Catching up again!

I have fallen behind a few days, so I’ll try to catch up. I had a wonderful weekend with our daughter, Rachel, for her 19th birthday. She came home from college for the weekend. It is a blessing to see what God is doing in her life. Today I’ll start by sharing some of what she is doing and then I will follow up with what has been going on in my life.

Rachel is still trying to find a church. It sounds like she is looking for something where she can be involved. This makes her father very proud. She is also giving up her Friday nights each week to go to the city to help with an inner city children’s outreach program through Oklahoma Baptist University. It is so exciting to see her heart being expressed on her own.

As for my last few days, Saturday and Sunday were spent with Rachel trying to spoil her, and Monday and Tuesday were spent substituting at the school.

Saturday I was able to work on my message for Sunday in the morning while Machelle and Rachel went into town to go shopping, scary as that may be! That evening, we went out to dinner at the Deckboat Steak house with Machelle’s mom, Jodie and three of Rachel’s closest friends, Steven, Kadree, and Michaela. They were all a blessing to be around that night, to hear what is going on in their lives now that they are all out of their parents’ homes and in college.

Sunday was a day of blessings. Sunday morning I preached from Genesis 16 on Abram’s poor choice of listening to his wife Sarai. Under normal circumstances I always encourage husbands to consider the counsel of their wives, but in this passage, Abram shouldn’t have even heard the suggestion of Sarai. If you haven’t ever read the passage, I began my message with Genesis 12:1-5, which is the background of the passage. You need to read it first. The Genesis 12 passage tells the story of God’s command for Abram to leave his home and family to “Go to a land I will show you.” This is the only command given. Following the command God makes seven promises to Abram and one later when they enter Canaan which is an implicit promise for children.

In Gen 16 Abram and Sarai are now in their 80’s and still have not had any children. There is no indication that Abram put pressure on Sarai, but if he wasn’t she was likely taking the responsibility on herself. The net result was that she offered her handmaid to Abram to sleep with so Abram could have a child, and according to custom, the child would legally be considered the offspring of Sarai. Of course, what is legal and what happens in real life are often two separate realities. Hagar began to be disrespectful toward Sarai, which caused Sarai angry and resentful.

It would be easy to limit this story to the necessity of the husband being the head of the home, tying it to Genesis 2-3. I am convinced that this passage has much larger implications for our lives than just authority and responsibility in the home, though this truth is included. This passage should also be tied to Genesis 12, God’s call/command and promises for Abram. In Genesis 12, God calls/commands Abram to leave the land of his family and go to the land God would show him. With the command, God makes seven promises: 1) make him a great nation, 2) bless him, 3) make his name great, 4) make Abram a blessing, 5) bless those who bless Abram, 6) curse those who treat Abram with contempt, and 7) bless all the people of the earth through Abram. Later, when Abram arrived with his family in Canaan, God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abram and his “offspring.”

Implicit in this promise is that Abram would have children. It is impossible to know the dynamics of the home, but would not be unreasonable to consider that Sarai felt pressure to have a child for Abram from both Abram and society in general. Beside the societal pressures, there was the obvious pressure of seeing the promises of God fulfilled. This is where the trouble begins. Reflecting back on the command and promises, the command is very simple, “Go.” To go is the only requirement placed on Abram, and there were no requirements placed on Sarai.

In Scripture we see evidence of two types of promises from God. The first is conditional. These types of promises are expressed in this way, “if you… I will….” The second type are unconditional and are express in this way, “I will….” In the second the “if you…” is omitted from the promise. All the promises God made to Abram in Genesis 12 are of the second type, unconditional.

There was never any need for Abram or Sarai to feel pressure to have a child. God had made the promise. The problem then becomes one of trust. Abram and Sarai failed to trust God to fulfill His promise to provide “offspring” for Abram. Some might say, “well what do you expect? Abram and Sarai were now in their 80’s! How can you expect them to still believe that they would have a child?” The answer is simple. It was God who had made the promise. If you understand the nature of God, there will be not limits to trusting that God will fulfill His promises.

We are no different today. We read in the Bible promises God makes to us, but we live like they will never happen. We think the economy is not good enough for us to be blessed. We believe we are too old to follow in God’s calling on our lives. We say, “I don’t have the talent, I’m too young, I’m too old, I don’t have the resources, etc, etc.” Whatever the excuse, it is not statement of our doubt in ourselves; it is a statement of our doubt in God. What words do you use to express your doubt in God?
We had a wonderful lunch with Machelle’s mother, Rachel, and Steven. It was a relaxing afternoon of football and then preparation for Sunday night.

Sunday night Discipleship and Worship were both a blessing. We are still studying stewardship in discipleship. We are learning that discipleship is not limited to how much you give in money, but it is how you manage your life. Sunday night’s discussion was exceptional. Our conversation centered on the idea that it is not what your occupation is, but rather who you are in your occupation. God has given us this life, and He calls us to live it for Him. One of those present made the observation that in their occupation it is impossible to meet the standards that have been set. In this person’s circumstances, they had reached the conclusion that they needed to work hard, but in the end, it is the impact they are having in the lives of those around them.
Stewardship is a whole life concept. It definitely does include what you give in your tithe (10% of gross income) and offerings, but it is far more comprehensive.

Stewardship involves how you manage “all” your finances, all your talents, all your gifts, all your time, all your positions. The general principle is that God owns everything, including all of you and everything you own.

In the Sunday evening worship service, we looked at the first chapter of Ezekiel. We reviewed the principle of apocalyptic Biblical literature and principles of interpretation. Primarily that symbols were used to share about real events or truths that those who are under persecution would understand, but the persecutors would not understand. Next, we looked at theories on what many of the symbols in the first chapter. We discovered that while some symbols may be understood, wise and godly men have disagreed for many years, so it is far better to attempt to find the overall theme than try to discover a detailed understanding of what is going to happen in the future. As history is revealed we may discover exactly what the symbols meant, but until then it is better to understand that God is in control if we know what is going to happen or not.
Monday and Tuesday, I found myself working in Mrs. Smith’s resource room as a substitute. Many of the students in her class find it difficult to focus, so it is often challenging to keep the students on task. Every time I spend time in one of our resource classes I gain a newfound appreciation for the incredible teachers we have at Hydro-Eakly Schools.

Both Monday and Tuesday were frustrating days on my bus route. One of the drivers who drive one of the Eakly routes was late on both days. This same driver is late at least 2-3 days a week which has a negative effect on the other two routes. Both the other driver and I have tried to talk to her multiple times, so I finally decided to speak to our principle. It is frustrating to feel the need to go to an authority, but there are times it is necessary for the overall good. It is never good to keep students on a bus without making progress. They get discouraged and bored, which leads to nothing but problems.

The same is true of any group. When a group fails to see direction or progress we become discouraged. The leader becomes discouraged; the people become discouraged; everyone becomes discouraged. Soon there is discouragement and a lack of drive and purpose. If a group continues without progress or a goal for too long it becomes lethargic and passive in its stated purposes. Eventually the ministry becomes nothing more than a social gathering.

Proverbs 29:18(KJV)
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.