Grace Devo

Understanding Embrace

2012-01-30T05:57:00.000-08:00

As most of you remember and journeyed with us, our daughter Grace went through a very scary illness in the summer of 2010. In the hospital for eleven days and a long recovery afterward left her, and especially her parents, very concerned and overly cautious. Since the illness was attributed to medication, she will now hardly take any medicine, and we are very hesitant to give her any. While most of the doctors we have seen since her illness have been very understanding of our concern we still find ourself wondering if they truly understand the scary journey. Recently, our pediatrician brought on a new doctor into the practice. On one occasion Grace was assigned to this new doctor. As soon as this new doctor entered the room and began to look at Grace’s medical history he immediately commented on her illness. His response, however, was different than what we had experienced from our other doctors. While the others had been caring, understanding, and accepting of our caution, this doctor seemed to have a deeper experience. We soon understood why as he shared that his wife had also had this same illness during their engagement. He had an understanding that went beyond medical books and diagnosis, he understood because he had experienced it personally. He was able to be truly empathetic because he had been there. Suddenly, our conversation took on an entirely different dynamic, we had a shared experience. He understood and we felt even more confident in sharing our concerns and struggles with him as a result.

God became truly empathetic due to the fleshly experience of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived the flesh life, He went through temptation, He went through grief, He went through the family experience, He went through the friend experience, He laughed, He cried, He was loved, and He was rejected. He knows what it is to be human. As a result, when we come to Him with our life, He understands because He has been there.

Daily Readings

Monday, January 30, 2012 Luke 4:1-13

When our two oldest children were much younger, Andrea and I were concerned about a recurring situation that was taking place in their classroom. We had visited with the teacher and principal, both of whom shared our concerns. A friend of ours, who had a younger child at the school, had heard of the situation and began to inquire of us. He repeatedly responded by saying, very respectfully, to us “I just don’t understand why this is such a big deal to you.” This went on for most of the semester until one evening I had a phone call from this friend. “I have to tell you about a situation in my daughter’s classroom that happened today,” he began, “I am curious if you have ever encountered anything like it.” He began to describe the same situation that had concerned us for months, the same situation that he had not understood our concern about. He now understood because he now had experienced it from a perspective that provided him true personal understanding.

God’s journey of empathetic understanding of us includes our greatest struggles, even our greatest temptations. The first phase of the earthly journey of Jesus, as an adult, is a time of intense and very personal temptation. He was tired, He was hungry, He was physically and emotionally exhausted, He was as vulnerable to temptation as a person could be. There are actually two wonderful truths for us from the temptation of Christ. The first is that Christ succeeded in resisting temptation, which later is what allowed Him to die for us. The second is that He now understands our journey with temptation, He has been there. He is on our side and cheering us on. He hopes for our victory knowing the true struggle that we go through.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Luke 4:14-30

My first year in seminary I held a part time job at a bank as a teller. On one particular shift I was greeted by the head of tellers at the bank who wanted to offer me extra hours and a raise. I had only been with the bank for a couple of months so it was somewhat exciting to be greeted by such news. I was walking on a cloud....for a couple of minutes, Next I entered the teller area where my direct supervisor greeted me with an invitation to join her in her office (not actually an invitation but more of a “come in here, NOW!”). She was standing with two gentlemen in very black suits that looked like they were secret security detail for the president. She began to explain to me that I had cashed a check the day before for a man that the FBI was trying to capture, a man whose picture had been on my computer screen since I had begun working at the bank. Then the FBI men began to question me about he man. I did not have the correct answers to any of their questions. I was a really fast teller, everyone knew that, but I was also a very nonobservant teller, a fact that everyone now knew. The men thanked me with a very insincere thank you and left, then my supervisor put me on probation. It was truly a high high and then low low day.

Part of the flesh immersion journey was to experience high and then low experiences. Christ was acclaimed and praised and then went home to rejection. He knew who He was and what He was to do but had to live in a world that did not share that knowledge or understanding.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Luke 4:31-5:26

Richard Stearns graduated from Cornell University and then received an MBA from Wharton School. He went on to work in many major businesses including serving as president of Parker Brothers and Lenox. In 1998 his vocation took a different turn as he accepted the position of president of World VIsion. In this new position he saw a side of life that had been unknown to him in corporate boardrooms, a world where people were hungry and suffering from living in a fallen world. In his book A Hole in Our Gospel, Stearns detailed his own journey of experiencing and better understanding the pain that so many have no control over yet are subjected to daily. He says that it has been a journey that has changed his perspective on life and eternity.

Part of Christ’s journey of understanding the flesh experience was to understand the toll a fallen world takes on so many that live in it. He saw outright evil and he saw the natural agony of death, He saw the pain it caused those around and those involved. He understands what it is to live in a world that it seldom inviting or welcoming.

Thursday, February 2, 2012 Luke 5:27-6:16

The 1981 film, Chariots of Fire, detailed the olympic experience of British athlete, Eric Liddell. Liddell was a devout Scottish Christian who was surprised to find himself under attack for holding to his Christian principles. Liddell felt the conviction that he was not to work or do other activity on Sunday, a conviction that caused a stir when his first olympic event was scheduled for a Sunday. No one, even the officials of his own government, understood, or agreed with his stance. They argued with him but he held firm and, in the end, he did not run on a Sunday.

As we continue to journey with Christ on His earthly and fleshly experience we now see that He begins to encounter the objection from very unexpected places. As He is holding true to the teachings of God the religious officials feel that He is living in opposition to their manner of living. Even though He is able to prove the Godliness of His actions, the fact that they are different than these officials causes contention. He sees what it is to have a world object to your beliefs.

Friday, February 3, 2012 Luke 6:17-7:50

Apple founder, Steve Jobs, did things differently, often because it was what he had learned from his adopted father. As a young person, living with his parents, he helped his father build a new fence. After they had finished and Steve thought it looked perfect, his dad said, “OK, now we have to go take care of the other side.” Steve questioned his dad about the waste of such effort on something that that no one would see or even know had been done. “We will know,” replied his father. As a computer innovator, Jobs insisted that every aspect of their computers look a certain way. This included the look inside of the computer, even though no one would ever see it. His perspective was revolutionary to many in the industry, and it came from the example and lessons of his father.

The teachings of Christ were revolutionary to the people of the day. Ideas that the poor are blessed and that the hungry will be filled, even more revolutionary thoughts such as “love your enemies,” were outlandish to the people of the day. They were ideas that came from His father. They were ideas that now made perfect sense as He was able to identify with mankind.

Devo/Readings/Thinkings

2012-01-25T06:17:00.001-08:00

The Daily Devo/Readings/Thinkings will return on Monday, January 30.

Hints of Embrace

2011-12-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

The previous house that our family lived in backed up to Interstate 35. From the day we agreed to purchase the house we heard stories of a promised sound wall that was to be built behind the houses along the highway. For eight years we lived in the house, during which time the traffic and sound on the highway progressively increased. The wall never materialized even though the promise continued to be communicated. Recently activity has begun that hints that the wall will actually be built. Fences have been removed, trees have been cut down, power lines have been transferred, all signs that something is about to take place.

The birth of Christ was the first big hint that something was about to happen. God’s embrace was about to get personal, very personal. Very few noticed the hints but those that did were excited, very excited. Hints provide hope, and hope reminds us of the promise.

Daily Readings

Monday, December 19, 2011 Luke 2:1-7

We have a couple of Lego builders in our family who spend hours, and days (sometimes months), putting together intricate Lego creations. On many occasions, as they would approach the finish, it would be discovered that a piece was missing. We try to find a substitute but nothing works and we finally contact the Lego hot line to have the missing piece rushed to us. Until we have this crucial piece it is impossible to complete the creation. However, once the missing piece arrives, and is installed, everything is in place and perfect. The creation is complete.

Leading up to the story of the birth of Christ a few details are missing. The fact that Mary is the mother and lived in Nazareth did not fit with the prophecy that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. The place of the pregnant mother and the prophesied place of birth were not fitting and there did not appear to be a way that it was going to be right. Then an Emperor made a decree, the missing piece showed up and the creation made sense.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Luke 2:8-20

A couple of months ago Andrea and I were standing in the house when a loud, prolonged, sound was heard. Accompanying the sound was an obvious shaking that seemed would cause the windows to shatter. We knew something had happened, was it a bomb blast, a plane crash, what? We soon learned that it was an earthquake, the last thing on our list. As information proceeded to follow, we learned that earthquakes actually happen frequently in Oklahoma, the ground often shifts, but we seldom are aware as they are not so major as to make a verbal impact. On this day, however, we all knew because the sound was obvious. We were later to find many people who had not heard or felt the quake, they were too busy to notice.

At the birth of Christ there was a loud announcement. Angels proclaimed the birth of the Savior, it was loud and bright. It seemed to be impossible to miss, only many did. Only a group of shepherds were not too busy to hear and notice. Only a group of shepherds were listening.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 Luke 2:21

When I was born I was given a name which was attached to an identification that revealed my family. “Anthony” was added to the end of the first and middle name given to me. This final name identified me as part of the family of Bob and Kay Anthony. This name “Anthony” was given to Bob at birth and adopted by Kay at marriage. It identified them, and later me, and then a young lady named Andrea followed by our children.

When Jesus was identified by the name “Jesus” He was given another sign of identification. This identifying mark was the act of circumcision. This mark identified Him, not just with his immediate family, but with His faith family, all the way back to Abraham. It also identified Him as the completion of the promise that God made to Abraham and to the Israelites, and ultimately to all peoples. What had been a physical mark identifying all men with the promise to Abraham was now an eternal mark on the hearts of all men that choose to identify with the Savior Jesus Christ.

Thursday, December 22, 2011 Luke 2:22-38

I recently “forced” my daughter Hannah to watch one of my all time favorite westerns “The Man From Snowy River”. Just a few minutes into the movie she was bored with the slow pace and was begging me to just tell her what would eventually happen. I insisted that she watch, a request she became increasingly perturbed by. I eventually relented and began to fast forward the movie stopping at what I thought were crucial and exciting points in the movie. She did not see the crucial or exciting nature of these points. Finally I agreed to fast forward to the end as long as she watched the climax seen where Tom brings in the herd of wild horses and then says “I’ll be back for whatever else is mine,” and then turns and tips his hat to Jessica (she is the “mine” he was going to return for). As the moment finally arrived I looked at Hannah with a smile on my face feeling that she would surely see that this entire ordeal was worth it. “You really get into this don’t you dad,” she said, “Can I go now?” I said “yes” and she quickly got up and left. She didn’t get it. Tom tipped his hat and Hannah missed the significance. I couldn’t believe it, she missed it, my own flesh and blood missed it. We had waited and waited and she didn’t see the point. I was disappointed.

Simeon and Anna were two people who were waiting, and in the end they got it, they didn’t miss it. They had both been promised that they would see the Savior before they died and they did. They were not disappointed, they saw the Savior. They saw the Savior because they were looking for the Savior, He was all that they wanted to see. Hundreds of people were at the temple that day but only Anna and Simeon saw him. Only those who were looking saw Him. Are you looking?

Friday, December 23, 2011 Luke 2:39-52

Every four months I have to take a container of water from the church building to the City of Norman biologist for testing. The biologist will test the water for arsenic and other dangerous elements that would be harmful to anyone that consumed the water. After a few days I usually receive a report that details what was found, and what was not found, in the water. The testing reveals what is actually inside of the water, what the water is made of.

About twelve years after the birth of Christ his family began to see what was inside of their Son. They took Him to the temple and His true heart could not help but be revealed. They soon discovered what was really important to Him which He could not help but reveal. He instinctively began to be about His Father’s business. The parents knew this by the revelation from the Angel of God, but now they saw it in the person of Jesus.

Preparatory Embrace

2011-12-11T21:08:00.001-08:00

When our kids were younger they would spend a week each summer at camp. For months prior to our journey to the camp to drop the kids off, Andrea would be in preparation. She would have the list of all the supplies and clothes they needed to have for the week. Then, a couple of weeks prior, five trunks would line the walls of our living room as the packing would begin. Sheets, blankets, towels, washcloths, underwear, shorts, shirts, special themed clothing, toiletries, swimsuits, Bible, notebook, pen, and a few other things were finally organized and tightly folded so everything would fit in the properly sized trunks. Then, on the day before our journey, I would carry the five trunks out to the van and begin the strategic job of squeezing them into the back end of our van. It was an amazing process that made for an amazing journey.

As the birth of Christ approaches we see the preparatory process underway. Characters are introduced that are central to the story of Christ, characters that affirm and introduce the Savior to a world in need of redemption. Key figures are presented and anointed. Everything, and everyone, is ready for this amazing journey, a journey that impacts each and everyone person on this earth....including you and me!

Daily Readings

Monday, December 12, 2011 Luke 1:1-10

We recently had an abandoned car left on our street for a many weeks. Andrea, among many other neighbors, called the city. Police came out, put a bright orange sticker on the car, and then left. The car continued to sit on the street. Andrea finally decided to take the issue to someone who could get something done. She visited with a neighbor lady who has lived on, and watched over, the street for close to fifty years. This sweet neighbor is a small elderly little lady who would appear to be no threat, even to a fly. After visiting visiting, Andrea came home with a smile saying, “The car should be gone soon.” Indeed, just a couple of days later we saw the tow truck hooking the car up and pulling it away. Sometimes it just takes talking to the right person, sometimes the right person is the person you would least expect.

As God prepared to introduce the Savior to a world that was in great need to redemption, He knew that it would take the perfect introduction. God could have used the most powerful, the most connected, the most recognized but He didn’t. God chose to use a man named Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, two of the more insignificant and under appreciated people on the planet. Zechariah and Elizabeth were older, they were alone, they were looked down upon by their peers, they were not on anyone’s radar of significance. They were, however, noticed by God. They were righteous and faithful, they were willing and ready, they were the perfect avenue for God to work. As Zechariah prepared to make the incense offering in the sanctuary he had a army of prayer warriors praying for him. This warrior had no idea the point of their prayer nor the importance of their prayer yet they were praying all the same. God used, and uses, those who are available, those who are dedicated, those who are willing, even when they have no clue or idea what God’s plan is.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Luke 1:11-25

On May 27, 1988 Tom Whittaker did the impossible, he made it to the top of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on earth. While Tom was not the first to climb this daunting peak, he was the first person to do so leading an expedition in spite of the fact that he had a prosthetic leg. Almost ten years prior to his climb, Tom had lost his leg in an auto accident. To those who simply judged Tom by his physical appearance, there was no way this man could accomplish such a monumental task, but he did. It was not just about his physical ability, in the end it had much more to do with his determination and his spirit. In the end, he did the impossible.

When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to have a baby she thought that this was impossible. She lacked the physical capacity to have a child but she was told that “with God, nothing is impossible.” It was not just about her ability or her appearance, it was about the Spirit and the determination of her source, her God. In the end, nothing was impossible.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 Luke 1:39-56

I cannot even begin to imagine what went on inside the mind of Mary and Elizabeth during the nine months leading up to the birth of their sons. Each were in the middle of an impossible, unbelievable, unexpected, yet undeniable situation which could not really be understood by anyone but themselves. Both women were facing a future that was far from their expectations, it was even further from the expectations of their family and friends. They had to feel alone, somewhat abandoned, and very terrified, at the same time feeling excited, hopeful, and honored. In the middle of all of this there had to be those moments when they had great doubts. All of this makes their encounter all the more meaningful and significant and these two, in the midst of very similar circumstances, come together and experience a supernatural affirmation and a human confirmation. God provided each woman with the reinforcement they needed as they looked to a future where daily reinforcement would surely be required.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 Luke 1:57-66

I watched a young boy on the playground with a group of girls. The girls were being very bossy to the little boy, ordering him to play games and do activities that were clearly not of his choosing. With every order you could tell that he was drawing ever closer to the end of his patience. Finally, he stood up and said “No!” I don’t want to do that. He then walked away from the girls never to return. At that moment he decided to stand up for himself and to identify what he was, and was not, going to do. He made it very clear.

As Zechariah and Elizabeth presented their child to their family and friends, the expectation lingered that the child would be named after his father. Since Zechariah was still unable to speak, Elizabeth announced that the boy would be named John. The family and friends begin to argue until Zechariah could stay quiet no longer and quickly wrote: “His name is John.” In doing this Zechariah, and Elizabeth, drew a line in the sand of John’s destiny. God had pronounced the name, and the future, for this boy and now his parents accepted and proclaimed that he would be different, unique, set aside for and to God.

Friday, December 16, 2011 Luke 1:67-80

When Caleb reached one year of age he was still not walking. While we know now that this is no big deal, at that time, with Caleb being our first child and knowing that the other children his age were walking, we were a bit curious. He would stand and act like he was going to let go and walk but he never did. Every time that we thought he was about to let go and take off, he would, instead, drop back to a crawl and begin to move. It seemed that he was unwilling to let go, and even more unwilling to take the risk of walking. Two days after his birthday, he was once again standing and holding on to a table for support. Whereas we had been encouraging him to walk on this day I assumed that his would be another drop and crawl moment so I said nothing. Suddenly I could see in his face that he was deciding to do something different, to let go. I watched closely as he almost let go a couple of times and then, finally, he let go. As he stood without any support you could see that he began to realize the situation. Soon he took a step, then another, and within a couple of minutes he was running around the room. All he had to do was let go.

Zechariah had a “let go” moment that sent him running. When he obeyed God and named his son John he soon took off. His prophecy that we read today is the result of his surrender to God’s will. Everything came flowing the minute he accepted and obeyed.

Calculated Embrace

2011-12-04T20:53:00.001-08:00

I am less than a year and a half from having a college student. Years ago the thought of college financing was my main concern and ultimate fear. Now, as I have faced the reality of the experience, I am finding that the preparation is far more involved, and a great deal more grueling than to merely find the money. There are exams to prepare for, essays to write, applications to complete, visits to be made, contacts to secure, and prayers to be said. It is a much more complicated process than I ever imagined. It is an experience that I now know is not going to just “happen”, it is a very calculated and detailed journey that is important enough to make the effort to do it properly.

God’s presentation of the Messiah is not an afterthought. It is a moment in the history of the world that was planned from the beginning of time, actually before. It is no accident and it is not a last minute plan. As we had seen, God had been preparing Himself, and the people for the arrival of Jesus, for the arrival of their salvation. God still prepares us for salvation.

Daily Readings

Monday, December 5, 2011 Genesis 17:19; Luke 3:23-38

At a recent basketball game played by son Isaiah’s team, the coach yelled out for a change in the placement of players during a free throw. Quickly, before the shot was to be taken, the coach instructed the players to move to different places around the free throw lines. “The tall guys need to be up by the basket,” he explained. There was a very real reason for his position assignments.

As the birth of Christ approaches we begin to see, and better understand, the reasons for all that took place leading up to the birth of the Savior. We can now look back at the experience of Sarah and Abraham and understand why their child could not be from Hagar but had to be from Sarah. We see that God had a very calculated plan from the beginning and that nothing happened by accident. This serves as a revelation to God’s leadership and the reason for our need to trust.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33

On November 21, 1980, eighty three million people were glued to their television sets to discover who killed J.R. Ewing on the series Dallas. Fans of the show, and many who were just curious, had waited since the previous May cliffhanger had aired. On that night viewers finally had closure as they found out that J.R.’s sister-in-law, and mistress, had been the one who pulled the trigger in a fit of anger. J.R., incidentally, did not press charges against his assailant. The revelation of the shooter had been built up the entire summer until the show finally aired after a Hollywood screen writers strike. Finally, everyone had the answer.

