The adventure continues

Today a chapter closed, or a page turned, or a season changed... whatever metaphor you want to use, I said goodbye to a lot of good friends today. I have worked a total of seven years for one company and spent countless hours with many of the same people during that time. At these pivotal points in my life I can't help but evaluate things - conversations I should have had, arguments I should not have, ways I could have loved more like Christ, places where I should have done my job better. But, I am reminded that as long as I am human (which is hopefully a condition I will suffer for quite some time!) there will always be the "should haves." So tonight I am simply thankful. Thankful for the years God has given me to walk with these friends. Thankful for what I have learned and what, by God's grace, I have taught. Thankful for the provision of a job. Thankful for facebook, e-mail, and cell phones, and in the case of a few stubborn old-timers I am even thankful for postage stamps. Thankful for the pranksters who refused me the opportunity of taking myself too seriously, and thankful for the grouchy, retired drill-sergeant types who reminded me that sobriety of mind is sometimes an equally important character trait. I could go on, but that would be bordering on living in the past when God has given me so much in the present and future for which I am, with greatly anticipated excitement, equally thankful.

To name a few, my wife of nine years who is charging down the trail West at my side. She is my best friend, trusted counselor, and the greatest joy and love of my life. My three sons, the oldest of whom I get to baptize this Sunday! Boulevard Baptist, that filled a needed gap while transitioning between ministries, and for their whole-hearted support as we move. And of course, the reason for all of this change, Grace Fellowship in Buffalo, Wyoming - my new home, my new family. I am not a gifted enough writer to explain my excitement for the years ahead. Our amazing God has blessed us in countless ways making His course for us clear. Without Him nothing in this post would be true or possible, but because of Him these words barely scratch the surface of what is praiseworthy in this life. To Him be the glory forever, amen.

The Adventure

And so it begins. Tomorrow will begin like a normal day, with a 0400 wake up call and a day of work. But, when I get home at 2:20ish, we throw the bags in the car and make like a tree. After a shower, of course. My good friends Dave and Beth in KC are kind enough to host us for the night and take us to airport in the morning, and then off to Grace Fellowship in Buffalo, WY. While in Buffalo I will have the opportunity to preach twice and our family will interact with the church members through several dinners and other events. We'll have time for some sight-seeing and recreation as well. But, the real reason for this post is to solicit prayer. What kind of prayer? I've found several key prayer requests (and praises) skimming through the openings of Paul's letters.

1. Thank God for His Word being preached in his absence
2. Pray for a blessed reunion (Or this case union since there can be no "re" to something that hasn't happened yet. But, you knew that already, didn't you?)
3. Spiritual strength for all parties involved
4. Thankfulness for the Spirit of God at work
5. Rest in God's faithfulness
6. A foundation of love
7. Wisdom
8. Purity and blamelessness
9. Discernment (perhaps the prayer conspicuously absent from Galatians?)

We could go on for sure, but for those of us involved I encourage a personal search through the prayers in Scripture to see what stands out to you. How are you praying? I would like to hear from you. I'll leave you with a couple personal prayer requests that will make our trip more comfortable, if not even more productive.

• Joel has a tendency to get car/plane sick
• The boys' sleeping patterns in leu of the time change.

P.S. I tried to get rid of the goofy looking flower bullets, but they seem to be stuck.

Scribbles on the Heart

Two days ago we celebrated Joel's seventh birthday. Today, we celebrate his new birth! At a little after 7:00 this evening Joel trusted Christ as His Savior! During supper, out on the patio, we were reviewing Ethan's memory verse for Sunday School - "The lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all He has made" (Psalm 145:13). So, does this mean we can trust God to give us a new bicycle tomorrow? Our kids apparently have a touch of the prosperity gospel in them because Joel and Ethan both answered in the affirmative. "But did God promise us a new bicycle?" Of course not, so what did He promise? "A new body when we die," Joel answered. Who will get this new body? "People who are saved." Are you one of them? "Ummm... no." And so, the real conversation began. For some time now Joel has been able to articulate saving faith very clearly for his age, and for some time he has known that saving faith is something he does not possess. We have been encouraging him to think about it, pray about it, ask questions about it, and when he is ready we will be thrilled to walk him through expressing this faith to God in repentance. So tonight I simply asked, "What is stopping you?" "Well, I just don't have the time." We all know what a seven-year-old's schedule is like, what, with all the car playing, Veggie-Tale watching and tree climbing. I told him that when he's ready we will make the time, no matter what. He said, "Then I guess we ought to do it tonight." Exactly what I was hoping for!

I encouraged him to talk to God about this while I get his brothers in bed, and then if he still thinks this is the right time we will stay up and talk some more. And so we did. I was walking him through some Scripture and came to Romans 10:9-10. "For with the heart one believes and is justified..." O boy. I forgot "justified" was in there. How do I explain "justified" to a seven-year-old? Only seconds into my explanation he said, "Wait, I know this. When we sin it's like scribbles on our heart. When we confess our sins Jesus' blood is like an eraser and then God doesn't see the scribbles anymore." Martin Luther himself couldn't have said it better!

His prayer was a beautiful seven-year-old prayer, "God, I hope you'll save me because I'm a sinner. Please forgive me, and I hope You'll help me to do what's right."

My son is now my brother, and the scribbles on his heart are forever erased. Thanks be to God!

The Human Side

John 2:1-5

While reading John, like the other Gospels, it is sometimes helpful to read it from the vantage point of the present (the time of the book’s writing) looking back. For example, John 1:11-13 leaps off the page when we consider what happens in Acts. The Gospel, scorned by the Jews, breaks free from national Israel and spreads like fire through the world of the Gentiles.

“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” Yes, we figured that out when they killed Him. “But to all who did receive him… were born… not of the will of man, but of God.” Ah, that explains what happened on Pentecost. God is doing this!

