This week we filled out a form to get a tax reimbursement because we've lived in a hotel for more than thirty days. I had no idea there was such a law in place.
But there is finally some good news this week: we've been approved for a mortgage on that big, beautiful old house in Delaware, Ohio! Hopefully we'll be closing on it in the next week or so! Praise God!
We found out one of our girls, Neavey, is no longer breech but isn't head-down, either. She's transverse and sort of lying over her sister. As you can imagine, this is very uncomfortable for their poor mother! She's not on bedrest yet, but she's not having a great time. In fact, she's fairly miserable, so your prayers are appreciated.
I had decided to save money and not go to a gig I'd wanted to see for two months. Then someone at work gave me a ticket the day of the show. It was No Age vs. Pavement...I mean, No Age and Pavement. These are two very different rock bands, and most of the attendees were there to see Pavement. I had a great time watching No Age--I have all their albums--and the headliner band seemed really boring in comparison. I had a good time with my friend from the office, though.
Thoughts
Now that I've been working at this company for a month-and-a-half, I can say what I think about working there. It's...fine. The work is interesting, but it's not a better situation compared to what I had in New York. It's not worse, either. It's just very different. But the money is a whole lot better, and just living in Ohio makes our financial situation significantly better. So I certainly don't regret the decision to move. We just can't wait to be out of this hotel...but I covered that in my last post.
Today's Scripture
2 Samuel 12 (NKJV)
Key verse: (14) "If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God."
Reflection
There were several verses I could've focused on today, but this one struck me as particularly interesting. Usually when the Bible gives an "if/then" promise, God's people are promised some kind of blessing if they follow the Lord. In this instance, Samuel promises the people that if they fear, serve and obey the Lord and don't rebel against his commands, they and the king will continue to follow Him.
Think about that for a second. If I fear, serve and obey the Lord, He promises that I will continue to follow Him? Isn't that kind of what I was already doing?
I've learned a lot in the last couple of years, especially from Tara, about letting my mind follow my body, especially in social situations. If I don't feel like being nice or being interested in what someone else has to say, sometimes I make myself do it anyway because I know good things will result. Just this week I found myself pretending to be interested in what someone was saying because I wanted them to be my friend. It feels disingenuous, but it has a good purpose. As I practice being nice or being interested in a person, I make a habit out of it, and eventually I find that I actually enjoy that person's company. Have I changed in a way when I do that? Yes, but certainly not for the worse.
I love to remind Christians that serving God doesn't come naturally for anyone. None of us keep His commandments out of the goodness of our cold, human heart. "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:14)." When Jesus' Spirit enters in, we are transformed into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), and it's by His constant prodding and reminding that we are able to serve the Lord with gladness and receive His blessing. "...If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Romans 8:13-14)."
God's people in Samuel's day didn't yet have a Savior, but they were given many promises. This one says that if they fear, serve and obey the Lord, they will continue to follow Him. Just like I continue to be a friend to someone if I work to make it a habit, a child of God can continue to follow the Lord if they work at fearing, serving and obeying Him. If I don't make a habit of those things, it's not very likely that I will continue to follow Him! In fact, Samuel gives them the opposite promise in verse 15: "...If you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you..."
I don't know if the hand of the Lord would be against someone who had given their life to Jesus. I would hope that a person who knows Jesus as their Savior would not rebel against His command...but I've done it myself. Whether His hand was against me or not, I can't say, but I can tell you this--I was not following the Lord when I was in rebellion against Him. Does that seem obvious? It should. And because we are wayward children, even as His Spirit lives in us, we need to be reminded every now and then!
So I think the promise holds true for us, as well: If we fear, serve and obey the Lord, we will continue to follow Him. You know what I call that? A promise of blessing!
Key verse: (14) "If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God."
Reflection
There were several verses I could've focused on today, but this one struck me as particularly interesting. Usually when the Bible gives an "if/then" promise, God's people are promised some kind of blessing if they follow the Lord. In this instance, Samuel promises the people that if they fear, serve and obey the Lord and don't rebel against his commands, they and the king will continue to follow Him.
Think about that for a second. If I fear, serve and obey the Lord, He promises that I will continue to follow Him? Isn't that kind of what I was already doing?
I've learned a lot in the last couple of years, especially from Tara, about letting my mind follow my body, especially in social situations. If I don't feel like being nice or being interested in what someone else has to say, sometimes I make myself do it anyway because I know good things will result. Just this week I found myself pretending to be interested in what someone was saying because I wanted them to be my friend. It feels disingenuous, but it has a good purpose. As I practice being nice or being interested in a person, I make a habit out of it, and eventually I find that I actually enjoy that person's company. Have I changed in a way when I do that? Yes, but certainly not for the worse.
I love to remind Christians that serving God doesn't come naturally for anyone. None of us keep His commandments out of the goodness of our cold, human heart. "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:14)." When Jesus' Spirit enters in, we are transformed into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), and it's by His constant prodding and reminding that we are able to serve the Lord with gladness and receive His blessing. "...If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Romans 8:13-14)."
God's people in Samuel's day didn't yet have a Savior, but they were given many promises. This one says that if they fear, serve and obey the Lord, they will continue to follow Him. Just like I continue to be a friend to someone if I work to make it a habit, a child of God can continue to follow the Lord if they work at fearing, serving and obeying Him. If I don't make a habit of those things, it's not very likely that I will continue to follow Him! In fact, Samuel gives them the opposite promise in verse 15: "...If you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you..."
I don't know if the hand of the Lord would be against someone who had given their life to Jesus. I would hope that a person who knows Jesus as their Savior would not rebel against His command...but I've done it myself. Whether His hand was against me or not, I can't say, but I can tell you this--I was not following the Lord when I was in rebellion against Him. Does that seem obvious? It should. And because we are wayward children, even as His Spirit lives in us, we need to be reminded every now and then!
So I think the promise holds true for us, as well: If we fear, serve and obey the Lord, we will continue to follow Him. You know what I call that? A promise of blessing!
Lord, may I always consider the gift of following You to be the greatest blessing in my life. More than my wife and children, more than all you've given me on this earth, my greatest treasure is knowing and following You! Thank you for this gift.
Final Thoughts
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| No action figures were harmed in the making of this album |
Maybe one of these days I'll start doing some performances at open mic nights to get more people interested. Until then, here's a little promotion: if you'd like to stream our album for free, visit soundcloud.com/awfullotoftigers, and if you want to buy the MP3s (99¢ each or $10.49 for the whole album), go to myspace.com/awfullotoftigers (which got a whole new look this week). I should probably say here that it is not a "Christian" album, but it is mostly positive in tone. All proceeds will go to diapers and baby food for the twins. And your comments, even your criticism, would do my mind a lot of good. Thanks!
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