We have made it to my parents' home safely. The trip over was quite uneventful, so that was nice. We'll be here until at least Wednesday.
Please pray:
-that the storm would dissipate and lose strength, not gain it.
-that people would heed the evacuation orders.
-that people would drive safely during evacuations.
-for Amanda, a friend of ours who just landed in New Orleans after being away for a week. She will have to battle the traffic by herself.
-for lives to be preserved, and for homes to be spared.
-for our eyes and ears to be open to ministry needs.
-for God to gain glory and for His Name to be known among the nations.
8/30/2008
8/28/2008
Gettin' Outta' Dodge...
I don't want to do this again. Three years ago tomorrow.
This time we have the advantage of foresight. Not something we had 3 years ago. I've been taking pictures off the walls and out of frames, packing albums, special clothes, my quilts, my kids' artwork, the computers. The house we are in now did not flood during Katrina. I can't imagine it flooding with Gustav. Still it's hard to pick and choose what stays and what goes. This time, I'm taking more than a couple of days worth of clothes. In fact, I'm taking most of my kids' clothes.
And I'm trying very hard to be reasonable.
I am constantly trying to silence the panic button that is going off in the back of my brain. I am so glad I just last night finished a study on the Names of God. If I didn't have those names to call on and pray, I would be in a state of panic.
Jehovah-shalom: The Lord is my Peace
Jehovah-roi: The Lord Who Sees
Jehovah-jireh: The Lord Provides
Jehovah-raah: The Lord is My Shepherd
Jehovah-shammah: The Lord is There
Even still, it is a moment by moment fight.
We leave tomorrow or Saturday for my parents' home. I don't know how long we will be there. We'll see when the power comes back on here.
Pray for all of us on the Gulf Coast. Pray that the storm will dissipate into nothing. The memories are still fresh, and the scars still tender.
This time we have the advantage of foresight. Not something we had 3 years ago. I've been taking pictures off the walls and out of frames, packing albums, special clothes, my quilts, my kids' artwork, the computers. The house we are in now did not flood during Katrina. I can't imagine it flooding with Gustav. Still it's hard to pick and choose what stays and what goes. This time, I'm taking more than a couple of days worth of clothes. In fact, I'm taking most of my kids' clothes.
And I'm trying very hard to be reasonable.
I am constantly trying to silence the panic button that is going off in the back of my brain. I am so glad I just last night finished a study on the Names of God. If I didn't have those names to call on and pray, I would be in a state of panic.
Jehovah-shalom: The Lord is my Peace
Jehovah-roi: The Lord Who Sees
Jehovah-jireh: The Lord Provides
Jehovah-raah: The Lord is My Shepherd
Jehovah-shammah: The Lord is There
Even still, it is a moment by moment fight.
We leave tomorrow or Saturday for my parents' home. I don't know how long we will be there. We'll see when the power comes back on here.
Pray for all of us on the Gulf Coast. Pray that the storm will dissipate into nothing. The memories are still fresh, and the scars still tender.
8/26/2008
a conversation...
Me: (hugging Bull) My sweet baby boy...
Bull: I not a baby.
Me: Are you my big boy?
Bull: No.
Me: Then what are you?
Bull: A monkey. Ooh ooh ah ah ah
Bull: I not a baby.
Me: Are you my big boy?
Bull: No.
Me: Then what are you?
Bull: A monkey. Ooh ooh ah ah ah
8/20/2008
Jehovah-raah: The Lord is My Shepherd
(Most of this information came from Kay Arthur’s book, Lord I Want to Know You. Page numbers refer to this book.)
What are sheep like? They are timid, helpless, dumb, feeble, weak, and require constant supervision and care. “The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd.” (p 141) The shepherd’s chief end is to care for his sheep so completely that they are not in want.
Consider Psalm 23:1-6
1 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In order for sheep to thrive, there are four needs that must be met. The sheep must be free from hunger, free from fear, free from friction, and free from pests.
Free from hunger (v 2)
I’ve always been confused as to why a sheep would lie down in a green pasture. Shouldn’t they be up eating? Wouldn’t you have to force them to lie down in such a place? In the Hebrew, the word “makes” does not imply force. Instead, it implies that the shepherd lets the sheep lie down, or made the circumstance such that the sheep can lie down. The sheep are so full and satisfied that they can lie down in the middle of a smorgasbord!
