“Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or, I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Prov. 30:7-9).

I have not found any passage more helpful in dealing with my own heart on the issue of finances than that. Greed is not something that is just found in the hearts of the wealthy, but it exists in hearts from every social class. Many must admit that they have to fight against some form of it. We looked at this text several weeks ago on a Wednesday night in the context of discussing the Lord’s Prayer and praying for God to give us our daily bread. Thabiti Anyabwile dealt with it today in the context of the qualifaction of deacons and that they must not be “greedy of filthy lucre” (KJV). He posed several questions to help examine potential canidates for the office, but I believe them to be helpful to all of us in developing a biblical view of finances.

Does the potential deacon exhibit godly generosity and self-denial or greed when it comes to personal financial matters?

Does the potential deacon encourage others in generosity or does he/she foster selfishness and financial self-concern in others?

Does the potential deacon demonstrate pastoral care and self-sacrifice when interacting with others in need?

Is the potential deacon honest in his or her financial dealings?

What is the potential deacon’s attitude toward wealth? (Does he hold all things loosely or with a miser’s grip?)

The second question generates many thoughts in my own mind; “Does he foster selfishness and financial self concern in others?” Many times under the heading of being a “good steward” we can become preoccupied with money, and fall into greed. We can promote frugality to the end that foster financial self concern. Obviously there is a balance between being responsible and a good steward and not being greedy. In many situations in life I fear we are out of balance towards selfishness and financial self concern.

Improved Content on Blasted Gourds?

You have to use a picture this classic!

Happy Easter to all. I thought it would be fitting to share the conclusion of one of CH Spurgeon’s Easter sermons.

Come, my soul, if Christ has raised thee from the dead, do not live after the fashion of the dark grave which thou hast quitted. I am not so enamoured of the sepulcher as to return to it. Walk after the fashion of the new life, and it will conduct thee to God from whence it came. Live a God-like life; let the divine in thee sit on the throne, and tread the animal beneath its feet. It is easier said than done”, cries one. That depends upon the life within. Life is full of power. I have seen an iron bar bent by the growth of a tree. Have you never heard of great paving-stones being lifted by fungi, which had pushed up beneath them? Life is a mighty thing, especially the divine life. If you choose to contract your souls by a sort of spiritual tight-lacing, or if you choose to bend yourselves down in a sorrow which never looks up, you may hinder your life and its walk; but give your life full scope, and what a walk you may have! Yield yourselves fully to God, and you shall see what you shall see. There is a happiness to be enjoyed by truly whole-hearted believers which some even of God’s own children would think to be impossible.
Let me finish by a picture, which will show you what I mean by whole-heartedness. I have seen boys bathing in a river in the morning. One of them has just dipped his toes in the water, and he cries out, as he shivers, “Oh, it’s so cold!” Another has gone in up to his ankles, and he also declares that it is fearfully chilly. But see! another runs to the bank, and takes a header. He rises all in a glow. All his blood is circulating, and he cries “Delicious! What a beautiful morning! I am all in a glow. The water is splendid!” That is the boy for enjoying a bath! You Christian people who are paddling about in the shallows of religion, and just dipping your toes into it—you stand shivering in the cold air of the world which you are afraid to leave. Oh, that you would plunge into the river of life! How it would brace you! What tone it would give you! In for it, young man! In for it! Be a Christian, out and out. Serve the Lord with your whole being. Give yourself wholly to him who bought you with his blood. Plunge into the sacred flood by grace, and you will exclaim—
Oh, this is life! Oh, this is joy,
My God, to find thee so!
Thy face to see, thy voice to hear,
And all thy love to know.”

May we thus walk in newness of life! Amen.

I had forgotten about this classic commercial!

 As Senator Hilary Clinton come to town to campaign in the historic Wigwam, it brings to mind the upcoming election.  While choosing a candidate may be difficult in this election, Russ Moore recently called attention to a shift in young evangelicals concern about the issue of Abortion.  He called it Fetus Fatigue and quoted from a philosopher by the name of Douglas Groothuis.

Groothuis writes:

“It appears that millions of evangelicals, especially younger ones, are experiencing fetus fatigue. They are tired of the abortion issue taking center stage; it is time to move on to newer, hipper things–the sort of issues that excite Bono: aid to Africa, the environment, and cool tattoos. Abortion has been legal since they were born; it is the old guard that gets exercised about millions of abortions over the years. So, let’s not worry that Barak Obama and Hillary are pro-choice. That is a secondary issue. After all, neither could do that much damage regarding this issue.

