Have you ever had those days when breakfast becomes being lost in the desert?
My usual morning routine is to wake up to the sound on my daughters voice saying, "It's morning daddy, get up." This is followed by the usual rituals of getting her breakfast, making her a lunch for preschool, and getting a shower. Depending on the state of awake-ness these things happen slower or faster given the day. So sometimes I even have time to wonder about breakfast. This usually consists of trying to figure out if I have the wits to actually get some cereal into a bowl. I have already done this for my daughter, but sometimes it is beyond my ability to do it for myself. Sometimes it blows-up into huge proportions of life changing decisions and other times I just give up and go without breakfast all together.
In Gen 21 we have great joy and great sadness. Isaac is born and there is laughter through out the camp and joy on every side. Except for Hagar. Sarah is now ready to toss this slave woman and her son out of the camp. Here is the strange thing. God actually tells Abraham to follows Sarah's complaint. So Abraham packs Hagar up and sends her off into the desert.
When the water runs out, Hagar finds herself at the point of giving up. She places the baby under a bush and walks an arrow shot away because she can't bear to watch her baby die. But God comes to her and says I hear the baby crying go and pick him up, I will take care of you. She goes and picks him up and the bible says that her eyes are opened and she sees the spring of water right there next to her.
Why couldn't she see this before? How were her eyes closed to this thing? Did God close her eyes so that she would have to learn dependence on him? I don't think so, because scripture usually strait up tells us when God does something like that. I think it is more likely her own despair closed her eyes to any possibility of hope. She was stuck dying in the desert because of her own mindset.
I think this truth carries over to us as well. We find ourselves stuck in our own despair, our own indecision, and own mindset and we are unable to move. I would like you to notice in this story it is not her sheer will that opens her eyes. She can not come out of this alone. She needs the voice of God, to come out of it. She needs God to be able to once again pick up her baby. Her eyes are opened in response to God.
I believe that God is still able to open our eyes to the provision that he has for us. If we respond to the call that he places on our lives, he will open our eyes to the possibilities. Its hard to see it in the midst of the darkness of indecision, but some how it is there. Whether it is choosing to have breakfast or finding a drink of water so that you and your child, so that I and my child can live.
This may come in the form of a new job, a house finally selling, knowing how to feed your family, knowing whether or not to serve in certain position in your church, what medications may be the most helpful for you, or hundreds of other things depending on your situation. I believe, God has something in mind for us if we respond to him and open our eyes.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be opened.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Indecent Proposal
Did anyone else out there get sick when the watched that stupid Nicolas cage movie in Vegas, when he offers his wife to the money guy so that he can get out of his gambling debt. I never actually saw indecent proposal but just the thought of offering my wife to some guy for a lot of money just makes me sick. I really can’t stand those kinds of stories. I get this sour feeling in my gut and can't wait until it’s over. The same thing comes when I think of "open marriages." And here I find just such a story in the bible of all places.
Genesis 20 Abraham is at it again. He didn't learn the first time in Egypt so he lies again and says that Sarah is his sister, which we find out is true at least that she is his half sister, but still she is his wife. He is willing to once again give her up to supposedly save his own neck. We still don't know in either one of these situations if his life would have actually been threatened had he kept her as his wife. Abraham lies, Sarah lies, the king takes her to be his wife. But thank God, literally thank God he has a stronger value for the sanctity of marriage then the humans in this story and he sends a dream.
He curses the king, and the king actually calls his advisors to figure out what to do. Thankfully once again they at least follow God on this one even if it is out of fear and return Sarah to Abraham. Then they even pay off Abraham. This is where things get messy for me. Doesn't this just give Abraham incentive to keep on lying? The king even offers him any place he wants to live in his land.
Here is what I had to come to, regardless of the choices that the people in this story made. No matter how stupid they were. God still holds marriage is very high regard. The sanctity of the marriage bed is important enough for him to close the wombs of all the women in the king’s household until Sarah was returned. God is for a loyal and committed marriage! Period!
And yet even in this he gives us grace for the hardness of our own hearts. If we can't handle the unfaithfulness of a spouse he gives us the out of divorce. Even though this is not what he would choose. He longs for us to stay faithful to our spouses and to forgive and love the unfaithful ones right back into a committed marriage. Read Hosea of you don’t believe me. I have seen those marriages where the faithful spouse extends the same grace that God has given to them to the unfaithful partner and I have seen those marriages come back to life.
