Lessons from Pharaoh

In Exodus 9 the 7th plague takes it's toll on Pharaoh.  He finally calls Moses to him and said "this time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong."  He goes on to tell Moses to ask God to stop the hail and he will let them go.  When Moses gets out of town God stopped the hail and what followed convicted my heart today:
"But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned YET AGAIN and hardened his heart." vs 34

How often this is true of me and how this harsh reality brought me to repentance today.  Specifically regarding our finances.  When things get tough and it has taken it's toll on me I plead with God confessing sin and ask Him to protect and provide.  And when the rain and hail and thunder ceases I sin YET AGAIN!!! 
God please soften my hardened heart that I may be more sensitive to your Spirit and walk in obedience to you always!!!

Give It Away

"Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live"

 I read this quote last week and it has resonated with me since.  I saw a blog post about a yard giveaway.  Instead of a yard sale they gave their items away to people in need.  The day before I read this blog post I woke up and felt like God said - get rid of your baby clothes (this whole stirring is for another post).  And this whole idea of living simply so that I can give to others just so they can simply live has become all I can think about these days. This summer while in NYC the boys had 3 toys to play with - tinker toys, a small train set and a few stuffed animals.  And they played more creatively with those three toys than I ever see them play here in this plethora of stuff. I don't want to give it to goodwill to turn around and sell it.  I want people who NEED it to have it.  So as I have begun to research places to give this stuff too my heart has been heavy.  There are so many women and children shelters here in bham as well as schools started in low income areas to help battle the pulls of poverty.  So I have decided that instead of having a yard giveaway I am going to just send out emails to these ministries and give them categories of what I have.  Then me and the boys will load up the stuff and take it to the ministry.  I am really excited about this because we will also get to see some of the people we are helping.  I want the boys especially to see the receivers of their sacrifices.  And yes, we are going to sacrifice as a family.  Not just toys that we have outgrown but even culling down the ones that are age appropriate to live simply.  Me and John will be doing the same regarding our clothes and such.  We have more than we need. The Bible speaks of the early church as not considering their possessions their own but sharing all that they have.
So won't you consider how your house can implement the quote "live simply so that others may simply live" as we begin this new year.

A promise not yet seen.

This week we have been reading about Abram and the promises given to him by God and his journey through those promises. As I was reading Gen. 15 I loved Abram's boldness to ask God for a son, and then in Gen. 16 I was appalled by Sarai and Abram's sin. They had just be given the promise from God that their offspring would be as numerous as the stars, and instead of waiting on the Lord, they take matters into their own hands. This is where Sarai gives Abram the plan of having a child through Hagar her servant. And Abram, just as Adam had done, choose to follow Sarai into sin instead of loving her enough to lead her out. After finishing my read tonight I knelt to pray and like Abram boldly asked for something.

Over the last year God has graciously been deepening my desire for him and his Word. During this time He has also been giving me the vision and desire to move back to full-time ministry. This entire year my heart has been aflamed by this desire. I have been looking for every way possible to bring this to fruition. This anxiousness to go right away has even caused strife between my wife and I. I really think I felt that if I didn't go NOW that the desire would go away and I would settle back into a "normal" and serve God "when I could."

So tonight as I knelt to pray I asked God to take me from my current work and bring back to full-time ministry, and then the Spirit of God showed up. God began leading me right back through His Word that I had just read. He showed me that I was playing Sarai in the promise He had given me. He gave me the heart to be back on the mission field and then almost immediately began the process to get me there, and I just couldn't see it through my sin. One of the "obstacles" to Amy and I heading back to mission field is some student loans that we have. This was something we felt God was saying to take care of before going. Last spring after coming to this, I lost my job. This made no sense to me. God then provided a job that almost doubled my previous salary. He was working his plan, but again I couldn't see it. I have continued to push for this desire to happen. I saw tonight that I, like Sarai, was taking the promise into my own hands instead of waiting patiently on the Lord. The verses that were appalling to me only a few minutes earlier, became my school-master. They became convicting and drove to the face of God.

So the desire isn't burning out, in-fact God is continuing to fan the flame, causing it burn white-hot for Him and His glory. I am now seeing this time, especially this year of the Radical Experiment, not as the prolonging of God's promise, but as his time of preparation for me and my family. There would be no growth of faith if I just ran out and made it happen on my own, as Sarai did. I will now seek Him and His word with more fervor and wait in a way that builds and deepens my faith in the one who has given me this promise. I once had a friend on mine who is a missionary in Kazakhstan tell me that most people live "willing to go, but planning to stay." He went on to say that we must live in a way that's "preparing and planning to go, but willing to stay." My I remember Abram and Sarai's disobedience, and rest in God's plan and timing, all the while "preparing to go."

Praise God for the truths in his word, and his patience with us.

What is this?

John and I are taking part in The Radical Experiment at the Church at Brook Hills.    You can go to the site to learn more about it and maybe even join us with your family.  The purpose of this blog is more of a journal for me and John to document the things that God does in our lives throughout this year.  We have great expectations.