Blogging and Journaling

So I think I blog about as well as I keep up on my journal. Some times there is a two week space in my journal sometimes a two month space. I will get an itch and then I pick it back up again. It is still cool though to look through a journal even if it does have some gaps in it. I guess as long as I don't ever have a two year gap. I am starting to get the blog itch again. My wife has inspired me. With winter hours on the way, I feel my typing fingers warming up again...

"Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them." Genesis 42:21-25

Just an interesting little thought: other than maybe the occasional interaction with a Hebrew, Joseph had probably not heard Hebrew spoken since he was sold into slavery. Most people who haven't spoken a language for a while will often get rusty with it. They say, 'I can understand what I hear better than I can speak it.' It is amazing to think what emotions must have started to surge in Joseph's heart hearing his own language again. And to hear his brother's speaking of their treachery against him. What an out of the blue experience for Joseph!

God's Establishing Work

"And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.' ... Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches." Acts 15:36, 40, 41

I am always looking for simplicity. Especially in my walk with the Lord, I long to know what my priorities should be. As a children's pastor I am daily faced with choices of what I could be working on. Sometimes the monotonous minuscule details can overshadow the greater concerns. I love it when God uses His word to bring me back to square one.

I am in Paul's letters right now for my Bible reading and have noticed a consistent theme in Paul's ministry. Paul obviously had a heart to share the gospel, but when it came to ministering to believers, I think his focus could be narrowed down to simply strengthening the disciples in their faith. Paul uses these words often which are semi-synonymous, "strengthen, settle, establish, full assurance, maturity, built up". Paul longed to find out how believers were doing and then encourage them down the road. God's heart is that we be built up in our faith in Him, and growing in our affectionate love and service for one another.

As a person who enjoys gardening, I immediately think of plants. I love going out in my garden and just seeing how much everything has "grown" from the day before. I am always mindful of when my plants need water or a little TLC. Nothing can beat a beautiful plant that has become well established in the garden. They take on a life and beauty of their own. A well established plant has a good root structure. It quickly soaks up the water given to it. It's leaves are deepest green and it is full of blossoms. We had a pineapple sage plant that a friend gave us last year that was only a few inches tall when we planted it in the spring. By the end of summer trailing into fall, it was taller than all of my kids and full of beautiful pink spikes of flowers. It gave off an awesome scent of pineapple when you plucked a leaf and crushed it in your hand.

Oh that my faith and love would bring glory to the Lord that way! Oh that my ministry would be carried out in simplicity with the goal of that kind of maturity in mind. God help me not to judge my brothers and sisters, but let me stir their faith to keep abiding in YOU!

"For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

"A Night and a Day I Spent in the Deep"

That's what Paul said when describing some of his difficulties in ministry, and that was one of the thoughts that ran through my mind when I went surfing last Friday. Yes, I went surfing. String bean in a wetsuit on a long board. My good friend Micah took me to Otter Rock beach, let me borrow a wetsuit and a board and showed me all of the ropes. My biggest fear before going was not the surfing itself, but the temperature of the water. Anyone who has grown up going to the Oregon coast knows it is not a place for casual swimming. Even on hot days the water is quite frigid. But we were wearing thick wetsuits with booties, gloves and hoods. The only skin I had exposed to the ocean was my face. I was quite blessed with how warm the suits are. That's even without using the "surfer's heater" as it has been referred to. What is a surfer's heater? Let's just say Micah didn't want me using it since it was his wetsuit.

Now I am not an in shape person so I got quite worn down. The waves were relentless. Getting out far enough, getting on, and then getting up on the board can be quite intense. After a while I realized I probably could have lasted longer and performed better if I were in better shape.

The Lord totally spoke to me though through this. My expectations and fears of what could have happened were not nearly as bad as I thought. I never would've thought I would have fun surfing but it was awesome. I find myself thinking about it now and can't wait to go back. I just want to be in a little better shape. This is just like the things that God is calling me to do in my life right now. The things that I fear are based in truth but the reality of serving God in faith is far greater. I just want to be fully prepared for what God wants me to do.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

"Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:7-10

It is amazing to think that Paul, a man of God, spent a night and a day bobbing around in the ocean. Can you imagine floating in the water at three in the morning holding on to a piece of wreckage? There were a few times I took a step in the water and didn't feel anything underneath me, and it throws your brain off a little bit. Praise the Lord for His solid presence no matter where we find ourselves in life.

Electric Blanket Thoughts

Here's a weird little set of thoughts. Our house gets nice and cold in the winter and so we invested in some electric heating blankets a few years ago. Over the course of having them I have had some strange little thoughts. It is weird to me to think that I am sleeping under a blanket heated by electricity. I have never taken apart an electric blanket, nor even read the manual to understand how they work, so in my natural mind I picture little live wires under there.

My first thought has always been when one of the kids has accidentally leaked through their diaper in the middle of the night and gotten their bed wet. I can't help but get concerned over wetness and electricity. "No, they wouldn't sell these blankets if people could get shocked when they get wet", I reassure myself. I know they aren't actually going to shock anyone, but the name 'electric blanket' invokes the thoughts.

