Christmas

Christmas entered with a sleepy-eyed, parental state of disbelief in how early our kids still get up for the day. I blearily threw on some house pants and a ball cap and followed my bright-eyed spouse into the living room. Though our kids are 13 and 11, they still treat Christmas with as much eagerness as they always have.

Whether it was unwrapping or confetti-throwing, I’m still not sure, but the loving chaos, discovery and gratitude that followed over the next hour were more than enough to substitute for my normal caffeine fix. There was Sam downplaying his gift of a Sugar Bowl ticket. (13 year-olds have to have some semblance of dignity.) Adelyn loved her Flip Video camera and promptly began starring in her own movies. I wonder where she got that from?

I was successful in fooling Carolyn, and it was fun watching her unwrap her iPhone 4. I was extra thankful the AT&T folks let us upgrade a few weeks early. I had a hard time explaining to her yesterday (on her birthday) why her old phone suddenly lost reception. (It was when I’d called the AT&T folks and told them to go ahead and activate the new iPhone.)

My big present this year was the travel to the Sugar Bowl, in combination with the ticket that Northstar Church gave me and Cody to go. Since Cody’s team is the Ohio State Luckeyes, it’s been fun milking that matchup around town. I also received a wireless keyboard to go with iPad and some other goodies.

The best gift this year, however, has been my family. I was able to drink in the moments this morning with joy. Carolyn’s surgery is past, and it’s just recovery time ahead. We’ve had wonderful visits from my mom and dad over Thanksgiving and Carolyn’s mom this past week to be present during surgery and to help out.

Our church family has been gracious and kind to us by providing all kinds of meals and goodies. We’re truly overwhelmed and humbled by their joyful service to us. One family went above and beyond – the Minnicks – by cooking us Christmas Eve meal AND a full-blown Christmas day dinner that was just amazing. We were so grateful. Another family made Carolyn a birthday cake since she’s a Christmas Eve baby.

We’re thankful. It’s so humbling to be on the receiving end of so much ministry, love and care. Yet, all the ministry we’ve received keeps us consistently praying and praising. For every good gift we receive has its origin in the Original Giver.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1.17)

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Review: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

With Carolyn’s 6th round of cancer and her resulting double mastectomy, it’s not difficult to understand my timing of reading John Piper and Justin Taylor’s compilation Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. It’s the collection of messages presented at the 2005 Desiring God Pastors’ Conference.

It’s one of those books that may speak powerfully at different places according to the need and experience of the reader. I am a Piper fan, and have read many of his books. I was really looking forward to this particular one.

However, there is really only one chapter that I would highly recommend in the entire book – Piper’s chapter 4: Why God Appoints Suffering for His Servants. The others are written by some fantastic folks – and folks familiar with suffering through personal experience – but they fall short of being inspirational. Perhaps Joni Eareckson Tada’s chapter entitled Hope… The Best of Things is the second best.

Since the entire book is available for download here, I’d highly encourage you to read chapter 4. It’s a rousing explanation of why Christians suffer. In short, they’re chosen for it. I’ll leave it to the book to give you the scriptural background for such a statement. The chapter is not just provocative, but it’s deeply encouraging.

“Suffering is a primary means of building compassion into the lives of God’s servants,” Piper claims.

In my own understanding, suffering, in its very essence, is something that not only is God familiar with, but that God is sovereign over. Nothing escapes His notice because nothing falls outside His power. We groan, chafe, cry and agonize over our own suffering, but we also demand explanation for the astonishing and gut-wreching suffering of others – especially innocent others.

We want an explanation for it. We want an end to it. We want to control suffering, limit it, end it. We want a lot. We expect that “God” – if he is all-powerful – would want what we want and agree with us. We are insulted not only with God’s unwillingness to bend to our demands, but we begin to redefine Him in our own minds when He doesn’t perform the way a sensible, compassionate person would. We even begin to offer up excuses for God to others who demand explanations.

