. “Take This Job and Shove It”
I did not use Johnny Paycheck’s song title when I quit my job. I find it ironic that a man named Paycheck would be most famous for a song about quitting his job. Anyway, I’d been working at Advance Auto Parts in Newnan for over 6 years and I was glad to be moving on. I had made several good friends there in that amount of time and I was sad to say goodbye to them, but I was excited to take the next step.

5. "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
I’ve only lived in one state in my life up until the summer of 2008. I did have a brief stint in Auburn, Alabama, but it was so short that I don’t even count it. This past year marked the first time I made a major move. Now I live in Louisville, Kentucky and I really like it here. There aren’t any good seafood restaurants and there are a lot of differences between here and home but this town does have a lot of charm and beauty…parts of it anyway. It’s a nice place to live.

6. "We didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich."
After about a week of living in Kentucky, I knew I would soon need money. You see, money is required to have food and food is required to keep living. While at the local mall one day, I decided to grab a quick bite for lunch. I chose Chick-fil-A because it’s always been one of my favorite places to eat. After I placed my order, I asked for an application and decided to fill it out while I ate. A couple of days later, I was interviewed and became an official “Trainee.” The rest, as they say, is history. Well, there’s not too much history yet but you get the idea.

7. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The whole point of finishing my degree, quitting my job, moving to Kentucky, and getting the job at Chick-fil-A was to be here on the campus of the best seminary in the world. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a student here studying under the brilliant faculty and leadership of this institution. I could make this an entire blog but I won’t. For more information about my time here, just scroll down to the blog entry entitled “First Semester of Seminary.” It will give a more detailed explanation.

8. Grace Church Louisville
One of the first Sundays I was in Louisville, my friends Jay & Marsha Sanders invited me to go to their church. I wasn’t sure what to do about finding a church so I was open to going wherever. I went to a couple of churches before going to Grace but once I became a “regular” there, I knew it was the one for me. I later attended membership meetings and liked what I heard. I decided to go through the necessary steps to join Grace. It’s a small, relatively new church plant with a very strong emphasis on evangelism. My pastor, Mark Janke, is one of the best preachers I’ve heard. His exposition of Scripture is spot on and it’s obvious when you hear him preach that the text is not only in his notes, it’s also in his heart. I love my church.

9. President Barack Hussein Obama
Now, this entry doesn’t specifically involve me but it’s a big deal for 2008. I disagree with pretty much every policy decision and every plan our new President has proposed but I think it’s a wonderful thing that America, just 50 years after treating African Americans like lesser beings because of their race, has elected a black man as President. I sincerely hope that God uses this upcoming presidency to further His Gospel…whether it be through free expression of Christian ideals or though crushing persecution. God is sovereign and He will be glorified.

10. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
This past Thanksgiving, due to my work schedule, I wasn’t able to go home and be with my family. At one point it was looking like the same thing was going to be true of Christmas but, by God’s grace, I was able to be at home for the entire week of Christmas. Thanks to My Dear Aunt Sally’s neighbors Mary & Jim, I was able to fly home on a buddy pass. Round trip ticket: $76. Being at home for Christmas: Priceless. It was so wonderful to spend time with loved ones, both family and friends. It’s amazing how fast a week can go by.


So that’s it, my top 10. Feel free to comment on mine, remind me if I’ve forgotten something that should be in the list, and add your own. I wish everyone a great 2009 and may you see God’s glory in your life as you worship Him.

Casey

"Oh LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!" Psalm 8:1

Texas Thanksgiving

I realize that Thanksgiving is long gone now and we have jumped head first into the Christmas season, but I’m just now getting around to unloading my camera of the pictures from Thanksgiving. This year I spent the day with a group of friends from Texas.

Because I work at a Chick-fil-A in a mall, and because the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for us, and because I didn't want to get fired for missing work, I stayed in Louisville rather than travel to the great state of Georgia for the holiday. My buddy Michael Riedl invited me to a Texas Thanksgiving.

There are several infamous sayings about Texas…one in particular I will not mention here, but one of the more well-known ones is “Everything is bigger in Texas.” Well, even though this Thanksgiving feast didn’t take place in Texas, it was very big. There were 13 people there and enough food to leave more than twice that without want. We did our best to devour everything in sight (some did better than others) but there was still a lot left over.

Now anyone who knows me or my family knows that there are some world class cooks involved at our family get-togethers. My grandmother, Edith Buchanan, was one of the best cooks ever and her 3 daughters all seemed to inherit her ability to wow people with culinary delights. I’m looking forward to Christmas for, if nothing else, the good food. Big meals are not anything out of the ordinary for us, so honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my Texas pals.

