So Jehoshaphat was unimpressed with Ahab's prophets.
King Ahab then tells him that there was one (yes, only one) prophet of the Lord in the vicinity, a guy named Micaiah. In a moment of brutal honesty, Ahab shares his truest feelings about ole Mikey. "I hate him," Ahab says, "he never prophesies anything but bad news for me!" (v. 7)
I chuckled as I typed that. I get the impression that Ahab's understanding of the prophetic ministry was somewhat lacking. He wanted yes-men, someone who would tell him what he wanted to hear. A religious stamp of approval, if you will.
A shrewd politician, that Ahab. Make a decision and then have a bunch of religious guys tell the people that God guarantees success. Great method of crowd control. This kind of thing is what Karl Marx was talking about when he called religion was "the opiate of the people." (not to get off track but the same thing happens today, even in the Christian church)
Ahab used prophecy as a means of justifying what he wanted. I'm sure that his "prophets" were well taken care of, as long as they said the right things. But there was one guy (and this "one" thing is compelling to me), one guy wasn't on the take and he stuck out like a sore thumb. Micaiah.
Micaiah is referred to as a prophet "of the Lord". What made him unique in the eyes of Ahab was that his messages were....ummm....negative. I can't think of a pretty way of saying it. He told the truth. He challenged Ahab (often, it seems) and shared the heart and will of God. Micaiah's message is typical of the kind of messages delivered by all the prophets of the Old Testament: a call to renewed faith in Almighty God.
I guess that might be the best way to package the prophets' message--it's a call to renewed faith. It sounds a whole lot better than "negative", but even that implies that something is wrong, that the status quo must change.
Now relax, just because I am describing the prophets message as negative, that doesn't mean it was bad. Not at all. As a matter of fact it was life-giving. It's intention is to draw a person closer to God. But Ahab wasn't interested in that. He wasn't interested in being told he needed to change. When you think you are always right, having someone who constantly tells you that you need to change gets old pretty fast.
Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, appears to have been a man of God. My guess is that he was familiar with, and maybe even appreciated a "real" prophetic message when he heard one. He seems sympathetic to Micaiah in giving a slight rebuke to Ahab for his unkind words:
“That’s not the way a king should talk!" Jehoshaphat says, "Let’s hear what he has to say.”
Tune in tomorrow to find out what happens to Micaiah.
PR 15:31 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke
will be at home among the wise.
PR 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a personal note:
--my son Nathanael is sick with a fever. Usually he's super active. It's odd to see him so lethargic.
--I might do my first bus driving gig on Friday (it will actually be a van but who's counting)
--Tom M. and myself enjoyed the great privilege of leading a man to Christ at the Lehigh Prison on Sunday night. His name is Juan.
--I think I'm to preach on judgement on Sunday. Put your seat belts on.
--It's windy. Cold and windy.
--I hope the Cardinals win the super bowl.
--I am incredibly disappointed in my sim-team of old negro leaguers. Consider this an official call out of Buck Leonard. Pick up a bat or I'm picking up George Giles!
grace & blessings
pjim
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Learning to hear from the Lord- 2 Chronicles 18
2 Chronicles 18 is an interesting little story that reveals much about the nature of the prophetic word and the life of a prophet. I plan on referring to it throughout the sermon series on the prophets, but decided against focusing an entire sermon on it. I will be making comments on it over the next few days.
I invite you to read it yourself to grab the bigger picture. It will put my comments into a better context.
Two kings, Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah were together for a political summit. Ahab was trying to convince Jehoshaphat to join him in battle against the city of Ramoth-gilead, which lied on the northeast border of Israel.
Jehoshaphat is agreeable to help, but before making it official he asks this question:
"but first let's find out what the Lord says..." v. 4 (NLT)
Ahab then gathers all of his prophets, 400 in all (that's a pretty big crowd), and asks them to prophecy about the chances of success against Ramoth-gilead. All 400 tell Ahab that the Lord will provide a great victory.
400 people, 400 prophets, chanting in unison, "go for it, go for it". Must have been a powerful, convincing display. If I was Jehoshaphat, I'd of been grabbing my spear.
But instead Jehoshaphat asks a telling question, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord around, too? I would like to ask him the same question." v. 6 (NLT)
I wonder how or why Jehoshaphat knew that these guys were not prophets of the Lord. There could be many reasons, but the fact remains that Jehoshaphat was not impressed with their words, as encouraging as they might have been. Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the Lord.
Advice often comes from multiple angles. Some people are very quick to tell you what you should do. Sometimes it's only to serve their own self-interest. Sometimes they are sincerely trying to consider what is best for you. Sometimes they are only telling you what your itching ears want to hear.
