John B. Leaf

We pray this letter finds you well, at peace, and in the loving hands of our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

“…wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”                                                                         Matthew 2:1-2

As we close 2008, we are into our third year on this great adventure into full time ministry. We have met 100% of our financial needs thus far, but of course we have some interest in how the uncertain economy may affect us. Nonetheless we are grateful for the Lord’s blessings as our calling continues to be confirmed in multiple ways. It continues to be a time of change in the Leaf home; here are our thoughts on the year:

ZANE-(16) My brother and I are now Sophomores at The Classical Academy. This year has been full of activities. Yet again I was able to be in a youth church play at Village Seven, this time “Fiddler on the Roof”. It even surpassed our well made play of “Oliver” last year. It was great fun, and it is bitter sweet that it is over. I haven’t run out of things to do though. Wrestling has started and this year I will be wrestling at 135 lbs. I practiced hard this summer and my wrestling ability has increased; I am looking forward to putting my new skills to use in competition. We will see what the Lord has in store. God bless you and Happy New Year!

EOIN-(16) We are wrestling this year again and the season looks to be a good one. I will be wrestling at 140 lbs. and hope to do well. On that note, I ask that you pray I don’t get injured or sick again this year, as that area doesn’t look bright so far. I have an upper respiratory illness and the season just started. I also was involved in the “Fiddler on the Roof” play that the youth put on at our church. The play went well and we were told that we had blessed many people, fulfilling our goal. It was fantastic to be with friends and to make new ones. The experience was amazing and we hope to do it again next year. God bless you and have a Merry Christmas!

SHANAH-(14) As an 8^th grader this year, I have faced some difficulties with school work and friends. But the Lord has helped me through each turmoil and difficulty. Unlike my high school brothers, I am not wrestling. I hope to play basketball at TCA and to keep my grades up. I will be in our Jr. High church play “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” under the professional guidance of Mrs. Renee Davis. I have a lead role as “Imogene Herdman”. I pray that the Lord will allow me to continue to be a part of youth activities. May He bless you and keep you safe and may you have a fabulous New Year!!!

ANA-(40+) I continue to teach fourth grade at TCA. I have a high-energy group of students this year and some with special needs. As I teach my class each day, I am reminded of the privilege and burden it is to train up a child. My prayer is that I would have the strength to meet the day’s challenges. I am enjoying this stage of my life except for the fact that I need reading glasses. I am the family taxi cab driver and look forward to Zane and Eoin getting their licenses when they turn 17. I never thought I would say that! In the meantime, taking the kids to play practices, wrestling, basketball, choir, youth activities, and an occasional social function, life keeps me pretty busy and tired. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to counsel some single women about life and marriage, as well as working with John on some pre-marital counseling. Not sure exactly when I became a mentor, but I guess 23 years of marriage makes me one. Yet with the oncoming gray hairs and wrinkles, I am blessed to be a wife who is dearly loved by her husband; and have children who still, despite the fact that they are taller than me now, want to sit in my lap or cuddle for a big hug. “I love you Mom” is something I will never tire of hearing.

JOHN(40+)- Most of y’all are thinking the same thing, “How did another year go by?” My little girl isn’t little, the boys have driving permits, and Ana and I celebrated our 23^rd anniversary. The upside of this passage of time is; our love is stronger, the disagreements are fewer, and while I am not enjoying growing old, there is no one I would rather do it with than her.

This is the second of many years we will have three teenagers in the house. They have minds of their own, have a “labor attachment disorder” as they cannot do any work for more than a few moments at a time, and seem to have no idea what “pick up your stuff” actually means. Despite these typical teen behaviors, they are all still more than willing to hug mom and dad, play with babies, and receive compliments from people who do not live with them.

E/Z have turned a corner in wrestling. Zane placed 2^nd at Regionals and qualified for State as a freshman. Eoin, as mentioned, had an injury and some sickness that hobbled him last year, but things considered, did fine. After that they both asked to turn it up a notch; they wrestled freestyle and attended a couple camps, including the O.U. camp where head coach Jack Spates and son gave us the V.I.P. treatment (I had coached Jeremy at Norman High). I am coaching as an assistant with their team this year and we are enjoying the time together. They continue to sing/act in the church musical and this year they got just outside their comfort zone with speaking parts (they shy away from the spotlight like their mom).

Shanah is something else. Always full of energy she is singing, dancing, drawing or hooping (both basketball and hoola) 24-7. She plays the bad girl “Imogene Herdman” in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” She is playing the part too well- a significant source of concern- and she loves the spotlight (not sure why). Being in these musicals has been such a source of growth for all the kids involved as they learn that Christians need not abandon the arts, and are quite capable of producing excellence on stage.

I on the other hand am trying to keep up the energy. I am speaking at retreats, teaching Sunday school and Pioneer Club, working with the students at Queen Palmer, keeping up with my studies, and I will be in the Pulpit at V7 after Christmas - exciting and scary at once!

This year began very difficult for us as I lost my mother Betty Lou Leaf to brain cancer; she went home to Glory on January 17, 2008. Reflecting on her life has brought us many tears and great joy. I will especially treasure the times my mom and I stayed up at night talking and  laughing so hard our bellies hurt; and the many card games of Bridge we played with her friends; but dearest to my heart is the privilege I had to minister to her as she was dying. Her clear trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior resounds in my heart even now. It is with that great testimony that we find our hope this Christmas; may this hope be yours as well.                                                                              

The Leafs

This is a first attempt to add a new post to the website. Click the picture to see a larger view.

