The Jesse Tree

We have been celebrating Advent at my house this year by reading through “The Jesse Tree”. For those of you unfamiliar with this, The Jesse Tree is 25 is a book with 25 short readings leading up to the Jesus’ birth. Each reading has a symbol associated with it in the form a Christmas ornament. Each night before bed, the kids get to put that night’s ornament on the tree (with Mom’s help of course), while I read the Bible verse and the short story.

While there is nothing ground breaking about the stories, it has served as a good reminder for me of the incredible tapestry of events leading up to the birth of our Savior. I think it is important to remember that Jesus’ story didn’t start on Christmas, or even with the appearance of an angel telling Mary about her pregnancy. Rather, all history conspired towards that one singular event. It is pretty humbling to know, that an infinite God, would take the time to shape history in the most finite of details just to bring us to him through his son.

This realization has changed how I think about the Advent Season. The 25 days of Advent leading up to this Christmas seem trivial in light of 2500 years or so leading up to the First Christmas.

Advent

He sent to earth

a tiny babe.

Out of love,
this gift he gave.

All power rest,

in him disguised.

He looked on us

with human eyes.

Fully man,

yet fully God.

The sea of Gallilie,

he trod.

Yet at this time

of holiday cheer.

We oft forget,

to him draw near.

Wrapped as we are

in worldy concern.

What we can give

verse what we earn.

The gift God gave,

that Christmas day.

Is a gift that we

can 'ner repay.

And so as

Christmas draws near,

Let's all remember

and hold it dear.

A babe, a savior

in a manger.

Rescued us

from sin's grave danger.

Fearless Faith

My kids have a lot to teach me about faith. My youngest in particular is fearless in his faith. He will throw him off the couch, stairs, etc. without hesitation if Dad is there to catch him. His confidence is un-wavering, and while that is sometimes scary- I better be there ready to catch him every time, it is refreshing to see him so trusting.

I was watching a Mickey and the Beanstalk with him the other week and, for those of you haven’t seen it, it opens with a duck (Donald?) telling his companion a cricket (Jimeny?) about fairy tales. As he recounts each tale; with the disclaimer that they are just figamintations of the imagination, the cricket exclaims, “I believe it!” Again I was struck with how faith comes so easily kids.

I think that when we ascribe the faith of a child to their naivety we do them and ourselves a disservice. I’m not saying that kids aren’t naïve; rather what I am saying is that their faith springs from something else. Life hasn’t disappointed them, they haven’t been let down so that’s part of it, but there is something more too. Little kids have very little self consciousness; they don’t weigh out how a particular act will make them appear in the eyes of their peers. Sure, they understand when they are acting goofy they can get a laugh or sad and can get some sympathy, but they don’t do “cool”. That is to say, coolness isn’t a motivating factor in their decision making process and as such has no impact on their faith. That is why they give hugs and kisses freely now, but don’t try for much more than a hi-five when you go to drop them off at their friends as teenagers.

To bring all this stream of consciousness back around: I think there is much to be learned from kids in regards to faith. As a Dad, I will try to take more advantage of the little lessons my kids teach me, and do everything I can foster that faith beyond their childhood years and into their adult lives.

Forcing it at First

Winter is setting in Alaska, forcing the temperature below zero, forcing the moisture out of the air, and forcing endless hours of darkness across the landscape. As I reflected on this the other day, I realized that the desolation stretched across more than just the wintry drifts of the frozen north. Winter has set in on me too; work, school, hobbies, and other commitments have forced Christ into a corner of my life- and I let them.

The long hard winters of Alaska have an effect on all who live here, an affect commonly referred to as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). It affects each person in different ways and to different extents but, studies show there are ways to combat its effects. Forcing yourself to continue doing the things you enjoyed all summer long like exercise, being outside (for short periods of time given the sub-zero temps), and forcing yourself to go out and socialize rather than secluding yourself when the snow starts flying are all recommended to counteract the effects of SAD. Once you get through the first few weeks of disciplining yourself to go to the gym, get fresh air, and not use the weather as an excuse to sit around the house all day, it becomes a routine and you hardly notice the contributing factors of SAD and in effect become GLAD (Giving Life A Direction- Note: I made this term up and it is in no way based on any medical research).

In light of this research, and for the sake of the extension of this parallel; I am going to start doing much the same in my spiritual life. While I may have to force it at first (much like I had to force myself to sit down and write this 1st post back in 6 months), I hope that I will once again push through the spiritual SAD and become spiritually GLAD.

SIDEBAR: This was indeed a difficult post to write, admitting to yourself that you are not giving Christ the proper priority in life is not easy. Also, interchanging affect and effect while maintaining the proper usages for both is no joke, I'm not sure I got it 100% correct but I think I am in the ball park at least:)
Also, I don't think I have SAD (not much of it anyways), I do have sleepy though. I guess now is the time to catch up on all the sleep I skipped during the 24 hour daylight of summer.