Often advice is given in "spiritual vocab". Words cloaked in godspeak, making it difficult to discern the true source of the advice. After all, the prophets of Ahab declared that "God" would give them a great victory. But Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the Lord.
We need to hear from the Lord. We need to learn to hear from the Lord. We need to learn how to discern what is/what isn't from God. 2 Chronicles 18 offers some help in this matter. As we continue on this theme, ask the Lord to help you hear his voice. Tell Him you desire to grow. Ask Him to give you the same Spirit that was in Jehoshaphat when he asked to hear from a prophet of the Lord.
grace & blessings,
pjim
I invite you to read it yourself to grab the bigger picture. It will put my comments into a better context.
Two kings, Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah were together for a political summit. Ahab was trying to convince Jehoshaphat to join him in battle against the city of Ramoth-gilead, which lied on the northeast border of Israel.
Jehoshaphat is agreeable to help, but before making it official he asks this question:
"but first let's find out what the Lord says..." v. 4 (NLT)
Ahab then gathers all of his prophets, 400 in all (that's a pretty big crowd), and asks them to prophecy about the chances of success against Ramoth-gilead. All 400 tell Ahab that the Lord will provide a great victory.
400 people, 400 prophets, chanting in unison, "go for it, go for it". Must have been a powerful, convincing display. If I was Jehoshaphat, I'd of been grabbing my spear.
But instead Jehoshaphat asks a telling question, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord around, too? I would like to ask him the same question." v. 6 (NLT)
I wonder how or why Jehoshaphat knew that these guys were not prophets of the Lord. There could be many reasons, but the fact remains that Jehoshaphat was not impressed with their words, as encouraging as they might have been. Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the Lord.
Advice often comes from multiple angles. Some people are very quick to tell you what you should do. Sometimes it's only to serve their own self-interest. Sometimes they are sincerely trying to consider what is best for you. Sometimes they are only telling you what your itching ears want to hear.
Often advice is given in "spiritual vocab". Words cloaked in godspeak, making it difficult to discern the true source of the advice. After all, the prophets of Ahab declared that "God" would give them a great victory. But Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the Lord.
We need to hear from the Lord. We need to learn to hear from the Lord. We need to learn how to discern what is/what isn't from God. 2 Chronicles 18 offers some help in this matter. As we continue on this theme, ask the Lord to help you hear his voice. Tell Him you desire to grow. Ask Him to give you the same Spirit that was in Jehoshaphat when he asked to hear from a prophet of the Lord.
grace & blessings,
pjim
Monday, January 26, 2009
why we hate prophets
this is the sermon I preached yesterday. I don't usually do this and I don't expect to get in the habit of doing this regularly, but I did it tonight....
grace & blessings!
pjim
I’m one guy who feels for Donavan McNabb. Not so much because the eagles lost, but because of the incredible amount of heat he’s taking for it. I was listening to philly sports talk radio on Monday and he was getting absolutely tarred and feathered. McNabb is good! He’s not a bad guy, yet the hatred he receives in Philadelphia is unreal.
I can picture him walking down the street in Philly and getting cursed at. Just minding his business, getting a hamburger, and having to hear people yell, “You’re a bum. You stink. We hate you!”
The guy did nothing wrong and all of Eastern PA treats him like the enemy.
But he is a professional athlete. He gets paid a lot of money, so I guess that’s part of the deal. It’s kind of the same with politicians. Go to youtube and search “bush booed” and take your choice—the guy was even booed at the inauguration!
Got me thinking about jobs where a person is hated just because he’s got the job:
---repo man, professional wrestling villain, telemarketer, dentist, pig farmer, principal
(can you think of others?)
and you can add prophet to that list
We’ve been talking about prophets and so far we’ve said that a prophet is one who tells the truth—who tells God’s side of the story. And last week we talked about the nature of the message the prophets delivered
that it was negative—that God was unhappy
There’s an interesting little verse in 2 Chronicles that points to this. Two kings, Jehoshaphat and Ahab were talking about prophets when Ahab says this:
2 Chronicles 18:7
If you look at the writings of the prophets in the bible, you can see three distinct parts to their message:
1. God is not happy
sin/rebellion/forgetting poor/relying on other nations
2. God will judge
disaster coming/lift protection/send in army
3. God will redeem
Sometimes 2 and 3 are grouped together as options. #1 would be there, God is not happy. And if you do nothing than #2 would happen—but if you repent, than you’ll get #3. The future is wide open, which one will you choose?
The problem the prophets had was that the people were so upset after hearing the first two, they were unable to hear the third.
Because of #1 and #2, the prophets were hated. And this is across the board, you see this everywhere you read the prophets.