This story, however, I want to understand from the past. Only I can’t. What was Jesus like prior to age 30? We know about his miraculous conception. We’ve studied Mary’s “magnificat.” We know that while some said “wow” and walked away, Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). We are familiar with the story of Jesus the boy genius who confounded the Rabbis and terrified His parents by hiding out in the Temple. We know that after this Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Lk 2:52) and that after this chapter Joseph is conspicuously absent from the biblical narrative. What is so mysterious to me is that after the second chapter of Luke, 18 years pass before chapter 3. What was Jesus like?

John’s Gospel opens with Jesus as the Word who was God in eternity past and then thrusts Him into the earthly scene on the heels of John the Baptist. Other than calling a small band of disciples the first thing we see of this 30 year old mysterious Deity-in-flesh is Him prematurely (in His own words) revealing His God-ness in obedience to the wishes of His mother. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with His mom and the Word did what she told Him to do.”

I am not trying to be irreverent; I am merely trying to point out that there are some very human dynamics going on here. Mary knew that Jesus was far more than simply a man. From his conception she knew that Jesus was of God. At least by age 12 she knew that He had a special mission from His Heavenly Father. At His crucifixion it is clear that they were very close, and even into Acts we see her allegiance to her son/Savior (1:4). But, the first thing John tells us of her is that she was very comfortable playing the roll of His mother.

I can’t help but think of my relationship with my own mother, and how the Jesus/Mary relationship must have been very similar, and how it must have been very different. Several years ago when I told my mom I was considering becoming a military chaplain she said, “But those are rough people. Do you really want to be around people that rough?” What she really meant was (I think) “But you are my baby boy. I can’t imagine you hanging around with those roughnecks!” The beautiful irony of the situation was that she was on her way to Nicaragua, land of riots and kidnappings, following the journey Jesus laid out for her. What was it like for Mary when she saw the kind of company her perfect baby boy kept? Tax collectors. Lame. Prostitutes. Leprous. “But those are rough people…” And yet, unknowingly at the time, her journey would take her to the foot of her son’s cross – literally. What a roller coaster of emotions life must be for a mom.

Moms have an amazing knack for giving unsolicited advice to their sons in very inventive ways. One year while I was in Seminary, working full time, and trying to figure out how to be a dad to our first born, I got a very strange birthday present from my parents. A kite. Rebekah and I looked at each other and shrugged, and then it hit me. “I think my mom is telling me to relax,” I said. I was right, and so was she. It worked.

But surely Mary never needed to give Jesus any advice. Or is that what she is doing here? “Jesus, they have no wine (wink/nudge).” I’m not saying that Jesus needed the push. I’m just saying that maybe His mom thought He did. Several years have passed since my mom tried to talk me out of joining the military. She’s nothing but supportive now, and has been since before I made the final decision. Since then I’ve gotten her a tour of the B2 Stealth Bomber, which she loved. She saw me in my service dress for the first time recently and unable to come up with a more fitting adjective said I was “gorgeous.” I guess there was no other word capable of carrying the weight of motherly pride that was gushing out in tears and a huge smile. She’s in my corner, encouraging me, knowing that I can succeed far beyond what I am convinced is my own potential. But isn’t that what mom’s do, once they get over the initial shock of us growing up? How many men have gotten that motherly push to move out, get a job, ask the girl out… “They have no wine (wink/nudge).”

The point of all of this is that whatever conversations took place between Mary and Jesus between Luke 2 and John 2, they must have been very human. Jesus, born of a virgin, confounding the wise as a pre-teen, then shocking the human race by revealing His deity to save the face of an unnamed wedding host, was human. He had a mom just like you. They loved each other just like my mom and I do. And, just like I, at age 30, still listen to my Mom we may never have been able to tell the story of 30-year-old Jesus turning water into wine were it not for his mom saying, “Jesus, they have no wine (wink/nudge).”

Quality time with Dad

So this one time... I was playing with Seth by a river in Colorado, and well... I dropped him in. He cleaned up really nice though. It's amazing that kids survive childhood. What's more amazing is that even though we do things like drop them in the mud, they constantly want to be with us (at least the little ones do). One day when Joel was about two or three I peaked into his room as he woke up from his nap. In one smooth movement he opened his eyes, heaved his still heavy head from his pillow, and slurred with a sleepy tongue, “Daddy, let’s go play in the play room.” It seems that every waking moment these kids want to play, and they want to play with me or their mom. I'm sure that will change one day so I'm taking all I can get right now. How about you? Do you constantly crave time with your Father? We find so many things to do all day - news, work, jogging, vegging. Do you, as you lift your head from your pillow think about spending time in the presence of your Father God? You know that He desires that time with you, and honestly, He'll never drop you in a Colorado river. Cry out for Him. He'll be there.

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

witness

Our love of our Father should be so deep within us that we aren’t ashamed of it in front of our peers.

Jeremiah 1:7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."

Christmas program, 2006 – Joel finds himself standing in front of 200, in his mind, dangerous, people.  With all eyes fixed on him, in a shaky voice he pleads, “Daddy?” Rebekah and I got his attention and watched the concern give way to joy as he pointed and announced to what could have been the world as far he was concerned, “There’s my Mommy and Daddy!” 

Do we love our Father enough to joyfully, unashamedly, confidently, point Him out to a hostile audience?

Daddy > the dragon ninja

I was catching a little Saturday morning TMNT when a dragon wrapped Master Splinter up in his tail and began thrashing him around, slamming him into the ground and surrounding buildings. My two-year old looked at me and said, "that dragon strong like you, Daddy!" Oh ya, that's the way it should be. The paradigm by which my boys evaluate the strength of a medieval, reptilian, martial warrior is me. Ah... fatherhood.