Personal Note
This week begins my son Jay's life in the navy
As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 22:31
At the academy, my son Jay is scheduled to be in Company 5. Therefore, I've held up my hand to him and wiggled my five fingers, saying, "Remember, Jay, the shield of faith":
1) God is who he says he is.
2) God can do what he says he can do.
3) I am who God says I am.
4) I can do what God says I can do (which is all things through Christ who strengthens me)
5) God's Word is alive and active in me.
You don't have to be in the military to have the world be a hazardous place. Satan shoots and the world woo's. "Shield's up!" "Take refuge in him."
That will be one of my final pieces of advice to my boy(s). "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8).
Too many of us would like a shield, but we drill holes in it before we're done with point one. Do we really believe that God is powerful and active in our lives and that his way -- not my way -- is perfect?
Jesus tells us that he is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). That three-fold affirmation is today's verse too. "His WAY is perfect." In his "flawless ... Word" there is TRUTH. And when we "take [our] refuge in him," we're escaping the constant hazards and discovering LIFE the way it was meant to be.
Jay -- and all of you -- "Shield's up!" Have a great LIFE!
Love,
Dad
____________________
June 28
Personal Note:
Today we leave home with Jay for Annapolis
Now the Lord said to Abram,
"Go from your country and
your kindred and your father's house
to the land that I will show you. ...
I will bless you ...
so that you will be a blessing.
Genesis 12:1-2
The faith of Abra(ha)m has always amazed me. As Hebrews 11:8 renders it, "he set out, not knowing where he was going."
My son, Jay, does know where he's going. He's aimed for it since he was eight! Therefore, the sense of loss and change mingles freely with excitement and purpose. Only one thing undergirded Abraham's sense of loss and change as he left his father's house, it's the words that started this verse from Hebrews, "by faith."
Faith! That's the way we all go out everyday. And that's why Lutherans for generations have prayed: "Lord God, You have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
Jay -- and all of you -- may you go forth today and always in the spirit of this prayer ... and with the absolute confidence of God's covenant upon Abraham: "I will bless you ... so that you will be a blessing." (Claim that promise, because, remember, God is who he says he is and God WILL DO what he says he can do.)
Love,
Dad
____________________
June 30
Personal Note ...
It's sure to be a nervous day.
Tomorrow Jay checks into the Academy.
Jesus said ...
do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.
Today's trouble is enough for today
Matthew 6:34
Have you ever waited for surgery ... or waited for a diagnosis ... or waited to start a new job? How'd you sleep the night before?
I'm not much of a worrier by nature; nevertheless, I've definitely been a guy with bags under his eyes on a number of occasions.
The question is: Is this commandment from Christ? (In which case, I've failed many times.) Or is this a piece of wisdom?
I'm opting for the latter. Like in the book of Proverbs, I don't think Jesus is giving us yet another rule to weigh us down; I think he's giving us a piece of wisdom to set us free. I think he's saying
Enjoy today!
Wait ... That may be overstating it a bit. After all, Jesus acknowledges that today may have "enough trouble of its own." Nevertheless, I do see an intentional invitation to "live in the moment"! "Carpe diem" is a piece what Jesus is saying. "Seize the day."
Therefore, Jay -- and all of you who are facing something big -- I give you Jesus' advice: "Do not worry about tomorrow." Instead, embrace today. Yes, they may call your next step -- Annapolis -- "prison," but today is your last day of "freedom" as a civilian. Don't let what's coming enslave you yet!
In fact, try this instead ... Do you remember what Jesus' advice is just before this verse? He said, "33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Therefore, let's ask, "Where are we seeing God today?" Why? Because seeing him in the present reminds us that he'll be there tomorrow too. Seek him today. Seek him tomorrow.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who wants to capre diem with you
before the Navy capres you manana
____________________
July 1
Personal Note:
Today my son, Jay, will be commissioned
as a Midshipman in the U.S. Navy.
(Go Navy ... Beat Army)
Be strong and very courageous ...
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
For the LORD your God is with you
wherever you go ...
Go ...and take possession
of the land the Lord your God
has given you.
Joshua 1:7,9,11
There are many great commissionings in the Bible. This is my favorite ...
Jay, since you were 8 you wanted to go to Navy. "Go ... and take possession of the land that the Lord ... has given you [to possess]."
I don't mean that in prideful way. I don't mean that you'll "own" the academy. (It will instead "own" you!) Rather, what I mean is ...
"God has brought you here.
Like the Israelites who could look back
at God's mighty hand which parted the Red Sea,
look back and know that God
who was behind goes before you.
"Therefore, go forward in confidence.
'Do not be afraid or discourage.'
Rather be 'strong and very courageous';
not because you are strongest cadet,
but you have a strong and faithful God
behind you, beside you, and before you."
In that sense -- and whether I'm talking to just Jay or anyone else facing a trial -- "Go ... and take possession of the land that the Lord ... has given you [to possess]." "Love the journey" is another way of stating that. And if you can't love the journey everyday, at least embrace it. You are on the adventure of a life time!
One final piece of advice ... and it's not mine; it's the rest of verse 7: "be[] careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go."
God is your compass. He is your true north. If you live with faith and integrity, then you will be truly successful wherever you go.
In Christ's Love,
Dad
(P.S. I love you.)
(P.S.S. I am very proud of you.)
(P.S.S.S. Anchors aweigh, son.)
____________________
July 2
Personal Note:
Yesterday we dropped our son Jay
off at the academy. I don't write to him today
(because he's in boot camp and can't read this anyway).
Therefore, I write to my beloved wife,
Mary Louise.
Mary treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Well, Dear ... we're on a new part of our journey now. We've got a boy in the Navy.
You did a great job with Jay. You loved him. You challenged him. You held his feet to the fire. You introduced him to God. And since you treasured him in your heart, today's drive back from Maryland hurts a little, doesn't it? (I know that well.)
For those who are reading this, Mary Louise deserves at least 94% of the credit for who Jay (and all of our boys) are.
My 6% is mainly that I didn't mess it up!
Actually, I should really change those figures. God deserves 98% of the credit, and we were just given the awesome privilege to come alongside these three young men, to accept God's mantle and shepherd them through this part of their journey. (Indeed, we both need to pause and thank our own parents for introducing us to the one whose hand was really guiding all of this.)
Anyway, Dear ... I am certain that as we ponder all these things, we will absolutely treasure them in our hearts -- including all of the friends and mentors who came alongside Jay and us at Spirit of Joy!
These were great years, great blessings!
Now, I urge you ... and me ... and all who are reading this and face transitions in your own lives .. to accept the commission given to Joshua, to Israel, and to Jay in yesterday's devotion: "Go ...and take possession of the land the Lord your God has given you [to possess] ... for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Josh 1:11,9).
Dear, I don't know where our life will take us next, but since I know that God has been with us in the past, I know he'll be with us in the future!
- Therefore, I look forward to this journey with you ... and with God by our side.
- I look forward to spending four years with Robbie -- more time one-on-one with this younger son (or two-on-one, Mary Louise, if you'll help me gang up on this giant).
- I'll miss Jay, but do you know what? I'm also really looking forward to seeing Jay's adventures and how God will use this young man.
- I also look forward to Paul's faith and adventures too.
God is good. Thank you, Lord!
In Christ's Love,
a guy who's blessed
(not because of my circumstances ...
but because of the one who's promised me
an eternal future ... with him!)
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