Something Wild

So I am still in the first part of Mark, and I have gotten to verse 3 and 4, both of which make references to the wilderness. This prompted me to investigate wilderness. The dictionary describes wilderness as an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region, a neglected or abandoned area of town, and a position of disfavor.

Then I thought about how the people of God interact with the wilderness.

First, Abraham was called from the city to go to the wilderness. Back in that time, Abraham was wealthy, but his wealth put him in a precarious position. He was wondering as a nomad with no land, no family, and the area was ruthless. God did protect and provide for Abraham in the wilderness, and even made him prosperous. Also, in the wilderness, he encountered God who promised that through Abraham the nations would be blessed, and specifically, that Abraham would have a son. His wilderness experience was not without trials and stressful situations. He had to rescue his nephew, he had to send his biological son away, and he had to continually wander without a destination. Sometimes, God's calling on our lives will lead us into a wilderness experience. In those times, we need to be faithful to God by remembering His promises and trusting in His leadership.

Second, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt into the wilderness. This was a passage to get to the promised land, and required much faith in God. This was not an easy passage, and usually when God is calling, it's not easy. However, it is always worth the struggle. Sometimes, the struggle's ending is not fully realized until the end of time. This passage seemed impossible. The land was inhospitable, but amidst the wilderness, God provided a way for the people to eat and to drink. However, God did only give them their daily nourishment. In the same way, when we are going through the wilderness in our lives, we need to remember to lean on God daily, and not worry about the future. Another thing to learn here is that the Isreaelites had to stay longer than they needed to in the wilderness. It was because of their sin. They had lost sight and faith of God, even through the miracles of manna, quail and water. It is easy to judge them, but honestly, don't we do the same thing? We complain and grumble about our jobs, or our current situation, even when surrounded by God's blessing and grace, and then we search for other gods. Ours just have different names, like Netflix (mine). It's time to lay our idols down and get back to worshiping God.

Third, Jesus had lots of experiences in the wilderness. He was tested and tempted in the wilderness, and sometimes, he went off to the wilderness to spend time praying to His Father. In His example, we see that we need to know the Word of God to defeat temptations while in the wilderness, we need to pray and connect to the Father while in the wilderness, and we also need to be able to accept help when we need it. Jesus did all of these things.

Wilderness in the Bible shows up as a space where identities shift, possibilities occur, nourishment happens, revelations come, temptations come knocking, a place of solitude, and a place of danger. I think that while we are on this earth, we are in the wilderness. We are searching for the promised land. We know it is coming, but sometimes, we feel as though we find it, but it's just a trap. To stay on track and reach God's Promised Land, we need to be in our Bibles daily, in prayer constantly, and focused on God's calling in our life.

I think it is of no coincidence that my daughter, Sasha, has recently found the song "Something Wild" and listens to it often. She created a video with it in the background. While, I don't think it's the most theologically correct song to accompany this post, it does have an interesting message. It's basically says that when we plan our lives and it lets us down that we try to find another way, or when the city lights are blinding, or you can't see the stars, that the WILD is calling at you. What I take this to mean is that a person hearing the wild calling them is not in the right place yet. This is true. Almost all of us can relate to feeling the drain of every day life and how we want so much more than what we are doing.  I believe this feeling is God given, and can be achieved by listening to Him and finding the way that He wants you to go. It is scary to be called into the wilderness, but remember this: Making it to God's promised land is worth it.

I have provided the video of the song below. Enjoy!

Like Grass

Today, I started a new plan for devotional / Bible intake. Basically, to study the Word starting at 6pm. This is an intentional effort for the kids to see me in the Bible, ask me questions, for me to ask them questions, and all that. It is not formal, just reading The Bible near them and around what they are doing (as opposed to waiting til they go to bed). 

That being said, where I started was Mark 1:1-14 in conjunction with Francis Chan’s new study on Mark. I got to verse 3, and I saw a link to Isaiah 40:3. Feeling the Spirit’s prompting through a need to investigate that passage (over Malachi 3:1 which is also referenced), I flipped to Isaiah 40:3. 

