Majestic Obedience

"Buddy, hold on to my hand tight."

"Tight."

"Hold it tight and never let go.  If you let go of my hand I will be very mad at you.  You'll be in big trouble.  OK?"

"K"

"We have this rule because I want to keep you safe.  OK?"

"K"



Obedience was essential at the Grand Canyon.  If my son wasn't an obedient child then I would have had huge reservations about taking him to a place that people die at on a semi-regular basis.  Every month or so someone dies at the canyon.  Many from dehydration, but others from falling off the side into the immense chasm. 

If my son was mildly obedient I may have brought him to places with railings and nothing more or I would have made him stay in the stroller the whole time.  But my son, thankfully, is very obedient at this moment in his life.  So we went to places without rails.  We went to Yaki Point on the South Rim and stood near the edge staring in wonder at what God had made. 

My son's obedience allowed him to see majestic views.

Isn't it much the same in our walk with God?  Doesn't our obedience allow us to see majestic views we might otherwise not experience first hand?

There are faith journeys we may miss out on because of our disobedience.  There are aspects of God's character that we may never experience due to disobedience.  There are mighty acts of God in our life we may never know because we choose our own ways instead of His.  There are points we may never view because we fail to follow in obedience while holding the Father's hand tightly refusing to let go.

The word obedience often conjures in our minds ideas of what we may miss out on by being obedient, but perhaps we should think on the things we'll miss out on if we aren't obedient.  What adventures does the Father have for His children if they would only listen and follow obediently?

Follow Christ obediently.  Grasp onto His hand and ask Him to lead you where He wants you to go with Him.  Through obedience get ready for the majestic things our God has to show you today.

Challenge Abandoned

I'm ending my Lent Challenge for this year.

For the past many years I have blogged every day during Lent.  I love this discipline because it helps fix my eyes on Jesus and His Word each year.  But this year I'm ending it early.

I'm ending it early because we are going on vacation.  My family is going to Arizona.  We will be in Phoenix and Flagstaff.  We get to see the Grand Canyon, family and so much more.  We fly out tomorrow and I want to be more present while there and I don't want to bring the laptop, so I'm not continuing.

I'm excited to go.  We haven't had all of us in the same room for a long time.  My brother from Minneapolis and his family, my sister from Australia and her family, my step-brother from Louisiana and his wife, and my step-brother from Marion and his family and my mom and step-dad are all coming.  My family spans the globe and we all get to be together.  This is thrilling.

My step-dad is the main reason for this trip.  He just finished his radiation and chemotherapy.  This is the trip he wanted us all to go on to celebrate what he's gotten through.  I'm praying he has enough energy to enjoy this trip of a lifetime.

So, thank you all for reading, whether this is the first post you've read or if you've read every day.  Thanks for keeping me accountable.  It's been good again and it's going to be good to hang it up for a week.  I will continue to blog at least once a week after this.

I'm ready to see family and to see sights that will cause me to awe.  Pray for a safe trip and refreshing trip for all of us today.

So That

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now as work in the sons of disobedience... among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... by grace you have been saved... and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:1-7

These have been our Fighter Verses over the past few weeks at church.  Last week I wrote about the marvelous phrase But God, this week the words that stick out to me are again two little words.

So that.

There is a lot of bad news becoming good news in this passage.  In this passage we go from dead to alive, from child of wrath to loved by God, from under the power of Satan to alive together with Christ, from following the course of this world to seated in the heavenly places.  This passage is dripping with good news. 

But why?  Why did God do this?

For one, God did this because of His immense love and mercy toward us.  That is absolutely true.  God did all that for us because He is rich in mercy and because He loves us with a great love.  The passage says that loud and clear.

But we see the words "so that" in this passage.  "So that" clearly is a phrase that proceeds the purpose being given.  So what's the "so that"?

God did all this so that His glory might be displayed.  God the Father crushed God the Son as a perfect sacrifice for us so that the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us might be displayed both at conversion and for all of eternity as we continue to enjoy Him forever. 

See, God did not become more merciful or loving at Calvary.  God has always been infinitely all that He is.  Never has an attribute of God been added to or subtracted from.  Calvary, the Gospel, is a grand display case for the love, mercy, kindness and grace of God.

God redeemed us from our former life of doom to the heavenly places so that God could display His infinite grace. 

That is a short sentence that could summarize the passage.  It's important that we get this.  The Gospel is of incredible benefit to us but it isn't primarily about us.  The Gospel is about God being passionately committed to His glory being known.  To paraphrase John Piper, "God's glory is His holiness going public."  His holiness and grace went public at Calvary and at our conversion. 

Thank God that He is committed to the whole world seeing His amazing grace displayed today.