I am glad God works in the midst of our blunders as he did with Abraham. But my prayer today is for God's grace to work in my marriage before unfaithfulness would come and thankfulness that he has done so thus far. I really don't want to walk the painful road of an affair. I need God in the midst of my marriage everyday so that I never need be sick to my stomach about my own marriage. But for the grace of God there go I. I am so grateful for his saving grace in my marriage.
Let us be faithful to him today in whatever state we find our marital life in. Whether married, single, divorced, remarried, or currently struggling from the aftermath of an affair. God is there with us and he will guide us through.
He extends the same grace to us as we are unfaithful to him. He takes us back and loves us anyway. Paying what we deserve for our betrayal on the cross and taking us back, even if we have made him sick to his stomach. He still takes us back.
Genesis 20 Abraham is at it again. He didn't learn the first time in Egypt so he lies again and says that Sarah is his sister, which we find out is true at least that she is his half sister, but still she is his wife. He is willing to once again give her up to supposedly save his own neck. We still don't know in either one of these situations if his life would have actually been threatened had he kept her as his wife. Abraham lies, Sarah lies, the king takes her to be his wife. But thank God, literally thank God he has a stronger value for the sanctity of marriage then the humans in this story and he sends a dream.
He curses the king, and the king actually calls his advisors to figure out what to do. Thankfully once again they at least follow God on this one even if it is out of fear and return Sarah to Abraham. Then they even pay off Abraham. This is where things get messy for me. Doesn't this just give Abraham incentive to keep on lying? The king even offers him any place he wants to live in his land.
Here is what I had to come to, regardless of the choices that the people in this story made. No matter how stupid they were. God still holds marriage is very high regard. The sanctity of the marriage bed is important enough for him to close the wombs of all the women in the king’s household until Sarah was returned. God is for a loyal and committed marriage! Period!
And yet even in this he gives us grace for the hardness of our own hearts. If we can't handle the unfaithfulness of a spouse he gives us the out of divorce. Even though this is not what he would choose. He longs for us to stay faithful to our spouses and to forgive and love the unfaithful ones right back into a committed marriage. Read Hosea of you don’t believe me. I have seen those marriages where the faithful spouse extends the same grace that God has given to them to the unfaithful partner and I have seen those marriages come back to life.
I am glad God works in the midst of our blunders as he did with Abraham. But my prayer today is for God's grace to work in my marriage before unfaithfulness would come and thankfulness that he has done so thus far. I really don't want to walk the painful road of an affair. I need God in the midst of my marriage everyday so that I never need be sick to my stomach about my own marriage. But for the grace of God there go I. I am so grateful for his saving grace in my marriage.
Let us be faithful to him today in whatever state we find our marital life in. Whether married, single, divorced, remarried, or currently struggling from the aftermath of an affair. God is there with us and he will guide us through.
He extends the same grace to us as we are unfaithful to him. He takes us back and loves us anyway. Paying what we deserve for our betrayal on the cross and taking us back, even if we have made him sick to his stomach. He still takes us back.
Grease or Golden
Grease or golden, what's your choice?
So we have been spending the weekend with our folks. This is Paul Bunyan days in St. Maries, ID. There is no other weekend like it in town. I think most of the businesses make at good %50 of their revenue in this one weekend. There is a carnival, which I spend spent more of my growing up time then I can remember. There is a fireworks show that swells the size of town from the typical 2500 population to 6000 in attendance.
I am waiting for the fireworks to begin and decide this a perfect opportunity for a genuine car-ni-val awesome blossom. I waited in one line to order and then got moved to the next line to wait for pick up. By the time I was handed the thin paper plate full greesy hot, slightly battered, onion with a little plastic cup of helmans ranch the fireworks had already started. While it was full of greasy goodness, it didn't match up to the vision of the golden battered truly awesome blossom with the side of sweet spicy sauce.
In Genesis 19 we have a story of destruction. And story of men and women just trying to survive, the best that they know how. But it ends up being a pretty distorted mess over all. When the angels come into the town the men of the town come to assault them. The best plan Lot can come up with is to offer his daughters instead. Not really much of a plan. But Lot thought he might be able to help them survive.
After the destruction of the cities Lot and his daughters end up living in a cave full of fear. The only way that the daughters can figure out to "survive" is by getting the old man drunk and getting pregnant. The problem, other than the obvious incest, is they end up creating to races of people that end up fighting against Israel later on; the Moabites and the Ammonites.
