lectio divina:: psalm 22

they say that when jesus was on thew cross that He said 7 words-
they are:
1.Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
2.Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

3.Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).
4.My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).
5.I thirst (John 19:28).
6.It is finished (John 19:30).
7.Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46).

I have heard it say that maybe He wasn't saying these words from the Cross, but singing them-
that's a wild thought isn't it?
that when jesus was hanging on the cross- covered in blood and writhing in agony, He was actually singing?

how many of these 7 words come from psalm 22?
psalm 22 opens with the phrase:
"For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”
A psalm of David." it was a song before it was a psalm-
and jesus had it memorized-
and as He was hanging on the Cross, dying for your sins and mine- He sang it-

can you imagine Him singing these words there?

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent."

(we actually have it recorded that He said this in matthew 27:46)

"Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed."

(even while dying He is praising His Father in heaven-)

"But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

(we have it recorded that the crowd who saw Him said this as they passed by in matthew 27:42)

" ⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help."

(the Christmas story and the story of Good Friday are intersecting as He prays to God about His mother-)

" Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing."

(those soldiers must have been like bulls and lions around Him- nailing Him to the cross and gambling for His clothes- keep in mind that this psalm was written hundreds of years BEFORE the cross-)

"But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
²² I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help."

(even from the Cross He is telling us who fear the LORD to praise Him- even. from. the. Cross.)

"From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

 (even from the Cross- at His lowest moment He declares that God wins and that God is in control. whew.)

" All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it."

(from the Cross He is looking forward- because this is not the end for jesus-
the last line says, "He has done it." or said another way:
"IT IS FINISHED.")

when God put these words in david- He was planning the crucifixion of his Son- and preparing for the redemption that paid for your crimes and mine-
I wonder how long jesus had been planning to sing this song with His dying breaths-
since He was a boy?

God brought together the words of David, and the cruelty of the Roman Empire, and the innocence of His Only Begotten to form a moment that would be remembered from all time-

the Word of God was quoted by The Word in the form of a song-
a love song-

God is love.
-rev-rob

standing tall this fall: 2007-2011

pooh-bear pictures

I love these photos of jane and I walking from behind:
maybe it started with a childhood memory of this picture by ernest shephard:

my friend rachel took this picture of us walking in the park across the street from our house- we did not realize that we were being photographed- this maybe my favorite photo of jane and I, it is in the living room, my bedroom, my office and its my desktop wallpaper:

so when we had our pictures taken recently, I made sure that we posed for another one!



being a dad is fun.
-rob

homemade toys:: amanda pig

jane's favorite character is by far amanda pig. she has all of her books, she draws pictures of amanda, writes books about amanda, records videos about amanda, tells stories about amanda- she is amanda's number 1 fan.

unfortunately, amanda pig is a fairly obscure book character- there are no new books about her, and certainly no toys. we have made amanda pig dioramas out of scans of the book, but recently I decided to make an amanda pig out of pieces of wood from the craft store, paint and a ton of wood putty. I think it turned out pretty well-

being a dad is fun.
-rob

fantastic-friday

last friday was fantastic.

deanna, jane and I went camping at our favorite KOA in santa cruz, then we came home and I worked on one of my home made toys for jane, then we went out to eat. as we rolled into our parking lot, I got a call from my friend dave. he said that he locked his keys in his car and needed a ride- I told him I'd be right there. then he called again and needed some help moving some stuff. I rolled my eyes.

I met him at the church, grabbed the chairs that he needed to move and walked into one of our church's main rooms, venue 2. as I walked in, I noticed my ministry's logo on the screens. I thought, "who left these screens on?! who is using my logo?!" and then the lights flipped on and a crowd of friends jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!" I thought, "did I just mess up someone's surprise party?" and I saw that all these people were MY friends! this party was for me! they had all gathered to celebrate my ten years at the church. they totally got me good! the place was filled with the faithful 678 volunteers, parents of students, former students, current students, and my former college students. best of all, deanna and jane soon joined the crowd. I couldn't belive that they would go to such an effort for me- and that they all kept it a secret from me!

what followed was one blessing after another. there was a video with photos and touching testimonies from students and former students-
leanne shared many meaningful memories- niki did as well. the words that they shared were so deeply encouraging that I haven't fully taken them in yet. jeff got up and played a version of "where the streets have no name" with a new title, "our super-pastor." so cool. it was definitely one of those "this is your life" moments.

Dave asked me to get up and I shared what I could remember of an earlier blog post of what I might say in this situation.

I received many thoughtful and gracious cards, notes, and gifts- the thoughtfulness and generosity of these friends was overwhelming. this was one of the most humbling and beautiful experiences that I can remember.

everyone kept telling me about how long they have been planning this and how hard it was to keep it a secret. just the other day I was talking with Dave and noting that no one had noticed my ten year anniversary at the church. he just giggled.

it made me think that God must giggle like that to Himself quite a lot. down here, we lament and complain about all kinds of things, and I'm sure that He is up there thinking, "you have no idea how I'm going to bless you! I've been planning this for so long! I have gone to such great lengths to prepare an amazing surprise for you!" and He must get such a kick out of seeing us react to the amazing blessings that He brings into our lives. I wonder if He has a sense of excitement as we are about to discover something new from Him.

