|
| I am full of joy right now because of a conversation I had with my daughter Megan over dinner tonight. I know I haven't blogged for a while, but this is something that I really wanted to write down, if anything, for myself.
As we were eating together, Megan asked me a very thoughtful question. "Dad, was Pharoah born bad?" I proceeded to explain to her that not only was Pharoah born bad but so is everyone else in this world including me, her mom, and the rest of her family. But, I told her, that is why Jesus came. He was the only one who wasn't born "bad" so that He could die on the cross for our sins.
Megan has heard this many times before but she began to share something that really blessed me:
"Dad, did you know that a couple nights ago I couldn't sleep? Noah was sleeping and no one else was in the room." "Why couldn't you sleep, Megan?"
"I couldn't sleep because I had sin in my heart."
"Really? What do you mean?"
"I felt really bad and I got scared."
"So what did you do?"
"I prayed to Jesus. I prayed that He would forgive me."
"And then what happened?"
"I felt a lot better. I was scared before, but not any more. And you know what? I fell asleep! Dad, I prayed by myself! Mommy wasn't even there!"
Let's just say,my heart burst with joy! My little girl is slowly internalizing her faith and making Jesus HER OWN. I am so thankful to the Lord for His kindness and grace shown to my little girl and can only pray that Megan will continue to understand that Jesus is not just our church's savior and not just her family's savior, but that Jesus is her own, personal Savior. | | |
| This past Friday, I received a very heart-warming and funny surprise. One of our 2nd grade church kids had a writing assignment for school where they had to write about one wish on a green piece of construction paper shaped like a clover. Here is what he said:
"If I had one wish I would wish to be a pastor. I think being a pastor is great! I could preach the word of God. Sometimes being a pastor is hard work, like when you have to stand up a long time. Sometimes you might stand so long that your legs could get sore. That's the part that's really hard. I really think being a pastor is actually kind of cool. That is my one very best specialist Leprechaun's wish."
Yep, he's got it right. The hardest part about being a pastor is easily standing up for a long time. They don't tell you that in seminary. 
| | |
| Our poor little guy is still having trouble pronouncing words and overall just talking. He has quite an extensive vocabulary, but he has trouble putting words together and making them into complete sentences. Well, I've been trying to get him to talk more these days by having him repeat what I say. This is what happened last night as I put Noah down for bed:
Me: Noah, I love you!
Noah: "i uv ooo"
Me: I love you!
Noah: "i uv ooo"
Me: I love you more!
Noah:. Okay.
Apparently, a four-word sentence was too much for him to handle so he resigned to his favorite word: "Okay!" Oh, how he makes me laugh even without trying.
| | |
| For the past month, I have been meeting with a group of singles at our church, going over Paul Tripp's book, "A Quest for More." Let me just say that the study and the discussions have been deeply sanctifying for me. Leading the study has forced me to evaluate my own heart as we talk about how we can live for God's "big sky" kingdom rather than live for our own claustrophobic, cave dwellings we call the kingdom of self.
This past week, we talked about what it means to live a Christ-centered life. We categorized a Christ-centered life into four categories: source, motive, goal, and hope. Though I saw a need for myself to grow in all four categories, the one that kicked me right in the gut was that of motive. Tripp argues that a Christ-centered life is one that loves Christ in and through all things. Every act, word, and thought should be motivated by a love for Christ. All that we do throughout the day should be an expression of our love for Christ in light of all that He has accomplished for us. The lesson was nothing new for me. One that is as old as the sermons I
used to hear when I was in youth group. Love Jesus in all that you do. But for some reason, that principle took a hold of me last night and doubled me over.
I came to the realization that my days are often motivated by duty rather than love. Sermon preparation, Bible Study preparation, administrative tasks, spending time with my family, all of these things were done out of a sense of duty or calling. The pastoral life is one full of deadlines, weekly deadlines, and I believe the nature of the work has caused me to approach my work with a sense of urgency to get things done in a timely manner. The concerns I had was that I would finish my work on-time, and that I would do the work well. I approached life with a performance mentality and saw God as nothing more than one who issues commands and expectations.
This study reminded me that I was missing a very important element to my day: LOVE for my precious Savior. It revolutionized the way I should approach each day. I believe God wants me to see that in each day, He gives me hundreds of opportunities to love him. Whether it be how I drive, the way I prepare a sermon, the way I counsel someone, the way I spend time with my kids, the way I treat Helen, these are all opportunities for me to show my love for Christ. I should see every responsibility, every task as an opportunity to demonstrate my love for Christ. Every thought, word, or deed is a potential love offering I can lay down at His feet. I realized that such an approach to my day will radically change the way I do things. If motivated by duty to God, then I will do just enough. If motivated by love for God, then I will bring my utmost for love knows no limits.
I realize that I run the risk of looking "immature" by sharing such thoughts. How could an ordained pastor forget such an elementary principle?! How can you go through a day "obeying" God but not "loving" God? But I wanted to share this anyway because it brings me great encouragement. It demonstrates that God is not done with me yet. He is still teaching, molding, and shaping this depraved lump of clay. Why He chose this lump of clay rather than another, I have no idea. But praise God that He loves me so much that not only has He justified me in Christ, but He also is sanctifying me to look like Christ.
| | |
| I didn't want to leave my son Noah out so I thought I'd write an entry about him as well. You might be thinking, "Noah...deep thoughts? How?" Yes, since Noah can't talk yet, you may be wondering how I can associate Noah with deep thoughts. But just because he cannot talk, it does not mean that he can't communicate. He can grunt, utter a few words here and there, smile, etc.
Well, today, immediately after I came home I said hi to the kids and then ran to the bathroom. Without going into graphic detail, let's just say I overdosed on coffee. And overdosing on coffee causes havoc on my digestive system leading to....(use your imagination). Anyways, I'm sitting on the toilet and Noah comes barging in to say hi. He comes in and I fully expect him to leave right away due to the stench that is in the air. But instead he stands there looking at me with a big grin. Then he does something very unexpected. He sniffs the air for a few seconds and says, "Mmmmmm!" Yes, it's the very same "Mmmmmmmm!" he says when we give him a lolipop, mac n' cheese, or ice cream. I start laughing and he proceeds to do the same routine two more times, each time with longer snifs. 
My boy is crazy! Crazy I tell you! When I go over Philippians 3 with him and quote Paul's famous verse, "I consider all things but dung compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ", I may have to "translate" this verse for him, lest he thinks Paul truly values and treasures this world more than Christ. 
| | |
|
