The Story: The Kingdom’s Fall

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Jason

The Kingdom’s Fall – Jeremiah 29:1-14 

Imagine two cities:

Big-CitiesThe first city is a bustling metropolis, full of frenzied activity. Think New York, London, Rome, L.A.. It’s a city that never sleeps, a city of constant sights and sounds and smells and movement. There are people bartering in the marketplace, money changing hands. The residents of this city speak a different language that you struggle to understand. Everything is different here: the fashion, the food, the industry. You’re a stranger here. You’re many miles from your home, the place where you’d rather be. You and your family live in a cramped little one-room shanty; you beg for food in the streets; your children sleep on the floor; and there aren’t enough mousetraps in the world to catch the rodents that crawl across your floor. Everyday you’re reminded that you don’t belong here, that you’re different, that you’re “other.”

Abandoned_House_by_mooredodgeThe second city is much quieter. In fact, to call it a city would be generous. It’s more like a ghost town. The place is practically desolate. Boarded up windows and unkempt lawns everywhere you look. You see the house where you grew up, or at least what’s left of it anyway. It’s really nothing more than a heap of ashes now. You see the charred nub of the tree your grandfather planted when your own father was just a baby. It was the tree you and your sister used to climb when you were kids. You spent many summer afternoons sitting under her limbs, enjoying a reprieve from the blistering sun. Under that tree, you would sit on Grandpa’s lap and he’d tell you the stories his grandfather told him – the funny ones but also the important ones. Now this special place has been desecrated; the tree has been chopped down and her limbs used as kindling when they burned down your childhood home. Now these places only reside in your mind and you grieve that your children will never know them.

These two cities aren’t simply figments of our imagination; they unfold on the pages of Scripture. The first is ancient Babylon, a city so wicked that John will call her “the great harlot” when he writes Revelation; we’ll get to that later this year. The second city is Jerusalem in the 6th century BC after the Babylonians ravaged her and took most of her inhabitants into captivity.

This is the point we’ve come to in our study of The Story. As you can see from our title, we’re talking about the fall of the kingdom of Judah. It’s a bleak chapter in The Story, but as is always the case when it comes to Scripture, there is a persistent message of Good News that trumps even the worst circumstances.

The prophet Jeremiah is one of the loneliest figures in Scripture. In Jer 16, God tells him that he must never marry; his singleness represents God, abandoned by His covenant partner, Israel. God calls him to the office of prophet — these are kind of like Hebrew whistle-blowers. The prophets expose the sins of those in power.

Listen to God’s call of Jeremiah:

  • Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (1:5)
  • And here is the mission God gives Jeremiah: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me. (2:2) What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. (2:5)
  • Judah has forsaken her relationship with God, so Jeremiah is commanded to preach repentance. Call God’s people back to their first love. Tells them to abandon their wickedness, to repent.
  • The word “repent” is used over 100 times by Jeremiah; to turn back. For 40 years, Jeremiah preaches this message to the people.

Here is a sampler platter of the message of repentance God gave Jeremiah:

  • As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced – they, their kings, and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, “You are my father,” and to stone, “You gave me birth.” They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, “Come and save us!” Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah. (2:26-28)
  • Judah’s idolatry is a breach of covenant. Jeremiah compares Judah’s idolatry as spiritual adultery. God’s people have been cheating on Him.
  • But God continues to extend the possibility for reconciliation: Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord. I will not be angry forever. (3:12)
  • Yet, Judah continues to refuse God’s pleadings. Therefore, God commands Jeremiah to say: Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart. (4:18)

And so God sends his people into exile. And Jeremiah is there to watch the whole thing. Here’s a good way to think of Jeremiah: Jeremiah is the anti-Moses: whereas Moses’ 40 year ministry culminated in the people inhabiting the Promise Land, Jeremiah’s 40 year ministry culminates in their expulsion from the land.

And so we picture Jeremiah, weeping as he sees his own prophecies coming true.

Jeremiah weeps as the Babylonians completely level the temple of the Lord.

Jeremiah weeps as they burn down our houses.

Jeremiah weeps as they cut down the trees our grandfathers planted.

And Jeremiah weeps as God’s people begin their long walk toward Babylon.

In Jeremiah 29, we have recorded for us a letter that Jeremiah writes to the exiles in Babylon. It’s a dispatch from the margin, from the desolation of Jerusalem. But it’s written to God’s people who find themselves strangers in a strange land.

These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (29:1)

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: (29:4)

Jeremiah writes to the “surviving elders” – the ones who survived the journey; the ones Nebuchadnezzar hasn’t executed. V4 contains an important detail: Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t the one who did this. God did!

God deliberately sends his people to Babylon, of all places. What purpose could God possibly have for doing this? Let’s read on…

Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Isn’t this an odd thing to say? Build houses? Get married and have children? And start a garden? It reminds me of some of the same commands God gave Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden: to exercise dominion over the Garden of Eden, to tend it and cultivate it, to be fruitful and multiply. All of this is found in Genesis 1 right after we’re told that God has made humanity to bear His image.