That particular passage starts the comforting part of Isaiah’s message. Verses 3-5 is a quote that predicts the coming Messiah. However, verse 6 caught my eye which tells Isaiah to cry out to which Isaiah asks what to cry out. 

To put this in perspective, the Bible spoke to people in the past as well as to us now. It was not written only for the future, but at the time. For Isaiah, he wanted to know what to tell the people. Before God speaks, what is going through Isaiah’s mind. Take a moment, what’s going through your’s?

I knew that whatever came next was extremely important and would explain everything. In a way, I was right, but still unexpected. 

“A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”” Isaiah 40:6-8 

Wow. Humbling. Basically, we are all like grass. Weak. Frail. Cow food. Here for a short time. I love when winter comes. I can stop mowing the grass because it’s dead. I don’t know what your lawn looks like, but when mine has “flowers” the kids love to pick them.  The best of us is like flowers of the field. The flowers the kids pick are weeds. That’s the best we can do as people: be pretty weeds. Who we are, what we do, where we live, all of that withers and fades.

The first part of Isaiah’s message to cry is, well, depressing, but it’s not over. The last phrase says “the word of our God remains forever.” After verse 8, there is talk of spreading this good news from the mountaintops and our cities. Basically, preaching how great God is. This is what people are to preach and practice: the greatness of God.

Now, more good news. 1 Peter also quotes this passage, and if you read 1 Peter 1:23 it says, ““because you have been born again — not of perishable seed but of imperishable — through the living and enduring word of God.” Peter is saying that yes, we are like grass, but now, we are like grass that has had their seed replaced by the living Word of God, and we can never fade away. 

Jesus came as the living Word of God. He died and was raised again on the third day. If we believe in Him and His work, we will have a heart change. With His Word in our hearts, we can show others and tell others of our great God through the power of Jesus Christ.

The message hasn’t changed. Our God is great! The message is now delivered by those who were once weak, frail, and fading. The grass we are now needs to spread. You could say it’s a grass roots campaign. Spread the Word: God is great!

The Journey (Part 1)

In the past few weeks, our family has learned the truths of a hard journey that has been laid before us. This is not to say we did not know the path was going to be easy, but hearing confirmation from professionals has focused our knowledge to just how difficult the summer may be. This coming trial, tribulation, crucible, calling, trouble (pick or discern whichever word you like with this type of definition, it applies) requires contemplation in reference to God's Word.

However, at first, to be honest, I minimized my suffering. I considered that I am a professional, and when I give advice or perform services, I am providing guidance where no guidance can be understood, learned or found, due to professional judgement. I avoided feeling useless and powerless by acknowledging all the capabilities of the professionals involved. While there is some comfort in the skills of professionals, there is a reason for feelings and emotion, and I should not be so easy to avoid those feelings.

My avoidance became obvious through the ministry of song. Specifically, the song "It is well" as performed by Bethel Music and Kristene DiMarco. After a few listens, I realized that I had not fully relied upon the Father in relation to the upcoming events. It caused a crack in my armored heart. Another song that acted as a crowbar, and kept breaking open my heart was "What a friend we have in Jesus." Then, this morning, I heard Mac Powell and Laura Story sign "Open Arms" and knew I needed to deload my arms in order for Him to use them.

This blog (Journey series) is my attempt to work through my feelings instead of avoiding them. This also could show how I am giving those emotions acknowledgement and dealing with them in relation to the Scriptures. In Hebrews 10:25, the writer suggests that believers of Jesus need to encourage and spur one another to good works. Hopefully, this blog may also serve others who may experience hardships and help them find the solace that Jesus Christ offers to all that trust in Him.

So... I guess I need to write about something I'm feeling, eh?

• I feel useless. I am actually unable to be able to perform any necessary medical procedures in order to help my son. 
• I feel powerless. This is slightly harder to define. Because I have to rely on the medical experts, I really have no power in what procedures he receives. While we do have to approve the procedures, the alternative is not an acceptable one.
• I feel afraid. The future is unknown with my little boy. There are so many issues that are arising that it is causing a state of fear with regard to what else may happen.

