Rappin’ With Rick

After we hosted the Walk Thru the Bible conference years ago, Schar decided she could simplify the hand motions we were taught to help remember the major Bible events in chronological order, and teach them to our kids in Sunday School. She did so, and many of the kids who have gone through her training still use those hand motions when reviewing Bible history. It was to the picturing of Saul with no heart, David with a whole heart, and Solomon with half a heart that I was referring when I sought your prayers for a successful heart ablation.

In a heart ablation, the spots inside your heart that are triggering an erratic heart beat are burnt or frozen. When it was first being done it required open heart surgery, but now it’s done through catheters inserted in your groin and neck. When Anna found out I had parts of my heart frozen, she asked if was now going to be cold-hearted. I assured her that I wouldn’t, and that I trusted that even though parts of my heart had been killed, I would still have a whole heart with which to serve God.

Our ability to serve God with a whole heart, of course, is not dependent upon the condition of our physical heart. And if anyone needs to be assured of that fact, all they need do is look at Schar.

Schar had open heart surgery in 2006 to replace a faulty heart valve with a mechanical one. Then in 2014, after enjoying a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal with the Carrolls and Wenneborgs, she went into AFib. The doctors tried to correct it with a heart ablation, but couldn’t do all that was needed because of the metal valve in her heart. She then needed another valve replaced through open heart surgery in 2015. When she now goes into AFib she knows it, because it sounds like castanets are in her chest.

I tell you all this to not only assure you of my desire to continue serving with a whole heart, but to honor Schar for doing so. She is not only the author of our children’s curriculum, but constantly revises it while teaching both her class and Wee Worship with a whole heart, and has been doing so for nearly 35 years.

You will get a brief look at the success of her program this Sunday morning when teachers share what they have been teaching, and students who are going into Junior High are promoted.

God Bless, Rick

Scripture is filled with admonitions to praise the Lord with song, and singing is what I think was taking place in Isaiah’s vision of the throne of God. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

It doesn’t actually say they were singing, but we know according to Job 38:7 that at creation the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. We also find singing in heaven when the Lamb of God was seen standing on Mount Zion. “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne.” (Revelation 14:2-3)

The point of what I’m saying is simply that I generally think of songs being offered to God around His throne. I read something the other day in Zephaniah 3:17, however, that painted for me a new, and very exciting picture of singing and the throne of God. When I read it, it almost gave me goosebumps, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read it before.

I proceeded to read it from my NASV, and while it’s a beautiful picture, it didn’t do for me what I read from the NKJV that’s in my chronological Bible.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy” is no doubt a more literal translation than, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing”, but I really love the picture of God singing from His throne when He sees His people living lives that honor Him.

Let’s keep God singing this week!

God Bless, Rick

We know what God has said about the future is true, because everything He said was going to take place in the past has proven to be true. Last week we learned of an interesting prophecy Isaiah revealed on the streets for three years, and this week we’re going to look at some amazing prophecies God gave to him about two individuals. We are very familiar with the first one.

Every Christmas we revisit Isaiah 7:14.“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” And during the Easter season we’re reminded that in Isaiah 53 we were told what Jesus was going to do for us long before He did it. “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”

Between the 7th and 53rd chapters we find some prophecies about another individual that some find even harder to believe than the prophecies about our Lord. The 44th chapter closes with these words: “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” And in the 45th chapter we read, “I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.”

Not only did Cyrus not know God, God called him by name 150 years before he sat on the throne of Persia. The record of him fulfilling all God said he would do is found in the closing verses of II Chronicles and Ezra.“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus.”

Jeremiah had revealed that the children of Israel would be allowed to return to Israel after 70 years of captivity, and the Jewish historian Josephus stated that the captives (Daniel was among them and may have been the primary spokesman) showed Cyrus the prophecies which contained his name and described his role in fulfilling the plans of God.

Our confidence in the future is rock solid, because as God told Isaiah, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

God Bless, Rick

I think every Christian loves to read their favorite passages from the Bible. It’s good to hear again and again the accounts of Jesus’ life, and be reminded of all the promises made to us by our heavenly Father. When we venture into unknown areas of the Bible, however, we sometimes find ourselves scratching our head.

Two who are reading through the Bible with me this year recently found things in Isaiah that raised questions they wanted answered. The first was concerning Isaiah’s attire, or lack thereof.

In the 20th chapter we read that God told Isaiah to loosen the sackcloth from his hips, and take off his shoes. He did so, and went naked and barefoot for three years.

“Did he really go stark naked?” was the question. It’s a question commentators have struggled with for years. It seems so unlike God to actually tell someone to go naked, and all kinds of attempts have been made to cover up the bare facts. But the bottom line is that God was using Isaiah to warn a disobedient people that they were going to be led away as captives; naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered to their shame. It is shocking, but it exposes the extent to which God will go in an attempt to bring people to repentance.

The second question was related to all the details about people and places and events that are pretty much meaningless to us today. Of course, that should be expected of 2,700 year old history with which we are unfamiliar. Those who lived it knew it to be true, and Isaiah was told to write down his prophecies so they could serve in the time to come as a witness to the truthfulness of what he was saying. Even if we don’t take the time to actually dig into the history, the details presented give us the assurance that the Bible is not fantasy, but an actual record of historical facts.

Don’t be afraid to venture into that which is unknown to you in the Bible. You may not understand everything you read, but I guarantee you’ll learn things about God that you didn’t know.

God Bless, Rick

We were encouraged by the Apostle Paul last Sunday to think of, and treat one another, as family. I noted that some have bought into that idea more than others, and through involvement in church functions and activities have actually found some of their closest relationships developing within the church. The key, of course, is involvement with others.

Coming together regularly on Sunday mornings is obviously a good thing, and there is a beautiful sense of community when we worship together. Deep friendships, however, usually require more than a shared pew, and we therefore offer additional opportunities to study, play, work, and eat together. Those who take advantage of such often find something unexpected taking place. I know it did in Mexico.

When I asked Anna, my 13 year old granddaughter, what her favorite thing was about the trip to Mexico, she said it was the bonding that took place. When I asked her who she bonded with, she said everyone. When I pressed her further, she specifically mentioned Kirk, Andrew, Tate, and Judy Marlow.

In case you missed Kirk’s meditation last week, he noted the language barrier that existed while working in Mexico. He went on to explain that it took him three days to understand what the teens were saying. Apparently they ended up connecting pretty well. He also mentioned the age spread in the group, and that was created by Anna and Judy. Again, something unexpectedly beautiful can take place when we spend time together. We can actually come to know, and grow to love one another, as family.

In view of that, it’s been suggested that it’s time to resurrect Dinner-8. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a simple program where four couples are encouraged to have pot-lucks in one another’s homes. We haven’t done it in several years, and I’ve made some revisions to the program that lessen the time commitment. Details can be found inside, and I’m hopeful that many, especially those newer to our family, will sign up.

God Bless, Rick