September 29, 2009
September 28, 2009
Welcome to our World
Salome Carmichael Strassner (we think we'll call her Sally).
Salome (pronounced SAL-uh-may) was a follower of Jesus who was also, it would seem, the wife of the fisherman Zebedee (compare Mark 15.40 and Matthew 27.56) and, therefore, the mother of "the Sons of Zebedee" - better known as the apostles James and John . Comparing these two verses with John 19.25, it is also possible that Salome (unnamed in John 19.25) was also the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. Confusing? No worries. It is not for Salome's genealogy that we pay tribute to her in the naming of our second little girl. Rather ... we admire Salome because she seemed to always be there at the crucial moments in Jesus' life. Only she and a few other women followed Him all the way to the cross (Mark 15.40). And it was Salome (along with two more Mary's, Mark 16.1) who showed up at the tomb early that Sunday to care for Jesus' body. We admire her ... and we pray that our little girl would have similarly firm and tender faith.
Amy Carmichael was a woman of no less character. The planned subject of my annual missionary biography/sermon this December, Carmichael was an Irish missionary among the destitute girls in India (many of whom had been dedicated, by their parents, to the gods and made, as young girls, into local temple prostitutes). She rescued them, taught them, and raised them for Jesus. Miss Carmichael was also the author of a large amount of wonderful devotional literature. ... and a composer of hymns. She was (and remains) an example to us all ... including (we hope) her newest namesake. Read more about her here. We could do a lot worse than to have such a thoughtful, Christ-and-others-loving little girl!
As for Strassner ... well, that comes from me. Nothing profound there, I suppose. But we hope she will bring honor to the name. Pray with us that she would.
8lbs, 6oz. Born September 28, 2009 at 10:56am. Both mom and baby are healthy!
Salome (pronounced SAL-uh-may) was a follower of Jesus who was also, it would seem, the wife of the fisherman Zebedee (compare Mark 15.40 and Matthew 27.56) and, therefore, the mother of "the Sons of Zebedee" - better known as the apostles James and John . Comparing these two verses with John 19.25, it is also possible that Salome (unnamed in John 19.25) was also the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. Confusing? No worries. It is not for Salome's genealogy that we pay tribute to her in the naming of our second little girl. Rather ... we admire Salome because she seemed to always be there at the crucial moments in Jesus' life. Only she and a few other women followed Him all the way to the cross (Mark 15.40). And it was Salome (along with two more Mary's, Mark 16.1) who showed up at the tomb early that Sunday to care for Jesus' body. We admire her ... and we pray that our little girl would have similarly firm and tender faith.
Amy Carmichael was a woman of no less character. The planned subject of my annual missionary biography/sermon this December, Carmichael was an Irish missionary among the destitute girls in India (many of whom had been dedicated, by their parents, to the gods and made, as young girls, into local temple prostitutes). She rescued them, taught them, and raised them for Jesus. Miss Carmichael was also the author of a large amount of wonderful devotional literature. ... and a composer of hymns. She was (and remains) an example to us all ... including (we hope) her newest namesake. Read more about her here. We could do a lot worse than to have such a thoughtful, Christ-and-others-loving little girl!
As for Strassner ... well, that comes from me. Nothing profound there, I suppose. But we hope she will bring honor to the name. Pray with us that she would.
September 21, 2009
'Tis the Gift, Part 2
"Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred."
One of the great lessons of Proverbs 15.17 is that you don’t need to have a lot on your plate (literally or figuratively) in order to be happy. Love for God and man will do quite nicely if you want a happy life. And that means that there may be great value in being intentional about not having to have the fattened ox – even if you can afford it. There is value in having a lifestyle and schedule that look more like a simple plate of steamed vegetables than like the buffet at Golden Corral. Simplicity and contentment are important biblical virtues – and ones that, in our culture, we are not very good at.
Do you remember what it was like when you were young, and just getting started in life? Maybe when you got your first apartment, or first car? Or perhaps when you first got married? Your furniture was mix and match. Your car didn’t have any of the accessories that now seem so indispensible. You only had one TV. You had to really be careful with your monthly budget. And do you know what? I’ll bet that some of you look back on those days with fond memories. They were good days. Life was simple. You didn’t have much. But you didn’t need much. Sure, you couldn’t afford the fattened ox. Maybe you (like me) took Ramen noodles to work with you every day. You only had a little. But you had love. You had real friends. And, because life was so much simpler, you actually had time to spend with them! And you were happy.
