"God helps him who helped himself"

Yesterday I went to the hardware store. When I came out my Smartphone wasn't there. I checked to make sure I hadn't taken it out of it's dock-sure enough it was gone but the fella that "helped himself" to my phone left me a little present: a new tube of caulk. I carried it back into the store and asked, "Anybody just sell this to someone?" "I did, Why?"says Jeff. Now Jeff is arguably the toughest guy in there. I told him why and he said, "give it here and if he comes back I'll get it outta him." I kind of felt bad because he said it was a fourteen year old kid but, hey, I need my phone and it had all you guy's information in it. I left, but I guess it wasn't long before someone needed another tube of caulk.

Jeff "Buddy you'd better cough up a phone or you're goin' to jail."
The kid: "What Phone?"
Jeff: "The one you stole out of a car."
Kid: "Must have been my twin brother."
Jeff: "Well, your twin brother better get back here or you're in trouble."

A few minutes later it was in Jeff's hands. I probably didn't suffer enough consequences to learn much from the experience but I'll bet the kid did. I hope God uses the experience in the kid's life.

Why I Run

Yesterday I had to go way out west to do a job. It took all day so I planned for an 8 mile run on the way home. Forty miles of "sand prairie" separate Stafford Ks. from civilization. I finally selected a lonely road called Jordan Springs. It was about 4:00 p.m. so the sunlight was autumn gold and the shadows were long. We've had a mild, wet year and the leaves on everything are just beautiful. The road was blow-sand but it was packed fairly well. At some points it was plowed through two or three feet dunes. I passed a lonely cemetery and then the Ninnesca River. Then I came to wilderness areas. Suddenly I encountered a fragrant aroma. It brought back so many memories. If you've ever visited the mountains you know the wonderfully sweet smell of an Aspen grove. This was a Cottonwood grove and I don't know if I've ever noticed that smell before in Kansas but Aspen Cottonwood and Poplar are closely related. About a mile from my car I was pretty thirsty and started wondering why they called it Jordan Springs. A couple minutes later I saw a rusty mossy pipe sticking out of the ground. There was cool "clean" water coming out of it so I took a chance and took a sip-not bad-tastes a little like baking soda. Anyway it was a wonderful time. Until Heaven, Thanks God for Kansas.

...NEED I SAY MORE...

The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh IV

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil-How can we ask God this? Isn't He good? Doesn't The Bible teach that God does not tempt? Well, I've struggled with that and I've come to the conclusion that in the grand scheme of things, since God is in complete control, somehow there must be at least an indirect allowance of evil. Therefore He could keep it away from me if He wanted. God wants me to acknowledge that I cannot even handle temptation without his help.

Romans 8 teaches that we are sheep to be slaughtered but God is constantly working everything out for my good. By daily confessing that I am weak and cannot handle temptation or evil on my own I deny my flesh which tells me that I can handle it. I am then free to depend on God's Spirit to work in me.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh III

If you think about it you realize the next 2 phrases are related:

Give us today our daily bread- This request is there to constantly remind me of where all of my provisions are coming from-my sovereign creator and Father who owns and supplies everything, even my very breath. I am self-employed and when I look at the cash flow it is scary but I have come to realize that there isn't much correlation between what it looks like we will make and God's provision for our needs. Another word we have just about lost is Providence. It is such a rich term from our christian heritage. It is almost like the Jewish term Jehova-jirah which tells a whole story about God's provision every time you say it. Our Father not only provides our daily sustenance but also reaches down to provide our means of righteousness in our case through the death of His Son in my place. Of course this is related to that next phrase:

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors-I believe this is not so much meeting a condition so I can be forgiven as it is a shameful realization that I own nothing to hold against anyone else. That's why Jesus tells to give sacrificially-to realize that I own nothing materially And to forgive unconditionally-I don't own but am owned. I am a willing slave of a perfect Father who will always take care of me. Recognition of this helps me to deny my flesh and to not take things personally. Since I am not a person just a lowly slave I can rest in finding my identity in Him. "He must increase and I must decrease."

