andrew dodson

Today, I spent a second Saturday in a row in Lexington.  The purpose today was to take back the couch I originally bought last weekend, since it didn’t fit up the elevator or stairs at the new apartment.  While reading my receipt, I read the dreaded words “no refunds.”  I figured I had a pretty good case and they might take it back - especially since it was still in it’s wrapping & padding.  No dice.

I still need a chest for my bedroom, so I was hoping they’d have one of equal value to the couch.  There were a few options that were good, but they were either out of stock for six weeks, or had issues such as drawers not opening easily (is it bad when the salesman suggests using a bar of soap to make their product work?).  I settled on a recliner.  Since I couldn’t fit the full size couch and had to get a love seat instead, I figured I could use the extra seating for when I have company.  In one way, I’m glad to have the extra seating and a nice recliner, but in another sense, I’m bummed that I had to end up getting something I didn’t technically need - all because the store wouldn’t give me a refund.  Oh well… and so it goes…

Luke 6:46-49 Listen

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

1. What is the will of God (in this passage)?

The will of God in this passage is to obey His teaching; Do what He tells us; Listen & obey.

2. In light of God’s will, what is He like?

He is our solid foundation for everything in life; He is trustworthy; If we obey His words, when the flood arises, our house will stand; He has our best interest at heart and desires to take care of us.

3. What are practical ways we can apply God’s will?

Build a solid relationship with Him through regular Bible study, prayer, worship & fellowship; Make our decisions in life based on Scripture.

4. What are practical ways we blow obeying God? 

Jeremy used the example of a weatherman - if the weatherman tells us it will be 20 degrees outside, and we wear shorts, we have completely disregarded the information we’ve been given.  Similar to this, the Bible instructs us on how to live our life.  If we ignore what we are taught by God’s Word, we are like the person wearing shorts in 20 degree weather.  The fact of the matter is, we blow it every day as Christians.  Similarly, we rely on sources other than the Bible for our foundation - Dr. Phil & Oprah to give an example.  The subtitle of the Bible should be “The Christian’s Guide to Life,” and sometimes we simply don’t rely on its teachings.  As verse 49 tells us, our life then becomes a mess without this solid foundation.

5.  What thoughts are revealed by our actions?

Sin is doubt; We doubt that God will provide for our desires, so we act in sin to obtain our desires; Sin is pride; We feel we can be our own god and handle our own issues without turning to God for help.

6.  What beliefs about God are revealed by these actions?

Our beliefs are revealed by our actions; As Christians, we should strive to act out the teachings of the Bible to reveal our belief in God and our faith to others; A lot of times, Christians blend into a lost culture because their actions are steeped in sin - we don’t look any different than a lost person; We have been made holy, however - set apart - and our actions should show it; Be in the world, but not of the world.

7.  How are you doing in this area?

Obeying God is what the process of sanctification is all about; Daily we should strive to become less like ourselves and more like Christ; The Christian life can sometimes be a roller coaster ride with ups and downs - feeling close to God and walking closely with Him one day versus feeling apart from God the next; Our goal should be to smooth out the ups and downs to live in close harmony with Him; Continue to build a solid foundation so that when the flood arises, our house will stand and not crumble.

My Point Community Group meets tonight.  At The Point, the PCGs serve as our “Sunday School,” except they happen in people’s homes throughout the week.  The curriculum is built around the Delta Model.  We take the Scripture text from the previous Sunday’s sermon and dig into it deeper by asking seven questions about that text.  The neat thing about this model is the questions never change, but the material does.  We always ask the same seven questions, but the text changes from week-to-week.

As part of this, I plan on posting a wrap-up each week after my PCG.  My hope is that it will enable you - the faithful blog reader - to have a Bible study of your own while reading this blog.  I’ll post the sermon text, the seven questions and a wrap-up of the group’s answers.  The plan will be to have this on my blog within an hour after my PCG meets on Thursday evenings.

If you’re interested in joining a PCG, please see the Living On Point website.

Thanks to some borrowed internet from a couple of floors below my apartment, I thought I’d celebrate with some random blogging (thanks Jeremy!):

Giants Win Super Bowl

No, this isn’t a news flash.  I’m a couple of days late on congratulating the Giants on their Super Bowl win.  I did want the Patriots to win.  After all, how many times will we get an opportunity to see a team go undefeated in the NFL?  It’s only happened once, so it’s not an easy feat.  But, Eli played great, the Giants defense played great, and they made plays when they needed to make them.  It is cool to see a Manning win the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons.  I venture to say they may be playing each other in next year’s Super Bowl.  Finally, I thought it was a pretty punk move for Bill Belichick to walk off the field before the game was over.