Well, I can gladly report that, as Grace Stargell puts it, Texans “can burn.” Everything we had was delicious! I even had stuffing for the first time. Real stuffing. Not Stove Top, everybody’s had that mess. My family always makes dressing, the kind you bake, instead of stuffing so this was my first experience with it. Michael's Mom baked the turkey and cooked real stuffing and it was delicious. Another highlight was Aaron White’s (a.k.a. “A-Dub”) bacon-wrapped green beans. They were excellent and easy to make…perfect “guy” food.

Anyway, many thanks to Michael Riedl and all the gang from Texas for inviting me to join them. I had a wonderful time and, of course, a delicious meal. This Thanksgiving I had much for which to be thankful, and spending time with my friends made the day very special, particularly since I couldn’t be with my family.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Grace & Peace
Casey

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." Psalm 136:1

There was actually more food than this, I couldn't get it all in one shot.

The "Dr. Pepper" gang

Before we prayed and ate, we went around the room and
told some things for which we were thankful.

One of the table centerpieces
Kristin did such a beautiful job decorating.

The "little" table

The "big" table
I was at the foot.

Watching football and trying to stay awake after the big meal

Random Thoughts

Every once in a while, I have a random thought. For example, I just thought about how ugly, yet convenient, Velcro shoes can be. Sometimes I write down my random thoughts. Here are 21 more that I’ve had in the not too distant past, along with a few links to related sites:


1. People almost never get pictures developed anymore.

2. I like magnets and small gadgets the best.

3. Regular and caffeine-free taste exactly the same, I don’t care what anyone says.

4. It’s amazing how rude some people can be over a stinkin’ chicken sandwich.

5. I wish books were free.

6. Artists are weird.

7. Nutter Butters are delicious.

8. I know someone from Texas who likes pork bar-b-q better than beef.

9. Name-brand batteries are worth the price.

10. Children make me happy.

11. I keep up with sports a little bit less, every year.

12. Snow is the only thing that can make a junkyard look pretty.

13. I wish I could buy my favorite kind of bread, half a loaf at a time.

14. I have almost no interest in politics.

15. Whoever invented touch-lamps was a genius.

16. Blogs that contain lists are more likely to be read by me.

17. Burns hurt.

18. Dry erase boards are cool…unless you use a permanent marker.

19. I still don’t like text messaging.

20. I wonder what ever happened to Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

21. Breakfast food is good for any meal.


Feel free to leave a comment with some random thoughts you may have had recently. Remember, the “randomer,” the better.

Grace & Peace
CRH

"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task" Psalm 73:16 (ESV)

Baptism (part 1)

Today at my church, Grace Church Louisville, we had a beautiful service. It was very exciting, humbling, and wonderful. It was similar to almost every service there I’ve witnessed except for one major thing: We had two baptisms today.

Two men, John and David, made public confessions of faith in Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior by participating in believer’s baptism.

One of the last things Jesus Christ told His disciples before returning to heaven to reign at the right hand of God the Father was “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18b – 20 ESV

David is a man who lives at the Salvation Army Shelter in Louisville. A few of the guys at Grace Church go to the Salvation Army every week to preach the Gospel and David got to know them there. They invited him to church one week and he’s been coming ever since. He’s been faithfully attending Grace Church for quite a while now.

He was raised in the church and was baptized when he was young but now admits that he had no idea what he was doing. He began asking about salvation and baptism and his walk with the Lord, and he and Pastor Mark reasoned from Scripture that he wasn’t truly baptized before, so he got baptized today.

John is a man who just recently started coming to Grace. He actually overheard Pastor Mark talking with someone in a coffee shop. Pastor Mark noticed that he was paying attention to the conversation so he approached him. John soon started attending Grace Church regularly. He grew up attending Catholic school and when his parents separated, he lived with his father. Soon after the separation, he began to get involved with drugs and alcohol. At this point in his life, he was an atheist. He admittedly had contempt for God and anyone who believed in Him.

After his life was getting more & more deeply involved with drugs, he sought help through a rehabilitation facility. He quickly learned that depending on himself was not going to work. His resentment toward God soon turned to openness which soon turned to trust. Recently John was at The Abbey of Gethsemane, a local monastery, where he saw a statue that represented Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. He thought to himself “Jesus, what can I do to make my life right? What can I give you to make up for everything I’ve done?” It was at this point that it dawned on him that he had absolutely nothing to bring. He was completely undone and dependent on the grace of Jesus Christ to save him.