As Christians, how can we be free from hunger, to the point of, in human terms, lying down at an all-you- can-eat buffet on Sunday after church? Feast on the Word of God! It is pure milk (1 Pet 2:2), solid food (Heb 5:13-14), the basis for growth (2 Tim 3:16-17), and bread (Deut 8:3; Jn 6:35).
Free from fear (v 4)
The rod and staff of a Shepherd are a comfort to His flock, not a burden. They are used to direct the sheep, to keep them safe, to defend them, and to save them from danger if needed. Also, sheep are not driven from behind, like cattle. Instead, they are led from the front and they follow their shepherd.
The boundaries set by scripture function as our rod and staff. They are there for our benefit, to keep us safe and out of trouble (Ecc 12:13; Ps 119:105), and to provide direction (Is 30:21). Jesus will lead us, but He will not force us. In the same way that He called His disciples, He calls us: “Come, follow me” (Matt 4:19). Because we are following a Good Shepherd, we do not have to be afraid (1 Jn 4:16,18; 2 Tim 1:7; Ps 56:3-4).
Free from friction (v 2-3)
Did you know that sheep will not drink from fast-moving water? It scares them. When sheep are afraid, they are paralyzed by that fear. Shepherds sometimes dam up the stream so that the sheep can drink from “quieted” water. Bear in mind though that the shepherd will not lead them to stagnant water for that would be bad for their health. Instead, he lovingly accommodates his sheep. And whenever there is a ruckus in the flock, all of the sheep are up and moving. Not one of them continues to rest. The shepherd must step in to quiet the flock.
God intends for His church to be unified (Jn 17:11) and functioning as one body (1 Cor 12; Col 3:15). He does not intend for us to be causing a ruckus among the believers (1 Thes 4:11-12). So then, how are we unified? So many scriptures apply here (Matt 6:12,14-15; Matt 5:23-24; Matt 5:44-45,48; Phil 2:3-8) with the most obvious one being “love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14-15).
Free from pests (v 5)
Sheep have one pest that drives them crazy: the nose fly.
“Sheep can suffer greatly because of the nose fly. This is a fly that seeks to deposit its eggs on the mucus membrane of the sheep’s nose. There the eggs hatch into small wormlike larvae that eventually work their way up the nose into the sheep’s head. As these larvae burrow into the sheep’s flesh, they cause a tremendous irritation, which in turn causes the sheep to thrash and beat its head against anything it can find. A sheep can become so driven to distraction by the irritation that it will actually kill itself in a desperate attempt to get rid of the source of aggravation…Just as there is an oil the shepherd can prepare to protect the sheep from nose flies and their destructive work, so our Shepherd has a way to keep His sheep from such torment.” (p 150)
People are no different! We have an enemy, one who seeks to destroy us physically, mentally, and spiritually (Jn 10:10a; 1 Pet 5:8). As God’s children, we have a shepherd who is able to defend against the attacks of the devil (Eph 6:16). By donning the armor of God (Eph 6), we will be ready for battle. Through His Word we can control our thought lives (2 Cor 10:3-5; Phil 4:6-7; Phil 4:8-9; Is 26:3).
My largest battlefield is that of my mind. One of the ways I was able to gain victory over post-partum depression was through a visual picture that the Lord gave me. I imagined each one of my thoughts written on a leaf with the wind blowing them through my mind. I had to chase that leaf down, scratch out the disobedient thought, and re-write the thought such that it was obedient to Christ (2Cor 10:3-5). Once the thought was obedient, I could release it into the wind again. Sometimes it takes that sort of attention to detail for us to live without the pests of our thought life.
The Voice of the Shepherd
When we were in Israel, we saw a number of shepherds with their flocks. However, there was only one to whom I was close enough to hear him interact with his sheep. The only sound he made was a little click. With that click, the entire herd looked up and followed instantly. Truly the sheep know the voice of the shepherd (Jn 10:4-5). How do we get to know the voice of our Shepherd? We do it by spending time with Him, by spending time in His Word, by listening to His under-shepherds (1Pet 5:2-4), by spending time in fellowship with other believers (Heb 10:24-25), and by spending time in prayer (1 Thes 5:17).