Thank you for supporting us in this ministry!!!

*We have just come to the end of the first year and are amazed to tell you that we received 100% of our financial need! Praise God!

*I feel the weight of your trust and have been intentional in my goal to be a good steward of that trust; with my time and talents and with your treasure.

*Our support raising goal will need to increase this year for various reasons including the second car (more expensive- but far more efficient) and older kids who are quite active. I would be pleased to give details of our financial plans to interested parties.

*Since about half of the support came as one time gifts, we will need your prayers and we will need to remain diligent in our fund raising. We trust that God will provide.

*I will be preaching Sunday August 26th at Covenant Pres. in Wheat Ridge, Co.

*The summer has been more hectic than the school year, but with lots of family time.

*The Leaf family spent 50 hrs in our new van in June and July, attending the PCA General Assembly in Memphis, Tenn. and visiting my family in Oklahoma between my Greek classes and Shay’s Ballet intensive. We had many wonderful conversations and all went well except for an encounter with a Kansas State Trooper.

*I played basketball in Memphis, where homelessness, drug deals and prostitution were obvious issues. Throw me in the briar patch. It was a great experience and I met a homeless guy that blessed me tremendously. Ask for the story if you have the time.

*We saw our foster son Loren (just turned 30!)and his wife Arlene in Tulsa, and they plan to visit here soon.

*My summer classes included third semester Greek and the Worship course taught by former V7 pastor Joseph Wheat. I was blessed to give him rides to class and was able to seek his councel on several issues. He was very much an encouragement to me and the direction the Lord is leading me in.

*We took a bus to the Queen Palmer neighborhood and picked up 30 kids for Vacation Bible School in July. It was a highly successful event in all ways, mostly because I got to play a pirate on stage. In addition to having numbers, we had relationships, the Gospel was preached, and one of my QP kids, nine year old Daryn, made a profession of faith.

*The Lord is at work in Daryn’s life and he came to church with us last Sunday! Pray for him as he has little Christian influence outside of his time with us at V7.

*Hey! I asked for your family photo and only a couple of folks complied. We want to have you in mind as well, so that we can pray for you; so send us your family photo.
Plus- we will look really cool if people know that we know you!

*Thank you for your prayers; we feel the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are so pleased with the calling God has laid out for us, and we thank you for coming alongside of us in this endeavor. We ask that you pray for us as we come to mind in the following ways:

• That I would be prepared to be used by God in the pulpit; it is a humbling and often intimidating experience to be called upon to preach the Word.
• That I would continue to be diligent in my studies and that I would learn all that God has planned for me.
• For the work at Queen Palmer this fall- that relationships would continue to be built and that lives would be changed as these young kids are involved with the people of God at V7 on Wednesday nights.
• That Christianity Explored would be used by God this fall in a mighty way.
• For wisdom in deciding which courses to take this fall.
• God’s continued provision for our financial needs during this time of ministry.
• God’s people faithfully continuing to lift us up in prayer.

All Blessings to you,

JBL

Hon’es-ty (on’), n. [from Latin, honestus, honorable]
1.    the quality of being honest (a) honorable (b) refraining from lying, cheating, or stealing; being truthful (c)sincerity (d) chastity

Honesty may well be the most important of all the virtues! Our view of truth and our adherence to it, impacts how every other virtue is manifested in our lives. A man without truth cannot be virtuous; he can only give the appearance of it.

Why is the truth so vital? Is it because God made it so? No, He did not make it so. Shocking? Let me explain. God created this world and could have created many things differently. He could have created a world in which the gravitational pull of cut wood fluctuates after dark. This would make getting out of a chair after dinner a more difficult task than after breakfast. But, God did not create truth or love! He did not decide that honesty was to be good, or that hate was to be bad. Love is good because God is love, and honesty is good because God is true.  In fact, He could not have made a world in which lying was a virtue! Truth is one of the attributes of God, it is what He is, and He can be no other. There is a truth to truth that cannot change. In John 18:37 we are told that the very reason Christ came into the world was to “testify to the truth” and in John 14:6 that He Himself is “… the way and the truth…” and of the Bible itself, “The sum of your Word is truth.” (Psalm 119:160)

The man who loves the Lord must therefore love the truth, and he will be an honest man. Our relationships should be glued together with honesty. One lie can damage a relationship for years, and a habit of dishonesty will destroy it. There may well be nothing more important in your relationships than the truth! Even in casual conversation we must speak with care for the truth. In James 5 we are told to let our yes be yes and our no be no. When we say yes to someone about anything there should be no doubt in their mind that we mean it and will follow through on it. A very simple matter of agreeing to meet someone should not be taken lightly, and only providential circumstances should keep you from it.

Honesty is being totally committed to the truth, in any variety of situations, no matter what it may cost, and it does cost. A person not committed to the truth will get away with stuff (I didn’t do it) and avoid difficult situations (My dog ate my homework) and get stuff he shouldn’t (yes, I dropped that money) and often they never get caught. The honorable man will face the consequences of his failures and will not seek unearned gain, the truth is more important than his personal comfort, because the truth honors God.

