Sunday, August 31, 2008

Game Day


I took my two sons to opening day at Texas A&M on Saturday.  Another college football season kicked off this weekend.  Rabid fans all over the country have high hopes for their teams.  Everybody (but LSU fans) believes this year will be different.  This year, their team will be the last to stand, or at least not look as bad as last year.

The Aggies, like most of the larger schools, started the year off with a gimme.  A game against a smaller opponent to work out the kinks and get ready for the tougher games on the schedule.

Kyle field was packed.  Fans all clad in maroon sang praises to their team.  I think it is fair to say that many were worshipping their team.  I know, because I used to be a worshipper myself.  I've grown past that in my Christian walk.  I still enjoy Aggie football and enjoy the atmosphere.  But it's just a game.

The Ags were upset by Arkansas State.  As fans, we waited patiently through the first half, expecting a blowout but barely holding the Red Wolves at bay.  We all expected that in the second half our superior size, strength, and speed would wear them out.  At the end of the fourth quarter we all shook our heads in disbelief.

As we listened to the passionate disappointment and anger of some of the fans close by, I thought of a biblical upset (at least an upset in the minds of the home crowd).  I imagined what it might have been like to a typical Baal fan when Elijah's God, our God, trounced Jezebel's 450 prophets of Baal.

1 Kings 18:20-40

Just before kickoff...

It is another balmy but dry fall.  Rain has not fallen in over two years.  This year will be different however.  Ahab and Jezebel have 350 returning prophets and 100 new 5-star priests this year.  This is the year we bring home the mythical national trophy of the gods for Baal.

The biggest event of the year kicks off the season.  Jezebel's team of 450 Baal prophets are set to wipe the desert with our old God.  The God of childhood stories that a few are still silly enough to follow.  Well, today, we'll send those small fry followers of a childhood God running for the hills as the fire of Baal falls from the sky.

I can't believe this fool Elijah was crazy enough to schedule this opening contest.  Oh well, at least when Baal proves Elijah is living in a fantasy land, maybe we'll get the rain we've been seeking these last two disappointing seasons.  This is finally our year.  I can feel it.

We've won the coin toss and Baal gets to strike first.  I hear we're setting out our best bull.  That will certainly satisfy the appetite of our great Baal.  All the experts say that our prophets are ready for a big year.  This will be a great blowout victory to savor.  What a way to start the year of Baal festivities.

First quarter...

Look at the size of that beast out there on the alter.  I can feel the thunder coming in my bones.  I can almost smell the offering before the fire has even started.  Listen to the voices of our prophets call out to Baal.  Wow, the season I've been anticipating is in full swing.  "Go Baal! Go Baal! B-A-A-L Baal! Baal! Baal!"

Second quarter...

Ok.  Patience.  This is taking longer than I expected.  It's the first worship festival of the season.  I guess there are still some kinks to work out in the game plan.  I'm sure our prophets will get in a rhythm soon, then watch out you pesky little Yahweh followers.

Half Time...

Listen to that guy Elijah talk his smack.  Did he really just shout out that Baal was on the toilet or asleep?  Ok guys, next half let's wipe this guy and his so called God off the planet.

Third quarter...

This is no good.  If you let this guy Elijah hang around, he and his God will gain confidence and then there's no telling what will happen.  Who are these bozo prophets that Jezebel has run out here anyway?  All this talk about this year being different.  Maybe we should put a few of those prophets on the alter.  Why'd we change up our priestly staff from last year anyway.  This group is worse.   What a bunch of losers! 

At least this joker Elijah has to go next.  Once we're done laughing at his show I'm sure the judges will award us the victory.  It may not be pretty but a win is a win.

Fourth quarter...

Our prophets may not be very good today, but look what this guy Elijah is doing.  He drenched his alter with water.  In fact the trench around the alter is full of water.  Why did we even schedule this event against this small time, childhood God worshipping nobody.  We should only do these events against the Egyptians and Babylonians.  If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.

What's that guy down there chanting now?  How can his God hear one lone voice.  450 of the best prophets in the land could not tempt our Baal to act.
"O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.  Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back."
BOOOM!!!

Game over...

