Going back to the beginning!

and In the Beginning..........

I started reading Genesis again this morning because it has been a long while since I've been there. We all need to remember our heritage and Genesis is the beginning of that heritage for every one of us. It's the beginning of all mankind, of all creation. It's the beginning of not only our story, but of God's story, as it includes us!

I specifically set out to read Genesis this morning, through the contextual lense of marriage, and really try to see what Genesis speaks to me about my marriage specifically. I mean, I know that it says a man and woman are to leave their parents and cleave to their wives and all of that "quotable" stuff about marriage, but I have never really let God speak to me about what he was saying about marriage specifically.

The phrase that really jumped out at me this morning was Genesis 2:18, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him" NKJV. I also like the NLT as it says ".... I will make a helper just right for him."

There are two things that really stand out to me today. The first is that no matter which version you use, helper is there joined with comparable or just right depending on the version. The second is that God created woman after giving man the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Let's break these down.

Helper, to me, is really two definitions in this situation. It's someone that makes things easier because they have different talents, or strengths than we do, but a helper is also someone that improves our situation. So God, in his wisdom and glory, creates for us (men, because I am a man, hopefully that clarity was not required), someone that will improve our situation and will make things easier for us because we can share our journey with them, our loads, our burdens. But that he created them comparable to us (men). Comparable means "of equal quality". It doesn't mean exactly alike, however.

This is something that I often forget with Rebecca...that she is designed comparably to me...and to be my helper. I feel like because I'm designed with this innate sense of protection built into me, that it means protect her from the things I feel she may be ill-equipped to handle. That's just me playing God though, and not trusting that His creation will be able to do what He designed her to do...to help! I do this too often.

There is a small scene in the original Rocky movie where Paulie is questioning Rocky's intentions with his sister, Adrian, and asks what the attraction is. Rocky replies by saying that she fills gaps. When Paulie asks Rocky what he means by 'gaps', Rocky basically summarizes this part of Genesis in one short little sentence, "I dunno, she's got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps.". Isn't that what marriage is truly about? Sharing life's burdens and joys and filling each other's gaps? I tend not to see it that way because of my innate desire to protect my wife, but by doing so, I am trying to become her God, not her husband, and God doesn't like it when I try to take His place.

Now to the part about God telling Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge. He does this specifically, and I think, intentionally, in the two verses right before He creates woman. I think God is setting us men up for our first true test of leadership in the household. When the serpent speaks to Eve, she knows about the tree and what God had said about it so it's clear that Adam had told her what God had said. Of course, we know that she is deceived by the serpent and eats of the tree and then passes it to her husband. However, a little gets lost in this passage if you don't really pay attention to the end of verse 6 that reads, '...Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too."

So you see, Adam was with her this whole time while she was speaking to the serpent. I believe this is man's first test of Godly leadership in the home, and we fail miserably. Not only does Adam not say anything to Eve to challenge her way of thinking, but he does nothing to combat what the serpent has said. This was man's first loss in spiritual warfare. I also think it's representative of man's greatest weakness...women! Our first mistake was not taking up the leadership that God put in place and getting us out of the situation of listening to the enemy, but our second mistake was even worse, not standing up for what we believed and allowing the woman to control our actions. I am not blaming the woman, because she was deceived, I am blaming the man because he let her approach the serpent in a complacent manner in the first place.


I believe that when Adam heard directly from God not to eat from the tree of knowledge that it had a deep impact on our soul and in our spirits. It had to have. I also believe that Adam failed to pass that knowledge on to Eve in a manner reflective of how God gave it to us. I don't believe that Adam really impressioned Eve with that news the same way that God impressioned Adam with that news. Therefore, she may have not truly understood the ramifications of her decision. We should never engage the enemy in a complacent, conversational manner. There is only one way to approach the enemy and that is with the blood of Jesus and the authority of God over Satan. I understand that the blood of Jesus is not something that Adam and Eve could deal with, but they dwelt in the garden with God.

