Rising Waters (Strolling Through Scripture)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on March 6th, 2010
If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break,
When the levee breaks I’ll have no place to stay.
- “When the Levee Breaks”, by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie (with some help from Led Zeppelin)
20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
- Genesis 18:20-26
As I’ve been re-reading the Old Testament, it strikes me that I’m spending more and more time re-evaluating preconceptions and inaccurate lessons taught by others, and replacing it with what the Bible actually says.
For example, I’ve been taught that the reason why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was due to sexual immorality running rampant in the cities. That idea neatly separated me from them. I’m not like them, so I’m safe. I’ve had to re-evaluate that stance, based on a recent article about Richard Stearns’ new book, The Hole in Our Gospel. (I haven’t read it yet, but it’s quickly moving to the top of my list.) In his book, Stearns quotes Ezekiel 16:49:
49 ” ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
The LORD goes on to say that Sodom did do detestable things before Him. However, such things are the outgrowth of a hardened heart, that has refused to listen to the Holy Spirit, and seek to live a Godly life. The immorality that they do is only the symptom of a deeper sickness that we all suffer from: a life lived for self, rather than a life lived for God.
In light of this, I read Genesis 18:16-33. Abraham is having a conversation with God, discussing the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is not debating whether God should or should not obliterate Sodom and Gomorrah; it’s understood that they are wicked places, and deserve it. What Abraham is wondering is, what would it take to stay God’s hand? He produces a series of hypothetical situations. If, out of the whole two cities (twin cities?), what if there were 50 people whom God counted as righteous. Would that be enough to escape God’s judgement?
Yes. They would be spared if God could find 50 righteous people.
Then, Abraham proceeds to talk God down, in some kind of bargaining session. 45? 40? 30? 20? 10? (The passage doesn’t explicitly state as much, but I do wonder if the conversation progressed further…7?…5?…1?)
What is it about the presence of righteous people that would stay God’s hand? It’s not that God is necessarily impressed with how good these people are. Ultimately, our only source of Godliness is God himself, through Jesus Christ. For those who have a relationship with Christ, then righteous actions should be the natural output. What does that look like?
36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
- Matthew 25:36-40
So, what does all this have to do with “When the Levee Breaks”? It’s about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. You can read about the effects at the last link, but suffice to say that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. I’ve never been in a flood situation (by the grace of God), but the idea of people working to shore up levees to protect their homes bears a resemblance to the righteous people that God was looking for in Sodom and Gomorrah. God was looking for people who were bringing His hope and His mercy in a desperate situation. He was looking for those who were fair in their business practices, and merciful to others. They may have not realized it at the time, but they were the levee holding back God’s wrath.
I need to continually ask myself–what kind of levee am I? Am I living the kind of life that produces hope in a situation that is more desperate that I realize?
And, just because I can’t get the song out of my head, and I feel the need to share it…
Bittersweet Celebration (Graces and Mercies, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on February 19th, 2010
One year ago today, my son went to be with his Maker.
It’s not the anniversary that I would have wanted to recognize, but recognize it we will. And celebrate. Tonight, we will have a house full of people, but more importantly, a house filled with laughter and singing.
I sometimes wondered how we would be able to make it through this last year. For some reason, God saw fit to keep us here, and His mercy has been ever-present. We celebrate that, and the fact that God is using Ian’s short life to bring hope to others. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our well project. We are getting veeeery close to our goal of having wells dug for three villages!
Everything sad continues to come untrue…
Job’s Epilogue (Temporal Echoes of the Eternal, Strolling Through Scripture)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 30th, 2010
From Merriam-Webster:
ep·i·logue: 1 : a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work
What if we never knew what happened to Job after God talked with him? What if, as far as we knew, Job spent the rest of his days as a poor, disease-ridden man, whose spouse encouraged him to “curse God and die”? What would be the take-away from that? Let’s come back to that.