“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.”        Ephesians 4:25

All blessings to you,

JBL

God has given me no greater earthly blessing than this family. As you know, your mother is a Godly woman of great character, a tremendous blessing from the Lord. But perhaps of greater joy to me is to see all three of you wrestling with an understanding of God’s character and His attributes. You have always been interested in theology, since the very beginning. You asked nearly all the major theological questions by the time you were five; “How did God create himself?”, “Why did God put the tree where Adam and Eve could get to it?”, “If God is the strongest one there is, why did He let Satan take some of the angels down into the lake of fire with Him, and were the flames there already, or did God have to make them then?” Was it the environment in our home? Was it your curious personality? Or was it just a blessing from God? Of course it was all three.

You are older now, and at fourteen and twelve you still show remarkable insights and interest in things theological-what a blessing for a parent. Now that I am studying at New Geneva seminary, you seem to think I ought to be able to ratchet up the level of information I dispense. I am often pressed by your question, typically when I am completely exhausted; “Dad, tell me something new you learned about God.” I make it my practice to discuss such things only when we are sitting in the house and lying down and rising up and walking on the way (Deuteronomy 6:7), but perhaps this paper will also prove useful to you as I have learned much during these first five months at New Geneva.

As I take on this task, I am reminded of my Theology professor, Dr. Powell’s warning “Little ships should stay near the shore.” As we seek to understand God, we are all little ships, but as a first semester seminary student, a rowboat is the image that comes to mind. The larger ships have ventured out, and volumes upon volumes of books have not exhausted our Christian brother’s discussions about God. We shall keep this simple.

As a good Presbyterian, I will begin by clarifying the language of your question itself. While I did learn things about God which were “new” to me individually, we are careful to point out that there is nothing “new” to learn about God as the body of Christ. If someone tells you that they have some new information about the character and attributes of God, things no one else has known before, you are about to hear some heresy (false teachings).

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Christian faith is that we believe God is a personal God who can be known. This is a great source of comfort to the believer. You may remember that we believe that God has revealed Himself to man in two ways; Natural Revelation and Special Revelation. The former is how God has made his existence known to all mankind through his creation, the universe.

For asince the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, bbeing understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

The latter, His Word, is how He has revealed His character and His attributes, including His plan of redemption for man in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus told us:

Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
for athe words which You gave Me bI have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that cI came forth from You, and they believed that dYou sent Me.  (John 17:7)

This Special Revelation is the Word of God alone, which, by the way, includes the person of Jesus Christ. You will remember He is called the “Logos” or the “Word” and we are told “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-14). The written Word, the books of the Bible, are called the Cannon, and we believe that the Cannon is closed; which means that there is now no new revelation from God. He has given us all the information we are to have, and it is sufficient.

All Scripture is 1inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for 2training in righteousness; so that athe man of God may be adequate, bequipped for every good work.

The Spirit at work in you may reveal insights to you for application in your life. These insights may come from your personal study, a commentary, a sermon, or a believer in fellowship with you. But any insights given to you about God’s character and His attributes will not be new information, but that which is already revealed, in His word or creation. While we believe that God can be known, we know that He cannot be known fully.

aCan you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are ahigh as 1the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than 2bSheol, what can you know? (Job 11:7)

We have now finished laying a foundation upon which to build as we seek to know God more fully: God is a personal God who can be known, but not completely understood; He has revealed Himself to us in two ways, Natural Revelation and Special Revelation; this revelation is sufficient, there is no new revelation. Now we will look into His attributes, both communicable and incommunicable.

The communicable attributes are those attributes which God has shared with us in creation. The Shorter Catechism tells us we were “made in the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness.” There are other attributes we share with God, such as faithfulness, patience, wisdom, and justice. We are able to create, to love and to show compassion as well. It is obvious that we share these attributes as created and finite creatures. God has perfect wisdom, perfect love and perfect compassion. We are not perfect and therefore demonstrate these attributes imperfectly.

It is the incommunicable attributes that I would like to focus on. It is in exploring these attributes that we find ourselves truly in awe of the Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. The incommunicable attributes are those attributes that God does not share with us, in fact He does not share them with any creature at all. These are the things that belong to God alone.

We see four attributes which God does not and cannot share:
Unity-Immutability-Infinity-Independence.

God is, first of all, simple. What you say? The one true God is not complex but simple? What is meant by this is that God is not composed of parts. He has no composition, no pieces, He is all at once Himself, He has complete unity.

God said to Moses, “1aI AM WHO 1I AM”;
(Exodus 3:14)

He is not part Love and part Justice. We do not find His Grace over here and then His Wrath over there. He is fully and completely Love and at the same time fully and completely Just. We must realize that the attributes of God are abstractions in our mind. We use the words to describe Him, to understand Him as best we can. We should and we must do so. But always remember that our words will fall short and our understanding will be incomplete. We think first of this attribute and then of that one. We must think like this due to our finite nature. But with God, these attributes are in His essence in perfect unity. Remember, He is not composed, He has no parts. These attributes are not in conflict with each other in Him. When I, as a father, desire to serve you with the justice you deserve, I can find conflict between this and the love I feel for you as my child. God does not have this conflict, because He has these attributes perfectly. We do not. They seem to conflict in us only because of our imperfections. Love and Justice do not conflict within the unity of God. We have been given the attribute of love. God was not given this attribute. Love is not something that God has, love is what God is (1 John 4:8). So it is for all His attributes. They are what He is! And He is all of His attributes, equally and all at once, in perfect unity.

