Archive for April, 2008
Bible in a Year… Day 78 (Genesis 44-47)
April 20th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in » Bible in a Year
For the past three Sundays, Bible in a Year readings have focused on the story of Joseph. Today, we get the conclusion… Joseph is able to rescue his family from famine and death following the long chain of events that began with his brothers selling him into slavery.
Genesis 45:1-13 (NIV)
1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me — you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
12“You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”
Isn’t it an amazing thing how God uses all circumstances to accomplish His will? Even the vilest of sin can work for God’s purposes.
I wonder if we really spend enough time thinking about the concept of God’s sovereignty in all things? I wonder how our perspectives on circumstances and situations would change if we had more of an understanding of this? Wouldn’t we have more peace in our hearts in difficult times? Wouldn’t we look to the future with hopeful expectation, knowing God’s working will surely be revealed in time?
What do you think?
Geocaching!
April 20th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Geocaching, My Life / Family, Pictures
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon trying out something new as a family… geocaching! It’s an absolute blast, highly recommended for families! There’s just something special about tromping through the woods with the family toward an unknown prize. The kids are excited to find each cache, and love the unknown element of what will be hidden in each cache. Nancy and I just enjoyed being outdoors doing something new with the kids.
If you’ve never heard of geocaching, the basic concept is this: various people have hidden “caches” in locations all throughout the nation. GPS coordinates for each cache are saved and published on the geocaching.com website, and are available for everyone who registers to obtain them. To participate, you simply input the coordinates of a cache into your GPS and go find it! Once you do, there will be a log to sign in the cache (generally some sort of waterproof container), as well as items you can take (provided you replace what you take with something new). It’s kind of like a worldwide scavenger hunt.
Whatever the case, it’s a lot of fun. It gets you outside where you can truly enjoy God’s creation, and it takes you to a lot of cool places you’d never see otherwise. We’ll definitely be going again!
Anyway, here’s pictures from our outing yesterday.
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Bible in a Year… Day 76
April 18th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Two Fridays ago, I was sitting alongside Lake Taneycomo, fishing with some other men from my church, enjoying God’s creation. Last Friday, I felt it far more important to post about the Pesina family and the dream that was developing to give them a home than to continue with my daily posting schedule.
Tonight, I find myself two weeks behind on my Friday Bible in a Year readings, and I’m playing catch-up, reading Matthew 23-28 and Mark 1-2.
Thoughts follow.
Matthew 23:1-4 (NIV)
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Matthew 23:23-24 (NIV)
23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Matthew 23:27-28 (NIV)
27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Of all the people Jesus ministered to, Jesus was most harsh on the Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of their day… they were the ones who were supposedly holy and right before God… and they were the ones who were most deceived.
I wonder if Jesus were to come today if He would point to the church and admonish us as He did the Pharisees in this passage? “They do not practice what they preach.” “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” “You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”
I wonder sometimes if we have totally missed the boat with our particular brand of Christianity here in America. So often we build beautiful churches for us to sit in and worship God… and ignore everyone outside our stained-glass walls. If we do go outside, we search out people who look just like us, blind to the needs of those who need the Lord most because we’re uncomfortable that they don’t look and act just like us. And we wonder why God doesn’t bring revival to our land? How pleasing can our worship and offerings really be to Him?
I don’t mean to rant about the all churches and all believers… there is good there without a doubt. If anything, perhaps I’m ranting about tendencies I see in myself. It’s just that reading a passage like Matthew 23, I can’t help but wonder how Jesus would react if He came to America today and observed us for a while.
What about you? What do we need to do differently as the church to truly worship and serve God as we should? What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong?
Anyone?
Update on Pesina Family…
April 17th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in » Church Stuff..., God at Work, In the News...
Quick update… we held our first informational meeting tonight in regard to our vision of helping the Pesina family. Details can be found here.
Bible in a Year… Day 71 (Genesis 40-43)
April 13th, 2008 | Comments Off | Posted in » Bible in a Year, Christian Living, My Life / Family
Given the time I’m spending with our efforts to help the Pesina family, my Bible in a Year blogging efforts may be a bit spotty. If you’ve been following along, please try to stay on top of your readings even if I don’t have posts up. Again, the reading plan can be found here.