In Job 42:7-9, Job is instructed to intercede for his friends. Evidently, Job has a right relationship with God at this point, to the point where he can present his requests to God without fear. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have sinned by lying about God, and need an intercessor. In Hebrews, Jesus is described as our high priest, intervening before God in our behalf. Could what Job does for his friends be a foreshadowing of how Jesus reconciles us to our Heavenly Father? Plus, the fact that God bothers to tell them to have Job pray for them shows that God desired to have a right relationship with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. These points are underscored in 1 Timothy 2:3-6:
3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
* * *
When I started reading Job, I followed the advice of commentators and tried to put myself in his shoes. The key to this is to not know what’s going to happen. When discussing Job’s story, particularly the wretched things that happened to him, most people quickly follow up with “but God blessed him with twice as much afterward.”
But, what if God hadn’t?
I’ve always imagined it happening fairly quickly after Job’s encounter with God. It’s as if God came up to Job, put his arm around him and said “I know that was a crappy thing that happened to you. Here’s your stuff and your family back, and some more for your troubles.”
Except, it wasn’t that way. Job was penniless. His standing in the community was gone (see chapter 30, verses 1-15). He was left asking “what do I do now?”
It was at this point that his friends and family came around him:
11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver [a] and a gold ring.
Deb and I have experienced this firsthand. Throughout the past wretched 20 months, our family and friends surrounded us, provided for us and were God’s hand and feet. Complete strangers performed incredible acts of charity that still bring tears to our eyes. It wasn’t because of anything we had done to deserve this. God sometimes lavishes on those who are suffering through other people in a way that, no matter how often it happens, it astounds us. Here’s another example from classic cinema:
Next up: Back to Genesis, and the birth of a nation.
Waiting for the Act 3 Climax (Temporal Echoes of the Eternal, Life Between the Bookends)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010
While on vacation, I read Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In a year of reading some great books, this one was a perfect way to end 2009. I read (and watched) this post on his blog, and wanted to pass it along to anyone who bothers to come by my little site.
I’ve prayed for years to see this life with the eyes of eternity, to have an eternal perspective on the temporal. The message that Donald brings is a good start; as soon as we stop looking for things in this life for our fulfillment, we can be open to God’s fulfillment. However, the third act climax that Donald talks about isn’t the end of the story. The scene doesn’t fade to black. Instead, it’s the beginning of the real story.
It’s easy (and often tempting) to view this temporal life as “my story,” and when it’s done, my story is done. Instead, if I’m going to think of my life in terms of eternity, then this life should always be framed not as a story in and of itself, but more like a single-paragraph preface. What we were made for, our purpose and identity, will be fulfilled in Heaven.
Even living “happily ever after” isn’t enough to describe Heaven. There will be no climax to our story, because each day will be better than the one before.
I can’t imagine that. But, that’s my limitation, not God’s.
P.S. Stop by in a day or two; I’ve got a couple of blog posts percolating, including some final thoughts on Job.
Hilariously Generous (Graces and Mercies, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 27th, 2010
Wow.
When we first started our well project, setting the goal at $2,600 (the price of one well), I thought that perhaps we would hit our goal…maybe. I was surprised when we moved our goal up to $7,700.
I should learn not to sell God short. It was His vision, and it’s being done in His timing, so it’s receiving His provision. Consequently, I shouldn’t be surprised when I look at our FirstGiving page and see that, with more than a month to go, we’re at 78%. I hope & pray that we will need to move our goal again.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
If God loves a cheerful giver, then there are people out there who are a riot. Thank you to everyone who has invested in the Kingdom of Heaven with us.
Water Project Update + This Week in Pictures, Two Weeks’ Edition (Announcements, This Week in Pictures, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 23rd, 2010
God has moved in ways that astound us. We were hoping to be able to raise enough money by the end of February for one well. Because of some generous giving, we’ve increased our goal from $2,600 to $7,700. In addition to a well, God is using this dream to raise money for clean water where it is needed immediately (Haiti). If you haven’t yet, please consider donating a gift to provide life- and hope-giving water.