I know that God has much better plans for us then we have for ourselves. For example when Lot offers his daughters to the mob, the angels pull him back and send blindness on the mob. I can only imagine the plans that he had in mind for Lot and his daughters had they only trusted in him instead of making their own plans. I have a feeling they would have gotten the golden brown truly awesome blossom rather than the the pile of grease with the little cup of ranch.
I come back to the choice theme that I mentioned a few days ago. We have the chance to to follow what God has in mind and end up with a the golden onion, or we can try to survive on our own and end up with a pile of grease. My prayer for my family is not just survival made with my own two hands. But passion and abundant life made by the hand of God.
So we have been spending the weekend with our folks. This is Paul Bunyan days in St. Maries, ID. There is no other weekend like it in town. I think most of the businesses make at good %50 of their revenue in this one weekend. There is a carnival, which I spend spent more of my growing up time then I can remember. There is a fireworks show that swells the size of town from the typical 2500 population to 6000 in attendance.
I am waiting for the fireworks to begin and decide this a perfect opportunity for a genuine car-ni-val awesome blossom. I waited in one line to order and then got moved to the next line to wait for pick up. By the time I was handed the thin paper plate full greesy hot, slightly battered, onion with a little plastic cup of helmans ranch the fireworks had already started. While it was full of greasy goodness, it didn't match up to the vision of the golden battered truly awesome blossom with the side of sweet spicy sauce.
In Genesis 19 we have a story of destruction. And story of men and women just trying to survive, the best that they know how. But it ends up being a pretty distorted mess over all. When the angels come into the town the men of the town come to assault them. The best plan Lot can come up with is to offer his daughters instead. Not really much of a plan. But Lot thought he might be able to help them survive.
After the destruction of the cities Lot and his daughters end up living in a cave full of fear. The only way that the daughters can figure out to "survive" is by getting the old man drunk and getting pregnant. The problem, other than the obvious incest, is they end up creating to races of people that end up fighting against Israel later on; the Moabites and the Ammonites.
I know that God has much better plans for us then we have for ourselves. For example when Lot offers his daughters to the mob, the angels pull him back and send blindness on the mob. I can only imagine the plans that he had in mind for Lot and his daughters had they only trusted in him instead of making their own plans. I have a feeling they would have gotten the golden brown truly awesome blossom rather than the the pile of grease with the little cup of ranch.
I come back to the choice theme that I mentioned a few days ago. We have the chance to to follow what God has in mind and end up with a the golden onion, or we can try to survive on our own and end up with a pile of grease. My prayer for my family is not just survival made with my own two hands. But passion and abundant life made by the hand of God.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Mercy for the criminal!
When was the last time your prayed God would give mercy to a murderer?
I remember hearing a concert quote from Rich Mullins once. I don’t remember exactly what he was talking about but he said, “I know the bible says, ’vengeance is mines says the lord’ but I just want to be about my Father’s business.
I wonder sometimes why we get caught up in thinking that vengeance is what our Father’s business is really about. It’s kind of like when we see Police officers and all we can think is, man I hope they don’t give me a ticket. And we forget that their motto is to protect and serve, not judge and sentence. I saw a police car pulled over on the side of the road the other day and thought, “oh, somebody got caught.” But then as I drove past I realized that the cop was actually helping someone change their tire.
The real truth is, I believe God is a lot more about mercy than he is vengeance. Which seems a little weird considering the next chapter in Genesis is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But in Chap 18 Abraham pleads with God face to face for mercy on the people of Sodom. God didn’t have to come and talk to Abraham first. He could have just destroyed them. God didn’t have to stand there and listen to Abraham whittle the number down from 50 to 10 righteous people in order to save the city. But he did. And he agreed with Abraham on every request he made.
I think God is more about repentance and mercy then vengeance. Think about Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knew that God was merciful and if the Ninevites repented God would show them mercy when Jonah thought they deserved vengeance.
I reflect on this in my own life. How many times do I see some sort of arrest happen on T.V. and think boy I wish those crack heads, meth dealers, child molesters, terrorists would receive mercy. I don’t find myself praying for mercy on those that I think deserve judgment. Abraham is doing just that. He pleads with God for mercy on the one of the most corrupt cities there was.
And God’s mercy is so great a couple of chapters ago he told Abraham that it would be a good four hundred plus years before one of the people groups in Canaan has reached the fullness of their guilt and would need to be driven out from the promise land. So Abraham can’t conquer them right now. Who knows how long he waited and pleaded with Sodom. And he welcomes Abraham’s prayers for mercy even then.
