Back from the holidays

No, we haven't quit the blog. just took a 2 week vacation. It was such a blessing being with our families - celebrating Christmas, playing cards, watching movies, playing charades, talking, & doing a lot of eating! What a gift from god our family members are!

We also got to be a part of the wedding and reception of our good friends Mark and Katherine. Rarely does a wedding so consistently and clearly honor Christ as well as this wedding did. We were encouraged throughout the entire celebration. And we also got to reunite with some good friends. We forgot the camera, but stole some pictures from friends.

Everyone in this picture was in China together for the 2006-2007 school year (except Katherine)

First dance as Mr and Mrs Ashbaugh

Christmas Time!

We took these on our webcam before going to see A Christmas Carol on friday night, performed in a playhouse in downtown Louisville. It was awesome! The best performance of the play that we've ever seen.

These are the only Christmas pictures that we've taken so far, since we don't have any batteries for our camera (due to laziness, not money). Some are pretty good, others not so good.
Hopefully we'll have some better pictures to post after Christmas and New Years!

Merry Christmas!

The Paradox of Christmas - Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, I defined the paradox of Christmas, which is the incarnation of Christ - that one man was both fully man and fully God. I also defined a paradox - a statement which seems contradictory but in reality is not. In these posts, I'm bringing up some of the Bible's paradoxes, using the paradox of Christmas, which all Christians believe, as a precedent.

In the previous post, I mentioned the paradox of evil - that the Bible portrays the devil as bringing about evil, but God as ultimately in control of the devil's actions. Furthermore, God is perfectly good and righteous.

Another paradox in the Bible is regarding sanctification. Simply speaking, "Sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man." (http://www.refbible.com/)

Christians are saved, or justified before God, by grace (Eph 2:8-9). That is to say, salvation is God's work. Once we are saved, our hearts are changed, and our lives reflect this change of heart. Here's the paradox - throughout the Bible, God both commands us to live in a certain way, and also declares that he will cause us to live in that way.

"work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." -Phi. 2:12-13

Paul doesn't say "work for your salvation", that would be counter to all of his other writings. Rather, he's telling us to struggle in the fight for holiness. But notice what he says immediately aftewards - it is God who does this work in us.

Here's another example.

"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer
stubborn." - Isaiah 10:16

"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your
offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." - Isaiah 30:6

God commands the very thing which he promises to do.

As John Piper says, we must make categories in our brains for these things. We do it, God does it - both are true, since we cannot deny Scripture. But we also know that God does whatever he pleases (Ps 115:3). His purposes preempt ours, even when we genuinely purpose to do something. Any strength that we have is his strength, and he has purposed to give it.

It would be an error to say, "I have no role in my sanctification, only God does it." It would also be an error to say, "God has saved me, but left me to myself to pursue holiness." God works in my to bring holiness, so I must pursue holiness. The paradox of Christmas helps us to hold on tightly to both of these truths.

The Paradox of Christmas: Part 1

The Christmas story gives us a precedent for paradox in the Bible. One person, Jesus, is both fully God and fully man. It took theologians of the early church hundreds of years to agree on this simple conclusion. Why? Because it flies in the face of what we call human reason.

Paradox: a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. (dictionary.com)

The Bible is filled with Paradoxes - things which may seem contradictory but in reality are not. Since the Bible was written by God (1 Tim. 3:16) it only makes sense that much of its contents would be difficult, in a sense, to understand. The more amazing part is that we can understand it at all! God is the ultimate cross-cultural, cross-language missionary.

When the Bible gives us two statements or ideas which appear to be contradictory, the paradox of Christmas ought to give us pause before simply tossing one out in favor of the other. There are many examples, the one I'll mention today is one of the most difficult: God's sovereignty over evil and his righteousness. (His control over all evil acts and his sinless-ness). Here are some examples from Scripture:

1) Job. In Job 1, the devil is given permission to afflict Job. When Job's family dies in 1:13-19 we are to understand that the devil brought this about. But in 1:21, Job says

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

And just in case we think that Job is wrong in attributing his loss to God, the next verse says

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong

In chapter 2 the devil attacks Job's health, and Job responds in a similar way:

"Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this
Job did not sin with his lips.

2) Paul's thorn. In 2 Corinthians 12, Pauls tells us about his "thorn in the flesh". We can't be sure what this thorn is, but it definately constitutes suffering. In 12:7, Pauls calls his thorn "a messanger from Satan". But in the same verse, he says that the thorn was given "to keep me from being conceited." I don't think that the devil's purpose in sending the thorn was for Job to become more humble. I think it's right to attribute the good purpose of the thorn to God. So the thorn was sent by the devil, and it was sent by God.

What does it mean? It's hard to find language to express this in a way that someone will not find offensive or heretical. But basically, we see that God brings about evil but is not morally responsible for it. Since the Bible is clear that God is holy and righteous (Deut 32:4, Gen. 18:25), it is wrong to attribute sin to him. But because he sovereign (Isa. 46:10, Ps 33:11, Deut 32:39), it is wrong to say that he is not in control of evil and sin.

Hard to wrap your mind around? You're not alone! While many theologians find what they consider satisfactory ways of understanding this notion, it certainly qualifies as a paradox. The paradox of Christmas, of Christ, helps us to stand in the middle of God's sovereignty and righteousness and declare that both are true.

Thanksgiving in Virginia Beach

Our first thanksgiving in the states since 2005! It was so great to be with family, and the 60 degree weather was nice too.

Nieces and nephews (Ian's sister's kids): Mary, Andy, Tyler, Lucy

Thanksgiving in America!

Tomorrow evening we'll head for Virginia Beach, where we'll spend thanksgiving with family for the first time in 3 years! We can't wait to be there! At the same time, we're so thankful for the many creative ways in which God provided fellowship for us while in China over the past 2 years, especially at holidays. We'll miss our 20+ person thanksgiving dinner crammed into a tiny dorm room. More and more, we understand life as a simultaneous joy in one sphere and longing in another. But in all things, we thank God, who is the giver of all good gifts.