Wrath and mercy

by John D Ramsey

The other night at the dinner table Claire asked, “Why did Noah curse, Canaan?” This is a heavy question for an eleven-year old – not exactly dinner conversation at most tables, either. In fact, this question carries with it much weight of the world’s history. Why would the Canaanites be subjugated to other peoples because of the sin of one man? On the surface, the curse upon Canaan seems disproportionate with the crime. Yet because of the sin of Adam, all men are born under the curse of death. Each of us is a sinner for two reasons: we inherit Adam’s sin and we sin. Because of Adam’s sin, we all die. Yet God judges each according to his deeds. Likewise, Canaan and his descendants inherited the sin of his father Ham. Yet God withheld judgment on at least one occasion because their sin was incomplete (read Genesis 15:16). While Canaan was cursed, wrath befell those who merited wrath.

In Noah’s day, rampant sin and rebellion characterized the human race. God preserved Noah, his wife, Noah’s sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth and their wives. The rest of the world perished in a great flood. Sometime after the flood, Noah planted a vineyard and became drunk form his wine. Noah’s son Ham entered Noah’s tent and discovered his father naked in a drunken stupor.

In response to seeing his father’s condition, Ham told his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth refused to look upon their father in his debilitated state and entered backwards into his tent and covered Noah. When Noah awakened and remembered what had happened, he prophesied, saying,

Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

May God extend the territory of Japheth;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be his slave.

Genesis 9:25-27 (NIV)

What was Ham’s crime that caused Noah to curse and entire race of people? Solomon wrote, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Proverbs 10:12 (NIV) Ham had witnessed the destruction of the earth’s population wherein “every inclination of the thoughts of [men’s hearts] was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5 (NIV) God had spared Ham along with his wife, yet Ham had harbored in his heart the evil that the flood had nearly destroyed. Noah must have grieved to see that the cleansing the earth had endured at such a high cost was yet incomplete. Evil had acquired safe passage on the ark in the person of Ham, Noah’s youngest son. The evil that Ham preserved would render consequences, and Noah prophesied regarding the impact of Ham’s sin.

Notice that Noah curses Canaan, not Ham. Cursing Canaan instead of his father, Ham, may appear to be capricious, yet if Noah had cursed Ham, the result for Canaan would be the same. If Noah had said, “May Ham be [Shem and Japheth’s] slave,” Canaan would have incurred the same penalty. Yet we might ask, among Ham’s sons, why was Canaan cursed?

Ham was Noah’s youngest son; likewise, if the order of names indicates chronology, Canaan was also Ham’s youngest son. Perhaps Ham would learn the pain of seeing his youngest son continue in the selfish and destructive habits of his father.

Nevertheless, by cursing the son and not the father, Noah demonstrated mercy alongside his wrath. Ham’s other sons, Cush, Mizraim, and Put were spared from the legacy of their father’s sin. Ham would see the consequences of his actions played out by the comparative outcomes of his own sons. Canaan would become an object of wrath, while his brothers obtained mercy.

From the very beginning, Scripture contrasts wrath and mercy. Adam and Eve endured judgment, yet not without mercy. Likewise, Cain, after murdering his brother Abel, cried out to God saying,

My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.

Genesis 4:13 (NIV)

God had mercy on Cain and promising him protection from revenge.

Several hundred years later, Noah and his family received mercy while the rest of the world perished by the wrath of God. Scripture includes other examples of wrath paired with mercy:

• Lot obtained mercy while Sodom and Gomorrah burned.
• Though Abraham pleaded with God, saying, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” nevertheless, God replied that he would establish the covenant with Sarah’s son, Isaac.
• Later Abraham drove Hagar and her son away from the presence of Isaac. (By the way, nowhere in Scripture, Old Testament or New Testament, does it say that Hagar’s son in this context was Ishmael. I will write more on this in a subsequent post.)
• Jacob obtained Isaac’s blessing and inheritance while Isaac cursed Esau to live in desert places, live by the sword, and serve his younger brother.
• At the time of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, the firstborn of every household died, yet God granted mercy to those whose doorways displayed the blood of the Passover lamb.
• While Jericho perished, Joshua spared Rahab and her family. Rahab, the Canaanite, by mercy became an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ. Even as Israel was exterminating and subjugating the Canaanites, God extended mercy to a few.
• Likewise, Ruth, from the cursed nation of Moab obtained mercy; Ruth also joined the bloodline of Jesus Christ.
• Bathsheba, who committed adultery with King David, yet became the mother of Solomon. Solomon’s reign in Israel was the pinnacle of Israel’s history.

In Scripture, men do not merit mercy. For instance, God chose Isaac before Isaac was born; consequently, Isaac could not have earned God’s favor. Likewise, though Jacob as a young man was a scoundrel, God chose him before he was born. Before Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Israelites had not been faithful to God. Yet God had chosen to show mercy to Israel. Others receiving mercy earned it not because of their exemplary lifestyles, but rather they earned mercy through faith.

Scripture frequently contrasts wrath and mercy, yet we are incapable of rationalizing God’s purpose in showing mercy to some and resigning others to wrath. In Romans 9, Paul makes it clear that decisions regarding wrath and mercy are God’s alone. Paul argues,

What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?

What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 9:22-24 (NIV)

When we see the contrast of wrath and mercy in Scripture, we should reject any notion that correlates wrath with injustice. Rather we should stand in awe of God’s mercy. When Noah cursed Canaan rather than his father, Ham, he demonstrated the balance between God’s wrath and mercy. God’s wrath is sure, but God’s mercy still saves. Yet there is no explaining why Canaan deserved wrath more than his brothers did. Nor can we explain why Canaan’s brothers obtained mercy. We can only observe that one received wrath while others obtained mercy.

In Romans 3, Paul explains that no one is better than another according to God’s standard. He writes, “There is no difference . . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:22-23 (NIV) While we all merit God’s wrath, God’s mercy is his alone to grant. The severity of God's wrath also demonstrates the depth of God's mercy. Paul writes to the Ephesians, saying,

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:3-4 (NIV)

John the Baptist, in his final recorded testimony declared, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.” John 3:36 (NIV) Consequently, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of both wrath and mercy. The Apostle Paul explained to the Corinthians that the Gospel he preached was an “aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NIV)

We merit God’s wrath; nevertheless, our hearing the Gospel is God’s calling us to his mercy. The record of Scripture informs us that mercy comes to man by God’s sovereign choice and by man’s response of faith. Having received a call to obtain mercy, how will you now respond?

Christmas reflections

by John D Ramsey

Wii finally did it. After 27 years of marriage and four children ages 24, 23, 11, and 6, we bought our first video gaming console. Why, because the Wii is active and social in nature – not to mention just a bit silly, which suits our family, too.

We celebrated Christmas on the 20th this year because that is when the big kids could come to Kansas City. Now they are home in Texas and Minnesota, and today (Christmas) is a project day in our house. We had grand plans for a turkey dinner today, but truthfully, we have indulged in Lisa’s fantastic cooking for too many days in a row. Not only that: we went to Pizza Bella Monday night for a sampling of their wood-fired pizzas (five pizzas for the seven of us was just about right). My critique: awesome! If you live near Kansas City or ever visit Kansas City, Pizza Bella is on the short list of restaurants you must try.