It seems that God’s purposes for humanity haven’t changed. He intends for His people to live in much the same way as they did before. God’s desire for people living in exile is much the same as His desire for people living in the Promise Land. Plant new trees; have children; create new life; and live out your faith in a new context. Maybe being the people of God isn’t about occupying a particular space – maybe it’s about living a particular kind of life. Are we constituted as the people of God simply because we gather in this space every week? Of course not! It’s about something much deeper – a life that bears His image!   

But he continues with what had to be shocking news: seek the welfare of the city and pray to the Lord on its behalf. Seek the peace and prosperity of the city.  

The Hebrew word translated “welfare” is shalom. Peace; wholeness; success; completion. This is the standard Jewish blessing. It’s a way of saying, “I wish God’s very best for you.” Doesn’t get any better than shalom for the Hebrews. Gen. 12:2-3, God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to the nations of the earth. Jeremiah is reminding the people of God that they have an opportunity here to be a blessing to others, even the Babylonians, by seeking shalom in their midst.

God’s people are to seek shalom wherever they go.

This means being a light to the world.

This means loving our neighbors — all of them — as we love ourselves.

This means, as we have opportunity, let us to do good to all people.

What if God was trying to teach us this same lesson? You know, when you read Scripture long enough, you begin to identify with these people in exile. One of the clear points from this section of Scripture is this: God calls His people to live a life of contrast, a life that is at odds with the prevailing power systems of our day.

What if you woke up one day in Babylon — woke up without a voice, without representation, a stranger in a strange land?

What if you woke up one day and you were in the minority?

What if you woke up one day in a land of foreign gods, in a land where your values weren’t the norm?

Some of you are like, “I feel that way today!”

And that’s exactly the point. Historically, the people of God have not enjoyed the tremendous benefit of operating from the position of cultural power and influence that we have enjoyed as Christians living in the United States. Historically, the people of God have more often operated from the margins of Babylon. And if history is a good rule of thumb, it’ll probably happen again.

But even if it does, God’s call for His covenant people endures: live in a way that seeks to bring peace, wholeness, shalom wherever you are.  

But Jeremiah takes it to a new level when he tells the Hebrew people to pray for their enemies. Look again at v7.

 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

This is the only time this idea of praying for one’s enemies is found in the OT. In the OT, you’re more likely to find Joshua rounding up the enemies to be killed; you’re more likely to find the Psalmist praying that God’s enemies would have their children dashed against the rocks.

But things are beginning to change here with this word from God.

Through Jeremiah, God says, “Love these people so much that their welfare becomes synonymous with your own.” Cultivate a posture of prayer where it becomes second nature to pray for your enemies. Jesus says it’s easy to love those who love you — even tax collectors can do that. My calling for you is to love your enemies enough to pray for them — or maybe it’s to pray for them enough that you love them!

We suffer no shortage of enemies these days. It is naïve to think otherwise. But this question convicts me deeply: Am I praying for them? Do I love these people enough to pray for them to find God’s shalom, the peace of God?

If there’s a particular person or people group you consider to be “the enemy” — if there’s a particular group that you find to be incredibly antagonistic toward you and your faith — God tells us what He expects us to do about it.

He doesn’t tell me to call my congressman.

He doesn’t tell me to picket and boycott.

He tells me to pray.

The funny thing about praying for your enemies is that you find it a lot harder to hate them. Which is a form of shalom — peace, wholeness — you begin to enjoy in your own life.

This is the kind of life God calls His people to live, a life of contrast from the margins. He says “Live in Babylon with Jerusalem in mind.”

Jeremiah closes his message to these exiles with words of tremendous hope.

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

God says He knows the plans He has for His people. After 70 years, a group will return from exile and this remnant will begin the rebuilding process. Even in suffering and adversity, God cannot be thwarted. He is always working out His redemptive purposes. This is the message of the cross.

This was not accidental. This was part of God’s plan.

God knows the plans He made for Judah.

And God knows the plans He has made for you and me.

These are plans for prosperity – the word here is our word for the day, shalom. God’s plan will someday be made complete. It will come full circle.

spring-blooming-treesExile will end.

Jerusalem will be rebuilt.

Homes will be restored.

Trees will be planted once more.

This is the hopeful future Jeremiah writes about. It is a future that could be ours.

There is one key ingredient: We must seek God with our whole heart. We must repent; turn away from these false truths that would seek to enslave us. We must gird up our loins for the journey out of exile, for the return home is sure to be a long one.

But as we journey, we are sustained by God’s promise that if we call upon him, he will answer.

He will redeem.

He will restore.

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The Story: Elijah and Elisha

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Jason

In our study of the Story, we’re seeing that God seems really fond of mentoring relationships: Moses / Joshua; Naomi / Ruth; later on, we’ll see Paul / Timothy. Today, we’re going to look at Elijah / Elisha.