Jeremiah 20:1-2, 7-8
Amos 7:10-13
2 Chronicles 18:23
even Jesus alluded to this Matthew 23:37
Sometimes I see churches advertising that they have a special prophet coming to speak—like they are inviting people to come. That always puzzles me, because no one ever wanted to hear the OT prophets. They weren’t invited anywhere. Generally, they were asked to leave. And when the did draw a crowd, it wasn’t for the right reasons.
Ezekiel 33:30-33
Unless you enjoy being mocked, asked to leave, or getting slapped in the face, being a prophet was a tough job and here’s why:
You basically told people that they were responsible for their own problems.
Who wants to hear that? Who wants to hear that the struggles you face are the consequence of your actions? It’s so much better to blame somebody else.
This is why no one listened to the prophets. Basically, they were failures. No one took them seriously.
The prophets spoke to the people of Israel and Judah during some very troubling times; times when their nation was losing wars, when corruption ran rampant, times when people were suffering greatly.
In times like these, you cannot help wondering why; asking “God, why is this happening?” Well, God was providing an answer in through the prophets, but it was not the answer the people were looking for. They were outraged/offended at the notion that God would be mad at THEM. In their eyes, this was unthinkable—and there were two reasons why:
1. they were surrounded by more sinful/pagan nations
2. they believed the right things/performed the right (religious) actions
Aram, Edom, the Babylonians, the Philistines, Egypt, the countries that surrounded Israel were wicked. They worshipped false gods, they mocked the Jews. They were God haters and sure enough, the prophets spoke out against all of these nations…but they were not responsible for Israel’s problems.
It’s easy. It’s too easy to look around and see the flaws and sins of those around us and conclude that it is because of them your are being brought down.
Check out this passage from the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 58:6-10
This is a very interesting chapter. It begins with Israel complaining that God has abandoned them. To which God says, “No, that’s not true” and goes off telling them what He’s really looking for. I love vv. 9-10.
“if you do away with the pointing finger and the malicious talk…
This pointing finger thing grabs me and doesn’t let me go. God says that one of the reasons why you are not experiencing my blessing is because you’re pointing the finger at everyone else. The people of Israel couldn’t hear this. “Why are you dwelling on us when they’re so bad?” For this they rejected the prophets.
You cannot address what you cannot see. And you cannot see your issues when you’re busy pointing out everyone elses. This hold true for husbands and wives, parents and children, and country against country.
Does this apply today? Why is the United States struggling? Because of liberal judges? the gay rights movement? Because of radical islam, religious pluralism? Because of Godless people who hate Jesus?
We hear that stuff and our tendency is to be like “yeah! If they weren’t so bad, things wouldn’t be so bad for the rest of us.” And it gets our blood boiling and we end up hating and the devil is sitting there going, “yeah, it’s their fault-you should be so mad at them!”
And the prophet Isaiah comes along and says the same thing to us that he said way back when…
Isaiah 58:6-10
Your spouse might have issues, and I’m not here to tell you that you should tolerate them, but if you are walking around thinking that that’s the reason for all your struggles, you will miss God’s prophetic for you just like the people of Israel did.
I’m not here this morning to tell you that things like the ACLU and radical Islam and liberal judges are good and that you should tolerate them, but if you’re walking around condemning them for the problems in America and the church in America, than you will reject God’s prophetic message for you just like the people of Israel did.
Matthew 23:37
Another reason why the Jews rejected the prophetic writings was because they had the right theology; the right religion. “How can God be mad at us when we pray in his name; when we sings songs about Him; when we go to the right church and do all the religious things he told us to do?
We’re God’s people-how can this be our fault?
Here comes Isaiah with that chapter 58 again
Isaiah 58:2-4
When you’re convinced you are right, it is hard to see how you can be at fault. The people of Israel were the people of God in their day. They saw themselves on the right side. They were the good guys. When you do what God wants, how could he possibly have a problem with you?
But God did have a problem with them. It was all empty. “Yes, they read the bible. Yes they were at church last Sunday. Yes they offered the required sacrifices, but it was more jumping through religious hoops than anything else.”
This is going to be the subject of a sermon later in this series, but let me just say this right now…
The Jews missed God’s word for them because they were convinced of their own righteousness. And the men that were sent to them to call them back were ignored, rejected, and killed.
The prophets were hated because of the message God called them to deliver. Because they were the tough love instruments of God.
The goal was to call people back, but in order to do that they needed to face reality and repent. They didn’t think they had to and went elsewhere for answers. They rejected God’s answer.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
No ones ears are itching to hear God tell THEM that they need to repent.
Perhaps you’ve been jumping through religious hoops.
Perhaps you’ve been overworking the pointing finger.
Perhaps you had a God-experience 10 years ago and are content to surf from here on out.
Will you let the prophetic word of God speak to you this morning?