Cutting Off Sin

Have you seen the movie 127 Hours with James Franco?  I haven't seen it in a few years, but I'd recommend it.  It is a true story about Aron Ralston who got his arm stuck while hiking and had to cut it off.

If someone came up to you and said they cut their arm off you would think they're crazy.  If Aron Ralston told you his story you would say that he did what was necessary.  Cutting an arm off is only sane if it is worth it.  Van Gough cutting off his ear was stupid.  Ralston cutting off his arm was brave and brilliant.

Watch him tell his story here:

"If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of Hell." Matthew 18:8-9

Jesus sees sin the same as Aron Ralston saw the rock that pinned him.  Sin is going to kill you.  Do what you can to escape it. 

Jesus was using a metaphor here but He is very serious.  We won't understand why Jesus spoke with such seriousness until we understand the gravity of sin.  We won't understand why we need to be so ruthless with our own sin until we fully understand that God exerted His full wrath on Christ to crush Him because of our own sin.  We won't understand this parable until we understand that sin is out to kill us!

In the video above Ralston and Tom Brokaw had this interaction when talking about the moment Ralston had sliced his own arm completely off:

Ralston- "I was free."

Brokaw- "You were reborn."

Ralston- "That was the happiest moment of my life.  It's funny to think about it.  There will never be a more powerful experience for me.  It was absolutely the greatest experience.  To be given the chance to get out of here.  Looking down canyon, I knew I had a hell of a trip left, but at least I was not going to die right here.  And the power of that was astonishing."

I think Jesus may have told Aron Ralston's story in Matthew 18 if the disciples had known the story.  Sin wants to kill us, but Jesus wants to give us rebirth.  Every victory over the trappings of sin is an experience of our rebirth.  When we understand how awful sin is and what it wants to do to us we can have a euphoric experience like Ralston when we avoid it or cut it out of our life.

Remember that sin is deadly and then act accordingly.  Cut it out of your life today.

I Will Arise and Go to Jesus

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins, in  which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience... among whom we all once lived in the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:1-5

These was our Fighter Verses for this week.  These verses were on my mind as we sang the song below during service.  Think of these verses as you listen to the song today.

A Wonderful Day

Today was a good day.  Today was a reminder that God blesses the people of the world in so many ways.  He gives us all many common graces; graces that aren't contingent upon our standing with Him at all.  Today was a day filled with the amazing graces of God.

Today I am reminded to count my many blessings:

A good breakfast

A job that allows me to sit and watch a soccer game

Visiting with in-laws that my children love to pieces

Spring

A wonderful wife

Warm sun on a long walk

A playground near our house

Happy, healthy children

A big grilled supper

Blooming daffodils

Rocking my son to sleep

Warm, gooey, homemade cookies

There are so many blessings that I have been given.  On days like this it is hard to miss that I am a man whose life is better than he deserves it to be.  Today is a day for counting blessings.

Count your blessings today.

But God

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience... among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:1-5

These are our church's Fighter Verses for last week and this week.  These verses are full of powerful, Gospel reminders.  These verses make us humble, grateful, joyful, evangelical people.

Before I was reborn, I was dead.  I wasn't an OK person, I was dead.  I wasn't missing something in my life, I was dead.  Those who aren't saved are not good people who could use a little religion in their lives, they are dead men walking.

Before I was reborn, I was a child of wrath.  I was not destined simply to die and never live again.  No, I was destined to have the wrath of God poured out on me.  And if God was against me who could be for me?  Those who are not regenerated by faith in Jesus are in danger of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 

Before I was reborn I was not a free agent, I was a subject of Satan.  Those who are not born again are not their own master, they are slaves to their passions and the prince of the power of the air.

But is one of the great three letter words in the Bible.  We were in a whole lot of trouble, but God didn't leave us there.  God is rich in mercy.  God didn't give me what I deserve.  God loves us with a great love.  God made the dead become alive.  God made me alive together with Christ.  Jesus died for me so I can live with Him. 

"By grace you have been saved."

God isn't just merciful.  God didn't just not give me what I deserve, God gave me what I don't deserve.  I don't deserve any of the rebirth I have.  I don't deserve to be reborn.  I didn't and couldn't earn it. 

It is by grace I have been saved!

This passage is so straightforward.  I don't need to expand too much on it.  Instead, just read this passage several times and think deeply and repeatedly about what it says.  Then praise God for His great mercy, his amazing grace and His deep love today.

Favorite Quotes from Astonished by God

Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book Astonished by God by John Piper.

God Is

"The entire universe is utterly secondary.  Not primary."

"With God being the most significant reality, nothing is rightly known apart from its relationship to Him."

