Two Sundays ago I finished up a 6 week long sermon series on Exodus.  Anyone who has ever read the book of Exodus can probably appreciate the difficulty in taking 40 rich chapters and working them into only 6 sermons.  Due to vacation I only was able to preach 4 of these sermons.  It was a rich experience.  If you are interested, you can find the sermons here.

I just want to write a bit here about the overarching idea of the series.  I talk a lot in my sermons about how God chose a people (the Israelites) and pursued them.  I believe that God also wanted them to show some reciprocity and pursue Him as well.  When Jesus comes on the scene we see that God has a bigger vision than just one nation of chosen people.  Hear these words from the gospel John:

"14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." -John 10:14-16

I believe that the sheep not of this pen are the gentiles and those in the future that will come to know Jesus and follow him.  We who are not Jewish by birth have become part of God's chosen because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

During this series it was great to engage the story of Moses and his incredible rescue at the hand of women (Israelite and Egyptian) so that he would one day be the very tool of God to lead God's chosen people out of slavery.  After Moses grows into manhood, he begins to feel for his birth-people and even kills to prevent their torture.  Upon his self-inflicted exile God comes to him in the form of bush on fire, but not burning.  God uses this amazing miracle to call Moses to the leadership that he was born to provide.  Moses returns and implements God's plan to release His chosen people from the grip of Pharaoh.  Each of the ten plagues that come upon Egypt are an awesome work of divinity in themselves, but it is the last plague that really defines God's desire for relationship with Israel.  As the angel of death destroys the life of every first born in Egypt (including animals), Pharaoh finally concedes to the release of the Israelites.  However, just so Israel doesn't forget or misconstrue God's choice he hardens the heart of Pharaoh to chase after them.  God through the arm and staff of Moses peels back the water and its life to present a path of dry ground where the Hebrews can walk to cross the sea of reeds.  And in order to put an exclamation point on the fact that God chose Israel over Egypt he allows Pharaoh's army to follow enough to be swallowed up by the water walls falling back into place and drowning an entire army.  As the seen moves forward God gives Moses a list of "rules" or "commandments" for the people of Israel.  Even today these 10 instructions have been seen as an obstructive, oppressive ruling upon the life of God's people only to give them a new enslavement.  However, by taking a breath and praying for fresh perspective, one and all can see that these are not laws to bind the hands of the chosen and box them in to an demeaning mold, but rather to bind the hearts of the chosen to not only know the name of God, but to feel His heart for them and a finality of determining the relationship.  Imagine that!  God would actually want to relate to those He chose.  And in the final chapters and verses of Exodus we see a tent of meeting; a tabernacle constructed so that the people of Israel would be able to find their God and bow down in worship and praise to Him.

Here is the power of Chosen:  The God who chose Israel was a God who pursued His people.  And the beauty of it is that He still chooses us today and pursues His people.  However, we don't have to construct grand tents or impressive buildings.  Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit God comes to us in our very being.  

"16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" -1 Corinthians 3:16

"19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The God who chose Israel now chooses us!  The God who filled the Tent, the Tabernacle, The Temple, now fills our bodies!  God has chosen us.  God is pursuing us.  And so our response is worship.  Our response is to choose God...and Him only!  Our response is to pursue God with all the being He has given us!  A powerful story in Exodus is still not concluded.  And it won't be until the day comes when Jesus returns!  And won't it be great on that day as we kneel before Christ and know that we are...Chosen!

Each year Leah and I write a blessing for our boys before they start school. Last year was the first year and all year long they would report back how they lived their blessing at school. It was awesome to see them go and live each day with God's purpose inside them. Here are this year's blessings.

 

Dear Dylan,

It is time for you to go to first grade.  We are so proud of you and all that you learned in Kindergarten and cannot wait to see what you learn this year.  It is going to be a great year at school.

 

Dylan you are such a leader.  I love the way you not only know what to do, but how you get others to follow you.  You have great confidence and are never fearful of a challenge.  This is your blessing for first grade.

 

 

Dylan, May God use your gift of leadership to help lead the other students in your class.  May you be a gentle leader that will help them with their work. May you lead others in following the rules and being considerate to one another.  God wants to give you great discernment, making good decisions, and helping others to make those samekind of decisions.  May God send others to you so that you can help them to make good choices as you also make good choices in leadership.

 

As you begin your school journey may you learn a lot, but also teach quietly and boldly how to live for Christ.

 

We love you!

 

Love,

 

Mom and Dad

 

Dear Brody,

This is going to be an exciting year of school.  You did so great in Kindergarten and this year will be even better.  We are so proud of all the things you have accomplished and cannot wait to see what you learn this year.

 

Brody you are a joy to be around.  You make us laugh…a lot.  You have really funny things to say and funny ways to say them.  You have such joy in life and you always brighten up a room when you are around.  People love being around you because you are so easygoing and happy.

We want to give you this blessing:

 

Brody, we want God to use your joy to brighten other people’s day.  Be strong and courageous with extending your happiness to all others. We want God to use your happy spirit to make others happy.  May He use your compassion and love to reach out to other students who are having a bad day or don’t have many friends.  May people come to you so that you can lead them to laughter and love.

 

As you begin your school journey may you learn a lot, but also teach quietly and boldly how to live for Christ.

 

We love you!

 

Love,

 

Mom and Dad

We love these boys and cannot wait to see how they live out their blessing this year.

PS. Dylan lived out his blessing the first day by having the duty of making sure people were not talking while they took a bathroom break. Brody lived his out by helping the boy sitting across from him stop crying. So cute and awesome!!

