Happy Birthday!

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Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His hesed endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods! His hesed endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords! His hesed endures forever:

Who remembered us in our lowly state, (His hesed endures forever;)

And rescued us from our enemies, (His hesed endures forever;)

Who gives food to all flesh, (His hesed endures forever.)

Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His hesed endures forever.

Psalm 136:1-3,23-26

Today is my birthday, and as I go through the routine of getting ready for another yom of life I am remindeed of two things: 1) I am a survivor, and 2) I am loved.

The first is simply a statistical observation, one that applies to others as well. I've had my fair share of close calls, from a risky birth to car wrecks to illness to making the wrong enemies in school. I've known people who haven't survived these things, and some who have survived worse than I've endured. Yet, the one thing my whole generation has in common is surviving the cultural convenience of abortion. Since 1973, almost 50,000,000 children have been murdered in our country. That means for every 6 people you see today, 1 is missing, sacrificed to Molech. 1/7th of our population has been denied the right to life!

The second thing on my mind is how amazingly loved I am. I've been thinking about it all night. I truly believe that Olivia is more excited about my birthday than I am, which tells me a lot about how much she cares for me. I'm honored to be loved by such a woman. My family also, and even my co-workers, have already shown there desire to celebrate my life today. I find this amazing and encouraging.  Not only this, but the Bible tells me that God's love, His hesed endures for me forever. My birth, my life, matters to God! That's saying a lot since the only birthday we celebrate from Scripture is that of God's son (and we don't even know the date for that).

Olivia said the sweetest thing last night. She told me, "I'm glad you were born." And, as those words covered me in my rest, as they sank into my life and my story, I heard the Father echo "I'm glad you were born, too." 

Carrying Sheaves

Psalm 126 (NIV)

A song of ascents.

1 When the LORD brought back the captives to [a] Zion,
we were like men who dreamed. [b]

2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

4 Restore our fortunes, [c] O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.

5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.

6 He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

Verses 5 and 6 stood out to me this morning. I have known one who has sown many tears and yet never lost faith in God, never finally gave up hope. She has carried her trust in God close to her and has sown that trust into others, encouraging them even while her own life battled futility. I believe the day of reaping has come for her. She will return 'carrying sheaves' and all of us who know her will be amazed at the harvest.

Life on Hold?

It seems there is always something else waiting in the wings, like a main character who has yet to be introduced to the audience. There he is, ready to go, yet his cue has not come. His lines are memorized, his staging is marked out. All he waits on is the right moment.

Our life is ilke that sometimes. I have so many dreams and desires, but they always seem to be on hold, waiting their turn. I want a job that matters; it's on hold. I'd liek to get out of Abilene; nope. I'm waiting for our family; again, on hold. I need to see God's providence; it's right there waiting it's turn.

So, I'm trying to pay better attention to what's happening on stage. It doesn't seem very interesting or important. Sometimes, it's downright boring. However, I must remind myself that it matters, every bit of it. I may not know why. I may not be able to see through its ordinariness to understand how it plays a part. But, it is the NOW of which all of life is composed. It is the life I was waiting for in my yesterdays. And, in its own way, my Life Now is every bit as beautiful as the life waiting in the winds, my Life on Hold.

The Size of the Dog

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Last night, I kept rehearsing the phrase, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” So, I’ve been thinking about this in terms of the battle between good and evil we face everyday. This phrase can be encouraging when you’re faced with the evil of the abortion industry (Exodus 21:22-24 prescribes the death penalty for causing the death of an unborn child), the refusal of the Congress to recognize its King (Isaiah 9:6-7), or the exploitation of the poor through the Lottery (Proverb 22:22-23). But, it’s even more encouraging when you personalize the battle between good and evil by considering the apparent struggle between God and satan.



So, here’s the reality. We tend to think of the struggle between God and satan as a pretty even match. We see them squaring off like sumo wrestlers, the old pro versus the upstart challenger. But, this idea is fairly ridiculous. Just consider the proportions: God (bigger than all the known and unknown universe and everywhere at all times) versus satan (confined to the earth and not even able to be more than one place at a time there). It’s like the whole solar system being afraid of the speck of led on the end of my pencil-tip. I mean, God created satan, how do we imagine it’s an even battle?


Well, we’re limited as well, more limited even than the enemy. In addition to being limited to earth and only being able to be in one place at a time, we also have the limitations of mortality, ignorance, confusion, and the influence of the legions of hell on our daily lives. So, from our perspective it is fairly easy to loose sight of the real dimensions involved in this battle. So, when it comes to the fight between God and satan, the size of the dog is very important.


However, God knows how to win a battle in a way that shows the size of his fight as well. In Jesus, he makes himself like us, more limited even than satan, and through a just and blameless life and the power of the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus proves that God is willing to go to extreme lengths to win the battle for our souls.


So, whether it’s the size of the fight or the size of the dog, when it comes to God’s war with satan and the battle between good and evil, God wins.