"'God is glorious' means God's holiness has gone public."

The God of Glory

"So we don't glorify God by improving His glory, but by seeing and savoring and showing HIs glory."

"We magnify God's glory like a telescope, not a microscope."

"Grace was not an afterthought in response to the fall of man."

"God created the world for His glory.  God did not create out of need."

Christian Hedonism

"God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him... If that is true, however, then there is no conflict between your greatest exhilaration and God's greatest glorification."

"Christ is glorified in you when He is more precious to you than all that life can give and all that death can take."

The Sovereignty of God

"The future is the counsel of God being established.  The future is the purpose of God being accomplished by God."

The Gospel of Christ

"God in Christ is the price and the prize of the gospel."

"The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast."

The Call to Global Missions

"Worship is the goal and the fuel of missions; missions exists because worship doesn't."

"Seeking the worship of the nations is fueled by the joy of our own worship.  You can't commend what you don't cherish."

"There will always be people who argue that the doctrine of predestination makes missions unnecessary.  But they are wrong.  It does not make missions unnecessary; it makes missions hopeful."

Living the Christian Life

"... living by faith in future grace."

"Mercy is not weak.  It has an unbreakable backbone, yet is very soft to the touch."

The Perseverance of the Saints

"You and I are instruments by which God preserves the faith of His children.  Perseverance is a community project."

"Marriage is temporary.  Parenting is temporary.  But the church... the new family... is eternal."

Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

"A woman is a woman to the depths of her humanity.  And a man is a man to the depths of his humanity."

Sorrowful Yet Always Rejoicing

"What the world needs from the Church is our indomitable joy in Jesus in the midst of suffering and sorrow."

"Suffering is not outside of the will of God.  It is in God's will."

"Glorifying God means showing by your actions and attitudes that God is glorious to you... that He is valuable, precious, desirable, satisfying."

Can You Lose and Not Lose Faith?

Can you lose and not lose your faith?

That's a question that will meet you at some point in life if it hasn't already.  Can we lose and not lose faith?  Can we miss the promotion and not lose faith?  Can we lose a loved one to cancer and not lose faith?  Can we be falsely accused and not lose faith?  Can we lose our spouse and not lose faith?  These are the crises of faith that come our way in life at one point or at many points.

Can we do everything right and then lose and not lose faith?  Can we have a mountain's worth of faith and still not get what we want and not abandon that faith when it doesn't "work"?  Can we suffer in spite of righteous living and still keep our faith intact?

A few Old Testament verses come to mind when thinking of this.

In the first Joab and his brother Abishai were fighting a large coalition of enemy forces.  They mustered up their forces and their faith for the battle.  They made a good plan as they fought for the LORD and His people and then Joab said this to his brother:

"Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of God.  The LORD will do what is good in His sight." 2 Samuel 10:12

Joab planned a course for success.  He pledge bravery and honor in the cause, but then he left the outcome up to God.  In saying this Joab trusted that God could give victory, but whatever the outcome, he trusted that God would do what is good in His sight.  What a statement of faith?

The second story is a more familiar story.  Remember in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and demanded that the people bowed down to worship it?  All the people did but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to do such an evil thing.  The king became enraged and promised to throw them into the fiery furnace to kill them.  It was at this point that the three men said this:

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this manner.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16b-18

"But even if He does not..." What a statement of faith!  This is the kind of faith that can "lose" and not be lost.  This is the kind of faith that trusts God more than the outcome.

Now Joab got his victory and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were saved in the furnace, but sometimes we don't get what we've asked for.  Sometimes we lose but we can't afford to lose faith. 

Think of Jesus who was crucified after praying this:

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42

We must cultivate the kind of faith that can say, "We want God to do ______ but even if He does not we trust that His will will be done and His will is always good."  We must be able to lose and not lose faith today.

I Am Still Mephibosheth

Yesterday I read 2 Samuel chapter 9 with my friend from Wartburg, Noah Dodd.  I enjoy looking through the life of David with he and Jackson from Wartburg.  It's such a highlight in my week.

2 Samuel chapter 9 is one of my favorite chapters in all the Old Testament.  I was recently asked by my friend Karl what my favorite Old Testament character is.  I said I don't know about my favorite, but the one I most relate to is Mephibosheth.  Eight years ago I wrote about this character and I want to share it with you today.

I am Mephibosheth

2 Samuel chapter 9 has a great story about David and Mephibosheth.  In the story you and I are Mephibosheth.  Take time to read this chapter.

At this point in David's life he is the king.  Now, in those days when a king was part of a dynasty change the first thing he did was destroy the family members of the old dynasty.  David was a warrior and we would expect him to do this, but David was a promise keeper so he didn't.  Remember, that David promised his best friend Jonathan, the former king's son, that he would always love Jonathan and Jonathan's family.

