I have no illusions about who reads my blog. I know it is only about a handful of regulars and then the odd internet surfer who stumbles upon it and then moves on. I know my regulars (all three of you 🙂 ) are Godly men. If you have stumbled upon my blog and are a Godly man then praise God. I am asking for any and all Godly men who read this to please pray for our church. This is not a huge life-altering issue for most. But it affects some of God’s most frail and easily damaged sheep. Please pray for wisdom on the part of our church leaders. Please pray that God’s will be done. Thank you.
Category: Faith
What have YOU done for the Lord?
Many have read John Piper’s Desiring God. I’m actually reading another of Piper’s books which is really a flip side to the coin. It’s entitled, When I Don’t Desire God. I selected this book because firstly my wife wanted to do a book study with me, and secondly because many times I find I don’t deisre God or doing the things that pleases God. Don’t get me wrong I try my best to do the things that God finds pleasing, but I don’t always feel a driving desire to do them.
Piper explains that this is something we must fight for. We must pray fervently to God and plead with Him to instill in us the desire for Him. Piper makes some seemingly contradictory assertions; he says that we are ordered to “Rejoice in the Lord” yet we cannot rejoice in the Lord because we are by nature sinful people. That in fact we cannot rejoice in the Lord unless God bestows upon us the gift of rejoicing in the Lord. And further that we are not less guilty of breaking the commandment to rejoice in the Lord because of this fact, bat all the more guilty because of this fact. Piper points out that our prayers should take on urgency because of this. We should be even more grateful because of the gifts God gives us.
We should be thankful to God not just for life, not just for salvation, not just for Christ, but for the very belief that we have, for the joy that we feel, for everything that we have, that we do, that we are is a gift from God.
Hombres Santos de los Cielos
God has been very good to me indeed. He has blessed me far more than what I deserve. One of His MANY blessings has been the gift of flight. Through flying I have come to appreciate God’s landscapes, His weather, the laws of nature God set forth such as… gravity. I’ve had many suprises crop up in my flying avocation but none have been so surprising as the trend I am beginning to notice among my fellow aviators.
When I first started flying about 15 years ago most of the pilots I met were hard core ex-military types. They were good men, fiercely self-reliant, and had not place for religion in their lives. But now I’m running into more and more Godly aviators. The men I’m beginning to find both on the Internet in various places such as bulletin boards, and at my local field aren’t just the casual run of the mill Christian. Many of them are men who truly immerse themselves in God’s word.
It has truly been heartening to find them. Where once I was a lone voice in the groups I was in, there are now other voices for Christ. What’s truly wonderful is that these are young men. On the same Internet groups were I was once derided for having scripture references in my email signature I am not seeing men openly discuss missions and trying to find ways to dedicate their flying to God. Maybe it’s just God opening my eyes since my true heart change. Whatever is bringing these men out of the woodwork, I am glad to see them, glad to share the air with them.
Praise God for His wonderful works!
Finding joy
I haven’t been here in a while. It’s nice to be back. I feel like I’ve come home finally after a long time away. Even still, I’m not fully home, but I’m looking forward to being fully home. I haven’t physically been anywhere. I’ve been mired with work in public and private matters. Work has taken much of my waking attention and private matters have taken most of what’s left. In all the work that I was doing I was rapidly losing much of the joy in my life. There have been many demands placed on me lately and felt no joy in trying to meet all those demands. I was getting tired of serving God as well. Finally, after one tearful prayer session, I felt the weight lift from me.
What I realized after that was that I was getting so mired in trying to please everyone that I was losing track of who I should be trying to please. So right now I’m trying to realign my focus on pleasing God and finding that the joy in life is returning. I don’t always desire to please Him the way I should so that is my new focus. When I come to the place where pleasing God is my complete and entire goal, I’ll be completely at home. That’s were I’ll find complete joy.
