Lesson Two “The Coming of Jesus” (Winter Quarter year two) First Grade sunday School

Mary was just a girl, a teenager really, who loved God with all her heart. That is probably one of the reasons that Joseph had his father ask Mary’s father permission for their betrothal. Do you know it means for them to be betrothed? It means that Mary and Joseph were promised to marry each other, and that they both were getting ready to make a home together. Joseph was probably building a room for them to live in, and making any changes to his work to add enough income to allow him to take care of a wife, and, if God wanted it, a baby.

Mary was busy at home finishing any projects her parents needed from her and preparing her own things to make her new home with Joseph a special place to have a family. Mary didn’t let her mind dwell on the worry, but in the back of her mind she wasn’t really sure that she and Joseph would be raising a child. Didn’t her cousin Elizabeth live almost her entire life as a wife without ever having a baby of her own to hold? Mary could count easily enough women to cover both hands who never were able to have a baby.

Mary also knew that the Messiah would be born to a woman from her family, the family of the great King David of long ago. God had promised it! As a girl Mary had heard that proclamation many times from her father. He was sure that one of his daughters would be the mother of the Messiah. Wasn’t it about time? Everyone was talking about it. The horrible Romans were making life miserable, and many of the Jews were getting stronger in their obedience to God’s laws in hopes that they would bring the mighty Messiah to raise an army which would defeat the Romans and establish an Israel like the one King David ruled so many years ago. Mary just wanted to be a mother even if it meant that she wasn’t going to be the mother to the Savior of Israel.

It was to this woman that the angel Gabriel was bound, but when he showed up she wasn’t the least prepared for his entrance. Not one for useless gab Gabriel simply spoke his message- “Greetings oh favored one, the Lord is with you!” What do you think Mary thought when she heard this from the angel? What could the angel be there to say?
Was the angel coming to give her a secret message about her marriage to Joseph? Or was she in trouble for something big enough that required an angel to give her a message?

The angel tried to calm her and share his message- “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And pay careful attention, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary did not really know what all this meant at the moment. She had a clue that the angel meant that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, but how could this happen to her now?

Everyone she knew that had a baby after God said they would were already married. Think of Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother, and Sarah, the wife of Abraham who was told she was going to bear a child in her old age. Mary didn’t understand how God would want a woman who was not married to have a baby. This meant that people would think that she didn’t want to obey God and wait to have a baby until she was married. Mary didn’t think God goofed, but she did need to make sure she understood so she asked- “How will this happen since I am unmarried?”

Her question did not bother the angel- “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And guess what? Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left.

How do you think that Mary felt? This was an incredible moment for Mary because now she knew that she would not have to worry about bearing a child to Joseph, but she also realized that no one would believe her. Joseph may not even believe her when she told him how she came to be a mother without being married to him. Why did God make sure she became pregnant before she married her husband? So that it will be clear that the child was the Son of God, and not a man marred by sin. The Bible tells us that Mary spent a great deal of time studying what God was doing, and I honestly think that she understood what was going on. She didn’t understand it all, it was a big plan, but she did know that the baby was God’s Son. She probably even understood that Jesus was God Himself.

Can you imagine being Mary now? She had every sign of a coming baby in her body. She was tired, and probably felt sick quite often, especially in the morning. She probably worried about how well she would do in teaching her coming baby everything he needed to learn. I hope she understood that if God could give her and her cousin Elizabeth a baby, He could make it possible for her to raise His Son right. Mary went to her cousin to visit for a few months. I think it was so she could rest and figure out what was going on. I am sure that Mary couldn’t tell anyone about her coming baby so she was probably happy when Elizabeth realized that Mary was carrying her holy child.
Listen to her song-

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he w ho is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Do you see that Mary’s praise focuses on God’s plan and how He kept his promise to His people? Did you know that Jesus came not only to Mary, but to us? Jesus was God’s promise from the very first moment of our need for a Savoir way back in the Garden of Eden! It is His power in keeping His promises, and His love for the World that made Jesus come to earth to save us from our sins. Mary was picked to be part of God’s plan, not because she was the most righteous woman ever, but because she was the one God planned to do this special ministry for her God. Did you know that you have a special part of God’s plan? When Mary was born God had already decided to protect her and capture her heart so that she was able to be the mother of our Savior, and when you were born God already a special plan in mind for you. When you hear His spirit calling to your heart, obey like Mary did with a heart of praise.

