We are without internet service for a while. We recently moved into a new apartment, and our phone has not yet been moved, though it was supposed to have been moved when we moved out. So we’ve been without internet all week. Blogging will be nonexistent till things get resolved.
Well, folks, it seems the unthinkable has happened: I made it out of the first round of the Said at Southern Blog Madness! That means out of all the blogs listed there, The Silent Holocron is among the top 12 blogs!
In the second round I am pitted against Michael Spencer (Internet Monk) and Reid Monaghan (Power of Change). Once again, I led this division early, but now am behind both Reid and the IMonk. I have learned that the tournament winner gets free books. That’s right, FREE BOOKS! There is a $50 gift certificate from Westminster Books waiting for the winner.
I need your help to advance to the Final Four. I have been Cinderella Incarnate, and with your continued support we can make that a reality. Go here and vote for me in the South Division Finals. Show all those hearing bloggers that “Deaf CAN!”
Spencer is one of those bloggers who could get 200 votes at the drop of a hat, if he so desired. He is known as the evil Sith Lord of the blogosphere; he must not be allowed to prevail! Reid is more like Obi-Wan Kenobi. You might consider me to be a Mace Windu. I leave the Yoda designation for Timmy.
I am humbled and thankful that many of you have seen fit to give this blog a read on a regular basis, and you have motivated me to provide more and better content in the future. Beliefbusters is just the beginning of what I hope is a new start for The Silent Holocron. Go and vote and I pray you will enjoy your continued patronage of this blog!
It is rare that I publish such things as prayer requests, especially those of a personal nature, on this blog. However, my grandmother has requested that I get us high-and-mighty preacher boys to do a “prayer chain” thing for a close family friend of ours. Fair enough, it is even rarer that I get to do such things for those who have impacted my life to the glory of God!
Few men my age and younger are blessed to have grown up with an abundance of male role models besides one’s father and grandfather. I truly believe I have been doubly blessed in that regard, since as I reflect on my 30 years of life I can see how many good, great, and godly men have influenced my upbringing. One such man is Steve Dillard of Dillard Construction, where my grandfather has worked pretty much as long as I can remember, and still does.
Recently, Steve’s brother Glenn was admitted into the ICU of Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, TN. I do not know what Glenn is there for; all I know is that he has been given no chance of living. Glenn has two sons. I do not know if Glenn is a believer, but I do know that Steve belongs to the Lord. If I understand my grandmother correctly, Steve is obviously very upset by this and is in need of the comfort that only God Almighty can provide. I immediately agreed to be an outlet for that comfort, and I ask that you join me in providing that comfort through your prayers. If any of you are in the Chattanooga area or know someone there, I ask that you share this request with your churches or ask your acquaintances there to do the same. Please pray first and foremost that Glenn in truth belongs to Jesus, and that Steve and his family will be driven to the Lord for the comfort promised by Jesus in the Beatitudes.
Lord God, great and mighty, giver and ender of life, Savior of great and small through Jesus Christ your son, sustainer and sanctifier of those who love you through the power of the Holy Spirit:
We come before you today in great turmoil and pain for our dear brother Steve. His earthly brother Glenn has been admitted to the hospital and is not expected to live. We know that you alone are able to hear prayer, and that you alone are able to answer prayer, that you alone control all things; and so we fall to our knees and lift up our hands to you. You have promised us in your Word that we have to but ask and you shall give it to us, so long as we ask true to your will. So now we ask, most high God, that your will for Glenn be done.
We pray that you will heal him of his affliction, both in the body and in the soul, that he might hear the Gospel and believe it, to your eternal glory. We know and accept that sometimes you choose to heal through death. Should that be your will, we ask that you have truly saved Glenn that he might stand at the right hand of Jesus. We ask that you will send a prophet to him who will lead him into your salvation before you draw him up to you.
We ask that you give our brother Steve the strength to fly to you for comfort, the strength to persevere in the face of grief, the strength to praise you for your righteous providence in Glenn’s life. We ask that you grant him a remembrance of Glenn which will cause Steve to glorify your name. We ask you to draw Steve closer to you whether you choose to heal Glenn or allow him to stand before your throne. Pour our your glorious power and love upon Steve, that he may stand tall in his day of difficulty, and above all, to stand.
Give us, Steve’s family and friends, the wisdom to pray for him as we ought, by the power of your Holy Spirit. Give us the ability to care for his needs, to encourage him, to lift him up. Give us a heart of service and love for him. Let us truly be your Church towards him in his hour of need.
Most importantly, let your name be glorified through Glenn. Let your name be glorified through Steve. Let your name be glorified through us. You, God who is above all, we praise you and give you glory for what you have done in Glenn that has brought us to you this day. And when all has been brought to an end, let it be that not one of us can do anything other than exult in you for what you have done this day, in this situation.
Thank you, God and Father of our Savior Jesus Christ, for hearing our unworthy prayer. We love you and we ask all of these things in the most precious name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
The Silent Holocron prays you have a good 2008! I challenge all of you to take up the Puritan Challenge (see sidebar for a link and reading list).
Posting will resume in earnest after the bowl games. Stay tuned!