* * *
I apologize for the lack of pictures last week. I don’t even have extras to make it up to you. Here are some of the more interesting ones from the past two weeks…
We had the privilege of going to Feed My Starving Children a couple of week ago. I wish every two hours could be as purpose-filled as this.
This is what happens when you start tearing a corner of wallpaper in a bathroom and just...can't...stop. Note: The @#$% safety bar is now gone.
Eyewitnesses reported the appearance of a bright, yellow object in the sky. Nobody could identify the object.
This is my bane, every afternoon. Who improves a highway, then puts two stoplights, right in the middle of the busiest part?
Last Saturday, I got to build some speaker stands for the home theater. It started off fun, but then it was just cold.
We went to the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville. This...thing...caught our eye. If you go, get the kabobs and honey-glazed veggies.
The First Peek Beyond the Bookends (Strolling Through Scripture, Life Between the Bookends)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 10th, 2010
For anyone still reading (OK, both of you), I am still plowing through the Old Testament in chronological order. Granted, it’s not the pace I had originally hoped, but I’m still dedicated.
Earlier this week, I came across what I think is the best passage in Job. It’s Job 19:23-27, and I like how the New American Standard Bible puts it best:
23“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24“That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
Job understands that what he’s about to say is important, and so he wishes that it would be recorded. The methods he described here were not cheap at the time, so that gives weight to the next two verses.
25“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26“Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Here we get the first peek of life outside the bookends. And really, only someone who has known brokenness, either in their own life or by giving themselves over to the brokenness of others, can appreciate this passage.
Up to this point, Job has been having an argument with his friends. Contrary to what I had always pictured, this was a very heated argument. I had always pictured four ancient guys, one of them with a really bad skin condition, sitting around giving soliloquies, like a Shakespearean play. This time through Job, with the help of people much smarter than me, I can see it more clearly: it’s an argument among friends about the nature of the universe, and how Job must have brought this upon himself. Job’s friends are stressing that they know how the world works: you do bad things, bad things happen to you. And the vast majority of humanity would agree with that sentiment. It just seems proper. In English, we call it “poetic justice”. Job clearly has had bad things happen to him, all in a fairly short span of time. It seemed to everyone that someone, somewhere, had something in for him. In order to justify that belief, Job’s “friends” accuse him of some awful things later in chapter 22.
Job angrily maintains his innocence. Since we have the privilege of seeing the whole script with the writer/director’s notes in Chapters 1 & 2, we know that Job is right. God knows that Job is right. And, yet, there had to be nagging doubts in Job’s mind. The idea of poetic justice is ingrained because it happens so often. Yet, in verses 25-26, Job recognizes that he can’t save himself in this situation, that he needs another. Not only someone to save him from the current, temporal issues, but someone to save him from the sin/sacrifice cycle described in chapter 1. Job doesn’t say how this will happen, because he doesn’t know.
In verse 25, he declares that the person who is able and willing to redeem exists. (When we hit the book of Ruth, we’ll discuss the concept of a kinsman redeemer in more detail. for now, think “defender”, or “the one who will make everything right”). Not only does He exist, but He is alive. Job is certain who will do the saving, and that perosn is God. Job calling the Lord his redeemer implies an existing relationship, a kind of fellowship that (I’m guessing) would have been pretty unheard of at that time. It foreshadows the relationship God desired with Israel, as well as the relationship we enjoy with God now.
Job takes it a step further, and declares that, even after his body has turned to dust, yet he will see God with his own eyes. Given what we know of God from the rest of scripture, this is an incredibly bold statement. At the same time, other passages of scripture confirm that it will be true, for Job as well as for us. This same promise was fulfilled for Simeon in Luke 2:30, in the form of Jesus’ first incarnation. In one sense, this passage could be a prophecy about His first coming. At the same time, these words also Jesus’ second appearance, vividly described in Zechariah 14:
3Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
5You will flee by the valley of My mountains…Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him
Wow. Now that’s an entrance.