Winter Quarter Year Two Lesson One “Getting Ready For the Son Of God”

Zacharias trembled as he entered the temple. It was just a little before that his name was chosen by a drawing to represent his part of the family in presenting the incense offering this time. Zacharias knew that this was probably the only time in his entire life that he would be able do this special task. Most priests only dream of this moment when Zacharias the priest would enter the holy place, approach the incense altar, and perform the offering. Zacharias’ joy was tempered, however, as he stepped through the doorway into the temple. If only he and his elderly wife Elizabeth had a child with whom to to share this. If only they weren’t so old as to be without hope of ever bearing a child. It seemed that God had rewarded their obedience and faith only with heartache. How the Priest and his wife dreamed of enjoying a grandchildren in these final years of their lives, but now, as Zacharias gathered the items he needed for the offering, he knew that Elizabeth would be the only one sitting at home later listening to his delighted voice tell of his special act of worship that day. The tired body reverently crossed the final threshold into the Holy Place where the altar of incense stood, but suddenly Zacharias stiffened. Fear filled his body, and seemed to scream chills into every fingertip. There in the room where he was to have been alone stood a creature he had never seen before. Even though Zacharias had never seen one he knew that this individual before him, standing to the right of the altar of incense, was an angel of God. Why? Was God expecting someone else to come in? Is this what happened right before you died, an angel came to get you? The priest’s fear did not go away for as he stood there focused on the heavenly being, the angel directed his gaze directly at Zacharias and spoke to him. “Do not be afraid Zacharias for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before them in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Zacharias knew what the angel meant. He knew God’s promise that the Messiah would come and save his people, and he knew that someone with the spirit of Elijah would come to prepare the way. This promise is found in our verse for today. Malachi 3:1a “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me”
There had been 400 years from the last revelation from God to this moment when the angel gave God’s message to the priest. Zacharias knew better however.

He answered the angel- “How can I be sure? I am an old man and my wife is fairly old too!” The angel did not flinch. He simply answered- “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And pay attention, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time.” True to the angel’s word when Zacharias left the room after offering the incense offering he spoke not a word and quietly returned home to his wife. Zacharias did not keep his mouth shut because he was frightened of what might happen should he speak. He simply could not talk. He could not make a sound. It seems that everyone assumed that he had a stroke and lost his ability to speak and hear for when the baby was born, as God had promised, Zacharias was not consulted as to the name of the child. When Zacharias finally convinced them to bring him something to right on he wrote that the child was to be named John according to the instructions given to him by the angel. At that moment Zacharias was again able to speak, and he praised God telling anyone who would listen that his precious son was an important part of God’s plan.

John was important. Remember our verse- Malachi 3:1a “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” John was that messenger. He grew trained well by his godly mother and father, and when it was time to start his work he went into the desert dressed in camel hair and eating locusts, a bug like a grasshopper. He didn’t simply enter the desert to find weird food, he went there to preach. People from all over came to hear him preach repentance from sin, and people’s heart were changed.

I once had a man tell me that God would never tell him something that didn’t seem right to him. I guess that is how Zacharias felt when the angel told him that there was going to be a baby born to his family. Yet God’s promise was right, even if it didn’t seem right to Zacharias. God’s plan seemed impossible, but He promised, and God always, always keeps His promises. Our verse, Malachi 3:1a probably seemed like an impossible promise to those who heard it and studied it later. The world at the time was going crazy, and it seemed that no one could make any plans for the future. Not even God seemed strong enough to be that in charge. But God promised, and God always keeps his promise.

How did Zacharias know what God meant? He knew God’s Word. You don’t have to be a Jewish priest to know God’s Word. Chances are that you already have a Bible nearby and you are ready to begin reading it. When you read it you will find that God has made promises that are made for you. One of my many favorite promises of God is found in first John chapter one verse nine “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.” I like the promises because they are nice, but I trust them because God made them. I can make promises, but you can’t always trust them because sometimes things happen that I cannot control. God is not like that. He can keep His promises and He will. Remember John the Baptist, son of Zacharias and Elizabeth? He was a promise of God come true, and God will keep the promises He makes to you!

My alter-ego

It was a while ago that I wrote a web page about why I no longer practiced iridology. I deleted the page to keep the peace with my family, but somehow someone seems to have found it using a net archive like the one I linked to above. He and I have been having an online conversation since Thanksgiving day, and although it will be ending soon it has been an interesting blast into my past. If anyone is in the mood to debate someone in the so-called "alternative medicine" field let me warn you that the type of logic that is used is quite unlike that used in other fields that purport to be driven by science. At the beginning of our discussion I told this new friend that our debate will likely end a draw and that is where it is headed since both of us approach life from very different points of view. The strange thing is that we both have called on Scripture several times in our discussion. It is interesting that the use of Scripture does not preclude one falling into error, but I will not say which one of us is probably in error. That which is a matter of fact to me may very well appear to be a matter of opinion to another.

I will say, however, that it seems to me that a number of Christians in "alternative medicine" are under the opinion that the way of God is the use of "natural" substances to develop health. In other words you will hear many references to "organic" and "natural" and herbal while these same individuals show an aversion to concepts of chemical, processed, or "drug". I know of one man who insists that aspirin is dangerous while white willow bark, from which aspirin is derived, is safe. There isn't really any difference between these two, but this "alternative medicine" practitioner insists that the bark is better because it is "natural". I have been tempted to retort that it is only natural to take the bark then when you accidentally bump into the tree and a piece of bark falls into your mouth, but that would be counter-productive.