To tell this story, we’re going to look at two Scriptures. The first is 1 Kings 19. After the experience on Mt. Carmel, God tells Elijah to go and anoint Elisha to serve as the next prophet for God. That’s where we pick up the story.

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

Elisha is plowing w/ 12 yoke of oxen; that’s not a small number of animals. Elisha seems to be pretty successful. The prophet walks up to him and casts his cloak on Elisha. This cloak is going to be a significant factor in Elijah’s relationship with Elisha. Other translations use “mantle”.

Cloak or mantle – it’s an outer garment, but it’s much more. It signifies his power, his authority. By putting his cloak around Elisha, Elijah is saying, “Follow me. I want you to be as I am. Let me teach you.” Elijah is calling Elisha to join him in prophetic ministry.

Think of this cloak as a symbol of what Elisha’s life would become. Elisha’s life was so transformed by the call of Elijah that he leaves his family, he slaughters his oxen, and he burns his plowing equipment. His life was forever altered by the presence of Elijah.

When Elisha says goodbye and throws this big BBQ, he’s essentially participating in his own funeral. His life, as he has known it, is over. He is someone new now because of God’s call on his life.

We all need an Elijah. We all need someone to come and throw their cloak around us; we all need spiritual mentors, spiritual fathers and mothers.

  • Joshua needed Moses
  • Ruth needed Naomi
  • Timothy will need Paul
  • Here it’s Elisha and Elijah

These relationships hold transformative power.

When I was 12 years old, I moved up into the youth group at church. I really had a hard time adjusting at first. I just didn’t want to go. I literally spent two or three weeks hiding out in the bathroom to avoid going to class. My mom spoke to a cousin of hers named Al Carmen. Al was in charge of counting attendance in our church. She asked him to put his cloak around me.

So Al tells me one week that he really needs help with the counting. He says he could use my help. “I heard you were pretty good with numbers,” he said. And all of a sudden, my interest in church went from about a 3 to about an 8. During worship, during class, you’d find me attached to Al Carmen, walking through and counting. Sometimes he’d even have me recount, just so we’d have more time to spend together. At a key period in my life, Al Carmen, my 4th cousin, was instrumental in the development of my faith. He was an Elijah to me.

He told me he needed me. But really, it was the other way around. I needed an Elijah in that moment.

And over the years, I’ve had plenty of other Elijahs. And they’ve been a huge part of my story. I could spend all day telling you about my own personal Mt. Rushmore of influences who have helped form me in so many ways.

But what about you? Who are the Elijahs that God has placed in your life, the ones who’ve walked up and put their arm around you? Who are the men and women who have spiritually formed you by their example? Let’s praise God for these “spiritual parents” today.

Here you have these two men: the older prophet Elijah, whose name means “My God is the Lord”; and his younger apprentice Elisha, whose name means “My God saves.” So we’re primed to see this succession from one leader to the next.

Only, it doesn’t happen. Not immediately.

No, Elijah has plenty of ministry left in him. For possibly as long as 10 years, Elijah keeps serving and teaching and carrying out God’s will. In fact, we don’t come across Elisha’s name again until 2 Kings 2. Elisha serves quietly under the leadership of Elijah until his time comes. Here’s 2 Kings 2:1-8:

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

Elijah travels the same route as Joshua when he entered the land.

  • Josh. 4 – Gilgal is the first place the Israelites camped after they crossed the Jordan River.
  • Josh. 5&6 – The fall of Jericho
  • Josh. 7&8 – Bethel plays a key role in Israel’s military success.

Elijah’s path parallels the path of Joshua and Israel during the conquest of the promised land. Only this time, rather than entering the land, Elijah is preparing to leave it.

Elijah uses the cloak, strikes the Jordan river, walk through on dry ground. Doesn’t this sound a lot like another story? Moses leads the people out of Egypt in the Exodus, parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). But this also happened again — in Joshua 3 when Joshua led the people into the Promised Land.

Now, hundreds of years later, Elijah and Elisha experience the same thing; the miraculous power of God as they cross over the Jordan. Another exodus is going to take place here.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Once they cross, Elijah turns to Elisha and says, “Before I go, what can I do for you?”

Elisha answers, “I want a double portion of your spirit.” Elisha has seen his teacher do some incredible things in the name of God and he wants to be able to follow suit.

V11 – As they’re speaking, a chariot of fire appears and separates them. The text says Elijah is then taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha cries out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

And maybe there’s the most heartbreaking line of all: And Elisha saw him no more.

Elisha tears his clothing, an act of grieving. But it also prepares him for what’s next: Elijah’s cloak has fallen, and Elisha retrieves it. He uses the cloak to strike the water, and it parts. For the rest of his days, we can imagine Elisha walking around wearing the cloak of his master, so that everyone would always say, “There goes Elisha, wearing the cloak of Elijah.”

