From Blog to Blog

I mentioned before that our church started a bible reading plan. Actually, my buddy John Rinehart wrote the reading bible. He also came up with the idea of start a community blog, which we contribute on thoughts on what God is saying to us through His word. This way, we would hope to inspire others to continue to read the Word of God whether they follow the Reading Plan or simply read the bible on their own.

After taking a look at the roster of the blog - I must say that I feel honored to be among such great people who think well and articulate their thoughts even better. I would hope that this would help me in my personal bible reading and I grow along with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

For the few of you who follow this blog, I will continue to write about life and all the fun that it brings. For those of you who would like to follow our thoughts on the Word of God here is the link:
http://itsallgrace.wordpress.com/

I've been blessed already since the blog has launched and I hope that others will be also. I am truly blessed with an amazing Body of Christ. It's both humbling and inspiring to see the people I attend church with grow in Christ. For we all play a role in each other's sanctification.

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:11-16

2010 in Review

I'm sitting in a useless education class and thought to myself, "Hey, it's a good time to reflect on the year that just pasted" (okay, it's not completely useless but it's close). Last year was a great year. It's a good idea to keep track of the simply progression of life. So here are some snap shots of 2010 gone by:

Sadly, I lost a friend, Emily Haager, to Cystic Fibrosis and the wonderful example of a Christ-centered life she lived was inspiring and I never want to forget that.

I also lost my grandma and my aunt within a week of each other. Both were Christians and the hope that God gives us through Jesus Christ is unquestioned when dealing with death. Death is not someone should ever get use to.

Unexpectedly, I gained another dog, which was against my will.

Expectedly, we did buy a house. Expectedly only because we were looking for an entire year. It's been wonderful to have your own place. And spending life with the best wife in the world has also been a blessing.

I also taught summer school, which turned out to be a life-changing moment.

And I can't go without mentioning my Lakers winning back-to-back championship!!! All in all, a great year.

Most importantly, I believe that I've mature as a person and as a Christian. There is certainly room for growth (and they'll always be this side of heaven) but the overall progress has been enjoyable even though it comes with it's pains but I believe that's how it's suppose to work.

Well, lets hope for another great year and a 3-peat.

2nd Anniversary

What can I say about my marriage that I haven’t already said? I answered the question, “How’s the married life?” when I first got married. There was a time when I thought I would never get married and now I’ll be celebrating my 2nd year with my beautiful wife. Over those two years, I have noticed that my conversations with my friends have changed from abstract theology that involved questions like, “What do you think the Apostle Paul meant when he said ‘fill in the blank’” to “How’s your marriage?” and “How come our wives don’t think we’re funny?” It’s just a product of the ever-changing life-stage.

For example, the other day the wife and I were shopping for furniture at Living Spaces and I called my buddy Jared to ask for some suggestions because he just bought some furniture too. When I called him I told him, “Hey I’m at Living Spaces, how much did you get that rug for?” He replied, “You’re at Living Spaces? I’m at IKEA!” Both of us laughed because we’re apparently on the same life track.

I use to think practical conservations were boring. But the wife has put practicality into perspective. I still enjoy trying to understand the sovereignty of God to the best of my ability, but now, to truly see it lived out everyday of my life as I enter different life stages, I begin to see the fingerprints of God all over. I couldn’t have scripted my life the way it has turned out so far. One of those God-scripted aspects of my life is my marriage to the wife I absolutely needed.

My marriage genuinely feels like teamwork, partners simply “doing life together.” Her strengths complement my weaknesses and vice versa. Life would just be miserable without her on so many levels. Sure there are times when I wish I could “go it alone.” Like the time I was going through the drive through at In-N-Out Burgers. I was hoping to get to the speaker and place my order before she had a chance to ask me what I was going to order because I wanted a 3x3 (three beef patties in one burger) and knew she wouldn’t allow it. The line was long (like always) so she asked me what I was going to order. I kept it vague, “A burger.” She knows the trick so she starts asking for specifics, “Which burger?” The line clearly was not moving fast enough. I sadly confessed, “A 3x3 combo.” She replied, “That’s not on the menu. That’s NOT THREE BEFF PATTIES in one burger, is it?” You could probably guess what happened the rest of the way. She talked me out of getting one and I settled for a double-double combo and she barely gave me that.