Matthew 23:37
Will you be willing?
grace & blessings!
pjim
I’m one guy who feels for Donavan McNabb. Not so much because the eagles lost, but because of the incredible amount of heat he’s taking for it. I was listening to philly sports talk radio on Monday and he was getting absolutely tarred and feathered. McNabb is good! He’s not a bad guy, yet the hatred he receives in Philadelphia is unreal.
I can picture him walking down the street in Philly and getting cursed at. Just minding his business, getting a hamburger, and having to hear people yell, “You’re a bum. You stink. We hate you!”
The guy did nothing wrong and all of Eastern PA treats him like the enemy.
But he is a professional athlete. He gets paid a lot of money, so I guess that’s part of the deal. It’s kind of the same with politicians. Go to youtube and search “bush booed” and take your choice—the guy was even booed at the inauguration!
Got me thinking about jobs where a person is hated just because he’s got the job:
---repo man, professional wrestling villain, telemarketer, dentist, pig farmer, principal
(can you think of others?)
and you can add prophet to that list
We’ve been talking about prophets and so far we’ve said that a prophet is one who tells the truth—who tells God’s side of the story. And last week we talked about the nature of the message the prophets delivered
that it was negative—that God was unhappy
There’s an interesting little verse in 2 Chronicles that points to this. Two kings, Jehoshaphat and Ahab were talking about prophets when Ahab says this:
2 Chronicles 18:7
If you look at the writings of the prophets in the bible, you can see three distinct parts to their message:
1. God is not happy
sin/rebellion/forgetting poor/relying on other nations
2. God will judge
disaster coming/lift protection/send in army
3. God will redeem
Sometimes 2 and 3 are grouped together as options. #1 would be there, God is not happy. And if you do nothing than #2 would happen—but if you repent, than you’ll get #3. The future is wide open, which one will you choose?
The problem the prophets had was that the people were so upset after hearing the first two, they were unable to hear the third.
Because of #1 and #2, the prophets were hated. And this is across the board, you see this everywhere you read the prophets.
Jeremiah 20:1-2, 7-8
Amos 7:10-13
2 Chronicles 18:23
even Jesus alluded to this Matthew 23:37
Sometimes I see churches advertising that they have a special prophet coming to speak—like they are inviting people to come. That always puzzles me, because no one ever wanted to hear the OT prophets. They weren’t invited anywhere. Generally, they were asked to leave. And when the did draw a crowd, it wasn’t for the right reasons.
Ezekiel 33:30-33
Unless you enjoy being mocked, asked to leave, or getting slapped in the face, being a prophet was a tough job and here’s why:
You basically told people that they were responsible for their own problems.
Who wants to hear that? Who wants to hear that the struggles you face are the consequence of your actions? It’s so much better to blame somebody else.
This is why no one listened to the prophets. Basically, they were failures. No one took them seriously.
The prophets spoke to the people of Israel and Judah during some very troubling times; times when their nation was losing wars, when corruption ran rampant, times when people were suffering greatly.
In times like these, you cannot help wondering why; asking “God, why is this happening?” Well, God was providing an answer in through the prophets, but it was not the answer the people were looking for. They were outraged/offended at the notion that God would be mad at THEM. In their eyes, this was unthinkable—and there were two reasons why:
1. they were surrounded by more sinful/pagan nations
2. they believed the right things/performed the right (religious) actions
Aram, Edom, the Babylonians, the Philistines, Egypt, the countries that surrounded Israel were wicked. They worshipped false gods, they mocked the Jews. They were God haters and sure enough, the prophets spoke out against all of these nations…but they were not responsible for Israel’s problems.
It’s easy. It’s too easy to look around and see the flaws and sins of those around us and conclude that it is because of them your are being brought down.
Check out this passage from the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 58:6-10
This is a very interesting chapter. It begins with Israel complaining that God has abandoned them. To which God says, “No, that’s not true” and goes off telling them what He’s really looking for. I love vv. 9-10.
“if you do away with the pointing finger and the malicious talk…
This pointing finger thing grabs me and doesn’t let me go. God says that one of the reasons why you are not experiencing my blessing is because you’re pointing the finger at everyone else. The people of Israel couldn’t hear this. “Why are you dwelling on us when they’re so bad?” For this they rejected the prophets.
You cannot address what you cannot see. And you cannot see your issues when you’re busy pointing out everyone elses. This hold true for husbands and wives, parents and children, and country against country.
Does this apply today? Why is the United States struggling? Because of liberal judges? the gay rights movement? Because of radical islam, religious pluralism? Because of Godless people who hate Jesus?
We hear that stuff and our tendency is to be like “yeah! If they weren’t so bad, things wouldn’t be so bad for the rest of us.” And it gets our blood boiling and we end up hating and the devil is sitting there going, “yeah, it’s their fault-you should be so mad at them!”