Dad came down for our Christmas celebration, too. He brought everyone gifts from Mom’s trinkets and gadgets. Dad did a wonderful job choosing what of Mom’s things to give to each of us. Memories of Mom and the thoughtfulness of Dad combined to make each gift treasured. The little girls cupped in their hands the glass figurines that Dad gave to them. Claire held hers up and said, “Look what Pa gave me.” I am not sure he saw her reaction, but I did.

The Wii was the about the only thing we bought for the little girls. Lisa bought Cara a KitchenAide food processor as well as several other smaller gifts. I bought Daniel a MXL v76t tube microphone. My operating theory is that men would rather have one gift that enhanced their arsenal than many smaller gifts. Lisa thinks that women would rather have many gifts than one of anything. The tube microphone seemed a bit exotic. I thought it might captivate Daniel’s imagination just a bit. He says it sounds different from his other microphones. I would like to assume it sounds better, but learning how to use a microphone is a bit like adapting to a new musical instrument – optimization requires experimentation. Daniel will send me audio samples in a couple days, when he does I will append them to this post.

Daniel bought his mom several bottles of Charles Shaw (Two Buck Chuck). We opened a Cabernet Sauvignon with our lasagna Sunday evening. It was drinkable and probably as good better than a house red at most restaurants. With all the rich food on the menu recently, I have taken to heart Paul’s instruction to Timothy, “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach.” 1 Timothy 5:23 (NASB)

Daniel helped me get the Wii configured on the BenQ projector. Everyone in the room can enjoy watching the Wii on the eight-foot screen. I came downstairs to investigate Internet on the Wii and discovered that Claire had created a Mii that looked just like me.

A screen grab of my Wii-Mii. Daniel is entering frame on the left.

I tried bowling, but found that my Mii was a bit too over-celebratory. The shooting game was fun. While I am still curious about Internet browsing on the Wii, I am too cheap to spend $5 on a web browser. I was disappointed that the Wii could not play DVD’s. I am much to cheap to spend money on a full AV system, so for now we will have to swap cords when we switch from Wii to DVD.

This morning Lisa put new socks and underwear in gift bags, and the girls opened them at breakfast. It makes me wonder whether the girls will remember this Christmas as the year they received a Wii or whether they will remember it as the “underwear Christmas.” I will remember it for many reasons few of which have anything to do with gifts given or received.

• It is the first Christmas since Mom’s passing.
• It is the first Christmas our immediate family was not together on Christmas day.
• It is the first Christmas that we shared our family celebration with someone yet outside the family – Daniel brought his girlfriend, Rhonda.
• This year’s Christmas party was the largest we have ever hosted – over 30 people came for our Christmas open house.
• Our hosting the white elephant gift exchange with Lisa’s extended family is becoming a tradition. Gabby and I teamed up and ended up with a giant remote control.

Last night we went to church and sang Christmas carols with friends. Holding candles in the darkened sanctuary, we stood and sang “Silent Night” a cappella. To a cynic it might seem cliché, but the simple beauty of the moment makes a compelling memory. It seems to me that Christmas is about memory. Celebrating the birth of Christ is certainly core to the collective memory, yet Christmas memories are compound.

Some people try to justify Christmas traditions by drawing straight yet implausible lines to Scriptural symbols. For instance, some people claim that their Christmas tree reminds them of the cross of Calvary. I suppose that is fine, but the Christmas tree in our home is a place to hang our best memories. Our sins were nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ to be forever forgiven and forgotten. Yet in our home, we hang ornaments on the Christmas tree to remember what and whom they represent. Mom always objected to idolizing the cross, anyway. Mom felt that people sometimes focused on the cross rather than focusing on the Savior. I suppose I let traditions be traditions without manufacturing a cause.

A Christmas tree in our home is not a sacred symbol. Rather it is a tradition of memory. I told the little girls that the Christmas tree serves as a reminder of everything for which we should be thankful. Many of our ornaments commemorate a personality or an event. Each is a monument to a memory and together they celebrate the story of our lives. Each year deepens the sentimentality toward the old ornaments and welcomes the new ones into this stream of consciousness we celebrate at Christmastime.

Last year Lisa gave me a squirrel because of my continuing battle to save our shake roof from destruction. This year my squirrel ornament hangs next to the reminder of Cara’s leopard print phase (was it a phase?).

When the big kids were little, I made Daniel this carousel tiger on a soldered copper wire armature using newspaper, masking tape, and papier-mâché. I made Cara a carousel giraffe, but it proved much more fragile than the tiger. Each Christmas, I expect to find the lost giraffe among the ornaments, but I think it has been lost along the way.

The older kids each were given a two-dollar bill for Christmas one year. Both bills stayed on the tree for several years, but now one is missing. Hmm.

My first baby’s first Christmas. I took the photo with an Olympus OM-2 with an 85mm f/2 lens and three Broncolor Impact strobe lights. I used a red gel over the hair light. For soft focus effect, I think I sprayed hairspray on a UV-filter. Lisa was not far off frame just in case Cara decided to lean out of the chair.

Lisa gave this ornament to me this year because it reminded her of jewelry I bought for her many years ago at Union Station in St. Louis.

This sampling of ornaments conjures for me deep feelings of love for my family and extreme humility and gratitude for God’s grace and mercy on behalf of my family and me. Celebrating Christmas is in every respect celebrating the grace of God. Where does God’s grace begin or where does it end? God’s grace toward me begins with the breath of life he granted me. His grace has continued through my life and expresses itself in my marriage, children, friends, the home he has provided for us, a fun job which pays the bills and more.

Yet most of all God’s grace appears in the person of Jesus Christ, who two thousand years ago left the glory of heaven to become a man. Emanuel, another name for Jesus, means “God with us.” The Apostle John puts it this way,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not . . .

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-5, 9-14 (KJV)

When Jesus became a mortal man, he became subject to death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Yet Jesus had no sin. His sacrificial death paid the price for my sin. “So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28 (KJV)

As Christmas “wraps up” around the house and I prepare to go back to the office tomorrow, I thank God for his grace. I thank him for life and love, but most of all I thank him for sacrificing his human life to grant me salvation unto eternal life.

The law of the spirit

Download as MP3

by John D Ramsey

Do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to men who know the law — that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?

Romans 7:1 (NIV)

A couple weeks ago, on the first day of Sukkot, or Feast of Booths, Lisa and the girls built a sukkah in the back yard to surprise me. During the Kingdom in Context Bible study that morning, I had mentioned that I planned to sit outside with the little girls and read the Scripture pertaining to the Feast of Booths. Mark asked me if I planned to build a booth, and I explained that while I had no problem with people building a booth, teaching the girls the Scripture pertaining to the feast was my priority.


When I arrived home from work, Lisa had a fire burning in the fire bowl on the patio, and she had oil lamps lit in the yard. We ate our dinner in the booth, and read the Scriptures to the girls. Gabby exclaimed two things, “I did not know about this holiday!” and “I think this is my favorite holiday!” It was a lovely evening, and more so to me, knowing that my girls had labored to make it special.


Regardless of our apparent observance of an Old Testament feast, I feel compelled to clarify. We did not celebrate Sukkot in order to obey the Old Testament Law. Rather, the evening was an illustration of God’s amazing love toward us that he would send his Son to tabernacle among men. The girls now have a visual memory of the Feast of Booths, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to instruct them. However, our observation of the holiday did not observe the Law.