For these emotions to the avoided, I transferred them into a state of apathy and, eventually, anger. It was not that I did not care, but it may have appeared that way, in order for me to be able to carry on my duties as a father, provider, and comforter. Pushing the emotions away was able to help my focus on work and school. Unfortunately, the unfelt emotions began to stir into anger at the whole situation. There seemed to be so much anger just under my surface, which has become easy to draw out. Much of the anger is related to the reasons behind my son's ailment. There is forgiveness, but the anger still churns because he is not healed. I have become more agitated with my wife, kids, and pets, through no fault of their own, and I need to do something about my harsh attitude to minor infractions. I am attempting to find a conduit to release the anger, but it is difficult. One of my hopes is that getting this on paper will help evacuate the emotions from their buried depths and discuss them fully on the surface to eliminate a culmination of anger.

While I have not discussed this with anyone, Greg Logan, my best friend, has always been a proponent of being a servant when not knowing what to do. This is sage advice, and we can see the example of Christ as a servant through his life n the New Testament. While this may be a distracting tactic, I think that following Jesus' method of service can be helpful. Anger does not help my relationship with God, but service does. My aim in the coming weeks is to try to focus on serving my wife and kids in order to draw close to Jesus' example. If I can get to a place where my heart is full of service toward others, maybe this attitude and Christ-likeness will allow me to cope with my anger through daily forgiveness and prayer. Being more like Christ is probably not a bad thing.

One thing that I do want to say is that I am not without hope. I do not feel hopeless. God has always been with me through the ups and downs of adoption, job insecurity, foster care, college, and... you get the picture. Paul puts it well in Romans 15:4 - " For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." I remember what God has done for me, what He has done for the Israelites, and what He has done for the world through His death and resurrection. This hope is in the process of being strengthened, as Romans 5:3-4 states, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." 

Economies of God

A few weeks ago, Randy asked if I could deliver a sermon due to his knee surgery. I told him I'd be out of my comfort zone, which is kinda the point of him asking me. I agreed. Well, a week ago, I was preparing and practicing the sermon, and Kelly, my wife, left me to watch Baby A, while she went to get groceries. Baby A got to hear it first, but not all of it, because Kelly came back 45 minutes later, and I had not finished. I guess I really am Baptist.

In trying to name this lesson, at first, it was the laws of supply and demand, but that seemed a little too much like what I am studying for the CPA exam. We are dealing with supply and demand, but from a larger view point, it will be about the economies of God.

Also, I kept searching for an economics joke to open with, but there’s just no demand for them... as you can see why. (Haha).

Two major factors in economics are the laws of supply and demand. Put simply, Demand is the desire for a product, and desire will decrease as price increases. For example, there are two minivans, one being 20,000, one being 30,000, all things being equal, most would opt for the 20,000 minivan due to price lowering our demand for the 30,000 minivan. Supply is the amount available, and as more supply is available, the higher the price. Seems funny, but think about MP3 players when they first came out, there were hundreds of types, and they were all $300 or more. Now, supply has dwindled (Zune and iPod) and the price has also dropped to around $50.

In tonight’s Scripture, which is various passages in 1 Kings 16-18, we will see God’s use of supply and demand in three different ways.

1 Kings 17:1

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

1 - Providence - Webster defines providence as divine guidance or care

Sometimes, demand can be influenced by supply. Think about gasoline prices. When a world event occurs, like war in the Middle East, the supply of gasoline can appear to decrease, however, our need for usage stays the same, there a mass rush to the gas stations to ensure we don’t run out. So the price will increase, and we will pay it. The law of demand still applies. If the price of gas gets too high, we will consider using electric vehicles, commuting, or other options to avoid being gouged.

In the same way God uses the restriction of supply to increase our demand for Him. Let’s look to the Bible to find out why God may do this.

1 Kings 16:29-30

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.

So, a brief history of 1 Kings is important here. Chapters 1 - 11 are about Solomon, then Rehoboam takes the reigns, and the decline begins. Chapters 12 - 16 are about the kings of Judah and Israel, and their continued rebellion against God.