It is August 18th and here in Conway that means that school is back in session.  My twin boys are now big 1st graders.  They are such a joy to me and Leah and we are very proud of them.  I try to use every car ride to and from school to talk about life and things of God.  I can't wait to see what this school year has in store for us with those conversations.  I use the title "Monday Care Ride" to share some of those conversations and hopefully spark a deeper interest in God and how children see His kingdom.  It's a ride we can all take together.  

Today marks 1 year since my grandpa passed away.  He was a great man and I have missed him much in these last 12 months.  His memory lives on in those who were deeply touched by him.  I wouldn't have ever wanted to live not known him.  I love you Pops!  And I will see you soon.


(The picture to the left is from 2001 when Pops and Memaw came to visit me while I was doing ministry in Houston)



These are the words I spoke at his funeral on behalf of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren:

I called him Peepaw, Papaw, and Pops.  He was really the only grandpa I ever knew.  He was the best grandpa any of us could had ever had.  He wasn’t one of those grandpas who got on the floor to roll cars around with you or sit at a small table and fumble around with a toy tea set.  He didn’t do art or sing in a choir. And he certainly didn’t try his hand at the latest fashion.

He did work hard.  He did provide for his family.  He did laugh a lot. He did fish and hunt and say a curse word every now and then. Ok more now than then.  And He did what was ever necessary to take care of his family.  One of my fondest memories of Papaw was when he would come through Bay City and pick up Wyatt and me and go to Hinton’s grocery and buy each of us an orange Pushup.  Or the time in college whenever I came to visit he would buy me an ice cream or a burger in front of his afternoon coffee buddies, just to prove he wasn’t too cheap.  He would tell us jokes and sayings that aren’t so appropriate for a younger crowd.  And he would always say to us, “Here I sit fat and chunky, ate two cats and swallowed a monkey.”  And we would laugh and laugh.  It’s not easy to put down all the memories in such a short time, so I will sum it up this way.  Here are the things that I knew about Peepaw, Papaw, Pops through the things that he said and did:

1.    Work is important –He worked hard and even when he retired he found new things to keep him working. Like his garden

2.    Recreation is important –He loved to fish and hunt and simply be outside

3.    Laughter is important –I can hardly think of an image of Papaw where he wasn’t laughing or trying to make someone else laugh

4.    Integrity is important –Pops didn’t really worry too much about what people thought of him.  And basically he didn’t have to, because he respected himself and he respected others and he was full of great character

5.    He was Big –He was a big man, not just in size, but also in every aspect of his life.  He had a big heart, He had a big laugh, and he was a big leader.  He filled his life with things that made all of his family want to listen, to follow, and to love him

Peepaw, Papaw, Pops;  your grandkids and your great-grandkids love you with everything they have.  We will never have enough time to thank you and comprehend the influence you have been in our lives.  We will miss you and miss your laughter, your jokes, and your love.  But we are going to be okay.  All of us:  Memaw, Your kids, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, your brothers and sisters, and all the relatives and friends you have left behind;  we are going to be okay, because you have showed us a great way and given us so much of you.  And we will see you again.

At the beginning of this calendar year I chose a word from God to live by and to help direct me.  The word is "Perspective."  I have begged and pleaded for a new word ever since.  I have been truly stretched this year.  Each day I have needed to speak that word, perspective, over and over to myself.  I will admit most days I could not change my wrong-headed perspective and would go down a thought path that went nowhere.  I'm not sure about other careers or other people, but for me I get much of my self-worth from other people.  This is a dangerous place to spend your time.  I tried to speak perspective into my life this year and now 8 months later I think I may be gaining on the idea.  Here are 3 things I have learned about perspective this year.

1.  God is in control...always!:  Dwelling on this word has allowed me to see that even though it is my passion to help other people and try and "fix" their problems (or at least advise them to a good path), this is not under my control.  What I have control over is to allow myself to be used by God.  God has the control!  I must continue to keep the perspective that I am an instrument of His to be used for His glory.  God has given me gifts of compassion, love, leadership, wisdom, and administration, but He does not give me control.  So my prayer is that God will continue to use me in His kingdom and that I can remain humble and willing as his servant

2.   My perspective is not the ONLY perspective:  I pride (now there's a word) myself in being able to take care of myself and being a self starter.  I appreciate the fact that I'm independent and have my own ideas and creativity.  Over the years (since I was a kid) I have really leaned into my ability to think through things logically and thoroughly.  None of these qualities are awful, but for me it has meant that I truly believe in my own perspective and am able to defend my position.  Now I want to be fair to myself I am willing and able to listen to other perspectives and even change or tweak my own.  However, that is not where I naturally begin.  Over this year, focusing on this word, I have seen the need to allow for a different perspective to be on the table first.  Allowing for other perspectives is a growth area for me.

3.  Perspective takes time:  Whether you are trying to gain perspective or change your perspective, it takes time.  It has taken months for things that should have been easily realized to be realized.  When a church adopts a vision and begins to put it into place, it takes time for the body of that congregation to accept and enter into that vision.  Anything that is of worth takes time.  I don’t look at things the same way today that I did 10, 20, or 30 years ago.  Time allows for someone to evaluate the past, see the present, and dream about the future. 

I’m not perfect, that I have always known.  However, God in me is perfect and that changes my imperfections into holiness.  I’m not on this earth to be a famous preacher, skilled writer, creative conflict manager, doting husband, or patient father.  There isn’t anything wrong with any of those things.  I’m here to glorify God and point everyone to His kingdom.  I hope that through preaching, writing, dealing with conflict, loving Leah, and parenting my children I am doing just that; glorifying God and pointing people to His kingdom.  If I can keep that perspective all of these other things will take care of themselves.  After all God is in control!