It is so wonderful to welcome these two brothers into the family of God; into the body of Christ. Luke 15:10b says “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (NASB) How joyous a day it was today that two publicly proclaimed their utter dependence on the grace of God! We all rejoice when another soul is brought into the body! All glory and honor and praise to His name! Amen.

Grace & Peace
CRH

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" 1 Peter 1: 3 NASB

First Semester of Seminary

As the end of my first semester at Southern Seminary draws nigh, I figured I’d share a few thoughts about how it has gone so far. If I had to describe my attitude in one word, I guess that word would be “thrilled.”

I’m thrilled by many things here.

I’m thrilled to be in a place where each class begins with reading Scripture and prayer. Coming from a secular university, I’m definitely not accustomed to that.

I’m thrilled to be in a place where Gospel ministers go out each day and tell people about Jesus.

I’m thrilled to be in a place where the future of the Church is being shaped by the leadership of so many brilliant and godly men and women. The professors here are among the most gifted in the world and the students here are examples to me.

I’m thrilled to be a part of something so important in God’s creation. It’s humbling to know that God has the ability, grace, mercy, and love to use someone as flawed and sin-loving as myself to accomplish things that glorify Himself.

I’m thrilled to be a part of a body of believers which meets together to truly worship Jesus Christ and proclaim His love to the community around us as well as the entire world. I love my church.

I’m thrilled to learn so much. I sincerely hope and pray that I can retain much of what I learn here. Every class meeting seems to be better than the one before and I’m learning so much.

I’m thrilled to know what terms like Soteriology, Eschatology, Infralapsarianism, Hermeneutics, and other smart-sounding theological words mean. I do realize that I don’t necessarily need to know what they mean in order to know Jesus, but they do help me to know Him better.

I’m thrilled to make new friends…friends who I know will be there for support, fellowship, wise counsel, and accountability for years to come as a minister. I have already met so many people here whom I love and respect.

I’m thrilled to just sit at the breakfast table with a good friend and have a deep and meaningful conversation about Jesus. It makes me think of what the new Creation will be like after Christ returns. We will constantly be worshipping Him. That doesn’t mean it will be one big long choir practice. Rather, it will be more wonderful than anything we can imagine because sin won’t be holding us back and we’ll be in the presence of Christ Almighty, the Savior.

While there are so many things that thrill me (many more than I've mentioned here), there are also things with which I struggle daily…things that are embarrassing to me and, more importantly, are sins against God.

I struggle with discipline. This semester I took a class called Personal Spiritual Disciplines and it has helped show me just how little discipline I actually have. Lord inculcate me with the desire and grant me Your grace to pursue righteousness! "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11b-13 ESV)

I struggle with discontentment. I’m not usually the type of person to get too worried about different situations but I’m quick to think things should be happening a different way and that my way would be the best choice. "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!" (Romans 11:33 ESV)

I struggle with lustful sins of the flesh. Being 32 years old and single, it’s a constant struggle to stay pure. Sin is so appealing and I’m so prone to wander. Please, Lord, cleanse me of all unrighteousness. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10 ESV)

Today I heard something I hope I am never able to forget. Every time I sin, I am personally thrusting a sword into the side of my precious Lord and Savior. Every time I sin, I am personally bringing about the suffering and death of Christ. Every new sin I commit is a new sword thrust into Jesus’ side. That’s beyond convicting, that’s heartbreaking. O God, please sanctify me that Jesus Christ would no longer suffer on my account!

I truly look forward to the rest of my time here and I'm excited to see how God will work in my life and the lives of others around me. I look forward to seeing people come to know Him. I look forward to people doing whatever they can to glorify Him. This is a thrilling and wonderful time and I long for Christ to be honored through His Church.

If you’re still reading this, and I hope you are, please know that God loves you so much He sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ, so that you can be made holy in His sight. Jesus Christ loves you so much He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, for you. Please, please trust in Him. Please give yourself totally to Him.

I pray that my meager words might be used by the Holy Spirit to bring glory to God. The peace of Christ to you.
Casey

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:18 NASB)

Country Gone to Town

Between papers and tests for school, workin' at the Chick, and just plain procrastination at its finest, I've had plenty of reasons (a.k.a. excuses) to wait so long to post something. I suppose it's time to rectify that.