It is true that I prefer the flavor of many "organic" vegetables but that is usually because of the fact that they are usually picked more ripe than the "not-organic" vegetables. This whole discussion makes me laugh because if something is not organic than it must be inorganic and a vegetable has carbon atoms so it must be organic. The very label is ludicrous in my mind, but I digress. Unfortunately for the "organic foods" crowd that wants to go back to Eden they always miss one very important point- the foods we have now have been cultivated to be different than they were in the garden of Eden. It is a problem to try to eat "natural" foods in an effort to eat food the way God originally made it because there is not a food that exists as God originally made it. This is true, as I mentioned above, because of ancient to modern cross-breeding, but also because of another Biblical doctrine- the universal corruption of sin.

My current debate with my new-found friend is focusing on this point. I am not going to argue with him here, but simply repeat what I have already stated for those outside our conversation. My new friend insists that God wants us to experience wholeness on earth which will only be attained by eating foods as God gave them to us. You already know my position on this from above, but my friend strongly feels that there is little alternative here. I believe that he would concede that things have changed from the Garden of Eden, but he still believes the principle remains of eating things in their original state. In other words, my new friend preaches consumption of whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables as a large portion of a diet, and the use of herbs instead of drugs when possible. He believes that following these principles along with a few other helps that he provides will allow us to reach wholeness, or in other words, perfect health.

The problem as I see it is that sin has corrupted everything including these whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Certainly a diet high in whole grains and fruits and vegetables is quite desirable. I don't think anyone within conventional medicine debates this, but I also see that sin has hopelessly corrupted life on this earth. Even with all these efforts we will get sick and die someday. The other consideration is that the "natural" herbs that so many like my new friend champion have also suffered the effects of sin. Most of them have poisons that are yet unknown and we are still discovering the toxic effects that lifelong consumption of these substances cause. I told my new friend that his idea of wholeness from God's perfect creation is a nice thought, but not true from Scripture. Of course he thinks I am missing God's point. You might too, but now you know where I stand.

A Soldier's Christmas

The following (including author's notes) is reposted from http://iwvpa.net/marksm/a_soldie.php It really touched me and so I thought I would pass it on this Vetern's Day.
-Josh

A SOLDIER'S CHRISTMAS
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,Transforming the yard to a winter delight.The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,Secure and surrounded by love I would sleepin perfect contentment, or so it would seem.So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,and I crept to the door just to see who was near.Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years oldPerhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,to the window that danced with a warm fire's lightthen he sighed and he said "It's really all right,I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"
"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,that separates you from the darkest of times.No one had to ask or beg or implore me,I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'NamAnd now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,The red white and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,Away from my family, my house and my home,I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,I can carry the weight of killing anotheror lay down my life with my sisters and brotherswho stand at the front against any and all,to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no frightYour family is waiting and I'll be all right.""But isn't there something I can do, at the least,"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?It seems all too little for all that you've done,For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,"Just tell us you love us, and never forgetTo fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,to know you remember we fought and we bledis payment enough, and with that we will trust.That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
©Copyright December 7, 2000 by Michael Marks

Author's Note: A Soldier's Christmas was the first in this series of patriotic writings, drafted on Pearl Harbor Day 2000 when in the wake of the 2000 Presidential Election our nation saw the right of US Armed Forces personnel openly questioned and debated. I felt it unconscionable that at the onset of the Christmas season, those serving to defend our nation would hear anything but our love and support. It is our challenge to stand for their rights at home while they stand for our lives and safety overseas. This poem went out and quickly spread around the world in emails, letters, magazines. I received letters from Marines in Bosnia, soldiers in Okinawa, from a submariner who xeroxed a copy for everyone on his sub. Moms wrote, dads, brothers and sisters. I have saved and cherish every letter and set out to continue writing throughout the year.

Boat the Vote

My sweet little Bug is now four years old and is good for a little chuckle just about every day. Today wasn't any different. My Darling One called to my daughter to get ready this morning as she prepared to step out the door to go vote. My little Bug said, "Where is the boat?" No matter how hard my Darling tried to explain it, my little Bug just couldn't get it. When they finally arrived at the polling station my little One in annoyance announced, "I can't see any water Mommy!" All three of our children dealt with the same frustration around three or four years of age. No matter, they love the "I Voted!" sticker even if there isn't any boating to be had.

Daniel and God's Love

This week we are going to venture into the Old Testament book of Daniel starting with the first chapter. Remember that last week we discussed how the Babylonian army invaded and destroyed Jerusalem, but that was the last of a long line of frightening events that found the people of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, fighting for their existence after they refused to obey God and forsake their false gods. The events I want to tell you about now happened before Jeremiah was thrown into the cistern or met the destroying armies of the Babylonian Empire.