However, if I were left to myself to determine my eating habits I would have a heart attack at age 35. Without the wife, I would probably have cable TV with NBA League Pass and watch basketball all night and every night because what else would I be doing? Instead, she helps me become a productive person and encourages me in her example of godliness and living a quiet and sound life. You won’t believe this but I don’t like being “quiet” and being sound feels down right boring. However, I’ve learned to enjoy the “quiet life,” but only because I enjoy it with the best and most beautiful wife in the world.

Another component about marriage is the wife fully understanding and loving the entirety of her man. What I mean when I say “entirety” is all of the personality quirks that come with the man. Even if a person is godly and attractive that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to enjoy them as a spouse. I know a few godly and attractive people who drive me up the wall. Of course I probably drive lots of other people up the wall, too, so lets move on. My point is that the wife loves every little aspect of me that may go unnoticed by most people or aspects that would normally drive others crazy. For instance, our church has doughnuts and coffee for people after 1st service. I enjoy the coconut doughnut, but this particular Sunday they either ran out or didn’t pick any up. I faithfully tithe to the church and I would appreciate if they picked up a couple more so that they don’t run short next time. Anyway, since they were out of the coconut doughnut I had the tough decision between the sprinkle or crumb doughnuts. I spent a while hovering over the doughnut box like I was doing neurosurgery, intently analyzing doughnuts and weighing the pros and cons of each selection. I finally went with the crumb doughnut.

Immediately after the selection process came to an end, I looked up and there she was looking at me and giggling. I asked, “Are you mocking me?” She kindly replied, “No, I just love how you put so much thought into picking a doughnut. I love every part of you” while affectionately kissing me on the cheek. “Well, it wouldn’t have been hard if they had the coconut.” I thought to myself.

Yes, she “loves every part of me” and shows me that everyday. I don’t think there’s another woman on this plant that would tolerate my non-sense. It is only by God’s grace that I have such a wonderful wife. I don’t deserve her but she makes me want to become the man who is worthy of such a precious gift.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, honey. I love you.

Dwight Howard interview by The Post Game

Today thepostgame.com released an interview with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. When asked about his Christianity he didn't shy away from the topic but mentions Christ by name. I thought this was interesting and I pray that the Lord would continue to use him to influence lives in a God-pleasing manner (and that he would sign with the Lakers in the summer of 2012).

ThePostGame.com: When you were entering the NBA you said you wanted to be vocal about Christianity, but you haven’t been that vocal publically? Did you want to be more private and how do you feel now?

Howard: “It’s not hard. I’m a Christian and I’m always going to be one. I represent Christ wherever I go. I think the whole thing about being a Christian, I think people made it seem like I was trying to change the whole NBA by myself. But my job is not to change the NBA. It’s the people that watch the NBA, the fans around, the people that look up to basketball to be role models. We all make mistakes and that’s one thing I try to let kids know, teens know and everyone we come across. Hey, we make mistakes. Learn from the mistake and try to move on. Being a Christian, I know that everything I do is being magnified and put on a whole different level. It hasn’t stopped me one bit for living my life and I’m grateful for where I am as a person. I understand that I represent God. Everything I do is for him. I’m not ashamed for that. I’m a Christian and always a Christian. That’s never going to change. I’m not worried about what everybody says about it. I’m just going to remain the same person I am.”

To read the whole interview click here.

We Are All Witnesses

No I’m not talking about Lebron James. I think there’s been plenty written about him already, don’t you? I’m talking about being a Christian. And being a Christian means “We are all witnesses” to Jesus’ life and ministry.