Wow!  That was awesome.  Forget Jezebel and her prophets.  Elijah is the man.  Yahweh is the God!  Make room for me on this new bandwagon!!!

Friday, August 29, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Deliver us from evil


Matthew 6:13 (ESV)
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Here Jesus asks us to pray that our Father not lead us into temptation.  However, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit did to Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.
Matthew 4:1 (ESV)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We also know that we are going to be tempted throughout the day.  Just turn on the TV, listen to the radio, walk out the front door and you are faced with temptation.  We live in a fallen world with temptation at every turn.  What does it mean to ask God not to lead us into temptation?  Even if we were to move into the desert we could never evade the temptations in our own minds.

There are avoidable temptations.  Maybe this prayer is for God to help keep us from walking down the slippery slope of temptations that we could and should avoid.

We don't have to watch those TV programs or movies that put impure thoughts in our heads, ready to pop out when we least expect it.  We don't have to let ourselves dwell on thoughts of envy, anger, or lust but we do.

The second half of this verse is a prayer for our Father to carry us through the temptations we do face.  These are temptations from the evil in our own hearts and temptations from Satan himself.

This part of the Lord's prayer is a great reminder that we cannot face the temptations of this world alone.  We are promised that we will not face any temptation that is beyond our ability.  However, we are are also taught that we must wear the full armor of God to resist the schemes of the devil.  We can never be so cavalier as to think we can resist the evil in this world on our own.

Jesus added this last verse because evil is real, Satan is real, and we need our Father's protection.

P.S. Are you protecting your own children?

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Take This Road Lord? Really?

This is a guest post from my wonderful wife, Mandy.  She actually wrote it for her own blog but when I reviewed it I asked if I could post it on Seeking Things Above.  For those of you that have been following along on my journey, I think you'll see why I wanted it over here.
Road to Hannahs Hope

Proverbs 3:5 (ESV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Am I going to walk down this road?

I keep asking God this question.

He has told Tony and me that we are going to one day walk down this road. But, I have questions. My number one questions is...

Really?


I know - it's a pretty deep question.

This road is the road that leads from a hotel in Ethiopia to an orphanage called Hannah's Hope.

Really? Is that what you are calling us to do?


I keep questioning this because I have been positive in the past that God is telling me to do one thing, only to lead me in a different direction than I thought. Of course, it has always turned out better and I can see in hindsight what He was doing when I thought I was heading in the first direction. I am fully confident that if this is not what God has planned for us, He will use this to lead us where He really wants us to go. Until then I still ask -

Really?


You have a child that will not have any parents to take care of him and you want to place him in our family?

I don't feel worthy of God allowing our family to participate in this awesome plan. But - Yes, Lord. Please use our family and be glorified through the entire process.

I'm pretty sure there will be some people who question what we are doing. We already have four kids, there are lots of kids in America that needs homes, our family is white and Ethopian babies are black.

Somehow, I think I can handle the critical comments better than the complimentary. What I don't want is to be glorified for what our family has done for this child. This is what God laid on our hearts. He is clear in Scripture that we are to take care of the poor, and He put this adoption on our hearts at the same time. On all of our hearts. The kids started asking for a baby right when God started opening our eyes to this. They are so excited.

I am having a hard time getting excited over this. I just keep waiting for God to tell me this was just step one and He actually wants us to do something else. I want to be excited about adoption. I want to get frustrated with how long the paperwork takes because I just can't wait any longer.

I will trust that God has a sovereign plan and this step is part of it. I can know that if He is going to lead us in another direction before we go through the entire adoption process, then all of this is just part of where He needed to take us first. It will be okay because God is in control. Not me.

Until then, I think I'm ready to get excited about starting this adoption process. I'm getting excited about praying for a child that may not even be conceived right now, and praying for his parents, and for our family that will see that the orphans and the poor are real people that we need to love and take care of. I'm getting excited because I know this child will be a way bigger blessing to our family than we will be to him. And, I'm getting excited about walking down that road to meet a child that God knew long before now and planned to place in our family.

This journey will take us down new roads. I'm ready to see where God leads us.

Really.