Church Search

Well, we are still looking for a new church in Eagle River. We went back to Community Covenant this Sunday and had a much better experience than the previous visit. The pastor there is doing a sermon series entitled "Raising G rated kids in an R rated world". The topic this week was living with failure, ie: you raise your kids right and they still wind up acting like idiots. The pastor (I forget his name) used text from Judges to draw parallels from God's "parenting" of the Hebrews to our parenting of kids. It was a good message, a little light on reference but pretty heavy on application. They are having their VBS in a couple of weeks, too bad Zeke is still to young.... next year.

What does that mean?

Today's Verse:

The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22 NLT

This may come as a shock to you all, but I do not know everything. While you have become used to basking in the radiance of my rapier wit and towering intellect here on G.I. Josephus, today will be somewhat of a disappointment.

As I read today's verse I was intrigued by it. The first part of the verse seems pretty self-evident; God's blessings make us rich in a way worldly wealth never will. The second part however is a little bit trickier. Is Solomon telling us that if there is sorrow attached to something that it isn't from God? That doesn't seem right, maybe the message got garbled in the translation (I never liked the NLT anyway).

The Hebrew word translated sorrow here is `etseb עצב:
1) pain, hurt, toil, sorrow, labour, hardship
a) pain
b) hurt, offense
c) toil, hardship
2) vessel, creation, object

While this could possibly convey that the blessings of the Lord come with no labour or toil, that somehow doesn't fit right either. Sure the Lord can bless freely and laboring will not earn you "Lord Loot" (which would be redeemable for cool stuff on a sort of sliding points scale if it existed) but sometimes through laboring you can be blessed. If that isn't it, and blessings from the Lord are sometimes accompanied by sorrow or found in the midst of sorrow, then what is Solomon trying to say?

I read several commentaries on the matter, and still haven't come up with anything conclusive. As near as I can tell, Solomon is saying; the Lord will bless those whom he will bless regardless of circumstance, and those blessings will come irrespective of the toil of those being blessed.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the matter? Post them here and let me know what you think. And look for "Lord Loot" to make an appearance in a future post, its just too good an idea to pass up.

Filthy Heathens

So, the plan was to attend a different church in Eagle River each Sunday, re-visit as necessary until we found one we could call home. Yesterday however, we played hookie instead. With my wife not feeling well (all 4 wisdom teeth got pulled on Thurs.), I decided to take the boys and my mother-in-law on a little outdoor adventure. The trip was a success, we saw a moose and a bald eagle, as well as the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. The boys had fun and we feasted on PB&J sandwiches. I didn't deliver a sermon, but we did sing some VBS type songs in the car on the way back, so I guess we aren't completly pagan yet.

Thus, there is no update on the Church Search, sorry. You can check out last weeks update here.

Need-v-Greed

Today's verse o' the day:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33 NLT

Why couldn't that say want?

Worship Wrangeling

Yesterday was the first day of our search for a new Church in Alaska. I took the family to a church that I had gone to a couple times before they got up here, Riverside Community Church. I had enjoyed worship there (both the music and the message) and felt it was worth checking out together as a family. This time however, things were different, not in a bad way, just unexpected. The pastor was out on leave, so the assistant pastor filled in, which meant someone else had to fill in as praise leader, and so on down the line. This was not the difference to which the blog title alludes however, that change was the introduction of two very squirmy little boys into the mix.

At Riverside, the children stay for the beginning part of the service. I like this approach but it is a bit hard when your kids are little. If you have ever been around my kids (or any kids really) you know the only way to get them to sit still is to strap them down. The only way to get them to sit still AND be quite is to strap them down and pump snacks into them.* Unfortunately church pews don't come with seat belts and most snackable items either make a mess, are wrapped in the loudest packaging imaginable, or both.

We sat in the back of the church, and with the help of my Mother-in-Law, (always keep the kids outnumbered if possible) and a well positioned window for the kids to stare out of, managed to keep the ruckus down until it was time to exile the kids to the Sunday School wing. All in all it was a good time and we may wind up returning to Riverside. Next Sunday we will check out a different church, I'll let you know how it goes.

* Please be careful in your snack selection. Cheetos, fresh celery, or anything from the chip family will amplify apprimatley 1000 times in a church sanctuary when chewed, making that guitarist/drummer duo from the youth group, which just happen to be leading worship, sound soft in comparisson.

Did that just happen?

Judges is my favorite book in the Old Testament. I guess being in the Army the book speaks to me through its leadership lessons, the action of small unit combat, and the intimate detail in which God plans out his repeated rescues of his people. In another aspect of the book, I can identify on a personal level with the repeating cycle of falling away from God's will, needing rescue from God, worshiping him for a time, and then slowly falling back again until the next rescue is needed. I see the cycle repeated on the macro level as well in countries and churches across the globe.