Today’s reading was from Genesis 40-43, where we learn more of the story of Joseph. In previous chapters, he had been sold into slavery by his brothers… his father believing him dead.
We pick up in chapter 40, where Joseph, under God’s guidance, interprets dreams. Joseph’s response to the predicament of the cupbearer and baker is interesting:
Genesis 40:8 (NIV)
8“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Did you catch that?
It’s called faith.
Joseph heard their problem, recognized that God could help by using him to interpret their dreams… and basically said, “alright, let’s go… God will help”.
Joseph’s response is one I can relate to right now… it’s what we’re doing in helping the Pesinas. We’re not interpreting dreams, of course… but we are seeing a need, recognizing that God can meet it, and stepping out in faith waiting for God to provide.
You see, Joseph had no assurance… no guarantee… not even any clear-cut communication that God would do what Joseph needed Him to do. But Joseph had faith, and God met him in mid-leap.
We have no clear-cut assurance that God will answer our prayers and meet the needs of the Pesina family as we envision. But we have faith, and we have complete confidence God will catch us now that our feet have left the ground.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a Christian, it’s that faith is required for God to do anything… certainly anything big. We’ve got to step out, take risks, and simply trust that God will be there to meet our needs. It’s scary sometimes… no doubt. But it’s utterly thrilling to see God working, surpassing all our hopes and expectations.
HelpThePesinas.com
April 12th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff..., God at Work, In the News..., My Life / Family, Prayer Requests
After quite a bit of thought and prayer (and a lot of encouragement from Jodi Brager’s contagious enthusiasm!), we’re launching an effort to help the Pesina family. Please check it out at HelpThePesinas.com.
We’ve heard a lot of encouraging things today, as Jodi has made a LOT of phone calls. We’ve heard that the landlord of the home the Pesinas lived in likes the family so much that they’re considering selling the lot to the Pesina family at a very reasonable price (if not flat-out donating it) to help the family get into a home of their own. We’ve heard that local media is willing to help promote our efforts to get them into a new home. We’ve heard from pastors in the area who are willing to share this need with their congregations and help out where possible. We’ve even had people come up out of the blue to give money to help!
It’s just amazing to watch God work.
We wait with anticipation to see what He’ll do each moment. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, as this need will be presented in churches across our area. To be honest, I’m not sure how we’ll handle it if we’re overwhelmed at the outpouring of support… but that’s the kind of problem we’d LOVE to have.
Anyway, news about the effort will shift to the new site from here forward.
Fellow bloggers? I hate to beg for help, but please promote this effort on your site if you’d be so kind!
Help for the Pesinas…
April 11th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Church Stuff..., God at Work, In the News..., Prayer Requests
As I mentioned yesterday, a tornado touched down in St. Joseph last night, destroying the home of a family whose children have been attending our church. Today, my friend Jodi Brager and a number of others (including my wife Nancy) have been rallying to help them out.
It’s time to dream big, Christians. Be in prayer about this, but here’s something Jodi and I talked about tonight…
Ever seen Extreme Home Makeover? Or the work Habitat for Humanity does?
Why can’t we do this as the church? We have a need… a home for the Pesina family… we have a large number of people wanting to help… why can’t we rally to meet this family’s need and provide not just a place to live, but a home of their own? If ever there were a family in need, this is it… a husband, wife, and nine beautiful children.
Pray about it with me, Jodi, and others here in St. Joseph, and let’s see where God leads. Check back here or at Jodi’s blog for more as plans develop.
For now, here’s a few things of interest:
Donations are currently being taken to support the family. Southside Youth Outreach is coordinating this:
Southside Youth Outreach
P.O. Box 4382
St. Joseph, MO 64504
(816) 383-4315
News coverage:
- KQ2: “Family Escapes Toppled House”
- KQ2: “A Family Recovers Whatever’s Possible”
- St. Joe News Press: Strong Storms Pummel St. Joseph’s South Side
- St. Joe News Press: “Picking up the Pieces”
- (more to come later… KQ2 did a story on their 10:00 news that is not yet available online)