Jehoahaz the king refused to obey God and God gave his kingdom over to the Egyptian empire that put Jehoiakim, his son, in control of the Kingdom of Judah. Jehoiakim was forced to send quite a bit of gold to Egypt to keep them from destroying his kingdom, but then Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, fought with the Egyptians and began taking over the lands that they had conquered. This put the people of Judah right in the middle of a huge mess. Babylon took over control of Judah and Jehoiakim agreed to pay taxes to Babylon, but he only did it for three years until he decided he had enough and tried to build an army against the Babylonians, so the Babylonians invaded with their armies and Jehoiakim died and his son King Jehoiachin was taken prisoner by the Babylonians along with a large number of people from his kingdom.

Into the middle of this mess were born four boys that have made quite a name for themselves in Biblical history. I believe that these four boys, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were old enough to remember what it was like to try to learn Egyptian ways while wondering if they would be soon forced to use Babylonian money and laws. I am sure that some of the adults the boys knew were teaching their children to worship Egyptian gods while others were learning how to address the gods of the Babylonians in prayer, while other parents were teaching their children to worship the One True God. Daniel and his friends must have been frightened many times by news that huge armies were coming to crush their kings’ resistance to their demands. No one knew if the Babylonians were going to kill everyone, or just make a new king take over the kingdom.

And then one day the armies did come, and they did beat the Jewish army, and they did take over the city. Suddenly the boys were trying to figure out how to speak in a new language to the Chaldean soldiers who were using spears to push them away from their parents and homes into groups of boys very much like them. I am sure that no one knew exactly what was to happen. Would the boys be carried away by the army to learn to become soldiers and fight in other wars? Would the boys become servants to do the hardest work in the empire? Where were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah going to go? What should they do? Many of their friends were already trying to look more like their Babylonian captors in order to keep from being picked on. Many of their friends had learned the names of the Babylonian gods and were learning how to worship them so that they would get on better in their new place, wherever it would be.

Daniel, it is clear, decided early on that no matter what happened he would follow the One True God. His three friends decided that his plan was right and committed to follow the One True God too, no matter how their friends and enemies felt about it. I am sure there was quite a bit of discussion about this decision because Daniel wrote that he and his three friends were the only ones who chose to eat only the foods that would honor God. I am sure that many of the boys that were carried away by the Babylonians argued that if God loved them still He would have kept them from being defeated by the Babylonians. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishae, and Azariah probably had to argue that they knew God loved them, no matter what happened to make it seem like He didn’t.

There are people today who insist the same thing, that if you are truly loved by God you will never have to be in scary situations or do things that you really don’t want to do. These people insist that when something bad happens to God’s people, like being defeated by a bad army, that it proves that God doesn’t care about His people anymore. Daniel would have said, “No! God still has a plan that we don’t understand, but that makes it more important that we obey Him!”

What should Daniel and his friends have done? Should they allow themselves to act more like their enemies so that they would be able to survive, or stand for God no matter if it meant they would die? God had let their enemies take them away from their homes and families; it would seem that He wouldn’t care what happened to them in the foreign land. But Daniel and his friends didn’t care. They still decided to obey. When they got to Babylon their enemies changed their names to sound more like the false gods that Daniel and his friends didn’t like. This is why we remember Daniel’s three friends by other names- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar, but no matter how often they heard themselves called by names of false gods, they insisted on obeying the One True God.

And then the King of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar, did something that made perfect sense- He offered these new members of his kingdom the very best food he could offer. He told his people to serve the Judean captives the very food and wine that he would eat. The king did this to make his new workers as smart as possible. Remember that good food is brain food. The king planned on teaching these boys everything there was to know about science, and language, and history so that they could help him run his government. For these boys this was the opportunity of a lifetime. They could do things that may have not been possible back home. King Nebuchadnezzar, it seemed, was treating them better than their own God. There was no need to say no thanks to their new king and act like they were better than him, but Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael did say “No thank you!” They knew that whatever meat they were served was prepared in honor of a false god, and that the wine would be made in honor of a false god so they decided to eat the only safe food they could think of- vegetables.

The king’s chamberlain was very upset. In Babylon the king’s food was considered brain food. If these boys were allowed to eat whatever they wanted, when they stood before the king to be tested they would look really bad and the king would look at the chamberlain as if he did something very wrong. It is possible that the chamberlain would lose his life if he let Daniel get away with this. Daniel would not change his mind. “Try it for ten days and see how we look. If we look worse than the other boys, we will eat whatever you give us.” There was no promise by God that this plan would work. You can read throughout the whole law in the book of Leviticus and you will see that God never said that if you eat my way in an enemy’s land you will look better than anyone else, but Daniel and his friends trusted that God would do whatever was necessary to make it possible for them to obey Him.

So they tested the four boys, and ten days later, Daniel, Azariah, Mishael, and Hananiah were better looking than any of the other boys that came from Judah with them. There are a lot of possible ways that God could have done this. Some people believe that if we eat only vegetables now, we will be as smart as Daniel and his friends; others think that what happened was a miracle. However God worked it out, He proved to these boys that He was going to back them up. This was God’s way of telling His boys that even though they were far away from His temple and His people, they were not far from Him if they kept their hearts following Him.