30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.

A - Sin

We get to see a little more of Ahab’s story than the others, and it doesn’t start off well. He was deemed to do more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.

In auditing, we have to assess the risk of a company’s control environment, and one of those components is to evaluate the upper management’s integrity. For example, if the owner of a small business is using the Company’s bank account to pay for his groceries, that assessment of integrity would be low, and the company would be at more risk for fraudulent activity. Why? The owner’s actions are not unseen by employees, which may cause them to follow in the owner’s footsteps.

Well, this is the problem with Israel. The man in charge, the king, is supposed to be the appointed leader by God to rule. When the people of Israel see their king’s actions, it encourages them to follow and act the same way.

This assessment is called Tone at the Top. Fathers and mothers, in our homes, we are the tone at the top. Our children will follow in our footsteps. We need to tell our children of God’s faithfulness in our lives, what He has done for us, introduce them to grace and forgiveness, teach them His ways and commandments, and demonstrate what God’s love looks like when is is lived, because that’s what we want for them.

1 Kings 16:31a

31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat…

B - Apathy

I chose the NIV version, because it uses the word “trivial” which means of little worth or importance. Basically, he didn’t care that he was sinning. A sense of apathy. This did not happen overnight for Ahab. He had many kings before him leading Israel down the path of sin. Like a tide eroding a beach over time, evil kept happening that it eventually eroded Israel’s morality. Sound familiar? I think this is currently happening in the world today. Popular opinions are creating laws which are trying to override what Scripture clearly calls out as sin. As men and women of God, we need to avoid falling into the popular opinion trap. We need to care about sin and avoid it. Psalms 51:4 says that sin is an attack upon God.

Another way to trivialize sin is to compare it with other sins. From white lies to outbursting in anger against the car that just cut you off to murder, all sin is equal before God, and we need to avoid anything that even appears like it. 1 Timothy 3:2 say we need to be above reproach. That means no one could mistake what we are doing as sin. It is a pretty high standard, and we are fail, but by the grace of God we can get back up and try again. I really like how this writer put it: Sins are like snakes. Some are poisonous, some are not. It is best to avoid all snakes to avoid being poisoned. I take this to mean that if something looks like it could be a sin, stay away from it.

1 Kings 16:31b-33

...but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

I did have 4 points, and the third one was about "getting married" but I decided that was an inappropriate use of Scripture. (haha)

C - Idolatry

Ahab, as a king, was concerned for his people’s well-being and future. Rain is needed in their arid climate for the growth of crops. He met Jezebel, and she introduced him to this foreign god. This god is listed as Baal in the Bible, but at that time, the full name of the god was Baal-hadad. Baal-hadad was a storm god whose power was to bring the rain. Ahab was tempted to follow this god, due to the promise of safety. Basically, he made a decision out of fear that God would not provide. He hedged his bet by worshiping both gods, which is idolatry.

Again, another lesson from Ahab. Be mindful of what sustains you. Ahab was so concerned about the physical well being of his people that he was tempted and fell for the false promise of Satan. Satan will promise something that appears to be good, but ends up causing us to sin. This is why we have to take things to Scripture and prayer, lest we fall into the same trap. God will always allow us a way out, and many times, the way out is through communication with Him.

So, we have finally caught up to Elijah when he declares that no rain will come to the land, unless by his say so. Doesn’t God have a great sense of humor? This Baal-hadad is the storm god, and God sends a prophet that proclaims a drought. Basically, God’s providence here is that the people are relying upon Baal-hadad for the rain, and God stops the rain, so the people will realize Baal-hadad for a god with no power, and return to the one true God, and only to Him for provision. For a brief glimpse into what a drought meant for the people back then, Jeremiah 14 describes it as full of despair, ashamed people, forsaken people, and basically, hopelessness. Isn’t that about right? Without God, this world is hopeless. This drought went on for three years. We will come back to Chapter 17 in a moment, but right now, we are going to skip into Chapter 18 to finish God’s providential call to the people of Israel.