Learn the voice of the Shepherd! This is the result:
“Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Ps 23:6)
An aside
"The LORD" is Jehovah God, the covenant making God of Israel. The compound names of Jehovah in the Old Testament reflect the contents of this psalm.
"I shall not want" — Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide" (Gen 22:14)
"still waters" — Jehovah-Shalom, "the Lord our peace" (Judg 6:24)
"restores my soul" — Jehovah-Rapha, "the Lord who heals" (Ex 15:26)
"paths of righteousness" — Jehovah-Tsidkenu, "the Lord our righteousness" (Jer 33:16)
"you are with me" — Jehovah-Shammah, "the Lord is there" (Ezek 48:35)
"presence of my enemies" — "Jehovah-Nissi, "the Lord our banner" (Ex 17:15)
"anoint my head" — Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, "the Lord who sanctifies" (Lev 20:8)
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)
What are sheep like? They are timid, helpless, dumb, feeble, weak, and require constant supervision and care. “The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd.” (p 141) The shepherd’s chief end is to care for his sheep so completely that they are not in want.
Consider Psalm 23:1-6
1 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In order for sheep to thrive, there are four needs that must be met. The sheep must be free from hunger, free from fear, free from friction, and free from pests.
Free from hunger (v 2)
I’ve always been confused as to why a sheep would lie down in a green pasture. Shouldn’t they be up eating? Wouldn’t you have to force them to lie down in such a place? In the Hebrew, the word “makes” does not imply force. Instead, it implies that the shepherd lets the sheep lie down, or made the circumstance such that the sheep can lie down. The sheep are so full and satisfied that they can lie down in the middle of a smorgasbord!
As Christians, how can we be free from hunger, to the point of, in human terms, lying down at an all-you- can-eat buffet on Sunday after church? Feast on the Word of God! It is pure milk (1 Pet 2:2), solid food (Heb 5:13-14), the basis for growth (2 Tim 3:16-17), and bread (Deut 8:3; Jn 6:35).
Free from fear (v 4)
The rod and staff of a Shepherd are a comfort to His flock, not a burden. They are used to direct the sheep, to keep them safe, to defend them, and to save them from danger if needed. Also, sheep are not driven from behind, like cattle. Instead, they are led from the front and they follow their shepherd.
The boundaries set by scripture function as our rod and staff. They are there for our benefit, to keep us safe and out of trouble (Ecc 12:13; Ps 119:105), and to provide direction (Is 30:21). Jesus will lead us, but He will not force us. In the same way that He called His disciples, He calls us: “Come, follow me” (Matt 4:19). Because we are following a Good Shepherd, we do not have to be afraid (1 Jn 4:16,18; 2 Tim 1:7; Ps 56:3-4).
Free from friction (v 2-3)
Did you know that sheep will not drink from fast-moving water? It scares them. When sheep are afraid, they are paralyzed by that fear. Shepherds sometimes dam up the stream so that the sheep can drink from “quieted” water. Bear in mind though that the shepherd will not lead them to stagnant water for that would be bad for their health. Instead, he lovingly accommodates his sheep. And whenever there is a ruckus in the flock, all of the sheep are up and moving. Not one of them continues to rest. The shepherd must step in to quiet the flock.
God intends for His church to be unified (Jn 17:11) and functioning as one body (1 Cor 12; Col 3:15). He does not intend for us to be causing a ruckus among the believers (1 Thes 4:11-12). So then, how are we unified? So many scriptures apply here (Matt 6:12,14-15; Matt 5:23-24; Matt 5:44-45,48; Phil 2:3-8) with the most obvious one being “love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14-15).
Free from pests (v 5)
Sheep have one pest that drives them crazy: the nose fly.
“Sheep can suffer greatly because of the nose fly. This is a fly that seeks to deposit its eggs on the mucus membrane of the sheep’s nose. There the eggs hatch into small wormlike larvae that eventually work their way up the nose into the sheep’s head. As these larvae burrow into the sheep’s flesh, they cause a tremendous irritation, which in turn causes the sheep to thrash and beat its head against anything it can find. A sheep can become so driven to distraction by the irritation that it will actually kill itself in a desperate attempt to get rid of the source of aggravation…Just as there is an oil the shepherd can prepare to protect the sheep from nose flies and their destructive work, so our Shepherd has a way to keep His sheep from such torment.” (p 150)
People are no different! We have an enemy, one who seeks to destroy us physically, mentally, and spiritually (Jn 10:10a; 1 Pet 5:8). As God’s children, we have a shepherd who is able to defend against the attacks of the devil (Eph 6:16). By donning the armor of God (Eph 6), we will be ready for battle. Through His Word we can control our thought lives (2 Cor 10:3-5; Phil 4:6-7; Phil 4:8-9; Is 26:3).