The revelation of the coming Christ was revealed through the prophet Isaiah. The people did not understand the logistics and reality of this final revelation but the birth would provide a finality to the redeeming plan of God.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-7

Just before Halloween in 2007, my son Isaiah and I spent a couple of days together filming a Christmas commercial in eastern Oklahoma. It was a very unique and special experience which I was not sure was ever going to happen. As we arrived in the general area of the commercial shoot I found that we were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by “toxic” caution signs to be careful as the rural fields contained chemical elements that were dangerous to humans. As I drove through these fields I could find none of the signs I had been told to look for by the person that had given me location instructions. The producer finally told us to stay where we were, which I did not know even where we were, and that they would send someone to find us. Eventually we were found and led to the proper location. Upon arrival we found it to be nothing that we expected. They had told us that it would look like Christmas but all we saw was a chicken barn and a house. However, as we sat and waited, the place was transformed. Workers strung Christmas lights on the house, liquid elements were mixed together to look like frost, and suddenly the place looked like Christmas. The place that looked like nowhere was suddenly a Christmas card Christmas scene.

God’s plan for Jesus presentation, His birth, was not a location on anyone’s radar, it did not look like the birthplace of the Savior, it did not look like Christmas. All it took was a baby in a manger to transform this nowhere to the most significant somewhere. That is the transformational work of God, that is a Christmas miracle.

Thursday, December 8, 2011 Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:26-31

Simple looking Susan Magdalane Boyle wowed a British audience, and quickly became an internet sensation when she opened her mouth before an unsuspecting world. As she first came to the stage the audience and judges grinned as she explained that she was going to sing the difficult song “I Dreamed a Little Dream.” Looking at her plain appearance and speculating her ability, no person in that room expected was soon came out of her mouth. She did not look like a classical singer, she did not have the life of a trained vocalist, she did not play the part of a winner. Everyone was soon shocked to find that she was exactly the opposite of what they expected. She open her mouth and began to sing and soon everyone’s mouths were wide open in shock.

God’s choice to use Mary to birth the Christ child was even more unexpected. She was not a person of prominence and with her new reputation as an unwed mother she was looked down upon by most everyone. No one ever thought God could use such a person as Mary but Mary was exactly the person God chose to use.

Friday, December 9, 2011 Isaiah 40:3-5/Luke 3:2-6

When Billy Graham held his evangelistic crusades there would be years of preparation prior the effort. The Billy Graham association would send teams into the cities where the crusade would take place to prepare churches in the area to be prepared to the results of the works of the Holy Spirit. In addition there would be publicity and logistical teams to prepare the people. By the time that Billy Graham arrived in the stadium, the people had prayed, they had prepared, and in the midst of this preparation, God had prepared their hearts for His work that would take place.

As Christ prepared to begin His public ministry God prepared the people through John. John went ahead of Christ and told the people the “repent” and get ready for the coming savior. How prepared are you for God’s work in your life?

Growing Embrace

2011-11-27T20:20:00.001-08:00

During an ice storm last year, as we were stuck in our house for a solid week, Andrea began to clean out the cabinets, under beds, and just about any place that had stuff stacked up. The result was many items we had forgotten about. One such item was stacks of video tapes that spanned the length of our marriage. As the kids, and adults, took a very long break from cleaning, we started watching the tapes. They included our wedding, followed by the birth of each of the kids and everything that had ever taken place since 1993. It was a fun, and sometimes embarrassing time. We remembered things we had forgotten and each of the kids had points of self-discovering that they were not expecting. What stood out overall, to all of us, was how much everyone has grown up. They were so small and so young and now they are so tall and so much older. It was amazing how much growth and change has taken place and we had not even noticed. It showed us how we were and how we are now, and how we got to this place. While Andrea and I found ourselves somewhat longing for those days we were very thankful for the growth that has taken place preparing us all for the days ahead. Growth happens, growth prepares, growth is essential.

Daily Readings

Monday, November 28, 2011 I Samuel 16-17

At the first church where I served on full time ministerial staff, we had a custodian named Virgil. Virgil was probably in his mid sixties and had spent most of his life as a baggage handler on the railroad train system. Virgil was also a small guy. He was short and thin, and looked like he would be taken away with the first wind. For the first couple of months at the church I would run to help anytime I saw Virgil attempting to lift anything heavy. He would always smile, and give a little chuckle, and then assure me that he could handle it, and he always could. One day he told me that he had to move the podium off the stage in our auditorium. The podium was enormous, it could have housed a family of four. It was also very heavy, I had attempted to just move it a couple of feet once and found it nearly impossible to budge. Virgil was not just going to move it a couple of feet, but he was going to have to move it down six steps and then completely out of the auditorium. I immediately envisioned Virgil lying flat and lifeless under the monstrous podium. I told him that I would come help; Virgil, as always, insisted that he could do it. He said it in a friendly, yet serious tone that I knew I should not try to help. I still went into the room so that I would be ready to run to his rescue as the podium began to crush this little man. Since the podium probably weighed at least double his size I saw no way he was going to be able to do this. As I stood peering into the auditorium I was amazed as he gently, and effortlessly, leaned the podium over and slowly eased it down the steps to a cart he had built especially for this type of task. Then he began to roll the furniture out the side door. As he left he looked back at me, I realized that I was not being very discreet about spying on him, and said, “See, it’s a piece of cake!”. I had judged Virgil entirely based on his size, I didn’t look at his mind or his past experience carrying luggage for decades. I judged on the outside without taking into account that there is so much more.

In I Samuel 16:7 we see a revealing statement about God, “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”. The beginning of the story of David is a story of looking beyond the outer appearance and seeing the heart. How do you look upon people? How does God look upon you?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 I Samuel 18-20

Every four years our country elects a president. Sometimes this results in the current president retaining the office but many times the elections put a new person in the office. On the occasions that result in a new president, that person assumes the position of power a couple of months later. The staff of the White House, the leaders in the government, and the entire country recognize that a new person is now the president. Some may not like the decision of the American public but they cannot deny that a new person now sits in the Oval office. There is literally a short time, just moments, between the exit of the previous president and the arrival of the new president that the White House staff has to change residence from being the home of the one family to being the new home of another family. Pictures are removed and new pictures are hung, furniture is rearranged and everything possible is done so that the new residents will feel at home. From this point on, for at least another four years, the staff will serve the new family.

As we look at the story of David and Jonathan we see a very real recognition, on Jonathan’s part, that David is God’s chosen person. Even though this meant Saul, his dad, was on the way out, Jonathan could see God’s will and hand on David. Jonathan, who was also a close friend to David, could to see the sincere heart of David. Jonathan saw this in David long before David saw it himself. Jonathan’s devotion was an automatic once he understood God’s plan, even though it meant that Jonathan would not have the power his father, Saul, expected to pass to his son. The sacrifice of his own position was of no concern to Jonathan once he was aware of God’s will and the working of God’s hand.

A willingness to sacrifice our own ambitions and agenda is necessary to see what, and through who, God is doing and working. How well can you see God at work? What keeps you from seeing clearly?

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 I Samuel 21-23

Our district’s cafeteria (lunch and breakfast) program conducts a competition each year for the primary and secondary students. The competition is a themed recipe and cooking contest that invites students compete to represent their school. Some of our kids have been selected for this competition over the years and have had the challenge of preparing their recipes for judges and prizes. A couple of weeks prior to the competitions one of the system chefs will contact the parents to find out all the food elements and utensils that will be needed by the student for the contest. Then, at each competition, we have arrived and everything has been ready. The first contest we were highly doubtful that they would have everything that we needed, so we stuck everything in the car just in case, but once we walked into the school kitchen we found everything our chef needed. For subsequent competitions we had learned that we could trust the organizers and were no longer doubtful or doubly prepared.

The life of David is a learning process of this nature. After he had to depart from King Saul, and left with nothing, he begin to learn to trust God. One of his first stops was at Nob where the Priest Ahimelech provided him and his men the holy bread (this was only possible because the men had not defiled themselves) and the sword that David had previously taken from Goliath. God used the items of obedience and trust from David’s past to provide for him in this new trying time. Then this trust was tested as God instructed David to attack the Philistines. David was doubtful and even questioned God but as the instruction was clear, David obeyed and saw victory. Are you permitting God to grow you in your trust of Him?

Thursday, December 1, 2011 I Samuel 24-26

Isaiah and I recently went to see the movie “Real Steel.” The movie involves fighting robots, an orphaned child, and a father who is your basic loser dad. The climax of the movie (spoiler alert) involves the hero robot taking a constant and agonizing beating until it is the right time to fight back. Although it takes a moment for the audience to understand, the robot is allowed to endure this grueling pounding as it is the only way he can come out victorious. He can’t be defensive, he can’t be vengeful, he has to be patient. Patience is tough, even for robots. As David grew in his trust of God he also grew in his patience. He was cursed but trusted God to take care of his enemy...and then was patient for God to do so. He had an opportunity to kill Saul on his own but continued to act as God led and trusted God to act in regard to Saul. Waiting is tough, but it has us in the right position when the right time arrives. Patience is a direct symptom of trust. How patient are you? How trusting of God are you?

Friday, December 2, 2011 II Samuel 6-7

When our children were young and we would run into their preschool teachers, or later early elementary teachers, the kids would stand speechless. They did not know what to do with the revelation that these adults were human. Children look at the adults in their life as having arrived, as being completely supreme in every way. They do not think about these adults as needing anything, nor do they see them as having to grow or learn. As children begin to see adults in a more human light they sometimes have a problem reconciling this as it shatters their illusions. As adults we, of course, know the fallacy of this thinking as we are aware of our constant need for growth in most all ways.

In the area of spiritual growth, and needs, we often fall into a childlike thinking. We imagine that some “spiritual” adults have arrived and no longer need anything including to grow. This is also false. David is a perfect example of this. Various times in his life he forgets what he has learned about following God and acts in a very immature way. At these times God has to correct and often discipline way. God assures of His constant dedication to growing us in II Samuel 7:14-15 with a reassuring promise. David grows and continue to grow up. Are you still growing?

Accepting Embrace

2011-11-21T05:09:00.001-08:00

The far reaching details of the financial crisis that has impacted the European countries, over recent months has held the attention of most individuals with a wallet across the world. It has become increasingly obvious that the situation across the ocean has a strong impact on our situation. What has made the situation in Europe all the more interesting and fascinating, and frightening, is the fact that every European nation has to make, and agree on, each step required in solving the crisis. Then, after they finally have agreement, they have to make sure that each nation is following the agreement. At any phase of the process everything could fall apart and financial crisis sets in. The solution involves a full embrace of the plan. The embrace takes pains, it takes agreement, it takes understanding, it takes choice, it takes focus, it takes a lot of effort. Embrace is sometimes like that.

Daily Readings

Monday, November 21, 2011 Joshua 1:1-9

We have a class situation in our High School where the teacher had to quickly take off the remainder of the school year. Due to a very unexpected find of a very progressed cancer, the teacher was forced to concentrate on his health for the time being. This not only caught the teacher, and his family off guard, but the school administration as well. While everyone was devastated for the family, the issue of this class still had to be dealt with. As the administration began to find a temporary permanent solution it was discovered to be a bit more difficult that would be imagined. Several of the classes this teacher taught were quite a challenge. Various substitutes were used with most expressing a desire to never be in the class again. Some came in weak and were quickly taken advantage of, others attempted to be tough and authoritative and were quickly seen through by the students. Weaknesses, as well as pretentious toughness, were quickly identified by the students. Being mean is different than being strong; being strong takes a clear understanding of truth and the true strength behind being tough.

Following the death of leader Moses, God called on Joshua to lead the people. God’s instruction to Joshua was “be strong and courageous.” God knew that Joshua could not just decide, “I am going to be strong and courageous,” and have actions that reflected this state of being if he was not first of all “strong and courageous.” God knew that Joshua had to understand his true strength and the source of that strength. That his strength was not in pretending or bluffing, because the challenges would be far too great for a performance, he had to truly be strong and courageous. In these first nine verses what does God do to give Joshua an understanding of true strength and the source of his courage? What is the source of our strength and courage? Joshua had to accept the proof that God gave to accept the embrace that God offered. Are you ready to say “yes” to God’s embrace for you?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Joshua 1:10-18

We are currently on our second teen with a driver’s permit. This means that we are in the middle of a second teen learning to drive. She chooses to take the wheel almost any time we get in the car. Most of the time mom, Andrea, is declared the most patient instructor. Dad gets very little recognition for patience, even though he would argue the merit of the judging system. The one thing Andrea, and I, are consistent in is that we always give a reminder of the basics. “Look behind when backing out, don’t hit the mailbox, look both ways at stops, watch out for children, the speed limit is actually 25 mph”....you get the picture. Reminders are important.

God tells Joshua many reminders, the main one is to “Remember”. “Remember” the word Moses gave you....”Remember”. Remembering is essential to remain in God’s embrace. Joshua was going to have many times that would be a challenge and many others that would be a frustration, it would be crucial that he remember in order to not lose focus or his strength and courage. What do you need to “remember” in order to remain in God’s embrace?

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Joshua 2

As parents of school age children, one of the greatest things that Andrea and I have discovered is listening. We have found that as we listen to other parents about effective teachers, programs, etc. we are much better prepared and ready for the next phase of our child’s schooling and life. The listening provides us with the knowledge when to be concerned, when to be extra alert, and when to act. Listening is foundational to moving on and to watching out. Listening is more than hearing, it paying attention so that you are truly aware and ready.

The people of Jericho had been listening without even really trying. They had heard how God was leading the Israelites and the manner in which He had dealt with opposition. The people of Jericho were very concerned, they knew that they were next. At the same time the Israelites had to be aware which is why Joshua sent the spies. The spies provided the people with the knowledge of “how” God was working as well as “how” God was leading them to move forward. No one would have been aware if they had not been listening. How good are you at listening and being aware to the movement and instruction of God? What keeps you from hearing and seeing?

Thursday, November 24, 2011 Joshua 3-4

Watching a group of four years olds playing “Follow the Leader” I noticed that one little guy at the back of the line had stopped to pull a dandelion out of the playground. As he held the flower in his hand he became fascinated with it and soon had sat down to study it further. At the same time the rest of the children were still following the leader and were headed to the far side of the playground. When the flower holding little boy finally looked up, he did not see his peers anywhere. He stood and began frantically looking around eventually yelling for them. He did not know where to go because he had lost sight of the leader.

As Joshua is leading the people, the words “see” and “follow” are central to their success and even more central to remaining in the all important embrace of God. They knew they did not want to get left behind, nor did they want to wonder off in the wrong direction. Are you focused on “seeing” and “following” God?

Friday, November 25, 2011 Joshua 5

I grew up watching the original “Mission Impossible” television show every Sunday night. Much like the current cinematic series, the shows would open with a tape recorded message that outline the mission for the episode. Each tape would self destruct after saying, “Your mission should you choose to accept it is........” The team would then have to decide if they would accept the mission or not (I cannot recall a time that they ever refused).

Before Joshua moves the people on to the battle of Jericho he gives them the option. God instructs Joshua that the people need to be circumcised, they need to make a personal choice to follow God. The last time this choice had been given was to their parents and it was a decision that was not passed down to children. This next generation had to make a choice to follow, or not follow, God. The choice is the same to us today.

Misunderstood Embrace

2011-11-13T20:27:00.001-08:00

My first trip to Japan involved learning an entirely new way of seeing and interpreting the things around me. I did not understand the language, so I often did not know what was happening. At a restaurant meal with the host missionaries I asked for the bill and mistakenly ordered a tray of beers. On a solo cross country bullet train ride, I got off the train at the wrong stop and the wrong town. I walked into a house with my shoes on only to find that this was also wrong. Sometimes the way we look at things, our paradigm, is confronted by a totally new reality. We have to readjust the ways we look and interpret everything.

There are many facets of the character and nature of God, especially in regard to the ways that He relates to us, that fit into this paradigm shift. Often times our way of thinking is very different than God’s way of acting and relating. We have to learn to take our shoes off.

Daily Readings

Monday, November 14, 2011 Numbers 12

I recently attempted to assist one of my children with their math homework. We were able to work through all of the problems except for one. I looked at it, as a person looks at a foreign language, and finally realized I had no clue how to get to the solution. This child attempted to walk me through the process of finding the answer which did not come to a right answer, nor did the explanation enlighten at all. I finally picked up the book and said “Let’s ask Caleb.” I knew that Caleb had already successfully completed this level of math so I hoped he would remember how to do this type of problem. The two of us joined Caleb who was sitting on his bed, I then handed him the book, the paper, and the pencil. He gave his required teenage sigh, looked at the problem, and begin quickly writing out numbers quickly coming to the solution. I looked in the back of the book to discover that he was right, so I then asked if he could do it slower so that his even slower dad could understand. By this time the child who belonged to this homework was expressing understanding and ready to call it a night. I was not that easy, I wanted to understand. So, Caleb then gave an even bigger sigh, the kind that is necessary when encountering an extremely annoying parent. He then began to try to explain each time coming to the proper solution, each time with a Dad that had no clue. I attempted to explain that it didn’t make sense and he reassured me that this is how it is done, at least in this century. We parted ways as he attempted to reassure me that “it’s ok dad.” Sometimes things don’t make sense, but that does not mean that they are not right. Sometimes things don’t seem fair, but that does not mean they are unjust.

Aaron and Miriam discovered this when they began to complain about the way God was leading the people, particularly about Moses and his wife. They were looking through eyes that were centered on themselves. God soon showed them that His ways are not always the way we think they should be but, nevertheless, His ways are right and best. Do you look at life through a trust in God’s ways, or do you, like Miriam, look with human eyes that are centered on you?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 Leviticus 12:1-8, 14:21

I recently rushed, with Lily and Isaiah, to watch Hannah and Grace run in a cross country meet being held in Norman (I was running late and their event was about to begin). I had my events pass, and elementary age are seldom charged (at least at Norman meets) an entry fee so I arrived at the meet with no cash in my pocket. As we approached the ticket desk, I held up my pass and continued to walk to the by the desk as I usually do. The lady that was selling tickets stopped me and took a closer look at the pass and said, “I guess we can accept that, but you owe eight dollars for each of the kids.” I later found out that this was not actually a Norman event, another school district was using our facilities for their event, and therefore charging what they normally charged. This was not only more than I expected, it was 100 percent more than I had in my pocket. I considered running to an ATM but a cross country event takes less time than it takes to get to an ATM, so I began to quickly go through the options in my head. I finally verbalized the option to Lily and Isaiah that they stay outside the gate while I run and watch the event and then run back. The looks on their faces permitted me to know and understand their thoughts on that option. Finally the ticket lady said, “Just go on in.” She understood that an allowance had to be made as it was not possible for me to meet the requirements.

As we see God state the requirements for the people in regard to cleanliness and purification two truths become evident. First, God is a very practical God, many of the instructions given to the people dealt with personal health and hygiene (we also see this in regard to the instructions on leprosy beginning in chapter 13). Second, He is considerate of what is realistic for us. He gives a different requirement for the sacrifice based on what a person can do. His call is for personal sacrifice that is truly an equal sacrifice to the person, rather than a equal sacrifice that may be physically equal but not personally equal. God calls on us to approach sacrifice in an honest, individual, and personal way.

Wednesday, November 16 2011 Leviticus 13:1-14:32

Even after it has ceased to be produced, the television show Monk has continued to be one our favorite shows. While we enjoy watching Adrian Monk solve the murder cases, the real entertainment is watching him attempt to be unaffected, and uninfected, physically by the people he interacts with. His assistant is continually ready to give him a sanitized wipe when he shakes a hand, or has any type of contact with a person or anything. He is careful to not go anywhere that might cause him to encounter germs and he stays away from anyone who might share their germs. He wants to be in the world working, but he does not want the world to leave any workings on him.

As God is giving the people instructions about how to confront leprosy, He gives the priests the job of inspecting those who may have the disease. Since many forms of leprosy are contagious one can only assume that the priests risked personal infection each time they worked with someone that had leprosy. Even though they faced this risk, they were called on by God to take the chance. It was what God called them to do. In I Peter 2:9 Christ followers are informed that we are a “royal priesthood...”. Think about this, if God called the priest to interact with those who were dirty, those who were infected, those who were contagious...do we not have the same call as the new priesthood? It may not be leprosy that we risk being exposed to, it may be rejection, it may be people that are different than us, it may be annoying or dirty people (outside or inside). What is God calling you, a priest, to risk?