I don’t know about you, but I need more mercy in my heart. I want to want the salvation and healing of the criminal and corrupt, because that is the heart of God. I pray today that he will give me a new merciful heart. What about you?
I remember hearing a concert quote from Rich Mullins once. I don’t remember exactly what he was talking about but he said, “I know the bible says, ’vengeance is mines says the lord’ but I just want to be about my Father’s business.
I wonder sometimes why we get caught up in thinking that vengeance is what our Father’s business is really about. It’s kind of like when we see Police officers and all we can think is, man I hope they don’t give me a ticket. And we forget that their motto is to protect and serve, not judge and sentence. I saw a police car pulled over on the side of the road the other day and thought, “oh, somebody got caught.” But then as I drove past I realized that the cop was actually helping someone change their tire.
The real truth is, I believe God is a lot more about mercy than he is vengeance. Which seems a little weird considering the next chapter in Genesis is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But in Chap 18 Abraham pleads with God face to face for mercy on the people of Sodom. God didn’t have to come and talk to Abraham first. He could have just destroyed them. God didn’t have to stand there and listen to Abraham whittle the number down from 50 to 10 righteous people in order to save the city. But he did. And he agreed with Abraham on every request he made.
I think God is more about repentance and mercy then vengeance. Think about Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knew that God was merciful and if the Ninevites repented God would show them mercy when Jonah thought they deserved vengeance.
I reflect on this in my own life. How many times do I see some sort of arrest happen on T.V. and think boy I wish those crack heads, meth dealers, child molesters, terrorists would receive mercy. I don’t find myself praying for mercy on those that I think deserve judgment. Abraham is doing just that. He pleads with God for mercy on the one of the most corrupt cities there was.
And God’s mercy is so great a couple of chapters ago he told Abraham that it would be a good four hundred plus years before one of the people groups in Canaan has reached the fullness of their guilt and would need to be driven out from the promise land. So Abraham can’t conquer them right now. Who knows how long he waited and pleaded with Sodom. And he welcomes Abraham’s prayers for mercy even then.
I don’t know about you, but I need more mercy in my heart. I want to want the salvation and healing of the criminal and corrupt, because that is the heart of God. I pray today that he will give me a new merciful heart. What about you?
Ouch! I won't forget that!
How much more personal can God get when it comes to a covenant?
I was talking with a mother of a new college student the other day. She was desperate to see her daughter go to a good college. She was waiting and waiting for the award letter to come in the mail, telling her how much she would have to contribute for the school bill to be paid. She had already lined up a second and possible third job if she needed it.
Promise and hope for people throughout the history of the world has come through their children. This may not be a good time to be living in right now, things might be hard for us, but there will be a brighter day for our children. This is the motivation for us when we fight wars, build new industry, work ourselves to death so we can pay for college tuition.
The promise that was made to Abraham was also made through the child to come. He would be a great nation. He and his old wife Sarah would have a child. This was the covenant the LORD was making with Abraham. He would give Abraham a child and make a great nation out of him. That was God’s part. Abraham’s part was to cut his foreskin off. Really???
It took me a long time to think this one through. Why in the world would God ask for such a thing? He didn’t ask for half of his income, or some sort of bull offering sacrificial ceremony. No lambs, goats, or cows to lay on the alter. Foreskins, this is the offering required.
The truth is, I don’t think Abraham ever forgot that covenant! Every time he made love to his wife, with the possibility that this time might bring the promised son, he would remember it was God who would bring forth this promise. God promised him a son, he believed it, and he was reminded everyday in a very personal way that he believed it.
Later in the history of Israel, it is clear the symbol of circumcision is not quite so memorable any more. God calls for a circumcision of the heart rather than just the flesh. At 100 years old Abraham was bound to remember the day of circumcision very well, but when it happens when you are 8 days old it doesn’t stay in your mind so well anymore.
God once again wants a personal commitment from his people. He wants them to really truly follow him. Not just on the outside but on the inside as well. So he promises them a new heart and a new mind. That he will be the one that gives them the motivation they need to follow him.
This passage reminds me to commit every area of my life to God. Not just my sexuality, also my finances, my job, my marriage, my spirituality, and my parenting. This is the best way for me to offer my daughter a brighter day. A personal commitment to God and a daily commitment to God so that like Abraham I will never forget where my hope of a better day comes from.
