MOVE 'EM OUT

Have you heard the saying, “Life is hard, and then you die?” Well, in August of 2007, I amended it to, “Life is hard, but moving is harder.” And moving ourselves 2,200 miles across the country in a couple of 26ft. Penske trucks was downright – well, challenging. For such a long-distance move, we agonized over what to take and what to leave behind, give away or throw away. We’d lived in our current home for fourteen years, plenty of time to accumulate lots of “treasures.” One of our daughters would be moving half of her stuff to Washington with us and leaving the other half in storage at college – a logistics nightmare, but a space relief for the move. The other daughter was graduating from college and would be living with us. Funny thing. She actually wanted to take her college apartment possessions with her. Go figure. Well, by God’s hand, we did it. We moved approximately 2 ½ households 2,200 miles across 9 states in 4 ½ days. My father-in-law went along to drive a truck; Roy drove the second truck, both trucks towing vehicle dollies. The girls and I took turns driving our van. No breakdowns, flat tires, physical assaults or murders. Now, stop for a moment and imagine 50,000 people with 8,200 pack animals going 900 miles from Babylon to Jerusalem. That means 6 people shared a single pack animal –horse, mule, camel, or donkey – as well as what each one could carry on foot. How did they decide what to pack for their new lives in a new land?

(I’m not going to copy all the verses because much of it consists of names and numbers. I was afraid you’d get spooked and stop reading! So, I’ll use this: “…” and pick up where the story begins again.)

Ezra 2:1-61 – “Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, in company with Zerubbabel…) The list of the men of the people of Israel: the descendants of Parosh 2,172…The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah…but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel” (emphasis added).

• They couldn’t just run down to the nearest courthouse and check out the computer database or microfiche, so how were some able to show they were descended from Israel? Scrolls and parchments tucked away. Impeccable records of family heritage and the Law were maintained and treasured – and undoubtedly given top priority on a camel’s back to Jerusalem. God entrusted Israel with maintaining the Holy Scriptures so that you and I could have access to the full revelation of His Word – from Creation through Revelation. God has guarded it, and generations have sacrificed their blood for it, so that you and I can read both the Old and New Covenant God made with humankind.

Ezra 2:62-70 – “These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim. The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 200 men and women singers. They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys. When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments. The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns” (emphasis added)

• These people made a priority of two things when packing for their journey: proof of their heritage and offerings to Jehovah. Now, my husband is a packrat, and I’m incredibly un-sentimental. We had more than a few disagreements on what went to Goodwill as we packed for our move. I believe the remnant of Israel discovered two important rules of thumb on cleaning out the proverbial closet. Keep it if it has 1) family significance, or 2) potential for ministry significance. Those Israelites who settled in their own towns, did so because they knew their family history. Those who couldn’t find their important papers…probably had an overzealous closet-cleaning wife!

Lord, oftentimes my decision to keep something is based on materialism or a doubt that You can provide for my future needs. Teach me the discipline of simplicity, while working in my heart to value the truly irreplaceable treasures of family and ministry opportunities.

WOULD YOU DO IT?

Would you do it if you had the chance – whatever your “it” is? Would you go back to high school and stand up to the bully? Would you make the right choice – now that you know what you know? Would you hug your kids more and shout at them less? Would you take an all-expense paid trip to the homeland of your ancestors? What if the trip included airfare, hotel accommodations and guaranteed job placement once you arrived. Oh, did I mention it involved complete relocation – not just a visit? By the way, this little adventure is being sponsored by the most powerful man in the world, and he’s bankrolling the whole thing. Anyone of your ethnic descent can go. Your family can also accompany you, but each of you can only take one suitcase because the airlines charge extra for a second suitcase! Now, as an added bonus, all your neighbors have pitched in to help with your expenses – at the strong suggestion of the guy bankrolling the expedition. This guy has also –offered to you, from his own private stash, items he stole – excuse me – borrowed from your ancestors seventy years ago. He has asked that when you arrive in your homeland, you build a church and place these items of worship in the church. Sounds easy enough, right? Ready to sign up? Would you do it – if God asked you to?