As scripture consistently reveals, suffering may not be explained to us on this side of heaven. We should not seek to explain suffering or excuse God. Rather, suffering provides a dramatic opportunity to exchange our life for the life of God revealed in Christ. There is power and love available from the Father for anyone who in his suffering clings to His infinite resources of strength, compassion, hope and help. They are riches which are inexhaustible. Anyone who has suffered will testify how quickly their own resources evaporate. That’s a large part of what suffering does. Its strips us.

Suffering drives us deep. In another chapter entitled Don’t Waste Your Cancer, Piper and David Powlinson advise the sufferer to resist the temptation toward solitude and instead allow suffering to lead you to dependent community with God’s people. Our family can certainly echo that affirmation.

So… while Suffering and the Sovereignty of God may not be the best book ever written on the subject, at least one chapter was a significant joy for me in these days of ministry to my wife in her recovery time. You may find a wealth of instruction, encouragement and direction in its other pages.

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The Thorn

I stumbled across this poem by Martha Snell Nicholson which is quoted in the book Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. It’s magnificent. You can read my review of the book here.

The Thorn

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, “But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.”
He said, “My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.”
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

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Christmas notes 2010

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Blacksburg, VA. The leaves that once were vibrant fall colors are now under three inches of snow. The temperatures have dropped and are much colder than we were use to in Arkansas. The beauty that comes with the bright, white snow makes the season’s change worth it. There has been changes in the Noble family as well.

Jeff is basking in all the changes that have happened this year at Northstar Church. The church moved its office location to a beautiful, historical house on the edge of the VT campus. Being on campus and having a house conducive to ministry has brought a new dynamic for Northstar. The house is full most days and nights with meetings, discipleship time and fellowship from both college students and families. We have been honored to have seen many lives changed this year through salvation and baptism. There isn’t much more you can ask for when you get witness people give their life to Christ and decide to follow Him wholeheartedly. If Jeff isn’t in some type of discipleship meeting you can find him at home relaxing, reading or trying to beat Sam in Fantasy Football.

Carolyn has enjoyed subbing for the schools this year. She mainly works with Special Ed children and likes that she can pick and choose when she works. She is a part of a Ladies Morning Bible Study where she has made some good friends. She is still taking photos on the side but enjoys not having to make an income from it and just enjoy it for a hobby. As a continue saga of her health, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer this October. Fortunately, the cancer is non-invasive and does not require treatment. She will, however, have a double mastectomy and reconstruction on December 13th. Not exactly what we want for the Christmas holidays but God’s timing is always best. We have learned that time and time again.

Sam has grown like wildfire and has had the biggest change. We recently bought him size 11 shoes and he is about to be as tall as Jeff. He now helps with the Technical Team at church. He assists in setting up the lights each week and is in charge of the slides for the worship songs. It’s a great way to keep a teenager focused during the worship service! He played baseball this summer and is now playing basketball. He was able to go to Young Life camp this summer in Maryland and is already planning for next summer. This past summer we were able to go camping on the New River and take the kids to Virginia Beach. This was a first for both kids. Sam still loves the outdoors. His practice deer target is in the backyard where he practices shooting his bow. Not sure how the neighbors feel about it here but it is a yard ornament for now.

Adelyn has had her fair share of change as well. She started middle school this year. She is in the band and of all the instruments, she chose TUBA! If it is not the deer in the backyard, it is the tuba practice that
can be heard by all! She still takes guitar lessons and loves writing music. Our families all pitched in to buy her a beautiful blue Fender guitar for her birthday. She loves it and plays it often. She still takes ballet and tap. She is in prepoint this year and will probably get her long awaited toe ballet shoes in January. She loved playing softball this year and is now playing basketball. She still sports her converse shoes almost every day. She even wears them to basketball practice. The other day she was complaining of her feet hurting. It might be time to purchase real basketball shoes. Not sure how she will handle practicality over style. We will see.

This Christmas we pray that you have had some good changes in your life this year as well. We pray that Christmas will be a time that we will all remember James 1.17:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Merry Christmas from the Nobles!

