The Original Dirt Ball

image courtesy of Penny Mathews at sxc.hu/profile/ZoofyTheJi

So, yesterday I mentioned that one of my goals this year was to start a family worship time in my home.  We’re off to a great start so far, and I thought I’d share some of the experience we’ve had so, including what is probably going to go down as the funniest moment at our dinner table in 2011. I’ve wanted to start a family worship time for years, ever since my Marriage and Family course in seminary where my professor taught me about it for the first time.  You see, I didn’t grow up in a church-going home and had never even heard of such a thing as worshiping with your family in your home.  The problem, then, was that I didn’t know how to do a family worship time, so it kinda fell by the wayside.  A few weeks ago, I was listening to a sermon on Mark Driscoll’s podcast and he referenced a book that could be downloaded to accompany his 1&2 Peter series that included questions for use during family devotions.  I downloaded it, and thankfully it included a how-to section starting on page 68.  It seemed like a good pattern, so we’re using it. Now, one major change we made is the reading plan.  Obviously, we don’t attend Mars Hill Church and don’t listen to the sermons as a family, so some of the punch is lost.  I opted instead to use Zondervan’s 180 Day Guided Tour of the Bible.  This gives us a plan to our reading so we don’t sit down to dinner and say “What do you wanna do tonight?” “Oh, I dunno, what do you wanna do tonight?”

I like this plan because it will take us through the highlights of the Bible in six months.  After that, I’ll consider where we want to head next as a family and create a new plan.

Today was day 2 of our new habit, and we’re off to an amazing start.  I started out today, like I’ve done every Sunday for the last year or so, by asking the kids what they learned in Sunday School.  This helps me to know what my boys are learning, review it to help them retain it, and clear up any misunderstandings they may have had.  Then, we moved into our Bible reading for the day, which was Genesis 2.

I read the passage, and then started asking basic questions.

• What did we read about? Adam and Eve
• Where did Adam come from? God created Adam
• What did God make Adam out of? Dust/dirt

Here’s where it got fun.

I made a quick little quip that Adam was a dirtball, and my 5-year old fell apart!  He started laughing one of those laughs that only he can do, and he only laughs this way when he’s been particularly amused.  He laughed like this for a good thirty seconds!  I looked at my wife, and she lost it!  I couldn’t take it anymore, and started laughing hysterically.  Our 4-year old, of course, was already laughing quite loudly.  We all laughed for a couple of minutes, and it was the best fun we’ve had in a long time.

Now, it took some doing to get back to the point, and I was careful not to force it.  In fact, I almost gave up on any more attempts to be serious, but it eventually came back around, with some snickering and smiles sprinkled throughout.  It was great, we had fun and had a lot of biblical conversation as well.  I made the comment to Keelie that this is exactly as it should be, enjoying each other.

What do you do for family worship?  Have you done anything that worked particularly well?  Anything that bombed?  Do you have a fun story to share?  Leave your feedback in the comments below.

Bible in 90, Day 4: From well, to servant’s house, to dungeon, to palace

Genesis 41-50

*image courtesy of blary54 at stock.xchng

Poor Joseph.  I mean, all he did was tell people what he knew and stand for what’s right.  For that, he got thrown into a well, and then sold to slave traders by his brothers.  He got thrown into jail on trumped up charges by his new boss’s wife.  And when a ray of hope finally beamed into his dungeon after helping out the cup bearer to the king, the guy forgets him… for two whole years!

Finally, when Pharaoh needs some dream interpretation skills, the cup bearer manages to remember that guy that he left in the pit two years ago.  Now, if this were an action-packed summer blockbuster, this would be the part where a ragged, newly-muscled, scraggly bearded Joseph (who probably spent the two years learning kung-fu from some old blind prisoner who died on the day he was supposed to be released and whom Joseph swears to avenge) busts through the door with some good ol’ fashioned Hebrew justice in his fists!  But it’s not an action-packed summer blockbuster.

Thankfully.