I was talking with a mother of a new college student the other day. She was desperate to see her daughter go to a good college. She was waiting and waiting for the award letter to come in the mail, telling her how much she would have to contribute for the school bill to be paid. She had already lined up a second and possible third job if she needed it.
Promise and hope for people throughout the history of the world has come through their children. This may not be a good time to be living in right now, things might be hard for us, but there will be a brighter day for our children. This is the motivation for us when we fight wars, build new industry, work ourselves to death so we can pay for college tuition.
The promise that was made to Abraham was also made through the child to come. He would be a great nation. He and his old wife Sarah would have a child. This was the covenant the LORD was making with Abraham. He would give Abraham a child and make a great nation out of him. That was God’s part. Abraham’s part was to cut his foreskin off. Really???
It took me a long time to think this one through. Why in the world would God ask for such a thing? He didn’t ask for half of his income, or some sort of bull offering sacrificial ceremony. No lambs, goats, or cows to lay on the alter. Foreskins, this is the offering required.
The truth is, I don’t think Abraham ever forgot that covenant! Every time he made love to his wife, with the possibility that this time might bring the promised son, he would remember it was God who would bring forth this promise. God promised him a son, he believed it, and he was reminded everyday in a very personal way that he believed it.
Later in the history of Israel, it is clear the symbol of circumcision is not quite so memorable any more. God calls for a circumcision of the heart rather than just the flesh. At 100 years old Abraham was bound to remember the day of circumcision very well, but when it happens when you are 8 days old it doesn’t stay in your mind so well anymore.
God once again wants a personal commitment from his people. He wants them to really truly follow him. Not just on the outside but on the inside as well. So he promises them a new heart and a new mind. That he will be the one that gives them the motivation they need to follow him.
This passage reminds me to commit every area of my life to God. Not just my sexuality, also my finances, my job, my marriage, my spirituality, and my parenting. This is the best way for me to offer my daughter a brighter day. A personal commitment to God and a daily commitment to God so that like Abraham I will never forget where my hope of a better day comes from.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Lost Choices
Have you ever lost a choice?
I had a bit of a drive yesterday, about 7.5 hours or so. It took us 8.5, well because we have a four year old and she needs some play time here and there. While we were driving I was listening to an audio book called “The Lost Choice.” It is an interesting fictional take on different accounts of history. There are these relics that seem to be helping people accomplish great things. One that has inscribed on it, “By your hand the people will be fed.” It just so happens that George Washington Carver had this relic throughout his life as he discovered the uses for peanuts and helped Gandhi feed India. The real point of the book is; the choice of the individual is what is required for any of these things to really happen. Carver would ask a person before he put the relic around their necks, “Will you commit to do something significant with your life?” If the choice to do the good thing is not made then it is considered “a lost choice.”
In Gen 16 Hagar runs a way from Sarai who has mistreated her, whatever that means, and God comes to her in the desert. He tells her of the son who is in her womb. While he does promise her that from him will come a great nation, the actual life of the son doesn’t sound like that much of a picnic. He will be like a wild donkey, he will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Many historicists have traced his line and the line of Isaac to the fighting that is still going on in the Middle East today.
Sometimes it seems that God gives great promises about the lives of those he is predicting. And other times it seems as though he is just telling the future and what will happen in the life of that person. God knows the end from the beginning. So he knows what a certain person will do in their lives. He also gives us free will so what happens in our lives might be according to his will or it might not. So the wild antagonistic life of Ishmael has more to do with his choices than with God’s promise or prediction. God is simply telling Hagar how it will be based on the choices that he can see Ishmael making.
What would God have to say about my life? He can see where it is going as well. So what will my choices lead to? If I had a relic hanging around my neck that said, “by your hand the people will be fed, or free, or saved.” Would they really?
Hagar calls God in this passage, “The God who sees.” What does he see for my life? What does he see for yours? Whatever it is it depends on our choices. So what will we choose today? Will we choose to do something significant in our lives and will it be for the good or for evil? Will our lives move forward the will of God or will God do a lot of correcting and plan b’s because of the choices that we make?
I am not perfect and I’m guessing neither are you, so I thank God for plan b’s. But I also want to choose today to live according to God’s plan. By his spirit and his will moving in my life I pray my choices for today will not be lost ones. What about you?
