Think Wink.

January 26, 2007, 4:30 PM will always be a day I will never be able to forget. For the past 20+ years, my one and only grandfather has been slowly declining in health. It seems like as long as I can remember he has had a bad heart, bad lungs…his body was never good. His right leg was amputated just below the knee. This past September, my grandfather noticed that he could never get through a sentence, his voice would just fail him. He went to the doctor and found out that a tumor had grown in his vocal cords and was destroying them. The doctors ran some tests and found that his lungs were almost overtaken by tumors. They could have treated them, but that most likely would have killed him. If they didn’t treat him, he would die sometime later, in a very painful way. The family opted not to treat him.

Over the next four months, his health more rapidly declined. Last Saturday, January 20, he was admitted into the hospital because he could not breathe. The doctors stabilized him and then released him on Sunday. While there, the doctors took him off his meds and put him on morphine. That wasn’t a good sign. Wednesday, I got a phone call from my brother saying that Grandpa’s kidneys were failing, and he was going to pass soon. I rushed home to see Grandpa one last time.

Grandpa was Grandpa that night, still goofing around and being himself. He saw everyone all sad and was like “What’s wrong with you? I ain’t dying yet.” Thursday, he was worse. I took his hand and prayed with him. I sat there all that afternoon with my family and my Grandpa. He was so tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. Yet everyone wanted to talk and move around, which woke him up. Grandpa was ready to toss everyone out and lock the door. I went home to take care of Q and Olivia while my dad stayed at Grandpa’s. That night about 8:15 PM, it looked like Grandpa was gone, but he made it through another night.

Friday, January 26th between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM, my Grandpa slipped into a comma. Q, who only has to go to school half days, and I rushed to pick up Olivia at 12:30, and raced to Fortuna. I prayed over him one last time and Quintin said goodbye as only he could. Others came over and said their goodbyes. It was hard. At 4:00, the hospice nurse came by and said it was almost time. For the next half-an-hour, I constantly watched his chest to see if he was still alive. At 4:30 PM, I saw that his chest stopped and all attempts to get him to respond to any kind of stimuli failed. The nurse pronounced him dead at 4:30.

At 4:30 PM, the gates of heaven opened and Jesus descended down into Fortuna, MO. He entered into a small house where the Dorsey family had gathered. He took Grandpa by the hand and stood him up. Jesus led my Grandpa out of this world and into the realms of glory above, to be with Jesus every day for eternity. In the blink of an eye, John 14:1-3 occurred right before my eyes. Jesus said in that passage,

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

I miss him already, and I can say, I am absolutely jealous of my grandfather. He is in that house where God is. He is in the presence of absolute perfection. Perfect goodness, perfect, love, perfect joy, perfect beauty, all wrapped up within the Trinity.

Father, Yahweh, take care of my grandpa. Hold him in your arms and never let go. Open his eyes to see your manifold beauties. Father love him in your perfect love. Hold him tightly. Father, give my family and I the grace to endure and to survive this loss and to move on in joy. Father help us to morn him like those who have the hope of the resurrection. It is in Christ name, and for the sake of the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.

MK vs DC???

I have to wait until 2009…

Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

I stumbled across this very interesting picture of how science and religion overlap by a prof. at MBTS in KC, Dr. DeVine. Click here to read the post.

A taste of My Friday Morning

On my way to work…

Reflections on the Pastor

It is official after watching the whole premier to season 6 of 24, I am fully convinced it is the greatest show on television. Jack Bauer is more bad-a. than Bond, but Bond is still the ladies man. My favorite website for 24 is Jack-Tracker. It looks at every kill that Jack has made thus far in all six seasons. Gotta luv it man! I’m looking forward to next Monday for hour 5 of season 6, hopefully Jack will get his kills up now. I have already cried and pood my pants and screamed like a little girl in four episodes. I think they are doing awesome. The celeb. guests (like the guy playing Ahmed and Assad) are doing a good job and playing a role I never personally expected, though the terrorist from Star Trek DS9 doesn’t surprise me as much as the comedian actor. Here’s to the start of another great season.

No related posts

Romans 5:12-14 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because ?all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” In v.14 there is much division over who are “those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.” The Reformed position that I have learned from is that they are infants. Infants have not the mental capacity to understand and violate their consciences or God’s laws, like Adam did. Yet infants die and in Paul’s mind, there is nothing in here about neonatal and all of the wonderful medical breakthroughs that we have two thousand years later. Those whose theology is not Reformed often press me on this issue to say, “You believe then that all babies go to hell? That’s what you seem to be implying.” I didn’t really know how to respond to that. But I found an article that articulates my position and gives Scripture to back it up. Babies die because of Adam’s sin and their union with Adam. However, I believe that God can and does save those babies according to his sovereign design. Here is the link, check it out.