We’re all journeying toward Jordan. And someday, we all have to cross – that’s inevitable. One of the great blessings is that we journey with people who mentor us along the way.

  1. Maybe you’re still walking w/ your Elijah – maybe that’s the stage of life you’re in right now. Maybe you’re headed toward Gilgal and you have plenty of stops to make, much more to learn from your Elijah. If so, then praise God. Just enjoy the journey. Learn from your Dad, if he’s your Elijah. Honor him by allowing that relationship to transform you in all the ways God intends. For many of us as Dads, this is where we are; in our journey with our children, we hope to have many more years of journeying between Gilgal and Bethel and Jericho.
  2. Maybe you’re at a more specific point in your journey. Maybe you’re in between Jericho and Jordan, but you know goodbye is coming soon. What I would say to you is this: Savor these days. As hard as they may be, these are the days for goodbye, just before the chariots come. And I probably need this reminder today more than anybody: I’ll be spending the afternoon with my father-in-law, an Elijah in my life who is preparing to go over Jordan. So we’re trying to savor the moments before the chariot comes to get him.
  3. Maybe you’re like Elisha standing and watching that chariot return back to heaven’s gate. Maybe you’re standing there with torn garments, grieving because you’ve said goodbye to your Elijah already. Maybe this is the first Father’s Day without him. Maybe it’s your 20th Father’s Day without him. Either way, it’s tough when our Elijahs are taken from us; it’s heartbreaking when we see them no more as it says of Elisha.

No matter the circumstances, we all reach a point where we have a decision to make. Will we take up the mantle or not? Will we put on the cloak or not? Some of you have had the spiritual life modeled for you by godly parents every step of the way. All that’s left for you is to step up to the plate and put on the cloak of faith.

If you really want to honor the Elijah in your life, start living like him. Take up that mantle of faith that he’s left for you. If it’s not Dad, I’m guessing Elijah has been someone else in your life. Maybe it’s time for you to take up that mantle to be an Elijah for someone else.

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Things I Want to Remember: Vol 21 (Super Tiger to the Rescue)

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Jason
Super Tiger to the Rescue

Super Tiger to the Rescue

Joshua wrote this short story the other day for Jackson. It’s called Super Tiger to the Rescue. I’m preserving it here, spelling and all, with my translation notes in parentheses. I smell another Hollywood blockbuster superhero-origin-story here.

Once ther lived an tiger he was like an enny (any) other tiger. One sunny day he was in the rainforist looking fore some food then he saw a rabit he crouched down weaied (I have no idea) to jump on it eat fore dinner when it got quiet he jumped at the rabiet he bared his teeth. But the rabiet with it’s eye’s full of fear leaped away and the tiger hit the ground hard. His ankel was in pain he looked back and saw that his ankel had ben twsided (twisted) and cout (caught) in a net with thorns. Then a hunter with a shotgun cam up to the tiger. “Hey! Bill come fast!” Then a man came up to and saw that the tiger had ben cout (caught) in ther new net he took a hunting knife and cut the rope the tiger tried to get up but his ankel was hurt bad.

One day latter (later) the young tiger woke up and got his leg cut of (off). But a man cam in with a wite (white) coat and put a mettel (metal) leg on him and the tiger got a cape. Now known as SUPER TIGER!

THE END

More Supper (Super) Hero books coming soon!

Classic.

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All Things New

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Jason

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” — Revelation 21:5

A few weeks ago, we decided to get away for a short vacation. On the heels of an extremely busy summer, we knew we needed a break. But this was more than a simple case of needing some rest and relaxation. Following the death of my father-in-law, we also knew we needed time to grieve, to breathe, and to reflect. A week at the beach was exactly what we needed on a soul level.

IMG_0635It had been a year or two since our last trip to the beach. Last time, our kids were still afraid of the ocean and all the creepy, crawly living things that swim past your ankles. But this time, it was different. The ocean became a vast playground for them with waves to ride and seashells to collect and fish to catch. (We did all three of these things.) As I watched them running along the sand, drinking in the experience, I realized that this trip was exactly what my children needed: after being introduced to the grown-up realities of illness and death this year, they needed time to be kids again. Their laughter was balm to my heart.

The trip was therapeutic for Sunny and me as well. I spent an afternoon simply watching the water. The ocean really seems to be a living entity unto itself, perpetually moving and speaking. Its unexplainable magnetism draws me to quiet, still places and allows me to hear a voice that is often drowned out by the noise of routine. In the course of that hour, I witnessed the ocean’s rhythms constantly wiping clean the surface of the beach. I suppose the ocean draws out a bit of childlike wonder in all of us, for I found myself drawing and writing in the sand only to have my artistic creations washed away in a matter of minutes.