New Apartment

I’ve settled into the new apartment, at long last.  My new love seat arrived today, so I finally have a place for people to sit!  I’m still debating on getting another chair, but for now, it’ll have to wait.  Next on the list is a dresser.  I’ve got my eye on one at Another Man’s Treasure.  I just hope it’s still there when I go back in a couple of weeks.  My old roommate certainly rubbed off on me.  His sense of style is pretty good for a bachelor.  I’ve found myself thinking like him while picking out stuff for the apartment.  No more hodge-podge of stuff that doesn’t match.  I want this place to look good!  Once I get settled in a bit more, I’ll take some pictures and post them.

 Current Reading

I’ve yet to start a book for February.  With the move, life’s been a little hectic.  I’ve kept up with my daily Scripture reading (barely), but that’s all I’ve had time to read each day.  Next on the list will be one of the following:  When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper, Faith in Future Grace by John Piper (re-read), or The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges.

There are times when I reflect back on the good old days. The times I spent trying to figure out DOS & Windows 3.11. The countless freezes and reboots from a PC with 32MB of RAM, made by a company that has been non-existent for years (Packard Bell). Ah, yes, those were the days. Now, I’ve stepped over to the Mac world and have no regrets. For all of you PC-users out there, I wanted to post this blurb that gives evidence to the like-ability of Macs.

This comes from Mars Hill Church’s Codex blog:

At Mars Hill we’ve been running with Dell and Apple hardware since I started on Staff. I made a change shortly after I began work here to allow people to purchase either Dell or Apple if they had a preference. Previous to that time the Apple hardware was for the most part limited to the domain of the Worship & Productions departments. Before providing that choice our desktop environment was running about 90% Dell and about 10% Apple with the Apple people almost entirely working in creative departments. 2 years later, we are approaching 60% Dell and 40% Apple. The most intriguing part of this has been the “switchers” the people who are transitioning from Dell to Apple.

How many users have we switched? Around 10 - 12 people depending on how you decide who represents a true switcher. Not huge numbers in a microcosm of nearly 100 staff. Some of you doing the math at home you are wondering how I arrived at 60/40 when so few have made the change to Apple. We’ve been hiring a number of people recently who haven’t switched but just chose to start work as Apple users displacing the percentage of windows users. How many have switched back to Dell/Windows? Zero. Our user base is changing and the culture of computing with it.

If you’re in the market for a new computer, please check out Apple. It’s well worth the look, in my opinion.

This prayer was in the Sojourn bulletin when I attended a couple of weeks ago:

O Lord, how trivial are my aspirations and desires.  I pursue the amusements and toys and carnality of the modern world, while the higher longings of my soul weaken from neglect.  What do I need to remove from my life, in order to throw myself without reserve or impediment into the great cause of the gospel?  This is my brief moment in history.  I do not have forever.  Now is my time to speak to my generation.  Purify my heart, Lord.  Energize my desires.  Open my eyes.  Compel me with my personal responsibility to serve the interests of the gospel in the world today.  O Lord, let me spend my life for you, disregarding all risks, accepting all consequences.  Let the power of the gospel so grip me that I act upon it, come what may.  let me recover the power to live and to die for my faith.  In the holy name of Christ.  Amen.

- From A Passion for God, by Ray Ortlund

The moving process is underway.  I finally signed the lease on my new apartment yesterday, and was given the keys.  I took a load of stuff down there last night, then headed back home to finish packing.  My roommate is allowing me the use of his equipment van, which is a big help.  I’ve loaded all of my furniture into it, and I’ll load up my mattresses this afternoon.  I’ll probably still have a load for my CRV (clothes, electronic stuff, etc.), but then I’ll be ready to move.  Tonight, I’ll stay at the new apartment for the first time.

Blogging might be difficult next week.  I won’t have internet at the new apartment until the 13th.  I’ve lined up a few draft posts that I’ll post one-at-a-time starting on Monday.  That should buy me a little more time until I can have internet at the apartment.

The Georgetown Tigers men’s basketball team is 22-0 as of this post.  Last night, they survived an overtime battle with Pikeville, 87-79.  They are now 2-0 in MSC games.  Go Tigers!