As we know and have already mentioned, God is perfect (Matt 5:48). This perfection requires the incommunicable attribute of immutability. God not only will not change, but God cannot change. If God were mutable, if He could change, then He would not be perfect. If He changed, it would mean that He had been incomplete or had become incomplete, and this would mean that He was either imperfect to start with or imperfect after the change.  Indeed the scriptures testify as to the truth of His immutability.

For 1I, the LORD, ado not change;     (Malachi 3:6)

This is of great comfort to us. As God does not change, His promises do not change. We can count on Him, always. He will not change His mind, or let us down. He will never fail us.

After our death and our glorification, we will not change; we will worship Him forever in our glorified bodies in heaven. We will not sin or be able to sin, and we will live forever. Still it cannot be truly said that we will become immutable, because we will have changed in the past, and that which is truly immutable has never changed at all. All of creation is mutable by definition. It once was not, and now is. As you can see this is why immutability is an incommunicable attribute. He cannot share it with His creatures, because they are just that, creatures; that is to say, created.

This brings us straight away into the next incommunicable attribute; the infinity of God. To be infinite is to have no beginning and no end, to be boundless. We often think of numbers being infinite, we can always add one more. This picture may give us a start in our understanding of infinity, but it falls quite short. Infinity is so much more. God alone is infinite. He cannot share this attribute because all creatures are created, and therefore have a beginning. While we have expressed it implicitly, we should also express it explicitly; Neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit was created. When we speak of God, as you know, we speak of the Triune God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We will sometimes use the term the Eternal Godhead to describe this concept. The Eternal Godhead is just that, eternal. If the Son or the Holy Spirit were created beings, they would not be God! There are all sorts of heresies concerning this that you will want to become familiar with, that you may be used by God to lead people to a better understanding of His character and attributes.

The attribute of infinity deals with both time and space. When we speak of God being infinite in relation to time we use the word eternal. He is not bound by time. He is boundless in relation to time. God is not in time, and yet, He is absent from no time. He has no beginning and no end. We know the Bible teaches us we will have eternal life in Heaven. We will live forever, we are eternal, but again not truly so. We are creatures with a beginning, and while we will have no end, we are not properly called eternal. Only God is eternal.

Now to the aKing 1eternal, bimmortal, cinvisible, the donly God, ebe honor and glory 2forever and ever. Amen.
(1Tim 1:17)

When we speak of God being infinite in regard to space, we use the word immense. This means that God is not bound by space. He is boundless in relation to space. God is not in any space, and yet, He is absent from no space. We must take care here, there is a wrong understanding dealing with God’s immensity called Pantheism. In Pantheism God’s immensity is taken to mean that God is in all things, and therefore all things are God. The universe and God are seen as equivalent. Obviously we reject this understanding.

Am I a God who is anear, declares the LORD,
And not a God far off?
Can a man ahide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him? declares the LORD.
bDo I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 23:23)

There are many instances in the Bible when God seems to suggest He will be present in a place at a time. When we speak of God being present in a place at a time, and we do, we mean only to say that He is manifesting Himself in that place at that time. We invoke His presence during our corporate worship, and certainly may recognize that presence. There are times we see the results of His presence in our lives at any particular moment. Yet He is no more or less present there and then, then at any time before or after, or in any other place. From our perspective, we recognize His presence, we are comforted by the manifestation of that presence, but in truth He is always with us at any point in time or space.

aWhere can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
aIf I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in 1Sheol, behold, bYou are there. (Psalm 139:7)

We can further distinguish God’s immensity. When we speak of him being far off or limitless, unbound by space, we talk of His transcendence. When we speak of His being near to us, we talk of His immanence. When we talk of His presence in space, we must point out (and not all our brothers remember or even believe), that God is not just there passively, He is there actively; He is holding it all together by his power! If He was not actively holding you together right now, as you read these words, you would vanish without a trace, well, perhaps there would remain a little pile dust for us to remember you by.

He 1ais before all things, and in Him all things 2hold together.  (Acts 17:27)

We are completely dependant on God for our very breath. In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27). We may say about some unusual blessing in our lives “It’s a God thing”. This is true, and there is nothing wrong with the words, as long as we remember that breathing is no less a God thing than any spectacular blessing we receive. We simply can’t get excited about every breath for our entire lives.

This brings us to our final incommunicable Attribute: Independence. God is completely and perfectly independent. As we have already declared, the entire universe depends upon Him. But He is completely self-sufficient. He relies on no power besides His own. He has no needs that must be met from outside Himself.

nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25)

I have heard men teach that God created man because He was lonely. This simply is not a proper Biblical understanding, but one which you will hear as you fellowship with other believers (hopefully not in reformed circles). God did not create man out of some deficiency in His being, does not need us. Now, this may lead one to think that we are therefore meaningless. If God needs nothing, if He does not need us, we have no meaning; but this is not so. We are all the more meaningful because He did not need to create us, He chose to create us, and in His image! God who needs nothing and is completely self-sufficient determined we would be meaningful to Him- and we are.