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Arkansas vs Ohio State Northstar-style, Part 1

The 2011 Sugar Bowl between Arkansas and Ohio State divided the Northstar Church staff. Jeff was rooting for Arkansas. Cody was rooting for OSU. Strange things began to happen around the office…

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Turn the other cheek?

I recently preached on Luke 6:29, but does “turning the other cheek” require a faithful Christ follower to suffer abuse or just take it? I advocated complete dependence on God in situations of unfairness in my sermon. However, there are deeper issues of life that we must take into account as well.

Yes, God has promised consistently throughout scripture that He will be our defense, that He will fight for us (Exodus 14.14, Joshua and the city of Jericho, Gideon’s army, and 2 Corinthians 4:7 are examples). However, while we see Paul getting stoned and beaten for his faith in Christ, we also see him being lowered in a basket through the an opening in the city wall to escape a murder plot in Acts 9:25, sneaking away by night in Thessalonica (Acts 17:10), and hightailing it out of Iconium (Acts 14:6).

It’s obvious that a Christian is not commanded to simply be someone’s whipping post. Any sane person would counsel someone in an abusive situation to get out and get safe as soon as possible. The problem comes when it’s not in your power to do so.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were helpless to resist the will of the king in the book of Daniel. They had to submit to his power and authority over their lives. In that particular instance, their faith led to flames, with the very presence of Another to affirm them in their stand and submission. (Daniel 3:16-18)

It was their profound refusal to bow to an idol that led to their supposed fate in the fire. Should they have meekly bowed to save their life? Should they have turned the other cheek in that moment to live for God another day?

The “turn the other cheek” passage in Luke 6 is not a command to simply suck it up and take it. It’s an instruction to willingly suffer loss when it is no direct harm to your person. In both cases that Jesus describes, the intent is to confound the person who demands something from you with patience, kindness and radical generosity.

It leads to Jesus’ amazing command for us to love our enemies. And pray for them. It’s also a command to stay the course. Be faithful and trust God even if it leads us into suffering. His ministry to us will be radically sufficient in our suffering. Our suffering for His sake actually destroys the power of evil rather than magnifying it.

The overarching principle in scripture is not as simple as “turn (the other cheek) or burn.” There are consistently great rewards and examples promised to and made of those who persist, stand firm and refuse to relent in their commitment to God in the face of persecution. However, we’re also given examples of escape. It’s not wise to stay in situations of persecution or abuse when you have the power and freedom to remove yourself from it.

If you can’t get out, stand firm. Be faithful. Be humble. Resist with an other-worldy confidence in God who is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” It should come as no surprise that a follower of Jesus experiences intentional persecution for our faith. In fact, it’s proof of it.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4.12)

Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. (1 John 3.13)

A few thoughts in conclusion:

• If you’re experiencing physical abuse or danger and it’s in your power to do so, get out and get safe.
• If you’re experiencing consistent emotional or verbal abuse, seek counsel and pray hard about whether you’re called to remain or leave the environment.
• Reflect deeply on the causes. If it’s due to your faith in Christ, the way you respond is critically important.
• Examine scriptural examples of persecution to compare them to your situation. God is able, and He will be just as present for you in similar situations. Scripture is given to us as a guide, encouragement and instruction in how to respond and even stand firm if God should call us to do so.
• Your suffering, however intense, may be exactly what God uses to increase your eternal reward, lead another to genuine faith and bring glory to Himself.

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A La Carte: Health Update, December Nights kickoff, Saving Change and The First Snow

Health update

For those of you following our ongoing journey with cancer and doctors and faith, here’s the latest:

Carolyn will be having surgery on December 13 in Roanoke. It will be a double mastectomy with reconstruction. We have felt exceptionally blessed and supported by prayer, conversation and encouragement. Thank you all so much!