I’ve often heard it said that, as Christians, “We are not commended to witness but to be a witness.” Really? Didn’t Jesus command, “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” (Matt 28:19-20) and that making disciples involves witnessing (sharing the gospel) with people?

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel. And if necessary use words.” I can appreciate the phrase and it’s emphasis on having Christian character. But if we end with simply having good character, then that’s not the whole gospel. Besides, St. Francis spent most of his time as the Dr. Dolittle of his age tending to his animals frequently.

It’s like our other champion slogan, “Christianity isn’t a religion but a relationship.” But didn’t Jesus do religious things like pray regularly and attend the synagogue weekly? I’m not saying Christianity is not a relationship with your Creator. It’s just both a relationship and a religion. In the same way that we are not simply to be witnesses but we are also to witness.

So we can emphasize the importance of personal character, which is a must, but we can also overemphasize it to the point that we never say anything about God in fear of not “being a good witness” because we feel we’re not perfect. This mentality is doomed for failure, much like “Country Strong" coming out this weekend. Jesus picked imperfect people to disciple and sent out imperfect people to make disciples. I think it’s okay if we’re not perfect.

For example, the other night I was playing basketball at the local gym like I have for several years now. I’ve been able to build pretty good relationships with non-believers throughout that time. It was my only access to non-believers during my Biola days.

Ray is one of the guys I have met at the gym. Ray is one of the best players I’ve played against. He’s a beast and one of the toughest guys to guard because of his strength and speed. We battle all the time and it’s fun. We text each other throughout the week making sure we’ll be at the gym. People there know I’m a Christian, and that I went to Biola University. No, my conduct on the basketball court may not show proper Christian character all the time but I’m working on it (it’s the Kobe-edge-cut-throat mentality). Interestingly, Ray “randomly” (I have randomly in quotes because it’s never random) broached the subject of God after we were finished playing one night. Everyone had left and we were just talking about life. He brought up the fact that he became a Christian as a teenager but still made mistakes along the way (join the club) but his church condemned him for the mistakes instead of encouraging him and pointing him in the right direction. He was a young man trying to find his way and willing to repent. The church he was attending, however, didn’t offer him much in the way of grace. He became bitter and eventually walked away from the Lord. Recently, however, he’s been having bad dreams, frightening dreams that have forced this rigid tough guy to his knees in prayer.

I told him that God is after his heart. He said, “I think demons are after me.” I replied, “God allows that sometimes for the greater good. In this case, the greater good is you coming back into the fold. You need to find a Bible-teaching church with good leadership. Forget about those bad experiences in the past. It’s time for a new beginning and God will give that to you in a moment if you’re willing to receive it.” As Ray stood for a second in silent contemplation, he nodded his head in agreement and said, “Yeah, I think I am.” I asked if I could pray for him on the spot. He said, “I would like that.” So a couple of guys who have battled throughout the years in countless basketball games in a public gym decided to pray. Yes, we are all witnesses.

The Tower & The Call

In seminary, when studying a particular passage, you’re taught to look at the passage that comes before and/or after to help you with the context of the passage in question. As we start the year reading through the Bible, I ran across Genesis 11 and 12. I’ve read these chapters before several times but I’ve never really put them together. Maybe it’s the genealogy at the end of chapter 11 that throws me off but John Piper pointed out the connection.

As you recall Genesis 11 is talking about The Tower of Babel where man came up with the idea to build a tower to reach the heavens. (Only men would come up with this idea. This reminds me of the Lunar Rover. Who comes up with the idea and says, “Hey guys, lets spend billlllllllllions of dollars and build a spaceship to fly to the moon so we could drive around on a piece of rock.” But if there are really Transformers there, I’ll recant the previous statement.) The people in Genesis 11 were motivated by self-recognition. In verse 4, the men said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (NIV). The Lord of course doesn’t allow this to happen and He comes down and confuses their language so they don’t understand each other and end up scattered anyway.