"for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -jeremiah 29:11

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

all of you blessed my socks off. I can't thank you enough for the effort that you went to to make me feel special; and I can't thank God enough for allowing me to have all of you as friends.

God is love.
-rev-rob

wonderful-wednesday

last wednesday was wonderful.

it started out in the morning with my daily weigh-in. I had been hovering around -48 pounds for weeks. some days it was -48.5, others it was -49, but never-50. but on wednesday morning, I saw that number on the scale that I had been looking for for weeks: -50lbs! nothing could wreck this day after seeing that.

my wonderful wednesday continued when I got to work. I have been out of an office for almost 4 months (more on this later). there was a lot of remodeling going on, and I was displaced. I had heard that I might be landing soon. I heard that a specific office was picked out for me, but it was occupied by another worker- they still needed to move out. for days I peeked into the window and saw that nothing had moved, but on Wednesday, I looked in the door and saw that the office was empty! it was mine to claim- a blank canvas to fill- I was elated.

my wonderful wednesday continued when I went to a big meeting with our family ministry team. we did one of those SWOT analysis talks where we went through each ministry and discussed the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. I felt a little nervous about what people might say were the weaknesses of my ministry. When it was my ministry's turn to be discussed, my boss asked, "what are the strengths of the middle school ministry?" and my peers said the kindest, most gracious and most encouraging statements about me and the middle school ministry. I have often wondered how they saw the work that I do, and hearing their kind words encouraged the socks off of me.

after that meeting I drove to another meeting and on the way, I called my wife and told her the wonderful-wednesday that I was having. she was very excited for me as well.

when I got home, I walked up the stairs of my condo and saw a big CONGRATULATIONS banner hung on the stairs. I unlocked the door and walked in, but didn't see or hear Deanna or Jane. I did see more banners as well as lots of colorful balloons. just then, Deanna and Jane jumped out from behind the couch and yelled, "SURPRISE!!!"
"what is all of this for?" I asked.
"we just wanted to celebrate with you your great day." they said.
jane handed me a wrapped present- it was a drawing of our family that she made and had framed- for my new office.
after that, we all went out to dinner and had chocolate fondue for dessert!

what a wonderful-wednesday-
and what a wonderful-wife and daughter.
I've got no complaints- only thanks-

life is good.
God is good.
God is love.
-rev-rob

fall vacation 2011

last week, deanna, jane and I took what we think was our best vacation ever-
we went over the hill to a place that I have often taken students- the santa cruz koa.

I knew that jane would love this place- they had a jumpy-pillow-trampoline, bikes to rent, and little cabins with bunk-beds. I wasn't sure how she would deal with the bathroom building and the outdoors, but she loved every minute of it- and so did deanna and I.

while we were there, we did a lot of relaxing, a lot of book-reading, swimming, beach-combing, and a lot of game playing. each night there, we made a fire and had family-game-night. one night we went to the beach and watched the sun set into the pacific ocean while we sat next to a fire-pit.
what made things even more relaxing is that we were basically the only ones there.
we're already talking about visiting there again-
here are some of the memories that we captured with our blackberries:

 this is a picture of jane playing her nintendo DS, and me reading my kindle out in front of our cabin.

on the second night we were there, jane tried something brand new and slept on the TOP BUNK!

being a dad is fun.
-rob

lectio divina:: 2 chronicles 20

I was reading in 2 Chronicles today at lunch and found something that I haven’t found before- it’s a story about king jehoshaphat- and he has a big problem-

verse 2 says: “Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea.”

that’s a big problem. what does king Jehoshaphat do in response?
I guess the bigger question is, “what do you do when you have a big problem?”
what do I do?

I usually freak out for a bit- worry, feel sorry for myself, and think about how I’m going to get out of the big problem. sometimes I try to just work and work until my problem is fixed. some people talk about the problem or throw money at the problem (unless money IS the problem). look at what Jehoshaphat does:

verse 2 says: “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”

Jehoshaphat first response was to pray about the problem. I need to develop this habit. Jehoshaphat resolved to pray about the problem- and he invited everyone else to pray about it too- because it was their problem too. I love what it says in verse 4: “The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”

I love that! even though it must have been really scary, everyone got together and prayed and sought God and His help. this is a cool moment.

as a leader- I really appreciate jehoshaphat’s humility here. as leaders we want everyone to think that we know what to do in every situation. we want everyone to feel like we’re the best person for the job because of how smart we are.
but in this situation, Jehoshaphat doesn’t know what to do- or maybe he does.
the best thing to do is not to preach or teach or administrate or delegate, the best thing to do is to pray. even his prayer are pretty cool.

verse 5 says, “Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said:
“O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.  O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”

he doesn’t start his prayer with a big “HELLLLLPPP! fix my problems! get me out of my mess! be my magic genie!” he begins with worship- and reminding God (but really himself) just how powerful that God is.

then he gets to the requests:

verse 10 says, “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, … coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.”

verse 12 is my favorite part: “…we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