One of our main prayer concerns has been that Carolyn find a doctor and a surgeon here in Virginia that she likes. We were so glad to be led to the ones we have been! We also had requested your prayers about the type of reconstruction Carolyn would have. Yes, it’s essentially a boob job, but everyone calls it “reconstruction.” That takes some of the fun out of the discussions, however. If you know us, then you can imagine some of the conversations in the house… I promise they’ve all been uplifting…

Carolyn’s mom is flying in for a couple of weeks, and we’ve been amazed at how folks from Blacksburg to Monticello, AR have already begun mobilizing to make sure we’re taken care of. We’ve often wondered how folks who are not an active part in a church community receive care, support and help in similar situations.

As it is, we are heading into next week with full hearts and dependence on a good God who has put great people in our life to mediate His presence and comfort.

December Nights kick off

We’re pretty excited about celebrating Christmas at our church. Last year, we tried something new. We moved our worship services to the evenings and didn’t have morning services. When your church is meeting in a high school and has to set up every week (and for two services), you depend a ton on the love and support of a lot of volunteers.

December Nights enables us to give a month back to our volunteers, scale back, and sit at the feet of our Savior during evenings of intimate worship and teaching. Tonight, we are having the Micah Watson Band lead us for a Christmas and praise concert.

Saving change

All year I’ve been putting change aside, not really knowing what I’d eventually use it for. However, about a month ago, I realized that we would give it as a family to our Holiday Missions Offering. Today Adelyn and I went to Food Lion and used one of change counting machines there to add it all up.

We were bummed to discover that it would extract a 9.8% fee if we got a cash voucher. We didn’t want a single cent being taken from the total. Then we realized that we could get a gift certificate coupon to Amazon.com (where we do a ton of Christmas shopping). That solved it. We dumped the change into the trough, and let the machine count. The result? $124.36! We’re writing a check for that amount to missions tonight, and we’re grateful for all that God will be using the money for!

The HMO will be distributed in the following ways:

• 25% of it to our existing missions agencies, missionaries and ministries that we support
• 50% of it to our small groups to go Christmas shopping in Samaritan’s Purse catalog (it’s pretty awesome! Check it out here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/ and click on the Interactive Catalog on top right). The idea is that if we take in $3000… we would split up $1500 between our small groups equally to “shop with” from the catalog.
• 25% to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering (goes 100% directly to overseas missionaries through the International Mission Board). (http://www.imb.org/main/give/pagelm.asp?StoryID=8078&LanguageID=1709)

We are hoping for a truly generous outpouring from God’s people this month. We have so much to be thankful for! (and if you’d like to give towards it, you can do so online here.)

You might say we’ve been saving change because that’s what Jesus offers… a saving change.

The first snow

One of our friends noted on her Facebook page that it’s snowed every day in December so far. Until yesterday, it was just occasional flurries. However, after a day-long snow Saturday, we woke up this a.m. to a little more than 3 inches on the ground.

Last year, Blacksburg and the NRV gave Anchorage, Alaska a run for its money in total snowfall in an unusual winter that seemed determined to dethrone the global warming myth. With snow on the ground and week of frigid weather forecast, we’re all speculating what kind of winter we’re in store for this year.

As we watched a Christmas movie on TV last night, it was surreal to see the scrolling cancellation notices of many of the churches in our area today. We were thankful that we’d moved our service to evenings. However, we did have some of our staff volunteer to sit at the high school this morning to welcome anyone who still showed up with donuts and Starbucks. If you happened to go by, Emily and Lauren were huddled in the back of a SUV…

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A poem from Luke 8

On Sunday at Northstar, I shared this poem by John Oxenham. It’s powerful, and after teaching about demonology, I think it’s rather more important to dwell on what Oxenham did – how the people at Gadara prized pigs over people. How do we do the same?

GADARA, A.D. 31

Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
Bring loss to us and ours.
Our ways are not as Thine.
Thou lovest men, we—swine.
Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
And take this fool of Thine!
His soul? What care we for his soul?
What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
Since we have lost our swine?

And Christ went sadly.
He had wrought for them a sign
Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
They wanted—swine.
Christ stands without your door and gently knocks;
But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
He forces no man’s hold—he will depart,
And leave you to the treasures of your heart.