I will close this paper with an exhortation to you; it is of the utmost importance that we remember these incommunicable attributes of God: Unity-Immutability-Infinity-Independence. This world is God’s world. Our chief end, as you know, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In order to meet our purpose, in order to glorify Him properly, we must have a proper understanding of who He is.

Williamson, G.I.     The Westminster Confession of Faith     Phil. PA.
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company    1964

Whyte, Alexander.    An Exposition on the Shorter Catechism    Great Britan
Christian Focus Publications        2004

Various contributors    KJV Bible Commentary    Nashville Tenn.
Thomas Nelson Inc.    2005

Grudem, Wayne.    Bible Doctrine        Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zondervan    1999

Fifteen. Hard to believe. I know it’s cliché, but it seems like just yesterday I was rocking you to sleep, a boy in each arm. I so enjoyed those years, holding you and caring for you; building those Neural Nets by throwing a ball in your face or pushing you onto a pile of pillows; reading The Old Man and the Sea out loud, knowing you could see those sharks. Yet I can say I enjoy you boys just as much now (except for those teen moments). Watching you grow and develop into the men that God wants you to be is a great privilege, and it is an honor to have a role in that process. As I had hoped, you are much better men than I am. The Lord has blessed you, above all, with solid character and a heart willing to conform to His will and follow Him. In addition He has blessed you with many gifts and talents, of which you are to be good stewards. As your earthly father, I would love you no matter what, but, as it turns out, you are so easy to love. I am grateful beyond words that at the foundation of the world God determined that you would be my boys.

Without being overly dramatic (too late?), I want you to understand that the next five to ten years will be the most critical of your entire life. You will be forced during this time to make decisions, small and large, which will shape the rest of your life. You will be unable to avoid these decisions. If you do avoid them, that itself will be a decision, and a bad one. You will make mistakes, you will fail, and you will sin. Some of these errors will be large and you will suffer little, some of the errors will be small and you will suffer much, such is life in a fallen world. I will remind you there is always forgiveness at the cross (John 1:9), but often we carry with us the consequences of our choices even beyond our redemption.

As you know, one of the most important choices you will make during this time is how you will handle one of God’s great gifts: sex. It is part of God’s design and an important one. In fact, the importance of sex and marriage in God’s design is quite staggering. If you are to make the right choices, we must go far beyond moralizing and understand God’s design as fully as we are able. We will not have the space here to explore every detail of God’s design for sex and marriage, so we will focus on two overarching aspects of this design.

The first is that woman was created for man because man needed her. The value of marriage for man is tremendous, as we see when we examine the events of creation. God had created all things by the word of His power in the space of six days, and He had declared at the end of each day of creation that it was good. However, on the sixth day, the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18, emphasis added). This is no small thing; there are ramifications there that are profound. Adam was created after the image of God, perfect in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, in his pre-fallen state able to commune with God in the Garden of Eden . . . and it was not good? As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had had eternal relationship within the Godhead and were equal in power and glory, the nature of God demanded that man have a relationship with someone like himself and that the relationship itself must reflect the nature of God. How important is woman! How important is marriage! And how important is sex.

We find that after the creation of Eve, God blessed them and then commanded—His first commandment—“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). He is talking about sex. And He says fill the earth! That must take lots of sex. In addition, as you are certainly aware, God designed in man and woman what we call the “sex drive.” We want it. We are supposed to. In general men have a stronger sex drive than women. That is also part of the design. The man is designed by God to lead, to take the initiative (Ephesians 5:22). He is to give to his wife, among other things, encouragement, love, protection, and instruction (Proverbs 5:28, Ephesians 5:22, 1 Peter 3:7). She is to receive from her husband these things and more (Colossians 3:18). We can see this also reflected in God’s physical design of the male and female body. The man is designed to give himself to the woman sexually, and she is designed to receive him sexually. Can’t believe I just said that? This is God’s design, and I like it. I’m supposed to; He made me that way. He has given us our bodies and the gift of sex as a way of expressing intimate love for our spouse. The Bible says this is a mystery which we do not fully understand (Proverbs 30:19). God has not only established sex, but He has commanded that it is an ongoing, vital part of the marriage relationship (1 Corinthians 7:3).

We are designed to respond to the form of a woman’s physical beauty (Proverbs 5:18). The Bible never speaks of physical beauty as bad—how could it? Beauty is a blessing. But it is a second thing. God values holiness and righteousness over physical beauty, and so should you. It is not wrong to notice the beauty of a woman, the ratios and proportions and curves. You are supposed to find that wondrous. I remember you at eight years old asking me if it was all right that you liked the girls in a way that was different from the boys. You asked because we had made it clear that there would be no “girlfriends” until high school (or beyond). And of course it was all right. You are designed to respond to the feminine; you are supposed to desire the woman. But in our fallen state we go wrong. A man is likely to go beyond noticing and appreciating the physical beauty of a woman. He so often begins to covet, to lust, to desire and make plans to have that which is not his. There is one woman out there for you; she already belongs to you, and you to her. You must take care not to make plans to have that which is not yours to have; that is an infraction of the ninth commandment, and if you act upon it, the seventh. The Christian man is called to discipline himself in regard to his sexuality (1 Thessalonians 4:3, Romans 13:13, Revelation 14:4).