As we celebrate the Advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, remember that nothing could be more important, more vital, more precious than the blood this little child would spill to bring us the grace, mercy, and salvation of God. If you have not repented of your sins and placed your faith and trust in Jesus, the greatest gift you could ever give yourself, your family, and your children is to do so today!
See you in January!
Try saying that title 5 times fast. 
Timmy decided to go wild this weekend, going on a tag-fest in which he basically tags everybody with a Jesus meme. I figured I might be able to spread it a little further past the bounds of the original group, so here’s the thing:
1. Those Tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus.
2. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers.
3. Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here of their meme so that others can read them.
Like Timmy said, many of you who read this blog are not yourselves bloggers. I’m going to try and extend this somewhat while also doing what he did. If you are not a blogger, leave a comment listing the 5 things you “dig” about Jesus. Yeah, you can send me an e-mail if you want, but I’ll post it here as well.
Now, to try and get 5 other bloggers. Don’t know how far I can stretch it, but I’ll try.
My cousin Andrew is driving this week from his home in the Smoky Mountains to his job at Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming. Yesterday afternoon he was driving through Nebraska, and called his mom. My aunt says he hates driving through Nebraska, and told my grandmother this one-liner Andrew gave her over the phone:
Just the opportunity to get one-liners like these is enough evidence that I oughta be praising the Lord He put me in the family that He did. 
Ryan tagged me again, this time with a bit of a challenge. This meme asks you to list your four favorite saints, your favorite blessed saint, and the person you think should be canonized. Ryan comments that “My more protestant readers will no doubt be theologically horrified by this.” 
Ryan wanted to see how a Baptist would handle this one. He said the guy that tagged him “made an interesting point that ’saint’ can be defined as ‘a noteworthy holy person of the Christian faith.’” Okay, the first part of handling this as a Baptist is gonna be quick and dirty. We all know the Bible says a saint is a Christian. No need to be a “noteworthy holy person.” Paul said something about that back in 1 Corinthians 12. Nuff sed.
But with no further ado, my Four Favorite Saints:
John the Baptist. Come on, you didn’t think I’d leave him out??? Since most people (including the average Joe Blow Baptist) think Baptists came from John the Baptist, this one is appropriate. And he’s a “real” saint, to boot.
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John Bunyan. Author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Holy War, and others. He is what a real Baptist ought to be like. An “uneducated tinker,” his vision, preaching and intellect were the envy of such great scholars, writers, and intellectuals of the English Reformation as John Owen.
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William Carey. Probably the first great Baptist missionary, Carey is an icon of a distinctively Baptist focus, missions.
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Charles Spurgeon. The “Prince of Preachers,” Spurgeon is a great picture of who a Baptist should be. His teachings are still relevant over a century later.
And of course, no list of “favorite” saints would be complete without:
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John Piper. Hearing this man speak way back in 1999 and subsequently reading Desiring God did more to develop my worldview than anyone. He brought together my wandering theological worldview and made it wholly centered on God and His glory in Christ.
Yes, I know that’s five, not four, but there are way too many I could use in this part of the list. And I haven’t even cracked the surface of the American side of things. So moving right on…
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My Favorite “Blessed” Saint:
St. Augustine of Hippo. Wow, two “bona fide” saints. Someone check my confession and baptism, quick. But seriously, if not for him Luther might never have ignited the Reformation. We might still be Catholics. I’m sure there’s irony in there somewhere…
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One Person I Think Should Be Canonized:
Jonathan Edwards. I could have put Martin Luther here, since without him we wouldn’t be having this discussion. But I don’t think anyone influenced American Evangelicalism — and Baptists — more than Jonathan Edwards. American Evangelicals can trace their roots (regardless of denomination) directly to him, and rightly so, as he was a major part of the Great Awakening. Not only that, he appears to be one of John Piper’s greatest influences. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Edwards when the opportunity has presented itself. And I’ll let you in on a secret: since my wife wants our future second son to have “Edward” in his name to honor her late father, we’ve agreed to name said second son Jonathan Edward.
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Okay, now to tag a few people: Timmy Brister, Tony Kummer, Joe Thorn, and since he did so well on the last one, Matt Perry.
From The Victor:
Swallowed into Earth’s dark womb,
Death has triumphed, that’s what they say,
But try to keep Him in the tomb.
The Son of Life rose on the third day!
Look! The gates of Hell are falling,
Crumbling from the inside out!
He’s bursting through those walls with laughter,
Listen to the angels shout!
It is finished! He has done it!
Life conquered death,
Jesus Christ has won it!
His plan of battle fooled them all,
They led Him off to prison to die,
But as He entered Hades Hall,
He broke those hellish chains with a cry!
Listen to those demons screaming,
See Him bruise the serpent’s head!
The prisoners of Hell He’s redeeming,
All the power of death is dead!
It is finished! He has done it!
Life conquered death,
Jesus Christ has won it!
Just look! The gates of Hell they are falling,
Crumbling from the inside out!
He’s bursting through those walls with laughter,
Listen to the angels shout!
It is finished! He has done it!
Life conquered death,
Jesus Christ has won it!
Jesus Christ has won it!
Jesus Christ has won it!
Daily Bible Verse (ESV)
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