IMG_0659And this caused me to reflect on a deeper reality: the ocean’s power to recreate and make new is nothing more than a reflection of the One who created this teeming pool of life in the first place. In the series of visions that John records for us, known as the book of Revelation, there is a promise that God through Jesus will one day make all things new. Life may be fleeting. Our time here may be quite like sand-scrawled script with high tide approaching. But there is also a promise of life being renewed, a promise of resurrection glory and this promise is spoken all around us.

Every minute of every day on millions of miles of beach coast around the world, the ocean declares the glory of the One who is making all things new. How can we not have the eyes to see this?

There is no mark I can leave that will not be washed clean.

There is no stain I can leave that will not be washed away.

For He is making all things new.

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Finish Strong

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Jason

374133_367037023348592_1920500034_nA few years ago, I wrote about my respect and appreciation for my father-in-law, Alan Shates. In that blog post, I recounted the story of our twins who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after being born seven weeks premature. My oldest son, Joshua, spent 31 days in the NICU and it was by far the worst month of my life. In a particularly difficult moment, Alan encouraged me not to waver but to stand strong in my faith. “I don’t know why things happen like they do,” he said, “but I know this: God’s gonna take care of this little guy.”

Alan was right. God did take care of Joshua. And I learned something about Alan that day. I learned of his deep reservoir of faith that always sustained him through difficulty. This was more than pithy bumper sticker theology. This was well worn, road tested advice from a quiet, humble man of faith. Outside that little neonatal isolette, Alan and I cried together for the first time. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.

IMG_0747“God’s gonna take care of this little guy.” I’ve thought of those words often over the last 22 months since Alan was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. I’ve thought of those words because they’ve been expressive of Alan’s faith in a God who keeps His promises. The unwavering rock of trust who encouraged me to hold fast on that NICU floor proved to be more than a preacher. He was a practitioner. His enduring legacy is one of strength in the face of the insurmountable.

There is no cure for ALS.

There is only faith in One who has the last word.

IMG_1167Alan always believed that God would take care of him, either in this life or the next. He always told me, “God has a plan for me, and I’m okay with that plan.” Of course, he was hopeful that he would have many years left to enjoy with his family. Alan had a fighting spirit in him and he was prepared to give ALS a good fight. But even in the event that things didn’t go the way he wanted, he trusted that God would take care of him. Either way, he told me repeatedly, “I’m going to finish strong.”

As his illness progressed, Alan gradually lost the ability to do small things: open bottles, tighten screws, etc. Then came the walker and the wheelchair. Even as I write this, I think back to some of the worst things I know Alan had to live through over the past 22 months. I once thought the worst thing about ALS was that it robbed you of your muscular function. Now I know that’s not true. The worst thing it takes is your dignity.

IMG_0603But here’s why I write this: I want to remember Alan’s unbreakable spirit to the very end. When he’d stumble and I’d have to catch him…or when we’d end up belly to belly as I’d be helping him off the sofa…he’d just smile and laugh and say, “Well, I never thought I’d be this close to my son-in-law!” And we’d just laugh, because what else can you do? But I knew there was something else going on. Our laughter was our own subversive way of saying, “This disease does not rob me of who I am.” He retained his playful spirit and that mischievous smile until the very end. I absolutely love that.

Toward the end, I made a point to tell Alan that he was the toughest man I’d ever known. I’d thought it for a while, but the thought crystallized sometime in the last year as I witnessed firsthand his strength of spirit as his physical life was drawing to an end. He never wavered. He never doubted. He never ranted and raved and stomped his foot. Lesser men would’ve folded. Not Alan Shates. He finished strong.

The last night of Alan’s life, I drew near to his bedside and we had our final talk. And I had the chance to tell him something he already knew, to remind him of the truth he shared with me all those years ago. “God’s gonna take care of this little guy.” I read him a few passages of Scripture: Psalm 23; Revelation 21; and this one from 2 Timothy:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8, ESV)

DSC00242The next morning, our children said their goodbyes to their grandfather. And in that tearful moment, a little boy came forward to pray for his grandfather: Joshua Alan, whose middle name is a living testament to the faith and courage of his grandfather. Joshua laid his hand on Alan’s and prayed for God to take care of his grandfather and each one of us as well.

A few hours later, Alan went to be with the Lord.

Today I bear witness to this: Alan Neal Shates fought the good fight. He finished the race. And he most definitely kept the faith.

You’re the toughest man I’ve ever known. And you’re my hero. Now go and claim your prize in Christ Jesus.

You finished strong.

Posted in Another Man, Eschatology, Family, God, Kids, Sunny | 11 Comments

Nine

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Jason

DSC00256Today is a special day around the Bybee home: we are celebrating Abby Kate and Joshua’s birthday! It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since these two were born. We used to joke that most people get to add to their family; instead, our family multiplied the day our twins were born!