In keeping with this promise David asks if there is someone of Jonathan's family still around that he can show kindness to.  And there is one.  This one is Jonathan's crippled son Mephibosheth (the crippled were seen as worthless in this day).  David finds him and gives him everything the king's son deserves, including a spot at the king's table for the rest of Mephibosheth's life.

In this story David represents Jesus (although David doesn't always live up to this standard) and Mephibosheth represents you and I.  Let's look at why we are Mephibosheth.

First, we are Mephibosheth because we were crippled in The Fall.

If you read 2 Samuel chapter 4 verse 4 you will see that Mephibosheth was crippled in a fall he took.  We were crippled in The Fall.  The Fall of man made it so that you and I are less than at full capacity.  We are crippled by sin.  Because of this crippling Mephibosheth, you and I are little use to either king David or King Jesus, right?

Secondly, we are Mephibosheth because we deserve to die.

Romans says, "The wages of sin is death."  Mephibosheth was on the wrong side of a dynasty change and was supposed to die.  So are we.  Right now Satan has rule over the earth.  When Christ enacts His dynasty change He will destroy the old ruling house.  Mephibosheth should have died but didn't due to the mercy of David.  We should die but don't due to the mercy of God.

Lastly, we are Mehibosheth because we are saved to something great.

Mephibosheth did not just have his life spared, he was considered a son of the king.  We Christians don't just have our lives spared, we are considered a son/daughter of the King.  How awesome is that?  We are seated at the King's table like Mephibosheth was seated at the king's table.

I am Mephibosheth and so are you.  We were crippled in The Fall.  We deserve death.  We are saved to be sons/daughters of the King.  Remember that.  Love that.  And continue to find yourself and Jesus on the pages of the Old Testament today.

10 Year Workiversary

April 1, 2009 I had an interview at KWAY Radio.  Ael Suhr took a chance on a 22 year old kid with a history degree who did radio as a hobby and worked on staff at the campus radio station, KWAR.  I had done some color commentary, sideline reporting and play-by-play at KWAY prior to being hired but overall I was relatively untested in commercial radio.  Thank you Ael for taking a chance on a kid over and over again.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to my coworkers past and present. I especially have to thank two former coworkers: Mark Simpson and Bob Westerman.  The two of them let me glean a lot of knowledge from them and Mark was in favor of a young guy hosting a show with him long before I was any good at it.

I've been at KWAY Radio in Waverly for a decade now.  That seems strange, but it's already been ten years.

Over the course of ten years I've called 1,276 games: football, volleyball, basketball, baseball softball, soccer and even one bowling meet.  Through this I've seen exciting moments and many tears from area athletes, coaches and their families.  It's been great being included in their seasons.

I've interviewed many fun people.  Celebrities like Hall of Famer Bill Walton, Actor and Iowan Tom Arnold, Model and actress Chrissy Teigen, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, soccer star Brandi Chastain, actor and Iowa Robin Lord Taylor from Gotham, wrestling legend Dan Gable, football star Tim Dwight, comedian and actor Pauly Shore to name a few without mentioning the hundreds of authors with whom I've spoken.  I even got the joy of hanging up on the jerks that starred in the show Workaholics.  I even watched a kid, Maddie Poppe, go from job shadowing at the station to American Idol champion.

In ten years I've announced some of my favorite life moments on the air.  I told people when I got engaged.  I played the song I recorded for my wife to walk down the aisle to live on the air to surprise her. I talked about my wedding plans.  I announced my wife's pregnancies and the births of our children. 

But my favorite memories of this first decade have been serving the community in which I'm now raising my family.  I get to do this because my boss encourages to promote the good of our communities. 

My favorite day of radio was a dark day for many of you.  A couple of years ago there was flooding in our area.  We organized flood relief that day.  People called me in the studio asking for help.  Then I announced whether they needed stuff moved from the basement or sandbags placed or whatever and I told people the address.  It was amazing, within a matter of minutes people would call back and say they had too much help and to send people to another person in need.  That day exemplified what a community radio station was all about and that's why it's my favorite station memory so far.

Thank you everyone that has helped me have a live mic.  Thank you to everyone who graciously has listened over the years.  It has been a pleasure to be welcomed into your cars, your kitchens, your bedrooms, your garages... wherever you've let me be.  It is no small thing to let me be a part of your routine, your moments, your days.

God has allowed me to do my hobby as a living.  He's placed me in a phenomenal community and given me a boss that cares about me and my family.  God has been good to me.

Here's to the next decade.