Had our intention been to keep the Law, then we infringed on these points:

• According to Deuteronomy 16:16, the Feast of Booths had to be observed at the place that God chose. According to 2 Chronicles 6:6, God’s chosen place is Jerusalem. Observing the feast in Raymore, MO, is a violation of the Old Testament Law.
  
• The branches that Lisa used to build the sukkah, were from leafy trees only (and the leaves had fallen off). The Law required, palm trees and willows, as well.
  
• The duration of the feast is seven days during which time, the observant are to live in booths. We sat in the booth for about an hour.
  
• The first day of the feast is a holy convocation during which only necessary work is permitted. However, the next day, I went to work, as is my routine.
  
• The Feast of Booths requires 182 animal sacrifices over seven days in addition to regular daily sacrifices according to Numbers 29. That is the Law.
  

By my calculations, no one obeyed the Law concerning the Feast of Booths this year.

I have no qualms about commemorating an Old Testament feast as an educational and inspirational tool; however, I wince when I hear people claiming to be “Law-abiding Christians.” I wonder, what part of the Law do they suppose that they are obeying? Do they think that they can safely ignore some laws? If so, how do they decide which ones? Deuteronomy 26:27 says, “Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Paul explains the impossibility of keeping the Law, saying, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Galatians 3:10 (NIV) James, the brother of Jesus said, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” James 2:10 (NIV)

Whether I sit in a sukkah for a minute, a week, or never is irrelevant regarding righteousness. Paul tells the Galatians, “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21 (NIV) Jesus condemned everyone who attempts to gain righteousness by the Law by saying,

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20 (NIV)

Observing the Law gains me nothing unless I can be perfect and it is way too late for that. James points us to another way, saying,

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

James 2:12-13 (NIV)

James promises that people who want to judge others by the Law will themselves be judged by the Law! The better way is the law that gives freedom. What is the law that gives freedom? Paul tells us,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.

And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)

How is it that we are free from the requirements of the Old Testament Law? Paul explains,

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

Romans 7:4 (NIV)

To the Colossians Paul writes,

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:3, 4 (NIV)

Because we die with Christ when we trust him by faith, the Law no longer has power over us. We are clothed with Christ’s righteousness regarding the Law. His righteousness is attributed to us, and there is nothing we can do to earn it. Trying to keep the Old Testament Law actually disparages the mercy of the cross. Yet the law of the Spirit teaches us that, “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” Christ’s righteousness attributed to me exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law making me worthy of the kingdom. Because I died with Christ, the Law no longer rules over me.

Whether I observe a day, or ignore it, does not matter regarding righteousness. The Law of the Spirit gives us freedom to express our faith through culture, but it does not require or favor any specific cultural expression. The law of the Spirit sets us free to serve God and serve each other in love, but it does not obligate us to external observances. Observing the Law never saved anyone, anyway, not even Abraham who lived before the Law was given. “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 16:6 (NIV) Righteousness before God has never come by works, but only by faith; Hebrews 11 makes this undoubtedly clear.

Paul expressed his faith culturally, but not consistently with one culture, he writes,

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)

Cultural expressions of faith are tools for evangelism, but legalism is not. Legalism, whether it comes in the form of quasi-Judaism or cultic manipulation, is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Legalism cannot produce righteousness, but it does create a barrier between the law observer and the Savior. Paul said it best when he described himself as being blameless according to the righteousness that comes from the Law, but he would rather have Christ. He wrote,

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Philippians 3:7-10 (KJV)

Knowing Christ, being conformed to his character, suffering for his sake, dying with him, and obtaining righteousness by faith alone does not appeal to the flesh; yet these the Law of the Spirit works to produce within us.

Y-Ike-s

by John D Ramsey

Lisa talked to Cara this evening. Cara evacuated Houston with the treatment center where she works. Cara had moved from Galveston closer to Houston just days before Gustav fizzled. This weekend, some of her friends on the island lost their homes to Ike. Cara waited all day to hear from one friend whose home the storm destroyed. Cara finally received a text-message informing her that her friend was okay.

Cara also told Lisa that she saw her new apartment complex on television, and it does not appear damaged. Lisa and I have been tracking water levels around Clear Lake as best we can, and we, too, are optimistic that Cara’s apartment may have survived intact. Her roommates will be returning as soon as authorities permit them, and Cara will get an updated report when they do.

Cara will be staying at the camp for an indeterminate period. Her responsibilities will keep her there for as long as they need her. We expect that the storm surge inundated her car, which she left parked near Clear Creek when she evacuated with the clinic. It was a good old car.

There will be time for assessing damage and making financial decisions, but right now Cara is serving people who need her help. I could not be more proud of her.

Meanwhile in Kansas City:

The weather has been wet and our moods dreary (birthday parties notwithstanding). It has been difficult to focus on Gabby's sixth birthday knowing that Ike disrupts Cara’s life. Still, Gabby’s birthday parties went well. Lisa’s mom and dad came over Friday night, and Gabby’s friends came over Saturday morning. Lisa planned to have the kids’ party at the park, but the weekend forecast required a change of plans. With fourteen kids here, along with several moms, I did not even feel like the house was crowded (though I retreated for a while). Lisa did have a bit of an adventure keeping some of the kids contained, but no one was injured and everyone had fun. Gabby will be writing thank-you notes this week as part of her language arts assignments.



After the Saturday party, Lisa took a well-deserved nap. The little girls and I went outside in the drizzle and salvaged gala apples from the tree. We did not pick them last weekend because they were in worse shape than the red delicious apples that we boxed. Yet, every apple removed from a tree is an apple that will not sustain a squirrel through the winter.

On the gala tree, there were very few beautiful apples, but today we filled two thirty-gallon coolers with otherwise usable apples. When Lisa awoke from her nap, she came outside to join us. She especially did not enjoy working in the rain. Nevertheless, she realized that we needed to deal with the gala tree. She could not bring herself to complain about the weather considering what people in Texas (including Cara) endure this week.

I am glad for the opportunity to work with the little girls in the rain. Modern lifestyles place too much emphasis on personal comfort. Years from now, Claire and Gabby may remember the day in September 2008 when they picked apples in the rain, but many normal, comfortable days will prove altogether unmemorable. If nothing else, working outside in the rain should make working outside in nice weather much easier for Claire and Gabby.

Nothing is wrong with enjoying comfort, but when our pursuit of comfort prevents us from accomplishing something, how pathetic we are! Cara will always remember Hurricane Ike. She will remember that she left her own interests behind to care for those in need. Whether she gains professionally from this experience what she does these next few weeks will certainly become part of her character.

Our best opportunities lie beyond the boundaries of our personal comforts:

Today, I read in 1 Samuel chapter fourteen. Saul was king of Israel; he and his army arrayed themselves against the Philistines in a standoff. Saul had led an army of 330,000 men against the Ammonites in a previous time, yet since then the Philistines had succeeded in disarming Israel perhaps by killing or otherwise disabling the blacksmiths. Saul had an army of about 600 men with him, but only he, and his son Jonathon, had swords.

Trepidation paralyzed Saul, but his son Jonathon told his armor-bearer, “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6 (NIV) Jonathon and his servant boldly approached the Philistine outpost. When the Philistines chided them to come up, Jonathon and his armor-bearer climbed up the rocks and attacked. Jonathon led the way with his armor-bearer following. Together, they killed twenty Philistines, and the rest of the Philistine army panicked. The Hebrews who had aligned themselves with the Philistines changed sides once again, and Saul’s army-in-hiding came down from the hills to finish the rout. The Lord delivered Israel on that day.