And the prophet Isaiah comes along and says the same thing to us that he said way back when…
Isaiah 58:6-10
Your spouse might have issues, and I’m not here to tell you that you should tolerate them, but if you are walking around thinking that that’s the reason for all your struggles, you will miss God’s prophetic for you just like the people of Israel did.
I’m not here this morning to tell you that things like the ACLU and radical Islam and liberal judges are good and that you should tolerate them, but if you’re walking around condemning them for the problems in America and the church in America, than you will reject God’s prophetic message for you just like the people of Israel did.
Matthew 23:37
Another reason why the Jews rejected the prophetic writings was because they had the right theology; the right religion. “How can God be mad at us when we pray in his name; when we sings songs about Him; when we go to the right church and do all the religious things he told us to do?
We’re God’s people-how can this be our fault?
Here comes Isaiah with that chapter 58 again
Isaiah 58:2-4
When you’re convinced you are right, it is hard to see how you can be at fault. The people of Israel were the people of God in their day. They saw themselves on the right side. They were the good guys. When you do what God wants, how could he possibly have a problem with you?
But God did have a problem with them. It was all empty. “Yes, they read the bible. Yes they were at church last Sunday. Yes they offered the required sacrifices, but it was more jumping through religious hoops than anything else.”
This is going to be the subject of a sermon later in this series, but let me just say this right now…
The Jews missed God’s word for them because they were convinced of their own righteousness. And the men that were sent to them to call them back were ignored, rejected, and killed.
The prophets were hated because of the message God called them to deliver. Because they were the tough love instruments of God.
The goal was to call people back, but in order to do that they needed to face reality and repent. They didn’t think they had to and went elsewhere for answers. They rejected God’s answer.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
No ones ears are itching to hear God tell THEM that they need to repent.
Perhaps you’ve been jumping through religious hoops.
Perhaps you’ve been overworking the pointing finger.
Perhaps you had a God-experience 10 years ago and are content to surf from here on out.
Will you let the prophetic word of God speak to you this morning?
Matthew 23:37
Will you be willing?
Friday, January 23, 2009
This post has no title
I would like to thank those folks who left comments, and all of you who have been reading this blog. My hope is that this would be a vehicle driven by God to promote spiritual thought and conversation. I also hope it serves to make stronger the connections between people at Solid Rock. For this reason, comments are especially welcome. And if you have any questions you'd like answered or subjects discussed, just let me know.
M. Night Shmyalyan (or what the director guys name is) once said that some of what he thinks are his best scenes get edited out of his movies and never see a movie screen. I can relate to that. Quite often I'll have (what I think is) a great point or insight or whatever, but it never makes it into a sermon. That's the case of 2 Chronicles 18 and the prophet Micaiah.
I thought I was going to preach on that but the Lord seems to be taking this series in another direction. That's cool with me, but 2 Chronicles 18 is a fascinating chapter and teaches us a lot about prophesy. It's the story of one king (Ahab) trying to persuade another king (Jehoshaphat) to help him in a war with the dreaded enemy from Ramoth Gilead (a strategic city near the border of Syria and Israel).
Well it's getting late. I'm tired and I have a long day tomorrow of bus driver class and finishing up preparations for Sunday morning. So I think I'm gonna go back to 2 Chronicles next time I blog. Who knows? Maybe I'll make this kinda like a blog sermon series......
we'll see
M. Night Shmyalyan (or what the director guys name is) once said that some of what he thinks are his best scenes get edited out of his movies and never see a movie screen. I can relate to that. Quite often I'll have (what I think is) a great point or insight or whatever, but it never makes it into a sermon. That's the case of 2 Chronicles 18 and the prophet Micaiah.
I thought I was going to preach on that but the Lord seems to be taking this series in another direction. That's cool with me, but 2 Chronicles 18 is a fascinating chapter and teaches us a lot about prophesy. It's the story of one king (Ahab) trying to persuade another king (Jehoshaphat) to help him in a war with the dreaded enemy from Ramoth Gilead (a strategic city near the border of Syria and Israel).
Well it's getting late. I'm tired and I have a long day tomorrow of bus driver class and finishing up preparations for Sunday morning. So I think I'm gonna go back to 2 Chronicles next time I blog. Who knows? Maybe I'll make this kinda like a blog sermon series......
we'll see
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Cardboard Testimonies
This is an incredibly power video. It introduced me to the song played in the video below.
It makes me cry when I watch it.
http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies/
For those of you who watched it, what would your card read?
It makes me cry when I watch it.
http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies/
For those of you who watched it, what would your card read?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
How should President Obama pray?
--"Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
--King Solomon ending his prayer.
