3 Things I've Learned from my Dad

All children should honor their father, but my dad made it easy. I've learned many, many things from my dad. So many that I couldn't even begin to chronicle them. But on this Father's Day, I would like to share a few of the things my dad has taught me.

1. The Lord is Lord all the time and everywhere.

My father never allowed being a Christian to be a part-time occupation. Faith wasn't something that happened on Sunday and then cessed to exist on Monday-Saturday. Rather, Dad saturated everything is the simply idea that God never stopped being God and therefore we should never stopped living under His authority. Thus, he taught me to leave God out of nothing, whether it was going to church, playing softball or changing oil.

2. The Bible is a big deal.

This is something Dad never really had to say. I mean, he did say it but he didn't have to. Because every morning for as long as I can remember, I've seen my dad sitting in his little study - the dark basement corner illuminated by a small lamp - reading the Bible. Now, my dad's not a reader and yet he puts zealous bookworms to shame with his devotion to a single book, the Book. Therefore, as a very young guy I learned that this book they called the Bible matter to my dad. My best memories of bonding with my dad was not the normal father-son bonding moments like playing catch or working on the car. We did all those things, but that's not what stands out. What stands out is sitting around the dinner table talking about the Scriptures.

3. Truth is more than head-knowledge.

My dad's not what you would call a theologian. But in another sense he's exactly what you would call a theologian. Were he ever to write a theological work it would look more like Proverbs than Romans. He's a very practical person who wants to connect everything to the nuts-and-bolts reality of daily living. For him, truth isn't a concept floating in the sky. It's a pathway to walk. Truth is something to be lived, not just thought about.

These are just some of the things that I've learned from my dad. I'm very thankful to have such a man as my father.

Happy Father's Day!!!

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See also:

Why My Father's a Paradox (And Why I Love It)
3 Reasons I Appreciate My Mom

I'll Have the Stone with a Side of Serpent

Do you ever have one of those weeks where it's almost feels like the Holy Spirit just got tired of dropping subtle hints and decided to bring out the big guns? Well, this has been one of those weeks for me. There's a particular issue that's real been driven home to me lately.

This issue keeps popping up in my devotions, in my reading, in sermons and random videos I run into. Basically, I've been convicted about the fact that my actions doesn't complete match the God I claim to serve. I believe God to be omnipotent, sovereign and almighty. I also believe Him to be kind, generous and benevolent. Yet, it's recently occurred to me that my prayers don't match my beliefs.

Jesus said something very astonishing. In fact, His statement is so earth-shattering that many preachers spend most their time trying to look for the fine print. Christ said,

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)

This is an awesome claim. It describes a generous Father who delights in giving good things to His children. But then I realized something tragic. I have a tendency to ask for serpents and stones because I trust God to handle those. Maybe if I'm feeling really spiritual I'll ask for a Ritz cracker or a little goldfish. But nothing too "ridiculous". After all, I don't want to ask too much from God.

I seem to only ask God for things that I'm pretty well convinced He would do anyway. Rarely will I pray for things that could only happen if God did them. I've realized that I need to make my prayers God-sized. I mean, if I really believe that God is so big and so generous, why don't my prayers match His character? So, why shouldn't I ask for more Christ-likeness? Why should I ask for greater things for my church and family? Why shouldn’t I plead more earnestly for people's souls?

The sad thing is that I just know my Daddy's so very eager to give good things. Isn't that what the passage says? Because God is infinitely powerful and infinitely generous, we can never exhaust the riches of His gifts. There’s nothing I could ask for that is outside of my Father’s limits to give. Oh, that our prayers would better reflect the greatness of our God!

Granted, this doesn't mean that He'll give us anything we want, but He will always give us what's best. Another problem is that we're so carnally minded that we sometimes can't recognize bread when we see it. We ask for serpents and then get upset when He gives us fish.

But my point is that we should be bolder in asking our Daddy for good things. Why should we hesitate to ask for things that only He can give? As Jesus said, even earthly fathers are diligent to give their children the very best that they can. Our Daddy delights giving us good things. Let’s purpose to give Him the delight of hearing us ask for God-size gifts.

Why My Father's A Paradox (And Why I Love It)

I’m the type of guy who likes to figure people out. I like knowing what motivates people to do what they do. But there’s one person I’ve never been able to put into any sort of box. It’s my father.

I’m told that when my parents were engaged, my mother made the comment that she just couldn’t figure Dad out. My grandpa, was present, said that they’d been trying unsuccessfully for nineteen years. And while I can’t quite figure him out, I’ve come to love, admire and respect the God-honoring paradoxy of my father.
Here’s a brief examination of that paradox:

Hands-on scholar: The same person who gave a huge stack of commentaries for my graduation barely reads at all. If I see my dad reading anything other than the Bible I know it must be a pretty amazing book.

In one sense, Dad’s not a scholar. He doesn’t like systematic theology, books by Doctor Reverend _____, PhD hold no interest to him and “much study is weariness” is his education motto. But he’s very much the theologian. While he would never use these terms, my father was the first to introduce me to soteriology, eschatology, anthropology and so on. For as long as I can remember, I’ve seen my dad start every morning with long, intense study in the Word. In short, he’s a Proverbs theologian. He likes things that are practical and real. No fancy hypotheticals or long winded speeches about stuff that’ll never help you in life.

What it’s taught me: As someone who does like systematic theology and books by Doctor Reverend ________, PhD, my dad has helped keep me balanced. He taught that it’s all about the Bible. He taught me to reverence, love and apply God’s Word in a way that really mattered.