Within our lives – within our walk of faith – many things impose upon our comforts or unsettle our hearts. Nevertheless, we need not have confidence in ourselves to have confidence in God. We need not squander our time in self-indulgent indecision. We need not look too far ahead while there is something to do today. Trusting God, we should move forward, energetically accomplishing our present task whether it is small or grand.

Sometimes the discomforts we face bring with them the sweetest rewards. Tonight, Lisa’s crock-pot simmers with the aroma of apples. In the morning, its contents should be apple butter.



Tonight, Cara works in an unfamiliar place looking out for children with unsettled minds and hearts. Tonight, I pray that God will cause Cara to be his little river of joy refreshing souls who are despairing, and may the morning bring them healing.

Regardless of our fears and inadequacies, “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving.”

Surprise!

by John D Ramsey

I remember Christmas shopping for Cara and Daniel when they were four and three respectively. Lisa put items in the shopping cart while I kept the kids distracted. At their ages, it was easy to keep them distracted even through the checkout process. We managed to purchase nearly all of their gifts right under their noses without either child noticing. When Christmas came, Cara and Daniel were surprised to see the gifts that they had liked so much in the stores. Their surprise was always a bit of a mystery to Lisa and to me.

Tonight we went to Target to buy Gabby a bicycle for her sixth birthday. Buying at Wal-Mart was out of the question because their bikes in the colors that Gabby likes are all branded with Disney Princesses, Hanna Montana, or the like. All things are lawful, but in our family, Disney and similar brands are just not expedient. I do not want my girls’ identities to be coupled to someone else’s fantasies.

Target had a very nice Schwinn bicycle that Gabby had noticed before. We wandered around Target until Gabby caught sight of the bicycles and asked me if she could look at them again. She and I left Claire and Lisa and studied the bikes. Lisa and Claire joined us later and we all debated the advantages of the different bikes. Ultimately, we bought a less-expensive model because Gabby did not value the Schwinn more highly than another model.

Gabby does not know that we purchased the bicycle. While Lisa was asking a clerk to take the bike to Guest Services, I was discussing the sizes of basketballs with Gabby a couple aisles over. We left the sports and toy department for girls' clothing. Lisa found some corduroy pants for Gabby to try on. While Gabby headed to the dressing room, Claire and I purchased the bicycle and concealed it in the back of the Explorer.

As Gabby was entering the dressing room, she told Lisa, “You know, they could just buy me a present.”

Lisa asked, “Do you think they will?”

Gabby answered, “No, because they just didn’t think about it.”

When Lisa checked out, she bought a riding helmet that Gabby had wanted. Gabby noticed. When Gabby got into the car she looked into the back almost expecting to see her new bicycle, but Claire and I had done a masterful job of camouflage. Gabby asked Lisa about the helmet, and we explained that she had outgrown her old one; when that happens it is time to buy a new one. The helmet that fit her at Target was on clearance, which was even more reason to grab it up.

Tomorrow, Gabby will be excited to receive her new bicycle. Until then, Claire is basking in the glory of keeping a secret. When we reveal the secret tomorrow, both girls will celebrate even though it is Gabby’s birthday.

As believers in Jesus Christ, God has entrusted with a great mystery, yet we need not keep it secret. In fact, we are responsible to share the secret with those who do not know, and we celebrate with all who come to know the truth.

The mystery we possess is that the God who created everything also lovingly created man in His image. Nevertheless, we, his creation, rebelled against our Creator, and consequently fell under the curse of death. At the appropriate time, the Son, the visible expression of God, became a man. He lived among men experiencing all that we experience, yet without rebellion against the Father. In his life, he expressed both his deity and his humanity. In his physical suffering and death, he endured both the wrath of man against his God, and the judgment of God against man’s sin. On the cross, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, offered himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Satisfied by the sacrifice of the Son, the Father raised him to life again.

Because of the Son’s incarnation, his death, and his resurrection, we who were in rebellion against our Creator are now reconciled to him.

We receive this reconciliation by his grace. Some Bible translations refer to grace as a “free gift”, and grace is free in the sense that we could never merit it. Yet accepting God’s grace costs us something. When we receive grace, we die with Jesus Christ to the world and to our former selves. We instead become alive in God and alive to God through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. Dying with Christ means that someday we, too, will experience the glory of his resurrection.

Jesus, in John chapter three, and Peter, in 1 Peter chapter one, refer to this reconciliation to God as being "born again" — a new kind of birthday. This is the mystery of the ages, the greatest gift in history, and it is yours to keep — forever.

Now that you know, how will you celebrate?

Free food

by John D Ramsey

Saturday, we cleaned most of the apples off our red delicious tree. We boxed a little less than 100 pounds of apples, and culled about as many that were smaller. Most of the apples were accessible from the ground or from a stepladder; however, some were far enough out of reach that I needed to climb the tree to get to them. This led to some awkward contortions where I was hanging on with my left hand and picking apples with my right hand. The highest apples I tossed down to Claire, and she caught them (some of them) with my old Rawlings baseball glove.

Gabby was our official apple-sizer. She used a wide-mouth Tostitos Salsa con Queso jar to measure the apples’ circumference. If an apple fit in the jar, she culled it. If it was too big for the jar, she boxed it. If a squirrel had ruined it, she pitched it into a trash bin. Lisa, Claire, and Gabby will process the culls into apple pie filling, applesauce or something else yummy as they decide.

Sunday, Lisa made salsa again using tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden. This summer we have eaten hundreds of free tomatoes with more to come. I suppose the loads of tomatoes from our garden have had a positive impact on our grocery budget. The trick for Lisa has been to make effective use of them. Likewise, our apples may also be a budget windfall. The girls are thrilled with the idea of free food, yet I wonder how much we will spend on sugar, cinnamon, and piecrusts before we realize the potential of all our free apples.

Free food is a powerful idea. Yet food is seldom entirely free. For instance, to harvest a couple hundred pounds of apples required all of us to work for one morning. It would not pay me to take a day off work to pick apples. Nor would apple picking have paid if I had injured myself falling from a ladder or from a bough of the tree. It might have paid Lisa the value of my life insurance, but that is beside the point. As it turns out, we are poised to benefit again from free food. Even so, Lisa and the girls have a lot of work ahead of them before we realize results. Free food requires commitment.

When Israel wandered in the desert, God provided them with free food in the form of manna. Still, they had to gather the manna each day, and they had to prepare it before they could eat it. While daily-manna assured them that they would not starve, the process was labor intensive. Arguably, manna from heaven alleviated the risk, but not the labor related to survival in the wilderness. About six or seven months after Israel crossed over the Jordan into the land of promise, God no longer provided manna because the people ate the produce of the land.

Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6 all give us the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Luke’s treatment is very much a summary. Matthew and Mark give us the background leading up to the miracle, and John records the events immediately following the miracle. Matthew and Mark tell us that after Herod beheaded John the Baptist, Jesus took his disciples to a secluded place to rest.

John’s execution alarmed and confused the people who had followed him. Their hopes for the kingdom that John had preached were shattered. Grieving and bewildered, they gathered by the Sea of Galilee waiting for Jesus to appear. Their gathering was spontaneous, and they did not prepare to spend days in the countryside.