My largest battlefield is that of my mind. One of the ways I was able to gain victory over post-partum depression was through a visual picture that the Lord gave me. I imagined each one of my thoughts written on a leaf with the wind blowing them through my mind. I had to chase that leaf down, scratch out the disobedient thought, and re-write the thought such that it was obedient to Christ (2Cor 10:3-5). Once the thought was obedient, I could release it into the wind again. Sometimes it takes that sort of attention to detail for us to live without the pests of our thought life.
The Voice of the Shepherd
When we were in Israel, we saw a number of shepherds with their flocks. However, there was only one to whom I was close enough to hear him interact with his sheep. The only sound he made was a little click. With that click, the entire herd looked up and followed instantly. Truly the sheep know the voice of the shepherd (Jn 10:4-5). How do we get to know the voice of our Shepherd? We do it by spending time with Him, by spending time in His Word, by listening to His under-shepherds (1Pet 5:2-4), by spending time in fellowship with other believers (Heb 10:24-25), and by spending time in prayer (1 Thes 5:17).
Learn the voice of the Shepherd! This is the result:
“Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Ps 23:6)
An aside
"The LORD" is Jehovah God, the covenant making God of Israel. The compound names of Jehovah in the Old Testament reflect the contents of this psalm.
"I shall not want" — Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide" (Gen 22:14)
"still waters" — Jehovah-Shalom, "the Lord our peace" (Judg 6:24)
"restores my soul" — Jehovah-Rapha, "the Lord who heals" (Ex 15:26)
"paths of righteousness" — Jehovah-Tsidkenu, "the Lord our righteousness" (Jer 33:16)
"you are with me" — Jehovah-Shammah, "the Lord is there" (Ezek 48:35)
"presence of my enemies" — "Jehovah-Nissi, "the Lord our banner" (Ex 17:15)
"anoint my head" — Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, "the Lord who sanctifies" (Lev 20:8)
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)
8/17/2008
a great weekend
What a wonderful weekend we have had!
- I have been blogging for one year! Wow. Honestly, I'm so thankful for this interaction in the blogosphere. It truly keeps me sane.
- We finished the living room re-do (tearing down ceiling beams, painting a popcorn ceiling and the walls, and installing new moulding) last night while watching the Olympics. We stopped for Michael Phelps' historical swim and the 100 m track race.
- I still have to do the dining room and the front door.
- I love the Olympics! For so many reasons, but mostly because I feel a sense of unity in our country over at least one thing. My boys love to cheer for the USA! You should see them all gathered around the TV shouting. It's great!
- It poured here yesterday. So, we ran around like crazy people in the rain. In our front yard. Where all the neighbors could see. Completely undignified! I don't have any pictures though because, well, I was running in the rain. Here's one that is from earlier this week though (please excuse the quality as it was taken with a cell phone):
- I got a big chunk of my Israel pictures in the albums. I still have a couple more sessions to go, but the project is coming along.
- We watched Rick Warren's interview of Senator Obama and Senator McCain. What an enlightening couple of hours. I learned a great deal about our Presidential candidates. By the way, if you aren't registered to vote, consider this your kick in the butt to go do it! This is an incredibly important election. Please register to vote!
- My niece started crawling this week!
- Hubs has the first day of his last semester tomorrow. Can I get an AMEN from the congregation?!
- The boys have two more weeks before they go back to school.
- Hubs (coaching) and Gator (playing) start soccer tomorrow. That means I am officially a soccer mom now. And I have the mini-van to prove it! Woo-hoo!
- I am really looking forward to this week. It's so good to feel optimistic!
"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:5
- I have been blogging for one year! Wow. Honestly, I'm so thankful for this interaction in the blogosphere. It truly keeps me sane.
- We finished the living room re-do (tearing down ceiling beams, painting a popcorn ceiling and the walls, and installing new moulding) last night while watching the Olympics. We stopped for Michael Phelps' historical swim and the 100 m track race.
- I still have to do the dining room and the front door.