I see that from the start of mankind, women have held a place of prominence, like an idol, in the lives of men, and that our relationship has been so distorted and perverted by the enemy, that we have forgotten that we are to be the spiritual leaders in our household. We are to be the warriors of protection against the enemy. So our innate sense of protection that is built in should not be used to protect our wives from something they were designed by Him to do. Our protection is to come in the form of spiritual warfare and guidance.

So men, take up your charge from God, and lead by example, not just words. Lead with your prayers, specifically those done in private. Lead by serving, not being served. Lead by being warriors for Christ, both for ourselves, and for those that Christ has trusted to our leadership, our families.

Living Life In The Zone by Rote/Pettigrew

I recently had the pleasure of reading through Living Life In The Zone by Kyle Rote Jr., and Dr. Joe Pettigrew. Living Life In The Zone bills itself as "A 40 -Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men".  It's basically a 40-day devotional for men on how to live life in God's zone for your life. 

Before I received the book, I wasn't sure what I would think about it because I knew that it was really sports focused, although I was very surprised with the content, the moving stories, the thought-inducing questions and overall, the takeway.  This book really is about making you process through some of the basic tenets of what you believe and how you operate and trying to align those with God's plan for your life, instead of trying to create your own "zone" to play in.  

Each day's devotion is divided into 7 parts.  As you can imagine, the "Thought of the Day" is sort of the synopsis, or big thought for the day.  "Coach's Corner" helps us to discover the relevance of God's word in our life while "Game Plan" talks to us about what God's word says about the particular topic of the day.  After diving into God's word, there is the "Playmakers" section which are just stories of real men in the real world (generally well-known athletes, but not always).  These are inspirational stories about their lives and careers that most people don't know, or have not heard.  They really are moving stories that setup the next two sections.

"Time Out" asks questions for you to reflect on.  I would suggest you have a notebook that you can keep handy, specifically for this devotional, and that you use it every day when you go through your devotion.  I would say most devotions are about 10 to 20 minutes depending on how much effort you put into them. 

The next section is "Today's Assignment", which challenges you to set a goal and to accomplish certain things from setting a quiet time with God every day to doing something for your spouse.  

The part I really loved the most though was the final section "Home-Field Advantage".  It simply asks you to write down your praises and concern that you would like to bring before God.  I know that shouldn't be a huge issue, but in our busy, overcrowded days, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that we simply need to recognize our needs and take them to God, but also to praise Him for all His provision. 

All in all, this book makes really great reading and in a devotional format, that doesn't even cause you to think twice about answering the questions and writing your prayer's and praises.  I highly recommend this book, and I believe that women could get just as much out of it as men do, although a few questions may be gender specific, there are not many. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Help a Friend Win!

Hey all,


I was just wanting to ask for your help so that a friend could win a scholarship, click on the Vote link on the bottom left of the picture for me. It doesn't any information from you or anything like that, it just simply requires you to push the button.


Thanks,


Robert

You To The Animal Rescue! Brickfish

The Only Road North - Erik Mirandette

I read a book last summer (2009) that I had semi-forgotten about. I recently ran across it again in a bookstore and just wanted to post a little review so that people could decide for themselves whether they wanted to read it or not.

The Only Road North chronicles a journey from Cape Town to Cairo with Erik Mirandette at the helm along with two friends and his brother. Erik was finishing up two years with a humanitarian organization in Morocco but wanted to pursue a dream of his to ride across the African continent on dirt bike. 9000 miles of dust and dirt, poverty and dreams, beauty and danger, and ultimately, living life to it's fullest. He knew this trek would be tough and full of surprises, but he knew that he wanted to live it and experience it with close friends and family.