The final test came when a while later they had their final test before King Nebuchadnezzar and he found that they learned better, and could think quicker than any of the other boys. God used the obedience of these four young men to put men who loved Him into some very important places in the enemy’s kingdom.

Our verse this week is John 10:11 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” In this historical account that I just told you God acted like a shepherd and led his young men into a way of acting that proved His power even in a strange land. God proved that He loves His people no matter how badly it seems that He is treating them. It looked to everyone that God didn’t care anymore, how else could we explain the fact that He let bad men carry His people away? But in reality God loved His people, and He still does. God put Daniel, Azariah, Mishael, and Hananiah in the perfect place to get things ready for His people to one day return to their homeland. God proved that He loves His people in all of History.

Jonah and Mercy

This week in Sunday School we are going to encounter a man by the name of Jonah. The problem of teaching Jonah to a group of children at Briarwood Presbyterian Church is that they have heard the story several times and can recount the important details from memory instantly. It is even likely that my first-graders are familiar with even the debate over the question whether Jonah was swallowed by a whale or a big fish. The focus of this lesson according to our curriculum is God's mercy toward sinners. Of course it strikes one instantly that God’s mercy was shown to the people of Ninevah as well as toward Jonah who deserved the ultimate punishment from God for his disobedience. Instead, God allowed Jonah to survive in the belly of the big fish, and responded to the repentance of the people of Ninevah by delaying their destruction. This short book in the Old Testament also explains part of the reason for the delaying of God’s final Judgment on the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians. God promised His judgment on the Assyrians would come after they invaded His people in Israel, but when the Assyrians repented they delayed the process which would eventually lead them to invade Israel and undergo God’s judgment.

What is mercy? If this historical narrative from the book of Jonah is evidence of mercy it provides insight into the definition of mercy. God did not give Jonah, Ninevah, or the people of Israel what they deserved for their disobedience to God. From this comes an understanding that mercy occurs when we don’t get what we deserve. The Christian finds mercy at the cross where Jesus shed His blood and kept us from getting the eternal death that we deserve. Having been raised in a church that is strong in teaching basic doctrines my first-graders have probably heard of mercy so much that they don’t really grasp the impact of its effect. In other words they take the mercy of God for granted. In their minds they think “Of course God showed mercy!” But the people of Ninevah did not take this for granted. They saw that they weren’t going to get away with their sin any longer. Jonah probably figured that mercy missed him when he saw the spray rise around the huge beast’s gaping mouth. I expect that my students would be more like the people of Israel who were basically oblivious to the fact that God’s grace was shown to them every day for allowing them to continue to exist even though they lived in disobedience. Will I be able to lead my students to grasp their need for mercy?

Enjoying the life...

My wonderful wife has entered the blogging world. If you are wondering what our day is like, chances are that she has a good summary on her blog. Now if I could only publish something on mine.

Scandalous Truth

For months I have been working on a post about admissions of scandalous facts. I was prompted to start the post after reading a "Dear Abby" in which a man wrote of a past affair that his wife never discovered, but over which he felt guilty. It is more than just an interesting bit of gossip. The guy sinned with a friend of the family and if he disclosed the long-over affair to his wife it would ruin their friendship with the other couple and could end his now much stronger marriage. The writer told "Abby" that no other discernible consequences have developed, but he felt overcome with guilt and wanted to tell his wife about his affair to get it "off his chest."

What do you think? My personal feeling is that he needs to enter into counseling both alone and with his wife. The affair did not happen in a vacuum and there are root issues that needed to be dealt with. If the wife needs to learn of the affair to get past some of those issue, it may be necessary, but I personally feel like it would not be wrong for the husband to deal with that guilt without his wife ever knowing about it. That is essentially how "Abby" responded in her column.
My wife on the other hand was disturbed that such advice should be given. "I'd want to know!" was her response. Why? "Because I just should know!" Don't worry, there won't be an admission from me here now that I know how my wife feels, but the strength of her response made me take notice. I have asked other friends who basically agreed with my wife using some great reasoning. Mom told me that his wife probably knew about the affair and was waiting for him to tell her. Other friends agreed with me (it always feels good to have someone on my side).

This discussion highlights some important ideas about truth. How much is really necessary? Suppose that I had a deep dark secret that no one ever found out about me. Let's say the secret caused me some pain, but I dealt with bringing justice to the situation without involving the people who were not involved, including my wife. Would that be wrong? This secret could be some money I embezzled and paid back with interest by working overtime while still providing for my family. Maybe I met up with a prostitute while away from home and sought counseling afterward to help me come to full repentance and protect my marriage from further abuse. Maybe all my wife ever knew was that I needed to work out some personal problems and now our marriage was stronger.