After reading some of the popular blogs around the blogosphere, I've learned that I should keep them short and sweet to get people to read the whole thing, so here goes.

A couple of weeks ago, Mama, Sally, and Nealbert came up to Louisville for a visit. The occasion was my birthday. I took a few days off work to entertain and we had us a big ole time. We did a few touristy things like the Louisville Slugger Factory and the Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft, but we mostly just enjoyed the time together and tried a bunch of the local restaurants. We did get to drive through Cave Hill Cemetery and we actually found the grave site of Colonel Harland Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame...that was pretty cool.

We had a chance to eat at several restaurants around town. I'd been looking forward to eating at a local place called Mike Linnig's. I've had several people tell me it's the best seafood place in Louisville and after eating there, all I can say is most people in Louisville have no idea what good seafood is. Turns out the best place to get fish is right around the corner from my apartment here on the campus of Southern Seminary. It's called Stan's Fish Sandwich and it's really good. Everything we had was delicious...and we made sure to tell them that they have Mike Linnig's beat! Now if I could just find a good Chinese place...

Anyway, we had a great time and it was good to get to see kin-folks for my birthday. Thanks to Mama, My Dear Aunt Sally, and My Buddy Neal for coming to visit!

Here are a few pictures from the visit:

In the cafeteria on campus:

Evidently, Mama didn't like her ice cream.

Ice cream dipped in some kind of peas probably isn't much better.

I thought we were going to be asked to leave.

Sally likeded hers.

A trippy mirror outside the Louisville Science Center

Hippies and their cars...
(I'm shaking my head in disgust)

Sally was making her selections in the Museum of Art & Craft.

My thought balloon: This is some overpriced JUNK.
Neal's: I wish I was half as cool as Casey.

Mama and Sally trying to figure out where the sausage biscuit booth went

I think I would have won. Neal's stance is all wrong.

That's a big bat.

Throwing pennies off the bridge to see
how long it took them to hit the water

Time to get off the bridge

My best Vanna White pose, showing off the tapestry thing I made
Vanna is jealous.

My birthday cake
Keshia is jealous.

Mark Richt Family Adoption

"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27 (HCSB)

Pictures from Churchill Downs

Flower garden inside

These horses are impressive up close.

Historic Infield at Churchill Downs

Where the rich folks go to burn their money

Number 11 won this one...I picked him.
Too bad I didn't put money on it.

Addison and Harper are waiting to rub the horses' noses.
Harper's getting a start by rubbing her own nose.

Addison looking down the track in the hopes of seeing some horsies

Harper playing on the railing

The girls, just like their daddy, paying more attention
to the nice John Deere tractor than the horses

Silly picture time

How cute!

Addison enjoys taking pictures.

Harper tried her hand at self-photography.

Addison was trying to look as cute as possible to get a free snack.

It was a pretty good crowd on opening day.

The handlers taking the horses to get ready to race

This was the crowd to our right.

Headed to the gate

Them suckers are fast!

Other side of the signs:
"You must be at least this short to be a jockey."

And They're Off!

Sunday afternoons are for naps...at least according to my Mama, they are. Lately my Sunday afternoons have been for homework but this past Sunday, I was invited by my friends, Shane & Lana Burchfiel and their sweet girls Addison & Harper, to go to opening day of the horse races at historic Churchill Downs. If you visit Louisville, you can't help but notice the influence of equine activities. The Kentucky state slogan is "Unbridled Spirit" and I believe everyone here has all the different odds payouts memorized.

Many sizable cities have begun placing painted statues all over the place. Usually these animals mean something to the town or act as a symbol of the city. For instance, Athens, Georgia has a bunch of bulldog statues sprinkled all around town, obviously as a tribute to the mascot of the University of Georgia...Go Dawgs! Usually these statues are painted in strange and brightly ornate ways to grab attention. Well, in Louisville, we have horse statues. They're life-sized and gaudily decorated statues but they're kinda neat. The statue in this picture is not a good example because it's in a small garden inside Churchill Downs. The ones in town are crazy looking. Anyway, I haven't been to the horse races since I was a kid and went to the Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens near Pine Mountain, Georgia. After church and a quick lunch, Shane, Lana, the girls and I all hopped in the car and headed to the races. It was a pretty cool thing to do and we had a great time.