- Mandy

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Forgive us our debts


Matthew 6:12 (ESV)
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
My debts are already forgiven.  This is the message of the New Testament.  Good News!  The debt you owe has been paid.  So why is Jesus teaching me to ask for forgiveness of my debts when He has already covered these debts on the cross?

When Jesus died on the cross, he did pay the eternal price for my debts.  If I claim Jesus as my Lord and believe he rose from the dead for my justification, then I am saved from eternal death into eternal life.  However, I still manage to sin everyday.  I still manage to choose my way over God's ways in my thoughts and actions.  My eternal destiny is secure, but my fellowship with my Lord and my fellowship with my brother and sisters in Christ is hindered.

1 John 1:5-10 (ESV)
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I think where I often fail in this part of my prayer life is meditating long enough for God to reveal to me where I am missing the mark.  When I do take the time to listen to God's Spirit in me, He does remind me were I fall short of the glory of God.  For me, these usually fall into the categories of pride and selfishness.

Psalms 139:23-24 (ESV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Prior to thinking about this post and thinking about what to write, I probably would have told you that I don't have a hard time with forgiving others.  I don't lay awake at night harboring ill will towards anyone for a wrong that's been done to me.  I'm an extremely easy going guy and I let most things run off my back.  If I do get upset, I get over it quickly.

However, this word "debt" is interesting.  If I truly forgive someone of a debt (a wrong done to me) then the next time they offend me, shouldn't my reaction be the same as if it is the first time they've offended me?  My problem is, if someone does me wrong a second time, I still remember the first time and I am doubly offended.  Did I really forgive that first debt?

For example, a co-worker upsets me by saying something brash and condescending.  I'm upset but because it's my nature, I get over it and I don't dwell on it.  However, a month later this person says or does something again that irritates me.  It's not just the latest incident that gets under my skin.  It's that incident and all the previous incidents.  It's not one debt but an accumulation of debt.  I've never really wiped clean the previous debt.

I don't know about you, but I don't think under my own power I can really give someone a clean slate over and over, whether I tell myself I forgive them or not.  Each wrong is still accumulated in my thought process.  The debt increases, it never really returns to zero.

Just as the clearing of my debt to God is only possible by the grace of God, my ability to erase the debt caused when others hurt me is also only available by the grace of God.


Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Daily Bread


Matthew 6:11 (ESV)
11 Give us this day our daily bread,

This part of the prayer lesson is often difficult for me.  We're not taught by this world to just ask for what we need today.  What about all my inevitable future needs, like medical expenses, retirement savings, and college tuition for my four children?  How can I only be concerned about just today with all of tomorrow crashing down on me?

Clearly, one of the principles Jesus is teaching His disciples is to focus on today and not to worry about tomorrow.  He makes this point more directly just a few verses further down.

Matthew 6:34 (ESV)
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The other difficulty I have with this lesson however, is the principle of total dependency on God.  I'm often not too concerned about my basic needs today.  Today I have a full pantry and refrigerator, I have a job, and I know I have a safe place to sleep tonight.  As I come to the Father with my needs, what I need just to survive is not on my mind.

Sure, there may be times where that day is in crisis.  However, once the crises passes, I quickly fall into a self-sufficient mind set.  It's this self-sufficient mind set that causes a majority of my prayer life problems.  In fact, it not only hinders my prayers when I pray, it often leads me to not pray at all.

I know that the very air I breathe each day is a gift from God.  I know that anything but total dependency on Him for my daily spiritual, mental,  and physical needs is idolatry.  I know that depending on myself and the circumstances around me is building my house on sand.  I just need to get that knowledge from my brain to be ingrained in my heart.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 (ESV)
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

I can't get this knowledge from my head to my heart on my own.   This is why we need to pray for our daily bread.  Not only for our daily physical needs, but for our daily  Bread of Life.

John 6:35 (ESV)
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

We have the promise, that if we pray for this Bread, our Father will move His word from our head to our heart.

Luke 11:13 (ESV)
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Your Kingdom Come

Matthew 6:10 (ESV)
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus gives the disciples a very interesting instruction in His lesson on prayer.  He tells them to pray for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done on earth just like it is in heaven. What does it mean to pray for God's kingdom to come?

