 I am helping my daughter look for a car to replace her aging Chevy. She has a certain model she is looking for, under so many miles, and within her budget. She has saved up and is ready to pay cash. She does not have any color preference, but does want the car to be an all-wheel drive and have a car rack.
I found a car that fit her criteria. The morning we were going to look at it, I called the dealership and was told the car sold the day before. Okay. My daughter and I prayed for the Lord to help us find the car that would fit the criteria and be a reliably good vehicle. Another car was found right in our community. It was higher than her budget, but we made an offer. Not accepted. After another paycheck, my daughter had enough to pay full price if that is what it came down to getting a purchase. We went back to the dealership with a higher offer in mind, but not full price. The car was sitting there with a SOLD sign on the windshield. It sold the day before for full price. Today, we were going to a town further away look at another car. I felt that God was directing our path. My daughter was wrestling with the whole process and just wanted to stay home. She told the Lord that she would go look even though she just wanted to stay home and get some other projects accomplished. I sent a text to the salesman I had contacted the day before and told him we would come this afternoon. He called me to tell me, you guessed it, it sold yesterday. Does God help people buy cars? Is He really involved in this process? Proverbs 20:24 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? Jesus told a story about a rich man who had a year of abundant crops. He ran out of storage so, he made a plan to tear down his barns and build bigger storage sheds so he can take life easy. His life was demanded from the Lord that very night for being greedy and not rich towards God. After telling this story, Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.” Luke 12:22 I think God is directing our steps even though it is hard to understand. I know for certain that we are not to be worried about it. What do you think, would God help you buy a car?
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 When the people of Israel were delivered from Egypt, God led them for forty years in a remarkably clear manner.
Exodus 40:36-38 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels. Sometimes, the cloud only stayed overnight and moved on. Other times it remained for months. Amazingly, God’s people only moved when God moved. They did not follow most of the things God told them to follow. While Moses was on the mountain with God, the people made an idol when God told them not to make idols. They worked on the Sabbath when God told them not to work. They collected more manna than they could eat when God told them not to and it spoiled. God told them no manna would come on the Sabbath and to collect extra the day before the Sabbath. They went out to look anyways and found none. I believe that that people followed the cloud and the fire completely for forty years. We do not read that any stayed back when the cloud lifted. Nobody went out when the cloud remained. This one area they fully obeyed. Sometimes, I want God to lead me in an obvious manner. Every follower of Jesus who is baptized in the Holy Spirit should be led by the Spirit. Sometimes, I just am not hearing or sensing the leading by the Holy Spirit and I want a cloud or pillar of fire. Cloud sourcing and fire sourcing must be from the Holy Spirit. The Lord has told us that the Holy Spirit will guide those who are willing to follow.  It is the third Monday of February, which means that today is President’s Day. It is a federal holiday. No mail. Some banks are closed, although my bank was open. For most of us, it is a regular work day. Officially, it is still Washington’s Birthday. However, it is not celebrated on Washington’s birth date of February 22 because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by President Richard Nixon in 1971. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved Washington’s birthday, Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day to fall on a Monday so the nation’s workers would have more three day weekends. It was also believed that having the holidays fall on the same day of the week (Monday) would result in less absenteeism. After wide spread criticism, in 1980 Veteran’s Day was returned to its original November 11 date. The rest remained on a pre-determined Monday. We know the dates of these events and celebrate them on a different date. The exact date Jesus was born, crucified or resurrected is not known, but we celebrate them on predetermined dates. Does it cheapen the meaning? Some feel it does. Most do not mind. There was concern in the early church about whether a good Christian should observe the holy days celebrated by the Jews for many centuries. Some felt strongly that they should and others felt strongly that they should not because they were living under a new covenant, a new promise. Paul writes this: Romans 14:5-6 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. If you celebrate Passover, Easter, or President’s Day, you should do it to the LORD.  This is the story of a lost camera: I do not take pictures often, but I decided to take some pictures at a volleyball tournament in Wisconsin. My daughter has coached a JV and Varsity team that did well last year. After some great games, good pictures and her team winning the championship, I went home. Several weeks later, I wanted to take some pictures at an event, but I could not find the camera. After a few days I concluded that I left it at the volleyball tournament. My daughter called the gym, but no camera. This was October. In January, my wife found the camera in the back of a cabinet drawer in the kitchen. Jubilation, the camera was found! Last week, I pulled out the recently found camera. I charged up the low battery with plans of taking some pictures at our men’s ice fishing trip. I began scrolling through to look at the volleyball pictures. It was then that I realized the “found” camera was my younger daughter’s. Our camera was still lost. Bummer. Jesus cares about lost things. He told three stories about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. In each story, a person was desperately searching for what was lost. There was celebration when what was lost was found. Jesus told this story to show how much He cares for people who are lost. He is the one desperately searching and He celebrates whenever a person becomes found. Jesus knew where they were all along. They were lost, but He knew where they were. You can read this in Luke 15. Today, I was noticing the bottom of my computer brief was getting worn. I had emptied the brief several times looking for the camera, but there was a lump in the back outside pocket. The camera was not lost; I just could not find it until today. Rejoice with me, I found our lost camera. Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Today, is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season. I did not grow up participating in Lent. I thought it was silly to have an ash mark on Ash Wednesday. I wondered if people were Hindu. Giving up sweets or coffee did not appeal to me!