Ezra 1:2 – “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah…

Ezra 1:3-5 – “Anyone of his people among you--may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem. Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites--everyone whose heart God had moved--prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

• You might look at the gargantuan task of moving from Babylon to Jerusalem by camel, and say, “I could never do something like that.” Well, guess what? God didn’t ask you to! He placed you in 2008 and has given you a car (thank you, God!). He’s surrounded you with your own family and friends, and He’s allowed the current joys and challenges you’re facing. The KEY is in v. 5: “…everyone whose heart God had moved….” If God moves our hearts, it’s up to us to get the rest of our anatomy to join the caravan.

Ezra 1:6-11 – “All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

This was the inventory:
gold dishes 30
silver dishes 1,000
silver pans 29
gold bowls 30
matching silver bowls 410
other articles 1,000

In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.”

• When God moves in our hearts to do something, we’ll generally see confirmation all around us. Our efforts will never be problem-free, but we’ll sense a general blessing. There’s a difference. Satan always tries to foil God’s good plan; however, when God’s light shines on our path, darkness must flee.

Lord, it’s easy to become discouraged by small frustrations when I’m a little uncertain about a decision. Help me to weigh Your blessings as gold and Satan’s discouragement as dust.

MOVING PARTS

Hey! Welcome to our first Good a.m. Lord BLOG! We'll be talking about what we learn in Ezra. I'll be sharing just the short version of the e-devotional mailing on the blog. If you'd like the "Sheep Going Deep" Bible Study portion, please contact me at himesu@comcast.net. Please feel free to jump in with any comments or questions you might have!

You know when you just know something? You know that you know that you know. Sometimes what you know doesn’t even make any sense. But you know it. Deep down in your gizzard, you know it. That place next to your “knower” – your gizzard? Okay, we don’t really have a knower or a gizzard. But did you know we have a wenis? That’s the little piece of skin that covers your elbow. I almost washed out Emily’s mouth with soap the first time she asked if she could pinch mine. We also have other equally funny sounding parts of the anatomy. Who in the world thought up “solar plexus?” But the solar plexus is currently a hot topic of discussion and debate – thought to be the core of new age meditation and healing. Argh. But there was a king in the prophet Ezra’s time who allowed a different part of his anatomy to rule his decisions…

Ezra 1:1a – “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:…”

• Can you imagine a pagan king’s heart being moved by God to favor the Israelites? All to fulfill a prophecy spoken by one of God’s prophets seventy years previously? It’s a tricky thing when God moves the heart of a man because in doing so, He affects the will of man. God is very cautious to protect man’s will. However, because He is God, He can both move a man’s heart and allow that same man freedom to choose. Is there someone in your life – maybe even you – whose heart seems immovable and stuck in the mire of sin or addiction or apathy or…well, you fill in the blank ______________?

Ezra 1:2 – “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah…’”

• Humility? From the Persian King of the whole known world? The LORD, the Jewish God gave him the kingdoms of the earth and appointed him to build a temple for Him in Jerusalem? Okay, if there’s someone with a stinky attitude in my life, it can’t require a more complete change of heart than this pagan king underwent.

How about you? Do you believe that NO heart is so hard that God's love and compassion can’t melt it like butter by a warm flame? Will you join me in asking forgiveness for doubting His power to work in the hearts of those around me? Ask Him to open our eyes to His ability to move in even the hardest heart…even if the most immovable heart happens to be our own.

A LITTLE MUD, GOOD FOR THE SOUL

I have to admit, a queen contest was definitely not Emily's thing. It was our idea that she enter because there was scholarship money involved. We all knew it was the same week as her senior homecoming, but who could have guessed it was the same night as mud volleyball? So immediately following the second runner-up crown and roses, Emily scurried off the stage, ate a compulsory piece of victory cake, received her scholarship check and ran out the back door to play mud volleyball...where she was ultimately victorious! When she came home that night, I had to take the picture on the right because it so accurately depicts our lives sometimes. Let me illustrate with a couple of guys in Scripture.

