How Could I Miss That?

Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

What isn't "of ourselves"?
For years I repeated and regurgitated this verse, missing something just beneath the surface. Previously, I only saw the main thrust of the passage: we aren't saved by our works. This is the very dividing line between Catholic and Protestant doctrine. But there's also something even deeper than that division. It comes out in the phrase "and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God": Is Paul merely saying that grace is not of ourselves? Why would he need to point out something so elementary? By its very definition, grace is not of ourselves. By definition, grace is a gift. What's the point in pointing this basic truth out? Would some people really think that grace was actually of themselves?

Faith not "of ourselves"?
There is another interpretation that Brent Klontz showed me a few months back, which explains this phrase "...and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God..." a little better --- Paul is referring to the faith too! The faith is not of ourselves, it's the gift of God. Try looking at verse 8 again, and see which makes more sense --- grace or both grace and faith:

Interpretation 1
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [grace is] not of yourselves, [grace] is the gift of God."
Interpretation 2
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [grace and faith are] not of yourselves, [grace and faith are] the gift of God."

The difference between these interpretations might not seem clear, until you ask an Armenian and a Calvinist how they interpret it. The Armenian thought is reflected in interpretation 1: we're saved by grace, but we still have to muster up the faith to actually trust God. The Calvinist thought is reflected in interpretation 2: we're saved by grace, through faith, but even the faith that we have is God-given. In other words, we wouldn't have believed on our own.

Interpretation 2 is reflected in the very words of Jesus in John 6:44
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

This verse alone is not proof of Calvinistic thought, but it is essential to understanding how we were saved in the first place, and its interpretation marks the dividing line between Calvinism and Armenian thought.

The Only Type of Acrobatics I'll Ever Attempt

Jay Pemberton (left) and I stand in front of a Stearman Biplane.
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Jay waits next to the two-seated, upgraded Stearman.
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I got to ride in a Stearman biplane this Friday. We performed "acrobatics not seen since the sea of Chateau" --- or maybe since Thursday. Unfortunately, King Kong was tied up for the weekend, and we didn't have an Empire State Building nearby, so we had to settle for simple loops, rolls, and Cuban 8's.

How to Collect Deer Drool

This weekend some of us Moody students went on a road trip to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to check out the boardwalk. After rounding the entire boardwalk in about ten minutes, Brian (from California) said what we were all thinking: "Well, that was disappointing." So we went to Canada.

Here are some things we learned about Canada:
1) Canadians supposedly sell milk in a bag.
2) Even Canadians haven't heard of milk in a bag. Maybe it's an Eastern Canada thing.
3) 80 kilometers per hour is 50 miles per hour.
4) Canadian stores do sell in bulk.
5) Canadian border gas stations don't have soap.
6) Most people don't live in igloos in Nelson, Canada.
7) Most people don't live in igloos in Nelson, Canada because the ice would melt whenever they smoke their weed.
8) Turns are easy to miss in Canada.
9) Canadian turns can be taken at 64 kilometers per hour.
10) Canadians do say "eh?"
11) Canadians don't say "hoser."

I also learned some stuff about northern Washington on the way back home:
1) American Border Patrol guards are fairly nice.
2) Black bears like to cross roads near border stations.
3) Black bears don't like to have their picture taken (the same goes for Canadian Border Patrol guards).
4) Animals like to stay near highways in northern Washington.
5) Deer are animals.
6) Deer have bad traction on highways.
7) Deer make a "thud" sound when hitting your driver's side door.
8) Contrary to popular belief, a doe can do somersaults.
9) Driver's side doors make a good collection area for deer drool.
10) Deer can jump off into a field within 10 seconds of being hit (they probably don't like to have their picture taken either).