The Letter to the ...

Ephesians is an amazing book.  It has a lot of sweet stuff in it, but a lot of tough stuff, too.  Some is complex.  I suspect that what seems simple has complexity in it, even if we don't see it. 

Did you know that there is debate about who the letter is written to?  That is not obvious since the very first verse says it is to the saints in Ephesus, faithful in Christ Jesus.  Our English versions  say that.  Many old manuscripts say that, but some just say to the saints, faithful in Christ.  If it is to the Ephesians, it is uncharacteristically devoid of any mention of the people there or reflection on the years that Paul spent with them.  Maybe it was intended to be circulated to a lot of churches.  That is what is happening with it now, anyway.

That is curious, but may not matter much to us.  There are other questions that might matter more.  Does Paul really believe in predestination?  There it is, right in the first chapter, mentioned explicitly, twice.  Oh wow.  What are we going to do with that?

Do you wonder?

Have you ever wondered what nature's most perfect food might be? 

I don't know.  But I would have to say that sausage balls are near the top of my list.  We are going to bring some tomorrow.  I don't know if there will be enough for everyone to get all they want.  Don't get there late.

Have you ever wondered how infinite the world is? 

I don't know that either, for certain.  I do have some thoughts.  They include an idea that God's reality may be more infinite than ours. 

Wait a mintue - does it make sense to say more infinite?  Isn't there just finite, and then infinite, and nothing beyond that?  Not exactly.  We will talk about it in class. 

See you there.

Get to know...

Nathan Carter: Born and raised in East Tennessee. I went to UT, and became a believer in college. Thanks God....and Campus Crusade! In 2000, I married my high school/college sweetheart. Thanks Christin! I have been a real-estate appraiser since I graduated, and since 2008 I've worked for myself. Christin and I lived in China for a couple of years. We drove a scooter and ate shameful meals that are illegal here. Living there was crazy awesome. Coming back was the hardest, and weirdest, thing I've ever done. You try it. We're adding a baby boy to the mix. I'm pumped.

Hidden Talent(s): Seeing Deer. I see 10 times more deer at random than the average person.

I know nothing about: XBOX. Guitar Hero not included.

Once lived in: Yellowstone. I got lost for three days in the Tetons without food, but I saw lots of deer.

Don't want to live without: My Blackberry/XM radio. Invention is the mother of necessity.

Absolutely won't eat: Slaw, duh.

Nickname(s): Nate, NateDog

Favorite song to sing in the car when I'm alone: Umbrella by Rihanna....don't tell anyone.

Pet Peeve: Weaving cars on the interstate. I love to hate them.

Best recently read books: Vonnegut entertains me.

Color Apple should make an iPod: Baby Blue for baby gifts.

Favorite aroma: All Christmas smells.
Least favorite aroma: My dog's 'puffs'.

Respect

Sunday was a great day.  Day 1 for The Road.  I had been looking forward to it, and wondering if anyone would be there.  There were people there!  That's cool.
There were 58 people there!  That's respectable.
We were crowded.  Next Sunday we will probably be in the room next door to where we were.  It has more of those cushy chairs in it.  That is better than the folding metal chairs we had to bring in on Sunday. 
Thanks for coming to check out The Road.  Hope you will be back.

Get to know somebody else

Anna Grier:  I moved to Tennessee in 2008 and knew right away this was home! I live in Maryville and love seeing the Smoky Mountains. I work for UT in the English Language Institute doing their bookkeeping and accounting. I love to be outside, travel, sports, singing, watching movies, playing the piano, & spending time with friends! I am excited about being involved in ministry at my church and can't wait to meet the people who come to The Road!!!

Once lived in: Oak Brook, IL (just outside of Chicago)

Don't want to live without: The gift of Sight (God's creation is so beautiful)

Absolutely won't eat: Durian (stinky fruit in Southeast Asia, once was enough)

Favorite song to sing in the car when I'm alone: Hard to pick only one, but my favorite song is "Lord, You're Holy"

Pet Peeve: Drivers not using their Turn Signals

Counting down

There is a good bit of activity right now, in a lot of places and for a lot of people.  It is not just me.  This is a busy time. 
If you were still in college, you would have just moved back to campus and barely have started classes.  The load would not be too heavy yet, but ramping up in that direction.
But you are not still in college.  If you just moved, it is likely to be for a job, which you might stay in for a long time, and from which most people don't get summers off.  If you are in school, it is grad school, which doesn't need to ramp up, because it never slows down, and from which most people don't get summers off.  That has something to do with that thing people say too often - "Welcome to the real world."
On Sunday, I want to spend a little time on that concept - the real world.  Did your world suddenly get more real after college? 
Sunday!  That is this Sunday.  It is about here.  Counting down....