The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh II

The next 3 phrases in this prayer redirect our desires outside of us.

Hallowed be Thy name: I want God, even His very name revered. His honor is what's important to me.

Thy Kingdom come:
God's Kingdom is what matters. Instead of worrying about the kingdoms of this world (which I can do little about) I need to adjust my thinking to focus on the eternal, perfect kingdom which I am a part of, (providing I have been born into it.)

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven:
I use this as a daily commitment to my total trust in my Sovereign Father. I tell Him every day that He can do whatever he wants with me. It was hard at first-Reminds me of a story Uncle Thorne used to tell: This Dad sits his little kid up on a wall and says, "jump". The fearful child says no. The dad says, "I said jump-I'll catch you." The kid jumps, The dad steps aside and the child crashes to the floor. The dad's response: "Get up kid, and let that be a lesson to you, don't ever trust no one.
No normal father would ever do that. Jesus says, "If you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to them who ask. I have learned that I can trust Him

The "Lord's Prayer" and the flesh I

To me, one of the great things about this prayer is it gets the focus off of me:
Our Father who art in heaven--The first thing it does is establish God as father. He is creator and owner of everything and so I can be free of expectations and rights. Our culture has diminished fatherhood so much that it almost means nothing. A Roman father could throw his child in the river with impunity. (read pater potestas) Our God is good so we know we can trust Him completely. He created and He owns us. I have learned that when I live for Him Things work out best for both of us.

Secondly it establishes His transcendence. We are taught that He sees the whole timeline of creation. He is not limited or affected by all these things around us. They are his creation and the Bible teaches someday they will all roll up like a scroll and be ended. No, I don't believe in open theism

Back to the Flesh

A number of years ago I taught a Jr. High class on the Lord's Prayer. The object was to learn/teach to use that prayer, not as a vain repetition but as a template for how God wants to hear from us. I have used that template for a while and have found it to be helpful. As I have used it I have found that what Søren Kierkegaard said is true:

"Prayer does not change God, it changes Him who prays." It isn't about me or my desires it's all for and about God

Baby has a brand new ride

Summers are always busy for me and I haven't written. I have no excuses now.

I took Joel for his driving test Thursday and guess what? He passed! He really is a natural driver. On the way home I had this wave of relief (or regret, I don't know which) wash over me. This is the last time I have to do this.

It is strange to be passing so many milestones as our family matures. I keep asking people, "How do you find significance when your children are gone." I really want to know but I also want people to think about it. As my old mentor was fond of saying, "Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." Ira 1:17

What is the Flesh?

What is the flesh?
The Basic Beast-Who we are naturally
The Bible also refers to it as the natural man I Corinthians 2

Though I don't believe this, some theistic evolutionists believe God started the universe and then left it alone until it was evolved to the point of being able to receive His Spirit or breath. This is how they interpret Genesis where it says God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.


The naturalistic view of this is best illustrated by a scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey by A.C.Clark. In which a mysterious obelisk repeatedly appears. In one scene it appears to a bunch of apes and the implication is this is the beginning of human evolution. (Thus, the obsession with monkeys in sci-fi movies for the next 35 years.)

I believe the Christian life is analogous to this. In a sense we are just beasts like every other creature. The demands and deeds of the flesh control us. It is the restraining force of His Spirit that makes the difference. The Bible teaches that we are dead in our sins but alive in Christ.

What I might be learning about the Flesh

I have been studying a series by Don Pickerill that I picked up 35 years ago. It is clear teaching on the practical implications of being properly related to Jesus. I am going to post summaries here as a way of sharing what I learn. Correct me if you see something wrong.

click Here for a cool video of flesh. (Click watch at the bottom of the post.)

Haunted Track Meet

We went to Dale's track meet last Saturday. I didn't think they would ever get done as the wind was so strong they couldn't run the hurdles.

My first Blog

I don't think I have much to say and what I say can get me in a lot of trouble but only a coward never begins because he is afraid of the risks so here goes...