Instead, Joseph shaves, changes his clothes, and continues doing what he’s been doing – telling people the truth as God leads him.  No matter what disaster or hardship befalls our hero, he stays true to what he knows is right.

He stays faithful.

If he’s a son, he’s the best son he can be to his father.  If he’s a servant, he works so hard at his job he’s put in charge of the whole household.  If he’s a prisoner, he’s a model prisoner, even put in charge of the workings of the prison.  If he stands before the Pharaoh, he is made Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the king.  He stays faithful, no matter his environment or circumstances.

Second Thessalonians 3:13 urges us to never tire of doing what is right, and Philippians 2:14-15 tells us to do everything without grumbling or complaining.  What does it take to break us?  If someone treats us unfairly, do we stop serving or loving them?  If someone falsely accuses us, do we take the opportunity to seek revenge?  If someone forgets to acknowledge us, do we use it as an excuse to stop working hard?

We must never stop doing what is right, we must work hard without complaining.  We are where we are because God has placed us there.  No matter how difficult the task, know that God has assigned you for it and therefore you can get through it.

Someone once told me that we do what we’re supposed to do because we’re supposed to do it, not because of what everyone around us doing.  We must serve faithfully because we are servants of God.  If we serve for any other reason, we will eventually find an excuse to stop serving – the money’s not good enough, they don’t respect me, this is beneath me, the love is gone, it’s too hard.

Let’s never tire of doing what is right.  Let’s look at every circumstance as a mandate from God to act in the way that glorifies Him most.  Let’s always remember that there are no problems in life, only opportunities to glorify God!

Originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Bonus 02: Heel grabber

*image courtesy of Lamprinh at stock.xchng

New question, same questioner:

Here is my question on Day 3.
Genesis 30:25 – 31:16. When I read this section of scripture Jacob comes across as trying to be deceitful, of trying to cheat Laban.  Specially beginning with 30:37.  Seems underhanded and sneaky of Jacob, how he “intentionally” had the animals mate in front of the branches.  31:10 does say he had a dream and an angel of God spoke to him, but it seems that Jacob was cheating Laban.  Am I totally off base here?  Reading something into this that’s not there?

Well, you’re basically right.  Recall from Genesis 25:26 that Jacob was born grasping the heel of Esau.  This is how he got his name, “Jacob” in Hebrew means “heel-grabber” or “he grasps the heel.”  This was a Hebrew euphemism for a deceiver.  Think of the modern day “you’re pulling my leg!”  Over in 27:36, Esau brings this point out when he says “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times.”  Jacob spent his life living up to his name.  He was a scoundrel, a conman if you will.  Think about how he weaseled his way into Esau’s birthright, how he conspired with his mother to steal Esau’s blessing from Isaac.

As for the dream, the angel said nothing about the sticks.  The angel pointed out that the livestock that mated were striped, spotted, and mottled.  Basically, I think that Jacob’s trick with the striped sticks was smoke screen.  I think he was trying to cheat Laban out of his flocks, but I don’t think the sticks did it.  The dream was to show Jacob that God was the one producing the right types of livestock, not Jacob’s schemes.

Jacob lived up to his first name.  (He eventually earns his new name, Israel means “he strives with God”).  He was a scoundrel and a schemer.  This is one of the wondrous things about the Bible.  It portrays its heroes/main characters as the fallen, sinful people they were.  There is little candy coating in the God’s Word.  God blessed Jacob in spite of himself.

Let’s live lives that deserve to be blessed.  May it always be said that God was working through us, not around us.  May our lives be blessed because of how we live, not in spite of how we live.

Bible in 90, Bonus 01: Identity crisis

*image courtesy of coscurro at stock.xchng

First, I’d like to note that I usually link up as much stuff as I can (including linking Bible citations to biblegateway.com), so if you notice something in red, click it for more info.

The following comes from a friend at church who is doing the challenge:

So a couple things I need clarified in the 1st days reading.  This may seem like “small potatoes” but I’m such a stickler for needing to “picture” what I read.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.

1 – Lamech referenced in Genesis 4:18-19 and 5:28.  Same man?