The very next chapter (12) is The Call of Abram and the covenant promise that Abram will be a great nation. Most of the times when I have heard this passage preached, it has been isolated from chapter 11. Look at the contrast between the motivation of the men in Genesis 11, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (v. 4) and the promise of God in chapter 12:2-3:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; 
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Notice the repetition of the “I will(s)” from the Lord. It’s not by accident that this promise was made immediately following The Tower of Babel account where man wanted to “make a name for themselves.” The Lord was making it clear to Abram that he would be great but only by His grace and sovereign power so that the Lord alone will receive the credit.

What is Abram’s role in all of this? The Lord commanded Abram in 12:1, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (NIV). Abram’s role was obedience. The Lord said, “leave” so Abram left. That’s pretty simple and I like simple.

Lets recap:

Obedience = Blessing, direction, and greatness/purpose

Seeking one’s own glory = confusion, scattered (no direction), stopped building the tower/city (shame/purposeless)

I think I’ll take door number one.

New Year, Same Book

It’s the start of a new year symbolizing the start to a new beginning. My church a few years ago started a Bible reading program that would get you to read 55% of the Bible in a year. Guess what? We’re doing it again. My buddy John Rinehart actually wrote out the program for the year so I feel somewhat obligated to follow it.

My initial thought was, “I’ve read the entire Bible several times on my own, why do I need a program to do it this time?” Furthermore, I tend to be a reflective guy and don’t simply want to burn through books of the Bible to meet a deadline. I would rather take a year in one book in the Bible and have it impact me the way Romans impacted Martin Luther, who started the Reformation, instead of reading the entire Bible and have it impact me like Dan Brown, who wrote The Da Vinci Code.

In addition to the church program, my buddy Dom started a facebook page called, “The Bible In A Year.” The page is about . . . wait for it . . . reading the Bible in a year! Dom’s been posting his thoughts on the passages he’s been reading and inviting others to share in the process. My thought was, “I’ve been journaling for years now as a Christian but I’ve never asked to read anyone else’s journal, so why would anyone else care about what I think?”

Now here’s my counter argument to myself (and yes, I’m arguing with myself). It’s been a while since I’ve read the Bible straight through, and it’s about time I do it again. Furthermore, what better time to do it than at the beginning of the year along with your church? As Christians, we are called to be a body, a community for each other where we value one another lives and opinions. Each of us play a critical role for each other to be able to function properly the way God intended, namely, a family of believers.

So why not start a facebook page to help each other read the Bible as a community and use society media for God’s glory? Every time you log on you’ll be reminded to open the Word of God if you haven’t already and if you have, do it again. I’ll attempt to write my thoughts throughout the year in particular passages that I find personally edifying to my soul. I have no doubt I will also find the thoughts of other fellow believers to be edifying as well. Count me in on the reading program and committing to it for the entire year (I have a feeling I might have to pull a couple of all-nighters like back in college). So I’m boarding The Voyage of the Dawn Jammer (the name Dawn Jammer still cracks me up) to start the journey through the Bible and see what the Lord does and where we end up. Hey, I’m actually feeling pretty excited about this! Crazy.

Holiday Cheer 2010

I know that I’m late with this blog but since I was early last year, I’ll go ahead and cut myself some slack. In 2008, I was treated to my first full-Christmas experience. As the tradition continues this is how things played out this year.

As usual, Christmas morning starts off with some breakfast with the family (at the in-laws). As half of us walk around half asleep and not saying much to anyone (think me and Jon) we patiently await the arrival of other family members doing other things. We were blessed to have Farakh and Rebecca Zaman join us this year. Rebecca is the sister of Rachel Davis – the wife of Alan Davis – a brother of the wife – did you get all that? Furthermore, Alan and Rachel were able to stay the week along with Eric and Liz – Liz is the cousin of Allie Davis – the wife of PJ Davis – a brother of Eric Davis – who are the brothers of the wife – did you get all that? Good. I’m glad we’re all tracking. Allie was also able to make it (all the way from Guam, no less). PJ was helplessly stuck with the kids ordering pizza every night. Do they have pizza in Guam? Apparently. PJ felt left out but no one cared.

