What is a blog?

Stardate 64112.1 . . . . I Think,

I'm trying to understand what a blog is . . . and isn't. I don't want it to be a "facebook" page that puts way too much personal information out there and eats up too much time. A personal journal is a little uncomfortable, don't know if I want all that on the web. According to wordnetweb.princeton.edu a blog is a "web log: a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies". My main focuses are family, Bible, RA's, church, outdoors . . . oh yeah, and work. lol. Guess I'll make these my main focuses. Let's see how that works.

I'm Back

Ok, I'm going to try to keep this blog up a little better than I have in the past.

Brothers building Brothers - 4/26/10

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your out-stretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. Jeremiah 32:17

The life of Jeremiah is a study in hard. As I read through his experience during the great siege of Babylon I am amazed at what God called him to do and the extremes to which God expected this man to go to in declaring His word. I wonder if I could be faithful like Jeremiah. The question crosses my mind; “What kept Jeremiah on track, what kept him focused, what kept him faithful?” I believe we get a glimpse of what it is in chapter 32:17-25. Here Jeremiah makes a statement of God’s sovereign power and glory.

The thesis statement in verse 17 is classic and serves us well in the uncertain times in which we live. It is comforting to remember that the God I serve is the creator of the universe. If He was the energy behind the creation, and as Paul says in Colossians, the power that sustains it then what an extreme lack of faith is required to doubt His ability to see us through our present crisis.

The unequivocal statement; “There is nothing too hard for You”, puts my struggles and perceived needs in an entirely different light. How can I doubt that my God shall supply all my needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus? I’m not a fortune teller and do not have a crystal ball but it doesn’t take much of a seer to realize that we are approaching a very similar situation as Jeremiah was in. If we are to be found faithful in declaring the word of God during hard times we must stay grounded in the truth that the God we serve “made the heavens and the earth by his great power and out-stretched arm”.

There is nothing too hard for your God!

Your brother Jack

Brothers building Brothers - 3-22-10

So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said is all well? And he said, all is well. My master has sent me, saying, behold, even now there have come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: please give them a talent of silver, and two changes of clothes. 2 Kings 5:21-22

I remember this story being told from the time I was a child in Sunday School and as with all the adventures of Elijah and Elisha it fascinated me. The relationship these two men had with God was unique in that they seem to know the thoughts and actions of certain individuals who were not in their presence. Undoubtedly these were revealed to them by God for His purposes. As I was reading this morning, I realized just how much Gehazi is an illustration of me in my daily walk with God.

Gehazi had been with Elisha for some time and he had seen his master in action; what made him think that he could get this little plot past Elisha. I'm thinking as I read that Gehazi sure is foolish to try and slip one past a guy like Elisha, and yet I try the same thing over and over. Every time I make a deliberate decision to sin I'm basically trying to slip one past God. Maybe he'll overlook it this time or maybe he's too busy to notice.

I believe the key to why this happens to me is found in the text. When Naaman asked Gehazi "Is all well"; Gehazi's answer reveals that he has lost focus on reality; "All is well", he said. His focus is on himself and his covetousness and he is blind to truth. The moment that I, in my mind surrender to sin my focus leaves the truth of God's word and I begin to operate in my own little world of sin in which I make up all the rules that govern reality. That allows me to sin and think God won't notice.

Father I pray I will be sensitive to Your Spirit's conviction and that I will stay focused on Jesus today.

Praying the same for you,

Your brother Jack

Brothers building Brothers - 3/15/10

And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. Your way O God is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God. Psalm 77:10-13

The writer of this psalm is in a desperate situation. In verse two we read, “My soul refused to be comforted”. There is a little note here for me and I believe for all of us who from time to time wallow in depression and self pity. There is a choice we make to not be comforted. I know it is hard to hear but I reject the notion that is so prevalent in the Christian community that “mental illness” is somehow beyond the bounds of sin and God’s remedy for it. What struck me this morning was that the psalmist made a second choice.

“This is my anguish; but”. This is the same choice I have been forced to make so many times. “These are my circumstances; they do not seem to be changing but I now choose not to allow them to dictate my attitude.” Instead: “I will remember”, “I will remember”, “I will remember”, “I will also meditate . . . and talk”. His choice was to shift his focus from his circumstances to his God.

Who is so great a God as our God? Do I really believe that or do I believe that my “condition” whatever the diagnosis is, is greater than my God? Today, if you’re stuck in a negative choice you’ve made, do what the psalmist did; make another choice!

Choosing to focus on God,

Your brother Jack