This Strange Land

Prayerlessness

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:39:07 +0000

Prayer is essential for the Christian, as much for what it says about us as for what it can do through God. The simple act of getting on our knees (or faces or feet or whatever) for 5 or 50 minutes every day is the surest sign of our humility and dependence on our Father in heaven. There may be many reasons for our prayerlessness—time management, busyness, lack of concentration—but most fundamentally, we ask not because we think we need not. or we think God can give not. Deep down we feel secure when we have money in the bank, a healthy report from the doctor, and powerful people on our side. We do not trust in God alone. Prayerlessness is an expression of our meager confidence in God’s ability to provide and of our strong confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves without God’s help.

In The Waiting Room

J. Curtis Watson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:20:10 +0000

Great encouraging post here from Ponder Anew:

On the day our son was born, somebody shot video of me standing outside the operating room, waiting to go in and be with Paula. I was nervous and excited and sort of bouncy. There was a joy in the waiting.

Almost two decades later, I got a call early on a Monday morning with the news that my mother had experienced a devastating stroke. I flew home and spent the next week beside her bed in ICU, watching for the final breath. There was agony in the waiting.

Sometimes, you wait for something to be born and sometimes you wait for something to die. And sometimes, you’re in-between and you’re not even sure what you’re waiting for. You’re just in the waiting.

For the past several months, we have been in a season of transition unlike anything in our lives. Something has ended—the steady rhythm of vocational ministry that has marked our lives for three decades. At some point, something will begin, perhaps a new ministry. But right now…well, we’re just waiting.

This waiting has been unlike the others. There is mystery, not knowing where the journey is headed. There is often been a baffling silence from God, even while we strain to hear His voice. There is confusion, as we wrestle to press meaning into this season. There is a dulling of emotions, a vacancy sign in the window of the Passion Inn. There is a deep weariness that no afternoon nap can relieve.

Our souls are unsettled. Like eggs cracked and in the pan, but not yet cooked. Like a compelling story that comes to the end of a page with the frustrating phrase, “to be continued…” Like a night-time journey down a rural road with no street signs. Unsettled.

Here’s the even more frustrating thing. I know God is in this. That’s sort of part of the deal for Christ-followers. I affirm His omniscient providence and that He knows the end from the beginning. I agree that my life is a small part of His divine purposes. I believe that He has marked out all my days before one of them came to be, and that His purposes includes this season of waiting. But in the waiting, those truths can have steel-cold edges.

I know the Scriptures urge me to “wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.” (Ps.27:14) I can quote the promise in my sleep: “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Is.40:31) But in the waiting, when my heart is terrified and just crawling is a dream, even precious promises can wear thin.

What’s left? What is there solid to which I can lash my soul when nothing is familiar, nothing makes sense, and everything is odd?

Just this: my Father is very fond of me.

He has lavished the riches of His grace on me (Eph. 1:7-8), has adopted me (Rom.8:15-17) and calls me His very own child. (1 John 3:1). My Father loves me the same way he loves His Son, Jesus, who also walked through his own season of waiting, sensing God’s abandonment and pleading for another way to accomplish divine purposes than the excruciating pain of the cross. This Jesus, “the author and perfecter of faith, for the joy that was set before Him, endured (waited through) the cross, despising its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Father.” (Heb.12:2)

For His Father and by His Father, Jesus made it through.

So can I. So can you.

Because no matter how long we have to wait to see what’s next, no matter how confusing or unsettled the future seems, our Father’s gracious love is our one most certain thing.

Right now, in this moment. In the waiting.

$130 Million Church Expansion

J. Curtis Watson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:39:05 +0000

In the category of wrong and sad there is a church in Dallas that is spending a reported 130 million dollars for a new church facility.

In a related story, "Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, "Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a shopping mall!" John 2:15-17 (The Message)

AP Texas News is reporting:

DALLAS — First Baptist in Dallas, one of the nation's largest Southern Baptist Convention congregations, will be growing into a more environmentally friendly campus.

First Baptist announced a $130 million expansion featuring a 3,000-seat worship center.