- I love the Olympics! For so many reasons, but mostly because I feel a sense of unity in our country over at least one thing. My boys love to cheer for the USA! You should see them all gathered around the TV shouting. It's great!
- It poured here yesterday. So, we ran around like crazy people in the rain. In our front yard. Where all the neighbors could see. Completely undignified! I don't have any pictures though because, well, I was running in the rain. Here's one that is from earlier this week though (please excuse the quality as it was taken with a cell phone):
- I got a big chunk of my Israel pictures in the albums. I still have a couple more sessions to go, but the project is coming along.
- We watched Rick Warren's interview of Senator Obama and Senator McCain. What an enlightening couple of hours. I learned a great deal about our Presidential candidates. By the way, if you aren't registered to vote, consider this your kick in the butt to go do it! This is an incredibly important election. Please register to vote!
- My niece started crawling this week!
- Hubs has the first day of his last semester tomorrow. Can I get an AMEN from the congregation?!
- The boys have two more weeks before they go back to school.
- Hubs (coaching) and Gator (playing) start soccer tomorrow. That means I am officially a soccer mom now. And I have the mini-van to prove it! Woo-hoo!
- I am really looking forward to this week. It's so good to feel optimistic!
"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:5
8/11/2008
My Favorite Passage of Scripture (Part 2 of 2)
“Abraham, Abraham!”
I believe I would have passed out from the relief. That’s not to say I would have made it this far! Can you imagine? It must have been a very loud booming voice that spoke his name. This was a test of Abraham’s faith and obedience. God did not intend for Isaac to be sacrificed because that would have violated His own law (Lev 20:1-5). Abraham stops the sacrifice and after God expresses His pleasure in Abraham’s obedience, a lamb is found caught in the thicket (v 13).
The substitution of the lamb is a direct correlation to Christ’s substitution for humanity on the cross. The Hebrew word ‘olah refers to a burnt offering (v 2). This type of sacrifice was atonement for sin. The blood is spilled and the entirety of the animal is given. Nothing is held back. This is what God required of Abraham. This is what God required of Christ. This is what God requires of me. Abraham obeyed. So did Christ. Will Christie? It is a daily decision I must make. Because of Christ’s death, I do not have to literally die for my sins though I deserve to die (Rom 6:23, 10:9). God wants me to present myself as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). The catch is this: as a sacrifice that is still living, I can crawl off the altar anytime I choose. I must submit, like Isaac did, and stay on the altar, dying to self and choosing my Father’s will over my own (cf. Gal 2:20, Rom 8:13, 1 Cor 15:31, 2 Cor 5:15).
“Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide…”
When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, he built it on Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1). Although Solomon’s temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., another temple was built in the same spot by Herod the Great, just before Jesus’ birth.
Please do not miss the significance of this!
In the very place that God revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh to Abraham and provided the lamb as substitution for Isaac, the Jewish people sacrificed goats, bulls and sheep every year on the Day of Atonement for their sins. Then Jesus was born, and his parents took Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord (Lk 2:21-38). Simeon recognized Him as the Messiah and Anna gave thanks to God, for the redemption of Jerusalem had come. He would return every year for Passover – the very Lamb of God celebrating Passover in the place that God had provided the first substitutionary sacrifice! And when Jesus Christ was crucified, He would be the LAST sacrifice ever needed because the blood of goats and bulls can never take away sins, but the blood of the perfect Lamb of God takes away sin forever (Eph 1:7, Heb 9:11-14, 10:4-14)! Praise God! He has provided!
God has shown Himself to be my Jehovah Jireh so many times, with the most significant being on the day of my salvation as a young child. However, the Name took root deep in my soul in August of 2005. Jason had answered the call of God on his life to go into some type of full-time ministry a year before during the summer of 2004. He started taking seminary classes via distance learning that fall while deploying as a submarine officer. The first class he took was Intro to Hebrew Grammar. He translated and wrote a paper on Genesis 22. When it came time to ask for his next duty assignment, we pursued a job in New Orleans so that Jason could take classes on campus at the seminary. The Lord gave us the job!
When we moved to southeast Louisiana in April of 2005, I was entering my second trimester with Bull and had a 2 year old Gator in tow. We bought a brand new house and quickly got settled. We found an amazing church home at Northshore Church. We were full of expectation for what the Lord had in store for us in this place.