No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
But one swept bare
By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
There will He come, yet, coming, even there
He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
Until the latch be lifted from within.

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The Thanksgiving Chair

We showed this video during worship at Northstar on Sunday. It’s probably one of the most powerful ones I’ve seen lately. When was the last time you sat in the Thanksgiving chair?

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Review: Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites… and Other Lies You’ve Been Told

Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media

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A La Carte: Movie Flops, Fixing Our Cable, Twitter Quitter and Counting Salvations

A La Carte is a new feature at Notes inspired by Tim Challies. It’s a random collection of observations, experiences, fun and significance. Enjoy!

Movie Flops

I began this week by seeing a much-anticipated scifi thriller called Skyline. The preview showed alien ships sucking humans into the air with a bluish tractor beam. The first time I saw the preview, I thought, “Oh yesssss… This is first-class, quality scifi in need of my epic viewing.”

I wound up at the movie with about six other guys. We were giddy with CG delight before the movie started. The only thing we were missing were our Spock ears. Over the next two hours, we were enthralled by the movie’s intensity, but toward the end, it took a startling turn toward the graphic as … (spoiler alert!) the aliens violently removed humans’ heads to use their brains for engines on their monsters. It was pretty stunning. Then we were all dismayed as the ending played out, and well, I’ll spare you the final scene, but it was simply REE-DI-COO-LUS. The only word we could all say was “Really?” We were incredulous. It was the second movie flop this month (the first being Hereafter with Matt Damon, but I blame my attendance on that one to our ministry intern).

Fixing Our Cable

Our church gave us a generous love offering gift for October’s Pastor Appreciation Month. We were extremely grateful, and with the money, we found an electric fireplace at Big Lots that will not only warm us during the winter, but its presence will be a constant reminder of the warm hearts of the people of Northstar. And thanks to Hallmark for continuing to create fictional holidays… (i.e., did you know that February is Pull Your Sofa Off the Wall Month?)

When we put the HD TV on it, I put the cable box that was in the bedroom under it. We had just been pulling the Comcast cable directly into it, but are now using the DVR in the living room instead of the bedroom.

But I ran into a problem… without the cable box in the bedroom, the old tube TV back there would only pull 14 channels. Darn. I had read about a digital to analog converter that would allow us to get all our channels on that TV, so off I went to Comcast.

The lady at Comcast said it would be an $8/monthly rental for such a converter. I was not happy. I knew that TVs could pull cable directly, and I wasn’t about to pay more monthly to Comcast. When I asked about buying such a box, she mentioned Best Buy under her breath.

The next hour involved unsuccessful trips to Best Buy and then to Radio Shack (the salesman at Best Buy sent us to RS). At Radio Shack, after they told me that the only converter box they sold for that was for over the air signals, I said, “Surely, there’s got to be a way for me to get all my channels on my analog TV from Comcast!” The salesman looked at me quizzically and said, “Did you set up your TV in the menu to “Cable” or “UHF/VHF?”

I was taken aback. It dawned on me immediately about my own idiocy. I attempted to cover with a stammering, “Uh…. sure, I think so.” I could see on his smug face that I had just wasted his time.

I sheepishly went home, pushed the menu button on the TV, changed the setting and half-heartedly enjoyed all our cable channels mocking me with every push of the remote.

Twitter Quitter

A friend from college has recently blogged about deleting her tweetings. The mostly-female respondents to the entry have for the most part agreed wholeheartedly. I am appreciative of how she makes it clear in her entry that it was a personal choice, and she makes no sweeping judgements on the service. In fact, she keeps her Facebook account.

I’ve considered deleting my Facebook account in the past, but I’ve kept it and Twitter, because I have numerous examples of friendships and opportunities for influence as a result of both. I enjoy Twitter more than Facebook, and that will probably be a longer post for another day to explain that. However, I’d be interested in your thoughts about deleting one or the other?