The issue is complex, but it also has some simplicity. God desires truth in the inward parts, but He doesn't necessarily want us to taint everyone unnecessarily. Some secrets need to be dealt with secretly. Being honest for the man who wrote to "Dear Abby" means admitting to God that he was wrong and needed to find counseling to make sure he was now on the right track. Obviously if he contracted some sort of disease from his affair, his wife should know why. Each situation has its own reasons why someone should tell this kind of secret, and that is why a good counselor is invaluable. Sometimes we need someone to know so that we are motivated to change. Some addictions are fed by secrecy. I can quickly think of several situations in which someone should have disclosed a secret life early on so that it wouldn't come out later in a more hurtful way. Many politicians have been hurt by keeping such secrets, and many well-known religious leaders have had their ministries ruined because they let a sinful desire go unchecked until it was much more than a questionable thought.

But suppose I can see that I have shown to God and myself that I have lived years in full repentance. Do I need to admit something like that to my unsuspecting wife? Shouldn't she know the truth? The fact is that the truth may even be hard for me to see. I mean the "True truth". The fact is that the man who started this whole thing had a deeper truth to reveal to his wife than the fact of his affair. He needed to tell her that he sometimes struggles with whether he wants to be married or stay faithful. The focus really needs to be what caused the affair.

Sure, my wife doesn't like me keeping secrets from her, but there are some things that don't need to be told. Suppose that my wife caught me in an affair (which she won't. This is hypothetical). She would not really care about all the details of the sex, but she would want to know the details of why. To insist on telling her all the details of how it happened is to punish her more than she deserves. No one deserves to have their spouse violate their trust, but even more than that, no one deserves to have that violation of their trust flaunted.

God desires truth in our very deepest parts. No rationalization over how I couldn't help it. No calling it a harmless fling. No insisting that no one was hurt. The sinner must first admit the whole truth to God, and then he must repent fully. If it takes someone knowing to force him to repent then he should tell someone, but if God works in his heart so that he never returns to that sin he should seek a wise counselor that can help him deal with the root cause of that sin though he may never share the details with anyone. A sure sign that he hasn't repented is that he considers doing it a second time. Secret sins have a way of becoming public, especially if I never deal with the root cause. So, I may be keeping a couple secrets, but that doesn't mean there isn't repentance. If I have not repented be sure I will not have that secret for long.

If I Were a Rich Man

Jesus said to his disciples, "It's terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven!'" Matthew 19:23

We often feel sorry for the rich young ruler who mournfully left Jesus' presence just before the Master spoke these words.

I can remember how I felt the first time I heard this passage. I understood the response of the rich man who was told to give it all up for Jesus, and I remember being mildly shocked at the the response of the disciples to the statement. It wasn't until I recently sang Tevye's song from the Fiddler on the Roof about how he would conduct himself should he be a rich man-
"If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray,
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall,
And I'd discuss the learned books with the holy men
Seven hours every day--
That would be the sweetest thing of all..."
(http://www.lyricsdepot.com/zero-mostel/if-i-were-a-rich-man.html)

From the perspective of the Disciples, a rich man had the time to focus on his spiritual habits and learning about God. For the rich young ruler, who was probably well off from birth, he was so good because he went to the best schools, had the time to sit under the best rabbis, and didn't have to be so distracted by immediate needs from the beauty of Godly thoughts.

The American protestant today may not quite identify with this feeling. We tend to see the religious rich as suspect, facing temptations that common people do not even have the chance to have, but in the world of New Testament Palestine it was more common for the religious rich to be seen as the ones who are the most godly because they can spend more time being spiritual because they didn't have so many worries about survival.

Now it makes more sense to me why Jesus told the rich young ruler to give all he had to the poor. If the religious rich young ruler gave up his physical riches, in his mind, he gave up most of his spiritualy identity.

Me again after a bit...

My wife just informed me that she checks my blog every day and I can tell by the way she told me that we our zeek hoofeul is tired of not seeing anything new on it. So here is something new.

I added a link (I think it is above) to show the extent of the flooding. The overhead view of the river overflowing its banks looks very much like the area of Apalachin where my parents live. In fact, I am inclined to think that it is their house on the bottom of the picture.

Thankfully everyone in my family came out ok and I was able to make it up there and see the flooding for myself. Of course just about everyone is dealing with the requisite mold problems in the basements and crawl spaces, but it could have been so much worse.

I am currently gearing up for finals and getting as much time in with my kids before the two oldest take off for school in three weeks (it doesn't seem possible).

Just in case you are wondering "we our zeek hoofeul" is easily translated into "she". Ask my wife. She knows why. ;-)

quickly...

Just got a report from my wife who stated that my father saw the house and that it appears to have very little water damage, and that all of the water damage was limited to 4 inches in the basement. I get there tonight and hope to see for myself.

