HDC’s ministry is designed to prepare individuals to engage their relational world, their oikos (the Greek word for “household”), with the tremendous news of God’s grace.
Looking at Joseph this weekend was a great reminder of the need to forgive others. And though we spent some significant time on the subject, there is no way to cover everything that needed to be said. One of those topics that could use clarification is the relationship between forgiveness and trust.
At the same time, forgiveness does not require that we place ourselves in the line of fire time and time again. In the story of Joseph, he likely had forgiven his brothers long before they showed up in Egypt. However, the full restoration of the relationship required a measure repentance. Joseph was not going to make himself vulnerable again until he knew that they had truly changed. Joseph had no resentment issues that we can discern, but he also had no desire to be violated again. In other words, forgiveness precedes a restored relationship. But for a relationship to be restored, one must acknowledge the wrong they have done. Once that is done, an individual has the opportunity to earn back the trust that was lost and in doing so, restore the relationship to its fullest.
One of the first things that I noticed during the first week of Route 66 is the way that God's love is presented. At first glance, it almost seems as if His love is distant, or even lacking. While reading through Genesis, it is clear that God is good. It is clear that God is faithful. It is clear that God is personal. But is it clear that God is love? The New Testament is overflowing with verses about God's love for mankind and how we are to love one another. One of the most popular verses in the Bible is about how much God so loved the world. And the more that I read through the Old Testament, the more it made sense. God is love. I think that His love is manifested in all of the ways listed above. His pure goodness. His consistent faithfulness. His personal interactions. Our God, God with us, I Am, loved the people of the Old Testament with the same agape love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross. When God created a companion for Adam, He showed His love. When God continued His promise to Abraham, He showed His love. When God spared Noah by having him build an ark, He showed His love. Praise be to a unchanging, never failing, loving God!
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised." Genesis 28:15
Amen to that!
James 3:2-12
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Is your tongue bleeding? Is your tongue sore? Should it be?
This passage always brings to my memory the old adage, “Bite your tongue!” You know, the one you use to hear from your mom when you said something less than appropriate. When you think about it, it might not be such a bad idea.
Now, I’m not suggesting that we all become masochistic or wound inflicting, but wouldn’t it be a really good reminder; clamp down on that destructive little member of our bodies and remind yourself that what you say can hurt. It can scare. And it can set a destructive fire in your relationships, that perhaps you never intended.
If you think this is whack, check out what Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-30.
Any comment?
Brian Haney
A friend sent me this video link of old Apple Valley and I want to pass it along to you. It is funny how much things have changed around here. You may not want to watch more than the first couple of minutes (sorry John Denver), but it does make you wonder what the future holds.
Kurt Thielen
How do you know if you know something, or just know about something?
Like asking a blind man what a sunset was like, so is asking most “Christians” what the Gospel looks like. It is one thing to be able to describe what God did in sending His son into the world to take our punishment for our wrong actions, and quite another thing to really know His forgiveness and tell someone about it.
Growing up, and even still, it is sometimes hard to be motivated to share with people the power of the Gospel, because often I have such a limited and small view of it’s power. Not that I don’t believe it, but I often become so busy with the activity of being a Christian that I void the effect that the power of the Gospel is supposed to have in my life. It is the power to help me overcome myself and my sin and worship God in truth.
I know God. I know Christ. I know the Holy Spirit. But, I want to know Them. I want to rid myself of the practice of American Christianity and follow Christ with the power of the Gospel transforming my life. There is much more to Christianity than saying a prayer and going to heaven. There is much more to following Christ than going to church.
Do you KNOW this?
Check out Ephesians 1: 15-23, and together we can get to know Him better.
¶ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Brian Haney
This Saturday night I found myself with my pregnant wife in the ER. I got home from working and found her on her knees reeling in pain from a sharp stabbing sensation in the side of her pregnant belly. Never a good sign. So off we went.
Turns out that the doctors could not put their finger on it and just had to treat her pain and make sure the baby was doing okay. It was not until early the next morning that we figured out that it was a kidney stone. Yeah, nice huh, pregnant and dealing with this.
When I saw the culprit I was stuck with a thought: sometimes it is a small thing that causes a lot of pain. As I think through my walk with the Lord, sometimes it is the small things I allow to influence me that have caused pain and strain on my relationship with my creator. It is the permission I give to myself to react in an ungracious way because I’m tired that cause my kids suffer. It is the cutting sarcasm that gives my wife the impression that I don’t appreciate her. It is the small but constant surge of selfishness that runs through my veins that causes me to turn from my desire to glorify my God and turn to self gratification and pride.
What are the tiny stones in your life? What is it that may seem small to you, but cuts so deep? What is it in your life that you need to ask the Lord to help you “pass?”
My wife is doing well now. We are praying that it doesn’t happen again. And we are grateful for all of you that where praying for her this past weekend.
Brian Haney
Over the Christmas break, I took Wendy and the kids up north for a family vacation. The plan was to leave Apple Valley right after school and then drive the 8+ hours to Lake Tahoe. Everything was going as planned until the weather suddenly changed. Violent snow flurries filled the night sky and soon covered the frozen, winding roads. Cars were strewn across the highway and others had slid into nearby ditches. A slow processional of chained cars and trucks slowly made its way up the pass. Finally, as we approached the exit that heads to Mammoth, I noticed something: Every other car had their right turn signal on except me. They had reached their destination!
For me however, my trip was far from done. We continued up HWY 395 all alone. No snowplows, no trucks, nothing at all on the roads. Most people I guess weren’t crazy enough to still be on the road. But I knew that my destination was Tahoe and the family fun we had planned was waiting there.
As I stared out the front window, watching those large flakes relentlessly sheet down on our Suburban, it dawned on me how much this trip was like life itself. It is really easy to get distracted by others whose destination is different than mine. To see people who get to exit the hard and winding roads at what seems to be a far more convenient time. To watch others enjoy the warm and relaxing comforts that come from being finished (even for just a while) with the struggles life’s blizzards bring.
Face it…life is tough sometimes. Visibility stinks. Stress happens. Confidence fails. Uncertainty creeps in. It’s just so easy to look at the blizzard and lose sight of the destination. Going somewhere important matters a lot. Getting there matters even more.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
And sometimes, like our trip to Tahoe, a journey's destination includes more than you could have hoped for. Happy New Year!
HDC’s ministry is designed to prepare individuals to engage their relational world, their oikos (the Greek word for “household”), with the tremendous news of God’s grace.
HDC’s ministry is designed to prepare individuals to engage their relational world, their oikos (the Greek word for “household”), with the tremendous news of God’s grace.
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