Like Father, Like Son

My dad turned 80 this week. Fourscore-years-old.

Born before the stock market crash of ’29. Born before WWII, before TV and long before space travel, the internet and blogs.

I have some of my dad’s physical characteristics, like a plateau on my nose that identifies me as the unmistakable offspring of George Eichler. I’m emotional, just like him, and the older I get, Cindy tells me more frequently, “You’re just like your dad.”

I hope so.

Dad is a man of integrity. He once reused a postage stamp that hadn’t been cancelled (when they were about 11 cents) and felt so guilty, he went to the Post Office, bought a stamp, and threw it away. He and Uncle Sam are all even.

Dad is a man who has a love for people. He pastored a home missions church in Idaho where he was the janitor, plumber, lawn mower, Sunday School teacher, and preacher. Why? So he could have a window into people’s lives to tell them about the God who loves them.

Dad is a man who doesn’t strive for men’s approval, but lives for God’s alone. As a teenager I thought he had made a poor career choice, I found out later he was just obeying God by leaving a larger church and moving to a small town. Other opportunities came and went, but dad stayed. . . right where God wanted him.

I hope I’m like my dad.

A man who knows the power of prayer.

A man who weeps at the presence of God.

A man who can’t talk about his family or God’s blessings without being moved to tears.

For me, there may be no greater compliment, “Like father, like son.”

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Enjoying the Journey,
David

One Day

We’re reading through the New Testament this year, and a few weeks ago we were in John 19 and there, right between the crucifixion and the resurrection was a man for whom this one day was a life-defining moment of faith. If you’re not familiar with the story, take a minute and read John 19:38-41.

There are a couple of other Joseph’s in the Bible, all we know of Joseph of Arimathea is contained in four very short passages, one in each gospel, recording this one day, this one act.

Scripture tells us that Joseph was a member of the Jewish council and that he disagreed with the council’s condemnation of Jesus. We know he was a rich man who was waiting for the coming of the kingdom of God. He was secretly a disciple of Jesus and on this day at least, a man of courage.

Sometimes a life-defining moment of faith takes place in one day, but we never know which day it will be. This was Joseph’s day. Joseph’s faith led him up to this moment. His love for Jesus had begun long before. He had been following Jesus, listening to His teaching. His courage had been building, but on this day, he didn’t care what the Jewish council thought, he didn’t care what Pilate might do to him. This was his moment. He was a secret follower no more.

No one knows when your ‘one day’ will be. Maybe you’ve already had it. Maybe God is preparing you for your faith moment tomorrow, or next month. Here is what struck me about Joseph. The month before … the week before . . . the day before, was just another day. We never know when our ‘day’ will come. But, if we don’t live today as a disciple, . . . and every day as a disciple, . . . if we don’t live today waiting for the kingdom, purifying ourselves, looking and hoping for His return, if we are not hearing His word today and letting our faith grow, we may never have our day.

John 6:66-69 – From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

It’s amazing to me that there were disciples who quit following Jesus. They quit believing in Him, and we never read of them again. They didn’t have their defining moment of faith, because they quit following.

If you really believe and know that Jesus is the Son of the living God, you will not stop following. If you really believe and know that His words are the words of eternal life, you will not stop hearing and obeying his words. Things can get tough. There may be things you don’t understand, but if you know that Jesus is the Son of God, where else are you going to go?

Our world is full of Josephs who missed their life-defining faith moment because they fell away. They loved the world instead of the Lord. Don’t give up. Don’t let the storms blow you over or the waves distract you. Keep growing, keep serving and be ready today for God to reveal Himself through your faith.

May you know that you know, and may that compel you to continue to follow, looking forward to your one day when your faith comes spilling out for everyone to see. Your day may be today.

Enjoying the Journey,
David

Covered or Clean?

I’m back.

I haven’t really been anywhere, but we’ve been busy getting our basement back together after the Flood of ’08. (See my Good Hands, My Foot blog below if you missed it). All of our carpet in the basement and the pad underneath was saturated with storm water. The squishing sound of water between your toes is wonderful on the beach, not so good in the basement.

We tried to suck the water out with wet-dry vacs and the Rug Doctor, but while everything looked ok on the surface, underneath the damp pad began to smell. At first it wasn’t very noticeable. Just a damp, musty smell, then a little stronger each day. Finally, we had to take drastic measures.

Everything came out of the basement and up came the carpet. One room was so bad that we threw everything away. The rest of the carpet was salvageable, but the ‘aromatic’ pad had to go. When something is rotten in your house, even if you can’t see it, … even if it’s covered with something that looks okay, eventually, the rotting smell will reveal the hidden filth and decay.

Cindy grabbed the bleach and the mop and went to town. She was going to clean the problem, not just allow it to be covered up. I know how she cleans, and no germ has a chance. We could eat off of that floor now. We could, but we won’t. We had a new pad installed and the carpet re-laid in most of the basement, and new carpet in the one really bad room. Everything is just like new. Just like it never happened.

It’s the same way with our spiritual lives. It never works to try to cover up our sins. Before long, even if everything looks okay on the outside, the stench of sin becomes evident, first to us, then to those around us.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul lists a number of disgusting sins that are a stench to God. Some in the church in Corinth had past lives that were covered in the filth of these sins. But they hadn’t just been covered, they had been cleansed. Paul encourages them, . . . But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor. 6:11

Other ‘clean’ scriptures:

…Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, Eph. 5:25-26

…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Thank God for the cleansing blood of Jesus. I’d rather have my sin cleaned up than covered up. There’s a major difference in the smell, and I want my life to be a pleasing aroma to God.

Enjoying the Journey,

Pastor David