When Jesus and his disciples arrived and saw the crowd, Jesus “felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34 (NASB) When it was late, Jesus’ disciples wanted to send the crowd away so they could find something to eat, but Jesus instead took the contribution of five barley loaves and two fish and fed five thousand men plus the accompanying women and children. When we think about Jesus feeding the five thousand we need to remember that it was five thousand families.

The people, who mourned John the Baptist’s demise, immediately sought to make Jesus their king. In response, Jesus sent the crowds away and withdrew into a secluded place. He told his disciples to sail to Capernaum, which was several miles north on Sea of Galilee. Many of Jesus’ disciples had family in Capernaum or Bethsaida, a short distance away. Jesus told his disciples that he would join them later. The disciples might have sailed close to the shore for a time thinking that Jesus would appear on the beach and call out to them. Jesus did not come as they expected. Before long, they were in open water and it was night. A storm nearly capsized their boat. In this distress, Jesus came to them walking on the water. When Jesus entered the boat, the sea calmed and they immediately reached the shore.

Although, Jesus told his disciples to sail toward Capernaum and Bethsaida, apparently the storm drove them to Gennesaret instead. When we hear God say, “Go this direction”, do we feel confused or discouraged when the storms of life take us somewhere else? Just because God gives us direction, does not mean that we are in control. Nevertheless, we can be sure that, regardless of the storms, God retains control. This insight is too good to pass up, but we are talking about free food.

In the morning after Jesus disciples started out for Capernaum, the people whom Jesus had fed set out from Tiberias sailing for Capernaum thinking that Jesus was meeting his disciples there. They expected to arrive at Capernaum before Jesus did, but they were surprised to learn that was ahead of them at Gennesaret. When they found him there they asked, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” John 6:25 (NASB) Jesus did not answer their question. Instead, he rebuked the people who had sailed the lake looking for him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.

John 6:26, 27 (NASB)

The people whom Jesus fed in Tiberias had worked hard to catch up with him in Gennesaret. They expended much energy pursuing free food. Jesus said, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” Perhaps they were just a little embarrassed to realize that they had worked hard for another free meal that apparently was not forthcoming.

Still, the people were curious about working for eternal life, and they asked, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

The peoples’ hearts were hardened, but they still had free food on their mind. They challenged Jesus asking, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? . . . Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness: as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’”

Jesus realized that the people were comparing him to Moses. He corrects them telling them that Moses did not bring bread from heaven. He tells them that the Father gives the true bread from heaven. The people asked Jesus “always” to give them this bread.

The people thought that they are negotiating with Jesus, but Jesus is taking the discussion far beyond their comfort level. He immediately goes beyond their ability to comprehend. Jesus tells them that he is the bread of life that came from heaven. The people demur, but Jesus continues to escalate, saying,

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

John 6:48-51 (NASB)

The Jewish leaders among the crowd objected vigorously, saying, “How can this man give us flesh to eat?” Jesus was anticipating this question. This question divides the believers from the unbelievers; either you accept it or you do not. Jesus said,

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.

John 6:53-58 (NASB)

Jesus offers himself as the bread from heaven that brings eternal life to all who eat it. This he offers freely, but it was difficult even for his disciples to accept. Many followers turned away because of these words. Jesus explained to his closest disciples, “. . . the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Of course, Jesus is speaking in spiritual metaphor! He contrasts physical life and death in the wilderness with eternal life in him. Jesus was not talking about preserving our present bodies forever. He said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” Eternal life does nothing for the mortal body. Eternal life does not preempt my appointment with death. It gives me hope beyond the grave.

The Jews, the people who had pursued him from Tiberias, never realized that Jesus had been speaking in metaphor all along. He wanted to give them eternal life. They wanted Jesus to feed them barley loaves and fish. His audience and Jesus were not really in the same conversation. Knowing this, Jesus stretched the metaphor as far as he possibly could, but their minds were still into sushi.

We might breathe a sigh of relief realizing that “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood” is metaphor, but before we feel too relieved we need to understand that Jesus’ words are not empty. His metaphor is extreme because his teaching is extreme. Knowing that Jesus was speaking in metaphor we still need to answer, what does it mean to eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Some Christians spiritualize nearly all of Jesus’ teaching to deflect truth that convicts them (Matthew 23:1-12, for instance), only to turn around and take Jesus literally when he says he is speaking figuratively. Go figure. Actually, their pattern is consistent because when Jesus goes one direction, they go the other.

Other Christians dismiss Jesus’ words in John 6 as if metaphors cannot be parsed. Reflecting upon the meaning of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood, I recall what Paul said about the Lord’s Supper.

Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?

1 Corinthians 10:16-18 (NASB)

Paul’s argument was not that the elements of the Lord’s Supper were literally the blood and body of the Lord, but rather sharing the Lord’s Supper is sharing in his sacrifice. He points to Israel’s example, “Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?” That is what Jesus was teaching in John chapter six.

When Jesus says that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood, he expresses that we must take responsibility for his sacrifice. Jesus died on the cross because my sin put him there. Jesus, the bread of life offers himself to us freely. Nevertheless, to accept this bread means to acknowledge my sin. I acknowledge that my sin crucified the Creator. I accept Jesus’ sacrifice as a sin offering for me. How culpable am I in Jesus’ crucifixion? I am as culpable as if I ate his flesh and drank his blood. My responsibility in Jesus’ death is not some abstract or technical guilt. I am either in or out. If I think my responsibility for his death is insignificant, then I have not partaken of the bread of life.

Accepting his sacrifice for me, I can no longer live for myself. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood means that my life now dwells in him and his life now lives in me. Receiving Jesus’ gift of eternal life, I am taken captive by his boundless love. Receiving by faith Jesus’ sacrifice for my sin is what Jesus refers to when he says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” To acknowledge less is to reject him and his offer of eternal life.

The bread of life, Jesus offers freely. Will we commit to it?

Red apples to pick

by John D Ramsey

It began with a tease, as many things do in this house. I passed Claire in the hallway on my way to the garage. “I want a ten-page report ready before I get home,” I snapped.

Claire looked bewildered and asked, “On what?”

“Your day,” I answered. As I was getting into the Explorer to drive to work, I relented, “You must have exactly one word on each page.”

Claire smiled.

Lisa had joined us by then and suggested that Claire write a haiku. I was thinking haiku already, but I did not dare require it. Since Lisa thought of it, too, I suggested that if Claire completed her haiku using exactly ten words, I would bring her a special prize. Claire accepted the challenge.

At work, while I was rebooting my laptop because of critical updates, I started thinking about haiku. Was it fair of me to ask Claire to write a ten word, seventeen-syllable poem on a whim? Did my requirement impose upon Lisa’s lesson plan for the day? Plans for the weekend flashed through my mind, and while I was still rebooting I text-messaged Lisa,

Morning promises
little girls, sunshine, breezes,
red apples to pick.

I figured that if I could do it during a reboot, it was not too much to ask of Claire. Later I realized that technically I had failed my own assignment because I was writing about tomorrow and I had asked Claire to write about today. On the other hand, one day is as good as another.

I am looking forward to divesting the apple trees of their fruit before the squirrels do. Lisa coaxed some apple boxes from the grocery store complete with packing material. The nicest apples we will box and put in a cool spot in the basement. The rest of them might become applesauce or apple butter – anything other than squirrel food.

On my way home from work, I was talking to Lisa on the phone. She asked me if I had gotten an email from Claire. I had not checked before leaving work, so she read Claire’s haiku to me.

