Tortellini Modo Mio.  That was the name of my dish.  (Well, it didn’t start out as my dish.  It started out as my mother-in-law’s dish…but it looked better than mine ~ so it ended up becoming my dish!)  I have found no adjectives that will suffice to describe the effect this pasta experience had on my taste buds.  But I’m pretty sure I was moaning like a woman in labor the whole time! 

           My bride ordered the pasta sampler, and that was equally as delicious.  Sadly, though, I am but one man and had only enough stomach capacity to pirate one meal.  I did, however, manage a couple bites of the sampler…enough to know that it will be a toss-up the next time I find myself at a Napoli table (which won’t be soon enough).  

           The thing about food is – it never exits as appetizing as it enters!  Simple fact.  Fork vs. toilet paper: the fork gets the better end of the deal every time! 

           Such is the phenomenon that happens every time I preach!  It never comes out as good as it comes in.  The prophet Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them.  And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” (Jer. 15:16)  This past Sunday was especially frustrating for me as God’s Word in the Song of Songs was so good as “I ate them” during the week; and yet they didn’t seem to be nearly as appetizing on my lips as they were in my heart.

           I thought about a “take two”…preaching the sermon all over again!  Instead, I think I will just share with you some of the verses that “nourished” me last week and encourage you to have this meal with God on your own.

• “Behold, you are fair, my love!
• Behold, you are fair!”
• ~ Song of Songs 1:15a

“He who touches you (insert your name) touches the apple of His eyes.”  ~ Zech. 2:8

“You (insert your name) were precious in My sight…and I have loved you.”  ~ Isaiah 43:4

“I chose you (insert your name).” ~ John 15:19

“Look at [God’s care of creation]…Are you (insert your name) not of more value?”  ~ Matt. 6:26

“I have loved you (insert your name) with an everlasting love…with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”   ~ Jer. 31:3

            Be encouraged this week.  Regardless of how the world sees you; regardless of how you maybe see yourself at times, Jesus says that, in Him, you are beautiful, precious, valuable, greatly loved, … and worth the dying price to call His own!

           After months of shirking the inevitable, I finally allowed my bride to schedule an appointment with the doctor.  Why go to the doctor and let him poke around in places that…that you don’t just want anybody poking around?  Because it hurts to sit.  It hurts to stand.  It hurts to lie down.  It hurts to push the grocery cart when my bride goes shopping!  (I think that was probably the broken straw that resulted in a prompt hospital call.)

           10 a.m.  Here I am.  Staring at a cheap golf calendar while I sit alone in the doctor’s office.  Trying desperately to keep my mind off of poking fingers.  I should have just sucked it up like a man and pushed the grocery cart.

           The door opens.  “Hey, how are we doing today?” the doctor asks in a casual greeting.  Do you think he notices that I’m shaking like a hypothermia victim who’s fighting for his life?  

           “Hey, I’m doing excellent!  That’s why I spent all this money to come and sit in your office at such an early hour.  Oh, and you want to see my boo-boo?”  No, I don’t actually say this out loud.  Instead, I smile and give him the lie to which I’m sure he’s well-accustomed: “Oh, I’m doing pretty good.”

           “Well, let’s take a look at this bump of yours,” the doctor says to me in a nonchalant tone.  That’s it; no small-chat?  No getting to know each other just a little bit?  Maybe it’s easier this way.

           Deep breath.  Nope, not any easier!

           “Ummmm….I’d rather you not take a look…actually,” I say to myself.  “How about I just describe it to you, and then you can talk me through how I can get rid of it all by myself.”

           But the Doc seems oblivious to the internal battle exploding within my mind at the moment.  “Just go ahead, and drop your drawers,” he says.  Like it’s no big deal. 

           Hey everybody, here I am with my shorts draped around my ankles…just enjoying the morning with my doctor friend.  Sure, pull up a chair.  Have a seat.  Can I get you something to drink?  I’ll just hop right over to this refrigerator down the hall and…

           “Sir, could you please drop your drawers so I can check out this bump of yours?  Excellent.  Now where is it?  Oh yeah, I feel it.  Wow, that’s in a really sensitive place isn’t it?  But I’m having trouble seeing it.  Maybe if you could lie down on this grey bed contraption and curl up in the fetal position so I could get a better look at what we’re dealing with…”

           Oh, I hate cysts. 

           I hate sin more.  Actually, they have a lot in common: cysts and sin.  Both affect my walk.  Both affect my rest.  Both need to be cut off.  Both are beyond my ability to deal with on my own.  I need a physician…before it gets worse and spreads to other parts of my body.