Evangelist Billy Graham joined First Baptist Dallas in 1953 during his initial crusade in the city. Graham in late 2008 announced he was switching to a church closer to his retirement home in Montreat, N.C.

The campus for the Dallas congregation of about 11,000 is planned adjacent to the city's updated arts district, host to the new $354 million AT&T Performing Arts Center.

"As I look around downtown Dallas, I see spectacular temples of commerce, of culture and of government – many new, some restored to former glory, and all intended to stand for generations. The Kingdom of God needs a home to equal them – a spiritual oasis in the middle of downtown."

The heart of the campus will have a fountain plaza complete with green gathering places and an oval pool with a stone water tower topped with a cross.

I bolded and underlined the pastor's quote because I think it typifies this kind of excess. He's basically saying that the church is meant to compete and excede the excess' of our culture. I think I just threw up a bit...

Visit the church's website here

HT: BHT

Movie Monday "Kids Do it Yourself"

J. Curtis Watson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:57:26 +0000

I had some work to do around the house and found a way to entertain my kids and get the work done. I was inspired by the one and only Tom Sawyer.

"Building Steps to the Hindu Shrine" by Pastor Steve Grace (Podcast #13)

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:15:27 +0000

I'm rebooting the podcast here in This Strange Land. I had tons of technical trouble with my audio file server that I had signed up with and so for a long time the files were unavailable or missing. I've fixed part of that. I lost all of the files and was able to regain some of them. You'll notice that some of my old posts have been deleted because I wasn't able to recover the audio files from the hosting service I was using (they went out of buisness). However the new and improved Broadcasts from This Strange Land is now live. You can subscribe by clicking on the button on the sidebar or click on this link to take you to the iTunes store. The podcast mission is to bring you the best audio for life, faith, and family. For now most of it will not be original content, rather things I have listened to recently that I either found helpful, challenging, faith-building, convicting or just plain entertaining. Some day I hope to put out some original stuff but am a little too busy at the moment. Today's audio is a sermon that my good friend Pastor Steve Grace preached at Fellowship Baptist Church in Joplin MO. The title of the message is "Building Steps to the Hindu Shrine." I listen to quite a lot of sermons on a weekly basis and this one hit me right where it hurts, namely loving my neighbors. Steve is hands down one of the best Bible preachers I know of. I'm not going to say too much because I think he tends to stop by this little spot on the internet from time to time so I don't want him to struggle with pride. In full disclosure I used to work with and for Steve as his lowly youth intern. I hope this changes your perspective on Jesus and challenges you as well. Enjoy!

Click Here to Download Audio File

Porn as Liturgical Corruption

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:04:08 +0000

From an excerpt of a post by Douglas Wislon on Pastor's and Porn:

...what will a secret porn problem do to the preaching and teaching? The minister who has a radical inconsistency between his enactment of Christ in his private life and his enactment of Christ in his official capacity is aware (as others are not) of the inconsistency. But people are not built to live with such inconsistencies. We don't like walking with rocks in our shoes. So the two ways to remove the inconsistency would be 1. to repent of the porn use and deal with it appropriately or, 2. begin to teach and preach in ways that create more and more wiggle room for everybody.

But when men preach wiggle room they often find that other men will frequently like the look of that wiggle room. If a man comes preaching wine and beer, he would be just the spokesman for this people! (Micah 2:11). This creates a cycle -- the minister is being pushed to compromise from within, and once he begins preaching more tolerant (and therefore more tolerable) sermons, he begins to be pulled. He has presented handles to those who would pull him. And so the lie about Jesus that he has allowed to take root in his heart is a lie that works its way into his manuscript. And from there into other hearts.

Great Review of Where the Wild Things Are Movie

J. Curtis Watson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:07:39 +0000

Russell D Moore writes:

This past Saturday I took my three oldest sons to see the movie Where the Wild Things Are. Some Christians are all exercised about the fact that the movie might be too frightening for children. They’re wrong. The movie is not a great one, but that’s not the reason why. As a matter of fact, Where the Wild Things Are fails because it’s not scary enough for your kids.

And there’s something there Chrisians can learn about children, horror, and the gospel.