Book report was good
Math and reading every day
Enthusiastic

That was good enough for me. Claire's reward in only eight words:

Yesterday's Sunshine^®,

a bittersweet memory,

crisp Hydrox^® cookies.

We will eat apples tomorrow.

Super lucky elephant

by John D Ramsey

The little girls are at their grandparents’ home this week. While public school has started, Lisa has decided that Claire and Gabby will begin their home-school schedule earnestly after Labor Day. In past years, she has tried to start earlier, but personal schedules do not really slow down until September. Claire has already begun studying math at www.aleks.com. The goals-oriented approach and its graphical reporting motivate Claire. She prefers ALEKS to “mean math” with Dad. Maybe I should have drawn her a progress chart. Gabby is always learning something. Lately she has been concentrating on her reading skills. While Lisa has postponed their formal school schedule, both girls are already putting in hours toward their education.

With the girls away, Lisa picked me up from work yesterday and we went to T.G.I. Friday's for dinner (I had a buy-one-get-one coupon). BOGO notwithstanding, I was impressed with the prime rib stroganoff. Lisa’s petite sirloin was tender and grilled to perfection. I am not a big Friday's fan, but I was pleasantly surprised.

After dinner, Lisa and I drove to Mardel and picked up a birthday present for a little girl (hint, hint) and a handful of Gospel of John booklets. Lisa and I surveyed home-school resources, too, but we deferred purchases. From Mardel, we drove to Costco where we debated the advantages of “Super Lucky Elephant” rice over a plain long grain. We bought neither. Lisa could not decide, and I did not really care. For me the joy is in the analysis and deliberation. We stopped at Target on the way home and picked up a few more things necessary to keep the household operating.

While we were in Target, I noticed that I had missed Daniel’s call. I called him back and visited with him until we reached our driveway at home. I told him about the tobacco growers association we have at work. We have just seven plants in various office windows – one of them is over four feet tall (1.3 m). I also talked to him about mini-cows and other potential hobbies. He chuckled. I am not certain whether he was embarrassed to know me, or whether he finds me genuinely amusing. Nevertheless, my heart was gladdened hearing him laugh.

Lisa had talked to Cara earlier in the day. A stranger who observed Cara acting generously had scolded her. Some people are so cruel that they cannot fathom why someone else would be kind – such attitudes help no one and make no one happy. Keep doing what is right, Cara. Earlier in the day, an auto mechanic commended Lisa on Claire and Gabby’s behavior. Lisa’s eyes began to water as she conveyed to me how blessed she feels when she thinks about our kids.

I stayed up too late last night, and this morning I arrived at work a little later than I would normally. My morning began with some laughter with friends before I settled into troubleshooting a problem. My workday ended with progress toward a resolution and more laughter with friends. There is a lot of laughter in our office. Come to think of it, there is a lot of laughter in our home.

Tonight, the little girls are still at their grandparents’ home. Lisa and I are both working. As I reflect upon my week, I remember what a wonderful wife and children I have. Yesterday, I got yet another email from a recruiter promising to rescue me from the daily grind. It forced me once again to admit that I like my job; I like the company for which I work, and I like the people with whom I spend Monday through Friday.

I do not think that I am lucky. Rather, I know that I am tremendously blessed. I thank God for his many blessings upon me and upon my family.

State fair

by John D Ramsey

We just returned from the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. We went to see Claire’s 4-H projects on display, but I was also looking to see if there were any miniature cattle. There is a long story behind that, but I did not see any mini-cows. If they were there, I overlooked them.

Agriculture in the United States intrigues me. I remember bucking bales, killing chickens, and digging thistles on my grandparents’ farm when I was a child. I remember almost passing out when my grandfather and the veterinarian castrated a bunch of shoats before a farm sale. It was my job to pass the bottle of iodine to the vet, but the intense squealing, the blood, and the bucket of [redacted by Lisa] sent me into early retirement from hog farming. I cooled off and regained my color in front of my grandmother’s window air conditioner from Sears. I think I was ten or twelve years old at the time.

I first learned to drive a Ford 8N tractor. I was probably thirteen when my grandfather decided that it was about time for me to learn. The 8N produced about 25 horsepower. In a school science experiment later that year, I produced a little over one horsepower running up the stairway from the school’s cafeteria.

Today I photographed Gabby sitting inside the rim of a 530 horsepower John Deere 9630. I remember I was impressed with how easily my grandfather’s 8N turned the soil in the north garden patch with its one bottom plow. I am older now, and realize that a 25 horsepower tractor is but a lawnmower. Still, the John Deere 9630 is beyond my comprehension.

Huge machines, such as the John Deere 9630, amaze me, but such a beast is inaccessible to me. My interest lies more with self-sustaining agriculture. For instance, this year I am confident that I have produced enough tobacco to meet the needs of the entire family. Moreover, my few plants will produce more than enough seed to let me plant tobacco again next year if I so choose. Additional expenses on potting soil and peat moss followed my initial investment of $3.00 for seeds. If I actually had a use for the tobacco, I am sure that I would be money ahead.

Earlier this month, Lisa and I drove past McGonigle’s Meat Market in Kansas City. Their sign advertised heirloom tomatoes for $5.99 per pound. Price Chopper, a few blocks from our house, sells homegrown tomatoes for $3.99 per pound. The other day I came in from Claire’s tomato patch cradling more than a dozen tomatoes (some heirloom and others not). I let them roll on to the counter and told Lisa, “There’s twenty bucks.”

Lisa looked at the pile and scoffed and said, “At least!”

Yet as we enjoy the fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden, I wonder what it would take to supply all our tomato needs. If we grew enough tomatoes to last us a year, what other costs would be involved in preserving them? At what point would I break even, or have I already by only supplying fresh tomatoes during the summer months?

Lisa and I have concluded self-sustaining agriculture is a difficult puzzle. It suffers from the same economic pressures as commercial agriculture. For instance, if someone were going to buy a John Deere 9630, he would need to use it enough to justify either his financing payments or the amortized return on his initial cash investment. The tractor can make quick work of many things, but if the 9630 is underutilized, it saves time but wastes money. Likewise, any expense I make in the spring preparing the garden must be balanced against the savings I receive eating tomatoes that I did not buy. Otherwise gardening is just a hobby.

A friend and I have been looking at the prices of miniature cattle. According to the Wall Street Journal they produce milk and beef more efficiently than regular cattle, and they are supposedly more suitable for sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, the prices of the miniature bulls and cows include the valuation of their future offspring. Consequently, for the would-be rancher there is a significant barrier to entry. For instance, I noticed online a bull and two cows on sale for $4000.00. I can buy much beef and dairy for four grand. Yet finding the break-even point is intriguing to me. Dollars spent at a grocery store is money gone, while herds retain and even increase in value.

Do not worry, Lisa, I am not buying mini-cows. We do not have room for them. For me farming and ranching is merely a hypothetical mental exercise. Nevertheless, next year we are planting more tomatoes.

Attending the state fair and walking through the livestock exhibits, reminds me of the celebration of the tithe in the Old Testament. Without getting into too deep a discussion of ecclesiology and tithing, I digress to the history of the tithe. The Old Testament concept of tithing began with Abraham. After rescuing Lot from the five kings from Mesopotamia, Abraham brought the spoils of war to Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and gave him a tenth of all.