I don’t have enough room to write what’s in my heart today as I give thanks for these two. Being their father is one of the best things about my life. Abby Kate has such an inquisitive mind — she always asks the deepest questions. More than anything else, this quality fuels her love of reading. Each night when I go to tuck her in bed, I know I can find her curled up beside her lamp with a good book in hand. And I love this about her. Joshua is a constant smile — sometimes its a mischievous one, but its also just his disposition. He’s constantly laughing and keeping us laughing as well. I’ll never forget those days after his caesarean birth; Sunny actually had to leave the room because her incision area was hurting from laughing at Joshua kicking his little legs up in the air. And he’s kept us laughing ever since.

Today I give thanks for nine years as Joshua and Abby Kate’s father. May God continue to bless you two as you grow into the people the Lord wants you to be.

Posted in Blessings, Family, Kids | 1 Comment

The Story: The Kingdom Torn In Two

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Jason

1 Kings 12 describes the reign of Rehoboam, who succeeds Solomon on the throne of Israel. But Rehoboam is immediately faced with an important decision: will he lighten the load of service Solomon heaped upon the people? With Jeroboam standing on deck waiting to lead a revolt, Rehoboam’s answer will determine not only the success of his administration but also the future of Israel as a united kingdom.

Rehoboam consults his father’s trusted advisors and their counsel is for the young king to speak “good words” (v7) to the people. In essence, these men see the wisdom in alleviating the burdensome load of the previous administration’s policy. But rather than heeding this sage advice, Rehoboam then turns to his younger advisors — “young men who had grown up with him” (v8). And they counsel the young king to ratchet up the intensity. “If Solomon’s reign was burdensome, then you must assert yourself as an even stronger force. You must not show weakness. You must demonstrate strength through discipline.”

Now, remember: these older advisors were men who counseled Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived! Instead of heeding their wisdom, Rehoboam opts for the strategic counsel of his childhood friends! Solomon’s first official decision in office (at least recorded in Scripture) was the wise ruling in the case of the two prostitutes in 1 Kings 3. We contrast this decision with Rehoboam’s first ruling and we see a monarch wholly unfit to rule over Israel.

We live in times where the voices of our elders are constantly minimized and marginalized. Youth is celebrated in our times — you need look no further than our magazine covers and billboards. Has any other culture tried so desperately to stem the tide of advancing age? Earlier societies considered wrinkles and greying hair as signs of esteem. Yet we’re obsessed with anti-aging products and plastic surgery.

All of which would be fine, I suppose, if we actually made room for wisdom. The problem with being young is this: you don’t know anything. Every society on earth has benefited from the wisdom and experience of elders, of those who teach us by their own scars and bruises. What happens to a society when the advice of its elders is consistently ignored? What happens to a people when the wisdom of its elders is lost? We shall soon find out.

In the book of Proverbs, much of the recorded wisdom is embodied in the voice of the father speaking to his son. It would be the height of arrogance for the son to ignore these pearls of knowledge. Yet, this is precisely Rehoboam’s failing as a leader. Can we learn from his example?

Posted in Kingdom Values, Leadership, Scripture, The Story | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Story: The King Who Had It All

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Jason

“What do you want?”

That can be a dangerous question. But it’s an important question, a question we’re confronted with throughout our lives. From our earliest days, our parents ask us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A perpetual series of decisions — from the kinds of clothes we wear to the schools we attend to the friends we make — help us answer the question.

People have long been infatuated with the idea of wish fulfillment. Sigmund Freud coined the term as far back as 1899. Of course, for Freud, he was referring to the satisfaction of an impulse or desire through a dream or through the imagination.

The_Genie_by_Blue_J23When you hear the phrase “wish fulfillment” you might picture the mythical story of the genie that appears out of a lamp to grant someone three wishes. In these stories, a person’s character is determined by what they ask for: if they ask for riches, then they’re done in by their greed; if they ask for vengeance, then they’re angry or bitter.

This gets at the underlying issue of desire. Many times, we desire the right kinds of things; other times, we want the wrong things. Our lives basically exist in the tension between these two: which desires will win out?

There is one Biblical character who is a prime example of this. Solomon was asked this very question: What do you want? Only it wasn’t some sort of Freudian dream or genie-in-a-bottle fairy tale. Solomon heard this question directly from the Lord in 1 Kings 3.

As the text begins, King David has passed away and his son, Solomon, is seated on the throne. David’s capitol, Jerusalem, expands under the leadership of Solomon. In fact, verse 1 gives us a bit of a summary statement regarding Solomon’s administration. It says that he will build up Jerusalem’s city walls, he will build the temple of the Lord and he will build a palace for himself.

City walls

Temple

Royal palace

One way to look at Solomon’s life is to look at the structures that he built. Each one of these demonstrates the desires competing within Solomon.

City walls – built for the good of the people; serves to keep out predators, enemies.

Temple – built for the glory of the Lord; a place for Him to be worshiped.

Royal palace – built for gratification of self; it takes Solomon twice as long to build the palace as it does the temple.