I don’t remember, to give a personal example, if Tobey and I ever had a happier Christmas than our first one as a married couple. We didn’t have any Christmas decorations – and couldn’t afford any. All we had money for was a $19.95 tree from Home Depot … but no lights or ornaments. So I used the Paint program on Microsoft Windows and hand-drew (with the talent of an 8-year-old) some angels, some stars, and some Christmas bells. Then we printed them, cut them out, and taped them onto the shiny side of some old CD-Rom’s and used the holes in the middle of the discs to hang our ‘ornaments’ on the tree.
Do you remember what it was like when you were young, and just getting started in life? Maybe when you got your first apartment, or first car? Or perhaps when you first got married? Your furniture was mix and match. Your car didn’t have any of the accessories that now seem so indispensible. You only had one TV. You had to really be careful with your monthly budget. And do you know what? I’ll bet that some of you look back on those days with fond memories. They were good days. Life was simple. You didn’t have much. But you didn’t need much. Sure, you couldn’t afford the fattened ox. Maybe you (like me) took Ramen noodles to work with you every day. You only had a little. But you had love. You had real friends. And, because life was so much simpler, you actually had time to spend with them! And you were happy.
I don’t remember, to give a personal example, if Tobey and I ever had a happier Christmas than our first one as a married couple. We didn’t have any Christmas decorations – and couldn’t afford any. All we had money for was a $19.95 tree from Home Depot … but no lights or ornaments. So I used the Paint program on Microsoft Windows and hand-drew (with the talent of an 8-year-old) some angels, some stars, and some Christmas bells. Then we printed them, cut them out, and taped them onto the shiny side of some old CD-Rom’s and used the holes in the middle of the discs to hang our ‘ornaments’ on the tree.
We were so proud! It wasn’t the prettiest tree we ever had (as I am sure you can tell ... and will comment on below!). But we were together! And Christmas was really about Christ!
These days, Christmas decoration is always a mess. Ornaments break. I get tangled up in the lights. And it’s always a big fiasco that ends with me having to apologize. And I wonder, sometimes, if it wouldn’t be better to just go back to the old, simple way we did it at first.
And you may wonder that about various pockets of your own life. Things used to be so much simpler … and, perhaps, happier. What happened? Somewhere along the line you stopped being content with less; with “a dish of vegetables” so to speak. Somewhere along the line the “fattened ox” became more and more appealing and (seemingly) necessary … and “love” (perhaps for God as well as man) began, first, to be assumed, and eventually to be pushed, ever so slightly, to the side. You didn’t actually intend to become unloving. But somehow there was just less time and energy to put into your spouse, your kids, your friends, and your Bible. After all, it's a lot of work fattening up whatever particular “ox” has become so important to you.
But Solomon would have us know that it’s not too late to go back. It’s not too late to get rid of some of the gadgets; to cut some things out of the schedule so that your family is actually home together more than two nights a week; to cancel the cable or scale back to one TV; to stop spending so much time, money, and energy on things you don’t really need … and won’t even want in a year’s time. It’s not too late to learn (and apply) the importance of simplicity and contentment.
These days, Christmas decoration is always a mess. Ornaments break. I get tangled up in the lights. And it’s always a big fiasco that ends with me having to apologize. And I wonder, sometimes, if it wouldn’t be better to just go back to the old, simple way we did it at first.
And you may wonder that about various pockets of your own life. Things used to be so much simpler … and, perhaps, happier. What happened? Somewhere along the line you stopped being content with less; with “a dish of vegetables” so to speak. Somewhere along the line the “fattened ox” became more and more appealing and (seemingly) necessary … and “love” (perhaps for God as well as man) began, first, to be assumed, and eventually to be pushed, ever so slightly, to the side. You didn’t actually intend to become unloving. But somehow there was just less time and energy to put into your spouse, your kids, your friends, and your Bible. After all, it's a lot of work fattening up whatever particular “ox” has become so important to you.
But Solomon would have us know that it’s not too late to go back. It’s not too late to get rid of some of the gadgets; to cut some things out of the schedule so that your family is actually home together more than two nights a week; to cancel the cable or scale back to one TV; to stop spending so much time, money, and energy on things you don’t really need … and won’t even want in a year’s time. It’s not too late to learn (and apply) the importance of simplicity and contentment.
'Tis the Gift to be Simple
"Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred."