Counting Salvations

Finally on a more significant note, we’ve had some great lessons in the fruitlessness of counting salvations over the past few weeks. Our church has celebrated some VT students who have given their life in faith to Jesus Christ. One senior mechanical engineering major surrendered his life in love to Jesus in my office. Others have done so through the influence of campus ministers and friends.

As much as a church (or a pastor) would like to say, “This week, we had ____ people become Christians,” we just can’t know that definitively. Of course, I can relate the encounters I’ve witnessed personally, but the joyful thing about what God is doing in Blacksburg these days is that many people are part of the process, and many are giving their lives to Jesus without making a big deal about it. It’s a humble, joyful transition to faith that those of us in leadership only hear about after the fact.

God is not interested in us being able to count every single thing He does. It’s impossible. He may not want us counting every salvation so that we can chalk it up as some type of ministry success story. Rather than counting every salvation, He wants simply to count on salvation.

The reality of people giving their lives to Christ happens in an environment where His people are declaring the joy of the Gospel of Christ. We are just part of the process.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3.6-7

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Round 6 update

Although we don’t know much more than we did since our last health update, we’ve had a lot of requests and questions about where things are in relation to Carolyn’s breast cancer. You can read here for the beginning of the Round 6 Saga.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve had six “It’s cancer…” phone calls over these past 20 years of being a couple (Carolyn and I started dating “officially” in July 1990). I’ve said before that the Lord knew what He was doing in all our health episodes. Carolyn is my hero and the strong one. She’s taken each announcement with the grace God has provided. Sure, there have been tears and emotional roller coasters, but it’s been humbling to watch her coast on the wings of God’s provision and steady love for her. I, on the other hand, go into the fetal position when I get a sinus infection and milk it for all it’s worth. Carolyn dreams about ways to serve with a chemotherapy IV drop attached to her arm.

The latest in round 6 is that Carolyn’s breast oncologist in Little Rock has recommended a simple total mastectomy. He’s encouraged her to consider a double mastectomy, all things considered, with reconstructive surgery. Carolyn has been following up with some doctors’ appointments here in Virginia to process her options. We’ve had amazing, Christ-honoring doctors in Arkansas. We’ve always been grateful for that. That’s one way that you can pray for us at this point – that we’ll be directed and guided to the right physicians for the surgeries ahead.

Our church family has been exceptionally gracious and supportive during this time. They’ve asked and have offered their help for the days to come. Many have already offered meals. We’ve put them off so far, since at this point, we are thriving on the prayer support we’re receiving. Of course, there will be a day in the near future where practical ministry and help will be coveted. It’s just humbling to see this army of friends and our faith family preparing to mobilize for us in these days.

In the middle of the decision-making, our family is doing great. Carolyn recently organized the Noble Fall Family Photo which will be on Christmas cards. It was an adventure, and we’re grateful to Cody for putting up with us. This was his second year to take it for us, and now he’s now longer trying to impress “the new pastor and his family” – he’s laughing with us and at us.

The kids are busy with school, sports and hobbies. Sam is not so busy with the latter as he’s being forced to focus on the former. Yup. Grade time was not pretty this last time. He’s living a completely unplugged existence right now. Adelyn, on the other hand, is doing a relatively good job of not gloating about it.

We’ll keep you updated as we know more…

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Review: Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Jeremiah Burroughs was one of the great unaffiliated preachers of the 1600s. He was only 45 when he died, and being born in 1599, he reaped the fruit of the Protestant Reformation that swept Europe while at the same time making contributions of significant depth through his writings.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment is a ponderous read. I’ll admit that at the beginning. It’s not full of witty anecdotes or alliteration. It’s depth, however, has made me compare other current Christian books I’m reading to wearing floaties in the baby pool.

It’s tempting a review to quote from Burroughs’ book, but to do so at length would be impossible. I’ve underlined more than I left not underlined in it. I hope to read through the book at least every other year. It’s that good. That challenging.