“Evangelicals (if that word has any meaning), for God’s sake, please wake up and remember the acres of tiny corpses you cannot see. Yes, the Christian social vision is holistic. We should endeavor to restore shalom to this beleaguered planet. That includes helping Africa, preserving the environment, and much more. However, the leading domestic moral issue remains the value of helpless human life. Since Roe v. Wade, approximately 50 million unborn humans have been killed through abortion. Stalin said, ‘One death is a tragedy. A million dead is a statistic.’ Too many are now Stalinists on abortion. The numbers mean nothing, apparently.

The doctrine of divine election to salvation is profoundly biblical and dear to the heart of well-taught believers. But properly understood it ought to inspire evangelism, not frustrate it. In Romans 9 Paul spells out this doctrine very clearly. Salvation does not depend, says verse 16, on man’s desire or effort, but solely on God’s mercy. In the next chapter, however, the apostle declares equally clearly that no one can be saved without hearing the gospel (Rom. 10:14-15), and that none will hear unless we go and tell them. Even though a man be chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world (Eph. 1:4), he cannot be saved unless he hears the gospel. God ordains not only the end of salvation but also the means.

From How Shall They Hear: Church-based Evangelism

I am officially announcing my humble nomination for the IU coaching vacancy; Coach Scott Drew! As I am sure you are a regular reader of BlastedGourds I thought this was the best place to post such a nomination. I have been a strong proponent of Bruce Pearl, but feel that Scott Drew has more to offer the IU program.

• He is a young up and coming coach offering  longevity to a program that is in deep need of stability
• He is a proven recruiter of both talent and character
• He has deep Indiana ties (Coaching both at Butler and Valpo) and could recruit the local talent
• He can recruit international players as well!
• His family is basketball rich. The history and deep rescources to depend upon would benefit IU.
• He has proven his ability to resurrect a program that had nearly hit rock bottom at Baylor
• He has a Judeo-Christian world view, and should bring ethics and strong character to the program
• His smile is contagious!

Sincerly,

Andy Lutz

5.  Valpo and Bryce Drew’s Buzzer Beater

4.   Laettner’s Buzzer Beater

3.  Villanova’s upset of Georgetown

2.  Jimmy V and NC State

1.   Keith Smart’s 1987 Shot (This is a true homer pick)

I love the competition of picking the Brackets.  This year Reformed Round Ball has a great turn out so far!  Those involved need some connection to Edgewood and an ability to figure out how to sign up at Yahoo.  If you think you should be in this bracket competition and did not receive an invite, let me know quickly!  The winner will get their picture posted here on Blasted Gourds!

Our competition is for fun only, no money involved.

Please Read to the end and VOTE!

I love this time of year and the Madness of College Basketball and Bracketology. In light of that it is important to note that one of college basketball’s biggest fans, CJ Mahaney, now has his own blog. Today he wrote a post discussing the greatest college basketball player ever. The two discussed on his blog are Oscar Robertson and Pete Maravich. CJ argue it has to be Oscar Robertson because he played better defense, and Sam Storm argues it is Pete Maravich. He then quotes an article by Sam about Maravich’s testimony.

Maravich openly and proudly rejected the God of Scripture. He pursued every possible option in his relentless effort to find meaning and purpose and joy in life. He tried Hinduism, but that didn’t work. He dabbled in Buddhism, but that left him as empty as before. He immersed himself in astrology, hoping to find in the configuration of the stars and planets some indication of the meaning of his existence, but again to no avail.

He embraced reincarnation and spent time trying to discover who he was in past lives and who he might become in future lives. He experimented with astral projection, investigated UFO’s, became a vegetarian, and eventually gave himself over to drugs and alcohol.

Nothing satisfied him. Nothing filled the hole in his soul. Until one night in 1982, as he lay quietly in bed, for the first time he cried out to God for help. He fell out of bed and got on his knees and committed his life to Jesus Christ. From that point on Pistol Pete Maravich became an outspoken, devoted, passionate disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, proclaiming the gospel to everyone he met, declaring for all to hear that in the person of Jesus he had finally and fully found purpose, satisfaction, hope, and the forgiveness of sins.

Six years later, in January of 1988, at the age of 40, Maravich was playing a pick-up game of basketball in a church gymnasium in California, together with noted Christian psychologist and author James Dobson. He made a shot, turned to Dobson and said: “Boy, I feel great!” Whereupon he collapsed, dead before he hit the floor….

I would like to think that in the new earth I’ll get to shoot some hoops with Pistol Pete. But I strongly suspect that neither of us will be drawn to anything other than the joyful celebration of the greatness and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is a wonderful testimony of the depth and power of God’s grace. However, the question still remains as to who the greatest college basketball player ever is. Who do you think? We will add a new twist: Greatest of all time and greatest of your generation.