2 Chronicles 6:40
Is President Obama going to pray tonight? I would love to know what his prayer would be. It's getting close to 10PM as I type this, so bedtime is coming soon for him I guess. Is prayer on his agenda?
It got me thinking about heads of state praying, so I went to 2 Chronicles 6, where King Solomon prays during the dedication of the temple. Verse 13 says that he knelt down before the crowd, lifted his hands to heaven and began praying. Humble.
Solomon's prayer is interesting. He mentions different scenarios that the Israelite people might find themselves in: victory or defeat in war, economic trouble, natural disaster, personal failure (sin), and prosperity. After each scenario, he repeats the same words: "then hear from heaven and...". It's kinda like the chorus of a song.
The entire prayer goes like this:
When (insert scenario), we will pray to you, then hear from heaven and.....
I counted this refrain 8 times in the prayer. That's a lot. Smart people call it a recuring motif.
What's the point? To me, Solomon is basically saying to God "please pay attention to me/us". "God, I need to know that you are aware of my situation, my needs. Please listen to me. In whatever situation I'm in, I need to know that you are there."
It reminds of of my son Nathanael looking my way every now and then, seemingly just to make sure that I'm there. That I'm aware of his presence. Somehow, just knowing daddy is around makes him more secure.
I wonder if Obama is singing Solomon's song tonight? (no, not that one, though that one might be appropriate after he and Michelle pray). No, I'm thinking about the song, or prayer, mentioned above.
"God, as I make decisions about this economy, be with me.
As I try to bring the parties together, be with me. (at least I hope he tries to do that)
As I address the problems in the middle east, as I stand face to face with Vlad Putin,
be with me.
As I sleep next to this briefcase that holds the codes of our nuclear bombs, be with me."
I hope his prayers look something like that.
Well I started by wondering if Obama was going to pray tonight. As I was typing this I felt God saying "Jim, I'll worry about Obama, are YOU going to pray tonight?"
Monday, January 19, 2009
worship=peace
I preached a number of months ago about the significance of worship when you are going through trials (we called them "404" times at church). I figured I'd practice what I preach.
This song has brought me to a better place. Right now, God is my strength.
The Chrysler 5th Avenue saga continues
great news....really great news...the Chrysler is BACK. And it only cost 5 bucks to fix it. Turns out it only needed transmission fluid. Drove it around the block with zero problem yesterday afternoon.
I am so relieved. Well 5 bucks plus the cost of towing.
Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow...praise Him all ye creatures here below.....
Thanks Joel for the tip.
Thanks Al for the car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok Jim, trust me...learn from the recent past.....
Yesterday something fatal happened to my computer--the one with all my documents and stuff. My guess is the mother board got fried. Well, that's Jerry's guess from PC Warehouse in Whitehall. Had to get a new tower and have him put my old hard drive in it. I was able to retreive some/a lot of stuff but I'm still having difficulty with the outlook express data.
car...computer.....this has been a challenging last couple of days. I am determined to trust, trust God on this one.
I am so relieved. Well 5 bucks plus the cost of towing.
Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow...praise Him all ye creatures here below.....
Thanks Joel for the tip.
Thanks Al for the car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok Jim, trust me...learn from the recent past.....
Yesterday something fatal happened to my computer--the one with all my documents and stuff. My guess is the mother board got fried. Well, that's Jerry's guess from PC Warehouse in Whitehall. Had to get a new tower and have him put my old hard drive in it. I was able to retreive some/a lot of stuff but I'm still having difficulty with the outlook express data.
car...computer.....this has been a challenging last couple of days. I am determined to trust, trust God on this one.
biker church 2: God Strikes Back
or maybe I will get an answer....
before I continue the story, let me just say that God is awesome.
So the car wouldn't start on Friday. Poor me (and Emily) weren't able to go to the biker church as they had planned. Life is hard.
On Saturday, I woke up early to get ready for this new bus driver class I was signed up for (yes, northwestern school district). I battery jumped the Chrysler and was out of the house by 7:30, would be there in plenty of time for 8AM start up.
On 309, on the hill right in front of LCCC, my trusty 89 Chrysler decided to die. The engine revved and revved but went nowhere. Tranny problems. Ugh. I parked the car on the extra wide median (thank you God) and called Keri. I was quite upset because:
1. I was gonna be late and possibly miss the class
2. The car might be very broke ($$$$)
3. A statey just pulled up and my inspection sticker is expired
Well, the officer gave me grace (sweet), towed the car home and I was allowed to participate in the class with no penalty despite being 1 1/2 hours late (sweet), but what I found so interesting/cool was how God so quickly responded to my conversation just last night.
Now I knew why the car wouldn't start.