I learned some remarkable things about Lent from an article by Brian Backe, a senior director at Catholic Relief Services.(CNN) Starting on Ash Wednesday, more than 1 billion Christians around the world will enter the season of Lent, a time of solemn spiritual preparation for Easter, the culmination of the church's calendar. Despite its ancient history (Lent became standardized in the Catholic Church around the year 325) myths about Lenten traditions abound. Here are five of the most common: Myth 1: Lent is 40 days Counting from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, there are 46 days. Then why do we always refer to the 40 days of Lent? The 40 days of fasting during Lent do not include Sundays. Every Sunday Christians commemorate the day of Christ's resurrection, thus, Sunday by its nature is a day of joy and celebration. The Sundays during Lent are not prescribed days of fasting and abstinence, so meat is permitted. Myth 2: Lent ends on Easter Sunday Lent ends on Holy Thursday. The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday an ends on Holy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus' last supper with His disciples. Myth 3: Catholics abstain from meat during Lent Only on Fridays during Lent are Catholics required to abstain from meat in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made on Good Friday. According to abstinence laws, meat includes warm-blooded animals and birds. Fish and other cold-blooded animals are not prohibited. Local Catholic bishops may determine specific foods included in abstinence. This can lead to interesting exceptions. For instance, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, eating muskrat is allowable on Fridays during Lent. Puffin, beaver and alligator are permissible in some places, too! Myth 4: The Pope decides the date of Easter For nearly 1,700 years Easter has fallen on the first Sunday after the Paschal, or Passover, full moon. The earliest possible date of Easter is March 22, and the latest is April 25. The way to calculate the date of Easter was determined at a meeting of church bishops and others called the Council of Nicaea in 325. Myth 5: Jesus went into the desert for 40 days before he was put to death Actually, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his public ministry, several years before he was crucified. The 40 days of Lent are a time to remember and imitate the life and ministry of Jesus as Christians prepare to commemorate His death and resurrection at Easter.  It is time that I get back to blogging. My morning routine changed and that is when I have done all my writing. I had this unrealistic thought that I could make it work, perhaps a day or two less per week, but I was mentally determined I would keep blogging. Then, another wonderfully frustrating event occurred that thwarted my blog activity. The church got two computers. The old ones were grinding slower and slower by the week. It is wonderful to have a laptop and desktop that do not take forever to load up, does not freeze and has increased capabilities. The frustration is visible when there are four computers running in the office. The old and new laptop are open. The old and new desk tops are running because there are templates, outlines, records and files that I realized I needed transferred to the new computers.
With those major changes, I still felt I could keep up with writing. Obviously, it did not work. So, I am writing in the evening with the hopes of establishing a new rhythm. Top news items today:
After watching, listening or reading the headline news, I wonder what God thinks about our world. When I consider the computer challenges in my life, which seem quite unimportant in light of grave tragedies which profoundly affect lives, I wonder how God reacts to my self-centeredness and distractions by lesser things. Jesus told His followers that God establishes the rulers of the earth and knows unimportant details about everything. Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I will try to be consistent in my writing. Join me in trying to keep a healthy perspective in life and to know that you are valuable to God, who created you for an amazing destiny. |
Mark Radeke
Husband of one, father of five, pastor and friend of many. Archives
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