Do you believe that? That it’s better to be poor, simple … and loved than to be rich and unhappy? I am sure most of us would agree with Proverbs 15.17, at least in principle. But it’s another thing in practice, isn’t it? For most of us aren’t used to not being able to eat our favorite foods, or not being able to have our air conditioning, or our television, or the various forms of high speed technology upon which we rely so heavily. And so, if push came to shove, I think a great many of us (myself included) would have a hard time putting Solomon’s words into practice. We are far too used to having it all.
Indeed, far from being happy with the fattened ox, we grumble because it’s not cooked right; because it’s too salty, or not salty enough. And we do the very same thing when our television reception, our internet service, our automobiles, and our health care options aren’t just the way we want them. Sometimes we even do the grumbling at the very ones we claim to love. And I say we are addicted to having it all and having it our way … to the point that, if we were put to the test, some of us might just choose the “fattened ox served with hatred” rather than “the dish of vegetables where love is.”
Truth be told, I must confess that I am the chief of sinners in this regard. I was admiring, not long ago, Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, The Potato Eaters (public domain, pictured below) – a simple portrait of five poor, plain, but dignified and contented family members sitting around a table with nothing but potatoes and coffee to fill their stomachs. And the painting, along with Solomon’s maxim in Proverbs 15.17, made me long for simpler days – for simple and happy family life; for real contentedness.
Do you believe that? That it’s better to be poor, simple … and loved than to be rich and unhappy? I am sure most of us would agree with Proverbs 15.17, at least in principle. But it’s another thing in practice, isn’t it? For most of us aren’t used to not being able to eat our favorite foods, or not being able to have our air conditioning, or our television, or the various forms of high speed technology upon which we rely so heavily. And so, if push came to shove, I think a great many of us (myself included) would have a hard time putting Solomon’s words into practice. We are far too used to having it all.
Indeed, far from being happy with the fattened ox, we grumble because it’s not cooked right; because it’s too salty, or not salty enough. And we do the very same thing when our television reception, our internet service, our automobiles, and our health care options aren’t just the way we want them. Sometimes we even do the grumbling at the very ones we claim to love. And I say we are addicted to having it all and having it our way … to the point that, if we were put to the test, some of us might just choose the “fattened ox served with hatred” rather than “the dish of vegetables where love is.”
Truth be told, I must confess that I am the chief of sinners in this regard. I was admiring, not long ago, Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, The Potato Eaters (public domain, pictured below) – a simple portrait of five poor, plain, but dignified and contented family members sitting around a table with nothing but potatoes and coffee to fill their stomachs. And the painting, along with Solomon’s maxim in Proverbs 15.17, made me long for simpler days – for simple and happy family life; for real contentedness.
But often those longings aren’t genuine longings; they aren’t longings about which I am actually going to do something. They are just the butterflies of nostalgia fluttering in my breast. For when the rubber meets the road – when the food is no good; when the internet fouls up; when the digital converter box doesn’t work like it’s supposed to – I don’t often say to myself, ‘Well, I have a wife and kids that love me, and a Father in heaven that does, too. So what’s the big deal about some burned toast?’ Rather, I get irritated … and murmur, and complain, and frustrate myself and everyone around me. And I suspect that some of you do the same.
So we need to learn the lesson of Proverbs 15.17. We need to really believe (and act like we believe) that it is better to be poor, simple … and loved than to have everything we thought we wanted, and still be unhappy. And maybe a starting place is remembering how much we have been loved by Jesus. The Creator of the universe gave up His only Son … for us? Jesus endured the agony of the cross … for me? Isn’t that enough? Do I really have to have the American Dream? Or can I say with Paul that “to live is Christ”? Can I say that I am thankful for whatever “dish of vegetables” God has seen fit to give me … so long as I have Jesus? And can you?
September 14, 2009
Looking for Jesus
Julia’s eyes lit up. We had just finished reading the story of little old Gideon, with God’s help and against all odds, winning a battle and rescuing God’s people … when I said: ‘Can you think of any other stories in the Bible where one person rescued God’s people when everything seemed to be going against Him?’ After thinking for two or three seconds, her eyebrows raised and a big grin came across her face. ‘Jesus!’ she exclaimed.
I just love that. Each night in family worship, no matter what the story we’re reading, we always find a trail back to Jesus. Isn’t that what He said we’re supposed to do? Don’t “Moses and … all the prophets” speak “the things concerning” Jesus (Luke 24.27)? So of course we should read of Gideon and think of Jesus! And the same is true when we read of Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Esther, Samson, Ehud, and so on!