Mrs. Flying Dutchman and I have started a book study together. We’re going through When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper. We’ll keep you posted on our progress through the book.
Those bittersweet moments in life
This past Saturday I got to experience one of those bittersweet moments in a man’s life; I gave my son his first razor and taught him to shave. There wasn’t much to shave off but it was there and needed to be done. I couldn’t help but think how fast this life really is. It seems almost like yesterday that he was dancing his “Daddy’s home” dance and wanting to be picked up. Now his feet are bigger than mine and he’s shaving. Time is passing and won’t wait for my family.
It’s such a blessing to know that even though this life should pass in the blink of an eye, the next life will last forever and I’ll never have to worry about my friends or family growing up and leaving. Praise God for His kindness and mercy!
One of those weeks
Did you ever have one of those weeks? I’m sure you have. We all have and I had another one this week. A virus outbreak kept me at work late at night for most of the week. I’ve barely seen my family. We finally brought the virus under control on Saturday morning. It was a tremendous relief. However, by that time I had reached the end of my stress rope. There were other issues at work that were already weighing on me so I just needed a break from everything. Even going to church on Sunday morning didn’t relax me as it usually does. I was short-tempered, emotionally weak, and just flat out tired. Church didn’t feel refreshing to me this week, it felt oppressing. My normal duties at church weighed on me like a load of cement. If our Lord is trying to take me out of my comfort zone, it’s working. I can’t even see the “comfort zone limits” sign from where I’m standing.
It felt so good to come home and spend a quiet afternoon with my family. After lunch we rested and talked. Later in the afternoon I went to work in the garage on my RV-7 and watched my daughter whiz up and down the sidewalk on her bicycle. I finished another major subassembly of the RV-7; the rudder. My wife doesn’t get it, she says she would nervous and frustrated trying to build an airplane. To me it’s relaxing. I guess we all have different ways of blowing off steam.
Here is a much more relaxed looking Flying Dutchman after hanging the rudder on the vertical stabilizer.
He stood his ground
I received a call from a parent at church this past Lord’s Day. He wanted to alert me to an incident that happened just after our church’s fellowship meal. There was a sudden pop, and then the sound of a child crying. The room went suddenly silent (except for the child who presumably was the owner of the now-deceased balloon.) Not much of an incident really, he just wanted to alert me to the fact that my son had popped his child’s balloon. This didn’t sound charactaristic of my son. If it had been a few years prior I would have believed it immediately but the child who lost the balloon was in a much younger age group than my son generally takes interest in these days. However, I apologized to the concerned parent and told him I would address the situation with my son.
Admittedly this is a tempest in a tea-pot but I wanted to give my son the opportunity to confess to what he had done so we could pray about it. Also I would be able turn this incident into a teaching oppurtunity. When I confronted him with this information, though, he said he didn’t do it. He said he was on the other side of the room. I asked him several times in several different ways over the course of the evening all the while constantly assuring him he wouldn’t be in trouble if he just confessed to what he had done. Even upon being reminded of how God views a lying tongue, my son stuck to what he knew to be the truth.
I left a message for the parent to call me back so I could get some more information because my son was holding to his story. A short time later the parent did call back and said it had actually been another child. The parents had assumed it was my son for which reason I’m still not completely clear. However, they asked their child and she identified a completely different child as the perpetrator.
Now came the learning opportunity. It was MY learning opportunity. I went to my son and told him that I now knew he was telling the truth and I apologized to him for doubting him. I told him that I was proud of him for holding to the truth in the face of a disbeliving parent and even in the face of punishment. It showed me that the fruits of the Spirit are beginning to ripen within my son’s heart.
The only remaining downside to this incident is why my son was presumed to be the guilty party. If only they could see him and know him as I do. He is my son, and I love him. And today, I’m proud of him. Praise God.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from the VanArtsdalen family.
May God bless you and yours in the coming year!
Scott, Cristy,
Angela, Scotty,
and Rosie.