Thursday, November 17, 2011 Leviticus 14:33-57

Friends of mine, a couple of years ago, discovered that they had toxic mold throughout their home. It was in the walls and cabinets and everywhere. As it was tested it was determined to be unsafe to live in. They had to gut the house, tearing out walls, carpet, cabinets, and everything. Many personal items in the house had to be destroyed because they were carrying the mold as well. To rid the house of the mold they had to remove everything that had been infected with the mold.

As God gives the people instruction on dealing with leprosy He directs them to their houses. They find that the leprosy can be there just as much as it can be attached to a human. They had to clean house and get rid of everything that had the disease. We often have to do this in our lives, remove everything that carries disease. We have remove those things that can harm us in an earthly sense but also in an eternal sense. Does your life need a house cleaning?

Friday, November 18, 2011 Leviticus 16:1-6

One of my girls and I sat out one Saturday afternoon to pick up trash along the mile of road in front of the church. It did not take long until my daughter was expressing her disgust at the filth that people had thrown out their car windows. By the time we had filled two or three garbage bags she had had enough. “I cannot believe that those people are that rude,” she proclaimed, “we should not be picking up their trash, they should!” Although she was correct, the truth was that the people who should have been picking it all up were unable to be there. If the road was to be cleaned we were the ones to do it. Sometimes you have to clean up someone else’s mess, a mess that you did not create, nor should you be cleaning up. Nevertheless, we often are called on to do just that.

Aaron was called to clean up a mess that was created by his sons. Although they should have been cleaning it up themselves, they could not, they were dead. Their mess had also been the cause of their death. Aaron, their father, then was instructed by God to clean it up. God often leads us to continue in the success, and often the mess, of others. Our response is not to argue the merit of assignment but to accept the assignment. What assignment has God given to you?

Hopeful Embrace

2011-11-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Stretched across the width of our backyard is a large tree limb that hangs parallel to the ground. Looking at the enormous branch you cannot help but wonder what is holding it up. I love this branch and live with a dread for the day that it will finally break from the tree and fall to the ground. Each winter, during major ice storms, as the ice begins to build up and weight the limb down I spring into action. I attempt to shake the ice off with little success then I proceed to prop the heavy limb up in order to relieve the pressure on the tree. It is too high off the ground for a long board so I usually end up using an extension ladder stretched out as far as possible. Since the ladder has no support and is usually propped up against a wall for use, I am forced to get creative. In the end the ladder is pushing up the limb with a variety of support on the ground securing the ladder. For the many days that the ice remains I stand at the window hoping my creation works, it is my only hope. I always know that one strong wind, or an out of control sledding child, could easily and quickly move the ladder from its post causing the limb to come crashing to the ground. I stand at the window placing all my hope in my extension ladder which is attempting to do something that it had no preparation or training to do.

The people that Moses led were a “stiff necked people” as defined by God. They had been quick to complain, they had been swift to disobey, and they had been easily swayed away from God. The people also were smart enough to understand why God felt this way. They were unappreciative, they were ungrateful, they were un-easy to lead and tolerate. They recognized the way they had been, they knew the wondering of their hearts, they saw why God was fed up. They had no hope, except for the hope that God provided through Moses. As a group, the people placed their hope in Moses. They were quiet when he was meeting with God, and they listened when he reported what God had said. They had not always been this way but they were for now...it was their only chance, Moses was their only hope.

Daily Readings

Monday, November 7, 2011 Exodus 33:7-11

The story of the Amanda Knox murder case that took place in Italy was one that held the attention of Americans and people around the world. In the end everyone that had any direct connection to the case sat for most of a day and waited for the court officials to return a verdict. Those that supported Amanda sat hopeful in, and around, the court building that the guilty verdict would be reversed. Those that felt Knox was guilty hoped for a affirmation of the original verdict. Everyone sat reverently and waited, everyone sat still and hoped. In the end, Knox was declared innocent and soon released from prison and returned home.

As Moses would enter the tent of meeting, the people would wait reverently and hopeful. They were reverent because the knew that Moses was meeting with God. They were hopeful because they knew that Moses was speaking with God on their behalf. Although they were a people with many faults who consistently made many mistakes, they knew their future and their hope rested with God and the outcome of these face to face meetings. They knew that their only chance was this intercession conducted by Moses with God. We live in a post tent meeting, post trial verdict time. We live face to face with God because our intercessor, Christ, has gone for us, before God. The danger of this standing in this position, as we do, is that we can forget the need for reverence and hope. We forget to stand quiet and still before God. As Moses would leave the tent, he left Joshua there so that God would never be left alone or ignored. How do you stand before God?

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 Exodus 33:12-16

On a family trip to Disney World, when our son Isaiah was about 7 years old, he walked off at a very busy Epcot and ended up separated from us. We were terrified and when we finally found him he was equally frightened. The next morning, after he was dressed, I turned him around, lifted up his shirt, and with a permanent marker wrote our names and phone numbers. I was going to make sure that he was identified as an “Anthony” and how to get in touch with me immediately. I did not want anyone to misidentify him.

Moses desired that the children of God would be identifiable. He wanted everyone to know that this people belonged to God. He wanted everyone to know that this people followed the one true God. He wanted everyone to know that this people were chosen by God. He wanted the world to know that these people were distinct. How does the world know to whom you belong, how does the world know that you are distinct?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Exodus 33:17-23

When our kids were younger we would frequently eat at a restaurant located in downtown Norman near the railroad tracks. They loved this, not so much because of the food, but because we would always see at least one or two trains go by outside while we were eating. The kids would jump up and run to the door begging to go outside and see the train. If weather permitted, we would let them go out to get a closer view, but only on the condition that they stay with us and hold our hands. This was for their protection, there was a limit to how far they could go, a limit on how close they could get to the speeding trains. They would usually tug at our hands to get closer and we would always prevail in holding them back for their own safety.

Moses becomes very bold in his requests before God asking to see God’s glory. This was out of a sincere desire on Moses’ part but God knew what Moses could handle, and permitted him to only see His goodness. This was all that Moses needed to see and it was all that Moses could handle. God knew that there would be a day, in eternity, that Moses would get to see and would be able to handle seeing God’s glory. God gives what is needed and withholds that which can hurt or harm.

Thursday, November 10 2011 Exodus 34:1-9

I once spoke with a gentleman who was very frustrated with and by his life. For many years he had not been able to keep a job in his chosen field, he had little support from his extended family, and his immediate family was not all that he had imagined. As we visited I noticed that everything that could be suggested to him, by me or that had been recommended by others, was quickly rejected for an array of reasons. He wanted all the solutions, as defined by him, but he had no desire to do the work or to make the sacrifice. He was not willing to accept anything other than his exact plan without any personal sacrifice. He left frustrated.

As Moses returns to God, to receive a second copy of the commandments we see him ready to do the work. God instructs Moses how to approach and how to carve the new tablets. His is willing to do the work and to make the sacrifice. This attitude is reflected when he is before God and the utterance of his lips is pure praise. What is your attitude in regard to God’s work in and through you, are you willing to make the sacrifices required?

Friday, November 11, 2011 Exodus 33:12-35

When I was in high school, we always knew who had gone skiing during spring break. When we returned to school after the break, those who had been skiing would be wearing their ski parkas with the ski lift tickets still attached to the zipper. The funny thing was that we seldom needed to have the parkas or tickets because their faces always were always obvious proclamations. Their faces looked like raccoons. They had sunburns on the bottom part of their face and no burn around their eyes due to the ski goggles. Their faces shone in such a way that it was impossible to miss the fact that they had been on the slopes.

When Moses came down from talking to God it was obvious where he had been. His face had a shine that was so intense the people had to look away from him. He eventually had to wear a veil because the shine on his face was so strong. Can you imagine having such an obvious statement about your walk with God that could be seen by everyone?

Group Embrace

2011-10-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Caleb, my oldest son, recently was assigned to read the book The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw. This book deals primarily with the shared attitude and reality of sacrifice by all Americans during World War II. After he had read the book we engaged in a conversation about the difference in America now and America then. We particularly discussed the different attitudes of sacrifice of those Americans directly impacted by our current wars, and those who are largely unaffected by the foreign conflicts. In the end he said (paraphrased) “I don’t think Americans could all make the unified sacrifice now that they made then. I don’t think we are willing to give up what is necessary to be able to come together like they did.” I had to agree.

The story of Moses that we read this week is a story of a people who were largely unwilling to come together. They were unwilling to make the sacrifice necessary and take the essential risks that would allow them to fully embrace their journey and to fully respond to God’s embrace. They consistently questioned Moses, complained about the journey, distrusted each other, and rejected God. There is one instance, in Genesis 8:17-16 where we see the people trust, work together, and support each other and Moses. In response they experience an amazing victory. Sadly, it was not long until they returned to their doubting, complaining, and questioning ways. Once again they experience defeat, misery, and miss the embrace of God.

God reaches out continually to teach the people about His embrace and His desire for them to respond, not just to Him but to each other. He showed the Israelites that their response to Him and each other resulted in hope and victory. He showed them that this group embrace revealed a future of trust and understanding.

Daily Readings

Monday, October 31, 2011 Exodus 15:22-18:27

Several years ago I was with the Grace Fellowship children at a camp in Texas as they were engaged in a battle of tug-of-war. The teams were made up of churches and our group was smaller in number and physical size than many of the other groups, including the group we were tugging against. As our kids were working hard, but about to be pulled over the line, the recreation leader yelled to me to join our kids and help. Although I was not helping with much muscle, I was able to contribute a helpful amount of weight which pulled our group back from the edge and finally to victory.

Moses’ journey with the Israelites was one in which he battled alone, and often even against his own people. Eventually the people joined him and added their weight, their support, to pull off a victory (Exodus 17:8-16). It is an amazing twist of behavior and attitudes as the people move from complaining and whining, to assisting and supporting. It is an amazing change as they go from living in division and defeat to living in unity and victory. How do you see the lessons from this section of Moses’ journey applicable to your life?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Exodus 19:1-23:9

Many times, as a parent, I find my children questioning the reasoning behind the rules I give to them. This should not surprise me as I can remember doing the same thing in regard to the rules laid down by my parents. Now that I am on the parent side, the reasoning behind the rules makes a great deal of sense.

God, after testing the people to see if they are able to follow Him, now begins to give them rules that may or may not make sense to the people from their side. These rules are aimed at their protection and their stability. Look over the rules given by God and think upon the reason God gave this instruction. What does God’s instruction tell you about God’s character and nature?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 Exodus 23:10-31:18

I have a friend who is in the military, he also has very strong and definite political opinions. You do not need to be around him for a very long time to figure out which direction his political views lean, and many are not around him long until he has offended them by the depth of his political passions. Years ago, when a president was in office, who was of a completely opposite political persuasion than that of my friend, he told me a story. He shared that he had been at a press briefing where this president was in attendance. At one point during the conference a spectator began to yell out very offensive things at the president. My friend, who was not a fan of this president, was horrified that anyone who act this way, regardless of their opinions and political views. “It is the president of the United States, he passionately proclaimed, “you respect the position no matter what you think!”

In our readings today we see God teaching the people about the position of God. He is teaching them a life of respect to God regardless of attitude or opinion. How do you see God teaching the people about the position and person of God? How does your life reflect an understanding of this?

Thursday, November 3, 2011 Exodus 32

One of the tougher things about my kids getting older is that the hugs seem to be much fewer and further between. Sometimes I will ask for a hug and the result is like hugging a soggy piece of bread or a squirmy resistant dog. They are not really “into” the hug and pull away as soon as possible.

The Israelites reveal the depth and truth of their embrace, their hugs, toward God when they begin to doubt Him. When Moses is absent for an extended period of time they once again let go of God and return to their old ways learned in captivity. They easily reveal the truth of their trust and embrace of God when times become tough. What causes you to let go of God?

Friday, November 4, 2011 Exodus 33:1-6

The actions of the Israelites in again rejecting God and returning to their old ways and old habits causes them to see the passion of God. They are afraid, with good reason. How would you define the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in this story, that brought God to this point? How was this different from all the other times they disobeyed or offended God?

Hard to See Embrace

2011-10-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Over a five week time period at the end of summer, all three of the vehicles we own had to have major mechanical work done. Two of the vehicles had to be towed to the mechanic while the third broke down in a distant state leaving us at the mercy of an unknown garage. All three seem to be functioning now but one little hitch remains. Every morning, as I venture out in my van, the battery light comes on. The light stays on for the first or second leg of my driving and finally quits for the day. This usually begins as I am taking Lily and Isaiah to school, they respond by speculating on when and where the car is going to finally quit. This is basically their begging God to let it not break down in front of the school in view of their friends. Every evening Andrea reminds me of the battery light and encourages me to take it to the shop the next day to make sure. I always smile, yet in the back of my mind I am thinking that it has worked fine for the past week so I am sure it will continue to work forever. Even though, in my mind, I know this is a bad thinking I still continue to think this way.

Sometimes our thought process is faulty due to what we think we see, and sometimes it is faulty because we continue to forget what we have seen. The story of Moses and Pharaoh is a story of a lot of faulty thinking. Pharaoh continually forgets what he has seen and the Israelites fail to see what is right in front of their eyes.

Daily Readings

Monday, October 24, 2011 Exodus 1-4

The son of a friend had just recently started driving when it came time to fill up his car with fuel for the first time. He quickly dashed to the nearest station, grabbed the first dispenser he came to, and crammed it into the tank of his car. It was a little tough, and he was surprised at how difficult it was to get the dispenser to fit into his car. He finished filling up the car, paid for the fuel, and headed out to life. It was not long before his car was puttering and then it finally died leaving him on the side of the road stranded. As my friend went out to help his son, he soon discovered that the son had put the wrong type of fuel into the tank and the car was unable to function. The car was not built for this fuel and could not operate.

God called Moses on a very important journey that required Moses’ full devotion and commitment. In Exodus 4:24 we see that God revealed to Moses and his wife his lack of full devotion. God was set to kill Moses because he had not circumcised his son. This seems a bit drastic but Moses’ oversight revealed his lack of attention to a true allegiance to God which was going to be essential to lead the Israelites. Moses was about to lead the people with the wrong fuel in his tank which would, in turn, destroy the entire effort. He had to switch to God rather than his past Egyptian orientation. What is your fuel, does it reveal God?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Exodus 5:1-6:27

A common, and often ridiculed, statement made by parents is “because I am the parent, that’s why!” We laugh at this statement but most all parents admit that at some time they have said it to their kids. While it does seem lame and overbearing, it does communicate a very raw and basic truth. As Moses continually questions the authority upon which he is going to Pharaoh, or questions how Pharaoh will receive this authority, God continually reminds him “I am the Lord.” It is a basic proclamation of a truth that explains His authority and right to demand the release of the Israelites. Sometimes God does the same with us. As we question why, and have no understanding of God’s reasons or plans, He just says “Trust Me, I am the Lord.”

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Exodus 6:28-10:29

Eddie Haskell, in the Leave it to Beaver television series, was a notorious suck up. He would flatter the adults and then undermine them once their back was turned. The adults, and his peers, that knew him came to a place where they knew the insincerity that was behind his polite actions and words.

Throughout the plagues Pharaoh played the insincere suck up role. He continually promised to release the Israelites only to take back his promise at the next turn. This insincerity finally became clear to Moses in Exodus 9:30. In one of Pharaoh’s moments of suck up insincerity, Moses tells him, and his officials, that it is impossible for them to follow and obey God if they do not first fear God. The fear of God is the root foundation for sincere obedience and following.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 Exodus 11-13

What is the role of purity in the Israelites’ worship and remembrance?

Why is this purity so important and essential?

How is purity essential in your worship and remembrance?

Friday, October 28, 2011 Exodus 14:1-15:21

From the beginning of the story of Moses we see that the Israelites had multiplied to such an extent that they outnumbered the Egyptians. The Egyptians had become fearful of the Israelites due to their powerful numbers. The ironic thing is that the Israelites never seem to comprehend this reality. They were scared of the Egyptians while in captivity and then they continued to be in fear after their exodus. The Israelites have over six hundred thousand men facing the much smaller army of Pharaoh, yet the Israelites are afraid. In addition to this obvious truth they also have witnessed God’s miraculous acts. Still, none of this blatant proof assures them of God’s hand or His protection. On the other hand the Egyptians continually trust in themselves, and their power, even in constant defeat. There is a mental factor that keeps the Egyptians from surrendering to God and the Israelites from trusting God. We do the same, we are quick to trust what we have, yet fail to trust our God with what we do not have. What keeps you from trusting God?

The Pain of Embrace

2011-10-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

When our youngest son, Isaiah, was a toddler he rolled off of our bed one night and cracked open his head. There was blood everywhere and I immediately rushed him to the emergency room. There, right on his forehead, between his eyes, was a huge, huge, gash. The doctor told me that the normal procedure was to staple the the gash back together without any type of deadening of the area. He explained that taking the time to give the child shots to numb the area often set children into a panic that then made the placing of stitches impossible. It made sense but I dreaded what I knew was about to come. The doctor had a few others come into the room to assist and then had me stand at a place where Isaiah would focus on me. I began to try to explain to him that this would make it all better fully knowing the pain that he was about to endure. With each of the staples he cried and screamed. With each staple I wondered if the gash on his forehead was actually that bad. It was that bad, and of course, it had to be taken care of, the staples had to be inserted. Once the procedure was completed, Isaiah crawled into my arms and held me tight, the pain was over, and the gash was on its way to total healing. For weeks he looked pretty scary but today there is no sign of the gash. The healing was possible because of the painful staples.

Sometimes we have to go through painful times to see God’s ultimate will on the other side. It is the only way, and as we understand His ways, we are able to enjoy all that God has for us in the healing.

Daily Readings

Monday, October 17, 2011 Genesis 37-39

After you have read the scriptures for today, go back and reread Genesis 39. How many times do you see the words “God was with Joseph” (or something similar) and how often do you see it claim that God greatly blessed Joseph? Even as these statements are made we also see that this was all during a very tough and trying time for Joseph, a time that lands him in prison. How do you respond to the fact that the time of blessing for Joseph was also his time of agony? What does that tell you about the nature and character of God?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Genesis 40-41

Much of the defining of God we see in the Old Testament takes place during the time of bondage in Egypt. It was a necessity that God move the people to Egypt so the relationship with them could undergo this essential process. The story of Joseph sets the foundation for this experience in Egypt to take place. In Genesis 41:25 we see the coming drought to be ordained by God. How did God’s actions in this passage set the groundwork for the future work of Moses, the journey to the promise land, and the developed relationship of God and His people? This “plan” was a preliminary step in God’s ongoing relationship with the people. As you look back, how can you see God leading you in tiny, or huge, steps to grow you?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 Genesis 42-44

As Joseph puts his brothers through a testing to see if they have truly changed, we see that the brothers assume these things are happening to them because of their evil actions regarding Joseph (Genesis 42:28). The thought that God would do something of this nature is difficult to understand yet as we see the story progress we see the brother’s willingness to sacrifice themselves to save their brother. We are able to see the work that has taken place in them over the years since they sold Joseph. How does God reveal His work in you?

Thursday, October 20, 2011 Genesis 45:1-47:12

The story of Joseph is a story of personal growth, personal forgiveness, and mostly the working of God. In Genesis 45:5, we see that Joseph understood that the plans of God were much bigger than the limited view he had of his circumstances and situations. Joseph understood that God uses all sorts of people, events, and happenings to accomplish His will. This understanding of God is what permitted Joseph to survive without bitterness and hatred; this understanding of God is what allowed Joseph to enjoy God’s ultimate will. It would have been very easy for Joseph to take revenge on his brothers. If he had done this he would have missed the sweet reunion and the final time of relationship he had with his dad and family. Bitterness would have caused him to miss out on the joy that was the intended result of his life suffering. Do you have bitterness and resentment that is keeping you from enjoying the works of God in and around you?