Every portion of the Bible is, somehow, pointing us to Jesus. Maybe it’s direct teaching about Him (as in the four Gospels). Or perhaps the passage you’re looking at is a prophecy about Him (see Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, etc.). Other passages of scripture are foreshadowings, or pictures, Jesus. That is, they tell a story that is a lot like the story of Jesus, and that was meant to help people expect and recognize the coming Savior (as in the accounts of Gideon, or the Passover, or the serpent on the pole in Numbers 21). Still other parts of the Bible point out our need for Jesus (i.e. our sin) – think of the Minor Prophets, the first two chapters of Romans, and so on. And of course, much of the latter portion of the New Testament explains the aftereffects of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (answering questions like: ‘What has Jesus actually accomplished for us?’ ‘How do we take advantage?’ and ‘How do we live once we become His followers?’)
The way a passage points to Jesus is not always the same. But, in some form or fashion, they are all about Him (again, Luke 24.27) … and you should read them that way. You should read your Bible, do your Sunday School prep, teach your children, and listen to lessons, lectures, and sermons LOOKING FOR JESUS … every single time. And you should hold your teachers accountable to do so, too!
And I am so excited when I sometimes hear that some of our folks are really getting this! Recently someone said to me:
I just love that. Each night in family worship, no matter what the story we’re reading, we always find a trail back to Jesus. Isn’t that what He said we’re supposed to do? Don’t “Moses and … all the prophets” speak “the things concerning” Jesus (Luke 24.27)? So of course we should read of Gideon and think of Jesus! And the same is true when we read of Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Esther, Samson, Ehud, and so on!
Every portion of the Bible is, somehow, pointing us to Jesus. Maybe it’s direct teaching about Him (as in the four Gospels). Or perhaps the passage you’re looking at is a prophecy about Him (see Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, etc.). Other passages of scripture are foreshadowings, or pictures, Jesus. That is, they tell a story that is a lot like the story of Jesus, and that was meant to help people expect and recognize the coming Savior (as in the accounts of Gideon, or the Passover, or the serpent on the pole in Numbers 21). Still other parts of the Bible point out our need for Jesus (i.e. our sin) – think of the Minor Prophets, the first two chapters of Romans, and so on. And of course, much of the latter portion of the New Testament explains the aftereffects of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (answering questions like: ‘What has Jesus actually accomplished for us?’ ‘How do we take advantage?’ and ‘How do we live once we become His followers?’)
The way a passage points to Jesus is not always the same. But, in some form or fashion, they are all about Him (again, Luke 24.27) … and you should read them that way. You should read your Bible, do your Sunday School prep, teach your children, and listen to lessons, lectures, and sermons LOOKING FOR JESUS … every single time. And you should hold your teachers accountable to do so, too!
And I am so excited when I sometimes hear that some of our folks are really getting this! Recently someone said to me:
‘I am studying Exodus, and it has been so exciting, each time I study, looking for Jesus.’
Someone else recently said of the sermons:
‘I listen to you … expecting, in each sermon, to hear the simple gospel message somewhere. And when it happens, I say: “There it was”. '
A couple of years back, someone said to me after a lesson I taught:
‘I kept waiting and waiting for you to get to Jesus … and if you didn’t get there, I was going to stop you and make sure we did!’
And, more stingingly, someone recently said to me:
‘I think that might have been the first time when I can’t remember you showing us how the passage pointed to Jesus.’
All these things warm the heart of this pastor – even when it is being pointed out that I, perhaps, missed the mark. These remarks mean that many of my people are getting it. They’re getting Luke 24.27. Are you?
Someone else recently said of the sermons:
‘I listen to you … expecting, in each sermon, to hear the simple gospel message somewhere. And when it happens, I say: “There it was”. '
A couple of years back, someone said to me after a lesson I taught:
‘I kept waiting and waiting for you to get to Jesus … and if you didn’t get there, I was going to stop you and make sure we did!’
And, more stingingly, someone recently said to me:
‘I think that might have been the first time when I can’t remember you showing us how the passage pointed to Jesus.’
All these things warm the heart of this pastor – even when it is being pointed out that I, perhaps, missed the mark. These remarks mean that many of my people are getting it. They’re getting Luke 24.27. Are you?
The whole Bible – indeed, the whole universe – is all about Jesus! So keep thinking (and reading your Bibles) that way … LOOKING FOR JESUS!
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