2 – Milcah (daughter of Haran) referenced in Genesis 11:27-29.  Is she Lot’s sister?  Did Nahor marry his brother’s child?

Ok, that first one really freaked me out for a minute!  However, two key verses (4:17 & 5:6) unlock the mystery.  These two verses tell us that the two passages are following two different genealogical lines.  The first Lamech, the murderer, is in the line of Cain.  The second Lamech, Noah’s father, is in the line of Seth.  Seth’s line of course is the righteous line that we follow down to Noah, Abraham, David, and eventually Jesus.

As for the second question, you’re spot on.  Nahor and Haran were brothers, and Milcah was Haran’s daughter.  So yes, she was lot’s sister (though we don’t know if they were full or half-siblings, Haran may have had multiple wives) And yes, she was Nahor’s wife.  So, Nahor married his niece.  Keep two things in mind here –

1. Abram married his half-sister (see 20:11-13) and
2. Neither of these marriages was forbidden yet.  The commands against marrying close family came hundreds of years later (see Lev. 18:6-18).  One of the classic questions about Genesis is “Who was Cain’s wife?”  Gen. 4:17 says that Cain knew his wife and she bore him children.  Well, the answer is, one of Adam and Eve’s daughters (possibly granddaughters) was his wife.  This was not forbidden by God until later in the course of His revelation to mankind.

Bible in 90, Day 03: Jacob’s Devotion

Genesis 29-40

*image courtesy of haloocyn at stock.xchng

There’s one of those sentences in today’s reading that you read, pass over, and don’t think much about it unless you stop to do so.  It’s in Genesis 29:20, and it says, “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.”

Now, my wife and I met when we were young.  I was 16, she was 15.  We were dating within about six months, and didn’t marry until we were 22 and 21 years old.  I used to think that six years was a long time to have waited for my wife.  Of course, back then, I wasn’t waiting for my wife.  I was just dating my girlfriend.  (If you ask Keelie, it may have been different for her!)  Now that we’ve been married 6½ years, it doesn’t seem quite so long.

Jacob, on the other hand, knew that Rachel was the girl for him.  He saw her, and knew right away he wanted to marry her.  When he began his seven years of service to earn the right to marry her, he was waiting for his wife!  But notice what it says – “and they seemed to him but a few days.”  Indeed, even the passage itself makes it seem this way.  We have 19 verses that cover at most a few days, and then seven years pass in one verse!

Jacob had a genuine love for Rachel, one that was shown through his dedicated service to her father.  He could have backed out at anytime, deciding to go find a wife that wouldn’t require so much effort to marry!  Instead, he showed his devotion to her by sticking it out for seven years.

As we saw, he ended up getting tricked by his father-in-law, and had to serve another seven years to get Rachel.  So, in actuality, he spent fourteen years of his life working for another man just for the privilege calling Rachel his wife!

That’s devotion!

I hope and pray that I show that kind of devotion to my wife.  I know I didn’t during our dating years as an ignorant teenage guy.  My hope is that every Christian man would show that kind of devotion to his wife, and that every Christian woman would expect that kind of devotion before marrying a man.

Let’s show our love through our actions.  Whether it’s our family, our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ, or our loved ones; let’s give them our devotion.  God showed His love to us by sending us His Son, and we ought to love each other in the same manner: with our actions (1 John 4).

Originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 02: Power and Promises

Genesis 17-28

*image courtesy of mfb1982 at stock.xchng

So, we read a great passage today (aren’t they all great?!) about Abraham and Sarah.  But just like last time I took the Bible in 90 Challenge, I noticed something today I’ve never seen before in chapter 18.  Now, I’ve always known that Sarah was past childbearing years (she was 90 after all! [17:17]). When I looked it up, I realized that this is exactly how the NIV phrases it.  But this time through, I’m reading the ESV and it is a more literal translation.  The ESV translates the phrase this way, “The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.”