In Chapter 18, summarized, Elijah challenges Ahab to determine which god has the power. Some 850 prophets show up on Baal’s side, and Elijah shows up as the prophet of God. Basically, there will be an altar with a bull sacrifice, and the prophets will ask their god to send down fire. The people of Israel surround the area to watch. Elijah lets the prophets of Baal go first. They chant, dance, and cry out for Baal’s fire from early morning until evening. Baal never answers. He can't. He doesn't have any power.

So Elijah, rebuilds the altar of the Lord, with 12 stones, and a trench filled with 12 jugs of water. It is a very symbolic picture of a rebuilding of the faith of twelve tribes of Israel. Elijah asks God one time to show his power, and boom. The altar, the bull, the water, the stones, the wood, and the soil are all consumed by the fire. This is not a natural occurrence, only this could be done by God Almighty. The people begin to worship at 1 Kings 18:39. And God’s call to the people of Israel has been completed.

2 - Provision - Webster defines as the action of providing or supplying something for use.

God will increase supply to sustain those who follow Him and His commands. Let’s look to Chapter 17 to see this in action.

Immediately after announcing the drought, Elijah is led into the wilderness to a brook, where God uses ravens to carry food to him. So amidst the drought, God finds a place for Elijah to have both food and water. Again, God is showing his comedic nature by having a group of ravens (which is called an unkindness) to help Elijah. This is another showing of God’s power over the natural world. The word unkindness reminds me of the first point in that, something may seem unkind, like a drought, but its ultimate purpose was to bring back the people to God. We may go through something that we think is unkind, but in the end, is the most loving thing God could do, which is call us back to Himself.

The brook eventually dries up, and Elijah is directed to Zaraphath, which is a Sidonian town, where Jezebel is from. So Elijah is in a foreign city, and he meets a widow. He asks for some water and food. She explains that she barely has enough for her and her son, and expects to die soon, due to the drought. Elijah explains that if she listens to him, that God will not allow her supplies to run out.

Did you catch that? As long as we are listening to God’s voice (which is what a prophet was back then), He will supply all of our needs. I am sure she was perplexed. I know I have been. But I have also seen and experienced God taking close to nothing and stretching it longer than I have thought possible.. As an auditor, I work on 401(k) plans, and the testing on a 2008 audit revealed a decrease of 50% in the stock market. In the midst of this economic crisis, we were in the middle of our first adoption. The fees ended up being well more than expected, and I needed a loan, and knowing the current climate and my financial situation, I figured this was going to fall through. However, I got through to a loan agent, explained the situation, and he granted us the loan we needed to allow for the adoption, and for Kelly to stay home from work while Sasha was a newborn. How we found our house, our second adoption, the car we needed, the list goes on and on. I have learned that as long as I follow Him, He will provide for me.

So the widow follows Elijah’s request, relying upon God’s promise, and guess what? He provides.

3 - Power - Webster defines as a great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.

God allows followers to access His power over supply and demand.

Lastly, we will look at the power of God. It has been displayed in the above situations, but is ultimately expressed at the end of Chapter 17.

Eventually, the widow’s son gets sick and dies. Again, this is a foreign nation where Baal-hadad is worshiped. Another interesting thing about Baal-hadad is that he had to submit to the god of death, Mot. The common thought of the people at this time was that during the dry season, Baal-Hadad would have to die, which is why the season would be dry. This is a result of how ancient cultures would attribute these climate changes to favorability with the gods. Interestingly, in this case, this culture believed that the gods had to die, submit to death, who was seen at the ultimate power.

So back to the widow and her son. She blames the death of her son on Elijah. Elijah takes the son, and prays to God.

This is a pivotal point in the widow’s story. She has grown up in a polytheistic society, believing that all gods are subject to the god of death, and no god can reverse death’s touch. But God shows up, and shows the widow of Zaraphath that Elijah’s God, the God of Israel, our God, has power over all, even life and death.

