Looking ahead

This is the Brad Zockoll favorite quote of the month:


If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

- C.S. Lewis

Blueprint Doulos

Attached are some pictures of some of the teens involved with the Blueprint Doulos project in years past. Years back I had created this program and we had 150 churches across the U.S. and into Canada. The Lord has directed me to re-establish this ministry across the United States and right now we are doing a test-run as I try to resurrect the program after more than a decade. The principle of Blueprint Doulos is that the young people in school and in youth groups are, as James 1:22 says, "doers and not just hearers of the Word." Strategy meetings, game teamwork, teaching, responsibilities and intensive Bible discussions are part of the maturation process of the student within the Blueprint Doulos (doulos is the Greek word for "servant") program. Teens learn to serve as well as lead. They are directed to straightforward lessons about the reality of Jesus Christ and the work of the Lord in this world. So far twenty-five churches and schools have signed up, reaching from California to Pennsylvania. Please pray; a group of churches in Nova Scotia is considering taking on this beta testing part of the program as we gear toward the fall.

Renovation

The Zockoll household is undergoing renovation. The whole front section of our main floor has been stripped down, repainted and repatched. We're into our third week of repair, and it's giivng me a feeling of living in a warehouse. Anywhere you talk you get echos. It'll be nice to get the furniture back in here. Tony Skinner's paint and wallpaper crew does a fantastic job. If you live in Knoxville, this is the man you need to see.

We pulled up some old carpet in the fireplace room and found beautiful wood flooring. After a cleanup, I now have a parquet floor. No extra carpet purchases - woo hoo! That's the skinflint side of me talking.
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This is from Bill Gordon's fine column at 4truth.net, a ministry of the North American Mission Board:

Philosophical objection:
"Why didn't God create free creatures that would not sin?"

Christian Response:
Those who raise this objection never provide a satisfactory answer as to how God could manipulate a free choice and at the same time keep the choice free. The Christian doctrine of God teaches that God is all-powerful. However, there are some things that even an all-powerful God cannot do.
For example, the Bible teaches that God cannot sin (see Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Heb. 6:18; Jas. 1:13). Christian theologians also argue that God cannot do anything that is nonsensical or self-contradictory.
When the skeptic asks why God didn't create a free creation that would not choose evil, he might as well ask why God didn't create square circles. Both questions are self-contradictory and nonsensical. A square is not a circle and a fixed will is not free.

Three wonders

“If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third -- the greatest wonder of all -- to find myself there.”

-JOHN WESLEY

True Friendships

Here is a picture of our front yard, including my pet project: the front flower garden. When we moved in, the bushes had been overgrown and a lot of the ornamental foliage had been inexplicably designed to actually block the passerby a look at the flowerbed. I spent the spring ripping out all the shrubs and laying out a whole new design of plants. I aimed for a Victorian style of splashes of color throughout the garden. I've now added a second garden across the yard. It's the Russian heritage of farming; man, I do love to get into the soil whenever I can.

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I think of some of the deepest friendships of my childhood. There was a great elementary school pal named Danny, who listened to my fantastic stories and superhero plans, encouraging me all the way. Then there was the Camp Mt. Lou San summer counselor "Uncle Marv", a former member of the Air Force who was a humble yet straightforward mentor to us impressionable ones. I also remember my teen years' spiritual mentor Eric, who helped me see the reality of Jesus and the joy of the Scripture. All of these - and many more - friends helped me see the true friendship that Jesus offers to everyone and anyone. Even in my stupidest moments - the time I was arrested for an act of graffiti, the time I cheated on my high school sweetheart, the time I lied to a string of friends in order to cover up an initial falsehood - these close friends stood by me and let me know that they would stay nearby. They didn't condone my stupidity, but even as they corrected me they showed that they were true companions. I think that is where I first saw Jesus as more than an icon; I saw Him as a friend.

" My love of you, O Lord, is not some vague feeling: it is positive and certain. Your word struck into my heart and from that moment I loved you. Besides this, all about me, heaven and earth and all that they contain proclaim that I should love you, and their message never ceases to sound in the ears of all mankind, so that there is no excuse for any not to love you. But, more than all this, you will show pity on those whom you pity; you will show mercy where you are merciful; for if it were not for your mercy, heaven and earth would cry your praises to deaf ears." - Augustine, "Confessions"

What I owe

I love the depth of Oswald Chambers' work. His insight, like CS Lewis, forces me to pause and reflect. Here are some of his words concerning the passage in Romans:

"I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians." Romans 1:14
"Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent himself to express it. The great inspiration in Paul's life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that sense of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul?"

Chambers' words strike deep. Have I been really absorbed in not only pleasing Christ but in reaching others for Him? I get caught up in my work in the sportswriting world and in the editing work I am doing for corporations, I tend to forget that there are plenty of people I can reach for Christ. Each day this summer is a new opportunity.

Right now I teach a summer series on Wednesday night to students. Have I asked questions about their souls? Have I showed them Jesus? I've been dealing with sports team owners around the country. Have I been the right witness? Have my words pointed to or away from Jesus?

I want to keep these thoughts forefront.