Asa, King of Judah, built and prospered, and Judah's army won great battles because his heart was fully committed to the Lord. But after Judah had experienced a long season of peace, they were again threatened. Instead of going to the Lord for help, he relied on the King of Aram for protection. Success made him soft and erased the memory of God's faithfulness. (2 Chron. 15-16)

Amaziah, King of Judah, enjoyed a great military victory at the hand of God, but he got cocky and tried to attack Israel. God allowed Jehoash, King of Israel to capture Amaziah, humiliate him, tear down Jerusalem's wall and carry away the wealth of the Temple. (2 Chron. 24-25)

Last one - Hezekiah, King of Judah, great guy. Even united some of the remnant of Israel with Judah for Passover. Built and restored Judah in the time of Assyria's rise to world power. But when his wealth was at its peak, he gave some foreigners a peek at ALL his treasure. His success was displayed to the very nation who plundered Judah 5 generations later - the Babylonians. (2 Chron. 29-32)

As I read these "success stories" I to prayed, "Lord, I'm beginning to think success isn't such a great thing!" I'm not sure success is as much a gift as it is a curse. I wondered what would happen if my books were published and people actually bought them. I pondered the possibilities of a full speaking schedule and heavy demands on my time. Would the record of my life look like one of these kings?

I searched my heart and asked the Lord to forestall anything that would take my focus from Him. I determined that if success in any realm would diminish my love and/or relationship with Him, I don't want it. Later that same day - that same day - I received word from both publishing houses that my devotional proposal had been turned down. I laughed out loud! Instead of feeling disappointed, I was almost relieved!

I don't believe I'm ready yet to be successful and remain completely faithful. I'm not ready to be in the queen contest and win first place. I need to go play mud volleyball for a while longer. However, I'm leaving my make-up on - because you never know...when the next contest comes, my heart my be ready to receive more of God's good gifts. I'm simply praying that He never give me too much good for my own good.

Finishing Well

Oh my goodness! I'm so old my baby picture is in black and white! Argh! Well, we're illustrating a point here, so I'm taking one for the team, okay?

I've been convicted lately that I've become spiritually soft. By "lately" I don't mean days. I mean years. I can remember early in my salvation when I spent literally hours in the Word of God. I couldn't wait to open the Book. I can also remember a time when a problem sent me directly to my knees. Not so, now that I have all these years of wisdom to my credit. Now, I seem to believe I possess the ability to work things out for myself. Ha, isn't that a laugh?

Unfortunately, I'm not the only sprinter in this marathon God calls a spiritual life. It's a pattern often repeated in Scripture, a tragic ending to every life affected by this spiritual malaise. My daily devotions these days are in 1 & 2 Chronicles, so I'm reading a lot about the Kings of Israel and Judah. You may think it's boring, but let me tell you - it's better than any soap opera!

• David - faithful shepherd, anointed king, trusted God to save his life while he ran from King Saul and fought Philistines. But later in life, when he grew successful and soft in his spirituality, he stayed home from war, which led to his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11). And at the end of his life, he counted Israel's fighting men, which got him in BIG trouble with God (2 Sam. 24).
• Solomon - started like gang-busters! When God asked him the $1,000,000 question, he answered perfectly and received wisdom beyond all men. He completed the Temple his father always wanted to build and dedicated it the LORD. Beautiful! Solomon accomplished many things, but Scripture tells us, "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been" (1 Kings 11:4).
• Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was a loser. But his son, Abijah relied on the Lord, and when Judah went into battle against Israel, "the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers" (2 Chron. 13:18). Good job!
• Asa, Abijah's son, took it up another notch. He sincerely, wholeheartedly sought the Lord, and God gave his kingdome peace for 10 years. When he did go to war, he relied fully on God, and the LORD sent a prophet to tell Asa a profound truth:

"The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you" (2 Chron. 15:2).

