Chapter-a-Day Joshua 3

Then Joshua addressed the people: "Sanctify yourselves. Tomorrow God will work miracle-wonders among you." Joshua 3:5 (TM)

The miracle at the Jordan river came after a time of anticipation and preparation. Joshua set up the anticipation by announcing that miracles would happen the next day and the people responded with faith ["the assurance of what is hoped for" Heb 11:1 – which is the necessary human ingredient for any miracle]. He also called them to prepare ("sanctify": set apart for sacred use) themselves to have God in their midst doing wonderful things.

I wonder what would happen in church on Sunday if all of us anticipated that God would show up and do amazing things among us and if we prepared our hearts for just such an occurrence. Do you think the service might look a little different?

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Under Construction!

UnderconstructionRenovations began in earnest last week. We have several projects that need to be done to update our old house here on Columbus Street. Top on the list (Wendy put it firmly at the top as soon as we moved in!) is getting showers in the bathrooms on the main floor and the girls’ upstairs bathrooms. We’ve got the window in the main floor out and it was replaced with glass block. The plumbing and tiling will hopefully be done by the end of this week. Then on to the upstairs where the contractor is going to expand the girls’ bathroom and add a shower stall. I think we’re all excited about the prospect of not having to go to the basement for our showers!

Chapter-a-Day Joshua 2

"[Rahab said] Now promise me by God. I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters—everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!" Joshua 2:12-13 (TM)

Rahab is such a beautiful Old Testament example of a New Testament believer. A woman, a whore, and a gentile to boot – there was no one lower on the social ladder than Rahab. But, she believed that God was with the Israelites and she took a risky step of faith to hide the spies and cast her lot with them. Not only was she saved, but her name is forever honored, mentioned in the lineage of Jesus himself (Matthew 1:5). I’m no different than Rahab. I’m just your basic boogerhead who wasn’t much of anything to anyone. Then I believed and took the risky step of faith to cast my lot in with Jesus. Not only was I saved, but my name is forever honored, written in the Book of Life.

That’s what I love about scripture. It all fits together and the threads of God’s plan are woven into the entire fabric of history.

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Chapter-a-Day Joshua 1

BibleAnd don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Joshua 1:8 (TM)

I remember memorizing this verse soon after I became a follower of Christ. It was a great cornerstone for my budding faith. I took it to heart and have made scripture central to my daily life. I never took "sucess" to mean material, worldly success. I’ve always trusted that it is pointing me to eternal, spiritual success in my relationship with God. I’m glad I did. That grounding in God’s Word has given me a never-ending ability to see my daily circumstances and relationships in light of God’s message.

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Flickr photo courtesy of Jequalo

Sweet Sixteen

Dad_and_taylor_04Taylor turned 16 yesterday. How cool. It has been so fun watching her grow up. I’m amazed at what a mature, beautiful, godly young woman she has become. We constantly comment at what a blessing she is in our lives. I’ve told Taylor on multiple occasions that, were she not my daughter, I would want her to be my friend. She’s the kind of person I want to hang out with because she’s a people builder. I love that I can say that about her.

Happy Birthday, Taylor. LVC.

Chapter-a-Day Revelation 21

Rev215 Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate. Revelation 21:5 (TM)

God is in the business of making things new. He wipes away the old and ushers in new things. He wipes our slate of sins clean, erasing the need for us to wallow in guilt and shame which makes room for Life, love, joy, and peace.

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Love – 15

WimbledonFor some reason, I fell in love with watching Wimbledon when I was a kid. I never really played tennis and I don’t really follow it closely. Nevertheless, every year I spent a fortnight in front of the TV thoroughly enjoying myself. Maybe it’s the class and tradition that’s so rare in most sporting events today. I have great memories of a lot of the matches I’ve watched through the years. My favorite is laying on the floor at Grandpa and Grandma Vander Well’s house in Le Mars watching the classic tennis match of all time, the 1980 Wimbledon final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

I could tell Wendy was a bit surprised the other day to find me on the couch intently watching tennis, but I think she’s gotten sucked into the vortex with me. Once I helped her figure out the rules and scoring she started watching a few matches with me. You know, I’ve always thought that women tend to enjoy watching a sport if they understand the game and know a little something about the people playing. It puts the game into more of the context of a story – a personal drama – instead of nameless bodies running around doing something they don’t understand.

Anyway, it’s been fun. Yesterday we found ourselves in withdrawl because the tournament took it’s mid-way break and they were rerunning Saturday’s matches. So, we went on the Wimbledon website checking out the brackets and figuring out who’s left.  Personally, I don’t think Roger Federer can be beat on grass, but I’d love to see a rematch between him and Nadal.

If you need to find us this week, we’re probably home in front of the TV watching tennis.

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Love – 15

WimbledonFor some reason, I fell in love with watching Wimbledon when I was a kid. I never really played tennis and I don’t really follow it closely. Nevertheless, every year I spent a fortnight in front of the TV thoroughly enjoying myself. Maybe it’s the class and tradition that’s so rare in most sporting events today. I have great memories of a lot of the matches I’ve watched through the years. My favorite is laying on the floor at Grandpa and Grandma Vander Well’s house in Le Mars watching the classic tennis match of all time, the 1980 Wimbledon final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

I could tell Wendy was a bit surprised the other day to find me on the couch intently watching tennis, but I think she’s gotten sucked into the vortex with me. Once I helped her figure out the rules and scoring she started watching a few matches with me. You know, I’ve always thought that women tend to enjoy watching a sport if they understand the game and know a little something about the people playing. It puts the game into more of the context of a story – a personal drama – instead of nameless bodies running around doing something they don’t understand.

Anyway, it’s been fun. Yesterday we found ourselves in withdrawl because the tournament took it’s mid-way break and they were rerunning Saturday’s matches. So, we went on the Wimbledon website checking out the brackets and figuring out who’s left.  Personally, I don’t think Roger Federer can be beat on grass, but I’d love to see a rematch between him and Nadal.

If you need to find us this week, we’re probably home in front of the TV watching tennis.

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Chapter-a-Day Revelation 20

The Devil who deceived them will be hurled into Lake Fire and Brimstone, joining the Beast and False Prophet, the three in torment around the clock for ages without end. Revelation 20:10 (TM)

I read the end of the book. We win.

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