The second aspect of God’s design for sex and marriage is that marriage reflects God’s triune nature, His covenant, and His faithfulness to His church. Just as the Father and Son are one, so are the husband and wife (Mark 10:8). Just as the Son submits to the Father, so the wife is to submit to the husband (Colossians 3:18). And just as the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, so the children proceed from the husband and the wife. It is God’s design, and it reflects the relationships of the eternal Godhead—His very nature. Marriage is not a manmade institution; it was instituted by God as described in the book of Genesis. It is part of the social order of His creation, not to be trifled with, not to be taken lightly.

God has established a covenant with His church. He has said “I will be your God and you will be my people” (Genesis 17:7, Exodus 6:7, Leviticus 26:12). A covenant is a solemn vow, a promise establishing a permanent relationship. God has promised that He will not forsake His people. Marriage between a man and woman is a covenant, a solemn vow establishing permanent relationship. Just as God is faithful to His people, so you are to be faithful to your wife. This is why God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). He will not forsake His people, and you are not to forsake your wife.

The Bible refers to the church as the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9). We are told, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). This may seem odd, as we know that a marriage includes eros love, a romantic love. How can it be that this relationship is used to describe Christ and the church? The church is spoken of as a harlot, an unfaithful woman who goes with any man, or in this case worships false gods. God does not shy away from using sexual language to describe His relationship to the church. It is a mystery we do not fully understand, but we must not deny the language of the Bible, and that is the language the Bible uses to describe the church. It is part of God’s design and in some way also reflects His nature.

You are to love your wife as Christ loved the church. Did you notice He gave to the church, and the church received? That is what you are to do; it is how you are made. Part of that giving is a denial of self. It is put into practice now by waiting for her to arrive so that when you give yourself to her physically, it will be without blemish, as Christ gave Himself to the church without blemish.

We have been open about this topic in our home, and you both have a solid understanding of the biblical view of sexuality within marriage. It is my hope that this examination of God’s design will give you even greater and deeper insights as you prepare for the trials of the years ahead, years which will put you to the test; for an untested faith is no faith at all.

As you have grown into these years, and have begun really to notice girls (and they sure have noticed you), your mother and I enjoy reflecting on your early years, and often laugh at some of the funny stories of your inquisitiveness on the subject of sex and marriage. One of my favorite stories (and one you know well) is our discussion when you were six about the relationships in our home and church body as they relate to the four loves: agape, philia, storge, and in particular eros:

“I know what eros is, Dad.
It’s like Pepe Le Pew and how he is always after that girl cat.”
“Yes, son, something like that.”
“Dad, when I am older, will many girls say ‘eros’ to me?”
“Yes, son, I suspect they just might.”

And they will. When I was your age, we did not have access to movies like we do now, and the ABC Sunday Night Movie was a big deal. Every so often the latest James Bond film was edited and shown on TV. He was always with a different girl, often several in the same movie. My mother would always say “It’s not like that. Every other girl you meet will not want to have sex with you.” She was wrong. It may not be every other one, but I assure you, there will be many who will offer themselves to you sexually and, in some cases, will devise plans and schemes to have their way.

How does the young Christian man prepare himself to resist? How does he prepare himself for God’s design for marriage? It is not unlike wrestling: “The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win.” You must choose your path before you are looking into the dark brown eyes of a young lady you admire—or one who has plans for you. Many of your friends will push the girl to go as far as she will allow. Not so with you. You are to lead. It is your responsibility to be sure that God’s design is followed. You must call out to God now and continue to call out, asking that He send the Holy Spirit to you, for it is by His power alone that we are able to do good and resist temptation (Matthew 26:41).

One of the ways young men and woman are preparing themselves has become a fad in the evangelical church: the “purity ring.” Unfortunately, many will not keep the vow they made. Many will participate under societal or familial pressures. Many will make the vow based on the moralizing of the churches they attend, without the full understanding of God’s design for sex and marriage. The culture in your school promotes it. Most of your friends have one already. And you have asked for one; in fact you asked several years ago. It was not time then; it is easy to promise not to eat when you have never experienced the pangs of hunger. Now you are beginning to understand something of those pangs. They are real, by God’s design, and you will have to control them (through submission to His will). You will receive your ring this week, on your birthday. I am pleased that you know that “True love waits” and that you will promise to do so. However, before you make that promise, I wanted to be sure you understand what you are doing (being faithful), why you are doing it (God’s design), how it may be accomplished (power of God), and the ultimate goal of such a choice (glorifying God).

I believe you two are in a unique position to stand strong in this area and bring glory to God. The world often assumes that those who uphold God’s design for sex and marriage do so out of perceived weakness. God has blessed you both with gifts of beauty, intelligence, athleticism, creativity, humor, and presentation. You will be able to speak to the world from perceived strength. You have an opportunity to influence the culture. I would encourage you to become involved in the “Teen Engage” program promoting abstinence, or some similar program seeking to influence the world around you in the only way we can, by sharing biblical truth.