In a Mini-Cooper society as ours, his book reveals that we also have mini-souls. We are so easily discouraged. We have become content with being discontent. He offers chapter by chapter, practical and spiritual advice for pursuing and seizing a distinctly Christian contentment.

He urges all of us to get out of the shallow end and go deep into contentment with Christ. It requires a ruthless self-examination of all that we are currently seeking contentment in. He then urges us to press higher (and deeper) by seeking our heart’s contentment in only those things designed to truly satisfy our hearts.

So a Christian coming to contentment is as a scholar in Christ’s school… Just as no one can be a scholar unless he learns his ABC, so you must learn the lesson of self denial, or you can never become a scholar in Christ’s school and be learned in this mystery of contentment… You cannot all be scholars in the arts and sciences in the world, but you all may be students of your own hearts…study the book of your own hearts.

The book is direct and full of heart-rending questions for the sincere and humble Christ follower. In your diligence to read, do not pass by the well-guided missiles that seek to destroy your false contentment. One example of such a question is:

Are you more solicitous about the taking away of your sin than the taking away of your affliction?

Philippians 4.13 has been greatly abused and seized by everyone from conquering politicians to athletes who believe in the rightness of their cause or effort:

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)

However, the context of this amazing but abused verse is found in the depths of Paul’s entry into the school of Christian contentment:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

As Paul’s life demonstrated, his seizure of the knowledge of how to be content enabled him to sing with joy in prisons and survive with perspective stonings. He had gone deep.

If contentment is something that eludes you, or if you fear that yours is a shallow, uninformed kindergarten contentment, I’d urge you to pick up a spade and dig in the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

You can also get the Kindle version for only $1.99 here!

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Nerds and villains

It’s a new day at the Nobles’. Our kids are heading their separate ways for Halloween.

Sam dressed like a villain and filled his camouflage hunting bags with Silly String as he departed to join friends intent on stringing unsuspecting kids. Adelyn was dressed like a nerd (not much costume needed), and she and girl friends from neighborhood united to conquer.

Carolyn and I porched it and enjoyed seeing the princesses, witches, heroes and other unknowns traipse from house to house. Halloween draws the American neighborhood out of it’s cocoon, and it offers an opportunity to meet, laugh and ooo and aah over elaborate costumes.

In between ghosts, Carolyn and I also talked Twitter. It was a pretty interesting conversation. She shared with me her favorite people to follow which includes local, OBU, and Arkansas friends, John Piper’s family, @bartmillard, @modernmom, and @funnyoneliners (they steal all my material, I told her). It was a pretty surreal conversation for the front porch on Halloween.

Nuff said.

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Another opportunity to trust

We got another “call” today. For those who have been through cancer treatments, you know what that is. In the time between a surgical procedure or biopsy, there’s a day or so of simple waiting as the doctor/oncologist examines and determines what it is we’re dealing with. Carolyn’s breast oncologist’s office called this a.m., and informed her that what was removed on Wednesday is breast cancer. More specifically, it’s ductal carcinoma in situ (or DCIS) DCIS refers to the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer in women. In situ, or “in place,” describes a cancer that has not moved out of the area of the body where it originally developed. (Source)

For those of you just stopping in, this is not just another chapter in our story. At this point, it feels like we’re past sequels. We’re now writing complementary series. It’s like a superhero story with the son of Spiderman. Or something like that.

It’s just been a long journey with this cancer stuff that began back in 1990 with Hodgkin’s Disease (with 3 recurrences) and then cleverly morphed to radiation-induced breast cancer in the winter of 2008-2009. Now it’s DCIS.

We’re writing this as a way to inform, and so there’s not much reflection to this entry, simply because it’s fresh news for us too. However, as we prayed together here in Little Rock, we both acknowledged that what we’re now presented with is simply another opportunity to trust our God. His character is not in question. We’re confident of the love of Christ. After all, the scriptures confidently assert that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

So we invite you into this next stage of growth, trust, and dependence with us. We’re humbly asking you for supporting and sustaining prayer. We have learned from the past how much encouragement is provided through the prayer and intercession of the body of Christ.