The second weird thought comes from our cat. Our cat Cleo has an incredible weakness for the blue fuzz found on our electric blanket in the master bedroom. If a small portion of the blanket is exposed from under our comforter, she will find it and nap there all day. Last night I was having a hard time going to bed and Cleo came in and found a portion of the blanket by my chest and began purring and "mooshing" on the electric blanket. As she revelled in digging and pulling her claws in and out of the blue fuzz, I couldn't help but think of what would happen if one her little claws pierced one of those imaginary live electric wires my brain associates with this blanket. That would be quite an interruption to her little moment of joy. I picture the cartoon cat, elevated three feet above the bed, jaw open, fur everywhere... okay so my first blog was cute and scriptural, and now it's just plain getting weird. Electric blanket thoughts...

The Good Samaritan Retold.

So I need to get a new battery for our van. A few too many times letting your kids play in the van and you'll end up with a weak battery. Needless to say, we were on our way to go feed the ducks the other day, the kids hopped in the van a little early and left the door open. Of course that whole time they were sitting there the dome light was shining and our battery was dying. When I went to start the van I heard the beautiful sound of clicking, not an engine starting. So after I told the kids it was there fault, like any good dad, I told my wife. It was fine when I used to have my work truck, I could just use the truck to jump the van. But now that we only have one vehicle and I don't know how to use a scooter to jump start a van I started looking for help. I tried the neighbor across the street and he was gone. I wasn't going to bother my next door neighbor since he is Jewish and it was his Sabbath. So rather reluctantly I followed my wife's advice and tried flagging someone down form the street.

Now a lot of people use our street, cutting from Circle up to Winco, or vice versa, so we get a lot of traffic. I thought for sure it would be easy to get someone to stop. Just last week my wife and I stopped to help jump some one's car whose battery died. So I stood on the curb with jumper cables in one hand and the other waving and pointing at my van in the driveway with its hood up. Of course I had a pleasant smile on my face as well. Oh yeah, and my wife was standing leaning out of the drivers side door, poised and ready to do her part of turning the key in the ignition.

Several cars drove by without even looking. I managed to make eye contact with a lady in a very nice new blue Ford Mustang, who smiled back at me. Maybe she didn't understand why I was holding jumper cables and waving at my van. Another young gal in a red Jeep Cherokee, slowed down and seemed to squint at in order to understand what we were doing. I think after she realized that she would probably have to get involved in order to help us, she made a face of disgust and shook her head as if to put us down and absolve herself of her guilt.
The weirdest was when a lady with an old man in a little car slowed down, then sped up, then slowed down, then sped up, and then drove down the road a ways and then turned around. I thought they were going to come back but the turned a pulled into a driveway a few doors down and hid behind my neighbor's truck for a while.

Finally a gal stopped who had an older woman with her who had down syndrome. She looked a little confused, but pulled into the driveway. I had to help her find the button where you pop the hood. In seconds I had the cables hooked up and our van was running. As I was putting down the hoods and wrapping up cables, I noticed that the older lady (whose name turned out to be Sally, after all that's what her shirt said) was standing at the side door giving hugs to all of my kids and my wife. Sally was so blessed that her caretaker, Alice, had stopped to help that she had to get out and give us all hugs. I got my own hug from Alice and then thanked them both for stopping to help.

On our way to go feed the ducks, I couldn't help but think of the good Samaritan. A man in desperate need could not get people to stop and help him, even very religious people. The gal who stopped to help didn't even know where her hood release button was but she was willing to try and help. Sally's selfless hugs were like the money that the Samaritan left with the innkeeper, a nice touch. It sure encourages me as a child of God to want to be one who is quick to help.

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35

I don't want to be ashamed...

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

This verse has come up often for me during our times of corporate prayer here at my church. God help me not to be ashamed of the life giving power of your gospel. Too often I am concerned about what people think of me.

In Luke Jesus says:
"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father's, and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26

It reminds me in a way of the feeling of embarrassment. Like being a second grader and having your weird Uncle pick you up from school in his Roto-Rooter truck. "Who's that guy? I don't know him!" But Jesus isn't weird (and He doesn't drive a Roto-Rooter Truck...) God help me to stand with you here on earth, that I may stand with you in heaven!

Later in Romans, Paul uses the same Greek word to describe the way we feel as Christians about our sinful behavior before we were saved.

"What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things [is] death" Romans 6:21

What a sad idea that we as God's children would take the same attitude toward the gospel as we do with our sinful past.

Worse than being embarrassed, more often than not, I am just plain oblivious; more concerned with my temporal needs. I need to get my eyes off the earthly.

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

I don't want to get to heaven and realize I spent all my time concerned about things that don't matter.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. " 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

This is where I want my eyes to be. Life is not a joke, even though I love to joke around and have fun. God open my eyes. Where is my faith, if I am concerned about what people think? Do I believe in the very message that brought me salvation?

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:20,21

Stir me up Father! Let me meditate on your great love and fearful judgment!