Unfortunately, late in Asa's life when Judah was faced with war, he'd become soft spiritually, and instead of relying on God, he relied on a treaty with another kingdom. Bummer. (2 Chron. 16)

• Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, also started out like gang-busters for the LORD, and then - you guessed it. Crashed. Married one of Ahab's daughters and later made another "unholy" alliance. Mixed and mingled with the wrong people. Argh. Later life - spiritually soft. (2 Chron. 20:31-37)

Wow, depressing, huh? No. That's part of the reason I love to read the Old Testament. It's so full of non-examples! I figure - for crying out loud! I can do better than that through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in me! Praise the Living God! It's everything BUT depressing!

Take another look at that black & white picture up there. That baby has learned a lot in her forty-something years. But life experience can't replace God's power and intervention in my life. Lord, let me alway remember - I'm never too old to need You. I choose to be WITH YOU, so that You will be WITH ME. Amen.

Tame Or Good

Remember the adorable big red dog in the children's book, Clifford? Well, I now have my own adorable big red dog named, Bouzer. At least to me he's an adorable big red dog. However, when "Kujo" in our neighbor's yard starts taunting and lunging at the fence, my precious little Bouzer turns into this snarling mass of muscled flesh that I barely recognize. It's quite an amazing transformation.

Being the responsible pet owner that I am, I stand at the backdoor and scream at Bouzer. Much to my surprise, he stops barking, comes to the door, and becomes this meek, submissive, precious dog again.

What's up with that? Doesn't he realize that if he wanted to, he could rip my face off? Maybe. But the point is: He doesn't want to. He loves me. And the feeling is mutual. Hmmm. Would you call him a tame dog? A good dog? Hold that thought...

David wanted to build a house for God. Think about it. A house for the God of the universe to dwell in. Come on. Get real. But David's heart was sincere because at the moment David desired to build God a house, the Lord happened to be dwelling in a tent. So it was a step up!

However, David didn't consult God on his plan, and God didn't want David to build Him a house! In fact, God was the One Who intended to do the house building. And He intended to build 2 houses - thank you very much. One for Israel, and one...for David.

1 Chron. 17:9-12 - "And I [God] will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed...I declare to you [David] that the LORD will build a house for you: 11When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever."

It's good to want to do good things for God, but it's better to do what God wants done. See the difference? And believe me, God has an opinion on what He wants done.

Furthermore, David showed us that we can't contain or control God. But God, by His own choice, on His own terms, dwells with us - and blesses us.

Remember how C.S. Lewis portrayed Aslan the Lion in his Narnia series...He is not a tame Lion, but He is good. Once in a while it's good to see my precious little Bouzer do battle with Kujo. It reminds me of the same premise.

I cannot control God. He chooses to adore, bless and deal tenderly with me. Thank You, Lord. You are so good. Your love endures forever (1 Chron. 16:34 - David's Psalm of praise).

Why?

Why take a bath, when you're just going to get dirty again? Why buy a girl flowers, when they're just going to die? Why make deep friendships, when you're just going to get hurt? Why get involved in a church, when they all have the same old problems?

That darling girl to the right is our older daughter, Trina. She's amazing. I've never known anyone who loves like she loves. She gives everything she's got. Consequently, when she's hurt, I've never seen anyone hurt like she hurts. But here's the amazing thing. She loves again – and again – and again. She keeps giving love even though she knows it’s going to hurt. Now, she's only 23, so perhaps she'll get hardened by life's hard knocks and stop giving her heart with such abandon. But I hope not. It's one of the most godly things I've ever seen anyone do. Yep, that's right. It's godly to give our hearts with abandon. Think about it...

God knows everything, right? He knows tomorrow’s events today. So when King Solomon messed up, and God decided to give 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel to a guy named Jeroboam, God knew that guy was going to end up the worst king in history. So why give him the 10 tribes?

But God said to Jeroboam, “Come on, buddy, you can do it!”

1 Kings 11:37-38 – “…I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways…I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.”

It sounded like God really had high hopes for old Jeroboam. But when he messed up, whew! God’s high hopes turned to deep vengeance!

1 Kings 14:8-10 – “I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but…9You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods…you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back. 10Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel--slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.”

But God doesn’t hold back His love or His hope for us just because He knows we’ll disappoint Him.