A Category 5 Hurricane is headed for the Mississippi – Louisiana Gulf Coast
On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit, with the eye passing directly over our house, leaving nearly 5 feet of water in our new home. We lost nearly everything, and were evacuated to Tennessee after only 4 months of living in the place that we knew God had called us.
Hubs and I looked at one another with utter confusion. Wait a minute God. You called us into ministry. You gave us the job in New Orleans so we could prepare for ministry. We found a church that fit perfectly. We had so much hope for the time we were supposed to spend there. Why did you take it all away from us?
Over the three years that have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Hubs and I have found numerous ways that God has made sense of the destruction: the lifelong friends we made in Tennessee… the outpouring of support from the spouses of deployed soldiers… the beauty of the body of Christ healing itself by ministering to our family… the birth of a healthy baby boy exactly two months after the storm… the healing of post-partum depression for myself… the joy of watching my two sons grow up together… the insurance pay out that has allowed us to live off of savings for two years… the lesson learned of praising Him during the worst times and the best times… the amazing faithfulness of my God to provide for His child even though she isn’t sure how He will do it.
Allow God to be your Jehovah Jireh. He will provide. He gave Himself that Name because He wants to be known as the Provider. He has provided His only Son as a substitution for you. Don’t turn your back on His sacrifice.
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen 22:18).
“For Christ died once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
I believe I would have passed out from the relief. That’s not to say I would have made it this far! Can you imagine? It must have been a very loud booming voice that spoke his name. This was a test of Abraham’s faith and obedience. God did not intend for Isaac to be sacrificed because that would have violated His own law (Lev 20:1-5). Abraham stops the sacrifice and after God expresses His pleasure in Abraham’s obedience, a lamb is found caught in the thicket (v 13).
The substitution of the lamb is a direct correlation to Christ’s substitution for humanity on the cross. The Hebrew word ‘olah refers to a burnt offering (v 2). This type of sacrifice was atonement for sin. The blood is spilled and the entirety of the animal is given. Nothing is held back. This is what God required of Abraham. This is what God required of Christ. This is what God requires of me. Abraham obeyed. So did Christ. Will Christie? It is a daily decision I must make. Because of Christ’s death, I do not have to literally die for my sins though I deserve to die (Rom 6:23, 10:9). God wants me to present myself as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). The catch is this: as a sacrifice that is still living, I can crawl off the altar anytime I choose. I must submit, like Isaac did, and stay on the altar, dying to self and choosing my Father’s will over my own (cf. Gal 2:20, Rom 8:13, 1 Cor 15:31, 2 Cor 5:15).
“Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide…”
When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, he built it on Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1). Although Solomon’s temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., another temple was built in the same spot by Herod the Great, just before Jesus’ birth.
Please do not miss the significance of this!
In the very place that God revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh to Abraham and provided the lamb as substitution for Isaac, the Jewish people sacrificed goats, bulls and sheep every year on the Day of Atonement for their sins. Then Jesus was born, and his parents took Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord (Lk 2:21-38). Simeon recognized Him as the Messiah and Anna gave thanks to God, for the redemption of Jerusalem had come. He would return every year for Passover – the very Lamb of God celebrating Passover in the place that God had provided the first substitutionary sacrifice! And when Jesus Christ was crucified, He would be the LAST sacrifice ever needed because the blood of goats and bulls can never take away sins, but the blood of the perfect Lamb of God takes away sin forever (Eph 1:7, Heb 9:11-14, 10:4-14)! Praise God! He has provided!
God has shown Himself to be my Jehovah Jireh so many times, with the most significant being on the day of my salvation as a young child. However, the Name took root deep in my soul in August of 2005. Jason had answered the call of God on his life to go into some type of full-time ministry a year before during the summer of 2004. He started taking seminary classes via distance learning that fall while deploying as a submarine officer. The first class he took was Intro to Hebrew Grammar. He translated and wrote a paper on Genesis 22. When it came time to ask for his next duty assignment, we pursued a job in New Orleans so that Jason could take classes on campus at the seminary. The Lord gave us the job!
When we moved to southeast Louisiana in April of 2005, I was entering my second trimester with Bull and had a 2 year old Gator in tow. We bought a brand new house and quickly got settled. We found an amazing church home at Northshore Church. We were full of expectation for what the Lord had in store for us in this place.
