...And despite all the ups and way-downs of his long life, Johnny Cash says he has no regrets.

 

"I used to," he says, "But I forgave myself. When God forgave me, I figured I'd better do it, too."

 

 

--Johnny Cash, from MTV.com interview

The Girl In The Window - Probably the most heartbreaking news story I've read in a long time, but worth it for the hope that adoption and a good family can bring as well as the developmental needs of children.

 

The Decline and Fall of Charity - "If you think retailers have it bad this Christmas, consider the effect that a slumping economy will have on America’s charities [and churches]." It's a good wake up call for anyone involved in non-profits and especially for Christians.

 

Some Questions to Ask When Considering a Job - John Piper gives some solid, practical, and Biblical advice.

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In the spirit of David Letterman and High Fidelity, I'll make a list. Here are the top 10 things I'm thankful for in Mongolia.


10. The ability to be a minority and an outsider. Don't get me wrong, this is actually one of the harder parts of living in M*ngolia. A lot of people here don't like foreigners and they'll go out of their way to yell at you, bump into you, laugh at you, sometimes start fights with you, and generally let you know how much you're not cared for. It doesn't come close to the magnitude of their struggle, but I think it's given me a whole new appreciation for what minorities in America have to go through to integrate and assimilate into our culture.

9. The chance to be friends with a people and a culture so foreign to my own. If I had never come here, I probably would've gone through my life never knowing a Mongolian or anything about their culture other than Chingiss Khan came from here. I'm thankful that we have friends out here that, when I think about it, will be really hard to say goodbye to. But that's a good thing because that just means they're substantial and that we've learned and given to each other. The flipside of the negative aspects of #10 are the positive experiences with the warm, curious, giving, and welcoming M*ngolians we've met.

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Almost a year into marriage and this week I discovered that my approach has been all wrong.  

Well, not all wrong but I've certainly uncovered a major flaw.

The enemies of the Gospel - and coincidentally our default modes - are legalism and license.  License is easy to spot because, well, it's rebellion that says, "That's nice that I'm redeemed and grace is wonderful but I'm still going to live my life my way."  Legalism, in so many words says, "My good works and life are so much better than those other people's, it's no wonder God redeemed me."  In either case, you remain your own lord and you worship things other than God.

[Sidenote: I read a great quote by CJ Mahaney yesterday where he said, "Legalism is self-atonement, for the purpose of self-glorification, ultimately for self-worship."]

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Here is some helpful insight from Peter Cha to this timely question. 

Video courtesy of The Gospel Coalition.

I read something today that AW Tozer wrote in the early 1960's that is on topic.

"How long do you think it will be, if Jesus tarries, before some of the amazing new churches like those in the primitive Baliem Valley of Iraian Jaya, Indonesia, will be sending gospel missionaries to Canada and the United States?

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I come across a lot of stuff that I read, listen to, or see that I think, "Hey, I want to mention that on my blog", but because they're short they tend to get bumped for longer or more timely pieces.  That being the case, I think I might start a regular Friday Miscellanea post where I put together a few things I want to mention but don't have enough time to write a longer blog about.

First up, my good friend Dustin is putting out an online-only Christmas album this year.  It has a lot of covers; ranging from the Pogues to O Holy Night and would be a great addition to holiday music this season.  Personally, the highlight for me is "This is War", the last song on the record and, I believe, the only original song of his on the album.  You know a dude has some talent when, in a bevy of classic cover songs, his own original stands out so powerfully.

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(Those are jello cubes by the way.) 

What can we learn from even the briefest glimpse of history? 

Every year, John Piper performs a great service to the Church and does a biographical message on the life of a significant figure from church history.  He's done Augustine, Athanasius, Luther, John Newton, J. Gresham Machen, and Charles Spurgeon among many others.  

They are a great service to the Church at large, especially laypeople, because of the tremendous perspective you can gain from even the slightest grasp of history.

For example, what can the life of William Tyndale - a martyr whose legacy is the very English Bible you have - teach us?  More specifically, what can the controversy between Erasmus & Thomas More on one side, and Martin Luther & William Tyndale on the other, teach us about the current state of the church?

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Following the Missions Conference I wrote about last week, I was able to take

photographs of some of the Mongolian church planters who were in town

from all over the country being trained at the base that I teach English at.  

You can see more of the photos here if you'd like.

 

 

 

 

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, Alas, my master! What shall we do? 16 He said, Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see. So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17)

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15 And he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.(2 Chronicles 20:15)

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 My beautiful wife made another video with one of her students, Zayaa, that I think is fantastic.  I hope it helps give you more of a sense of what it’s like out here.

 

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