Get to know somebody

David Harkins, born in Nashville, but do not remember living there. My family moved when I was two years old. Saved at age six, living in Texas, while my dad went to seminary and pastored a small church. Parents became missionaries to Korea. We moved there when I was eight. I stayed there until I finished high school. Went to Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, near where my parents came from, which is Union, SC. Visited Union often while in college, staying with family. Met Cheri there. We were married after college and lived in Greenville. Moved here to go to graduate school at UT. Thought we would move back after that, but have not yet. This Tennessee thing might work out.

Hidden Talent(s): inventing knots and various tangles
I know nothing about: Buckling swash
Once lived in: Wyatts Grove, not too far from China Grove, but not the one in the Lone Star State. If you are there, you are probably lost. When you ask for directions, remember that they pronounce it “Wites Grove”
Don't want to live without: blue jeans, warm showers
Absolutely won't eat: don’t know yet
Nickname(s): don’t go there
Favorite song to sing in the car when I'm alone: It is situational – sometimes “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road”.
Pet Peeve: Less than half a cup of coffee in the pot, scorching on the burner. Go ahead, pour it out and make a new pot. I will do what I can to help drink it.
Best recently read books: Radical, by David Platt. It is. We should be.
The Shack. I especially like the part about wisdom and judgment.
Color Apple should make an iPod: ONE campaign Red
Favorite aroma: wind on a stormy beach
Least favorite aroma: roofing tar, paper mills, dead skunks in the middle of the road

The "Group W" bench

Do you know Alice's Restaurant?  It is an old song,by Arlo Guthrie, which tells a story.  If you have not heard it, and you have about 20 minutes, you can find it on YouTube.  It is a long song that tells a long story.  In one of its parts the singer talks about trying to join the army.  He is told to wait, and sit on the "Group W" bench.  That is because he has a criminal record.  His crime?  Littering.  Because he has that on his record, perhaps he is not suitable for the army, not moral enough to kill people.  So he waits, along with all the other people who have criminal records.  He feels out of place, especially when asked what his crime was.  "Littering."  People move away from him on the bench, until he adds "and creating a nuisance."  Then they move back and all talk together about their lives of crime.

Wow.  Where did that come from, and what does it have to do with anything?

I am still reading Acts these days.  The story of Philip was in chapter 8.  Chapter 16 tells about Paul and Silas and their criminal record.  Their crime?  Casting a demon out of a slave girl.  It landed them in jail, along with other prisoners charged with all sorts of crimes.  They were sitting on something like the "Group W" bench: they had their feet in stocks.  At midnight, they were still there.  They sang and praised God.  Why?  The text does not give reasons, but they were doing what they usually did.  They praised God because that is the kind of people they were.  They did it because they were the same wherever they were.  They were where they were, because of what the world thought of what they had done.  Waiting, on the "Group W" bench, not allowed to serve. 

Then God showed up, in a big way, and everything changed.  The time spent waiting created an opportunity to see God work, and to see people come to know Him.  I don't like to wait.  I don't like it when the world's opinion of me or what I am doing says that I am not good enough.  But sometimes those things are the steps needed to create something I will love when it comes.

Philip - traveling man

Talked about Philip today.  He traveled several times in Acts 8.  The first time was north out of Jerusalem to Samaria.  He started preaching there, and the result changed the city to one filled with joy.  People getting right with God can get that way.  You could say the trip was very successful. 
It was not really Philip's idea to go to Samaria.  It seems he went because persecution started in Jerusalem.  Persecution is not what we hope for, but in this case it led to the spread of the gospel, and great joy in another city.  The persecution intended to shut down the church actually spread it. 
In the middle of great success in Samaria, Philip heard from God that he should leave, and head back south, past Jerusalem out the desert road toward Gaza.  How inefficient does that sound?  Why should he leave what he was in the middle of doing in Samaria, to stand by a desert road?  He did, because he heard from God.  Then there was this one man who came by... and was saved and baptized. 
Then Philip disappeared.  The Holy Spirit teleported him from one place to another.  Philip did not plan on going to where he ended up, but (poof!) he was there.  He kept on doing what he had been doing.  He preached the gospel, and people responded.  Working his way through several towns, he settled in Caesarea.  He is mentioned again in Acts 21, as "Philip the evangelist" living in Caesarea.


We may be moved from one place or position to another at times, in God's plan.  If were to choose, I think I would like to try out the Holy Spirit teleportation thing.  I have not had that choice so far.  If not that, then the best I can do is pay attention to His Spirit and go when He says to.  
There may be times when I find myself in places I had no plan or expectation to be.  If so, perhaps the best I can do then is to continue what I had been doing before, in God's plan.

Like it

I met with A. Langston today, talking about several things.  The Road was on the list, and we were both glad about the idea of a class for people not in college any more.  I am way out of that age range, and even have children who fit it.  I could be the dad of the people who will be in there, but I am not.  Maybe that is a good thing.  We can be good for each other.

Getting Ready

Today was basically the first day we said it out loud.  Cheri and I will be leading a new class in a few weeks.  The people in there (hopefully) will be right out of college, either going to grad school or into their first job.  I expect they will be sharp, and will not want to waste time.  We will work at coming in with something to say, and being ready to hear.