Last night I watched the Veggie Tales rendition of the story of Gideon with my kids. This is a particular favorite story of mine, both for the sheer audacity of it (God has Gideon raise a huge army, whittles it down to 300 men, arms them with nothing more than lighters and kazoos, and then proceeds to destroy the invading horde and rescue his people), and the bizarreness of a particular part of the story where Gideon overhears a dream and its interpretation by his his enemies.


"And Gideon arrived and see! A man was telling his friend a dream, and he said, "See! I dreamed a dream! And see! A round loaf of barley [bread] tumbled into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned and the tent collapsed." And his friend replied, and he said, "This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has given Midian and the whole of the camp into his hands." And when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, then he worshipped [Yahweh] and he returned to the camp of Israel, and he called out, "Arise! For Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hands!" Judges 7:13-15


While this is a relatively small part of the overall story, it does play an important part in reassuring Gideon that God knew exactly what he was doing (remember Gideon is the guy that needed multiple signs from God before he would even get started on raising an army Gideon 6:17-23) What amuses me (that may not be the right word, but it will serve for now) is why anybody would dream about a loaf of bread knocking over a tent, and furthermore; how the subsequent interpretation of the dream by a friend would be "Obviously Gideon and the Hebrews are going to wipe us all out!" Amazing.


Anyways, it is a great story that illustrates God's power and attention to detail (something I think we can all appreciate). The Veggies crew, I think, did a good job with it, and figured I would throw it up here for comments. Ever dreamed about bread? Tired of my overuse of parenthetical statements? Leave a comment and let me know.

A new twist

This blog, we can all agree, has been severely under-utilized since its inception almost a year ago. This is partly due to laziness on my half, but also because of the framework in which I set up the posts as a crossover between military life and spiritual parallels. I started strong, but have suffered writer's block down the stretch. In that light, I am going to strike out in a new direction. My idea is take an expository look at the "verse 'o the day" as posted on the Air 1 (my favorite radio station) web site. This will not be an everyday occurrence, and I certainly will not limit my postings to just that, but rather it will (hopefully) give me an avenue for more frequent postings and serve to place me more firmly in the Word more often than I have been to date.

Today's Verse:
"Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us." Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT

As Rev. Ralph Walter says, "First we have to look at what the Therefore is there for." The therefore refers to the infallibility and unchanging nature of God's promises; specifically our salvation through Christ. Earlier in the chapter (v.13-17) Paul speaks of God's promise to Abraham, that because there was nothing higher God swore on his own name to bless Abraham and multiply him beyond count (Gen 22:16-18). This is where the great confidence comes from that we as heirs of Christ can lay claim to.

Finally, what is "the Hope that lies before us"? Paul speaks often of hope, and in this case that hope is the hope spelled out more fully in Titus 2:13, "[we are] looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
As such, I can read Hebrews 6:18 as: Because God promised the truthfulness of this on himself, I can go to him for shelter and be sure that Christ will return one day as my personal savior.

The Last Great Race

As some of you may not know, I recently moved to Alaska from the "lower 48". Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, know as The Last Great Race on Earth. The field consisting of 64 Mushers and their dog sleds sets out in the dead of winter to cover 1100 miles of frozen tundra, some compete to win others compete to survive. Regardless of their aspirations, all endure some of the harshest weather conditions and rugged terrain on earth with their eyes fixed firmly on the finish line. Mushers who lose sight of their eventual goal can become discouraged and quit, Mushers who lose their bearing can become hopelessly lost (not a good place to be in the frozen north), and Mushers who lose their resolve can translate that lack of confidence to their dogs leading to failure for the team.

Paul talks about another "great race" several times throughout his letters to the early church. He compares the Christian life to a race, an apt illustration, in order to show it not as a spectator sport but rather as a continual action sport. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 he says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly..." And again in Hebrews Chapter 11 he says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

While we may not face the challenges of snow and ice and the northern passes, we can certainly fall prey to the same pitfalls that plague Iditaroders. Often times I lose sight or forget the eventual goal, the finish line of the race being run, too easily distracted by what the world has to offer along the way. Struggling with those distractions can be discouraging and lead to thinking why press on? Wouldn't it be easier to just quit? Its easy to lose our bearings when the race course is counter to our culture, and become lost. And resolve, no matter how strong at the outset can be crushed by the grind of day to day life till all confidence is diminished. (Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?)

In the face of weather, terrain, avalanches, bears, and any number of other hazards, Mushers come yearly to Alaska to compete and win in the Iditarod. And, seemingly against all odds, some manage to have fun along the way. So too with the race put forth in Paul's analogy, against all odds, against the avalanches of life, the culture of "me", the distractions and wrong turns, some manage to to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2Timothy 4:7)

I was told you can look at the Iditarod one of two ways; one, 7-14 days of pain and suffering, or two, a great way to see some amazing sights and participate in an experience that will change you in dramatic and lasting ways. When comparing Paul's race analogy to the Iditarod as I have, I think I choose option two. I want to push past the discomfort of the race conditions, push on towards the eventual goal, and be changed by the "race" in a meaningful and lasting way.