'til then

Wet and Wild, but not fun

I have been on tenterhooks all day since my wife contacted me this morning to alert me to the fact that the Susquehanna river was in the process of rising. Thank God for cell phones! We have been talking all day about the situation as she and our kids have been visiting with my parents across the street from the rising river. In recent memory the river has never risen to the point where my parents' house was ever at risk, but things were looking ominous by midmorning and they began to plan for evacuation. This is no simple task since this is the week for annual cousin's camp at Mom and Dad's where all their grandkids come to spend time together and learn important life lessons from Grandma and Grandpa. Suddenly it became an important question of getting away from the river safely. I don't have all of the details, but I am informed that sometime early in the afternoon every family member's minivan was corralled into service and all 10 grandkids were evacuated with mothers from my parents' house and relocated to my older sister's house in Hallstead, PA. When the final vehicle left it looked like the flooring of the one story house was being covered with the basement already being filled with water. I suspect that a majority of the house will be a loss if only because of mold. Thank God that everyone escaped safely with a minimum of panic. I have never been more proud of my wife as I am in this moment when she kept her head and was able to calmly carry our children and their belongings into our van to escape the rising waters. The plan has always been for me to fly up there tomorrow to drive them back home here in Alabama, but we never anticipated that this difficult series of events would complicate everything. I am just glad that I will be able to get up there soon to help them cope with the situation.
Pray, please, for our neighbors and friends.

Happy Father's Day

So I woke this morning to my six-year-old son asking what I wanted for breakfast in bed. At 6:30 am I wanted sleep and he respected my wishes by going to his mother's side of the bed and asking repeatedly what I should have for my breakfast in bed. Thus I really did not get my wish.

It's really fine, because it is the spirit of the thing that counts and I think he is the sweetest boy I have ever met. I did finally rouse enough to get him and his sisters breakfast, and I ate with them at the table. No crumbs in bed for me. I enjoy so much just the fact of being a father that I really could not tell much difference this day in how I felt (with the exception of the neat gifts I received!). We had fun today, and a minimum of fatherly correction was needed by my wonderful little ones. Of course one of the top gifts today was the 1:32 scale WWII era German tank that my son gave me. You can never have too many toys!

Counting Character

Just recently I listened to a man at Church teach a Sunday School lesson on the bumper sticker ''Character does count''. The basic point of the lesson was that our popular culture does not encourage good character but glorifies bad morality. The teacher argued that good character is not the result of circumstances, but that circumstances reveal the quality of our character. This idea is not new to me and I tend to agree with it, but the teacher went further to point out that good character was limited by the company it keeps. He made a point of explaining how listening to ''bad" music and watching movies that contain sex and violence limit one's ability to develop or maintain good character. I have qualms about this belief, but my major concern is what naturally followed in this man's logic. Our teacher's conclusion included the observation that good character is essential to an obedient walk with God. In other words in order to be a good Christian one must have good character.

At first glance this idea seems reasonable, but a deeper look reveals a mistaken view that leads to legalism. Let's start by looking at the history of that bumper sticker which became popular in response to the presidential campaign slogan of the 1990s ‘‘It’s the economy stupid." Our slogan as Christians became ''Character Does Count" because the focus on economy disregarded the moral weaknesses of the Clinton administration. We believe that money is well below morality in importance, and wanted our leaders to be moral examples for our nation.

What, then, is character if it is so important? As I inferred above, character walks hand in hand with morality. In other words my character is the sum of my moral convictions. As wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn says it, character is “the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions.” If someone were to say that I was an example of biblical character it is usually meant that I live by scripturally guided moral convictions. A man who is known for biblical character is a man who can be counted on to do the right thing according to God's Word no matter who is watching or not watching. Character is important because it is what guides us in who we should include in our cultural influences. I want to see a man or woman of Godly character leading in my family, church, city, state, and country, and I want a woman or man of Godly character teaching my children in school or church. When choosing associates in friendship and business I look for people who exemplify Godly character. Remember that ICorinthians 15:33 tells us that ''bad company corrupts good morals."

I also want to be a person of the kind of character that will be a welcome associate of other people with godly character. It is for that reason that the Sunday school lesson caught my attention, but our teacher made a critical error in understanding the source of good character for the Christian. Our teacher followed the same pattern that I have heard all my life of giving examples of people who made good choices and exhibited good character in obscure settings. They did the right thing when no one would have noticed if they had done nothing at all. I want to be that kind of person, and it is intuitive that in order to be a person of good character I need to spend as much time as possible exposing myself to things that would encourage good character, but by focusing on this aspect of character alone our teacher left out the essential aspect of Christian character that sets us apart from all other religions that focus on developing strong morality- the Holy Spirit and a changed heart.

I remember reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography as a boy and thinking about his process of developing good character by making charts and lists and using them to create habits that would make him a better man over time. I remember discussing this with my father and we decided that Benjamin Franklin was a man of good character, but then the question was asked would he be in Heaven? The answer from Scripture is that Mr. Franklin is doomed if he relied on his good character to attain God’s favor. There is only one way to God through Jesus and His work on the cross (John 14:6). ICorinthians 15:32 points out the futility of relying on good character to attain to God’s favor and Heaven. In the above passage Paul asks what benefit martyrdom has if we do not gain eternal life through Christ’s resurrection, and the answer is none. Ephesians 2:8-9 is more explicit stating that we are saved through faith in Christ’s work and not our own works.