Laidback perfectionist: My dad’s a very laidback person. He’s the type that’ll do things at the last minute and then even if things don’t go quite right he’s not one to get upset about. But, he’s certainly not some chair rocking ho-hum couch potato.

My father likes things to be done right. For him, right doesn’t necessarily mean by the book. Right means that it works and works well. He’s practical remember. As a kid, making something dad approvable was one of the biggest motivates for excellence. Yet, Dad’s not one get all bent out of shape if something isn’t perfect.

What it’s taught me: Unlike the first paradox, this is a trait I shall with my dad. Follow his footsteps in this area has taught to do the best with what I have; to strive for excellence without fretting about the results.

Romantic rationalist: There’s been very few times that I’ve seen my dad display a large amount of emotion. He’ll chuckle rather than roar with laughter; smile rather than giddily grin; frown rather than yell; tear-up rather than sob. Remember, I’ve already established that he’s laidback and practical.

Yet, he’s very passionate about certain things. He’s passionate about God and how awesome He is. He’s passionate about righteousness and justice. He’s passionate about seeing God exalted and the Bible lived out in every areas of life, from work to politics. He’s passionate about serving other and teaching people the Truth.

The only times I’ve ever seen my dad cry was when he was talking about the love of God. So, while he can be reserved and non-sentimental, my dad still gets excited about good and holy things. The result is a passionate devotion to godly thing without the weight of emotionalism and sentimentalism.

What it’s taught me: I’ve learned that there are things that should excite and thrill me. These like the Gospel and God’s character ought to initiate an emotional response. But this thrilling doesn’t have to be about feelings and emotionalism. Rather, these emotions are about a deep and devouring love for God.

In short, I love my father and I’m so very grateful that God gave me dad who loves Him and was devoted to teaching me from the Word. My prayer is that one day I will be such a father.

Happy Father’s Day!

God is Love

So, I’m sitting in a hard folding chair on a Wednesday night, innocently going about my weekly retinue, completely naive to the fact that my life is about to be forever changed. I was just a young middle schooler with a freckle-covered face and bushy, red hair. As was my custom, I was sitting in our church’s regular children’s ministry, of which my dad was head.

Now, for you to fully appreciate this story you have to understand a little bit about my dad. He grew up as a missionary kid in the deserts of Peru. Growing up in a Third World nation has made him a very practical and down to earth sort of guy. He’s the type of speaker that can take a far out, theoretical concept and make it practical for every day life.



Dad’s also a big advocate of that childlike faith Christ kept talking about. To him, the accepted theological standards of modern Christendom are second (maybe even third or fourth) to the Word of God. While a very respectful and chivalrous man, my dad doesn’t have a qualm about defying the status quo if he feels the Bible and the status quo don’t quite get along.

That leads us to Wednesday night. So far, my day had gone pretty normally. I’ve played some dodgeball, recited some memory verses and colored a really cool picture of Moses parting the Red Sea. Then it was time for the Bible lesson.

My dad walked up to the little wooden podium, pulled out his Bible and began teaching. A few sentences into the lesson and the room became deathly silent. The message was so radical that it had the parents and teachers scratching their head. But it so fundamental that it had the little kids were challenged and encouraged.

Since then, I’ve heard my dad preach this sermon many times. I’ve heard it two different languages and in multiple contexts. It’s become my dad’s signature sermon. And yet, despite being able to quote the outline by heart, the message has not yet lost its meaning to me.

So what was this message my dad introduced on that otherwise normal Wednesday night meeting? It wasn’t anything new or exotic. It wasn’t some radical concept no one had ever thought of before. In fact, he preached on a word that we use every single day.

He preached on love.

Yes, love. That little word that everyone uses and no one really understands. Before that Wednesday night I thought I knew what love was. As a young child, love was the way I felt when my mom hugged me goodnight. It was that mushy thing my parents had. It was the way I felt about pizza and cheesecake.

Oh boy, was I ever wrong! My dad’s message began a spiritual pilgrimage in which I went from having a worldly sense of love to having a more biblical and Jehovah-centric view of that amazing thing we call love.

This is arguably one of he most important topics of our day or any other day. The way we view love with effect nearly every aspect of our life. It is vital to every single relationship we have - from our relationship with God, to our parents, to our spouses, to our siblings, to friends, to the guy down the street and even our enemies.

In God’s holy Word, we are repeatedly told that loving God and loving others is the center of our faith. Therefore, we cannot allow this issue to pass by without being thoroughly explored. We can’t afford to simply glance over it without diving in and discovering its complexities.

Unfortunately, we're adopted a very unbiblical view of love. Not that it really matters, but our modern conception of love is rooted in Greco-Roman philosophy and mythology. Love is generally thought of as a largely physical, emotional and uncontrollable force that simply hits a person at random times.

But the Bible tells of a very different kind of love. The very fact that we are commanded to love implies that it is a choice. We either do it or we don't. Those are the only two options.

On that Wednesday night, my dad made a very interesting observation. First, he read from I John 4:8. It's a very simple statement. "God is love."

Whenever he preaches this sermon, my dad has everyone turn to II Corinthians 13 - the infamous "love chapter" - and every time the passage says charity or love, he has everyone replace it with the word God. In doing so, we see that all the expressions of love are really extensions of our Father's character.

So, why is it that we don't really understand love? It's because we don't really understand God. I think John the Beloved summed it up really nicely.

He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is love.

-I John 4:8