I had a bit of a drive yesterday, about 7.5 hours or so. It took us 8.5, well because we have a four year old and she needs some play time here and there. While we were driving I was listening to an audio book called “The Lost Choice.” It is an interesting fictional take on different accounts of history. There are these relics that seem to be helping people accomplish great things. One that has inscribed on it, “By your hand the people will be fed.” It just so happens that George Washington Carver had this relic throughout his life as he discovered the uses for peanuts and helped Gandhi feed India. The real point of the book is; the choice of the individual is what is required for any of these things to really happen. Carver would ask a person before he put the relic around their necks, “Will you commit to do something significant with your life?” If the choice to do the good thing is not made then it is considered “a lost choice.”
In Gen 16 Hagar runs a way from Sarai who has mistreated her, whatever that means, and God comes to her in the desert. He tells her of the son who is in her womb. While he does promise her that from him will come a great nation, the actual life of the son doesn’t sound like that much of a picnic. He will be like a wild donkey, he will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Many historicists have traced his line and the line of Isaac to the fighting that is still going on in the Middle East today.
Sometimes it seems that God gives great promises about the lives of those he is predicting. And other times it seems as though he is just telling the future and what will happen in the life of that person. God knows the end from the beginning. So he knows what a certain person will do in their lives. He also gives us free will so what happens in our lives might be according to his will or it might not. So the wild antagonistic life of Ishmael has more to do with his choices than with God’s promise or prediction. God is simply telling Hagar how it will be based on the choices that he can see Ishmael making.
What would God have to say about my life? He can see where it is going as well. So what will my choices lead to? If I had a relic hanging around my neck that said, “by your hand the people will be fed, or free, or saved.” Would they really?
Hagar calls God in this passage, “The God who sees.” What does he see for my life? What does he see for yours? Whatever it is it depends on our choices. So what will we choose today? Will we choose to do something significant in our lives and will it be for the good or for evil? Will our lives move forward the will of God or will God do a lot of correcting and plan b’s because of the choices that we make?
I am not perfect and I’m guessing neither are you, so I thank God for plan b’s. But I also want to choose today to live according to God’s plan. By his spirit and his will moving in my life I pray my choices for today will not be lost ones. What about you?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Rescuing our families
Do you feel like you have been trained for anything significant in you life?
When I was quite young, probably 6 or 7 we went to Pacific Union College's church for a visit. We must have been visiting my great grand parents or something. I don't remember that far back very well. But I do have the image of the pipe organ in my mind. It's a massive pipe organ. It was the biggest instrument that I had ever seen. I told my mom that I wanted to play a pipe organ some day. She informed me that I would need to take piano lessons first. I didn't really want to play the piano, but if it would get me to the pipe organ then I was OK with that.
I started taking piano at the age of 7. My mom found a picture of the P.U.C. pipe organ and taped it to the piano so that I would have it there for inspiration. I was really pretty good at the piano. Mom would have to force me to sit down to practice sometimes but once I was there I could play for hours and enjoy it.
In high school when ever things weren't going well and I just needed some alone time I would wonder up to the practice rooms and play, just play. It soothed me and it was great with the ladies as well. No teenage girl could resist a guy playing "Right here waiting" by Richard Marx on the Piano.
When I got into College my piano interest lessened. I just wasn't that into it any more. And soon I stopped playing. I can still play some and I can pick up a piece of music and work through it. Some of the old stuff comes back pretty quick, but I'm not recital ready any more.
Gen 14 is about a battle. What does piano have to do with a battle, not a whole lot. But the training has a lot to do with it. Abram's nephew Lot is carried off in the spoils of battle. A pretty epic battle really. 5 kings against 4 kings is a pretty epic battle in my book. Abram gets the message that Lot has been carried off. So he gathers together his 318 trained men in his household. Now Abram doesn't have any sons yet, but with in his household, his herdsman and servants and such, he has 318 trained men. Trained well enough they could go on a rescue mission at the drop of a hat. Together with a couple of other allies Abram goes after these 5 kings. He over takes them and routes the whole army, rescuing not only Lot but all the other men, women, and children that have been taken as plunder.
Do you ever think of Abram as a warrior? I don't usually but here he is racing off to battle with 318 trained men from his household. To live in a day when training for battle is a necessary part of life is just not something that makes sense for many of us today. We are trained in business, computers, psychology, engineering, music. Very few of us are trained for battle. Which is OK I guess. I am glad I don't have to chase down bandits and armies on a regular basis. But the bible does say that we are at war.
