Wrap up - Part 5

God kind of had all these things from the previous days posts lingering in my mind when I was went back to the passages on Joseph.
For whatever reason I was thinking to myself about how wrong it seemed that a man so obedient to God, whose role that God called him to play was to be Jesus’ father, didn’t get to see it to fruition. Shouldn’t his obedience, like that of Noah, have enabled him to see it through?
To see Jesus do the very things that were prophesied?
And it made me think of all the negative things that happen in this broken world…how hard things are and how they don’t really seem to work out…we say to ourselves and pray:

Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

And we feel better…right? It gives us comfort to know that God is looking after us. And he tells us that he will…right?

But another passage came to me…the one with Elijah and the widow in 1Kings Chapter 17...and thought,
"What happened to the widow once the rain came?"

You remember the passage right?

14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "

The widow was in dire straits…making a last meal. Along came Elijah asking something fairly ridiculous...but, she was obedient and saw a miracle.
However, once it rained, she and her son were possibly back to having that last meal again.
From my perspective, and possibly from hers it may have really seemed that God had showed her and her son a miracle…and for what? That they may have starved a week later?
Now I know that we don’t see that or know that…but would it change your perspective on God’s providence and provision if that was how the story ended?
My immediate response tends to be yes…what a waste that would have been…but God then brought to mind another passage:

Isaiah 55:9"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

But, we don’t have God’s perspective do we?

And for us to truly understand how He looks out for us, for our future we would have to have that same perspective…one that we will never have while we are here.
If that story was the main role that God had wanted that widow to play in this life…to give us this story that would be passed down in his divine word and then he called her home to an eternity with her…does that perspective change what those circumstances might be telling us?

And specifically to me…God was reminding me that regardless of how much I trust Him and how obedient to Him I may be…I will not necessarily understand what happens…

We are called to be obedient, and we are told that we CAN and SHOULD trust God….

BUT

Are you ok with being obedient to God only so long as you get to see things to the end like Noah did?

Are you ok with being obedient to God if you only get to see things part of the way there…a project is only half done like Joseph with Jesus?

Will you still be obedient to God if that provision of flour and oil runs dry because the rain has come and that was all that God promised?

Because for every Job where the obedience ultimately turns out as looking positive from a worldly perspective there are Stephen’s where obedience does not look so good from our perspective but was exactly what God intended that would work for the good of those who love him.

Part 4

About a week before I gave my talk...and as I was putting together my thoughts, I ended up watching Paycheck with Ben Affleck...you can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIoJHlIxmZM

Ultimately, the movie is about the main character figuring out why he gave away $90M for 20 worthless looking items in an envelope. He gave up 3 years of his life and he is angry and frustrated...until he has this "Aha!" moment. He realizes that he has seen his own future and that he needs to trust the plan that he has laid out for himself with these items in order to get where he is supposed to go. Does this sound familiar?

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Those tough spots he was in...these decisions that needed to be made....are very similar to the decisions we have to make too.
When we acknowledge that God already knows our future…that He has plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future then obedience not only makes sense but in fact looks foolish if we do not.

Part 3

Towards the end of the last year, I came to read passages and heard in sermons in the book of Matthew about Joseph. I find it interesting that the earthly father of Jesus has very little written about him in the Bible. However, the little bit that is written I find very telling…

Prior to Jesus birth…
Mat 1:19-21,24
19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."
24“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”

Directly after Jesus’ birth…
Mat 2:13-14
“13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt

After time in Egypt…
Mat 2:19-21
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

In each case, Joseph had a lot to lose with each of these decisions. They were life altering decisions…marriage, job, where to call home...even life and death.
Some of the biggest decisions that a man can make all hinged based upon direction from God that Joseph immediately obeyed.

God knows our needs and we should trust Him and ultimately if we obey God, He will provide for us in our circumstances. As father's we are responsible for caring for our children...but God will provide the direction if we will listen.

Part 2

Continuing in that Genesis passage from yesterday....

12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress [c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out….He went on to tell him how to build it….gave him instructions…and then…well,And in verse 22 it says… 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Have you ever stopped to think about how long it might have taken Noah to build the ark? By one estimate on the Internet, it took him 98 years. It actually does not tell us in the Bible, so you have to make some deductions and inferences based on his children’s ages and such to get there…but 98 years!
And while that by itself is hard to fathom…what struck me beyond that was that the Bible is silent on whether or not God spoke to Noah over that time…
Can you imagine?
Noah hears from God about a mind-boggling, change-the-world kind of prophecy…and Noah’s role is huge. He is building a boat in the desert and it is the thing that will keep his family safe….PRESSURE…
Crazier still, for the next century he may not have heard from God at all…
You see, the next time Noah hears from God (that we know of), it was when he was done with the project.

GEN 7:1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

98 years without another word from God and yet, he obeyed! To me, that is amazing. I know that I worry about where my career is going and what I spend my time on…and if I spend very much time on something…it is easy to wonder whether or not God is blessing it if I am not seeing the fruit right away…but Noah spent nearly a lifetime on this project but he stayed obedient and he was enabled to see God’s plan fulfilled.

Friday morning men's breakfast - part 1

I had the opportunity to talk again at the Friday morning men's breakfast at my church on the 29th of January. I thought I would both capture the points for myself here as well as share with you all what I spoke about.