Abraham’s tithe was a one-time gift. Moreover, Abraham kept none of the spoil. He gave a portion to his fighting men and the rest he gave to the king of Sodom, saying, “I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’” Genesis 14:23 (NIV)

From the passage, it does not appear that God compelled Abraham to make a gift to Melchizedek. Nor is there any other account of Abraham making a similar gift. Many years later, Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, vowed to God, saying:

If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.

Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV)

Again, God did not compel this pledge from Jacob. Perhaps Jacob remembered his grandfather’s account of tithing to Melchizedek and decided that he should do more. We cannot be certain of his motivation; nevertheless, God remembered his pledge and tithing became part of the Law of Moses at the very end of Leviticus. “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27:30 (NIV) Why did one tenth of everything belong to the Lord? It belonged to God because Jacob (Israel) had so pledged. What is most interesting to me is not that God demanded a tenth of everything, but rather how he instructed Israel to give it.

You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to. Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

Deuteronomy 12:17-19 (NIV)

Who consumed the tithe that God commanded Israel to give? The giver did! God did not want Israel’s possessions; he wanted their hearts. He tells them to come to the place where he will establish his tabernacle or temple, bring their families, servants, and the Levites living nearby to “rejoice before the LORD [their] God in everything [they] put [their hands] to.” Deuteronomy 14 expounds upon the instruction because bringing a tenth of livestock and grain would be a burden to some that lived far away. God tells them they can exchange their tithe for silver and bring the silver to the place of gathering. He tells them,

Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

Deuteronomy 14:26-27 (NIV)

In every third year, this tithe or perhaps an additional tenth, went to the storehouses that the Levites managed. A tenth of the Levites’ receipts went to support the priests in the temple. The Levites shared their allotment with widows, orphans, and foreigners who lived in the land. This special year was called “the year of the tithe.”

Imagine all the people in an agricultural society coming together to one place and bringing with them a tenth of all their produce. Imagine all their friends and family joining them. Imagine that they stay in this place until they consume one tenth of the national GDP. Imagine that the focus of this event is rejoicing in the Lord and his bounteous provision. This event would outshine any state fair!

Imagine the heart of God telling Israel to take the gift that they promised to him and use it to celebrate his name! The celebration would foster brotherhood. Moreover, imagine the economic stimulus! A man with many cattle might sell them for silver and then use the silver to buy grain and wine. Imagine the man with a surplus of grain gladly exchanging it for silver, which he could use to buy what he lacked. God’s blessing upon his people did not deprive them of bounty. Rather he shared and multiplied his blessings through the economic activity associated with tithing.

When we consider the calendar, we realize that the celebration of the tithe corresponded with the Feast of Tabernacles. At the harvest moon, Israel was required to gather together at the Tabernacle or in Jerusalem and live under the sky for eight days. They built temporary shelters commemorating their sojourn in Sinai. Nevertheless, in Israel’s memory this feast celebrated much more than the Exodus because immediately prior this feast Solomon dedicated the temple. Read about it in 2 Chronicles.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,

“He is good;
his love endures forever.”

2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (NIV)

The glory of the Lord filled had filled the tabernacle and now it filled Solomon’s temple. The glory of God came down to earth and when Israel saw it they fell down with their faces on the ground.

As Christians we cannot read 2 Chronicles 7 without remembering the words of the Apostle John, “The Word became flesh and [tabernacled] among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV) We realize that celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles looked not only into the history of Israel but also unto the promise of Christ! Without too much stretch of the imagination, we realize that when Israel celebrated God’s bounteous provision during the Feast of Tabernacles, their actions also looked forward to God’s amazing provision of eternal life through the Son, Jesus Christ.

As believers, the history of the tithe challenges us to use our resources – the blessings that God has given to us – to celebrate Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, God is not seeking a tenth of our increase. Just as he wanted from Israel, he is seeking 100% of our hearts.

On a brighter note

by John D Ramsey

Cara text-messaged me the other day saying, “Pray for me today. I had a long restraint last night and [was] kicked in the face.” Cara works with children and young adults who need special help. As it turned out, Cara intervened in a volatile situation, and paid the price for loving the unlovely. Now Cara and Gabby have my-swollen-eye-in-July stories to share: Cara’s from a person and Gabby’s from a bumblebee. I suppose the lesson here is that in this world you can get hurt even if you are not trying to help someone. We might as well jump in and show people how much God loves them.

Cara’s black eye is healing; it was somewhat a right of passage among her peers. They told her she was no longer, “Rookie.” Cara is no stranger to pain, but violence is new to her. In her profession, enduring violence without resorting to anger establishes credibility. This reminds me of the Apostle Paul. He closed his written argument with the Galatians, saying, “Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Galatians 6:17 (NASB) In his lifetime, Paul was imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and stoned and left for dead. All this probably had not happened before he wrote Galatians, but Paul had credentials. He expected even people who disagreed with him to respect him accordingly. Compared to Paul, most of us are rookies. Consequently, we should pay attention to what he says and stop pretending to know better than he does.

I suppose this is part of what I find perturbing in Christianity, that is, the ease with which we dismiss the words of Jesus saying they were spoken to a different Dispensation, and the arrogance with which we ignore Paul because his commands were only culturally applicable. You can dismiss my rants, too, by the way, because I am a rookie compared to Paul and Jesus. In fact, if you are inclined to dismiss the words of Jesus for any reason, please write me off, too, because “a servant is not greater than his master.”

The other day we were exiting the highway, and we saw a man standing near the bottom of the ramp. He was holding a cardboard sign. From the back seat, Claire sounded the alarm, “Mom!”

Immediately, Lisa dived into her purse, collected a handful of quarters, and gave them to me. She was out of bills. As we approached, Lisa recognized the man and said, “I’ve helped him before.”

From the back seat Gabby sighed, “I have missed helping poor people.”

It had been a few weeks since we had seen anyone along the highway. Claire and Gabby are alert to opportunities to give.

It is true. If you give Gabby money, she is likely to put it in the Rice for Bangladesh five-gallon water bottle at church or else into a Ziploc baggy along with a we-love-you note to be given to someone desperate enough to stand along the highway asking for help. Normally, Lisa has kits stashed in the car's console containing a Gospel of John, a protein snack, some hard candy, and a crisp ten-dollar bill.

Why does my family do this? I will not take credit. We do this because Jesus said, “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:42 (NASB) Why ten bucks? It is enough to buy a meal. If I am giving something in Jesus’ name, I am reluctant to give less. If you want to criticize me, tell me that I am not giving enough, and be sure to include your street credentials. Honestly, I anguish over whether I do enough. Nevertheless, in my experience, a panhandler has never asked me for more than a dollar. If I give him ten, perhaps he knows that I am not giving grudgingly. If I give something, then I am obeying the simple command of Jesus.

I know that any money I give might be spent on Mad Dog, Wild I, or something worse. All my life, I have heard arguments demanding that we make value judgments before giving to the poor (What will he do with this?). Yet, I have not heard anything as simple and liberating as Jesus’ words, “Give to him who asks.” Jesus point was, do not make value judgments; just give to him who asks. Jesus wants simple obedience from us. I doubt that he appreciates the mental gymnastics that we employ to disregard his teaching.