It's not flesh and blood that we fight against, says Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, but the powers and authorities of darkness and evil in this fallen world. Are we trained to fight in this battle? Are we on a rescue mission for others in this world? I think about this and get inspired to join up with a cause like International Justice Mission saving kids from the sex trade or something. And these are good causes to be apart of. But then I look at this passage about Abram saving Lot and I realize that he is doing this to save his own family.
Do I, do we fight for our own families? Are we trained to fall on our knees in prayer and fight the powers of darkness for the hearts of our loved ones? I am just learning how to do this myself and I would like to encourage you too as well. Let's rescue our loved ones, let's be trained for battle so that at the drop of a hat we can not just play a recital or fix a computer error, but rescue someone from darkness.
If you would like to join me in this, I invite you to read John Eldredge's books "Walking with God" and "Love and War." You can also get a little more info on it by listening to one of my recent sermons on the Lords prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray against temptation and the evil one.
http://pleasantvalleychurch.adventistnw.org/podcasts/66/media_entries/7978
Let us be ready in and out of season to rescue the ones that we love.
When I was quite young, probably 6 or 7 we went to Pacific Union College's church for a visit. We must have been visiting my great grand parents or something. I don't remember that far back very well. But I do have the image of the pipe organ in my mind. It's a massive pipe organ. It was the biggest instrument that I had ever seen. I told my mom that I wanted to play a pipe organ some day. She informed me that I would need to take piano lessons first. I didn't really want to play the piano, but if it would get me to the pipe organ then I was OK with that.
I started taking piano at the age of 7. My mom found a picture of the P.U.C. pipe organ and taped it to the piano so that I would have it there for inspiration. I was really pretty good at the piano. Mom would have to force me to sit down to practice sometimes but once I was there I could play for hours and enjoy it.
In high school when ever things weren't going well and I just needed some alone time I would wonder up to the practice rooms and play, just play. It soothed me and it was great with the ladies as well. No teenage girl could resist a guy playing "Right here waiting" by Richard Marx on the Piano.
When I got into College my piano interest lessened. I just wasn't that into it any more. And soon I stopped playing. I can still play some and I can pick up a piece of music and work through it. Some of the old stuff comes back pretty quick, but I'm not recital ready any more.
Gen 14 is about a battle. What does piano have to do with a battle, not a whole lot. But the training has a lot to do with it. Abram's nephew Lot is carried off in the spoils of battle. A pretty epic battle really. 5 kings against 4 kings is a pretty epic battle in my book. Abram gets the message that Lot has been carried off. So he gathers together his 318 trained men in his household. Now Abram doesn't have any sons yet, but with in his household, his herdsman and servants and such, he has 318 trained men. Trained well enough they could go on a rescue mission at the drop of a hat. Together with a couple of other allies Abram goes after these 5 kings. He over takes them and routes the whole army, rescuing not only Lot but all the other men, women, and children that have been taken as plunder.
Do you ever think of Abram as a warrior? I don't usually but here he is racing off to battle with 318 trained men from his household. To live in a day when training for battle is a necessary part of life is just not something that makes sense for many of us today. We are trained in business, computers, psychology, engineering, music. Very few of us are trained for battle. Which is OK I guess. I am glad I don't have to chase down bandits and armies on a regular basis. But the bible does say that we are at war.
It's not flesh and blood that we fight against, says Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, but the powers and authorities of darkness and evil in this fallen world. Are we trained to fight in this battle? Are we on a rescue mission for others in this world? I think about this and get inspired to join up with a cause like International Justice Mission saving kids from the sex trade or something. And these are good causes to be apart of. But then I look at this passage about Abram saving Lot and I realize that he is doing this to save his own family.
Do I, do we fight for our own families? Are we trained to fall on our knees in prayer and fight the powers of darkness for the hearts of our loved ones? I am just learning how to do this myself and I would like to encourage you too as well. Let's rescue our loved ones, let's be trained for battle so that at the drop of a hat we can not just play a recital or fix a computer error, but rescue someone from darkness.
If you would like to join me in this, I invite you to read John Eldredge's books "Walking with God" and "Love and War." You can also get a little more info on it by listening to one of my recent sermons on the Lords prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray against temptation and the evil one.
http://pleasantvalleychurch.adventistnw.org/podcasts/66/media_entries/7978
Let us be ready in and out of season to rescue the ones that we love.
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