Before I start too far in with Christmas morning, however, let me begin with Christmas Eve. Rachel has been a great addition to the family, almost as great as me. And with additions to the family there are also additions of traditions. Rachel came up with the idea of making gingerbread houses the night before Christmas. Great call. We all gathered around the dining room table and started our craft. It was surprisingly pretty fun. The wife and I tagged-teamed and built Staples Center (of course). Becky built a World War II foxhole, clearly symbolizing her feistiness. Alan built a hut straight out of Gilligan’s Island to match his “no worries” attitude. Rachel built the White House, interestingly with red doors. Clearly, Rachel likes being the boss. Jon built a romantic scene, a bench overlooking a river flowing under a lovely pathway. I think he’s lonely. Farakh and Rebecca tag-teamed and built a house with a smoking chimney (using dry ice) and Christmas lights – overachievers. Rachel declared herself the winner but that’s up for debate. Good times all around (except for PJ who was upset that we started this tradition the year he left). I have no doubts that next year it’ll be even bigger.




Shortly after the gingerbread bash we went quietly back to our place. The wife had half my Christmas gift for me ready to be opened at home. Without much thought, I went ahead and opened it. It was a beautiful framed picture of my mom with the eulogy I wrote as well. I wept. It’s been about three years since my mom’s passing and it’s still difficult to see pictures of her. It reminds me how beautiful she was and that I no longer have her around. It’s especially difficult during the holidays. We’ll put the picture in the family room for all to see, so that everyone could remember what an amazing woman she was.

The other half of the wife’s gift was some clothes and a lot of socks. She knows that I won’t buy clothes for myself so she takes any opportunity to buy me some new stuff. She also notices that I have holes in just about every pair of socks I currently have except my dress socks. I tell her the trick is to know how to hide the holes. She wasn’t having it, so she bought me some new socks and will be throwing away my perfectly good “holy” socks.

As for the wife’s gift, I got her furniture. I can hear some people now telling me how lame that is because “we both use the furniture so it can’t really be a gift,” just like the way people point out that “you can’t say you bought your wife a house because you live in it too.” Since when does something qualify as a “gift” if only one person uses it? Besides, I bought myself a reclining chair for reading, napping, and doing nothing. I bought her a counter table, four counter stools, a dresser for the bedroom, and a coffee table none of which I’ll be using. So there, take THAT!

Moreover, I’ve never been furniture shopping so you could imagine my surprise with the prices. I walked into Living Spaces and nearly had a heart attack. I thought it was some terrible joke. Immediately, I asked a salesmen “What are those sofas made out of? Cocaine?” I won’t tell you how much I spent because I don’t want to relive the nightmare but lets just say that it was more than socks. Lets move on.

On Christmas morning we begin with the usual Davis tradition of the youngest to the oldest person opening up the gifts. It’s truly a delight to give to others and watching the joy that thoughtful gifts bring to the ones you love. I’ve already mentioned how my perspective of the Holiday Season has changed throughout the years and it’s still continuing to transform, thanks to a great family and an Awesome God. We even got the in-laws additional gifts this year. For the mother-in-law (aka the mother-in-law) we got her some Noel Piper books (John Piper’s wife) and for the father-in-law (aka The Chief) we got him audio sermons by John Piper (aka Johnny Master P) on the entire book of Hebrews and Romans. I fully intend on borrowing them immediately. It was a great Christmas all around. Well, it was almost perfect – my Lakers for the second straight year rolled over to a Lebron James led team. I guess you can’t have everything, but at least I got some new socks.