By the way: If you have given your life to Christ, then “all the holy ones” means you.
My question at this point is, how did Job know this? Remember, this was before Moses, and before God made His covenant with Abraham. Was it a personal revelation to Job? Was it part of an oral tradition? It doesn’t necessarily matter. Job’s statement shows that as long as humanity has lived on the Earth, the dream has existed that God would return to live with us. Until then, we live in a world filled with injustice and unfairness. That’s what I’ve come to call “Life Between the Bookends”. It’s a phrase to express the knowledge that, while we can’t know the rest of the story, we can be certain about how the story ends.
The Top 2’s, plus This Week in Pictures (Fun Stuff, This Week in Pictures)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 9th, 2010
It seems that everyone else is publishing their end-of-year lists; why shouldn’t I? I don’t have energy to do a top 3, much less a top 10. A top 1 list seems lazy. Let’s try some “Top 2″ lists…
Top 2 Movies
Up - If you haven’t seen this one yet, then I couldn’t urge you strongly enough to watch it. It came out in May, when Deb and I were still reeling from our loss. At the heart of this movie is a message about what to do when you have to let go of one dream, and how to accept a new one. It fit well with our lives. Everything surrounding that is pure Pixar, which is to say that the humor is top-notch, the animation is incredible, and the voices are spot-on.
Avatar - The story itself is only good, the message might make your eyes roll, but the method of story telling is nothing short of revolutionary. Rather than using the 3-D effect to reach out into the audience, Cameron uses it to create a true window into another world. If you can see it in an IMAX theater in 3-D, then do so.
Top 2 Albums
Sara Groves: “Fireflies and Songs” - Sara created an album about living the Christian life in this world. She doesn’t flinch from subjects such as a marital fight or her own stage anxiety, but also celebrates relationships and the joy found in our everyday routines. The music is a work of quiet craftsmanship. I started using this to unwind at bedtime, but I found that I wanted to stay awake to hear all of the songs.
Jason Gray: “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue” (Special Edition) - We were introduced to Jason at a ministry conference this past summer. His music has ministered to us since then, but this album is something special. The hope that everything we hate about life is currently in the process of being rectified has given us something to cling to. It’s one of the most hopeful records I have ever heard.
Top 2 Books
Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - How often do you get a chance to re-write your life? When working with a director and cinematographer, to turn his earlier book “Blue Like Jazz” into a movie, Donald realizes that his past life seems lacking. When you start viewing your life not as a set of tasks to be done, but as a story, the results become much more fulfilling. This one was extremely timely, as I’ve been doing a great deal of re-evaluating of my life this year.
Randy Alcorn’s Heaven - This is not a narrative, but more of a question-and-answer book. It’s an examination of the concept of Heaven, based on what is in scripture. And, by getting a clearer picture of what is in store, it causes the believer to naturally reconsider how to live hear and now. Plus, have a clearer idea of what was in store for Ian made it less difficult to let go.
* * *
I’m introducing a new (hopefully) weekly feature, called “This Week in Pictures.” I’m going to try to take at least one picture per day during 2010, and see if anything blog-worthy gets written. (The more observant among you will notice that I’ve already missed a day. Don’t worry–nothing really happened that day.) It’s an experiment to see if I can develop a photographer’s eye, too.
Celebrating New Year's Day with Brian and Mary Krupski at the Lake Elmo Inn
2010 was kicked off with an incredible brunch at The Lake Elmo Inn. The food was delicious, but the company was even better. We got to know The Krupski’s through Hope Kids, an organization that creates fun activities for sick children and their families. Brian and Mary have been the kind of friends that make life wonderful.
We enjoyed good food and good company with friends
The party continues, this time at Casa de Henderson. Everyone contributed something, and a good time was had by all.