I can only imagine what would have happened at 7PM on a cold Friday night if the car died in the same place-with my 12 year old daughter in it as well. With Keri and the rest of the kids out. As unpleasant as my situation was, I'm glad it was me alone on Saturday morn instead of me and Emily on busy Friday night.
God was...is...in total control. He knew all along. I just think that is so cool.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Sometimes you say "there's a reason" when something unpleasant or inconvenient occurs
before I continue the story, let me just say that God is awesome.
So the car wouldn't start on Friday. Poor me (and Emily) weren't able to go to the biker church as they had planned. Life is hard.
On Saturday, I woke up early to get ready for this new bus driver class I was signed up for (yes, northwestern school district). I battery jumped the Chrysler and was out of the house by 7:30, would be there in plenty of time for 8AM start up.
On 309, on the hill right in front of LCCC, my trusty 89 Chrysler decided to die. The engine revved and revved but went nowhere. Tranny problems. Ugh. I parked the car on the extra wide median (thank you God) and called Keri. I was quite upset because:
1. I was gonna be late and possibly miss the class
2. The car might be very broke ($$$$)
3. A statey just pulled up and my inspection sticker is expired
Well, the officer gave me grace (sweet), towed the car home and I was allowed to participate in the class with no penalty despite being 1 1/2 hours late (sweet), but what I found so interesting/cool was how God so quickly responded to my conversation just last night.
Now I knew why the car wouldn't start.
I can only imagine what would have happened at 7PM on a cold Friday night if the car died in the same place-with my 12 year old daughter in it as well. With Keri and the rest of the kids out. As unpleasant as my situation was, I'm glad it was me alone on Saturday morn instead of me and Emily on busy Friday night.
God was...is...in total control. He knew all along. I just think that is so cool.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Sometimes you say "there's a reason" when something unpleasant or inconvenient occurs
Friday, January 16, 2009
Missing the biker church
It's pretty cold outside. I was planning to go to Kingdom Roadhouse tonight but the car wouldn't start. Guess that's what you get for driving an 89 Chrysler.
While I was sitting in the ice cold car and fruitlessly turning the ignition, I said to myself, "I guess God doesn't want me to go." Now, a few minutes later, I'm wondering why. I wanted to encourage Al and the folks. I was ready to worship, to hear God's word. Aren't these are in line with the will of God? Why am I sitting here and not there? Would I have gotten into an accident? Would I have been a distraction there? Am I needed home tonight for something that hasn't happened yet?
On this side, right now, I don't have an answer to any of those questions. I may never get one. I am a little disappointed. Life is full of such moments, and in the grand scheme of things, this IS a minor inconvenience.
But it's equally true that faith is built in times like this. Though we get no answer, we must trust God and press on.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
While I was sitting in the ice cold car and fruitlessly turning the ignition, I said to myself, "I guess God doesn't want me to go." Now, a few minutes later, I'm wondering why. I wanted to encourage Al and the folks. I was ready to worship, to hear God's word. Aren't these are in line with the will of God? Why am I sitting here and not there? Would I have gotten into an accident? Would I have been a distraction there? Am I needed home tonight for something that hasn't happened yet?
On this side, right now, I don't have an answer to any of those questions. I may never get one. I am a little disappointed. Life is full of such moments, and in the grand scheme of things, this IS a minor inconvenience.
But it's equally true that faith is built in times like this. Though we get no answer, we must trust God and press on.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
On Treadmills, John Mark, and Tex Cobb
Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work
Acts 15:37-38
My mother once told me that 95% of all treadmills end up as clotheslines after two months. I have a weight machine I spent 250 bucks on in the garage. It holds my extension cords.
One of the fears I have as I begin this blog is this "treadmill syndrome". I guess that's why I'm not telling anybody about it (except my brother, who called me tonight to tell me that he and his wife are expecting twins). I figure if this fizzles out after a few weeks, nobody knows, no harm done. I hope it doesn't, cause I do think this could be a good thing, but I don't trust myself.
John Mark was probably pumped to go on a missions trip with the great Paul of Tarsus. A young man on the adventure of a lifetime, learning from the best of the best. It quite possibly could have been his first trip away from home. But even that lost its luster. I wonder if John Mark got sick of doing all the dirty work, or tired of Paul's bossiness. Perhaps he just missed his mother. Bottom line is the treadmill became a clothesline. He took his ball and went home. I guess everything becomes routine after a while.
This decision wreeked havoc beyond what John Mark could have imagined. It ultimately broke up one of the most successful tag teams in professional Christianity. The bible tells us that Paul and Barnabas parted ways when John Mark resurfaced. I would have liked to hear that, umm, conversation.
Sometimes, a lot of times, the battle is just to hang in there. I would probably have big muscles now if I hung in there with the weight set. Many overweight people in this world would be substantially thinner if they hung in there with their treadmills. I'd feel really good if I could hang in there with this here blog.
