Monday Morning Rewind- "Thankful in All Circumstances"

What are Monday Morning Rewinds?  Click here to see my original post explaining them.

Yesterday’s sermon was a stand-alone sermon, not apart of any series. This coming Sunday, I will start a Christmas sermon series. You can find info about that here. This sermon dealt with the scripture text of Numbers 13:25 – 14:12.  You can listen to this sermon here.

I asked this question- can we be thankful even when something happens that we don’t like or didn’t want it to happen?

The answer is yes, and I preached through the story of Caleb and the spies to understand this.  Numbers tells the story of God using the nation of Israel to accomplish His purposes.  It recounts their unbelief, the times they messed up the plan, and their sinful humanity.  But it also reassures us that God is working out His purposes, despite our faults.

In the story we looked at, 12 spies were sent to spy out Canaan, the Promised Land, that God was leading Israel into.  After their journey spying out the land, the spies returned to tell of the natural fertility of the land (“flowing with milk and honey”) but also the strong presence of other groups of people. 

Leaving a Legacy For My Son

What do these two Scriptures teach us?

“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.”" Genesis 17:5-9 (emphasis added)

“The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.”  Numbers 14:18

They teach us that we can leave a positive impact on our children, and that we can leave a negative impact on our children (and future generations).

So the question I kept asking in my mind was “what kind of legacy am I going to leave for my children?”

With Caleb being the only child right now, and only being 7 months old, there’s not much I can teach him yet.  But I wanted to start doing something practical now to leave a positive impact on his life and his siblings’ lives.

I thought- what do I value enough to leave a legacy built around?

Scripture. That’s it.  I want my children to know that I value the Word of God in my life.  I want them to know that beyond what they hear me teach at home or preach at church or write on the walls of our house, I’m spending my life interacting with God through His words.

So I got a journaling Bible, which is just a Bible with wide margins.  I have made this Bible my every-day reading Bible where I am writing down my interaction with Scripture- questions, thoughts, connections to other Scripture passages, etc.  I want Caleb to know that I spend time with God outside of what he (Caleb) sees, that I struggle in my life, that I don’t know everything about the Bible.  But most importantly, I want Caleb to know that I valued Scripture enough in my life to instill it into his.

I can’t wait until one day when we’re older and I give him that Bible.  By then, I hope it’s full of writing to show Caleb that his Dad is a real person who spent time with the Lord.

I Had One of Those Father Moments

Caleb in his Johhny Jumper

I’ve heard people say that you more fully understand the love of God as our Father when you have your own kids.  Well, I had one of those moments.

6 month old Caleb was given a Johnny Jumper exerciser yesterday.  So Dad needed to assemble it so that Caleb could enjoy using it.  He’s always wiggling around, so this seems like a nice thing for him to use.  He would certainly be bouncing around in his little Johnny Jumper.

So I wrestled with assembling this thing.  The directions were a little confusing, and the pieces weren’t as easy to fit together as what it looked like they would in the directions.

But then, I had my moment.

Caleb was siting on the floor playing with the box that his Johhny Jumper came in while I was trying to connect these 2 metal pieces that made up the frame of the seat.  As I’m squeezing and pushing, the two pieces snapped together with the fold of my skin between my thumb and index finger caught in between.  Needless to say, it hurt!  And made me bleed!

My first reaction (after saying “Ouch”) was saying to Caleb, “Boy, you better be grateful for what your Dad is doing for you.” And then I caught myself.

Couldn’t God say the same thing?  Except that his pain was much worse, and his blood more abundant, and the result of His work for more than just playtime.  I think I had a moment.

I was taught humility by a Johnny Jumper.