Saying Goodbye…

Since I first launched The Account in September 2004, I have had a great chance to learn a great deal, to grow in Christ, and to be challenged in my faith and I know that many of you have had the same opportunity. Yet, times change and needs change and God’s calling on our lives continues. The time for The Account as great as it has been (although rather sporadic and inconsistent in the last year or so), has come to an end for me. I will, however, leave it up for the reading and exploration of any and all who come here.

To all the readers, I want to thank you for reading and challenging me, and being challenged. I trust that God has grown your faith through The Account in one way or another and pray that He will continue to do so. It’s been quite the blast working here with this project and I’ve no doubt that God has used it.

But this is not the last of David Ketter, never fear. I’ll still be writing and podcasting from Regenerate Our Culture as well as working with The Rebelution. Yet, as of this very moment, [Re]Connected is now officially opened. This is a site devoted to a passion in my life: discipling community for Christ. Rather than focusing on strictly doctrinal issues, my hope is to encourage discipleship among believers and raise a community devoted to serving Christ wholeheartedly, growing together to be of one mind in the Spirit of peace. Grace and Peace to you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

A Tribute to My Dad

The word “father” occurs over 1,000 times in the Scriptures (don’t believe me? Check this page out) in many contexts: lineage, promises, God’s relationship with His people,  and the human fatherhood that God has ordained in creation for the heads of households and leaders of the Church.  The Apostle Paul makes a point to deal directly with this relationship many times - the most prominent of these being found in Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV):

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

The Proverbs of King Solomon the Wise also shed light on this matter, stating:

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.  (Proverbs 15:20, ESV)

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers. (Proverbs 17:6, ESV)

Dads are something that God takes very seriously - a role that the Most High Himself has chosen to use as the representation and understanding of His love and grace and how He desires to relate to us.  Dads are designed to be the human demonstration of God’s fatherly character and, in His grace, He has blessed many of us with fathers who raise us, care for us, provide for us and protect us as we mature.  I myself have been blessed by God in this way to have my Dad.

He isn’t like most dads these days, actually  My dad is of the old way of thinking (a way that I myself support on many fronts): working hard to provide for his family and doing work for and with his family at home.  Yard work, house work, office work, car work (we’ve been doing quite a bit of that lately), he is always prepared to “get ‘er done” so things can keep going as they should.

That’s definitely one of the main things I appreciate most about my dad.  For as long as I can remember, he has worked day and night to give us a home, a living and to constantly make sure his family is provided for.  Day after day for years, he has dealt with a particularly stressful occupation (property management for non-profits) to do that.   To top it off, rarely has a weekend gone by when he hasn’t done work around the house or with the car, or maybe helping others in the family, etc. with their needs in that respect too.

It’s an amazing commitment to family, a value that he is teaching me (I’m a slow learner) more and more.  By the grace of God, I have in him an example of committed loyalty to family and to providing for that family - both immediate and extended.  “You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family” is a frequent saying of his and I’ll confess that it was often received by me with a sort of resentment at the truth of that fact.  Yet, God has worked in me and in many ways, I’m beginning to see the wisdom of God in choosing both our family and friendships for us - He knows best.

Dad: Thank you for your loyalty, sacrifice, hard work, and demonstrated love time and time again.  I couldn’t ask for a more committed father than the one that God has given me in you.  I love you, Dad.  Happy Father’s Day!

In Memoriam: Crosses

This poem was authored by a relative of mine, who is an extremely-gifted poet and has often blessed me with his writing. As Memorial Day approaches, I thought this gem would be well worth your reading and reflection:

CROSSES

Pale white crosses….row upon row;
Silent monuments to those who lay below.

Symbols of the greed and inhumanity of man.
The consequence of war since time began.

They went off to war and did their best.
Gave up their lives and now lay at rest.

Fallen warriors who left home to fight,
For their country’s honor…to make things right.

In the futility of war, they lost their lives;
Leaving parents, siblings, children and wives.

They knew not whether the battle was won,
But they were heroes…each and every one.

We owe our freedom to those who lay below,
Those pale white crosses….row upon row.

Vance Oliphant
© June, 2001

Behold! The Lamb of God!

The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29, ESV)

The joy that John the Baptist must have felt upon seeing Jesus pass by him! John’s entire life had been built on waiting for his Lord to come and be revealed to Israel. Had had lived 30 years the life of a Nazirite, never tasting wine, never cutting his hair, never eating certain types of food. For some time, John had been preaching a message of repentance - a message of judgment and fire - that had prepared the way for the coming of Jesus the Messiah. But was John’s joy in the fact that everything he had worked for (by God’s grace) was finally coming to the point of results?

Not at all. In fact, John makes it quite obvious that his joy is in Christ - and in His mission. Who is Christ? The Sacrificial Lamb of God! What does He come to do? To take away the sins of the world! How wonderful that this Lamb’s ministry is not some past event or a future event, but a present event. Even as Paul quotes the Prophet Isaiah [49:8, ESV], “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you…” NOW is the day of salvation! Christ’s ministry of reconciliation, that which we who believe have come into, is the present active work of the Lamb, slain before the foundations of the earth were laid.

How great is the love that the Father has lavished upon us! In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10, ESV). What have we to do but be faithfully grateful? What have we to do but faithfully worship? What have we to do but acknowledge how He has faithfully kept us?

Nothing! Emptiness! If we are not living in response to our Lord’s sacrifice, ever-present as it is, then we live for nothing! Abba, let not our hearts seek after vain things. Only let them live faithfully in response to You, for Your glory and honor. Let Your Spirit enable us to bow our knee and confess “Jesus is Lord.” In the Power and Name of Your Son, Whose own blood was spilled for us, amein.

Rabbi Jacob Emden’s Appeal to the Christians…

Rabbi Jacob Emden (d. 1776) was a famous Rabbi for his day and is highly regarded in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, particularly among the Chasidic Jews. This epistle, I think is quite a challenge and a revelation that Christians today (like their predecessors in Europe) need to hear. Read this with and open mind and a heart tuned to the Spirit of God, rather than our own “comfort zone” of theology.

Rabbi Jacob Emden’s Letter (Seder Olam Rabbah Vezuta)

Thoughts on the Mission (a friend’s poem)

Note: A friend of mine wrote this poem.  My understanding is that one of the stanzas contains lyrics from a Christian song, but that the rest is his own work.  Great message, so I wanted to share it with everyone.

Shadowed hollow, darkened stream

It all seems a dreadful dream

But I do not awaken, it turns out to be real

Just out of reach but not to far to feel

Exegesis Sample: Joel 2

Note: When examining, exegetically, the prophets, we must always consider their role as people who urged return to God’s covenant. In that light, part of prophetic exegesis is always the connections with the covenant.

Exegesis Sample: Luke 16

This exegesis deals with what is, arguably, Jesus’ most difficult parable: the parable of the shrewd manager. This sample hear examines the historical and literary contexts of the parable.

Why We Need Chapel Linebackers

I can’t say this is a bad idea, can you?

John Wesley: Chapel Linebacker

 John Wesley: Chapel Linebacker 2

Exegesis Sample: Judges 3:12-30

In Judges 3:12-30, I have included an examination of the Literary Style of the book and an “Inside the Passage” section that examines the structure and makeup of the narrative.