I highly recommend this book. It is a great story of Erik's journey that brings with it lots of emotion, from sadness to gratefulness to awe. His story embodies the type of adventure that we all dream about, but seldom seek out. It reads quick and easy and for me, it was one of those books that you don't realize you've just read for four hours straight, because you can't put the book down. It's best to do so, because there are so many nuggets for living life more fully in this book. The book brings the African continent to life in a way that normally can only be experience and through this book we get to ride that dirt bike down the dusty, almost non-existent trails of Africa and through the bullet-filled streets of Tanzania. The author makes sure to highlight the "God moments" that kept them safe, or delayed them just enough to keep them from harm in the upcoming town.

Overall, this adventure-in-book-form, was a great investment of time. Although it was a break from reality, it was just as much a peak into a much bigger world where God still loves, protects, teaches and comforts. It was a refreshingly honest look at living life to the fullest and the dangers that brings, while reveling in the awe of Creation.

Eating Triscuits in the Rain!

One of my favorite things to do when I was a child, maybe 7 or 8 years old, was to pull my dad's recliner out onto the covered porch while it was raining. I would sit in his recliner, eat triscuits and just watch the rain fall, taking in the smell and the feel and the sounds that rain brought with it.

I'm sitting on my patio again this morning in my patio chair instead of my dad's recliner. I have no triscuits, and my porch railing is blocking my view of the rain and the drops hitting the ground. I am enclosed on three sides so that limits the smell and the feel of the humid, wet air on my skin. I can however hear the wind and see it blow flags straight and cause the flag ropes to rattle against the flag poles. The overbearing sound I hear this morning though is of Dallas traffic. It's still somewhat peaceful between sounds of diesel trucks and speeding cars and honking horns. That time in between each passing vehicle.

My experience this morning, sitting outside on the patio with everything going on around me leads me to reflect on my life with Christ in a new way. You see, here lately, I feel like my life has been nothing but traffic, non-stop Dallas highway traffic. It has been by my own choosing, of course, so don't feel sorry for me, however, I am realizing that even in the situations I am in, I still have another choice besides running to a more peaceful place...I can choose to be at peace even in the chaotic traffic. I can choose to see and hear and feel God's presence around me. Right now, even though there is a lot of traffic, there may be 2 seconds in between vehicles, or like just a moment ago, there may be 20 or 30 seconds between vehicles. Either way, it's the time between the traffic that makes it easier to hear the rain and the wind. I think that's a lot like what it is with God. We have so much crap in our head and in our lives that we don't have that margin between vehicles. The margin is that time in-between one to-do, or thought, or task, or phone call, or email, or facebook, or distraction. Margin is the time in between your mind being busy and being able to focus on the blessings and will of God. Now, if you are in practice I believe you can have enough spiritual margin in your life so that you reflect constantly on God, even in the midst of all the traffic, but for those of us that are out of practice, experiencing God outside of the margin is not very easy. Heck, truth be told, experiencing God within the margin even feels taxing and even non-existent some time.

I best commune with God when I am purposeful with my time about getting together with him. Whether it be during lunch, or my drive home, or on my patio. Why don't I do it more often? Why don't I do it daily? I don't know...I suppose I let the traffic of life distract me. I suppose the real reason I don't do it more often is because I don't really want to do what I'm afraid God is going to tell me to do. Not fearful necessarily, but being lazy. Being obedient takes energy. It takes movement and focus and determination and drive. It takes courage!

I suppose by choosing not to listen, I'm also choosing not to be courageous. You know, I'm reading some stuff and listening to some things that are making me realize my life is not very engaging, but it's mostly because I am choosing not to engage it. I am choosing to get lost in reality in front of the TV, or in front of a movie. It's easier to hope for a change and daydream about change, than it is to enact change. My headline actually says it here on my blog: What the world needs is people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but begin enacting it now. I want to be that person. I dream of being that person. I hope to become that person. Therefore, I must be courageous and actually take steps to bring that to reality. I'm still looking for me inciting incident though, and I'm not sure there HAS to be one of those, but I think it helps...well, I know it helps in my situation, but I also know that it shouldn't be required for change to take place. Change should take place because God directs it, and I desire to please my Father. So, Lord, I am choosing today, right now, to be obedient!