The Pharisees in Jesus day were also looking for God's kingdom to come but they did not recognize it when it arrived.  They were looking for an earthly kingdom and a king to throw out the evil gentiles.  I think we Christians today often fail to see the kingdom in our midst as well.  We can be just as wrapped up in our "religion" as the Pharisees in Jesus' day.
Luke 17:20-21 (ESV)
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
When we pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, we're not asking for God's kingdom to come down to earth, as it is already here.  Maybe this prayer is asking God to open our spiritual eyes and see His kingdom in our midst. How would my prayer life be affected if I really believed and lived like the kingdom of God was here and now?


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Our Father


Matthew 6:9 (ESV)
9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
We all have different people we communicate with during the day.  We have our boss, co-workers, friends, spouses, children and our own parents to name just a few.  The way we communicate with each person depends on our relationship with that person.  When I talk to my boss I'm more reserved and professional than when I talk to my wife (hopefully).

I think for prayer to work right, we have to understand our relationship to God, or at least what that relationship should be.  Jesus' first lesson in this prayer he is teaching His disciples, is that God is our Father and God is to be reverenced as holy.

This seems simple enough.  However, "father" can have many different meanings depending on your own experiences.  We all have our own earthly father and part of our perception of a "father" is based on this experience.  You could have a great father or you could have a father that only brought you pain. 

Whatever type of father you have, he's not God.  He's failed you at some point.  If your a dad like me, you've failed your own children at some point, like me.  So what is a perfect heavenly father like?

Our heavenly Father is a Father that waits for us to turn to Him from our worldly pursuits, and we when we do, He rushes to us to pour out His love and grace.
Luke 15:20-24 (ESV)
20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.
In this parable, the wayward son finally realizes that the life he has chosen has left him feeding slop to pigs and he would be better off as a servant in his father's house.  What he finds is a father that runs to embrace and kiss him when he sees his son coming in the distance.  He does not find a father that says "I told you so."  He does not find a father that is holding a grudge for ruining his good family name.  He does not get accepted back on probationary terms.  He is received back unconditionally and even has a party thrown in his name.

When I come to my heavenly Father to pray, who am I coming to?  Am I coming as a spoiled child that just wants Dad to fix all of my problems?  Am I afraid to come to Him at all because I know I have disappointed Him?  Am I coming to Him because I'm a rule follower and that's what I'm supposed to do (see big brother in passage above)?  Or, am I coming humbly back to my Father, because I know I cannot do this life on my own?

While it is important to know the mercy and grace of my Father, it is just as important not to forget that He is holy.  How often have I taken my parents for granted?  How often have I thought I was smarter than my old man.  Yes, God is a merciful and gracious Father that His Spirit within me calls "Daddy".  However, He is a holy and righteous God that I should come to with exaltation and praise.
Psalms 99:5 (ESV)
5 Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!
If I want my prayers to move from superficial to real, I have to know with whom I am talking.

Monday, August 18, 2008

The Lord's Prayer - Teach Us to Pray


There are quite a few spiritual disciplines where I struggle.  One of them, a rather important one, is prayer.  I don't struggle all the time and I don't struggle in all kinds of prayer.  But overall I have to rate my prayer life a C- at best.

I have no problems praying out loud in a group.  However, I can always find an excuse to not pray out loud when it's just me and my wife.  It makes no sense.

I am terrible when it comes to prayer lists.  Often as I read the requests it feels like I'm just reading a list off to God and it's not coming from my heart.  Sometimes, a certain request will resonate with me and it will feel more personal.  However, it's inconsistent and the next time I read through the list I may feel nothing.  This leads to not bothering to read through the list at all.

At night as I lay down to sleep, if I'm having trouble getting to sleep all I have to do is start praying.  The next thing you know, I'm out like a light.  I sometimes do the same thing with my wife at night.  I don't know if either my wife or God appreciate my dozing off in the middle of our conversations.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

So what do I do about this spiritual weakness? 

I'm going to try to go back to the basics.  What better place to start than the prayer given by Jesus to his disciples when they too may have been struggling with prayer.
Luke 11:1 (ESV)
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
Jesus' disciples came to Him and asked that He teach them to pray.  Did they want Jesus to teach them because they wanted to be more like the disciples of John the Baptist?  Or, did they see Jesus often go off by himself and pray for hours to the Father and did they desire that kind of relationship with God that Jesus modeled for them everyday.