Now, the NIV gets the point across, but the ESV is more technical and this phrasing made me realize something: Sarah had gone through menopause.  It wasn’t just that she was very old to be thinking about kids.  More than that, the way of women had ceased to be with her.

I may have just been dense before, but this seems bigger to me!

Her time was over!  She was not having any kids!  And yet, God promises she will be holding a child a year from the time of this passage.  Understandably, she laughs.  She tries to hide it, but God calls her on it.  He reassures Abraham and Sarah that nothing is too hard for Him (18:13).

Flip over a couple of pages to 20:17-21:7, and you’ll see that indeed nothing is too hard for our God.  In this passage, which is actually the end of one passage and the beginning of another, we see God re-opening the wombs of the women in Abimelech’s household, and then opening the womb of Sarah as promised.  Now, Isaac’s name (which means “laughter” or “he laughs”) took on all new meaning.  Originally, Sarah laughed at the thought of giving birth to a child, and now she exclaims that she is laughing with joy, and that others will laugh at her experience!  From this passage we can gather two very important and inseparable truths:

Our God keeps His promises.

Nothing is too hard for our God.

Without the second of these truths, the first doesn’t carry as much weight, does it?  But together, we have powerful truth about a loving God.

Let’s remember these important truths about God’s power and promises.  Let’s rest confidently in God’s promises on our lives: to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), to provide for us so that we may bless others (2 Corinthians 9:6-15), to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9), and many more.  Let’s live our lives like we believe these promises, not doubting the great power of our God to fulfill His promises.

Originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 01: The Pursuit Begins

Genesis 1-16

*image courtesy of Woopidoo2 at stock.xchng

I did not start out my New Year as I’d planned.  My wife and I were supposed to spend New Year’s Eve playing board games and waiting for  11:45 so we could go flip on the coverage of the Ball dropping, open our sparkling grape juice, toast, and kiss our way into the new year like we always do. (On a sappy note, I realized that Keelie and I have spent every New Year’s Eve together that we’ve known each other.  Even before we started dating, I was still at her house for a youth group party!) 

Where was I?

New Year’s! Right!  Instead, I received a distressing phone call at 4pm on New Year’s Eve that my father-in-law was spending his New Year’s in the hospital awaiting surgery.  Several minutes of frantic packing later, and my family was in the minivan, bound for North Carolina, 5 hours away.  Now it’s several days later, and we’re still here, doing our best to care for our family.  As I type, I’m battling a stomach bug that I’m sharing with two of my nieces, and hopefully no one else!  Now, I’m not griping, I have a point. 

I hate sin! 

We started off our reading for this 90 day challenge with 2 of only 4 chapters in the Bible that show a world without sin.  Genesis 1-2, and Revelation 21-22 are those chapters, and they offer precious glimpses into the world as God intended it. 

In those four chapters, there is no death, there is no separation, there is no sickness, there are no tears.  So often we talk about illness and death as just a natural part of life, but that’s only partly true.  Illness and death are normal parts of life, but not natural ones.  Everyone experiences illness and death, but that’s not the way we were made! 

Man was not built to die.

God told Adam that the consequence of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would be death, and Genesis 5 illustrates that.  We see a whole chapter of people dying.  They lived incredibly long lives, but eventually they all died (except of course for Enoch). 

The reason I’m in North Carolina right now caring for my family is that sin is in the world.  Hear me clearly, I’m not saying my father-in-law is being punished for some specific sin, I’m saying that the presence of sin in the universe and the fallenness of the world is the cause of his illness.  Thankfully, he’s doing very well and is recovering wonderfully.  However, one day, he will die.  I will die.  You will die.  Some illness or injury will take everyone of us unless Jesus comes back in our lifetime.

The beautiful thing is that as soon as sin entered the world and death through sin (Romans 5:12) God was immediately on the scene promising a Savior (Genesis 3:15).  God refused and still refuses to call it quits on mankind, and instead pursues us through time and space to bring us back to Him. 