Stated simply, good character will not get us to Heaven, but does it have eternal value? The answer is a resounding yes. Jesus made it clear that character matters in His various teachings. Of course one only has to remember the Ten Commandments to remember what God expects of His people, but it also important to remember that under Christ the definition of good character is actually focused on something other than conduct. A quick reading through Romans 8 will remind us of that. The power of God in a man or woman is not found in the rules that they obey, but a life lived under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Compare the fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23) with the basic attitudes you would expect in someone with good character. This is a gift of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in changing a sinful man or woman’s heart.

God’s work in a heart totally committed to Him will naturally result in good character. So I make my final response to the idea that our teacher articulated that good character is essential in order to have a good walk with God. Good character for the Christian is the result of a life lived in a close walk with God. If I lack good character it is not really because I listen to bad music or watch violent and sex-filled movies, but because I am not open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. If I lack good character I should even question whether I have truly followed the Spirit’s call and had my heart changed. I have been in the legalistic process of creating good character in myself by limiting my access to the world, but then became so afraid of the taints of the world that I became useless in evangelism and too exhausted to hear the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit. This may be good character in one sense, but it misses the ultimate point.

I close this essay by admitting to the same frustration as expressed by our teacher in the fact that our American Christian society seems like it cares more about looking like the world than pursuing Godly character. I see that we are allowing ourselves to be corrupted by bad company, but I don’t think this situation calls for redoubled effort in attaining good character. What we really need is intense soul searching to see if each of us is obeying the call of the Holy Spirit instead of the siren call of the world. To be truthful, I don’t want good character. I really want my character to be Jesus’ character. That doesn’t come from harder work, but from allowing God to conform me to Christ’s image (Romans 12:1-2). I therefore recommend that we avoid creating lists of movies and songs to boycott and focus on what is true, right, and honorable (Philippians 4:8). The rest will follow.

Busy Saturday

So I finally arose this AM to give my kids their breakfast of waffles and then showered in preparation for another sweat-soaked day today in the sunny South. My son's highlight today was meeting the Burmese Pythons that are cared for by the Birmingham Zoo. It seems that once every year they make a big deal out of measuring their big snakes with the "help" of customers (also known as "guests"). It doesn't matter to my son that we spent 30 minutes in the sweltering heat, or that he wasn't chosen to help hold one of the two BIG snakes (one Burmese python and one anaconda), but that he was able to touch a couple of the snakes shown on stage and talk to a real vet from the zoo. Oh, and he made a big deal about being with me (which was my favorite part too (not being with myself, silly, but being alone with my son)).

While we men were at the zoo, my girls were with Mommy meeting Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, the Fairy God Mother, and Prince Charming at the Hoover Library. The pictures were cute of the girls with Prince Charming and the Fairy God Mother, but my favorite part of the excursion were the cards of autographs that the girls carried home with the signatures of the princesses and Prince Charming. This obviously was geared for little ones with the so-called signatures printed by hand rather than in cursive, but the best part was that Prince Charming did the typical male thing and signed in style and simplicity with "P.C.". Nonetheless, my girls were thrilled. My Sarah Bug held her little silk rose from Prince Charming all afternoon.

Another highlight was visiting with some friends from Church at a supper club, and the kids were able to swim (though my little Bug didn't feel safe in the pool and chose to the utilize the trampoline all evening).

By the way, if you are in the Homewood area of Central Alabama and would like some good hardy angelfish, we just unloaded 12 of them at Ed's Pet World (another favorite place of ours).

So Milo has been taken out, Gorgeous has fed the fish, and so she and I are off to take our nightly repose...

let's try this again

Just looked at my first blog post and I must admit it is cool, even though I know that it only means that there is another fad to which I am giving in. I figure that I might as well do it now since I hear that blogging will be obsolete in the near future.

Stay tuned for future rambling from this noob.

this morning (actually yesterday morning)

So this morning I find myself in bed in a happy little stupor, seemingly unable to awaken in time to make it to the early service this morning @ church. This fact did not bother my children, but my son was intensely dismayed that he did not receive his breakfast at his desired time (6:30am). When he came to my side of the bed to demand his meal there was a mumbled ''go out and let me sleep". He is very obedient, but also wanted his breakfast. As I fell asleep I heard some quiet conversation among my three little ones and moments later I was startled awake by a loudly performed and obviously rehearsed conversation outside my door. "Daddy and Mommy are sleeping way too late today. I am hungry aren't you?!"

This is, I think, a good example of obeying the letter of the law but willfully ignoring the spirit of my directive. I know from experience that if I feed my offspring at 6:30 am they will nibble a few bites and demand something more at 9:00 am. With this thought in mind I knew my children were not really suffering. I dozed oft and on through several of these performances until my son started to send the girls into my room bearing his message. My three-year-old came in saying something that sounded more like my son than her. It was at this moment I realized the leadership skills my son has developed. I eventually did reward his efforts with breakfast at 8:15am, but I remain impressed that he was able to recruit his sisters into such a well organized operation.