From the time my sons were babies I’ve read to them the Maurice Sendack classic picture book. They love it, and so do I. They’d sit attentively through Goodnight Moon, but they’d squeal “Let the wild rumpus start!” whenever we’d journey with Max to the place of the wild things.

Children, it turns out, aren’t as naive about evil as we assume they are. Children of every culture, and in every place, seem to have a built-in craving for monsters and dragons and “wild things.” The Maurice Sendak book appeals to kids because it tells them something about what they intuitively know is true. The world around them is scary. There’s a wildness out there. The Sendak book shows the terror of a little boy who is frightened by his own lack of self-control, and who conquers it through self-control, by becoming king of all the wild things.

The Sendak book, with its muted words but fantastic drawings, achieves this sense of wonder and wildness. The movie doesn’t. That’s because the movie tames the wild things too much. It’s not that they’re too scary for children. It’s that they’re not believable as scary. The dialogue sounds like it was lifted from an old episode of Thirtysomething, as the beasts talk through their psychodramas and jealousies and interpersonal offenses with one another. Kids will be entertained because the special effects are good. But they won’t “get it” deep inside like they do the book.

I’m amazed though by the way some Christians react to things like this. They furrow their brow because the Max character screams at this mother, and bites her, even though this is hardly glorified in the movie. They wag their heads at how “dark” the idea of this wild world is. Of course it is “dark.” The universe is dark; that’s why we need the Light of Galilee.

Where the Wild Things Are isn’t going to be a classic movie the way it is a classic book. But the Christian discomfort with wildness will be with us for a while. And it’s the reason too many of our children find Maurice Sendak more realistic than Sunday school.

Too many of our Bible study curricula for children declaw the Bible, excising all the snakes and dragons and wildness. We reduce the Bible to a set of ethical guidelines and a text on how gentle and kind Jesus is. The problem is, our kids know there are monsters out there. God put that awareness in them. They’re looking for a sheep-herding dragon-slayer, the One who can put all the wild things under His feet.

Your kids might be bored by the Wild Things movie. They won’t be bored by the Wild Things book. It’s their story, and mine. But read them the story of Max and his monsters, and then show them the Story they were knit together to love.

And let the wild rumpus start.

Just Before the 30 Mile Hike

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:27:00 +0000

This is my Dad, my brother David and myself just before our 30 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. I've got a killer video that will soon follow this. I would have to say this is one of my very favorite photos of the year so far. Click on the picture for a nice big view.

Museum of Science and Industry

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:31:00 +0000

Mom and Dad graciously took me and the kids to Chicago's famous Museum of Science and Industry. We even got to tour the famous U-505 Submarine in the museum.

Thirty Miles Later....

J. Curtis Watson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:10:00 +0000

This is the begginning of the approach trail to the Appalachian Trail. We started 30 miles and three days north of this point.

Lou Gehrig & David Robinson

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:43:00 +0000

These are acceptance speeches done right. It is worth listening to every minute of Robinson's speech. Truly Moving!

Jack/Caden Dance Off-Sandwich Fair '09

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Caden & Jack Study the Bible

J. Curtis Watson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Steph found Jack and Caden sitting at their table diligently studying their children's Bibles.

Community According to Jesus

J. Curtis Watson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:11:00 +0000

From Michael Spencer:

What Did Jesus’ Version of Community Look Like?
Cross cultural: Jesus crossed every available cultural barrier to announce and practice the Kingdom.
Counter cultural: Jesus was offering an alternative to the dominant cultural and religious options in his world.
Inclusive: Jesus was creating community that included all of the excluded at every level. He dd this– as he did all of his community movement– with total intentionality.
Kingdom Gospel-centered: Jesus the King made the reality of the present and coming Kingdom of God the center of his movement. This center was clearly seen, and stood in contrast to the “Kingdom boundary” thinking of other Jews.
God-centered: God is present and active, as Father, creator, and redeemer of a broken and lost world.
Confrontative: Jesus confronted the powers at every level, using the weapons of love, truth and the Holy Spirit.
Radical: Jesus’ version of community was radical in its nature and demands. Compare it to the expectations people had of family and religion.
Sacrificial: Jesus’ community was identified with sacrifice, i.e. a willingness to suffer that God’s will might be done.
Healing: Jesus’ movement was restorative, including praying for and working for healing of persons and relationships. (This included spiritual warfare and deliverance.)
Didactic: Jesus constantly taught his disciples his constantly reflect on the meaning of the Kingdom of God.
Prayerful: Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
Invitational and Open: All were invited to come. All were invited to believe in Jesus as the messiah.
Non-institutional (in its continuing essence): Jesus gave few if any indications that his movement would take on serious institutional forms. It may have institutional expressions and fruits, but that isn’t the essence of the movement. At its core, it is a movement of the Spirit that does not need institutions to exist. (Sorry people who I’ve just offended. I’m NOT saying institutions AREN’T the church. I’m saying “Institution does not EQUAL Jesus’ community.”
Non-political.
Missional: Jesus’ movement was focused on the Gospel ministry and engaged in other kinds of ministry that established the presence and power of God’s compassionate Kingdom.
Jesus shaped and Jesus centered.
Becoming part of this movement was what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.

By the way if you don't read Michael Spencer's Internet Monk blog you really should.

HT: Internet Monk

Christian Worldliness?

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Sorry for not posting a lot of original content these days. I am loving the new website J.C. Ryle Quotes. Here is a good one:

“There is a widely-spread desire to make things pleasant in religion – to saw off the corners and edges of the cross, and to avoid, as far as possible, self-denial. On every side we hear professing Christians declaring loudly that we must not be “narrow and exclusive” and that there is no harm in many things which the holiest of saints of old thought bad for their souls.”
“That we may go anywhere, and do anything, and spend our time in anything, and read anything, and keep any company, and plunge into anything, and all the while may be very good Christians – this is the maxim of thousands. In a day like this I think it good to raise a warning voice, and invite attention to the teaching of God’s Word. It is written in that Word, ‘Come out and be separate.’“

~ J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion, “The World”, 284, 285

from J.C. Ryle Quotes

Max Kissing Summer Goodbye!

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:08:00 +0000

First Day of School Video

J. Curtis Watson — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:14:00 +0000

click here if you can't see the video

Candid Shot

J. Curtis Watson — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:01:00 +0000

My sister Emily just sent me this photo taken at her recent wedding. Here is her description of the action:

I think this picture encapsulates our family very well:)

Craig and I not paying attention to anyone else.
Mom looking lovingly upon us newlyweds while Dad appears stoic.
Rachel is talking.
Tara is trying to make Ben look like he wants to take the picture as is Stephanie (or they are warning their children of beatings unless they smile).
Both brother-in-laws are processing the information differently: Marshall has copied Dad's face and awaits for this tribulation to be over (attorneys) while Nathan finds the brighter side of taking a million pictures (or could that be a sarcastic smile?).
Teresa and David are merely watching the mayhem or trying to get someone's attention; I don't know.
Curtis is telling Max to look at the camera and stop pulling at his boutonniere.
Caden is the only one who got the memo about a picture being taken;
Ben is going for the cute pouty look;
Sam and Max are looking for something to eat;
Jack refuses to even appear at all.

Click on the picture for a larger version

The Cost of Following Christ

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:01:00 +0000

“It does cost something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible. There are enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, an Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, a race to be run.”

“Conversion is not putting a man in an arm-chair and taking him easily to heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle, p. 174.

HT: JC Ryle Quotes

Keith Green "I Can't Believe It"

J. Curtis Watson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Just listen to the words and don't focus on the obviously dated production quality. Great stuff.

By the way my sister's boyfriend Sam seems to look a bit like this guy.

HT: Jared Wilson

Do as I say...

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:31:00 +0000

“Instruction, advice, and commands will profit little, unless they are backed up by the pattern of your own life. Your children will never believe you are in earnest, and really wish them to obey you, so long as your actions contradict your counsel.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Sermon: The Duties of Parents

HT J.C. Ryle Quotes

Jack and Caden Turn 4 Picture Slideshow

J. Curtis Watson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:14:00 +0000

Update: I switched songs and I think I got it working now!

I had music in the background of this video but YouTube wouldn't let me use it for some copywrite issues.