Remember also, this all happened in the middle of the drought. God has access and power to give to His people during a time when everything seems hopeless. The current political and social climate of this country is changing to be more secular, and the morality of Americans are being eroded. I want you to know that if you feel hopeless tonight, that God has the power to sustain you. Maybe you have been going through a drought in order for God to draw you to Himself. Maybe there is an idol that God needs to demolish. Maybe this is the first time you are hearing of God’s abilities, if so, message me to learn of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Just spend time with God for the next few moments.

The Weight of Evil

Wake up!

It's early Sunday morning. Time to get showers, kids ready, and gather with fellow Christians. Normal day, however, there were kinks, mainly the children. We recently adopted a sibling group in January, increasing our house size from three to five. Not a minor adjustment. Sleep deprivation is one that I'm constantly asked about, and I've come to realize that it includes other slightly underrated deprivations, mainly, Bible reading and prayer. It is interesting that many Christians will ask about lack of sleep instead of lack of Bible or prayer, and lately, I've been getting less of all three, but that is not my main point.

Today, dealing with some of the issues during the adjustment period with the kids, I have become more aware of the evilness in the world, particularly the evil enacted upon children, specifically, what might have happened to my children. To see signs that children have suffered such evil is a terrible thing, and driving to church this intense, heavy burden of what I have seen in the past few years visited upon children really overtook me. The girl, which shares the same name as one of our daughters, was stabbed, another girl, same age as our other daughter, was sexually abused, murdered, and tossed in the garbage, the killings at Columbine and Sandy Hook schools, it all hit me in an overwhelming weight, what I call the weight of evil.

I can only describe it as a crushing, depressing, surge of sadness for the brokenness of the world. I came to a realization, not something profound, but something radically simple. This is what Jesus felt when heading to the cross. In the garden, Jesus was facing ultimate wrath, separation from God, pain and suffering, but, also, He was acknowledging all sin for which He was paying, including mine, so much so His blood was sweating from His pores. Today, I received just a taste of the immense sadness He felt for the world at that moment, as He felt every sin, not just mine, and what I listed above, but every single sin of the world's sinners.

A friend of mine, Randy, asked this past week what the cross means to me, and I believe my answer became clear this morning. I have, had and will sin against God for the entirety of my life. Nothing I do is good. Every action, thought, and feeling occurring from myself always has my interests at the top of the list. Like a pest, I have infested God's creation, searching for what I want, fulfilling my needs, entertaining my thoughts, and letting my emotions go wild. And when I have a pest, all I want is to be rid of it, and God has infinitely more reasons to be displeased and get rid of me, than I do of the ants, termites, roaches, rats, snakes or any other pests. God could have poured out His wrath on me at any time, and be completely loving and executing justice by doing so. But this next word is my favorite word within this context.

However, the cross is where God poured His wrath, my punishment, upon Jesus for my sin.

So back to driving to Sunday service, I prayed for the pastor and his message that it would relieve this burden I felt for the world and the evil abounding in it. To my dismay, the sermon was on prayer, which as I mentioned before had been lacking due to deprivations of becoming a family of five. I listened, took notes, but I was simply unsatisfied. The last point of the message was that prayer will get results (James 4:2). The message was over, and he mentioned the song we would sing, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Here are the lyrics (highlighted for emphasis):

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

At the bold portion listed above, the entire sermon clicked, the light bulb went on, and my prayer was answered. The weight of evil lifted from my shoulders, as I realized Jesus took that weight of evil to the cross and paid for it. While this does not shrink my responsibilities in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth (in regard to good works inspired by the Spirit), it did lift the burden of the evil we are fighting, because Jesus already bore it through carrying and dying on the cross.

Don't get me wrong. Evil is occurring, and we need to fight against the injustices, but here is my final thought. The people committing these injustices are sinners, just like you and me, and these sinners' sins have been carried to the cross by Jesus, just like ours has. Let's tell them about it, shall we?