I got to attend my first in-person hockey game
I’ve lived in the icebox known as Minnesota for 16 years, but only now have attended a hockey game. To me, it seemed more like chess. The key is being in the right place at the right time and taking the initiative.
I get together with a group of men to determine why we were put on Earth.
This was a snapshot from my Focus of a Warrior group. We’re going through the program to use our past, our skills, our gifts and our passions to determine our purpose in life. On one hand, I wish that I could have done this twenty years ago. Then again, I don’t think I would have had enough life experience in order to effectively evaluate myself.
Home Depot, where projects begin
I spent some time at lunch trying to find a way to suspend my center channel speaker from the screen in the basement. I gave up, and decided to make another speaker stand.
A fun drive into work
On Thursday, we got another snowstorm. Also, another opportunity for people to demonstrate that they have no clue how to drive on snow and ice.
Dinner with the Bourgonds
Last night, we had the joy of seeing Dr. Bourgond (who wrote the Heart of a Warrior curriculum), and to meet his lovely wife Debby.
I Feel Rather Obsolete (House Projects, Fun Stuff)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 1st, 2010
2010 was ushered in not with a bang, but with a snore. Deb and I enjoyed a take-out supper from a fantastic local Italian restaurant by the fireside. We talked, watched part of a John Pinette comedy video…
…and then, time for bed.
To be honest, both of us were anxious to be shed of 2009. It has been perhaps the worst year of my life. In retrospect, I wish I could have traded it in for 2006. I probably shredded the receipt, so tough luck.
Today, we met some dear friends for brunch at the Lake Elmo Inn. Our appetites sated, we talked until the manager asked for our table back (honest!). The food was excellent, but the company was more nourishing.
The friends also gave me a gift that they had laying around their house unused: A Denon AVR-3803 surround-sound receiver. I was truly satisfied with circa-1989 stereo receiver that I was using. However, a free upgrade is a free upgrade, so I gratefully received it.
Looking at the back of that thing, I felt excited. Reading the manual, I feel truly…old. I’m in the in-between stage of getting rid of something I’m used to and getting to know something new. After hooking everything up (that I could do–I need to buy a few cables and adapters), it took me three minutes just to get some sound out of the silly thing.
Also, this means another side project–I need to pick up a couple of rear speakers and make speaker stands for the rear channels! Time to go to Best Buy and Home Depot!
A New Way of Looking at My Life (Quotes)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on December 31st, 2009
Deb picked up a copy of Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years for me a few weeks ago. I saved it for our trip to Florida, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
In the book, Donald discusses the components of a good story, and talks about “rewriting” his life to make it into a better story. The book came at a good time, as I’m re-evaluating my life right now through a lot of introspection and a program called Focus of a Warrior. While reading it on the flight south last week, this quote stood out:
Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than just a master storyteller.
To take this further, we could imagine God as a director and play write. Instead of a script, he is giving cues, general directions and our motivations. As actors on the world stage, we are learning the story as we’re performing it. Most of us focus on what our character is doing, and some of us are straining to listen to the Director’s cues. A very few bother to look around, and discern the Director’s instructions by what is happening in our scene, or throughout the whole play.
When someone we love is removed from the stage, the pain we feel is real, since we don’t know the rest of the story. However, even though we don’t know the rest of the story, we do know the end of the story. Like all the best epics, the bad guys are ultimately vanquished, and the good guys live happily ever after. Any other ending just feels wrong.
At the end of the story, those who had major roles and bit parts will know how relevant or irrelevant they were. In really good stories, the characters and lines that seemed insignificant will be revealed to be the crux of a much bigger story. It’s not how much stage-time someone has, or how loudly (or badly) the lines were given. Instead, it’s the Writer/Director that determines their importance.
And, at some point, I will join the fellow actors who were in my scenes for a curtain call. All of us who listened to the director and took His cues will stand reunited in the lights and bow. We hope to hear the audience of One give us a standing ovation, shouting “Bravo!”
Then comes the cast party…
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