Because we are common people, we weren't allowed to hit up the "Millionaire's Row" so we sat down in the "regular folks" section. Actually, if you want to be close to the track, it's best to sit down there. We were so close to the horses that we could smell the...dirt on the track. What did you think I was going to say? We sat for a few races, watched and listened to all the people trying to make their fortune by betting on the races (it was kinda sad), then perused all the overpriced souvenirs in the gift shop. It was a fun time and it only cost $3 to get in. Anytime you can have fun without spending a pile of money, it's good with me. I had a great time hanging out with my friends. Thanks to the Burchfiels for inviting me! I'll post some pictures as soon as I can figure out a way to make them show up.

CRH

"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah 6:3b (NASB)

My First, and Probably Last, Blog on Politics

Today I read a bit of dialogue taking place between a couple of people on Facebook. The subject was politics. The conversation was an argument over political “groups” on Facebook and their effectiveness. The discussion didn’t involve me but it did cause me to think about my own political opinions and how they’ve been affected by my walk with Christ.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been very conservative. I heard a saying once that if you’re not a Democrat in your 20’s, you don’t have a heart, and if you’re not a Republican in your 30’s, you don’t have a brain (or something along those lines). Well, I guess I’ve never had a heart because, while I’ve never been a card-carrying Republican, I’ve been a Conservative since I was a teenager. Years ago, I was a political junkie and lived to listen to all things political. I watched all the news shows, especially the Fox News Channel, and I was a huge fan of conservative talk radio. I almost never missed an episode of The Neal Boortz show (probably the biggest source of my Libertarian leanings) and even found myself listening to Rush Limbaugh occasionally. It didn’t take me long to get sick of Rush because he’s so full of himself, but you get my point, I liked political stuff.

These days I don’t listen to any of that stuff. Neal Boortz is entertaining but I just got tired of him trying to point out the hypocrisy of Christians while being a hypocrite himself. I don’t listen to Rush anymore, well, because he’s Rush and he’s obnoxious. I don’t watch the news channels anymore because I don’t watch any channels anymore. I have a TV but it’s unplugged and sitting in a closet. It’s not that I don’t think politics is important anymore. Obviously politics affects us all whether we want it to or not. I think it’s quite important and I participate in it, I just don’t give it undue attention.

Politics seems to bring out the bad side of people. I’ve seen people whom I would consider to be intelligent people, say some pretty stupid things just to get their person (or party) of choice in office. I remember when it was coming time to elect the successor to Bill Clinton, there were some Democrats saying that we should change the U.S. Constitution to elect him for a third term…that was stupid. Soon after Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, I remember hearing some Republicans say that we should change the Constitution to allow someone who wasn’t born a U.S. citizen to be President…that was stupid too.

This election season has brought out the “stupids” as well. I’ve heard everything from “Sarah Palin is going to kill all the polar bears” to “Obama is a terrorist and he’s going to make the U.S. a Muslim country.” Good grief! As my professor at West Georgia, Dr. Hovey, once told my class on a totally unrelated topic, “Don’t be stupid!”

The discussion I mentioned at the beginning was about Facebook groups. These groups often involve arguments such as these, or worse. The reason I mention them is that, in the discussion of these groups, one of the people involved said that she would stop inviting people to join the groups when, as she put it, “Obama becomes elected and I have to simply resign myself to praying to God to help our nation over the next 4 years.” I know plenty of people with this kind of attitude and I would submit that it’s the wrong attitude to have about the election.

First off, Christians should be praying for God to help our nation no matter who wins the Presidential election, but that’s not the real problem I have. The problem is that we all try to do everything we can do, we take every precaution and make all necessary arrangements for success, and if everything we do ultimately falls through, then, and only then, do we depend on God for His help. That is exactly the reverse of what we should do. Our first step should be to trust in God no matter what’s happening. Remember, God is sovereign. That means He is totally in control and nothing surprises Him. Whether Sen. McCain or Sen. Obama wins the election, it’s not going to be some huge surprise to God and He’s not going to be sitting in heaven, wringing His hands, trying to figure out a way to deal with it. I hope Sen. Obama doesn’t win but I have a feeling he will. I’m definitely not the political prognosticator who has all the knowledge and experience and can guess who will win with much accuracy, but I just have a feeling that there will be more people to vote against Sen. McCain than there will be to vote against Sen. Obama. Please hear me, no matter who wins, Jesus is Lord…and I’m not just saying that to be trite, it’s the truth. I hope that people will not read that and say “Yes, that’s true” and then go right back to worrying about what’s going to happen.