When you promise to delay sex until marriage, you are promising to be faithful to God’s design through His power and for His glory. You are promising to be faithful to your future wife, a woman you have perhaps not yet met. It is important to note this vow is not to your parents; rather it is in front of us. We are witnesses to the promise, not unlike the marriage vows themselves. The promise is made as an affirmation that you believe God’s word. God has said that His gift of sexuality is to find its ultimate expression only within the sanctity of marriage (Exodus 20). You are to wait because God says you are to wait. However, like any of God’s laws, we find that obedience comes with a reward, and disobedience with punishment (Joshua 8:34). We do not obey simply to get the reward and avoid the consequences, but such things can be helpful to us when we are faced with temptation. Premarital sex causes emotional, spiritual and physical harm to those involved. The world does not follow God’s design (1Corinthians 3:19) and denies the consequences of sin, even when faced with the stark realities of sexually transmitted diseases, many of which are incurable and deadly, diseases which would disappear from the face of the earth in one generation if God’s design were followed.

However, it is the reward given when one follows the design of God that is our hope; the hope for the future. A central issue is that of delayed gratification. You both have always been able to comprehend this notion. Even as very young boys you were willing to forego a piece of candy before dinner for the promise of ice cream after. And so it is with this. God has promised the good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28), but He also gives this good to us in His own timing, and we are to wait on the Lord (Zephaniah 3:8), and follow His design.

Many of your friends will treat sex like a traveling carnival, riding every ride they can, sneaking past the attendant to ride the rickety roller coaster that shakes and jerks them about, spending their time and money on a cheap thrill that will leave town the next day. That is not God’s design for sex. You are to build your own roller coaster. You will start laying the solid foundation now; this is no traveling ride on an asphalt parking lot. It will take time and hard work, and you must build according to the design. It will not be ready when your friends tell their tales. And you will not complete it by yourself. She will join you in the labor. You will work side by side, and it will be for the two of you alone. Then, on that glorious wedding day (and in the years to follow), you will feel the exhilaration of an amazing ride on the ultimate roller coaster, designed by God and built with loving hands.

Works Cited

New American Standard Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan, 1995

Additional resources

Sproul, R.C. The Intimate Marriage Wheaton, Illinois
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1975

Warner Brothers Academy Award winning film “Happy Feet” (Best Animated Feature) is not just a clever film that entertains; it has a message, in fact several of them.

The environmental message is clear and easy to understand. Man can, and often does, create damage to various ecosystems around the world. Many viewers will miss however, the dishonest approach to the message. The Sea Lion and Orcas-along with humans- are monsters who feed on those below them on the food chain. This is assumed, yet, in the grand finale, Penguins are seen tossing about, with great joy and a charming soundtrack, the abundance which has been granted them-small fish! The same fish our hearts went out to in “Finding Nemo”. Apparently it is okay to eat other creatures as long as the film is about you. Man does have a responsibility to be a good steward, but eating fish that Penguins want is not wrong.

More difficult to see is the covert propaganda of a One World Government. After the protagonist, Mumble, has alerted the humans to the trouble (businessmen are taking their fish), a montage of images of humans in meeting after meeting working to stop the carnage is shown, and the day is saved. These humans and the meetings, which look strikingly like the United Nations, finally stop the greedy businessmen. The underlying message comes into focus-a One World Government is required to stop those darn capitalists!

The idea that traditional leaders and traditional ways cannot be trusted is rather clear, and faith in a higher power is shown to be a big lie which even the leaders don’t really believe in the end. However, the film makers use terms which covertly strike at Christianity in specific. The Penguin leaders are called “Elders” who worship the “Great Guin- who alone has the power to give and take away”; the head elder has a thick Scottish accent. Mumble is a little penguin born different. All the other Penguins sing, but he tap dances. He eventually shows the others how to dance. This leads the elders to proclaim that “the scarcity” has been brought about by “backsliders” and their “pagan displays”, whom are called to “repent my brethren” and “renounce your peculiar thoughts…if we are sincere and devout in our praise the fish will return.” Mumbles father says, “Our son is all messed up” and asks him to stop dancing. Mumble responds, “Don’t ask me to change Pa, cause I can’t”. The reference to homosexuality is obvious to those with a discerning ear.

The assumptive ideas and terms in this film will not be discerned by most, and certainly not by the target audience, the youth of the world. If all the messages take hold we will soon have a society which thinks there is no God; that it is wrong to eat meat; that business is bad; that any behavior is acceptable if you are born different; that tradition is oppressive; and that a One World Government will save us. Too late.

I preached at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian this past Sunday (03/04/2007). You can download the full sermon, A Turtle On A Fence Post, here.

*We thank you for your support! We are continuing to see God provide for our financial needs. We are at the 87% mark for the year and all current needs are met.

*Thank you for the stuff also! We have received from supporters: a TV, VCR, speakers, a laptop carrying case, a sofa/love seat combo, and a washer/dryer set that is nearly new!

*We are considering a used vehicle more suited to the winters here in Colorado. Our little Saturn was quite useless several days so far this winter, with the bulk of our snow still to come. In addition, I have become increasingly concerned with the idea that my family spends so much time in a car that would come out on the short end of nearly any crash. If you are aware of any great deals let us know (but we intend to be patient). We are also on the look-out for an amplifier to go between our DVD player and the speakers.

*I have decided to drop the coursework down to five classes instead of six. The three main reasons: 1) I dropped a class that would have required the largest workload, about ten hours a week on average 2) It will not impede my graduation schedule, and I will take the course during a less demanding semester 3) This allows me to be home for dinner on Tuesday nights with the family!