A Category 5 Hurricane is headed for the Mississippi – Louisiana Gulf Coast
On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit, with the eye passing directly over our house, leaving nearly 5 feet of water in our new home. We lost nearly everything, and were evacuated to Tennessee after only 4 months of living in the place that we knew God had called us.
Hubs and I looked at one another with utter confusion. Wait a minute God. You called us into ministry. You gave us the job in New Orleans so we could prepare for ministry. We found a church that fit perfectly. We had so much hope for the time we were supposed to spend there. Why did you take it all away from us?
Over the three years that have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Hubs and I have found numerous ways that God has made sense of the destruction: the lifelong friends we made in Tennessee… the outpouring of support from the spouses of deployed soldiers… the beauty of the body of Christ healing itself by ministering to our family… the birth of a healthy baby boy exactly two months after the storm… the healing of post-partum depression for myself… the joy of watching my two sons grow up together… the insurance pay out that has allowed us to live off of savings for two years… the lesson learned of praising Him during the worst times and the best times… the amazing faithfulness of my God to provide for His child even though she isn’t sure how He will do it.
Allow God to be your Jehovah Jireh. He will provide. He gave Himself that Name because He wants to be known as the Provider. He has provided His only Son as a substitution for you. Don’t turn your back on His sacrifice.
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen 22:18).
“For Christ died once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
My Favorite Passage of Scripture (Part 1 of 2)
There is a statue in the Student Center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary that brings tears to my eyes every time I see it. It is a bronze carving of an aged Abraham hiking an incline with a teenage Isaac carrying a bundle of sticks on his back. The plate below it states: “But Father, where is the lamb?” referencing Genesis 22:7. My heart is torn even now as I think of it. There are so many levels to this story (Gen 22:1-19), so many lessons to learn, and so many truths to take away. And every time I read the account, I glean something new. The Word is living and active (Heb 4:12)!
So, why is a story about a father sacrificing his son my favorite passage of Scripture? Kind of morbid, right? Not when you dig in! I’ll share what I have learned so far.
Three of the most important words in Scripture (at least to me) make their debut in this text: love (v 2), worship (v 5), and obey (v 18). It’s called the “principle of first mention.” And it is so important! Kay Arthur writes, “When a significant word is mentioned for the first time in the Word of God, the principles connected with that word at that point hold true throughout the rest of Scripture.”
When I learned that the word love had not been used in Scripture until the 22nd chapter of Genesis, I thought to myself why did it take so long? Obviously the previous 21 chapters are not void of love. On the contrary, they are replete with examples of love: creation, the first marriage, Noah and the Ark, the list goes on.
“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and…offer him there as a burnt offering…”
The significance is found within the same sentence, when God instructs Abraham of what he is to do. I can only imagine the thoughts that flew through Abraham’s head. Offer my only son as a burnt offering? What a minute God, this is the son of promise. The whole world is to be blessed by him. He’s my ticket to this “father of many nations” business that we talked about. I waited 100 years for this kid and now I have to sacrifice him? Besides that, God, I love him.
Yet Abraham says nothing.
In fact, his response is action. He rises early (you know he didn’t sleep a wink) in the morning and leaves. Do you think he avoided Sarah like the plague? “Whatcha’ doin’ today honey?” “Oh, we’re just gonna’ head over to Moriah and…” By the way, Moriah is 50 miles away from Beersheba, and that’s on paved roads. It takes a couple of days to walk there.
I don’t think Abraham talked much during the journey. Isaac must have sensed the heaviness of his father’s heart. Maybe he just kept quiet. Kids do that sometimes, especially teenagers. Isaac must have had questions. He wasn’t a stranger to the concept of sacrifice. In fact on the third day, when the entourage of servants had been left behind, he asked his father so as not to embarrass him in front of the servants, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? (v 7)” With a heart full of faith, Abraham responds, “God will provide for himself the lamb…(v 8)”
“So the two of them walked on together.”
What a beautiful relationship these two shared. Isaac trusted his father implicitly, to the point of being bound and placed on a pile of sticks, to the point of watching Abraham raise his hand to slay him (v 10). Even though the boy was physically strong enough to resist his aging father, he did not. Following the example of Abraham (v 2-3), Isaac asks no more questions. His response is action. He walks on, together, with his father (v 8).