Seashells by the Sea Shore

Hello, folks!  Been awhile since a Daddy post. I’ve just got enough time to do one because of vacation! So, first, an update. We have travelled from OTP (outside the perimeter) of Atlanta, to Amelia Island in Florida. This morning, DW and I went to the beach to experience the sunrise, but all we got was this:

 Not exactly what we wanted, but beautiful nonetheless plus some alone time. J Later on, we had some breakfast and got ready for some sandy fun (DW looks hot in her new swimsuit, by the way). S held my hand the whole walk, and when I asked who made the beach and sand, she responded with, “God.” My daughter is already a theologian, hehe. We ran through the sand, saw a “quarantined” sea turtle nest, descended down a “sand mountain”, walked through a “shell forest,” and finally got our feet in the cold, oh so cold, ocean water. We chased some sandpipers, and of course, I got it on video… sorta:

  

S, DW, M-I-L, and I played for awhile, and I got some pictures:

S enjoyed the beach, but while we were there, I had some serious analogies formulate in my brain. Take a look at this picture:

We have to walk through this to get to the ocean; we called it the shell forest. Most of the shells are broken, small, sharp, ugly, and painful to walk on. In fact, we wear footwear to go over that part. These shells have gone through tremendous struggle to arrive on the beach, and yet, these shells are always overlooked during the search for “seashells by the sea shore.” We always do a hunt for seashells near the tide, because we want to find the perfect, unique shell. Well, as breaking stereotypes is one of my things, I took off my shoes, and began a journey through the shell forest. At first, the shells hurt, but once I got used to it, it was more like a message for my feet, possibly even dermabrasion. Also, I started to change my perspective with the camera, and you know what I found? Beauty.

 In a similar way, I believe this is what happens in many stories of adoption. The family goes through the mountains, through the forests, through the nests, (mainly of paperwork) and finds themselves near the “shore line” looking for the perfect, unique baby to bring home.  What I would like to point out, is that there are thousands of children that are available for adoption through state agencies, and the stigma attached to those children is an illusion. Yes, these children have been through tremendous struggles to be available, and while, at first, it may appear to hurt, or impossible, to search that “forest” for your child, I believe that the journey will find result in only one thing: beauty. The beauty of a family that breaks stereotypes, the beauty of a bunch of different colors in the home, and the beauty of a child, which was formed by God, being held by parents who love them.

 

In the same way, we are like broken shells on the shore of Earth. Many of us have been through struggles and have been beaten down by the waves of life. I want you to know this: God made you in the womb; God has a purpose for your life; God is searching for you through the forest. In fact, God sent His Son to the “beach” to find you. God knows that you are beautiful, and He wants to bring you home. God has already paid for your adoption. God became a man, Jesus Christ, who suffered through the pain of the cross, died, rose from the dead, and is coming again. If you will trust in Him, He will give you the warmth you've been hoping for, the rest you've been aching for, and the belonging you've been searching for.

Journey of the Psalms: Restorer

Read Psalms 14.

This world is evil, corrupt, and godless. The people part of this world are the same way. Naturally, we are evil, corrupt, and unrighteous. Naturally, we strive to get what we want, no matter the cost, obstacles, or people. We are fools, and we have no knowledge of God or His ways, nor can we do good and righteous deeds.

The psalmist lets us know of the world he lives in, which is much like today's world, without a few technological discoveries. People are still evil, corrupt, and godless. This seems to overwhelm the psalmist, but it does not. And it should not overwhelm us. There is good news here.

God is with the righteous. He protects the righteous.

How is this good news if we are naturally evil, corrupted, and unrighteous? None of us can do righteous deeds, so how do we get God with us?

Answer: We don't get God to us. God has to come to us, and He did. From His throne in Zion, the Lord, in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, came to earth. He lived a sinless life. The time came for Jesus to restore His people (the Day of Atonement, Leviticus), and His blood was shed as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This means that all the evil, corrupt, and unrighteous acts we have been doing from the beginning of time and will do until the end of time have been atoned. After atoning for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead, then ascended back to His throne in Zion.

This ultimate restoration is the hope of the psalmist. Yes, people are bad, but there is hope. Hope in a restored earth, where corruption doesn't exit. Hope in a coming Savior that will redeem His people from the heartaches of this world and its evils. Hope in a place where there is no more sins. This is what Jesus Christ offers: a life forgiven of the sins we have and will have committed. What a relief! What a refuge!