*I have found that those ten hours I “saved” are mostly going into other course work! I am doing 45-50 hrs. in study and 20-25 hrs. in ministry. I am often stressed by the workload, but never by the work itself, I am “loving every minute of it”.

*We are bringing 18-20 kids from the Queen Palmer area every Wednesday night to V7 for Pioneer Club. God’s Word does not return void, and we have every reason to believe He is working in the lives of these kids and their families.

*Christianity Explored so also going very well, with about 40 people involved regularly. We have six children attending who are experiencing the love of the body of Christ through our Children’s Ministry team while their parents attend the class. We are seeing God working in the lives of those attending-including all of us in service through this ministry.

*I will be preaching my first sermon from the pulpit this Sunday Morning, March 4th, at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian, 10:45am service. It is not without some trepidation, as I feel wholly inadequate to the task. I had thought I would be further along in my studies before I was used in this capacity.

*Hey! I asked for your family photo and only a couple folks complied. We want to have you in mind as well, so that we can pray for you, so send us your family photo.
Plus- we will look really cool if people know that we know you!
We are so pleased with the calling God has laid out for us, and we thank you for coming alongside of us in this endeavor. We ask that you pray for us as we come to mind in the following ways:

• That I would be prepared to be used by God as I preach His word this Sunday (yikes!)
• For the work at Queen Palmer- that relationships would continue to be built and that lives would be changed as these young kids are involved with the people of God at V7 on Wednesday nights.
• For CX- that God uses the CX team to call His people to Himself. That the plans of the adversary would be thwarted and the families invited would attend with hearts prepared in advance to hear the Gospel message.
• That I would continue to be diligent in my studies and that I would learn all God has planned for me.
• For the strength of my family, especially Ana, during this season of our life, as I am not able to support her in the evening tasks as I have in the past
• God’s continued provision for our financial needs during this time of ministry.

Peace be with you,
JBL

* No change or real news in regard to Queen Palmer. Between the holidays and multiple snow days here in the Springs, school has been out most of the time since the last update. I have been taking photos and will create the end of the year slide show as I have done the last two years for the school. I see the show as a work of Art and I love creating it. It has been a big hit and is a great way for me to express my love for this community.

* Christianity Explored (CX) started up Jan. 7th. We were very encouraged with good numbers, but more importantly with people joining us who are excited with the study and the relationships they are building with the table leaders. I met a young man on the street near the seminary by chance J and struck up a conversation. I asked him about is views on life and death and faith. He described himself as a “Philosopher of religion”. When he was unable to express the basic theme of the Bible I told him “Dude, if you are a philosopher of religion, you have to know the basic theme of the Bible!” So I invited him to CX, and he came with his wife. They seem to be at a crossroads, pray that we are able to minister to them in a meaningful way and that God uses us to call them to Himself.

* Life as a student has its challenges, but I am enjoying it. Grades are in and I did well. I finished with a 3.76 . Not straight “A”s which was the goal, but I have to be pleased with the “B+” in Greek. After a rocky start (I ain’t even ever got no “A” in English) I scored a 96% on the final, bringing my grade up to a 91% and just into the “B+” range (“A-“ starts at 94%). I do not endorse this grading system, but they didn’t ask me. As an educator of twenty years and a self described “Philosopher of Measurement and Evaluation”, I would like to take on the entire educational system as it relates to this subject, but I should probably wait and tackle such ideas in time.

* I had intended to slow down, but New Geneva granted me a scholarship for this semester, based on monies currently available. It seems wisdom demands I take 12 hours again to make the most of this opportunity. I can handle the workload- that is not the problem. But I will have less time with the kids for another four months. Ana and I decided this is the way to go, start out strong and then the workload will taper off. I should finish the first year with 32 of the 99 needed credits. I will most likely spend as much time with my kids as the average American man, but we are used to much more.

* Wow! As I had been told, December is a big month for support raising, and it proved quite true. Earlier I had reported we were at 75% of need, but I had been projecting forward only and had not taken into consideration the missing funds from the first several months. I took the time to refigure and applied one time gifts backwards to cover those first several months. We are at now at 80% of total need for the entire first year. That is just great, we feel very blessed. Thank you for your support

* Send us your family photo! We want your picture on our fridge so we can pray for you!

* If you are local, we are about to make some purchases soon on the following used items. If you want, you can cut out the middle man -Salvation Army- and donate directly to us! (VCR, speakers/amplifier, bathroom scale, clothes dryer)

* We received severe damage to our tree with the October snow. With the leaves still on, we lost about 25% of the branches. I will need to borrow a good chainsaw when the weather turns to prune the tree for its health. If you want to help as well, I will buy the pizza!

We are so pleased with the calling God has laid out for us, and we thank you for coming alongside of us in this endeavor. We ask that you pray for us as we come to mind in the following ways:

· For the work at Queen Palmer- that relationships would continue to be built and that lives would be changed as these young kids are involved with the people of God at V7 on Wednesday nights.
· For CX- that God uses the CX team to call His people to Himself. That the plans of the adversary would be thwarted and the families invited would attend with hearts prepared in advance to hear the Gospel message.
· That I would continue to be diligent in my studies and that I would learn all God has planned for me.
· That the short term reduced family time would not be of ill effect. That if we have made the wrong choice that God would show us quickly.
· For God’s continued provision for our financial needs during this time of ministry

God Bless-JBL