Thoughts from this past weekend:

"Welcome to the Evil Conference...I'm Evil Ritchie"
God is in control... good, bad, and ugly.
I'm messed up!
Big TEAM, little me
It feels like Friday, but Sunday is coming.
Smelly Feet.
White rap
clap-clap-clap-clap-clap
do not be overcome by evil,
overcome evil with good
...pain is God's megaphone
God is a God of the nations--Ireland, Canada, and South Africa.
"We had a lot of craic and Bible study!"
"The devil wants to suck the grease right off of you!"
Evil and suffering get p-wned.

Great weekend. I pray it is the start of something huge, as students meditate on God's sovereignty in the midst of their pain, suffering... as they consider heaven... their citizenship... and Christ's call to carry the gospel through pain. I pray that the desire and hunger for God's Word will increase and never be satiated.

I came home to huge deadlines. I was supposed to take a Greek 3 final today, after hearing some guys from my old discipleship group give their senior talk (shout out Wilky!). I was reminded, once again, about the story of Job as I listened to my friend Wilky talk about spiritual adultery and being satisfied in Christ alone--pretty amazing considering where God is taking him these days. I came home and gathered all of the books I need for another paper... and saw a familiar face--"The misery of Job and the mercy of God" by John Piper. This book of several poems on the life of Job astounds me. The pictures and photos are amazing, but the implications and weaving of the story of Job are vibrant and hard hitting. An excerpt is included below, followed by the link for the full version.

To see what Job would do, and how

He might deal with his God. At last

He rose, and took a knife, and passed

It like a razor over all

His silver head, and tore his shawl

And robe, and fell face down upon

The ground and lay there till the dawn.

The servants knelt by him in fright,

And heard him whisper through the night:

"I came with nothing from the womb,

I go with nothing to the tomb.

God gave me children freely, then

He took them to himself again.

At last I taste the bitter rod,

My wise and ever blessed God."

Light candle one, and count the cost;

And ponder everything we've lost.

And let us bow before the throne

Of God, who gives and takes his own,

And promises, whatever toll

He takes, to satisfy our soul.

Come learn the lesson of the rod:

The treasure that we have in God.

He is not poor nor much enticed

Who loses everything but Christ.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Poems/ByDate/1386_Job_Part_1/

Jeremy Lucarelli