Solomon’s life is summed up by the structures he built. Each structure reflects one of Solomon’s desires. More to say about that in a moment.

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” (1 Kings 3:4-5, ESV)

Solomon journeys to Gibeon and makes a tremendous sacrifice: 1,000 burnt offerings! This is an extravagant expression of devotion to God! As you’re going to see, Solomon doesn’t do anything halfway. And remember that number (1,000)…it’s going to come in to play again in just a moment.

God is so pleased with Solomon that He says, “Ask for whatever you want and I’ll give it to you.” Can you imagine hearing the Lord say this to you? What do you say?

Solomon responds by saying, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David…you have continued this great kindness to me. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”(v6-9)

This is Solomon at his best; he’s humble, doesn’t believe he’s capable of the task ahead of him without God’s help. So he asks for a discerning heart, which literally means “a hearing heart.” He wants to be able to hear, perceive, discern in order to properly govern the people. Solomon wants to hear the needs of the people in order to properly lead them. The word “govern” is also rendered “judge”. It’s the word used to describe the activity of the judges in Israel who would deliver the people from the oppression of their enemies and lead them properly. Elsewhere it’s used to hear the case of the poor and the downtrodden.

This is so interesting: Solomon has a blank check from God; ask for whatever you want. And he asks for something that will benefit the people. Such a selfless request!

So back to our three structures: this same desire leads Solomon to build up the walls of the city. It’s for the good of the people.

Application: Do you have a desire to do something good for the sake of your fellow man? To serve the world? This is a good impulse, a good desire. Jesus tells us to pursue this impulse, to love our neighbors.

But that’s not all Solomon asks for; he also wants a discerning heart in order to properly listen to God, to have spiritual perception, awareness that he might be able to discern between right and wrong. Solomon wants to do right in the eyes of the Lord; he wants to glorify God. And this is the same sort of impulse that will lead him to build the temple. And this is no small task! Solomon wants to create space for God to be properly worshipped. He’s made 1,000 sacrifices at Gibeon; now he wants a place where God can be worshipped continually.

Application: Can you see how this relates to you also? In your time as a Christ follower, you’ve done much to build up the temple of the Lord. Maybe you’ve gone on mission trips around the world, but I’m willing to bet you’ve also been a vital part of the Lord’s church here at home. You’ve shared Jesus with your friends; you’ve demonstrated the love of God to the people around you. Solomon’s love for God led him to build the temple; your love for God has animated you, too.

But it’s this last structure — the matter of the royal palace — that gets Solomon into trouble. Let’s look at 1 Kings 11.

Ch10 is basically summarized in one verse, v23: King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. God grants Solomon his request and then some…gives him wealth and prestige and tremendous knowledge. We might say Solomon had it all.

But tragically, his heart was not content. Read 11:1-9

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

Solomon’s appetite has tragic consequences. His appetite for political expansion leads to all of these arranged marriages. His sexual appetite contributes to this huge number of concubines as well.

It begins as a seemingly slight accommodation. Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 17 have these restrictions on intermarrying with foreign peoples who would lead Israel into idolatry. But Solomon thinks, “This won’t happen to me. It’s just an insignificant law. I’m still obedient to the ‘big ones’.”

And once again, we see that there’s no such thing as partial obedience. Accommodation always leads to enslavement.

Solomon takes into his royal palace 700 wives – princesses, royal arranged marriages – and another 300 concubines (viewed as something like a “secondary wife” in a polygamous culture). Even if you take into account that some of these marriages are political arrangements, this is still an obscene number that is indicative of the unchecked passions that will bring Solomon down.

Do you remember those 1,000 sacrifices Solomon made before the Lord at Gibeon? I can’t help but note the symmetry of these 1,000 women and what it says about them in v4: As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God.

Solomon’s emphasis on his royal palace – and the gratification of self – leads to the construction of a final structure: high places, locations for idol worship.

Three gods mentioned here that Solomon worships:

  1. Ashtoreth (v5) – God of Sidonians; worship involved ritualized prostitution w/ both male & female prostitutes serving as “priests” in the cult.
  2. Molech (v5) – God of Ammonites – detestable worship practices, including child sacrifice.
  3. Chemosh (v7) – God of Moabites – also required child sacrifice.
    1. Do you remember us mentioning this one in our study of Ruth? I told you that I believe this is likely one of the gods Ruth denounced when she left Moab and told Naomi, “Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.”
    2. Now Solomon willfully turns back to this god; Chemosh has infiltrated the promised land of God by infiltrating the heart of the king.

How did this happen? Solomon was the king who had it all. What happened?

Solomon’s desire for gratification of self began to outweigh his desire to do good on behalf of the people…and it certainly became stronger than his desire to glorify God. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 19:3, A man’s own folly ruins his life.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: What do you really want? What mark will you leave on the world?

Will it be a life of self-gratification or selfless service to the world?

