Happy Birthday Dad

Today would have been my dad’s 87th birthday. He has been dead almost 6 years now and it seems like forever. My dad was rock-solid and the leader of our family. He knew how to bear the Maney name well.

For some reason I miss him especially keenly today. I miss hearing his voice, miss his presence and his gentle sense of humor, miss going to the shoe store and watching him be part of the community he loved. I miss his stories and his perspective. I miss his advice. I miss seeing him with mom, and I miss her too.

I am sad that as the years we are separated continue to mount, and as my mind inevitably deteriorates with age, that I am going to lose a part of him I cherish, that I am going to be robbed of things I used to know about him and our family. It is already happening because in some ways it seems like he never was, and on this beautiful snowy day I feel particularly alone.

But God did bless me with him for over 50 years and for that I am thankful. Happy birthday, dad. You were born in Christ Hospital this day in Cincinnati 87 years ago. I trust even now you are in Christ’s arms, right where you should be. Thank you for being a wonderful father to me. I love and miss you.

Desiring God

Lord, you know me. Let me know you. Let me come to know you even as I am known. You are the strength of my soul; enter it and make it a place suitable for your dwelling, a possession “without spot or blemish.”

True, “we see now indistinctly as in a mirror, but not yet face to face.” Therefore so long as I am in exile from you, I am more present to myself than to you. Yet I do know that you cannot be overcome, while I am uncertain which temptations I can resist and which I cannot. Nevertheless, I have hope, because “you are faithful and do not allow us to be tempted beyond our endurance, but along with the temptation you give us the means to withstand it.”

—Augustine, Confessions 10.1, 7

From the Daily Office

Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”  So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter. Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

—Genesis 24:1-27 (TNIV)

As the life of Abraham comes to an end we again see God’s faithfulness to him. Through Abraham’s servant, God found a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. God was faithful to Abraham throughout his life and we have no reason to doubt that God remains faithful to Abraham and his descendants even now. Note too the servant’s faith in this story as well. He asked God for a sign and God delivered. Throughout the story of Abraham, we see the twin themes of God’s faithfulness and sovereignty emerge. That same faithfulness is available to us today if we appropriate it by our own faith.

How is your faith working for you?

Answers to Yesterday’s OT Quiz

Yesterday we had a little fun with the OT. Here are the answers from the passage. Make sure to refresh your memory by rereading the passage from Hebrews before looking at the answers below.

Barak: Judges 4. Warrior who fought at Deborah’s request, albeit reluctantly. As a result, she told him that his military victory would be credited to a woman. This would have been scandalous in that culture.

Gideon: Judges 6. Questioned the LORD when called to fight the Midians (“Is the LORD with us or not?). He ultimately delivered but had to be “persuaded” by the Lord.

Jephthah: Judges 11. Mighty warrior, son of a prostitute who fell from his family’s graces and had to flee from them. Was called to deliver the Israelites from the Ammonites, which he did.

Samson: Judges 13-16. Was a Nazirite of God, but not exactly a paradigm of virtue. Delivered the Israelites from the Philistines but eventually was undone by his penchant for women.

In each case, the person was considered faithful to God despite his doubts and/or character flaws, and each was considered a prophet (as were Samuel and David). The bottom line was that each delivered for Israel when called to do so. Read each of their stories by clicking the links above. They are most edifying.

Conquered kingdoms through faith: Primarily David (2 Samuel 5:6-25; 8:1-14; 10:1-19; 12:26-31).

Administered justice through faith: Primarily David (e.g., 2 Samuel 12:3-5) and Solomon (e.g., 1 Kings 3: 9, 12, 16-28).

Shut the mouths of Lions: Daniel in the lions den (Daniel 6).

Quenched the fury of the flames: Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3).

Escaped the edge of the sword: See, e.g., David (1 Samuel 17:45-49); Elijah (2 Kings 1); Elisha (2 Kings 6:31); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:7-24).

Weakness turned to strength: See, e.g., Samson (Judges 16:21-30); Hannah (1 Samuel 1); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6-10).

Women who received back their dead: The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24); the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-36).

Tortured: Reminiscent of the Maccabean Jewish patriots of second century BC.

Faced jeers and flogging: See, e.g., Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:2, 7-8).

Faced chains and imprisonment: See, e.g., Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15-16).

Stoned to death: See, e.g., Zechariah, son of Jehoida the priest (2 Chronicles 24:21)

Sawed in two: Perhaps Isaiah, who, according to legend, met this kind of death under King Manasseh .

In each case, the person’s faith allowed him/her to persevere, if not overcome, the worst that life can offer. Yet the author of Hebrews tells us that none of them received what had been promised (Christ). Despite this, they were blessed by the Holy Spirit and acted faithfully, despite their individual character flaws, e.g., Jeremiah was the reluctant prophet, Elijah’s discouragement, etc. These were real people, folks, (check out their individual stories and be edified).

So how did you do?