• Creation – He knew Adam and Eve would eat the fruit and allow sin to mar his perfect creation, but He created anyway.


• The Law – He gave Moses the Law, knowing human beings couldn’t perfectly keep a set of rules, but He gave it in order to establish right from wrong.


• Jesus Christ – He sent His Son to earth, knowing He’d be rejected and killed, but He did it so that we could be eternally reconciled to Him.

So WHY keep setting ourselves up for disappointments?

It’s all about the journey – and the party at the end. Those friendships that hurt us so badly? Think of the joy they bring us along the way – and if they’re Christian friendships, think of the perfect eternity of joy they’ll bring later on.
(And if you’re a man, take a hint. Flowers are simply always a good idea.)

OVERWHELMED?

I'm feeling a little bit like this mama duck - trying to get my ducks in a row, while everyone is waiting on me to hurry it up. Ever feel that way? A little overwhelmed by all there is to accomplish in a day, a week, a month - a lifetime?

Well, I was reading about Solomon this morning, and he certainly had a lot to accomplish in building God's Temple. Now, the Temple itself wasn't all that big. 90' x 30' and 45' high. Some of our houses are larger than that. The real overwhelming work came in the detailed finishing work. As I read 1 Kings 5-7, I noticed two ways Solomon dealt with all the overwhelming tasks of preparing, building and furnishing God's Temple.

1. He Asked For Help. 1 Kings 7:13-14 - "King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram...a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and experienced...." Solomon thought outside the box - he left the borders of Israel to find the help he needed to get the job done excellently. It's sometimes hard to admit I can't do it all myself. Sometimes it's simply hard to find people willing to help me! But finding the right people to help at the proper time is essential in managing all the Lord has given me to accomplish for Him.
2. He Took His Time. 1 Kings 6:38 - "[Solomon] spent seven years building it." Solomon took time and used it wisely. We each have 60 seconds in every minute and 60 minutes in every hour and 24 hours every day. That's 86,400 seconds everyday to complete the tasks before us. Subtract 28,800 seconds for sleep, and we still have 57,600 seconds to redeem for the Kingdom! That's a lot of time to take!

So, today I've been asking people to help line up my ducks, and I've been taking hold of the time rather than letting it slip through my fingers. I'm still a little overwhelmed, but perhaps that's a good thing. It keeps me close to the One who created the ducks.

A Book From Robin Jones Gunn

Sisterchicks Go Brit!

In Stores Now!

London calling all Sisterchicks...
Hop on a bus to pick up your copy today.

Robin is a new friend that I've met since moving to Vancouver. She's an ex-pastor's wife, excellent author, speaker and all 'round compassionate lady. I love her dearly, and you'll love her writing! She's fun and winsome, and she's got just enough ornery to keep you glued to the page. Enjoy all the adventures of the Sisterchicks series!

Any Old Thing

The Lord is my white-out, my post-it note, my thumb drive. My God is my white-out, by whom all my sins are erased... Hmmm. Just doesn't have the same ring as David's song in 2 Sam. 22...

2 Sam. 22:1-4 – “David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2He said: ‘The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-- from violent men you save me. 4I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.’”

David was sitting around the rocky hills of his hideout with his band of merry men, and he started looking at the ordinary things around him. Rocks, shields, his fortress - and he began to interpret God in his everyday surroundings.

Okay, try it. How is God like a post-it note? How is God like a computer thumb drive? You don't know what that is? Well, pick something else, but look around your ordinary life, and find something to contemplate. Here are a few ideas:

• God is like my water bottle: He brings me refreshment.
• God is like my coffee cup warmer plate: He maintains those things that bring joy to my life.
• God is like my cell phone: He's with me wherever I go.

Now, this may seem silly to you, but think about the good things this simple little exercise accomplishes. It makes us think about the Lord throughout the day, and it also stretches our minds to contemplate aspects of God we might not have considered before. I'll bet if David had a cell phone or post-it notes, his Psalms would have sounded much different - but the praise sounds just as sweet to the Lord.