Back in September, I was reading in Genesis and I stopped as I was reading about Noah. We have all read and heard the story many times before, but I got amazed at the passage in a way that I never had before…

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time… 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

There were these people...people who were heroes, men of renown that did NOT find favor with God….
and here was Noah who was simply known as blameless…and that he walked with God.

Like everywhere else in the Bible, God does not necessarily use "heroes", he uses those that follow Him..they become the heroes.

Jude in the Hopkinton Newspaper

Fun memory....

Jude and Kristen went to the annual Teddy-Bear picnic and a local photographer was there and took a liking to Jude. Guess who showed up in the photo spread with a pretty sizable picture...?

Of course, Kristen was excited and almost equally so by the fact that her teddy bear Joey got his first photo in the newspaper as well :)

Last Week's vacation

Hard to believe that I had a whole week of vacation AND that I really didn't work during it! It went by awfully fast and I am afraid that I will be woefully behind as I start things off today...but, only about 6 weeks until I have another week off to spend with the boys while Kristen is in Colorado. Time off really does recharge your batteries and I really enjoyed getting to catch up on a little reading...I have felt like that has been missing for a little while. Now, if I could just get back into my workout routine :)

Taught my first Bethel Class today

I certainly wasn't as prepared as I would like to have been...and it is highlighting that I need to get more studying in for my own class so that I will have the best foundation I can for teaching...but, overall it went ok. I am sure I will hear some feedback on Wednesday at class. In the meantime, I have studying to do :)

Another book

I may have to read another biography on Grant based on reading this book. I found that I had things in common with Grant that intrigued me. I know that to a certain extent we always put ourselves into books to identify with the characters, and I am sure that is part of it...but I could tell (at least based on Korda's impression/interpretation of Grant) that he had similar traits to myself in several capacities. Since times have changed and I didn't go to West Point, I doubt I will ever be in the military, go to war, or become President, but I also dislike cigars and hopefully will not die from throat cancer when I am only 63 years old...as to all the places I found similarities...I may have to write on that more...

Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero by Michael Korda


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very short biography, but very readable and enjoyable. I have not read any other biographies of Grant yet and this one was a great place to start. I think that Korda did a nice job of piecing together parts of Grant's life to give us a nice picture of who he was, what he was driven by and to a small extent, how things ended up as they did in Grant's life. And while the asides to current times or the comparisons so other presidents don't add to the story of Grant, they do make it more comprehensible to a non-history buff reader.

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6am

Where am i this morning? At Pinz to let the kids bowl a free game for bringing in canned goods for the food bank.
Check out the pictures to come...

Another book

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An enjoyable read and I do think that Miller writes well. The story is about his life and his changing perspective on his walk with God. I think that many people could probably identify with some of the feelings that Miller discusses, some of the quandaries he faces and some of the issues non-Christians face as well with those who are believers. I think it is a great read for those that are in similar positions as he was or those that engage with college-age people who would tend to be having the thoughts and discussions that he goes through in the book.

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Reading again...

Both ended last year and started this year off a little slowly with respect to reading...but, finally finished a book the Kristen gave me for my birthday.

What In the World Is Going On?: 10 Prophetic Clues You Cannot Afford to Ignore by David Jeremiah


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A good read. I enjoyed his take on current events and how they tie into biblical prophecy. Regardless of whether you believe the connections he makes, it is a good reminder that we are to always be prepared for the end times.

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New Phone!

Got the HTC Pure about a week and a half / two weeks ago and while it is taking some getting used to, I am enjoying it and it is a much better phone that what my Tilt was and certainly what it had become as it was regularly on the fritz. It has a 5MP camera on it, so hopefully I will be able to take a few more candid shots while I am doing things with the boys or out that I can post here :)
Hopefully it will be an impetus, among others to get me back out here blogging on a more regular basis.

Kristen's CPR course

Today I am hanging out doing housework and hanging out with the boys as Kristen is at school taking her required CPR course. It is a prerequisite for the nursing program and we are hoping to hear in the next 30 days if she is getting into the 2 year, day nursing program. If she does, we will have an even more interesting life than we have over the last year+ as she has been taking course at night and on the weekends. We would have to find daycare for Jude and work on our scheduling much more closely with each other than we have had to up to this point. We will certainly let everyone know what we hear...but meanwhile congratulate Kristen tomorrow on her completion of the class /CPR certification :)

Jude's New Bed

Jude has a new bed!

Kristen and I have been anxiously looking for a new bed for Jude for awhile now. The crib was falling apart, we certainly felt like Jude was big enough and we didn't want to have an accident with Jude trying to climb out of his crib...however, we really didn't want to spend money on a bed that we knew wouldn't last too long...so, we have been searching on CraigsList and finally scored the bed below for $10! We were happy, and though it was a 40 minute drive each way to pick it up....it was worth it. Jude was so excited to be getting a BIG BOY BED that I had to put it up right away!
Now every night he has to crawl into it himself because he is a big boy and luckily he is doing a great job of staying in bed. So all in all, it has been a great transition so far.


How cute is he? You can see that we are still giving him a little railing to ensure he doesn't roll out of bed...but that only goes for a section, leaving him space at the end to get in and out himself! Definitely the big time and a very cool milestone.