Friday, October 21, 2011 Genesis 47:13-50:26

After Joseph’s dad died, the brothers became concerned that Joseph will now take revenge upon them. They thought that the dad had been the reason that Joseph held back his wrath on them. Joseph responded with an assurance that he had forgiven them and that he is not in the position of God to punish them for their past actions.

Sin in our lives sticks with us and is constantly a voice in the back of our heads. Sin haunts us even long after we have changed our ways. It is a scar that stays as a reminder to us of what we were. This sin scar can keep us from growing in our relationship with God, it can keep us from growing in our relationships with others, and it can keep us from enjoying the works of God. Even as we recognize God’s forgiveness of our sins we still are frequently confronted by them. Joseph reminded his brothers of God’s promise to Abraham they held to. He encouraged them to let this be their motivation and to not let their past be a constant hurdle.

What keeps you from seeing God’s future for you?

The Manner of Embrace

2011-10-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I sat down for lunch one day and soon could not help but overhear the conversation going on next to us. The conversation was not necessarily interesting or revealing, it was actually very ordinary. It was a conversation that could have been taking place at any table in the restaurant only with different words. After a few moments I glanced over at the table where the conversation was taking place. I immediately recognized a gentleman at the table who was clearly the focal point of the conversation. I was surprised to discover that this man was a former national political figure who was thought, at one time, to be a presidential contender. I whispered to Andrea this revelation and suddenly we both found ourselves listening intently on the conversation taking place. Whereas prior to the revelation we only overheard the conversation because the people were speaking rather loud, now the conversation itself held our attention. What was the difference, we had decided that someone in the conversation was “important.” The conversation did not change, yet suddenly our thoughts and attention in regard to the conversation were drastically altered. Abram/Abraham was a very ordinary man, yet God saw, in him, something of use and of promise. Abraham’s life and existence was nothing of significance yet God saw him as significant. Others could not see much of worth in Abraham but God chose him to be the carrier of promise. God sees much more than we, or any human, is capable of seeing or recognizing. We see, in the story of Abraham, the manner in which God works and embraces.

Daily Readings

Monday, October 10, 2011 Genesis 15-16

Have you ever felt the need to “help God out”? Often we feel that we need to “rescue” God in order to save His reputation, or in order for us to hold on to our own wavering faith. We make stupid decisions based on the circumstances that we think we are facing. What stupid ‘helpful’ choices do you see Abram making? What ‘helpful’ “choices have you made in life? What was the immediate and long lasting impact of your choices?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Genesis 17

Last summer I purchased a pair of Chaco Sandals, soon I had suntan lines on my feet. Later, as I was at a pool without shoes one, a stranger walked by and said, “Oh, you must own Chaco Sandals, she had noticed my lines. The lines were evidence. What evidence does God require of Abraham (Abram)? What evidence does God desire your life to reveal.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 Genesis 18-19

Abraham’s story, and the stories of his wife and nephew, are tales that bless and haunt their ancestors continuously in the future. We see Abraham having the child, at his wife’s insistence, with the maid servant. We see Lot’s family refusing to take the situation in Sodom seriously and, as a result, dying. Then, we see the incestuous actions of Lot’s daughters which ultimately brings about the Moabites and Ammonites, a problem for the children of God as they wander and then settle in the Promised Land. Why, in the midst of God’s promises and blessings, do you think everyone still made decisions that were so wrong? Why do you do the same?

Thursday, October 13, 2011 Genesis 20:1-21:7

The story of Abraham is a story more about God’s promise, and His ability to keep His promise, than it is about the actions of Abraham. Indeed, if the story were just about Abraham, it would be a dismal statement. God made a promise and God kept His promise, regardless of the actions of mankind. His promise was in no way dependent upon the actions of Abraham, Sarah, or even Lot, it was just a promise. In the end, God kept His promise, even in the face of Abraham’s repeated undeserving actions. What does this tell you about God’s character and nature in your relationship with Him?

Friday, October 14, 2011 Genesis 21:8-22:19

Abraham had what it took, however, he did not always act in a manner consistent with what he had. He had what it took to follow God but on numerous occasions he did not act in a manner that evidenced following God. Yet still, God frequently sees the righteousness in Abraham, even in the midst of the strange choices Abraham makes. From the beginning we see God taking what Abraham had, and working from where Abraham was, to grow him to be a man who trusted God the the great and mighty things. While the story of Abraham is significant to our, and other, faiths, the real story is the way in which God works on and in Abraham. It reveals a manner in which God relates to all.

Self vs. God Embrace

2011-10-03T06:05:00.001-07:00

My dog Slinky loves me. When I come in the door he runs to me and begins licking my hand and wanting my attention. He showers me with affection and love....until Andrea or one of the children come into the room. Then, he is quick to shift his love, attention, and devotion to anyone of them. If we are outside he loves me, he sticks close to me and want me to know that he is there. He loves me...until a squirrel or bird ventures into his path of vision then he abandons me in a flash. His attention is very sincere and devoted, until something else takes his attention.

Humans are the same way. We do the same thing. We give our attention and respect to someone or something until something else takes our attention, takes our embrace. We also do this with God, we are very fickle with Him. We are devoted until we become doubtful or distracted. We are devoted until we see something better, a better god.

In a very brief amount of time after the flood, the people become distracted and decide they can make it on their own. Imagine, many had seen, and probably all had heard, of what God had done but they already were looking elsewhere, they quit looking at God. What is even more amazing is that they began to consider themselves to be gods. God acted to protect the people from themselves, to protect them from their own distraction.

God loves us so much that He is willing to go to drastic, and sometimes painful, extremes to protect and guide us.

Daily Readings

Monday, October 3, 2011 Genesis 11:1-9

As a parent I can often see the coming consequences of my children’s actions by the wrong choices they are making. I often have to correct those choices even though children have no understanding of why. Can you see God at work correcting others...or you?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 Genesis 12:1-9

When my children were very young their fear, or apprehension, was obvious by the fact that they would stick very close to Andrea or myself. They would stand close holding our hand. Abram (a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah) is walking through new lands with a certain fear. His apprehension is obvious as you can see he is keeping close to God, even when God tells him that the land will belong to his descendants. In what times do you stick close to God? How is this reflected in your actions and attitudes?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Genesis 12:10-13:4

As Abram enters Egypt he begins to get afraid for his own safety and soon quits sticking close to God and, instead, begins to devise ways to protect himself. The end result of his self protection is humiliation to his wife, embarrassment before a Pharaoh, and shame to himself. His actions also set him back in his journey; he had to go back to the place where he had last recognized and followed God. How do you move away from God in order to protect yourself? How does your movement away from God set you back in your faith journey? Notice in this passage that God does not give up on His plan to use Abram, even when Abram’s action caused the plan a major setback....God’s focus is on Abram as much as His plan.

Thursday, October 6, 2011 Genesis 13:5-14:12

While in a candy store, I watched a group of young girls filling up a bag at a self serve candy dispenser. As the bag approached full capacity, the store owner noticed and came over and asked the girls if they knew how much money that was going to cost. They, of course, did not so the owner weighed the bag and informed the shocked girls how much it was going to cost them. As their faces filled with horror he offered to let them start all over again. The girls saw the colorful candy and wanted all of it, without any consideration for the expense. They jumped at what looked wonderful without really thinking through the situation. As Abram and Lot split up the land, Lot immediately chose the land that looked most attractive, without any thought to the cost. Then, as Abram faced his less attractive land, God lifted Abram’s eyes (13:14) and revealed to him the true value and hope of what he had just been given. God often has to lift our eyes so we can see and understand what stands before us.

Friday, October 7, 2011 Genesis 14:13-24

As Abram rescues Lot, King Melchizedek of Salem (a priest) offers a blessing from God which is accepted by Abram. Then, the King of Sodom attempts to also recognize Abram’s actions through financial gain which is rejected by Abram. Abram realized that the gift from the King of Sodom was one that came with a cost and expectation; a gift that was clearly not from God. It was a worldly ego gift which would have been of great problems later. What worldly things do you need to reject in order to continue to recognize God?

Consistent Embrace

2011-09-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

As some of my kids moved from the recreational level to the competitive level in sports, I found a noticeable change in the personal factor on the part of the coaches. It should not have surprised me but, nevertheless, I was caught off guard by difference in attitude and methods used by the paid competitive coaches. In recreational leagues, most of the volunteer coaches (moms and dads) managed to get to know the kids. This personal understanding permitted the coach to know and understand how to motivate and teach their team. As we moved into the competitive level, I found that the paid coaches seemed less able to identify the personality of each kid and therefore missed the best ways in which to motivate and inspire that child. Many, although not all, of these coaches seemed unable, or unwilling, to identify the unique nature and personality of each individual kid. The end result was that many kids, those that did not meet the personality expectations of the coach, ended up being lost to the game. While those few coaches that did manage to identify with each kid, were able to develop talent and abilities that would have otherwise been missed.

The story of Noah is a moment that we see God move from relating on a expectation level to an understanding level. He was completely correct to expect the people to follow and obey Him. He was completely right in thinking they would follow Him. He was also completely correct in destroying them because of their embrace of the creation and rejection of Him. However, after the flood there is this moment when He acknowledged the “lost” and “evil” nature of mankind due to the fact that they had turned from Him. He understood that they would then proceed to do the evil things they do. He does not compromise at this realization but He does understand. He understands humans and the deteriorating state of the creation He was previously so pleased with. He understands better the ultimate cost of His embrace.

Daily Readings

Monday, September 26, 2011 Genesis 6:7-22

Humans often attempt to judge their lives and actions in comparison to others (at least I’m not as bad as....) or to justify their actions (I don’t think that is so bad...). In Genesis 6:11 we see that the true standard of life and action is God, not us. How was God’s standard of life and behavior perceived and received by the humans of Noah’s day, how is it perceived and received by humans of today?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Genesis 7:1-24

As a parent often leads a child by giving specific instructions, God does the same. In order to protect and shield Noah and his family, God gave them specific instructions that if followed, and only if followed, they would be saved. What specific instructions from God come to your mind....how do you respond to these protective instructions?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Genesis 8:1-19

One of the most powerful signals to the nature of God that we have seen so far is the statement in Genesis 8:1, “God remembered Noah”. This statement reveals the personal and caring nature of God. Here, in the midst of this time of tragedy, God remembers His followers. What does that say to you about God’s remembrance of you?

Thursday, September 29, 2011 Genesis 8:20-17

In Genesis 8:21 we see God being reminded of His love and affection for humankind. He comments on the evil of humans but cannot help but still find them a “pleasing smell”. His comment is a recognition of the impact of sin upon man yet not an excuse; it is a recognition of His love for humans even as humans live a turned existence. Think, today, about God’s love for you, regardless of your situation, and/or actions of your life.

Friday, September 30, 2011 Genesis 9:18-29

The actions of Noah’s son, Ham, have long provided much discussion of Biblical experts. Many believe that the sin was Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s following disrespect. Others believe that there is an insinuation of an incestuous act on Ham’s part. Whether it is either of these, or something else, that moved God to such a strong response, we see that the actions of one can have a devastating impact on future generations. Here, just a short time after Noah and his family were rescued from an evil world, we see the reappearance of evil. God says that this evil will impact future generations. How do you see the continuing impact of man’s evil on the world in which you live? How do you respond with your own life?

Creation Embrace

2011-09-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Creation Embrace

A non-profit organization in Colorado trains dogs to be helpers/friends to individuals with physical disabilities. The dogs are trained to protect, to comfort, and even to act as ‘hands’ when the individual is unable to retrieve something. Once dogs are trained, they will be matched with individuals who have been approved through the program. The chosen individuals come to the training ranch and spend a couple of weeks living with the dogs. During this time the dogs will learn to match their training to the human to whom they have been given. The humans will also be trained during this time in the specifics of working with their new friend. During this time of training the experts at the ranch will watch the interaction between the human and the dog to make certain it is a suitable match that will last beyond their time at the ranch. Once the training is complete, and the experts feel secure with the human/dog match, the new partners will be sent home. Sometimes, although seldom, the dogs will get to the home and find that their attention diverted from their human. They may attach to another human in the household and neglect their partner, or they may just lose interest and become sedentary. In these instances the experts will travel to the home to find that the match is not going to work. They are able to see that the dog has decided to direct his affections elsewhere or nowhere. It is then that the dog has to be removed from the home.

A misdirection of affection is what took place soon after creation. Humans decided to embrace the creation rather than the Creator. It does not take long for God to remove humans from the garden in order that they may become aware of their misdirected embrace. Humans soon see the consequences of their embrace decision, a consequence that involves murder within a family. We soon see that God was sorry that He had created and that He had embraced.

His sorrow came not only from disappointment in humans, but in disappointment for the humans. He saw the deadly impact their embrace decision had on themselves and all others. He knew the fate they faced due to their own choice

Daily Readings 2:24-6:6

Monday, September 19, 2011 Genesis 2:25-3:6

The serpent’s tactic in enticing Eve was to remove the element of God from her argument therefore removing the element of God from her consideration. Look carefully at her thoughts and standards (3:6) when she accepts the Serpent’s argument regarding God.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Genesis 3:7-24

The choice of humans was to reject God’s embrace and, instead, to embrace the creation of God. What did they immediately find was the reality of living outside of His embrace?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 Genesis 4:1-16

How does man’s rejection of God’s embrace impact the creation of God?

Thursday, September 22, 2011 Genesis 4:17-26

How does Eve still see the hand of God even in the midst of her life of strife?

Friday, September 23, 2011 Genesis 5:32-6:6

How do you think God’s original embrace of humans ultimately impacted Him (6:6)?

Embrace - First Signs

2011-09-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

When my oldest son, Caleb, was just a toddler he gave me a card that he had made for my birthday. The card had been colored and decorated to the best of his ability and was very much an expression from his heart. As I opened the card a large handful of pennies fell into my lap. I looked at Caleb and saw a sense of excitement on his face and then comprehended the meaning of this money. He had been collecting and saving pennies ever since he became aware that they held value. Just days before we had counted how many pennies he had collected. He was very excited about his valuable collection. On my birthday, as I counted my pennies, I realized that he had given me his entire collection, everything he understood of earthly value. Later in the day I attempted to convince him to take the pennies back, a suggestion he quickly shot down. He explained to me that he wanted me to have those pennies. He wanted to give me something that was of great value to me.

That is what the creation story unfolds, God giving us that which would be of the most value to us. We have a general description of His work of creation in Genesis 1. In Genesis 2 we have a more detailed account of His preparatory creative work that was to be given to his most valuable creation - humans. After the creation of humans, God breathed His spirit into them and then gave creation to them. A creation that had been designed just for them, a creation of the greatest possible value to them. He gave, the best that He had, to the created that He loved.

It was a first sign of His attitude toward His human creation. It was a first embrace of His love. It is not the first “most valuable and needed” gift that God would give to His human creations.

It was the first sign of His embrace.

Daily Readings

Monday, September 12, 2011 Genesis 1:1-25

What is God’s response to each element of creation?

What does this reveal about God and about His creation?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 Genesis 1:26-27

What is the uniqueness of the creation of humans?

How does God reveal His attitude toward humans in this passage?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Genesis 1:28-31

How does this transfer of dominion over creation to humans define His attitude and thoughts toward them?

Thursday, September 15, 2011 Genesis 2:1-4

You have probably experienced involvement in a project that demanded you rest at completion, what does God’s need for rest reveal to you about the act of creation?

Friday, September 16, 2011 Genesis 2:5-23

Think about God’s specific act of creation to prepare all of creation for humans, what would you assume God’s plan for humanity and His creation to be?

On A Break

2011-06-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

The Grace Daily Devotionals will return on Monday, September 5.

Deadlines

2011-06-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

As each of our children would reach the age to enter the Pre-K program in our public schools, we would watch for the lottery registration period to assure that we got our child’s name in the drawing. The registration period would last for a well defined period of time following which there would be a lottery drawing at the administration building. Andrea would usually attend the drawing along with several other parents who would all crowd into a small room hoping that their children would be chosen for the school program. One year a man came running into the room just before the drawing with his child’s paperwork in his hands. He attempted to hand it to the administrator in charge. This father, who assumed that he would be able to enter his child into the lottery at the last moment, was surprised when the administrator refused to take his late application. The man became indignant, then even spent some time begging, as the administrator explained that he was only authorized to accept applications during the approved time period. Finally the man grabbed his paperwork and left in a huff. The administrator said nothing else and continued with the lottery as had been planned.

As we conclude the book of Revelation we see a final division of the people. People are judged by two factors, either by their works, or by their inclusion in the book of life. No person that depends upon their works is proved holy. Only those in the book of life those that are dependent on the works of Christ, are found acceptable. It is not a time to change plans, to try to change alliances, or to change believes, it is a time of judgement based on earthly choices. It is too late to do anything differently.

What will you be depending upon in that judgement?

ReThink Daily Reading: Revelation 20-22

UnHoly Alliance

2011-06-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

A friend shared a story with me of a church that consisted of two groups of people that operated much in the manner of the Hatfields and McCoys. These two groups of people hated each other, their parents had hated each other before them, and it was assumed that their children would always hate each other as well. If one group was for an item of church business then the other group was opposed to the proposition. They sat on different sides of the auditorium, they walked on opposite sides of the hallways, and they ate at different tables in the fellowship hall. Pastor after pastor had attempted to change and heal the situation to no avail, eventually each pastor would give up and leave. Finally a pastor managed to bring them together, but it was not in that way he, or any pastor before him, wished. This pastor managed to anger both dueling sides to the point that they actually joined together to get rid of the pastor. The pastor was amazed to see these two groups begin to talk, sit together, and even agree with each other. Sadly, as the pastor was rejoicing in this new alliance between the two groups, he discovered that he was the negative factor that had serve to bring the two enemies together. The two groups managed to come together in an unholy fashion in order to accomplish an unholy feat. It was their selfish desires that brought the two groups together and after the pastor was gone everyone returned to their own personal selfish desires causing the two groups to feud again.

Mutual selfish desires frequently serve to bring people, and groups, together. These groups see a chance to fulfill their own selfishness through the use of the others. Then, when the others no longer serve a need they are abandoned. In the prophesy of John we see the future look at a great whore who will be set on the destruction of the prophets and witnesses. This whore is joined in an unholy alliance with Kings and merchants, all of whom have something to gain from teaming with each other. In chapter 18 we see destruction of the whore and the abandonment of her by the Kings and merchants. She no longer served a purpose to them.

Just before her destruction there is a call (Revelation 18:4) to all to come out of her. This call is a chance for those engaged with her, or just in proximity to her, to remove themselves in order to not be found guilty of her deeds. It is a call to clean oneself by removing oneself.

Are you in any unholy alliances?

ReThink Daily Reading: Revelation 17-19

Not My Fault

2011-06-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

When our youngest child, Isaiah, was a toddler he decided that it was time that he start shaving. He managed to climb up on the cabinet, something he knew not to do, and get my razor. Andrea and I were unaware of what he was doing and were very surprised when he came running into the room yelling “why didn’t you tell me that it was sharp” at me. He had not managed to actually cut himself but had felt the sting of the sharp side of the razor. He continued to confront me on the fact that it hurt, even after I asked him why he had climbed up on the cabinet which he was not allowed to do. Even as he was confronted with his own transgression he continued to blame dad.