I love that prayer! it represents so much humility and wisdom-
and I think it was the tipping point that urged God to act. what happens next is pretty amazing:

verse 13: “All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel … as he stood in the assembly. He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

how wild is that?! they were all just standing there, waiting for God to answer, and this message bursts out of this guy Jahaziel- wouldn’t that be amazing if that happened every time we prayed? I think I would pray a lot more! and I love his message to the people: “for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

when are motives are right, and our cause ir right, God has the freedom to step in for us like a big brother and say to us, “I’ll handle this…” and He is so much better at handling our problems than we are. there have been several situations that I can remember where I have been stressed over a problem and God just seemed to handle it for me. I didn’t need to get in an argument or confrontation, God stepped in and made it all better.

verse 17 says, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’”

that will give you confidence- the LORD will be with you- and we can have that confidence if our cause are our motives are right.

I love what the Israelites did as they stepped into this battle:

verse 18: “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.”

they didn’t get overconfident, they just kept on praying and worshipping.
I wish I could say that I did that too in every problem that I‘ve faced-

verse 20: “Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever.”

how is that for leadership?! “you guys are in charge of the singing and worshipping!” somehow jehoshaphat knew that prayer and worship- and really humility, were the keys to winning this battle and getting on the other side of this problem.
God loves humility- and its amazing how people are drawn to it and want to work with humble people.

God did defeat their enemies just like He said He would. Jehoshaphat worshipped his way into this problem, and then he worshipped his way out of it-

verse 27: “Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lutes and trumpets.”

I love it. what a model of humilty, faith and leadership-

I don’t know what problem you’re facing today, but before you talk to your friends about it or seek advice from the internet, talk to God about it. before you act and start fixing it, stop and tell God that He is big enough to step over the obstacle that is in front of you. take time to say to God, “I do not know what to do, but my eyes are upon You.”

God is love.
-rev-rob

a brand new me-

a few months ago I started counting calories, and I have now lost 35 pounds! that's kind of cool!

its fun to have my clothes fit loosly on me and to get good news from the scale in the morning.

I miss a lot of the junk that I used to eat- especially starbucks and mcdonald's- but I'm really grateful for skinny cow ice cream and KFC grilled chicken!

I've got some weight-loss resolutions- or things I've seen other people do when they've dropped weight that I don't want to do:

• I'm not going to judge what people eat or how they look. you won't catch me saying "are you areally going to eat that?" I can't stand that.
• I'm not going to start flirting. I've seen a bunch of guys lose weight and think that every lady out there is after them. its sad and it does a ton of damage to people.
• I'm not going to give people unsloicited advice on how to be healthy, how to eat right or what they should or shouldn't be eating. ugh. 

so many of my friends have inspired me with their own healthy choices- my friends chris, adrian, niki, marc and my wife deanna. thanks for modeling for me how to make good choices and how to get results. I'm hoping to drop a few more and to keep it off for a long time just like all of you have done.

-rob

ministry-artist

a friend of mine gave me a copy of eugene peterson's book, the pastor- I just finished it this morning. it too awhile to finish- but its not a book that you want to read too quickly. its very similar to his translation of the bible- every word is chosen carefully, and each sentence takes time to digest.

peterson introduced a concept in the book that has had my mind spinning- the pastor as artist.

artists work for art, and they work for art for free- because they love art. they are compelled to create. they don't do it because they have to or even expect to be paid for it- as a matter of fact- many artists work a job to pay the bills- but that job doesn't define who they are or what they do- who they are and what they do is art. their jobs may be menial, but their art is serious.

artists would love to make it big and get paid for their paintings, their sculptures, the acting or dancing, but even if they didn't get paid, they would still do it, because being an artist is a vocation, not a job. its a calling, a burden, a service to the arts itself.

peterson writes: "Being a pastor is a vocation, not a job. But when I became a pastor, I soon learned that I was living in a culture that didn’t know the difference between a vocation and a job. Artists were the first men and women who gave me a way to discern the difference."

there are thousands of pastors around the globe who function as artists. they do a job to pay the bills, but they aren't defined by that job- they are defined by the mnistry that they create- they are pastors. they don't do their ministry to get a paycheck, they do it out of service to the Good Pastor- the Good Shepherd Himself. what they do is a calling, a service, a burden, a joy, a vocation.

the prophet jeremiah said,
"But if I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot."

he was an artist.

I'm an artist too. although sometimes I forget that. sometimes it doesn't feel like art at all. I don't want to become one of those artists that made it to the big time and started getting paid for their art- the ones who care more about the pay than the art.

peterson asks, "how do I keep the heart of an artist? how do I keep myself from thinking that what I do is just a job? How do I keep my calling and my vocation from becoming just a job description?"

I don't have an answer. but I think that his words have got me on the right path-
or maybe back on the right path.
I need to remember that whether paid or not, I'm an artist serving the Creator-
the ultimate artist.
and I need to remember that when I began this journey- it wasn't about pay or a title, or a status or an image, it was all about the art; and the exhilaration of creating something that would endure forever. in the end its not about a job, its about a vocation.
being a pastor is a vocation, not a job.
"never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

God is love.
-rev-rob