I'm sure John Mark wished he just hung in there.
One of my kinda-heroes is a guy named Randall "Tex" Cobb. Remember him? He was a guy who then boxing champion Larry Holmes beat to an absolute pulp for 12 rounds. I don't think Cobb landed a punch in the entire fight. It was like an old WWWF squash match. His face was like three sizes bigger by the end of the fight. But Holmes couldn't knock Cobb out. He just kept hanging in there.
After the fight Cobb said something that I'll never forget. At least I think he said it. It was something along the lines of:
"Larry Holmes didn't win the fight. He won the first 12 rounds."
Translation: If they allowed the fight to go another 12 rounds, I would have won.
Cobb had no talent, but he had a super-size portion of grit. He had sticktoitism. Sometimes that's all we need. I hope to have some with this blog because I believe God can use this.
What do you need sticktoitism for in your life? Is there something in your life you started, but struggling to follow through? Thinking of giving up?
Sometimes they involve things much more significant than treadmills.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Why John Lennon might be in heaven with Jesus
Wait one second before I make my first post....
I know all about "imagine" and "god" and all the stuff he said about being more popular than Jesus, but maybe....
John was a seeker and would stick his nose in anything if he thought it could bring him the inner peace he longed for. Drugs, TM, primal screaming therapy, political activism, whatever. It's weird, he screamed for peace but his lyrics betray him. He was miserable. It's tough to overcome all the crap he endured as a child. John Lennon of the 70's was an angry guy, pissed off at the world, wanting to change, but leaving a trail failed attempts behind him.
But John Lennon of 1980 (Double Fantasy/Milk & Honey or whatever it was called) was a different person. He seemed to have found that peace he longed for. He seemed happy. The chip on his shoulder was gone.
What happened?
5 years away from the business. 5 years of being little more than a husband and a father. 5 years of diving into what God says is important. God places much value on family. He asks us to call Him "Father" (or even better, "Daddy"). He instituted marriage and made it sacred. Throughout the bible, God makes it clear that fathers have a responsibility to their wives and kids. Being a loving husband and active father was God's will for John--for all of us.
And I bet it wasn't easy for John to break away. He left a lot behind when he took his "sabbatical". Not just the bucks but the people, the lifestyle, his music. He tossed his "nets" aside to follow a different path.
That path just happened to share the values of Lord God Almighty.
When we value what God values, the end result is peace--inner peace--feeling like you are running with the wind, not against it. For so long John was running full steam against the wind. I believe his motives were pure. The guy wanted to be happy. All the things that promised him, failed. Except God's wisdom. God's wisdom changed John's life.
There was no "conversion" or Jesus talk that I know of with John. And I'm not going to insinuate that anything like that did happen. But John Lennon stumbled upon the plan of God and put it to work. It might not be much but it is something that at least makes me wonder if something more significant was happening in his heart.
I know all about "imagine" and "god" and all the stuff he said about being more popular than Jesus, but maybe....
John was a seeker and would stick his nose in anything if he thought it could bring him the inner peace he longed for. Drugs, TM, primal screaming therapy, political activism, whatever. It's weird, he screamed for peace but his lyrics betray him. He was miserable. It's tough to overcome all the crap he endured as a child. John Lennon of the 70's was an angry guy, pissed off at the world, wanting to change, but leaving a trail failed attempts behind him.
But John Lennon of 1980 (Double Fantasy/Milk & Honey or whatever it was called) was a different person. He seemed to have found that peace he longed for. He seemed happy. The chip on his shoulder was gone.
What happened?
5 years away from the business. 5 years of being little more than a husband and a father. 5 years of diving into what God says is important. God places much value on family. He asks us to call Him "Father" (or even better, "Daddy"). He instituted marriage and made it sacred. Throughout the bible, God makes it clear that fathers have a responsibility to their wives and kids. Being a loving husband and active father was God's will for John--for all of us.
And I bet it wasn't easy for John to break away. He left a lot behind when he took his "sabbatical". Not just the bucks but the people, the lifestyle, his music. He tossed his "nets" aside to follow a different path.
That path just happened to share the values of Lord God Almighty.
When we value what God values, the end result is peace--inner peace--feeling like you are running with the wind, not against it. For so long John was running full steam against the wind. I believe his motives were pure. The guy wanted to be happy. All the things that promised him, failed. Except God's wisdom. God's wisdom changed John's life.
There was no "conversion" or Jesus talk that I know of with John. And I'm not going to insinuate that anything like that did happen. But John Lennon stumbled upon the plan of God and put it to work. It might not be much but it is something that at least makes me wonder if something more significant was happening in his heart.
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