This is, of course, a human trait that is sadly evident in adults. We see it on the news every day as someone gets in trouble but manages to blame their crime on everyone but their self. It is also a key element of John’s prophecy of the end days. God sends two witnesses to prophesy to the people which the people hate. When the witnesses are finally killed, the people just leave their dead bodies out so that they can all gloat over their death since they all hated what the prophets had been saying. Instead of listening and accepting the prophecies they chose to rejoice in the death of the prophets (Revelation 11:10). Then, as the Bowls of Wrath are poured out on the earth, the people continue to curse God for the results of the wrath rather than to let it be a moment of realization of all that they have done (Revelation 16). It is an amazing display of a wake up call that the people not only refuse to hear but are angry for the disruption this causes in their lives. They have a chance to recognize God, but because they have been turned from God for so long, this miss their opportunity to turn to God and instead curse Him.

How is your listening and accepting of God’s voice and message now?

ReThink Daily Reading: Revelation 10-16

Hard Hearts

2011-06-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

The book of Revelation is a true mystery to mankind. It has been interpreted every which way possible and by even more individuals. There are some who have made an entire career out of interpreting this book. There is something very entertaining about the book of Revelation that keeps most hearers from truly seeing and hearing the true message of this prophetic book. Fiction books have been written based on one or another interpretation of Revelation. By making the book fantasy we managed to “listen” without ever truly hearing, and there are some very important applicable and “hearable” messages in Revelation that need no one to interpret.

The writer named John is seeing, and writing, of some horrifying events that will take place and he communicates these happenings in the manner that he understands. This is what makes it difficult for us to understand because he is writing of events taking place in the future, events which surely involve things that are totally foreign to him. At the same time, as we read these events we are interpreting them through our current setting and understanding. This all leads to explanations and descriptions that are very difficult for us to comprehend.

There are, however, many things in the book of Revelation that are easy to understand and deserve our attention. This easy understanding, in the middle of a very difficult to understand book, causes us to often skip over them due to the fact that they are not nearly as entertaining as we would prefer. The messages to the seven churches is one such message, their good and their bad are very obvious. Equally obvious is the message we see in Revelation 9:20-21. In these scriptures we see the final consequence of mankind’s hardened hearts. Even after all that happens in chapters 6-9, those in opposition to God still are unable to turn to God. Their hearts cannot make the turn after a lifetime, and generations, of turning away and rejecting God. A hard heart is a heart that has rejected the Holy Spirit, a heart that cannot turn back toward God.

Pray for the hearts of those you know and love.

ReThink Daily Reading: Revelation 6-9

Listening Ears

2011-06-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

As a student, while working as a restaurant waiter, I was always aware that the corporation that owned our establishment would frequently send someone to eat at the restaurant who would then report back regarding their dining experience. We never knew who these reviewers were until a few days after they had visited and our critique would be posted on the wall. The reviewer would look at the performance of the waiter, the taste and appropriateness of the food, the cleanliness of the restaurant, as well as their overall dining experience. Everyone would read over the report because we knew that we would be held accountable for making necessary corrections as well as recognizing our successes. It was always a very small report but everyone that was employed by the restaurant knew the seriousness of the critique.

The first section of the book of Revelation includes a very straight forward and honest critique of the seven churches. In this report we see very serious problems as well as very rewarding successes. The churches fail and succeed based on their relationship and walk with God. At the end of each church report are the words “let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

As you read through the critique to the seven churches, what do your ears need to hear?

ReThink Daily Reading: Revelation 1-5

Aim

2011-06-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

When the Oklahoma TG&Y stores closed up in the mid seventies, the corporation that owned them attempted a come back with a new store called AIM for the Best. The idea was to compete with the new big warehouse stores such as Wal Mart. This new venture did not survive, it was not long before they were all closed along with the TG&Y stores. However, the new AIM for the Best stores made a big impression on me for one simple reason. It was not their prices, or even their products, but it was their insistence on the title AIM for the Best. They didn’t just say Aim, it had to be AIM for the Best. If you wrote a check you had to write the entire thing, you were not permitted to just write AIM or even AFB, it had to be AIM for the Best. I remember this because I had to void a check there because I had written AIM to big to add for the Best. The for the Best stuck with me long after the stores were gone. Since they did not survive I can only assume that they did not really AIM for the Best, otherwise they would still be around (unless the bigger issue is that we settle for less than the best). I will never forget that they were insistent not just on having an Aim but that their Aim be for the Best.

The letters of I, II, and III John are calls to Aiming for the Best in our walk with Christ. John makes it clear that our life must have aim, it may be following God or it may be turning from God. To turn from God and follow the world is clearly sin, which is not an AIM for the believer. This AIM will lead us away from God. However, an AIM to follow is one that grows our relationship with God and with each other. It is visible in an obvious love for each other, a sacrificial giving and serving love. It is an AIM that is seen.

What AIM is visible in your life?

ReThink Daily Reading: I John 1-5; II John 1; III John 1

Shedding Stuff

2011-06-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

I was surprised, one summer as I waited for the arrival of a group I was leading on an overnight backpacking trip, by the arrival of one teenage girl. This girl arrived with her backpack strapped on her back but she also was pulling a suitcase equipped with wheels. “I couldn’t fit everything into the backpack you gave me to use,” she explained. When I realized that she was serious, and noticed that her friends seemed totally unsurprised, I attempted to hold back my own laughter. We were in the mountains near Yosemite National Park in California so I aware that our hiking paths were not designed for wheeled luggage. I attempted to explain this to her. I also tried to share that she really did not need that much stuff for one night in the woods. She heard nothing I said and insisted on taking everything with her. I knew that I could forbid her from taking the luggage but I also knew the girl well enough to know that she would make the trip miserable for everyone if I were to take such a dictatorial stance. I, instead, chose to let her experience her own misery in regard to her choice. We soon headed out for our overnight location and it was not too long before she began to regret her choice. Her luggage seemed to be much less portable than she had expected and the weight of her backpack soon became an extreme burden. It was less than fifteen minutes into the hike that she realized that she didn’t need all that she thought she needed and was ready to get rid of a bunch of stuff. At this point the group took a break and the over burdened teen and I headed back to get rid of her unneeded stuff. Once she shed the pointless luggage and other unneeded items, the trip went smoothly and she, as well as the rest of the group, had a much better understanding of needs versus wants.

As we approach the end of the letter to the Hebrews we see the encouragement to the followers to hold steady to the faith. The way to do this, the letter states, is to not only understand but also to get rid of things in our lives that keep us from growing and living in our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). We need to get rid of what is holding us back and unnecessary.

What do you need to shed?

ReThink Daily Reading: Hebrews 10-13

Qualifications

2011-06-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

This past fall we attended a meeting at our grade school in which a new specialty program teacher was to explain the details of the school year. The teacher was new, so before she began the meeting, the principal stood in front of the group of parents and students to introduce the new staff member. The principal, very eloquently and very specifically, introduced the teacher and explained why this new teacher had been hired for the position. The teacher’s background, training, and accomplishments were all named and detailed in order that the parents could know that she was prepared for work with our children. By the time the teacher actually began the meeting, those parents who were truly listening had a full trust in her ability and expertise. The introduction had assured us of the teacher’s qualifications which enabled us to then place our trust in her to do the job.

In this second part of the letter to the Hebrews we see an intense explanation of the qualifications of Christ as our eternal priest. This listing of qualifications is introduced as the reason we can and need to hold tight to our faith (Hebrews 4:14-15). It is also founded on the reemphasized warning against turning back to our own abilities and control (Hebrews 6:1-8). Basically, the qualifications of Christ prove to reveal the lack of qualification we have to save ourself.

On whose qualifications do rely for now and eternity?

ReThink Daily Reading: Hebrews 4:14-9:28

Miserable Advice

2011-06-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

As a college student I had a job where I worked alongside many other college students as well as many adults that were many years older than myself. Most of the students were working just to have additional money while they finished their education and then entered the career of choice. Most of the adults at this job were there for survival. The job did not pay that well, there were no real benefits, but for the adults working they saw no other choice. One lady in particular stands out in my memory, she had led a very tough life, had spent time in prison and, at the time, had a son in prison. She had been abused and rejected in relationships and had such rage at life that keeping any type of substantial job was a challenge. She was, however, very engaging to visit with. I would often overhear her conversations with the student workers during which she would be giving life advice. It was never “learn from my mistakes” type of advice, but rather the type of sage wisdom you would expect from a person that had experienced much success....in actuality, she managed to make what she shared to sound like sage wisdom. The problem was, what she was suggesting were the very steps and choices in life that had led her to misery and failure. The thing about these discussions that always amazed me was that these young people, who were pursuing education and careers, seem to be wholeheartedly listening and accepting her advice. I actually witnessed some giving up their promising future by accepting and following some of the direction she would share. I was always horrified that these individuals would fail to see her own failure and accept what she had to share.

The letter to the Hebrews is written to keep the recipients of the letter from making the same mistake my coworkers were making. The Hebrews were facing persecution and difficulties in their faith and were being tempted to go back to the “acceptable” faith of their ancestors. This faith, which disregarded the work of Jesus Christ, had proven miserable for the Jews (Hebrews 3:16-19), yet they were finding themselves drawn to the persuasive arguments for it. They are being warned that the slow return to the religious nature of the Law would harden their hearts to the point that they would have no ability to hear, or respond to, the Holy Spirit work in their life. The warning was that they were returning to trusting themself and religion rather than trusting the finished work of Christ.

What miserable advice are you listening to?

ReThink Daily Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4:13

Warning

2011-06-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

In this area of the United States, we have become very accustomed to hearing tornado sirens blasting and weathermen on the television warning us of dangerous weather. Most of us have even been in the midst, or have seen the aftermath, of the destructive power of a tornado. We have come to understand the danger of this weather phenomenon. It is very easy, however, to become so accustom to these warnings and predictions that we begin to ignore them, placing ourselves in great danger. The fact that they may have not actually hit us, or our house, can cause us to disregard the signs and proclamations of doom ahead. The end result, for some, is often death.

In both of the readings today we see Peter along with John, warning the churches that they must heed their sirens. They are reminding them of the deceptive and false teachers that have been able to blend in among them. These liars cause dissension and defections among and from the truth. The problem is that the people have become so accustom to these people that they do not even recognize their deception or their motives.

What lies and deception have crept into your life unnoticed?

ReThink Daily Reading: Jude 1; II Peter 1-3

Rising above our Inheritance

2011-06-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

A theme of many movies and novels has the protagonists attempting to determine what to do with an inheritance that has been thrust upon them. One movie has the lead character receiving a pack of sled dogs in Alaska, another has a simple accountant inheriting a failing ski lodge, and another has a quiet and shy wife inheriting her husbands senate seat. Each of these characters soon finds that their inheritance has come with many extremely severe problems which must be dealt with. In each of these story lines the inheritance has the potential to destroy the person, altering their life in a permanently negative fashion. The objective for each is to figure out some way to overcome this inheritance and, in the end, turn it into a positive reality. Being a movie, with a movie budget and writers, they always manage to succeed with an inspiring soundtrack to bring the audience along.

In I Peter 1:18, Peter informs us that we also are the sad receivers of a devastating inheritance. We have received the futility of sin that was chosen by our ancestors. Beginning in the garden, our ancestors, Adam and Eve, chose to turn their backs on God and follow the ways of the world. We inherit the perpetual reality of this choice on those who have come after them. The choice to continually follow a path that rejects God and follows the world. An inheritance of sin, of turning from God, of futility. Peter calls this inheritance, Slavery. Peter tells us that, however, we have been rescued and provided the avenue to make good out of this bad inheritance through the blood of Christ. We can choose what to do with our inheritance, reject Christ and continue the path of the world or accept Christ and change our path. We don’t have a stirring soundtrack but the end result is far more dramatic and eternal than any Hollywood script could ever provide.

Are you choosing to stay with your inheritance of futility or are you choosing to rise above your inheritance through the sacrifice provided by Christ?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Peter 1-5

DeFriending

2011-06-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

Andrea recently shared a facebook posting from a relative. In the posting the relative shared that she had been so sickened by the posts, and life events, of several of her facebook friends that she had begun defriending several friends. By the end of the post she shared that she had defriended sixty friends who she had decided she could live without. Andrea said, “this might be my new favorite facebook friend!”

We have often had discussions about the reason we keep people as facebook friends, and even real life friends, that are in some manner harmful and detrimental to our lives. People that are so negative, or passively aggressive, that leave us more bothered than encouraged. Individuals who seem set on tearing others down than lifting them up. The question is “why don’t we just disconnect, defriend, these harmful people in our life?”

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul addresses the need to defriend certain individuals from our life. In II Timothy 3:1-5 Paul names those people, by characteristic, who do more harm in our lives than they do positive. Paul ends the list by saying “avoid them!”

Are there people in your life that need to be defriended?

ReThink Daily Reading: Titus 1-3; II Timothy 1-4

Context and Character

2011-06-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

I had a friend die recently from a massive stroke. I worked with this friend one summer in a job that had the two of us, along with the rest of the staff, together for basically 24 hours a day for almost three months. That is a lot of together time which enables you to discover pretty much everything there is to know about a person, good and bad. Over this time I learned the immeasurable character of this friend. Even though it has been twenty years since I have seen him, I have always remembered the fact of his character. In the days since his death I have read many written testimonies about him that have surfaced on various internet sites. It has been very interesting to discover the paths his life had taken since our time together and to hear the stories of his life before and after we met. I have found that, as I have read these stories, I have interpreted them through his character I came to know in my time with him. His sincerity, his humility, his intelligence, have all been present in my mind as I have read the accounts of individuals regarding the life of this friend. I have learned all this new information about him in reference to the truth of him that I already knew was true. I have interpreted the different contexts of his life through the truth that I know of his life. It completely influences, and even changes, the manner in which I receive the information I hear regarding the context of his life.

Paul’s letter to Timothy is one that must be read with regard to the overall character and teachings of Paul. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, who was the pastor, or overseer, of a church that had some major problems. Paul addressed individuals and groups who were not acting very Christlike, or very Spirit filled. Paul gave Timothy instruction on confronting these individuals and groups; confronting their behavior. Paul’s has two main concerns, their witness to the community, and their growth in their own relationship with God. The behavior problems within the church are negatively impacting both of these concerns.

As Paul confronts these various behavior and teaching problems he does so within the context of their community and within the context of his own teachings. Paul is not out to challenge the problems in the world, problems such as slavery and prejudice, nor is he trying to change wrong attitudes toward gender, minorities, or the oppressed. Although he made the truth obvious in Galatians 3:28 where he confronted prejudicial or bigoted attitudes and behavior, here he is addressing the way we live and testify within our cultures. Timothy has a problem of a group of women who are aggressively taking over and in doing so are most likely teaching heresy, Paul says that they need to be quiet. The culture of their community is hindered from the message of the church due to their cultural indiscretions. Paul also addresses the character of the leadership of the church as well as their witness in their community through their families and other relationships. Paul even gets so specific as to address the crude humor that is evident in the lives of the members of the church. Timothy is also warned to watch the witness and character revelation of his own life (I Timothy 4:12).

The first letter to Timothy is clearly a very specific letter to a very specific church dealing with some very specific problems. We miss the point if we get caught up on the specific confrontations and miss the overall message; the message to be careful not to destroy the message of our life. If we read Paul’s letter without keeping it in context of all of his writings and his character we miss the point. The point is that our lives must not do anything in our sphere of witness to destroy our message of character and to cause others to miss the context within which we live.

What is the message of your life? Does it pervade every context?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Timothy 1-6

Journey

2011-06-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

When our oldest child, Caleb, entered the Public Schools system as a Pre-K student, we were blessed to have Ms. Cook as his teacher. Actually, she was probably more a teacher to Andrea and I than to Caleb or any of the other four children who also had her. Ms. Cook had a fantastic understanding of life which was summed up in a statement she would commonly say to us parents, “Remember parents, it is the journey, not the destination, that is most important.” I first heard this from Andrea after she had volunteered one day as the students were celebrating the birthday, and writings, of Dr. Seuss. While the children were at recess the mothers were tasked with making Oobleck, a substance only truly found in the world of the Whos. The making of the Oobleck was not going so well and some of the moms were becoming frustrated and a little panicked. Ms. Cook, very calmly, stopped the moms for a moment as she reminded them that the end creation was not perfection but that they, and the children, have the experience, and the growth that would accompany the journey. That stuck with Andrea, and then indirectly with me. Since that day we have seen this phrase on t-shirts and posters but, in our mind, it will always be accredited to Ms. Cook, who not only said it but also lived and exampled it.

Possibly the biggest difficulty that followers of Christ face is that we look at our faith as a destination. We look at the perfection of Christ, we see the end (in our mind) of eternity, and then we get sidetracked by our own imperfection and our own lack of being ready for eternity.

Paul seems to be making this point in his letter to the church at Ephesus. In this letter, he is addressing their journey, not their destination. He is not confronting what they are not, but is giving them encouragement and direction on their journey of faith. In Ephesians 3:17 Paul talks about their roots and foundation, and then in Ephesians 4:15 he encourages them to “grow up in every way...”. He is addressing real life in a real life manner. He sums it all up in Ephesians 5:1 by telling the believers to be “imitators” of God, as beloved children of God”. Just take a moment to visualize the journey aspect of that illustration (think of the way a child imitates a parent and grows from and into that imitation).

Is your faith a journey or a destination?

ReThink Daily Reading: Ephesians 1-6

Praying for Success

2011-06-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

The classic football movie “Rudy” tells the tale of an undersized football player who dreamt of playing for Notre Dame. He had a great deal of heart but lacked the body size to fully succeed. After high school he worked to be admitted to the University where he eventually was able to join the team in a practice capacity. Everyday he would take the hits of the much larger team members. Everyday he gave it his all as if he was going to be on the field himself the coming Saturday. Finally, one team member comes to Rudy in frustration and anger asking him why he is trying so hard when he knows he will not be playing. He responds by telling the player that he just wants to help make the team the best it can be, and by playing hard in practice he is forcing the players to be their best. Rudy was working to make the team the best even though it held no personal promise for him. His goal was to see others succeed, in their success he was fulfilled.

In Paul’s writing to the Colossians we see him excited about their growth and progress. He is propelled by their success to see them succeed even more. Their success is not about him personally but about God, which motivates him to do all he can do to see them grow and succeed more and more.

How strongly do you strive for the success of others?

ReThink Daily Reading: Colossians 1-4

Living Message

2011-06-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

When on college breaks, I would often return to Norman and work in a local bank as a teller. One afternoon I was stationed in the window next to a newly trained teller. I watched as a man approach her window and she proceeded to go through all the steps she had been trained to take. As the man gave her a check she immediately began to make sure that he had enough money to cover the transaction. I knew this man, he had been a leader in the church I grew up in, I knew that he had a great deal of money. This new teller, however, did not know of his wealth, or his prestige in the community. When she returned with his cash, he leaned over the counter, with a very stern look on his face, and said, “Don’t ever look at my account again, just cash my check.” I was more than a little shocked as I had always seen this many going from pew to pew on Sunday mornings greeting everyone and being extremely friendly. To see him act like the arrogant business people we dealt with everyday was surprising to say the least.

It is easy to fall into the patterns and behavior of the world. It is easy to begin to see ourself in the same light that the world sees itself, and possibly us, and adjust our behavior accordingly. It is easy to forget that the expectations of God on our life apply to all areas of our life.

We see this as Paul as speaks to Philemon. Philemon is the owner of a slave named Onesimus, who has apparently done a wrong, or at least ran away from his master. Paul writes to Philemon of the value of Onesimus as a human, and as a brother in Christ, and appeals to him to accept him as a brother, not as a slave. Paul tells Philemon that he actually has the authority to order him to do this but is instead asking him to choose live correctly, regardless of how the world lives.