Calvin and Original Sin: Part 5

Original Sin

How Many, How Many?

Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, two former Presidents of the US and are both Democrats, have created a new social initiative within the Christian church. Now this makes me uneasy because of how liberal these guys can be. For more info on the initiative and some Christian reaction, go see what Brad Andrews wrote at relevintage.com here and here. Dr. Russell Moore, who is filling in for the sick Dr. Albert Mohler on the Alber Mohler Program, tackled this issue today on the radio with guests Tony Campolo and John Mercurio. It was very interesting to hear the comments.

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Here is an interesting discussion of Augustine and his views on predestination throughout his life. It was put on by my cousin Henry Michael Imler at the University of Missouri Columbia. I found this to be very interesting indeed.

A Wonderful Non-Shocker.

Timothy and Esther’s Prayer

My Comfort in Romans 9

Here are some more quotes from the great John Owen, sometimes called the Jonathan Edwards of England.

The revelation … of Christ … deserves the severest of our thoughts, the best of our meditations and our utmost diligence in them … What better preparation can there be for [our future enjoyment of the glory of Christ] than in a constant previous contemplation of that glory in the revelation that is made in the Gospel.—Works, I, p. 275.

I must now say, that, after all my searching and reading, prayer and assiduous meditation have been my only resort, and by far the most useful means of light and assistance. By these have my thoughts been freed from many an entanglement.—Works, I, p. lxiii-lxiv.

A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul. And he that doth not feed on and thrive in the digestion of the food which he provides for others will scarce make it savoury unto them; yea, he knows not but the food he hath provided may bd poison, unless he have really tasted of it himself. If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.—Works, XVI, p. 76.

When the heart is cast indeed into the mould of the doctrine that the mind embraceth,—when the evidence and necessity of the truth abides in us,—when not the sense of the words only is in our heads, but the sense of the thing abides in our hearts—when we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for—then shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the assaults of men.—Works, I, p. lxiii-lxiv.

Puritan Wisdom and Sin

Objections to Calvinism Part 1 of 5

πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων

I have been enjoying Peter Symthe’s blog, The Real Faith, ever since he posted about my idea to may be utilize Sunday School as an avenue to teach the common lay person about the biblical languages of Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic. He is skeptical of it, like most people I have talked to in person. But like I said, I don’t think Sunday School is where it was intended to be but is just time to have weak devotions before the main service(s). One of the things that has caught my interest is his discussion of the Word of Faith movement. Most of the people I have heard espouse this theology are guys like Joel Osteen, Benny Henn, Kenneth Copelan, etc. who have lost a large piece of orthodox Christianity for the sake of this new theology. Joel Osteen does not like to preach about sin because it is too negative and people don’t like that. If it were up to fallen man, really the only things out of the Bible that they would listen to is that God is love and do to others as you would have them do to you. You would not think too kindly of a doctor who did not tell you you had cancer until it was too late when he could have told you and started you on treatment when the cancer was treatable. Peter has done a nice job of arguing with real and sound exegesis. Something that the aforementioned TBN stars lack in their preaching and teaching.

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Calvinism and Prayer

A Prayer Request

Spurgeon and Arminian Prayer

Over the next few days, I will be posting some quotes by the great Dr. John Owen. He was a 17th century puritan preacher and president of Oxford. I have been wanting to read Of the Mortification of Sin in the Believer for a couple of years and I am finally doing it now that I have found a copy. I have read his preface and opening chapter and here are two quotes that I have really been hit with:

The intendment of the apostle in this prescription of the duty mentioned is, — that the mortification of indwelling sin remaining in our mortal bodies, that it may not have life and power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh is the constant duty of believers.

The vigour, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.

Original Sin

More thoughts on “euaggelion.”

Calvin and Original Sin: Part 2

Today I am going to start a new 1-year reading plan for my Bible. By this time Next year, I will have read the entire Bible. I did not want this to be some silly New Year’s Resolution. I think those can be good but is just silly to me personally. I know that I am like most people and have a hard time maintaining such a long-term commitment but I think it will be fun.

It is a daily reading plan that requires only 20 minutes a day to read, at the minimum. One such prayer that I have for this plan is to become more like Jonathan Edwards in that he could take 1 Chronicles and the genealogies there and come away with some of the deepest insights. I want to be able to see in such passages Jesus Christ. The only way to do that is not to become Jonathan Edwards, but to immerse myself into the Bible daily and to really read it. So may the Lord Jesus Christ bless this venture of mine, that I might connect with him in a way I never have on a level I never have before. I encourage all to join me in reading whole Bible all year.

Fixing the BCS?

NFL Draft Talk

A Blissful Headache