Will it be a life spent in the worship of the One True God or one of the false gods of our age?

What do you want?

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Things I Want to Remember, Vol. 20

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Jason

It’s been a while since I’ve made one of these posts. I hope I can remember everything I wanted to post here!

  • I really want to remember the prayers Joshua leads. Tonight at dinner, he thanked God for our nation, those who defend it, etc. But lately he’s started praying, “God, we also pray for our enemies. Especially the ones we’re fighting against right now.” I’m so proud of Joshua. He’s always had such a natural inclination toward prayer. I feel like we’re raising a little contemplative here! And I’m especially thankful that his prayer life grounds his identity in ways that extend beyond nation or tribe. Very proud of my boy.
  • Beaming with pride

    Beaming with pride

    I want to remember how proud Jackson was of his karate accomplishments this spring. He’s never been much of a “team sports” kind of kid, but karate is right up his alley. He quickly acclimated to all the precise, technical moves and actually advanced through a couple of stages in his first class. My favorite part is hearing him mispronounce “Hi-yah!” Instead, the standard karate phrase in Jackson-speak is “Why-yah!” This is a picture of him at his stripe ceremony back in May. Looking forward to more karate later in the fall.
  • I love Abby Kate’s defined sense of fashion. I don’t know how this sort of thing happens, but she’s been opinionated about this since she was old enough to talk. I guess some things are just innate! But I love that about my girl!
  • All three of my kids have summer birthdays and they’re still young enough that each birthday is a day they look forward to with great anticipation. Jackson just turned 6 and the twins will turn 9 tomorrow. It’s still hard to believe they’re as old as they are. We definitely consider them a blessing from the Lord.
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2013 MLB All-Star Ballot

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Jason

With only a few days left to fill out your ballot, I’m here to help you cast your vote for the MLB All-Star Game. (Remember, now there’s something at stake! Home field advantage in the World Series! Which is an incredibly important advantage to give to the winner of an arbitrary exhibition game!)

Anyway, here’s who I’m voting for (and who you should probably vote for as well):

American League

1B – Chris Davis – Baltimore. If you aren’t aware of the monster first half this guy is having, you probably have no business filling out a ballot.

2B – Jason Kipnis – Cleveland. He’s right there with Cano in every statistical category with the exception of stolen bases, which he leads 19-5.

SS – J.J. Hardy – Baltimore. Nobody else even merits your consideration.

3B – Miguel Cabrera – Detroit. This guy is unreal. Best player in the game right now. But it’s amazing how quickly Manny Machado has asserted himself as a star.

C – Joe Mauer – Minnesota. Salvador Perez should be the caddie, not Matt Wieters. I hope you’re listening, Jim Leyland.

DH – Edwin Encarnacion – Toronto. Why is this a category? Ridiculous. If you have to “play” a true DH, then EE is your guy, I guess.

OF – Mike Trout – Anaheim; Nelson Cruz – Texas; Adam Jones – Baltimore. I also gave serious consideration to Jacoby Ellsbury.

How’s this for a lineup?

  1. Trout
  2. Mauer
  3. Cabrera
  4. Davis
  5. Encarnacion
  6. Jones
  7. Cruz
  8. Hardy
  9. Kipnis

National League

1B – Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona. Statistically, Goldschmidt deserves the nod over Joey Votto. But the “eye test” tells me Votto is one of the most gifted hitters of his generation. Still, Goldy should get the start. Allen Craig deserves honorable mention here, too.

2B – Matt Carpenter – St. Louis. I know others will make the case for Brandon Phillips here, but Carpenter is outhitting him by exactly 50 points. Plus Carpenter is 2nd in the league in runs while playing everyday at a new position.

SS – Jean Segura – Milwaukee. Tulo was on his way to an incredible start before his annual DL stint. Insert Segura, the absolute catalyst for the Brew Crew this year.

3B – David Wright – New York. In addition to carrying the sentimental vote, Wright has simply outclassed the competition so far this season.

C – Yadier Molina – St. Louis. I’ll grant you that Buster Posey hits more HRs than Yadi. Otherwise, the heart and soul of the Cardinals can do everything Posey can do…only better. Always the premiere defensive backstop in the league, Molina is now vying for a batting title in his prime.

OF – Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado; Carlos Beltran – St. Louis; Dominic Brown – Philadelphia. A case could be made for Michael Cuddyer, too. It looks like Harper will get the nod over Brown (not that it’s even close). But in a perfect world, Brown’s torrid first half would merit the start. Expect Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce to be there, too.

Here’s the NL Lineup:

  1. Segura
  2. Gonzalez
  3. Beltran
  4. Goldschmidt
  5. Wright
  6. Molina
  7. Brown
  8. Carpenter

Not quite as intimidating as the AL squad, but fearsome nonetheless.

All-Star voting ends this weekend.

Posted in Baseball, Sports | Tagged , | 4 Comments