How is your living message?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 27-28; Philemon 1

Truth of Life

2011-06-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

I sat and listened to a group of men discuss the process that they were in the middle of, a process of seeking to add to the elder body of their church. These men were all long time elders of their church and looked to, by many in their church, as being beacons of all things “spiritual”. These men had much scripture memorized, they could debate doctrine and theology, and they knew all the right “spiritual sounding” words and phrases. As they discussed possible candidates for elders I realized that they had set themselves as the standard; they were seeking men that were like them. The cynical side of me could not help but think of the reputation that many of these men had in the community. I knew what many in the business world, as well as the church world, thought of these men, it was not good thoughts. At the same time I was thinking of many men, and women, that would never be considered “spiritual” enough by this “holy” group. Many people, who lived their life, and their relationship with God in a very holy, consistent, respectful, and growing manner. Individuals who were the first to serve and the first to sacrifice. Believers that were probably more Christlike and Spirit filed than this “holy” group of “spiritual” leaders.

In Acts 25-26 we see Paul defending himself against the accusations of the “holy” and “spiritual” religious leaders. They were against Paul because he was no longer “like” them, and that was a threat. Paul, in response, revealed the truth of his life and his message. He didn’t have to sound “spiritual” or use the right words or phrases. He just told about his life and the work that God was doing in and through him. In the end, the world realized that he had done nothing wrong. The religious leaders were therefore even more angry and set against him.

Paul didn’t seek to please anyone, he just sought to please God. The result was that his life revealed God.

What are you working to have your life reveal?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 25-26

Hope on the Closet Shelf

2011-06-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

After my grandmother, my mother’s mother, passed away we spent time cleaning out her farm house. Most of the family had taken time to go through and claim those possessions that were sentimental to them and then strangers carried out most of the other items at an estate sale. A couple of years after her death, the folks now renting the house called to ask what we wanted done with something they had found throughout the house in the closets. They were not sure why but felt that their findings were somehow significant and probably best not to quickly disregard. As soon as they shared what they had found it was of little mystery to those of us who knew my grandmother. Throughout the house, in the back corners of the closets shelves, were handfuls of wheat. My grandmother had, at every harvest, taken a handful of the full wheat plants and kept them. All through the house was evidence of years of fruitful harvest. Evidence of productive and plentiful work. She had seen many years where floods decimated the crops, years where tornadoes had destroyed the produce, years where drought had destroyed all hope; she had also seen years of profitable harvests. In the tops of her closets were the proof and reminder of those years where the labor, expense, and risks, proved worth it. Those dry, brittle, stalks of wheat were her letters of encouragement to herself of all that was good in the business and life of farming.

Paul’s letter to the church at Phillippi is a bundle of wheat in the top of the closet. Paul writes to the church of what they mean to him, and his hope for their labor and future. In the third verse of the first chapter, Paul tells them that he is filled with joy whenever he thinks of them. He says that this is because of the work of God evident in their lives. His response is that he cannot help but get excited and pray for their future. They are a verification, they are an encouragement, they are a hope to him that spurs him to have an infinite hope for them.

Imagine being a person that does that for another, to a person that has actually been an encouragement to you. Imagine being the bundle of wheat, the proof of hope, in the top of someone’s closet.

To whom are you an encouragement, a hope?

ReThink Daily Reading: Philippians 1-4

Truth Restraints

2011-05-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

One enduring consistent factors in the recent civil wars and revolts around the globe is the role truth has played. Internet social sites, phone relays, and other advances in technology have permitted the citizens to receive truth and facts and to get truth and facts out to the world. This is a recent development as, in the past, these same oppressive governments have been able to keep truth out of their country and away from the citizens. These leaders have also been able to keep the truth of their dealings from the rest of the world. Truth is a phenomenal thing, it is a threat to the deceitful and freedom to the oppressed. Christ said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). This freedom is one that transcends our circumstances and situations. It makes oppressors worried as it frees the minds of the formerly oppressed. The lies and deceit of the past make no difference to the one who is free.

Paul was preaching about freedom in Christ, the religious leaders hated this. Once the people accepted Paul’s message of freedom, the leaders would have little control over the people. They could no longer dominate them, or their religion. They sought to defeat and crush the truth coming from Paul, in order to restore themselves to their position of control and power. The only way to do this was to remove Paul from their midst.

What restrains you from the truth?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 21:17-24:27

Ready....Go!

2011-05-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

While in college I had to have a minor surgical procedure which required an IV. I had never had an IV (at least not in my memory) so I was not looking forward to the prospect of someone placing a needle into the back of my hand. The surgical prep room, where I awaited my procedure, consisted of about 8 patients laying on beds. I was on the opposite end from where the nurse began placing IV needles in the patients, this meant I was going to be last. I soon realized that the nurse, as she placed the needles in each patient before me, was training a nurse in the procedure. One by one I watched as the nurse stuck the needles in the hands, and I listened as she explained how she was doing it. After they had completed the first seven patients, they arrived at my bed. As I began to mentally prepare to be stuck, I was somewhat shocked to hear her say to the training nurse, “Here, you do this one.” I saw a look of dread on the new nurse’s face and I am sure she saw the same look on my face. Her shaky hands began to prepare my hand and the needle. She finally stuck the needle into the back of my hand and struggled to get it into place. Finally, she pulled it out and looked at the other nurse and said, “I’m not sure I am ready, maybe you should show me again.” I was thinking the same thing but her trainer assured her that she was ready and instructed her to try again, which she did. Finally, after the third try, and after I had decided to do the surgery coherent, she got the IV needle in my hand and a smile appeared on her face. I smiled back, glad that this was over and that she was now ready to stick someone else....hopefully not me again.

Being ready if often more of a challenge than we imagine it to be. We prepare, we watch others, we study, but when it is time, we begin to have doubts. It is at this time that we hope we have studied and prepared, it is at this time that we hope we know what we are doing.

As Paul met with the elders at Ephesus, he knew it was the last time he would ever see them. He told them that he had done all he could do to prepare them and that it was now up to them to do as God was leading. Paul reminds them of the necessity of remaining alert. He stressed that they had to remain aware of what was going on and what was being taught by false teachers who were attempting to sway the people from truth. Paul tells the leaders that they are ready, and must remain ready, to go and do all that is set before them.

They had listened, they had watched, they had studied, now the job was passed to them. They had to be ready.

The same instruction is given to us...Get ready....Go. Are you ready?

ReThink Daily Reading: Romans 15:14-16:27; Acts 20:3b-21:16

Looks

2011-05-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I held a young adult Bible Study in my home. Every Monday night about fifteen 20 somethings would arrive at my house from their work, usually with their carryout dinner in hand. They would sit down in my small living room where we would eat our dinners and discuss the scripture we had read that week. One Monday night a young lady in the group named Jeannie was absent from the group. No one had heard that she would be gone and, in fact, several had spoken with her earlier in the day and told her that they would see her that evening. About twenty minutes into the study Jeannie came bursting into the room with a look of fear and humor on her face. She began to explain that she had arrived to the neighborhood a little earlier than usual and driven up to a house that was similar to my house. Since she was early she did not think anything of the fact that no other cars were at the house and instead walked on in and began eating her dinner. She said that she noticed that I had repainted and changed out my furniture but thought nothing of that. It was not until, after about twenty minutes, when a dog ran into the living room, and began to growl at her, that she realized that this was the wrong house. She quickly grabbed her dinner, spilling her can of diet coke on the coffee table, and ran out the door and jumped into her car. She drove directly to my house where she ran inside to tell us her story to a great response of laughter. I have always wondered, when the owners of the wrong house finally came into the living room, what they thought about the puddle of diet coke on their coffee table.

The problem had been that Jeannie had quickly pulled into a house that was similar but not exactly the same as mine. It had a different address, was painted a different color, had different furniture and decorations, and it had a dog. While it was a little bit understandable that she made the mistake from the outside appearance, it was the same house plan, it was not so understandable how she could have still been mistaken once she was inside. She had paid as little attention to what the inside looked like causing her to make herself at home in the wrong home.

As Paul approaches the close of his letter to the Romans he details what they should look like inside and out. He stresses the different way they should look as compared to non-followers. While all may visually look the same, Paul points out that once what is inside is made obvious, the world should be able to identify the difference that exists in the followers. The problem apparently was that they were looking the same, inside and out, as everyone else. There was nothing notably different about them, and the way they lived, than the world around them. The point Paul is making is that they need to pay attention to what their inside looks like because that is what the world is going to see on the outside, a world that is paying attention.

Paul is telling them that they are eating their dinner in the wrong house.

ReThink Daily Reading: Romans 10:5-15:13

Why and Who

2011-05-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

A recent study on parenting revealed that the practice of rewards, used to teach and train children, is often an ineffective and sometimes a counter productive method. The study showed that the children that responded to instruction based on what they would receive, or punishment that they would not receive, had no long lasting change in behavior. They had a positive response only as long as they were rewarded or as long as they were avoiding a punishment. The study also included a group of similar children who were given clear instruction and explanation about rules and boundaries. Time was taken in an attempt to help these children understand the “why” of the rules. While this second group did not respond with perfect behavior, there was an obvious and longer lasting behavior change among them.

One of the first questions my children seemed to ask, in response to instruction given by Andrea or myself, was “why?”. Whether this was a stall tactic or a true desire to understand, they consistently wanted to know why we were instructing them in the fashion that we were. An automatic response by parents is often “because I said so”. While, as the parent, we hold this authority, such response does not always have a lasting effect.

Paul attempts to teach the Romans the “Why” of God’s instruction and leading. Paul explains to the followers that before Christ they were just doing things “because God said so” but now they do things because they have the Spirit of Christ. In Romans 9:32 Paul points out that when they were following and obeying God just because they were “supposed to” they failed, but when it was by faith there was an understanding and a motivation. When our following is based on us, and our ability to “do” we fail. When our following is based on the Spirit, and He is our “Who”, then it is in God’s power that we follow. When our following of God is based on faith in Him, rather than reward and punishment from Him, we follow more successfully. When we understand the “Why”, we are able to then trust the “Who”

Do you understand the “Why”? Do you trust the “Who”?

ReThink Daily Reading: Romans 6:1-10:4

My Work/His Work

2011-05-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks I have frequently, in my Sunday messages, returned to Jesus’ story of the prodigal son. This young man, who decided that he knew more than his dad, took his inheritance and left to live a life of hedonism and debauchery. It is obvious, in the story, that there was little that the young man did not seek to experience. While the father had surely attempted to sway the son earlier, he had, eventually, given the son the money and stepped aside sadly watching as the son left. The father allowed the son to go and do everything that the father knew was bad and harmful, because he knew that the son had already made the decision to do this. The son had already given his mind over to this decision. The son had already rejected the father and made the decision to embrace a life lived totally counter to the instruction and example of his father. The son made the decision and the father stepped aside. Actually, the father sat aside, he sat and waited on the son to return. He waited to embrace him and accept the son once he realized what he had, himself, erroneously embraced. The father hoped, the father loved, the father waited. Waited with arms ready to embrace.

An interesting story, especially in light of the judgment and correction witnessed as we journeyed through the Old Testament. How can it be that a figure in a story, a figure that clearly represents God, be so free of judgement and correction and instead waits with open arms? The truth is that the teaching and correction of the Old Testament is what permitted the son to realize the mistake of his ways. It is through the teaching, through the law, that we know what is going to end in disaster. It is through this education that we see the natural consequences of turning away from truth. The teaching wasn’t in order to punish but to keep us from the consequences, the natural punishment. So, the teacher, is obviously one that loves deeply and hopes continually. That is a dad waiting, with open arms, for a son who had finally sorted through the deceit and realized the truth. It was only a son, returning to the Father, ready to step into those open arms.

In the letter of Paul to the Romans, the first chapter is a very graphic description of man’s journey away from God. We see the results of man’s effort to be his own God and to live without the teaching and law of God. We see the results of man’s rejection of God. We see the results of a heart that has totally rejected and abandoned God. We see that God lets that heart go into that city and live there, waiting for a moment of realization, a moment that will bring us home. Paul then stresses that we are all in that “away and turning” state, none of us can look at our own works, and life, and think we are superior to others. This is followed by an explanation of God’s grace through Jesus Christ which permits each of us to rely on the work of Christ rather than the insufficient work of ourself. Paul stresses that our works are a result and reflection of the graceful work of Christ that God gracefully offers to us.

Whose works are you relying on? Whose works are you a reflection of?

ReThink Daily Reading: Romans 1-5

Financial Choice

2011-05-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

Phil Chain, the founder and director of Mexico Missions, shared a story with me years ago regarding the ministry God had led him, and his family, into. As they, his wife and himself, entered midlife, God led them to sale everything they had and begin the ministry to churches and children in the country of Mexico. After they had begun their ministry, Phil shared that they had money in the bank from the sale of their house and business. For years this money sat in the bank, and for years this money stayed on their mind. Phil told me that they constantly thought about what they could do with the money and how they could, at any minute, abandon God’s call on them and return to that money. They soon realized that the money was hindering their ministry and their dependence upon God. Finally, they decided to give the money away, blessing others and taking away this distraction to themselves.

Money is great, and money can be deadly. In chapter 8 of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth he begins to encourage them to give of their money. He says that this is not a command but an encouragement to do that which will, in the end, be an encouragement to them. Following chapter 8 a different tone begins to be noticed on the part of Paul. There is a address to the an attitude of self and suspicion on part of the church at Corinth, an attitude that is the opposite of the attitude of generosity he encouraged in chapter 8. It is obvious that the opposite of generosity is selfishness and suspicion which, in the end, is of great detriment to the church and believers. It is amazing, and obvious, that the dangers or the blessings of money.

Which choice are you making in regard to money?

ReThink Daily Reading: II Corinthians 8-13; Acts 20:2-3a

Change

2011-05-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

On a very long bus ride with a group of young people, one young man got sick in the middle of the trip. With many hours still left before we arrived at our destination, his sickness got so severe that the smell began to affect all those sitting around him and soon the entire bus. When I became aware of the situation we were truly in the middle of nowhere with very few options. It was a full bus so there was no way to keep the others away from him, at the same time everyone was trying to be polite and not hurt his feelings. It quickly became a desperate situation. Finally, the bus pulled into a very small town in the desert of Nevada where I had the bus driver pull into the first bathroom he could find. I took the young man to the bathroom where I had him stay and I left to see what I could do to remedy the situation. While the other counselors stayed with the group I began to, literally, run through the town to see if I could find any solution. I found a drugstore which had medicine to help his stomach, then a found a clothing store that had every piece of clothing he would need to make a change. I got back to the bathroom, had him clean up and put on the new clothes. In the meantime my wonderful counselors had scoured and sanitized the bus. After the bus was cleaned, the young man was cleaned, his old clothes left in a trashcan in the middle of Nevada, and he put on new clean clothes, the entire environment changed. As we got back on the bus he was definitely feeling better, and now, everyone else was feeling and doing better. Due to feeling better, being cleaned up and changed, he was no longer the outcast and no longer avoided or shunned. It just took a recognition and realization of the situation, and then a change in response to the situation, to truly address the situation.

Recognition, and acceptance of that reality, that moves us to positive change, impacts our life and the life of everyone in our sphere of relationships. We see this impact of change in the second letter of Paul to the church at Corinth. Instead of the letter being focused solely on confrontation, it is now commendation, affirmation, and direction. We see the reason for this new focus in II Corinthians 7:9 that they recognized their sin and made a change in their life.

What change is God calling for in your life?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 19:20:1; II Corinthians 1-7

Respect

2011-05-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

Watching my kids at tennis tournaments I have found that it is easy to separate the experienced players from the inexperienced players. If a ball is hit off a court and into an area of an adjoining court, the experienced player will wait for permission from the adjacent players before entering their court area to retrieve their ball. Even if the ball is not directly on their court, but against a back fence, the respectful player will wait to make sure that they are not being a distraction to the players on the other court before they enter the area. I witnessed one tournament where inexperienced, or possibly just non-respectful players, actually walked onto another court as competitive play was ongoing. It was amazing, it was selfish, it was self-centered. Mostly, it was childish and disrespectful.

The church at Corinth was very disrespectful as is evidenced from the topics that Paul addresses in his letter to them. They were disrespectful in the gifts, skills, and abilities given to them by God, they were disrespectful of their cultural expectations, they were disrespectful of each other, they were disrespectful. They were so disrespectful that their own mentor, Apollos, refused to come visit them.

Everything about them exhibited and reflected this disrespect.

What is evidenced from your life and relationships?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Corinthians 12-16

Too Much Stuff

2011-05-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

A few months into moving to Colorado I made the mistake of agreeing to embark on an overnight, over 26 mile uphill hike. As I arrived to meet the group I was hiking with, I immediately got out of the car and gathered my backpack, sleeping bag, and hiking boots. One of the other adults going on the hike, a man who had lived and hiked in the area for many years, came over and gently began to advise me on my pack and my boots. He cautioned me that my boots might end up hurting me more than helping, and, that my pack was probably more than I needed. Having been a “backpacking instructor” two years before, I smiled and thanked him but disregarded all that he had suggested. About a mile up the mountain I began to wish that I had paid attention to what he had said. I was carrying way too much stuff, and I was wearing entirely too heavy of boots. I was dying, and it was only one mile into the trip. It was going to be miserable and I was wishing that I had not tried to carry so much uneeded stuff.

As Paul continues to chastise the church at Corinth, he tells them that they are trying to carry too much stuff which is keeping them from truly carrying anything at all. Their desires and their relationships have become heavy and miserable, their religious customs have become burdensome and offensive, and their Christian fellowship has ceased to exist. He shares that they might as well have none of this rather than the negative manner in which they are living life. They need to remember their God and then decide what they need to carry. Paul points out that they must consider how to live with what they have and how to set aside that which is unnecessary. They have forgotten God and gotten caught up in self. He tells them that their commitment to God must become evident in their commitment to each other. They need to let go to grab ahold.

What are you carrying?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Corinthians 7-11

Standards

2011-05-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

If you go into a public restroom, especially one at a restaurant, you are guaranteed (if not, I suggest you turn around and head home) to see a sign requiring all employees to wash their hands. While this is a great idea for everyone, it is mandatory for those who will be serving you and handling your food. It is something that would be beneficial for everyone, those who touch you or your food especially need to take this precaution. It is an excellent suggestion, a smart idea, but it is optional for some while mandatory for others. Some will have consequences if they disregard this requirement and some will go unnoticed.

Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, addresses sexual immorality that is taking place within the members of the church. This is especially alarming because it has been tolerated by the members. In I Corinthians 5:9-13, Paul points out the fact that those within the church are to be judged by a different standard. He says that, while they are not to react to those immoral person in public this way, those in the church who chose to live this way are to be put out of the church. They live by a different standard as they have accepted a different standard for they are to be examples of a different standard.

What is your standard by which you live?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Corinthians 5-6

Spirit Growth

2011-05-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

I have a cousin, who with his wife, recently adopted twins from Ukraine. The children had spent most of their lives in an orphanage receiving minimal care and attention due to the fact that the workers were stretched so thin and given very little resources. As a result of the lack of basic resources both children were severely malnourished. This lack of basic nutrition was evidenced in their physical growth and motor skills development. Within months of being with their new family, receiving adequate food and attention, their size and abilities drastically increased and improved. It was astounding what a change had occurred.

Paul’s address to the church at Corinth is one of confrontation that they should be growing and fruitful but instead do not seem to care. He actually tells them that he has to talk to them as babies, or non-believers, because they are so shallow in their faith. He points out that they have his teachings, the teachings of other apostles, and that they have the Holy Spirit, yet they have not grown at all. He chastised them for the fact that they have all that they need but have not taken advantage of anything that God has given them. He points out their arrogance in thinking they are so mature while in reality they are infants.

In contrast to what is taking place at the church in Corinth we also see Paul speaking to the church at Thessalonica. He is continuing to encourage them but to prepare them for the trials ahead. They are ready for these trials because of their Spirit dependent growth in the past. In Acts 18, we see two growing believers used by God to quietly correct another apostle. This apostle then is used by God to help many other believers. In both of these instances we see what Spirit growth can accomplish as opposed to the stagnation of the nominal believers in Corinth.

What is your growth look like? What has your growth you prepared for?