I’m glad you’re with me on this challenge as we read through in 90 days that great love story between God and man.  Let’s remember that illness and death may be normal, but they are not natural.  Let’s praise God for His plan to restore the world to its right order, so that Revelation 21-22 is the restoring of Genesis 1-2.  Let’s live lives that reflect that hope in God!

Originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 4: Large and In Charge

Genesis 40-50

*Image courtesy of hisks at www.sxc.hu

What a story huh?  My wife commented yesterday that it’s interesting reading such large chunks of the Bible in one sitting because for the first time you see it as one story.  You make connections you might not have made before.  Yesterday, we left Joseph in prison, forgotten by the chief cupbearer of Pharaoh.  By the end of the our passage today, he rose to be essentially Prime Minister of Egypt, reunited and reconciled with his family, and dies a hero to his family and all Egypt!

It’s amazing what God can and will do through the various events in the world and in our lives.  Isn’t it amazing to know that God is on His heavenly throne?  He is Large and In Charge!  Even the evil schemings of men cannot escape His sovereign control.

When I was 15, I got a phone call one day when I was getting ready for school that would change my life forever.
My dad told me to pack my things and he would be in Richmond to pick me up that day.  My sister and I were going to live with him now, in Chesapeake.  For months I considered that day the worst day of my life.  I still consider it one of the most traumatic moments in my life, being uprooted with only nine weeks left of my sophomore year and moved to a place where I knew no one, all with no notice.

As time passed, I grew into my new life.  I met a great girl, found a good church, and started making a home at my new school.  It was because I moved to Chesapeake and got involved at South Norfolk Baptist Church that I discovered I was (am!) a sinner in need of a Savior.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.  Later, I preached a sermon at SNBC, began following God’s call to be a pastor, and eventually proposed to and married Keelie.  Almost everything I am today stems from that traumatic moment.

When Joseph’s brothers threw him in that well all those years earlier, I’m sure that Joseph had no idea where he would end up.  I’m sure he thought he was doomed, that life was over.  When he was sold into slavery, what went through his mind?  I’m sure he never envisioned that this was the way that God would exalt him to prominence and fulfill the prophetic dream he’d had.  But God was on His throne!

Large and In Charge

God has a way of confounding the wisdom of men with plans that no earthly mind could conceive of.  No matter where we find ourselves in life, we can rest assured that, if we are following God’s commands, we are not beyond His protection and plan.  If we follow after Him, and yet find ourselves in a desperate situation, we can rest in the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I can’t say that it’s easy, or that it’s not scary, but there is a freedom in this.  Over the years, I have been in many terrifying situations as a result of following God’s leadership.  Never once has He let me down.  And each time, I’ve gained more and more confidence that no matter what, He is on the Throne.

Bible in 90, Day 3: Be sure

Day 3: Genesis 28-40

*image courtesy of carlohh at www.sxc.hu

While I was in my first year at Liberty University, the campus pastor shared a story at convocation right after spring break.  Apparently, a couple of LU students were on spring break in another state, staying at a hotel on a beach.  While away from the rules and regulations of Liberty, they decided they’d have some “fun.”  For these two, “fun” came in the form of mooning old ladies as they passed their hotel window.  They decided at one point to “press the ham” (these are the exact words our campus pastor used).  Apparently they over-estimated the structural integrity of their windows, and actually broke through the glass!

Ouch.

As if this weren’t bad enough, a Liberty alumnus who still kept up with the campus pastor was staying at the same hotel.  He not only got all the details, but swiftly relayed them to the campus pastor.  The pastor graciously did not point out the two mooners, but noted that they might be the ones shifting painfully in their seats at the moment.  He closed with this statement: 

“Be sure, your sins will find you out!”

There was a subtle statement amongst all the dozens of verses we read today.  Did you catch it? 
It’s in chapter 35.  Verse 22 says, “While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it”  This is sandwiched between the death of Rachel and the listing of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel in such a way that you almost miss it.  Perhaps Reuben would have preferred it that way.  