We’ll keep you informed as you keep us lifted up. Pray for Carolyn’s thought life, that she’ll be able to set her mind on things above. Pray for me that I’ll be a good helper and provide necessary comic relief (even more than usual). Pray for Sam and Adelyn that they’ll learn how much God can be trusted and how much He loves His people. Pray that we will all discover afresh that trusting in God is life’s greatest joy – regardless of circumstances.

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On the road again

We’re hitting the road today for westerly places. This weekend is Homecoming for my alma mater, Ouachita Baptist University and also my 20th college reunion. To Carolyn’s delight and my chagrin, we’ll be attending Tiger Tunes on Saturday night.

Before there was Dancing with the Stars or America’s Got Talent, there was Tiger Tunes. It’s a student production in which organizations compete in choreographed musicals centered around a theme that each organization has picked out. Does anyone feel my pain?

One year that Carolyn was in it, her EEE Women’s Social Club (sorority) were noses. Yes, you read that right. That’s why I’m so excited she decided to pick me to attend Tiger Tunes with her.

Carolyn will also be having day surgery on Wednesday for a biopsy procedure. Her recent checkups showed a couple of areas that the doctors felt it best were removed and tested. At this point, there is no sign of cancer, only some “precancerous” material. We would obviously appreciate your prayers.

We’re excited about spending time with family and Arkansas friends. The kids and I are hoping to work in a trip to Monticello during the week while Carolyn recuperates. You can follow my Twitter feed this week for updates if you just enjoy being a digital stalker.

Here’s some before/after pictures for your enjoyment…

Us in 1990

Us Plus in 2009

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Crucify murmuring

The only thing fun about murmuring is saying it. Murmur. Murmur. Love it.

The reality of the word is that it’s a verbal cancer. It destroys all who it infects. Murmuring is that condition of the heart that erupts in the mouth. It is a nasty condition which seeks to elevate personal preference, opinion and perspective above community health, respect for authority.

Murmuring is an ugly thing. Back before Blockbuster and Movie Gallery took VHS rentals mainstream, most communities had a mom and pop video rental store. Movie rentals were the next big thing. With Blockbuster’s recent bankruptcy, we all realize we’re living in a new world. Pre-internet, a few of these unscrupulous small shops would have a back room. It was where the “adult” videos were. That’s how I envision murmuring. It’s back room verbal porn. It’s that nasty and unhealthy.

It got the Israelites in deep kaka with God.

Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hated us He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”‘ (Deuteronomy 1.26-28)

Their murmuring de-spirited the people. It absolutely destroyed their focus and reliance upon God. In this case, they looked at the giants in the land rather than their God in heaven (who was bigger).

The Israelites were still regretting their ancestors’ murmuring years later, as recorded in Psalm 106.24-27:

Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
They murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
Therefore He raised His hand and swore to them
that He would make them fall in the wilderness,
and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
scattering them among the lands.

We see a New Testament example of this same offense in John 6.41-43:

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.

As far as verbal sin goes, murmuring delights in being the undisputed king of back room conversations. It worships quiet corners. It thrives in the petri dish of dissatisfaction. Where murmuring can find a discontented heart, it can gradually move from the aorta to the mouth, where its contagion is spewed into the ears of susceptible victims.

The only cure is contentment.

Paul said that contentment was a learned state.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4.11-12)

It’s a mental exercise of bringing your soul and heart to submission under God’s love. What He has given you is sufficient. Period. Learn to be joyfully content where you are.

Murmuring is an insurrection against God’s authority and any other established authority over you. If you don’t seek contentment on your own, someone may have to take drastic steps to deal with the devastation that murmuring causes.

If you’re prone to murmur, I’d find the closet piece of wood and nail that proclivity of yours to it. Crucify it there. New life will erupt in your soul when you kill murmuring and experience contentment.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5.24)

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Phil, Myself and Bob

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Tweetcloud

Here’s a nice graphic view of my recent tweets…

You can get one yourself here.

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