ReThink Daily Reading: II Thessalonians 1-3; Acts 18:12-19:22; I Corinthians 1-4

Growth Charts

2011-05-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I marvel at the physical growth that takes place in our children. Every birthday they stand up against a measuring board, which we have used since they were born, to chart their physical growth. As their new height is marked we are consistently amazed at what has taken place in the previous year. What makes us more astounded is to watch them grow up mentally, socially, emotionally, academically, as well as spiritually. Sometimes we are shocked at the fact that they are so quickly becoming adults. While we still have to guide, direct, and often correct, the fact remains that their growth is a delight to both of us.

Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica is measuring board which gives him cause to stand back and marvel. He addresses the growth that has taken place and what a delight that is to him. He also reminds them of the need to stay on course and to be ready for all that is ahead. He is encouraged by them, excited for them, and hopeful because of them, they are his children.

What does your growth chart reflect? Are you excited about the growth chart of others?

ReThink Daily Reading: I Thessalonians 1-5

Being Human

2011-05-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

For the year between university graduation and seminary I served as a ministry intern at the church I had attended in college. I will never forget one of the first staff meetings the shock I had as two of the pastors got into a fairly heated argument. The other interns, and myself, sat there with a look of alarm on our face. The meeting ended with the two still visibly in disagreement with each other. The two, that were in disagreement, left the room first leaving a third other pastor alone with the interns. He had a grin on his face, knowing the surprise that we were feeling, and said, “don’t worry about it guys, they are just passionate about this.” Nothing was said by any of us but you could tell that we were all bothered and confused by what had taken place. We had always seen these pastors always working together and in harmony. Later in the day we were even more confused as we saw these same two feuding men walking down the hall laughing and acting the way we had always observed. Over the course of the year we saw this passionate side come through many times as they would argue and then work it out. We soon became very accustom to their human side.

The argument between Paul and Banabas is a particularly human moment. Both men are very passionate which leads them to feel very strongly about their opinions. Eventually, their passion for their ministry seems to tear them apart. They go different ways. They still go with their passion but no longer together. While we see the church seem to show a preference to the ministry of Paul, we know that God continues to work through Barnabas. In II Timothy 4:11, Paul even calls for Mark, who was the source of the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, to come help him saying that he is “useful in ministry.” It is obvious that, even in disagreement, they do not degrade or discount the other. They realize the commonality of goal even when they cannot agree on the way to work toward that goal.

One of the most confusing aspects of the war in the Middle East is the fact that much of the fighting is going on within those who claim to be of the same faith. Their disagreement as to the approach and history of their faith has brought them to a point of hatred and violence. While there is a commonality of core belief they still have focused on their disagreement. Sadly, although not usually to this extreme, this is something that is sometimes evident in Christianity today. We often forget our common core in Christ and fight over the direction to go and who to take with us. We sometimes forget that we, too, are human.

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 15:36-18:11

Return to Law

2011-05-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

I was teaching a class on outdoor skills one day, a class I had been teaching the entire summer, when the question was asked about poisonous snake bites. We were in the mountains near Yosemite Park at the time and the kids were all very alert to the presence of such creatures. Before I could start answering the question, the kids began a dialogue, mainly based on television shows and movies they had seen where a snake bite occurred. They were explaining how you made a tourniquet and then sucked out the blood. This discussion was being especially enjoyed by a group of boys who knew that it was bothering a group of squeamish girls. By this time in the summer I was on autopilot and basically teaching the class without thinking. As the discussion continued I took part in it as if this was the answer, it was not. Finally, a non-autopilot adult in the group questioned this answer and shared what he had been taught was the most recent direction for snake bites. He was right, no longer did the experts say to suck the blood out, but instead, if you can get to a hospital in an hour stay calm and do that. As he questioned I immediately knew that I was in a dilemma. I was tempted to maintain my “expert” status with the kids in the group by disputing what this adult was doing, which would then be sharing the wrong answer just to keep the crowd happy. I chose the right path, to permit my standing with the crowd to diminish in order to get the truth out instead. In the end they all felt my original answer was a lot more cool even it it would not actually save a life. Hopefully, they remembered the life saving answer.

We live in a world that goes to great lengths to keep people happy. Policy, rulers, procedures, and overall politics bend and sway to public opinion. If a crowd rises up then the leadership listens. Paul is addressing this mindset with the church at Galatia as he is saying the good news of the gospel is not flexible and changeable to the desires of the crowd. Paul says that truth is truth and that it does not change. In Galatians 1:10 he even says that the person who proclaims a version of the gospel that is said in order to please the listener is not really serving Christ, he is serving self. We then see the practice of this in Galatians 2:5.

As we read through the letter to the Galatians, it is apparent that they are being swayed to depend on themselves through the law, rather than on Christ. Paul even points out that the apostles fell sway to this mindset. Paul sums up their standing in Galatians 2:19-21 and then their relationship in Galatians 3:27-29. He is very strongly pointing out that they are returning to the law rather than trusting the work of Christ.

What are you trusting with your life?

ReThink Daily Reading: Galatians 2-6

Forgetting Freedom

2011-05-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

Because I had been very active in church while in High School, once I moved to a college campus I immediately began looking for a church and other Christian organizations. As I got involved in these I was somewhat surprised by how complicated the Christian walk became. The teaching was all about what I “should” do and what I “should not” do. All the things were right and good, they were all things I agreed with, but now there were becoming the avenue to God rather than the work of Christ. Things like Bible study, prayer, and fellowship became as difficult to maneuver as my most intense college classes. The joy was gone and the drudgery was thick. It was not until many years later that I discovered the concept, and truth, of grace. It was awhile before I grasped the freedom of a true walk with Christ.

Paul had a persistent battle on his hands that was not with the religious or governmental leaders. His battle was with the more Jewish traditional followers who felt that the old religious Jewish law needed to be observed by the new believers. They were holding on to the old religion, the old law, the old slavery, and wanting to subject everyone to it. Paul consistently questioned why anyone would want to go back to that.

People still want to go back to that form of slavery. We saw it with the Israelites after they were released from slavery and then times got tough. People are still looking back, they may not know, but the truth is that they want something they can prove their spirituality with. They grab back for the law, they grab back for a priest to tell them how to live, they grab back. This is instead of true relationship with God which is much more difficult to proof and even more difficult to formulate.

Are you living in freedom or grabbing backwards for slavery?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 15:1-35; Galatians 1

Freedom

2011-05-09T06:06:00.001-07:00

I recently proofed a paper written by my daughter Lily about slaves escaping slavery in the early days of our own nation’s history. The story involved three sisters who had been separated by their parents at an early age. All three had been able to stay together until their master died and they were put up for sale separately. The oldest sister was sold before the girls could escape but the younger two managed to run away, and with the help of various individuals such as Harriet Tubman, they made it to freedom. Their taste of freedom gave them an even greater desire to see their loved ones freed. They soon were able to help free their parents and then their older sister.

A taste of freedom gives us a zest to share that freedom with the world.

The apostle Paul, and his traveling and preaching companion Barnabas, had tasted freedom. Both men had been enslaved by the Law, by religion, but Christ had given them freedom. With the taste of freedom still in their mouths, the Holy Spirit led and empowered them to share that freedom with others. You can see the emphasis of their freedom, and their freedom message, in Acts 13:38-39.

What are you doing with your freedom?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 13-14

Open Minds

2011-05-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest shocks that I have experienced as a vocational minister took place in my first church out of seminary. It was during a deacons meeting where information was being given to the deacons regarding new attenders who had expressed interest in membership. This was during the 1980s and I am sure I was fairly naive regarding the inner attitudes of church members. During the meeting, information was given on one new family, a family of a different race than every man in the deacon meeting. The room became noticeably quiet and a tension fell on the proceedings. One older deacon finally held up his hand and asked, “Would it be better if we suggested that they go to (here he named a church where most of the members were of the same race as the family) church? Wouldn’t they be more comfortable there?” I was shocked that he said this and then even more bewildered by the fact that many of the men in the room agreed. I couldn’t help but laugh when these same men were very excited and involved in the discussion of the upcoming evangelistic emphasis we were going to have the next month. It was clear that they had put boundaries on who should and could hear the good news of Jesus Christ at their church and who should probably hear it elsewhere.

Peter was shocked when the good news of Jesus Christ was opened up to everyone, including those who were not Jews. The journey of Peter was then a shock to the other believers. The fact that God would also bring the Gentiles to repentance and allow them to also receive the Holy Spirit was a hard truth to swallow for these formerly legalistic Jews. However, they did open up their minds and see that God had offered the good news to everyone who would receive it.

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 10-12

Hindrances

2011-05-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Our local Atwoods store recently reconfigured their entire store arrangement from the inside out. For almost a year, they have been working on the rearrangement which has been interesting to watch even from a distance. While I have not been inside the store during this time, I have been fascinated by what I can see from the outside. Part of the initial process was to move the customer entry from the south side to the west side. This began with the building of a new portico entrance and changing the look of the entire west side of the building. For many months they had a new entry, complete with a new glassed in area with double doors. The problem with the new entrance, however, was that there was not way to get into the store. They had built the entrance but had not yet cut an entryway into the actual store. While it was easy, from the outside, to identify this new entrance, it was totally useless since you could not get inside the store through it. If you were to walk up and into the new entrance you would find that the old outside wall still was blocking you from getting into the store. Finally they cut a new doorway and the new entrance was without hindrance.

God brought the follower Philip to share with a man who was visiting in the area from Ethiopia. Philip shared what the prophecies of Isaiah meant and how they pointed to Christ. As the man understood, he responded by asking Philip “what keeps me from being baptized?” (8:36). Not understanding the scriptures had been the hindrance for the Ethiopian and once that hindrance was eliminated then the man accepted the truth and followed.

It was a bit more difficult for another man to convert. Saul, had been crossing the countryside persecuting those who chose to followed Christ. He would have them rounded up and put into prison, or stand by as others killed the Christians. Saul was confronted by God Himself on the road to Damascus. The hindrance to Saul was somewhat tougher than for the man from Ethiopia. Saul did not only have misunderstanding but he also had a great deal of misdirected religious zeal. He had become convinced that the followers of Christ were evil and anti-God and therefore needed to be abolished. So, making such a change from persecutor to preacher took a lot of hindrance elimination. God had to remove a lot of scales from Saul’s eyes (9:18).

What hindrances do you face in following God?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 8:4-9:43

The Work Begins

2011-05-04T00:02:00.000-07:00

There was a television commercial in which a group of on-line business people are seen preparing to start their new business. They do all the preparatory work and then gather around a computer as they push the button to start the new endeavor. You can see the excitement in the eyes of each person huddled around the computer as they begin to see customers respond. This excitement soon turns to fear and dread as the response numbers increase at such a rate that everyone in the room is overwhelmed. Suddenly the excitement has turned to great concern as they realize the real work now must begin. Up to now it had all been a dream and a vision but now they had to start “doing” the work they had been talking about and preparing for all along.

It was not long after Pentecost that the “work begins” moment hit the leaders of the followers of Christ. Soon the excitement of the receiving of the Spirit became the reality of following the Spirit. They had to get to work. It was soon pointed out that, while they were preaching and praying, the physical needs were being neglected. Then, as one of their own was preaching, the reality of the negative response began to hit. Stephen was stoned and killed. The work had begun.

Many quit when the work gets tough, many decide that this is not what they signed up for. Many hit disagreement and problems within the Church or negative response from outside and decide that they are quitting. Rather than trying to work to find a solution or to seek to endure and persevere, they quit. Following is work, and now it is time to begin.

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 6:1-8:3

Control

2011-05-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

One summer I worked with a truly selfless young man named Wayne. Due to the nature of the job Wayne and I, and all the staff, were together virtually twenty-four hours a day for two and a half months. During that entire time I never saw Wayne do anything, or ever react, out of anything but a selfless attitude. He was always a selfless person. I could not say that about myself, or actually anyone else on the staff. Wayne had this amazing ability to see beyond the circumstances as well as to see what needs he could help with. At the time I was amazed by the countenance and attitude of Wayne, looking back I am able to identify him as being truly Holy Spirit led and dependent.

Following the coming of the Holy Spirit an amazing thing begins to happen among the believers. A consuming attitude of selflessness and servanthood seemed to overflow. They were selling property and giving away the money. They were sharing everything that they had. They were caring for the needs of others as much as for themselves. It was amazing. It continued until some began to look at personal needs and potential; this caused them to crowd out the Holy Spirit. Some began to let self take back control and suddenly we see those individuals display selfishness instead of selflessness.

What is at the controls of your life?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 3-5

Filled

2011-05-02T14:21:00.001-07:00

In the past year we have had a plethora of teens in our church get their driver’s license, including my son. They each attended classes, took a permit exam, drove countless hours with their parents, and waited until that final moment when the road would be theirs’. The were trained, they practiced, and then, with this knowledge, they waited. The waiting was agony for most of them just as I can remember it being agony for me when I was a fifteen year old. Finally, when the day arrived, fresh laminated license in hand, they took out on their own. We parents waved goodbye hoping that we had armed them with sufficient help and resources.

Before Christ ascended, leaving this earth, He instructed His followers to wait. They were to wait for the promise of help and resources that would come from God. This help and resources would be in the form of the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. Christ knew that they could not survive on their own and that the receiving of the Holy Spirit would be even more personal than when they had Jesus Himself with them. The Holy Spirit is personal and constantly there. The problem was, however, that they had to wait. They did wait, we see that they waited and prayed and looked at the teachings they had received, and readied themselves for the Holy Spirit. They did not fill themselves with anything, they were totally available for the Spirit to have full reign in their lives. When the Holy Spirit did come the followers were ready, ready to be guided and used by the Spirit. In Acts 2:33 we see that the Spirit used the available followers so others would see and hear, and believe. As the Spirit moves in the lives of the followers, and the new followers, we see amazing things begin to happen. It all started when they made themselves open and available to the filling of God’s Spirit.

Are you letting the Spirit fill and move in and through you?

ReThink Daily Reading: Acts 1-2

Solving the Global Food Crisis

2011-04-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

This week we are reading reports from Compassion International regarding ministry in Uganda as we prepare to hear from Peter Habyarimana in worship on Sunday, May 1. Peter was a compassion child in Uganda and now is on staff with Compassion International.

I heard the other day what many would call “good news.” According to the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, the recession is over.

Only the thing is, the “good-ness” of this news is relative … it’s only true for those of us living within certain geographic boundaries (read: the developed world.)

So, while we may be seeing signs of economic improvement in our part of the world, many other parts of the world are still in dire straits.

I recently received a report from our staff in Guatemala that says there are 54,000 families seriously lacking food. Fifty-four thousand. UNICEF says that almost half of Guatemalan children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

While the food crisis is not new, the reasons behind this reiteration of it are different from before.

Whereas before the skyrocketing cost of food was almost solely responsible for the crisis, this time Guatemala is experiencing something like the Perfect Storm – a combination of adverse weather, poor soil and the effects of the global economic downturn have lead to a severe food shortage.

On the other side of the globe in Uganda, the situation is equally heartbreaking. The last report our staff submitted said that more than 4,500 of our children and their families are suffering from famine.

Kids are not attending school because they don’t have the strength to get through the day. People cannot take their HIV medication because it has to be taken with food And they have none.

Since the onset of the Global Food Crisis last year, we have distributed millions of dollars worth of food, medical treatment and nutritional counseling.

We were able to meet the needs of many children like Doris, an 11-year-old girl from Guatemala who was malnourished, surviving on a diet of vegetables and chicken giblets once a day, and provide her with three meals of chicken, beef, vegetables, eggs, milk, Incaparina mixed with beans, corn flakes, rice and Protemás.

But for others, as the crisis goes on seemingly without end, it’s hard not to get discouraged.

There actually is good news, though: This economic imbalance has not taken God off guard. Actually, He knew we’d be in this predicament. That’s why He gave us clear instructions about what to do.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” — 1 John 3:17-18, NIV

And there it is plain as day — the key to solving this crisis.

While this side of the world might indeed be pulling out of the economic free-fall we’ve been in, those on the other side aren’t yet.

So, what I’d like to suggest is that this “recovery” is actually our opportunity. It is not an ending of something, but a chance to fulfill our purpose.

As we pull out of our economic tailspin, we have the chance – and the responsibility – to step up for those still spinning.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/the-key-to-solving-the-global-food-crisis/#ixzz1K4vDUVj9

Hunger

2011-04-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

In July 2009, a cry for help went up in parts of northern and eastern Uganda as many people succumbed to the severe and persistent drought that swept across half of the nation. Soroti district was one of the localities that was hardest hit. However, this cry was not new to this part of the country.

Every year, Soroti district is listed as a statistic for emergency help. It is said to be one of the districts with the highest levels of poverty in the country, with a very low education level and inhabitants ignorant of cultivation skills. Many have painful memories of war.

With unpredictable weather, from hot and dry conditions that lead to drought and famine, to strong winds and rain that destroy homes and crops, the inhabitants of the land never know what to expect of fickle nature and how to overcome the damage left behind.

To the local inhabitants, the hunger and famine that come with the changing seasons is a leopard looking for the helpless and hopeless to devour. But for a few people in the community, it is time to fight back.

For the beneficiaries of the Asuret and Victory Outreach Orwadai Child Development Centers, it is time to hunt down and chase the “leopard,” and banish it for good.

Mary has watched three of her children die of disease, neglect and ignorance. Her family has been brought to its knees with no hope. Being HIV-positive with no money for treatment, both she and her husband Emmanuel had no strength to work for a living, and even then no one to take a chance on them. Life was hard with hardly enough food to eat. Most nights the family went to bed with empty bellies.

Despairing and wracked with disease in 2004 when her husband lost his eyesight, Mary set aside her pride and dignity and resorted to begging on the streets and public buses coming in from outside of town. Her husband stayed at home with their remaining two children.

For four years this was the life she knew. She woke up every morning praying to God to touch the heart of one person whose generosity would extend to her, so her family would have something to eat that night.

In 2008, the Victory Outreach Orwadai Child Development Center opened a few meters from Mary’s home. Mary and her family were one of the first families whose children were identified to benefit from the sponsorship program.

As part of the assistance the family received, Mary and Emmanuel were given 50,000 Uganda shillings (about $27) to start up a business that they could manage. With this money they bought one pig and firewood, and started to sell fried pork to the community members in the town center.

As demand for their food has grown, the duo’s business has moved from selling one pig in two days to currently two pigs a day.

Whereas before they had no food and depended on the mercy of good Samaritans, the family now is able to have three meals a day as well as a variety of food in their diet.

Out of the profits of the business, Mary and Emmanuel bought a bed, a goat and a sheep. They also joined a ”savings” group of people like them benefiting from the program, and were able to save enough money to buy a second sheep. The family hopes the sheep and goats will reproduce, and that they will sell them and expand their business.

“We have so many plans. We are planning to expand the huts in the eating place and add Irish potatoes and cabbage with tomatoes,” says Mary, who is excited at her future prospects. “We have great hope in the future.”

Life was not so different for the community of Asuret village, located about an hour away from Soroti town. They too experienced the harsh weather and stalking hunger and famine. When the Asuret Child Development Center opened, the prayers of many were answered.

When given the 50,000 shillings to start up their individual income-generating activities, the beneficiaries of Asuret Child Development Center decided instead to pool their money and start up a group activity. This helps also take care of the elderly and weak, who would not be able to maintain their own individual projects.

The group started a chicken and piggery farm, and the members each take turns tending to them daily.

All the beneficiaries in the group are HIV-positive, and being a part of this has given them a lifeline to hold onto.

For many, the profits from the project have enabled them to start their own individual income-generating activities like tailoring, selling charcoal, and small-scale agriculture.

“My children are now happy because I can now go home with something for them every day, unlike before,” says Naome, a widow with seven children, the youngest of whom is HIV-positive and also in the Asuret Child Development Center. Naome started a tailoring business that is now thriving.