Christ did the same thing, but He knew that there was no lamb caught in the thicket. God’s Son, His only Son, the Son whom God loved, the One promised by God (Jn 3:16, Lk 3:22, Gal 3:29). Jesus asked once to let the cup pass from him (Mt 26:39). God said no. After that, no more questions. Just obedience to the Father meted out in the action of crucifixion.
Do you realize that Abraham had already sacrificed Isaac in his heart? If not, why make the long journey? Why draw the knife? Abraham was not going through the motions. He was convinced that obedience was the only way. After all, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb 11:19).
So, why is a story about a father sacrificing his son my favorite passage of Scripture? Kind of morbid, right? Not when you dig in! I’ll share what I have learned so far.
Three of the most important words in Scripture (at least to me) make their debut in this text: love (v 2), worship (v 5), and obey (v 18). It’s called the “principle of first mention.” And it is so important! Kay Arthur writes, “When a significant word is mentioned for the first time in the Word of God, the principles connected with that word at that point hold true throughout the rest of Scripture.”
When I learned that the word love had not been used in Scripture until the 22nd chapter of Genesis, I thought to myself why did it take so long? Obviously the previous 21 chapters are not void of love. On the contrary, they are replete with examples of love: creation, the first marriage, Noah and the Ark, the list goes on.
“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and…offer him there as a burnt offering…”
The significance is found within the same sentence, when God instructs Abraham of what he is to do. I can only imagine the thoughts that flew through Abraham’s head. Offer my only son as a burnt offering? What a minute God, this is the son of promise. The whole world is to be blessed by him. He’s my ticket to this “father of many nations” business that we talked about. I waited 100 years for this kid and now I have to sacrifice him? Besides that, God, I love him.
Yet Abraham says nothing.
In fact, his response is action. He rises early (you know he didn’t sleep a wink) in the morning and leaves. Do you think he avoided Sarah like the plague? “Whatcha’ doin’ today honey?” “Oh, we’re just gonna’ head over to Moriah and…” By the way, Moriah is 50 miles away from Beersheba, and that’s on paved roads. It takes a couple of days to walk there.
I don’t think Abraham talked much during the journey. Isaac must have sensed the heaviness of his father’s heart. Maybe he just kept quiet. Kids do that sometimes, especially teenagers. Isaac must have had questions. He wasn’t a stranger to the concept of sacrifice. In fact on the third day, when the entourage of servants had been left behind, he asked his father so as not to embarrass him in front of the servants, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? (v 7)” With a heart full of faith, Abraham responds, “God will provide for himself the lamb…(v 8)”
“So the two of them walked on together.”
What a beautiful relationship these two shared. Isaac trusted his father implicitly, to the point of being bound and placed on a pile of sticks, to the point of watching Abraham raise his hand to slay him (v 10). Even though the boy was physically strong enough to resist his aging father, he did not. Following the example of Abraham (v 2-3), Isaac asks no more questions. His response is action. He walks on, together, with his father (v 8).
Christ did the same thing, but He knew that there was no lamb caught in the thicket. God’s Son, His only Son, the Son whom God loved, the One promised by God (Jn 3:16, Lk 3:22, Gal 3:29). Jesus asked once to let the cup pass from him (Mt 26:39). God said no. After that, no more questions. Just obedience to the Father meted out in the action of crucifixion.
Do you realize that Abraham had already sacrificed Isaac in his heart? If not, why make the long journey? Why draw the knife? Abraham was not going through the motions. He was convinced that obedience was the only way. After all, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb 11:19).
8/08/2008
Fun on Friday
Last weekend, my sister and her family were here visiting. We went to New Orleans, rode the St. Charles street car, jumped off at Audubon Park, and ate at Zea's (yummy!). Later we drove through the French Quarter in order to preserve sanity among the masses with the promise of spending more time there the next time they come. The kids loved the street car (so did the adults). It's really a great way to see the city. And you can get an all day pass for $5 so you can jump on and off whenever and wherever you want. Gator loved getting his ticket punched! Enjoy!
8/06/2008
Chapman family interview
Here's the link to the interview with Steven Curtis Chapman and his family regarding the death of the youngest member, Maria Sue. What an amazing family and a job well done by Good Morning America. Please continue to pray for them as they grieve publicly. May God receive the glory!
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