The fruits of the Spirit – Self-Control
There was a time when I had practically no self-control. The least little thing would cause me to snap at those around me. I usually behaved my worst around those I loved most. It seemed as though everything conspired to make me angry. Of course those were the days when I was sleeping no more than 4 hours at a stretch. I would sleep throughout the day as I found time. I was getting at most 6 hours sleep in a 24 hour period. Usually less. The few times I did pray, I prayed for deliverance for myself.
God eventually delivered me from the working hell I was in. He put me in a job that was closer to home. My 4 hour round trip commute became a 1 hour round trip. My temper got better but I still had very little in the way of self-control. I was not grateful to God, I found other ways to indulge my sinful nature. This lack of self-control was not only sinful but self-destructive as well. Though I had a good job and a happy life to all external appearances, the direction I was heading would have lead to anything but a happy life.
Thank God for His mercy! He used the situation I was in to demonstrate to me that I am among the regenerate and that He would not abandon His own. I could not enjoy my sin because of His Holy Spirit, and I could not enjoy His Holy Spirit because of my sin. I finally gave up my pursuit of self-indulgence. I finally decided there was merit to self-control and tried to exercise that self-control. It was a dismal failure. Every time I tried to control myself it ended up in disappointment. These attempts were just a few of many events in my life God used to teach me to rely on Him solely.
Only now do I think I’m finally getting the picture. Only now that I have stopped trying to control myself and given that up to God am I finally exhibiting self-control. I’ve had people at work tell me they admire how I am able to stay calm in tense situations. Funny, I didn’t think I was calm. I’ve had my wife tell me how she admires how I control my temper around my son. She points out that in the ‘old days’ I would have yelled, now I talk to him and try to help him understand. It isn’t me, it’s Him.
God has been more merciful to me than I have deserved. He has been using my own sinfulness to teach and instill within me the fruits of the Spirit. He has now seen fit to open my mind and help me understand what He has been trying to do. He has removed the fight from within me. He has graciously given me a repentant heart and a desire to please Him. I am finally learning that it is not what we have done nor what we do but what God has done and will do inside us. You can’t develop the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit ripen within you without your knowledge or consent. They just begin to bear forth from you as God continues His work within you in His good time.
God is faithful, merciful, sovereign. Soli Deo Gloria.
The fruits of the Spirit – Gentleness
For men, one of the most difficult attributes to master is gentleness. At least in my opinion. We are taught to be protectors, soldiers for Christ, to take our sins captive. All very martial and not at all gentle sounding. We want to put on the full armor of God and fight! God takes a very different tack: gentleness.
He gives gentle instruction:
Let my teachings come down like raindrops. Let my words drip like dew, like gentle rain on grass, like showers on green plants.
Deuteronomy 32:2A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1Place my yoke over your shoulders, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble. Then you will find rest for yourselves
Matthew 11:29However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere.
James 3:17
He gives gentle answers:
When a gentle breeze began to blow from the south, the men thought their plan would work. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.
Acts 27:13
He created us to be gentle:
As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.
Colossians 3:12
He asks us to be gentle:
Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted.
Galatians6:1Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other.
Ephesians 4:2He must be gentle in correcting those who oppose the Good News. Maybe God will allow them to change the way they think and act and lead them to know the truth.
2 Timothy 2:25Believers shouldn’t curse anyone or be quarrelsome, but they should be gentle and show courtesy to everyone.
Titus 3:2
He is gentle:
“Tell the people of Zion, ‘Your king is coming to you. He’s gentle, riding on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.'”
Matthew 21:5
He rewards those who are gentle:
Blessed are those who are gentle. They will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5
Remember the gentleness of our Sovereign God as you go through your day. Before you correct that subordinate at work, before you correct that little one at home, before you begin a discussion with your wife, remember God’s gentleness. As He has dealt with you so you should deal with those who are under your authority and all those around you.
Air Prayer 