Why do I want learn to pray?  Is it so I can become a prayer warrior?  Or am I really craving a closer relationship with my Father?

I hope it's the latter.

Join me on this series of posts as I search my own heart and look at the prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples when they asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray."


Sunday, August 17, 2008

StumbleUpon Just for a Day

This is not a paid add or otherwise reimbursed plug for any social network. I just wanted to share.

There are lots of reasons to take time during your week to blog.  Many bloggers are trying to make a go of it financially.  I'm not sure how that works.  Most visitors to my blog are other bloggers rather than people looking to buy something.  However, I guess if you get your Google rank high enough and get enough traffic, the numbers work in your favor and you get enough clicks to make some income.

Some bloggers write because they love writing.  Some write as a way of journaling their thoughts.  Some write as way to express their opinions to the world.  I'm sure there are many other reasons to blog. My reasons for blogging are probably most related to the latter two examples.  I blog to journal my thoughts as I seek a closer walk with Jesus.  However, I am also eager to share my views and receive feedback from others that may be now or have walked a  similar journey.

I've had various ads and Amazon links on my site before.  I don't believe anyone ever clicked on them or purchased anything through these ads.  I've since taken them off as I noticed all they seemed to do was slow down my page loads.

Anyway, the point of this long introduction is that I do want visitors to my blog.  I want to share what I'm thinking and hear from others that have an opinion or view, regardless how much it may differ from my own.  In the blogosphere with thousands of blogs, how do you find readers for your blog?

Before joining Entrecard, I probably had anywhere from 1 to 20 visitors in a given day.  With Entrecard, that number quickly increased to 50 to 200 visitors in a day.  Of course, we all know the Entrecard game and most of those visitors are just there to drop.  That's ok though.  From time to time a post may catch someone's eye and they'll stop and read and they may even leave a comment.  I do the same myself.

Suddenly, last Wednesday, I had a crazy day of activity on my blog.  The hits spiked to 1,300.  The craziness actually started on Tuesday with 700 hits and then faded on Thursday with only 400.  By Friday, life on Seeking Above was back to normal.

So what caused all this increase in traffic?  StumbleUpon.  For some reason, a post from July 1, Radical Christianity, had caught on in the StumbleUpon circuit and increased traffic to my site 10X.  I don't know if many folks were stopping to actually read the post, but Seeking Above gained quite a bit of exposure that day, at least compared to what I had seen in the past.


I used to Stumble all of my new posts myself, just to try and get my blog on the StumbleUpon circuit.  I guess StumbleUpon sees that as spam and they no longer accept a post from my own site.  I can understand this limit as a way to prevent spam.  However, now I'm dependent on other bloggers to Stumble my posts for me.

Traffic is back to normal now.  I have plenty of other posts that have been Stumbled, so I am not sure why one post really took off last week.  However, I still see a steady stream of StumbleUpon traffic, just nothing like a thousand in a day.

I don't know why others blog.  However, I am going to assume that most of my blogging friends out there do want other people to know about their site and enjoy new visitors, either just to share or maybe to make some income.  Whatever the case, I'm now a strong believer in StumbleUpon (in addition to Entrecard) as a great source to let others know about interesting blogs.  One of my routines now, as I visit other blogs, is to make sure I Stumble all the good posts and especially my Entrecard favorites.

If you come across a post here that you like, comment if you want to share and have the time. However, if you just want to show some blogging love, Stumble it with a Thumbs Up!

Grace and Peace.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Rescue Me

Psalms 6:1-10 (ESV)
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? 6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
It has been a while since my spirit has grieved like David talks about in this Psalm.  However, I have been there.  Maybe not with men wanting to kill me, but certainly with Satan wanting to destroy me and my family.

It's interesting to note that in many of David's psalms of distress, he starts with painful and fearful laments, but he ends with confidence and encouragement. He knows God is still listening and God will answer his prayers. I think that's how God wants us to come to him.