The success of the group income-generating activity as well as each person’s individual activities are helping many group members pay for their other children’s needs, even those who are not registered in the sponsorship program. Most of the group members have also returned the initial investment given to them by the church.

The group’s success has filtered into the community, and the association had had requests from people who are not HIV-positive to join in the investment.

With the weather erratic and difficult to predict in this region, a more sustainable solution found in the income-generating activity programs seems to be the answer for the beneficiaries of both these development centers. They are determined not to remain a statistic, but to be the exception when the “leopard” comes calling next year.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/hunger-in-uganda/#ixzz1K4uP2jxW

Options

2011-04-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Formal education was not the path to fulfilling the dreams of 19-year-old Fausta. No matter how hard she tried, she never got good grades. While all the children around her seemed to grasp and enjoy the class work, Fausta had trouble comprehending the lessons, let alone enjoying them.

With the support of our staff, Fausta pushed on and tried her best to excel. However, when her Primary Leaving Examinations* results came back, she had failed. It was then that Fausta made a decision to discontinue formal education despite Compassion’s willingness to pay her school fees. She decided instead to train in tailoring.

At Nakatete Child Development Center, the center Fausta attends, children 12 years of age and older can choose vocational training in any area they want and the trainers will gladly take them through it. The program is optional and those who are not interested don’t join.

The center has classes for skills like weaving, crocheting and tailoring. The children make mats, micro hangers for flowers, tablecloths, handbags, door mats, dresses, skirts, shorts, shirts and blouses every alternating Saturday.

Out of 71 children in primary school who are of age, 53 have joined the vocational classes. The tailoring class has 10 boys and three girls, weaving has nine girls, knitting has 18 girls, making door mats has 10 boys, and broom making has seven boys and three girls.

Six of these children have also chosen to study more than one vocation. The vocational training, however, is not very popular with the children in secondary school.

“When they reach secondary school, the children refuse to continue with the trainings, saying it is for the illiterate. We have tried to sensitize them about the importance of the vocational trainings, but some of them do not take heed. So far we have 110 children in secondary school, but only 20 of these are in vocational training.” — Mrs. Olivia, the center director

While many show disinterest in the vocational classes, some are progressing and enjoying the benefits already. Fausta has now mastered the art of knitting tablecloths, tailoring and weaving mats, and has already sold some of her products.

“I joined the vocations class at the age of 12 and by the time I was 15 years old, I was able to make some products and sell them to sustain myself. The first profit I got was from selling three sets of tablecloths. When I got this money I used it to buy three chickens and started a chicken-rearing business. I used the rest of the money to buy clothes and shoes.”

One of Fausta’s chickens now has six chicks, and it represents just the beginning of her success in business. She joined a friend’s tailoring business to learn new designs of tailoring clothes and to upgrade from the basic tailoring of dresses, shirts, blouses and shorts that is taught at the center. Today, she has advanced to making gomesis, a traditional dress of the Baganda tribe and other tribes in central and eastern Uganda.

With this exposure, she has improved her skills to meet the standards of her customers. On average she gets $.90 per item of clothing that she sews at her friend’s business. Once in a while, though, she gets her own deals to make clothes and the profits are higher. The price depends on the design and type of fabric that is used.

So far she has made and sold seven gomesis. She sold them at different prices, an average of $2.65.

Fausta and her family also do not have to buy tablecloths and chair backs for their sitting room because Fausta has made them herself.

Fausta might not have pursued formal education, but she knows how to survive with what she has been equipped. Her dream is to start her own business and be able to get contracts to make school uniforms and start up a store selling gomesis.

She embodies dreams fulfilled for the staff members who take the time and effort to equip these children.

“We encourage all the children to join vocational trainings so that they can be economically self sustaining. For example, we expect that when children reach secondary school, they should be able to raise money to top up their school fees or get pocket money by selling the products they have learned to make.

“We also expect them to apply this knowledge in their homes. For example, why should parents spend money buying tablecloths when the children can make them?

“Some of them have indeed made us proud. One of the children who had mastered the skill of carpentry got a contract to make benches for this school. It was fulfilling to see that we didn’t have to outsource but could support our own.” — Olivia

The vocational classes begin at 2 p.m. after the children have had their lunch. Those that do tailoring rush to their small, busy room for lessons. The rest of the children who take crocheting and weaving find shade under a big tree. There they sit in different groupings depending on the work they are doing; knitting tablecloths, making mats, making brooms and making door mats.

Under the tree, they enjoy the cool breeze that sweeps over them. They giggle and practice what they were last taught until their instructor arrives. Their instructor, Betty, moves from child to child, keenly observing what each child does and correcting or complimenting his/her work.

One by one, they receive attention and get to ask all the questions they have about their work. From an observer’s point of view, the children are drawn into their work and they love it!

The children in the tailoring class share the sewing machines and learn together. Betty moves from one machine to another, giving them details of the foundational knowledge they need to make good products. She labors to explain to some of them who are still finding difficulty grasping the basics. Others need less supervision.

Twelve-year-old Jonathan is to finish making his first dress today. He is “over the moon” as he has been working on the dress since last year. His face beams with happiness as he shows off his dress. He is very alert when receiving guidance from his instructor.

Thirteen-year-old Henry is learning how to make brooms and door mats. He hopes to make some money out of this vocation so that he can support his one parent. The children learn with passion and hope. They know that one day this will pay.

At the child development center, the caregivers have a say in what vocations their children can take. Olivia says that before the center decides on what vocations to teach the children, the staff consult the parents.

“When selecting which vocations to teach, we do a needs assessment with the caregivers. We ask them to suggest vocations that are relevant for their children. We also consider a vocation that is relevant to community needs. We need to teach the children products that can be economically benefiting to them. Availability of human resource is another factor we consider. For example we wanted to have a bakery here but have not yet found a trainer.”

The future of the children is unknown. But the child development center is providing the opportunity and environment for the children to learn. The hope is that we have made a difference in the life of another child.

*Primary Leaving Examinations also serve as entrance exams into secondary (or high) school. Failure to pass these exams usually means a child cannot progress to secondary school, particularly at a good school. When a student has done poorly in exams, it is possible to take another year of the same class and sit for the examinations again.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/vocational-education-and-training/#ixzz1K4sn6DvG

Overcoming Abuse

2011-04-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

Fancy is a beautiful Ugandan girl. Looking at her, you might think that her life has been as beautiful. But behind that beautiful face is a childhood she would rather forget. Fancy was born in a home of more than 14 children. And the number kept increasing as the father brought new siblings home.

Beautiful Fancy grew up with no mother because her parents had separated. It was tough growing up with just her father because he did not understand what it meant to love and care for a child.

At a very early age, Fancy and her stepsister were sent to boarding school. As a preschooler, she had to wash her own clothes and did not have someone to lean on.

Then for a time, her father took them to a day school and they lived with their Aunt Jane (not her real name). Both children dreaded Jane because she had a bad temper.

One day Fancy was sick and vomiting. Jane was furious. She pinched Fancy hard. Fancy also did not like porridge mixed with milk and every time she ate it, she vomited. But every time she vomited, she received a beating. These beatings occurred on a daily basis because they ate that kind of porridge every day.

Fancy says that she did not understand why her aunt treated her badly and this mistreatment planted pain and anger in her heart.

The girls used to hire a motorcycle to go to their school. One day, Fancy’s sister accidentally put her leg in the pedals of the motorcycle and was injured. Jane was furious. Aunt Jane took Fancy’s sister to the hospital and later gave her a beating.

That night, Jane decided that the children would start walking the 8 kilometers [about 5 miles] to school instead of using a motorcycle.

After one term at the day school, Fancy and her stepsister were taken to a boarding school where their other five siblings studied. Life at the boarding school was better than life at Jane’s home, but the children hardly had enough to eat at school.

For a term lasting four months, all seven children would share one box of biscuits (150 small packets), and 2kgs of sugar. Holidays were not any better.

One day while the children were home from boarding school, some snacks went missing in the house and one of Fancy’s brothers was accused of eating them. Fancy’s father was very angry. Instead of buying food for the children, her father bought a packet of candles. He then tied Fancy’s brother under the bed leaving only his hands exposed. He then lit the candles one by one and burned Fancy’s brother with the dripping wax.

Fancy says that that is the day she started hating her father.

Fancy developed so much anger within herself. All she saw in her father was a man who was harsh and treated his children like they were not his own. She felt unloved and useless, and she hated all men. She believed that they were all cruel like her father.

As a result of the beatings she had received and seen her siblings receive, she decided to always protect herself whenever she could. Fancy was lonely and desperate.

One day Fancy even slapped her own mother when she to visit her children. When Fancy’s brother disturbed her during the visit, Fancy beat him up. When he ran to their mother, Fancy’s mother rebuked her and slapped her. In uncontrollable anger, Fancy slapped her back and ran out of the house to be alone.

“I did not feel guilt for what I had done. All I knew was that I had to protect myself from such people who wanted to hurt me. I felt like it was my right to protect myself.”

The Lord rescued Fancy just in time to remind her how precious and beautiful she was. When Fancy was 9 years old, she was registered at the Compassion child development center at their church.

During holidays she would go to the center, where she made her very first friends. There she also learned about Jesus Christ and His love. One year later, Fancy received Jesus as her personal Savior.

After meeting Jesus, Fancy started working on her anger and lack of forgiveness. Even though Fancy says she has not yet completely overcome these attitudes, she has made tremendous improvement. The Child Sponsorship Program gave her hope and helped her appreciate herself the way God appreciates her. It also gave her sponsors who really cared for her.

Fancy eventually joined the Leadership Development Program where she received sponsorship for a university education. When she joined the program she was very excited and grateful to God because not everybody qualifies. She also remained with the same sponsors.

Fancy says that she is grateful to her sponsors who love her so much.

“If I had a choice to choose the one person I want to meet, it would be my sponsors. They love me so much. Every time they write they tell me that they love me and that they are praying for me. I love them too. Whenever I receive a letter from them, I get so excited. It is not easy to love someone you do not know but they love me so much.

Among the things that changed Fancy’s life in the Leadership Development Program are the students who were so loving and the program specialists who showed her a different side of adults. Fancy says the specialists loved and respected her and the other students and it humbled her.

“Even if they were late for a meeting, they would apologize for being late. When you did something small for them, they would say ‘thank you’. This was not something I was used to while growing up.

As Fancy spent more time with the program students and specialists, her life changed. She began to dream and work on herself. She experienced so much love and acceptance from them that her attitude towards her family changed. She learned to love her family as it was and became the light in that dark home. She has since forgiven her father.

Fancy is currently pursuing her degree in social sciences at Kampala’s Makerere University. She also has a part time job at Top Television where she hosts a program for university students called “Campus Flavor.” The money she earns helps to support the education of one of her brothers. On Saturdays she volunteers at one of the child development centers near her university.

In the future Fancy hopes to pursue a masters degree in mass communication, with a specialty in radio. One of the things she would like to do is to have a talk show where she teaches people how to survive. Her passion is to help those that are vulnerable.

Fancy also hopes to open up a school for music and drama. She hopes that children who are not able to manage formal education can go to her school and gain life skills to survive.

Twenty-two year-old Fancy, a beautiful girl who once felt lonely, desperate and hated all men, is now in love with a young man at her church. Despite what she went through she has learned to love and live her life as Christ wants her to.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/overcoming-abuse-through-the-love-of-jesus/#ixzz1K4q8OrXw

From Compassion Child to Parliment

2011-04-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

Compasssion International President and CEO Wess Stafford understands both the purpose and the aspiration of the Leadership Development Program — to select the best and brightest Christian students from our Child Sponsorship Program and position them for major impact in their communities and nations.

“To overcome the plagues of our world today — poverty, disease, injustice — we need leaders who are fully equipped with a quality education, yet walk the path of Christ.”

A former Leadership Development Program student is, in fact, on track to do just that in Uganda.

Margaret Makhoha, a 2003 Leadership Development Program graduate, was recently elected as a member of the Ugandan Parliament and will serve a six-year term, representing her home district of Namayingo in the nation’s legislature.

Senator Makhoha won with 50 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race. Her campaign theme of “It is possible!” was born out of her personal experience of growing up in poverty. She saw the suffering of the women in her village and determined as a girl to someday make a difference in their lives.

Margaret’s vision is to bring services closer to the people of her rural district, where most make their living as subsistence farmers or fishermen.

“Few can understand the worsening plight of families in developing countries more than those who are rising above it,” says Wess Stafford.

“And who better to defeat these societal ills than those who have lived through it?”

The freshman legislator plans to work with the Ugandan government to improve roads, education and health services for her district.

She also is an advocate for the economic empowerment of her people, desiring to network with nongovernmental organizations to serve needy children and orphans so that they might be helped as she was through Compassion.

While she was an LDP student, Margaret received a bachelor’s degree in education from Makerere University, located in the capital city of Kampala. On her own, she later pursued a master’s degree at the same university.

Community service was a way of life before moving into politics, and Margaret served her community as Director of the Butema Child Development Center, run by the Butema Baptist Church on the rural plains west of Kampala.

Margaret stepped down from that position in order to enter the race for senator. A mother of three children, she is married to a pastor. Her strong Christian roots began in her childhood home, growing up with her pastor-father and mother.

The now Senator Makhoha sees challenges ahead for Uganda, including insufficient and poor quality social services. But she looks forward to the work with optimism.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/from-leadership-development-program-to-ugandan-parliament/#ixzz1K4o73TGN

Joy

2011-04-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

The night I received my official offer for my first church minister position I was working waiting tables at a restaurant near the seminary I attended. I had spent the last three years working on my Divinity Masters and preparing for this moment when I would be in an official ministry position. For the previous six to nine months I had spent a great deal of time visiting with churches as they, and I, decided where God was leading them, and me. I eventually had narrowed it down to two churches, at different places in the United States. Finally, I felt strongly about one of the churches and waited as they discerned God’s leadership as well. When, on that Wednesday night, they came to their decision, which agreed with my decision, I was very excited. One of my seminary friends, who was also a waiter at the restaurant, secretly told all my customers who then congratulated me. It was an exciting moment. It was a moment of excitement and joy as I looked at what had taken place and what was ahead. It was a joy that carried me through final exams and the journey to the new stage of life. It was a joy that I would look back upon and hold to in the months ahead, when the journey became difficult, to remember God’s leadership and hand in my life. It was a joy that sustained me when I didn’t necessarily feel “joyful”. It was a joy based on God’s work, not anything I had done.

As Christ ascended to Heaven, His followers were sad but joyful. It was a joy founded on their journey with Him and their new perspective because of Him. It was a joy they would need as times got tough. It was a joy they would need to assist them as they learned to be led by the Spirit. It was a joy that would endure regardless of the circumstances or situations. It was a joy that was not dependent upon their feelings. It was a joy based on Christ. It was a joy that would last as long as they kept their focus on Him.

What is your Joy?

ReThink Daily Reading: Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53

Cookie Cutter Faith

2011-04-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

In John 21 we see Peter’s final discussion of depth with Christ in the flesh. In this discussion Christ confronts Peter with his future. Christ challenges Peter, revealing to him what lay ahead as he leads the other followers of Christ. This was not an easy message for Peter to accept. It was not a rosy picture that Christ painted for his earthly future. Peter’s response was to point to another disciple, John, and ask why he was not given the same message. Christ reminded Peter of God’s personal plan for each believer. Christ is telling Peter that this faith is not a cookie cutter, one size fits all, plan. Christ is leading Peter to recognize God’s personal direction to and for Peter.

Are you open to God’s personal plan for you?

ReThink Daily Reading: Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18; John 21:1-25

Wait

2011-04-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

As we see Jesus appear to various groups of His followers, He begins to “open their eyes” in order that they can begin to understand what has taken place. He ties the events of their experience together with all that they know from scripture. Then, as they are at a place of security, He tells them that it is now time to “Wait” (Luke 24:49). At the moment when they are surely ready to go out, He tells them to wait. Christ is teaching His followers that they cannot go out in their own power, they must wait for God to lead. Christ promises the Holy Spirit to come help, empower, and lead the followers, but first they have to wait.

Waiting is tough. Especially when you have just seen the risen Christ. Sometimes waiting leads us to a far greater trust than we can experience by doing anything in our own power.

Are you waiting for the Spirit to lead in your life?

ReThink Daily Reading: Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-49; John 20:19-31

Recognition

2011-04-20T06:36:00.001-07:00

Those who truly follow Christ, know God. Those who are not sincere in their following, do not truly know God. Christ compared Himself to a shepherd who was recognized by His sheep. In the days following His resurrection, we see this principle played out. In our reading from Matthew today we see the religious leaders devise a scheme in an attempt to try to downplay any rumors of a resurrection. They still did not recognize, even when it was right in their face, because they did not know God. Then in Mark we see the testimony from believers communicated to believers of the resurrected Christ. They have not yet seen, they have not yet heard from Christ themselves so they failed to believe. Then, in our John reading, we see Mary recognize the voice and person of Christ. She understood because she had a personal encounter that had a foundation of a personal relationship. She knew Jesus, so, when face to face, she recognized Jesus.

How well do you recognize Jesus?

ReThink Daily Reading: Matthew 28:9-15; Mark 16:9-11; John 20:14-18

Sticky Faith

2011-04-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

In one of His last times with His followers, prior to His death, Christ told the disciples that they had “stood by Me in My trials” (Luke 22:28). He went on to explain that this “hang in there” attitude had revealed their hearts and faith to Him and to God.

After the crucifixion, the women went to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ. As they walked to the tomb they were very concerned about earthly matters, such as how they would move the stone from in front of the tomb. There they found the stone rolled away and not Christ. They are told by angels that Christ has risen and then the women report this to the men and other followers. Peter, who was surely suffering a personal guilt over his own betrayal of Christ, jumped to his feet and immediately ran to the tomb (Luke 24:12). Even though he has had a personal failure, it has in no way kept him from believing in Christ. This is Stick with it Faith. A faith that remains through whatever this world, or our failures, may throw at us. It is exactly the type of faith that Christ prayed for Peter to have in Luke 22:32. It is exactly the type of faith that then sticks to others. Stick with it faith becomes sticky faith.

How sticky is your faith?

ReThink Daily Reading: Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-13

A Moment

2011-04-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

In 2004 believers were excited about the Mel Gibson film “The Passion of the Christ”. In the film Gibson went to excruciating pains to communicate the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental pain that Christ suffered on His journey to and during the crucifixion. It was an agonizing film to watch and to imagine the pain that Christ endured.

In actuality, the pain of Christ is best summarized in His own statement as detailed in Mark 15:34. In this moment He cries out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This describes His pain as His own Father turns His back on His Son who took on the sin of the world. It was not understood by those standing there but we have a somewhat better understanding of what was taking place. In that moment Christ was alone. He had suffered in the physical flesh but now it was in the spiritual realm. He was suffering for you and me. He suffered so that we would not have to endure being forsaken.

Take a moment to think about that moment when Christ was thinking of you.

ReThink Daily Reading: Matthew 27:27-66; Mark 15:16-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:1-42

Sway

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The world was stunned in November of 1978 when news came of the suicide and murderous death of the followers of the Reverend Jim Jones. Jones had convinced his followers that they were to die together. He continued to teach and sway them to such an extent that they were willing to drink poison as his command. Those that refused were killed. Jones had played to their weaknesses by saying the things the people needed to hear. By swaying them in this direction it was then easy to sway them to the irrational leap to suicide. He swayed them from truth and then swayed them to death.

As Jesus was facing death, the religious leaders began to sway the crowd. In Matthew 27:20 we see them swaying the crowds to forget what they know is true about Christ and yell for Him to be crucified. The religious leaders just have to say the right things in the right manner to convince the people. Soon the people who had cheered for Jesus just days ago are yelling for Jesus’ death. The people let go of truth and begin listening to lies which leads to yells for death.

What sways you...lies or truth?

ReThink Daily Reading: Matthew 26:57-27:26; Mark 14:53-15:15; Luke 22:54-23:25; John 18:12-40