Click the HQ button and the pics will look better.

Wanted or Unwanted

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Saying "terminating a fetus" sounds so much better than "killing a baby" doesn't it? (sarcasm warning)

If you're reading in RSS or Facebook click here for video.

Movie Monday 8.10.09 Caden...Singer Songwriter...

J. Curtis Watson — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:01:00 +0000

This past weekend we celebrated Jack and Caden's 4th Birthday (they don't actually turn 4 until this Sunday). We went to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. It was a hot humid day and so we stopped in at the cafe to cool off and I caught a few minutes of Caden singing to himself.

If you're reading this on RSS feed or Facebook click here for the video.

Water Sports In Oklahoma

J. Curtis Watson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

Update: I fixed the settings on the video. For some reason YouTube defaults to private.

Here is compilation of footage taken over the July 4th holiday. Jack, Cade, Max and Mom spent a week in Oklahoma with Nanna and Pappa Watson. It was legend...wait for it..ary

If your reading in an RSS reader or on Facebook click here for the video

Fishin' in the Windy City

J. Curtis Watson — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Today we headed out of the house with two things: 1) Brand new Fishing Poles from Nanna and Pappa 2) Fruit Snacks. Our fishing hole today was Montrose Harbor in beautiful Chicago (about 10 minutes directly south of our home). No fish were harmed in this trip, in fact I'm not sure if we even got a bite. Are there fish in Lake Michigan? Either way it was fun to break in the new poles and at least no one fell in.

Jesus and "Hell"

J. Curtis Watson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:17:00 +0000

I found a nice short article by one of my former New Testament professor's Klyne Snodgrass (North Park Seminary, Chicago IL). In this article he challenges the reader to re-examine exactly what the New Testament and Jesus in particular have to say about Hell. He writes,

...My concern is to stress that we know far less from Scripture about "hell" than most Christians think. If asked if I believe in hell, I often respond that I believe in gehenna. Most NT writers never mention "hell" or even have much on judgment by fire. All of us know what the English word "hell" means, but that meaning derives from medieval sources (and Greco-Roman ideas) more than Scripture...
...No one emphasizes judgment as strongly as Jesus, and that part of his message deserves much more focus than it currently receives. Judgment gives significance to life...
...How can we do justice to the strong focus on judgment in Jesus’ message without going beyond the limited information about the nature of judgment given in the Gospels? (And no, the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is not intended to give us a literal picture of judgment.)...

You should read the rest this short article and then do your own study in the New Testament. I've seen so many problems in and out of the church arise from extremely poor understanding of what the Bible actually teaches. We should always try to rid ourselves of reading into the text or just blindly excepting what someone else tells us the Bible says as much as we can.

PS Dr. Snodgrass has recently published an exhaustive work on Jesus' Parables called, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus.

"No One Laughs at God"

J. Curtis Watson — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:09:00 +0000

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late and their kid's not back from that party yet

No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they're mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say "We've got some bad new, sir"
No one's laughing at God when there's a famine, fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they got and they don't know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God

Facebook and RSS People Click over to the site for video and audio

HT Z

Jack's New Ears

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:09:00 +0000

Everything went great. Jack was excited to watch Dora the Explorer before surgery. Woke up in a great mood after and immediately was asked by the nurse if he would like a Popsicle. Leaving the hospital with a smile is the best way to leave! Thanks for praying.

Pray for Jack 7.1.09

J. Curtis Watson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Just a quick reminder to everyone who frequents this blog to pray for Jack. He is getting his 4th set of tubes put into his eardrums tomorrow (July 1st). For those who don't already know Jack has suffered from chronic ear infections his entire life. Each time he has this surgery it only works for a little while. This time we are moving ahead with what is considered a bigger, more permanent set of ear tubes. Lord willing these will be more long-lasting and effective. There is a small risk that these tubes can create permanent scar tissue which in turn can cause some permanent hearing loss. Please pray that this will not happen. As always pray for Jack's surgeon to have a sure and steady hand and that this procedure will help him in the long-term.

P.S. The picture above was taken shortly after Jack got a new pair of goggles.