God wants us to lay it all out there, our pain, our sorrow, our fears, and our doubts.  As we pour out our hearts, if we also take the time to pause and just listen, God is faithful to respond.  Your worldly troubles will probably not vanish instantly, although they may, but God's Spirit will comfort  you, so you too can end your prayer with confidence, encouragement, and praise.

I do wonder, does God respond when we hold back?  If I talk to Him like an acquaintance, that I don't want to bother with how much I really hurt, will I be able to receive His comforting presence?  Or, will He hold back, until I bring Him everything?

Father, forgive me for my unfaithfulness, and sometimes my pride, that keeps me from pouring out my heart to you.  Thank you for always being faithful, for always hearing my plea, and for accepting my insufficient prayers.


Monday, August 11, 2008

Ignorance is No Excuse


Ignorance is not bliss. It can actually be quite dangerous. See if you can follow me as I point out two examples.

This weekend a verse came to my mind. It was not one of the very few that I have memorized (I am convicted to do much better at this). It was one that I probably heard quoted in a sermon sometime but I don't know when. The gist of what I remembered was, "to whom little is given, little is expected and to whom much is given, much is expected."

As I thought about this passage I thought about how much Christians in other countries have little but have to suffer much and how Christians in this country, that have much, suffer little. I started to find myself on my soapbox again about how God has given Christians much in this country and expects much, yet we give little compared to our persecuted brother and sisters around the world.

I went to look up this passage that I roughly remembered so I could write a blog post on this conviction I was feeling. I found the verses in Luke 12:42-48.
Luke 12:42-48 (ESV)
42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Imagine my surprise. What I thought I was remembering as scripture is not really there. Now I'm not saying that American Christians should not be convicted to do more to support their persecuted brothers and sisters. Actually, more than likely, our own time will come. My point is, I was making up scripture in my head based on some input I had received somewhere. That's dangerous.

The second example of ignorance being dangerous comes right from this scripture that I mis-remembered (Roger Clemens taught me that word).

This passage talks about rewarding the faithful steward (v 43) and punishing the one that actively abuses others (v 46) and the one that knows God's will for their life but does not act on it (v 47). However, the one that is ignorant of God's will for their life is punished as well (v 48).

I'm going to assume that most of you are not purposely abusing and hurting others. However, how many of us ignore God's calling for our lives because we prefer our own course? How many of us don't know God's calling for our lives?

I heard a sermon from John Piper the other day titled Holy Ambition. Do you know yours? Ignorance is no excuse.


Zemanta Pixie

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Prayer for Moses


Those of you that are new to Seeking Above may not be familiar with Moses.  You can read more about him on these two posts:

God has answered our first prayer, as Moses' surgery was successful.  The doctors cut a tendon from one part of his wrist and wrapped it around to the back of his wrist with the hope that he'll have some use of his hand.  Moses was a real warrior, not taking much pain medicine and now is working hard on rehab.  The rehab is probably the most important part of the whole procedure.


We went through quite a few ups and downs with Moses living with us.  He's a very proud 12-year old and we had some confrontations with boundaries.  At one point he told us he did not want to live with us anymore.  However, he eventually settled in, and I think like most young boys, he actually appreciates the boundaries (although he'll never admit it).

About a month after the surgery he was ready to start physical therapy.  This includes three trips to the physical therapist each week and home exercises each night.  The trips to the therapist have proven to be a challenge, as we live out in the country and the clinic is in town.  While we have volunteers from the church to help take him on these therapy sessions, there is not an easy way for someone to pick him up or for us to get him to them.

To help with the therapy sessions we have asked if anyone else at the church wants to sponsor Moses for the rest of his stay here in the U.S.  We've had a few takers so he'll be staying with other people here and there for the next six weeks.

For the last two weeks Moses has been staying with another family that lives in town.  However, he's coming back to our place tomorrow.  Our family and he are anxious to get back together again.  He'll be here a week and then spend a week with another family and then we'll see what happens from there.

Moving around to different families may be the best thing for him for these last few weeks for more than just therapy reasons.  As expected, our family and Moses have developed some strong bonds and it's going to be difficult on everyone when he has to go back to Liberia.  He calls me Dad and my wife Mom.