Who knows what the situation was?  Perhaps it was a one-time event, perhaps it was ongoing, but either way it happened.  It’s not until several years later (we’ll read this tomorrow) that Jacob ever says anything that we know of about this incident.  Reuben, the first-born, should have been the pride and joy of Jacob.  He should have been his honor.  Instead, he dishonored his father by sleeping with his wife.  As a result, Jacob delivers a rebuke instead of a blessing while on his deathbed.  

We often think that one little sin will go unnoticed.  Perhaps since no one said anything when it happened, maybe we got away with it.  Be sure, your sin will find you out.  Perhaps one day, the sin will come into the light.  Maybe just the effects of sin will catch up with us.  We may even be taken over again by the same sin if we haven’t dealt with it. 

Two days ago we read this statement from God, “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”  How true this is!  We must never give the devil a foothold in our life, because the sin that may seem small to us, or that we wish we could forget ever happened, may burst through the door one day. 

Bible in 90, Day 2: They’re very good!

Day 2: Genesis 17-28

*image courtesy of duchesssa at www.sxc.hu

Women.

I noticed in our passage for today (specifically chapters 20-21) that God has a keen interest in protecting women.  If you remember yesterday, and I hope you do, we saw that after each part of creation God declared everything good.  It wasn’t until He had created Eve that He declared everything very good.

And I concur.

Men are supposed to watch over the women in their lives.  It is part of our duty as men to protect, provide for, and lead women, especially those in our own households.  And no, I’m not a chauvinist…

I’m biblical.

In part of our story today, our hero, Abraham, fails miserably at this task… twice.
In chapter 20, Abraham fears that he will be killed if people think he and Sarah are married.  He thinks that someone will want her so badly, they will kill him to get her.  Sarah must have been some woman!  Literally to die for!  So, he tells a half-truth (which equals a total lie!) that she is his sister.  Now, perhaps this was a justifiable, if cowardly, plan on Abraham’s part.  Perhaps he would be treated well, maybe even have some gifts given to him to butter him up and get in good with “big brother Abraham” from men trying to get a shot with Sarah.  Maybe Abraham thought he could avoid being killed and pull some extra money down with this plan of his.

Think again.

Instead, Abimelech takes Sarah, ostensibly to be a part of his harem or his wife.  Before anything immoral can go happen, God intervenes.  In doing so, He protects Abimelech, the blessed line of descendants (Abimelech could have later claimed the child of promise was his!), and the honor and purity of Sarah.  Notice in vv. 14-17 that Abimelech was even more honorable than Abraham in this whole mess!  He not only returns Sarah when he learns the truth, he even gives a large sum of money to Abraham and tells Sarah in front of everyone that she is completely vindicated.  Abimelech cares more in this situation about Sarah’s honor than her own husband!

Well played Abe.

So what happens in the next chapter?  Abraham blows it again, this time with Hagar.  After Sarah’s surrogate-mother plan backfires, she blames Abraham and despises Hagar.  As before, Hagar is sent away (with one noticeable difference: Abraham has God’s instruction this time).  In the wilderness, as it was 13 years ago in chapter 16, God speaks to her and comforts her.  God provides water for her, cares for her son, and eventually makes him into a great nation.

Women are precious in God’s sight.  They should be precious in the sight of men as well.  It is not chauvinist to want to protect the women God puts in our lives, to want to be kind and gentle to them, to meet their needs.

It is godly.

It takes a godly man to love his wife the way Christ loves the church, to lay down his life and not only die but live for her, to put beauty and kindness in her life, to cherish and honor her, to listen to and encourage her, to lead her gently and attentively, to nurture her and watch her bloom.  It takes a godly man to view the young women around him as sisters, the older women as mothers with absolute purity, protecting her honor and dignity.  It takes a godly man to avoid any hint of immorality, to do nothing that would put a woman into a compromising situation or press their advantage.

Women, be women of God.  Don’t fall for the boys.  Wait for a man.

Men, be men of God.  Man up, fulfill your obligations, take care of those women already in your life – mothers, sisters, cousins, friends – and live up to the expectations of those godly women, because they are very good, and they deserve our very best.