If someone abuses my gift, so be it; he will not answer to me. We will all someday answer to Jesus Christ. When I do, I know that I will have no credentials of my own regardless of what I have done. When I fall before Jesus’ throne, I will plead only the promise of his grace and forgiveness. I have confidence in his capacity to forgive me because I know his credentials:

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
— Charles Wesley

Jesus' amazing love is the persistent bright light that brings me back from my perturbations. Earlier this week I anguished over feeling incongruous in a place in which my Christian friends feel at home; nevertheless, Jesus knew alienation beyond my culture shock. Jesus, the Word, was God; he created everything. When he became a man, his prime creation did not recognize him. The Jews, his chosen people, did not accept him. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 (NIV)

Jesus paid the price for loving the unlovely, among whom I am. I love him for that. By his grace, I am saved, and on this bright note, my spirit calms and waits for the clarity of Jesus' voice to call me again to obedience.

Wire-less weekend

by John D Ramsey

We have just returned from a camping vacation. We had been planning this event for months. Before we knew what we would do, we knew that this was the weekend when all six of us could rendezvous. The time and budget constraints did not allow for anything grand, so we knew it would be a simple affair. At some point, I suggested that we go camping at Roaring River State Park in southern Missouri. The park is nested in the forested hills and a cool water spring feeds the river. There is a trout hatchery at Roaring River. I have never been successful trout fishing, but that would not stop me from trying again. We have not camped at Roaring River for a long time, it would have been nice to refresh memories of the place. I reasoned that Roaring River would be a comfortable outdoor camping vacation, even during July.

Nevertheless, Cara's time was short and Roaring River was too far for her to drive. The plan was revised to camp at Tyler State Park in northeastern Texas. You read correctly, we camped in Texas . . . in July. Tyler State Park is in the piney region of Texas. The heat was tolerable. The shade from the trees and the breeze across the water was sufficient to keep us from overheating. There were very few mosquitoes, and we saw no tics. Gabby stepped on a ant mound, but only incurred a couple stings. I did not think they were fire ants, but after comparing a photo I snapped with online sources I cannot be sure. After her encounter with a bumble bee a couple weeks ago, the ants were merely a distraction.

It has been a few years since we have been camping. Before we left, Lisa inventoried and prepared all our gear including an old green Coleman camp stove. I think we bought the stove used somewhere when Cara and Daniel were little. A long time ago we replaced the kerosene tank with an adapter for bottled propane. When Lisa pulled the stove out; however, the paint was peeling. Although functional, it looked ragged. Lisa painted it pink and renamed it the “Bar-B” (pun intended). When we arrived at Tyler State Park, Lisa upgraded our reservation to a sheltered site. She did this mainly for the convenience of water and electricity, but our tent and screen house never came out of their duffel bags. The shelter was sufficient. The shelter was clean by camping standards, the concrete slab floor acted as a heat sink to cool the interior. Cara and Daniel picked up a oscillating fan at a nearby Wal-Mart, and we all stayed comfortably cool at night.

I took my work laptop with me, but it stayed in my backpack the entire trip. I did check text messages a few times to make certain that there were no urgent personal messages. In case of an emergency, I could have found a wireless network within a few miles, but no one called. Our last night at the park, after Cara had returned home, I did check email using my phone, but otherwise I was wire-less and wireless-less.

Tyler State Park has a small lake with surprisingly clear water. We were excited to go fishing. Gabby was proud of her new Barbie fishing pole, and Claire bought an Ugly Stick ultralight rod combo for the trip. She grinned when I told her that an ultralight made even small fish exciting to catch. Although we came ready, we caught only weeds. We did not see anyone else catching anything other than weeds, either. I suppose the fish have better things to do in mid-July than accommodate amateur outstate fishermen.

One afternoon, Claire joined Daniel and me in a canoe for an hour while Lisa, Cara, and Gabby floated about in a pedal boat. We swam. We played card games. Daniel asked me if I would play “Phase 10.” When I said, “Sure,” he pointed skyward and said, “Look, a pig!” I suppose my anti-game bias has been obvious, even to my children. At night, Gabby, Claire, and I spotted celestial objects through the branches of the pine trees, but the moon was bright, tree branches were thick, and visibility was not much better than at home. We sat around a fire, roasting hot dogs, and preparing s'mores. If we had transported bicycles, Claire and I could have ridden on the trails. For many reasons we decided to leave the bicycles at home. Walking everywhere was enough exercise for me.

Our activities were unexceptional. Still, we were together for a couple days in July without our typical distractions. We worked together, played together, and talked together. Early one evening, after fishing unsuccessfully, Gabby was walking back to the camp site holding my hand. She sighed, “I just love it that we're here!” That was the point. It did not matter where we were, or what we did. We were all together in one place, and all the other things that normally take center stage in our lives were in far away cities or at least tucked away securely in backpacks.

Something tasty is cooking on the Bar-B

Daniel and Gabby fishing on the pier

Cara tries Gabby's new Barbie fishing pole
(Is this a new summer fashion accessory?)

Gabby (photographer) catches Claire posing in the forest

Sunset

Moonrise

Jupiter jumped over the moon

by John D Ramsey

Gabby has fallen in love with the night sky. A couple nights ago Jupiter jumped over the moon. I did not let Gabby stay up late enough to watch it. I did let her stay up late enough to see Saturn and Mars setting in the west while Jupiter chased the moon across the southeastern sky. We also watched a couple satellites float by in the twilight. I worked late and staggered to bed at 1:30 AM, but before I did, I walked out into the street to confirm that Jupiter had indeed overtaken the moon. I wish Gabby could have seen it, but at that hour in the morning she would not have cared. Someday I'll explain to her the mechanics of the Solar System. Then she will understand why the moon travels from east to west at a slower rate than the stars and planets. Right now, Gabby is beginning to learn the names of the planets and a few stars and constellations. I know that her continued interest depends upon my enthusiasm as her teacher.

The next night, Claire stepped outside with us to see that Jupiter was indeed on the western side of the moon. Jupiter was playing hide-and-seek amongst some small clouds. I spotted it but lost sight within a couple seconds. When it appeared again, Claire saw it first. She was excited as if we were competing. If that is what it takes to involve Claire, we will play spotting and naming games. Lisa is thinking that we would make astronomy a large part of our home-school science curriculum this year. It will be an opportunity for all of us to learn.

It occurs to me why Gabby is so excited about the stars and planets. At first I assumed that she was intrigued by KStars, which I installed on Ubuntu. It did catch her attention, but I credit Lisa and her mom with capturing Gabby's imagination. This summer while the girls are not officially in school, Lisa has dedicated a day each week to studying great artists. This week they studied Degas.

Lisa played Brahms recordings, and discussed what was happening in the world while Edgar Degas was painting ballerinas. Lisa's mom, Julie, brought some pastels for the girls to work with. Julie traced a Degas painting from a coffee table book, and then transferred the tracing to some flour-sack dish towels. They soaked the towels in milk and then colored the picture with the pastels. When they were finished, they covered the cloth with aluminum foil and ironed the pictures dry.

That was this week. Last week they studied Vincent van Gogh. Claire painted sunflowers while Gabby re-created Starry Night. A year ago, Lisa and I saw the van Gogh exhibit at the MoMA in NYC. Seeing his painting first hand is more emotive than I had anticipated. I think that Lisa has transferred her appreciation of van Gogh to Gabby. Now that Gabby has painted “Starry Night,” she has a vested interest in the sky, and I get to be her teacher.

As I reflect on God's graciousness to me my heart recalls Psalm 8 as I learned it years ago from the KJV:

O LORD our Lord,
how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,
that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens,
the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord,
how excellent is thy name in all the earth!