Obviously, the question is, why don't we adopt Moses into our family.  Especially since we've already committed ourselves to international adoption.  There are two main reasons at this point.  One, we really do not want to alter the birth order of our children when we adopt.  Moses is older than all of our other kids.  I am especially concerned with displacing our oldest son as the oldest child.  This is an issue we keep in prayer.  The second issue is that Liberia is currently not processing new adoptions. This is a fickle issue with international adoptions so this could change anytime.

We're tentatively scheduled to take Moses back to Liberia at the end of September.  I'll be going with our head pastor and another brother from our church.  Moses is not excited at all about going back in September.  The original plans were to go back in October and he wants all the time here he can get.  He is very excited that I'll be making the trip with him.

We have a few goals on this trip.  One of the guys going is an engineer.  He's going to review a bid to build a government required fence (current bid is $15,000).  If we can't get this fence built, the government will shut down the orphanage.  He will also be looking at their well and buildings to see what else can be done to improve things for the orphanage, school, and church.

I'm going because I have to go see, touch, and love on the kids in the orphanage.  God's talking to my heart about the global poor.  I don't know all that he wants me to do.  However, I do know that he wants me to go and see it in person.  In my own mind, what  I want to do is come back and fire up our church and anyone else that will listen to get out of their pews and into the real world.  I anxiously wait to see God's plans.

Please pray:
  • For Moses' therapy to continue to strengthen his hand so that he can have a functioning left hand for the first time in his life

  • For God to provide Moses a family - this is Moses' deepest prayer

  • For a new fence for the orphanage so that it does not lose its government license

  • For our church as we seek to figure out a long-term strategy for supporting the orphanage, school and church in Liberia (we are looking into a sponsorship program so that church members can sponsor a child through a organization like Bright Point)

  • For my family as we look at international adoptions and also that we hear God clearly if Moses does happen to be the child he has for us, regardless of birth order and Liberia adoption difficulties

  • For the global poor and the global orphans, yes, those in our own country as well

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Deuteronomy 26:13 (ESV)
13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, 'I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Prayer for the Church

John 17:20-21 (ESV)
20 "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Are you ever awestruck that the Son of God, who holds the entire universe together, prayed for you and me before we ever existed.  Jesus prayed for those of us who would believe in Him through the words of the apostles.  Amazing.  Of course not long after this prayer He did an even more amazing thing for you and me.  He allowed Himself to be crucified for our sins.

I am frustrated sometimes because of the lack of unity in the Church.  I guess it should not be too surprising. While we are forgiven sinners, we are still sinners.  However, we do have the Spirit within us, so we have a great hope.

I read an encouraging post on Sheepleblog where the author, Derek, shares the struggles he faced as a pastor.  He makes a statement in his post that I want to share here:
“I am anticipating the days ahead because I know that Jesus is still the head of His church; He is actively building His church; and it is He who is the author of that desire within each true believer to connect with His people in order to become that “house of living stones”.
This is my hope and my dream.  I am confident in this hope because it is my own Lord's prayer.



Monday, August 4, 2008

The Days of Our Lives

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
Our days are slipping by like sand through an hourglass.  There's nothing we can do about it.  Each day may be our last.  Each day is for sure, one day closer to our last.

How do you think about death or do you not think about it at all?  It's probably not healthy to dwell on it.  After all, we still have our life to live with each day that God gives us.  However, I'm not so sure it is wise to ignore it until you come face to face with it - either for yourself or a loved one.

My dad worked as a hospice chaplain after he retired from the Army.  He spent many years ministering to people and their families as they faced death.  Shortly before he died, he wrote a book, Lessons from the Shadows of Death. This book describes the lessons he learned from the patients and the families he served.  As he was finishing his book, he was diagnosed with leukemia.  Within two years, he passed away under hospice care himself.

My parents tried to market and sell the book before my dad died.  I'm not sure if they ever sold any copies.  They never had any intentions of making much money on the proceeds.  My dad's real desire was to share the lessons he learned with the rest of us, as we will all walk through the shadow of death at some point.

So, as with his other book, Blind Faith, I am posting Lessons from the Shadows of Death, online.  I hope to be posting one or two stories a week.  Please stop by and take a look.  I hope these stories touch your heart as you read how people, just like you and me, walk through the shadows of death.