I don’t know what the Lord has in store for our country. Perhaps the next four years will be a time of renewal for America. Maybe great strides will be made to ensure the freedom of all people by defending the unborn, to protect the sanctity and covenant nature of marriage, etc. Then again, maybe a direct assault will take place on these things and maybe the Lord will use this time to open the eyes of our nation and the world. As I said, I don’t know what’s in store for us. I do know, however, that God WILL be glorified. It may not seem like it to us, as a matter of fact, it may seem to be the opposite, but what man means for evil, God means for good.

I sincerely hope that everyone reading this will place their hope not in a candidate and not in a country, but in Christ. One of my favorite songwriters, Derek Webb has a song that captures this idea quite well: “My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man. No, my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood…it’s to a King and a kingdom.”

We are all sinners. The Bible tells us that “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)...no one is exempt from the judgment of God’s righteous and perfect wrath, but that's not the end of the sentence. The next verse says "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). In order for us to escape eternal punishment for our sin, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, was tortured and murdered in the most humiliating and degrading way possible, as our sacrifice. His was the only sacrifice sufficient to forgive us of our sin, no other sacrifice could possibly cover our sins. If we believe in Christ, in that King and His kingdom, and trust in Him as our Savior, we are forgiven of those sins and welcomed into fellowship with God. I hope you sincerely put your trust in Him.

CRH

I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2

When Life Gives You Lemons, Memorize Scripture

One of my classes this semester is called Personal Spiritual Disciplines. My professor, Dr. William Cutrer, is quite an entertaining guy and he's challenged us to memorize Scripture as one of the assignments. I haven't done much Scripture memorization since I was a kid but we are all commanded in Scripture to "let the word of Christ richly dwell within you" Colossians 3:16. A good way for the Word to dwell in us is to memorize it. In Biblical times, Jewish children would memorize whole books of the Torah, and many still do. It's amazing to me to understand that the Scripture quoted by Jesus when He was tempted by Satan was Scripture he learned as a young boy. There are many good reasons to memorize Scripture and I highly recommend it.

For the class assignment, we were given several passages from which we could choose. I've decided to memorize Psalm 19 because it's been one of my favorites for a while and I thought it would be nice to know it by heart. I say it's one of my favorites but actually the first verse is the main reason I like it. "The heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." How can you look at the sky on a clear night and not appreciate what a glorious God He is to have made such beauty? The first verse makes plenty of sense to me. It's a straightforward, declarative sentence and I understand it. The verses that follow are more poetic and it takes a literal-minded person like me a little while to "get" the symbolic nature of the language. In case you don't have your Bible handy, here are the first six verses of the text:

A Psalm of David
1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19:1-6 (NASB)

The poetic language of verses 2-6 has confused me a little bit. There are some people who can read something like this and instantly know what the author means but I'm not that type of person. It takes me a little while to figure it out.

Today while I was at work at Chick-fil-A, I had the pleasure of "squeezing" lemons for our lemonade. It should probably be called juicing lemons because we use a juicer, but all the people who have worked there much longer than I, always call it squeezing, so we'll go with that. It takes a lot of lemons to make the lemonade y'all love so much. We go through about 800 - 1200 lemons a day depending on the amount of business we have, and we "squeeze" them one by one, by hand, with a juicer. It's a very monotonous job. Now you're wondering "Why in the world is Casey telling me all this about stupid lemons?" I know, I'll get on with it. Today while I was working on the lemons, I began to recite the portion of Psalm 19 I have memorized just to practice saying it and make sure I have it down pat. While I was going over it, I finally realized what the poetic language about "words" and "speech" and something about a "bridegroom," meant. Once I realized it, it made the passage even more alive and more glorious to me.

I realized that the verses following verse one were explaining how the heavens were indeed telling of His glory. I realized that it is saying that every day and every night, the heavens testify, not with words but with their beauty and majesty, to the intricacies with which God created the universe. The universe is bigger than our minds can fathom and the God who made them is even bigger. When I thought about verse 5, I had to smile. David is describing the sun as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. He's saying that the sun, in doing what God designed it to do, is bursting forth with gladness and declaring God's glory "and nothing is hidden from its heat." Now I'm not married yet but even I understand how a bridegroom, especially a new one, would burst forth from his chamber. He would be excited, happy, and full of joy!

It was so exciting to finally better understand what this passage meant. I was so excited that I finished squeezing lemons in no time. I don't think I've ever finished them that quickly. You never know when the Holy Spirit is going to make something known to you. You might be in the middle of doing something boring when He decides to reveal a little bit of His glory to you. May we, like the sun, gladly declare God's glory as His creation!

CRH

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." Philippians 4:23