           Both require humility before the healing.  I had to expose myself before my doctor and allow him to poke around in private places in order to cut out this unwanted growth.  All pride is gone when you’re lying on that little doctor’s bed in the fetal position!  In the same way, sin can only be dealt with when we expose our hearts to Jesus and allow Him to “search us”.

           In case you were thinking otherwise, it hurt having the cyst removed.  Emotionally…and physically.  So it is with sin.  We can grow so attached to certain things that draw us away from Christ (spiritually unwanted growths) that it actually hurts to let Jesus cut them off of our hearts, and then the healing process often takes longer than we would like.  Oh, but it’s so worth it in the end!

           “Be Holy”, Jesus said.  In other words, “Be totally cut off (separate) from the sin (unwanted growth) that hinders your walk with Me.”  It took a doctor’s visit to remind me that humility is a constant prerequisite in my ongoing relationship with Christ.  No, I don’t look forward to sitting in that waiting chair anytime soon.  But healing is worth the price of humility every time.

           As I write this, I have been waiting for a package in the mail for over a week now.  While I have attempted to occupy my time with more productive activities than just sitting on the front porch staring down my driveway for the UPS man to come around the corner, I’ve been reminded of how crummy I can be at waiting for things!  After several phone calls and multiple emails, I’m still waiting to “see what brown can do for me”! 

           Well, when I was in high school, I tacked something else onto this waiting list.  I made a commitment to “wait” for my future bride.  As in, I was going to save sex ‘til marriage (Note: I did not say “safe” sex ‘til marriage…I said “save” sex).  And to make that temptation slightly easier on myself, I decided to also save my first kiss for the woman with whom I would spend the rest of my life.

           Come to find out, “waiting” couldn’t have been easier…if I was a eunuch!  = )  As it turns out, I am not a eunuch, and my commitment of “waiting until my wedding day” proved to be extremely difficult.  Somewhat like putting a roast beef in your dog’s kennel and then telling it to “wait” until you get back from an eight-year furlough in Australia!  I’m no pooch, but I’m guessing that would be a tough haul for my cocker spaniel/rat terrier crew!

           Few people understood why I chose to wait.  As an engaged man, I spent the better portion of an evening at work one night explaining (and re-explaining) to my Applebee’s co-workers why I wasn’t already enjoying some “chicka chicka bow wow” with my fiancée since we were going to be married anyhow!  They just could not seem to grasp the fact that there would be any benefit in saving your body for marriage.  Shucks, I even had to stand up to a girlfriend’s daddy once as to why I refused to kiss his daughter.  “A real gentleman kisses his girl”, he said.  Well, not this gentleman!  At least not yet!

           Now, I’ve been married for almost three years…and the “out-of-bounds lines” have all disappeared.  I have found out quite first hand that sex is a fantastic gift from God, and I am so glad that I waited for this gift until my wedding night!  This waiting room is a beautiful place for those who are willing to stay there until “I do”.  No, it’s not even remotely easy…but the joy of being able to give that gift of purity to your future lover makes it totally worth the wait!

           This song is my story in this waiting room.  While there are a number of great Christian songs out there dealing with this same topic[i], this one is unique to my experience.  For those of you who are in this waiting room right now, I hope this song encourages you.

Wait

• Somewhere you’re out there
• Maybe I don’t know you
• But I don’t care
• You’re beautiful to me
•   
• Maybe you’re on the other side of the world
• You could be standing right here
• And I just don’t see
•  
• I don’t know you
• But I’m okay for now
• “Hello” can’t be that far
• But I’m still waiting
• I’m still praying for
• For everything you are
• Maybe we’re worlds apart
• Maybe we’re not so far away
• This love was written from the start
• And I’m learning how to wait
•  
• To dance with you in the rain
• And just stare into your eyes
• To hold your hand for life
• As we dance across time
•  
• To tell you “I love you”
• Like I’ve always done in my dreams
• But it’s taking forever
• It seems
•  
• Chorus
•  
• I believe we’ll know when that day does arise
• You’ll capture my heart as I look into your eyes
• And when we’re standing at the altar of our dreams
• I can’t wait to see you smile
• Oh, I can’t wait to see you smile 

Lyrics by Jeremiah Knoop and Megan Reinsch // Music by Jeremiah Knoop
This song is “the love song“ off of WeakSide’s previous CD “Tears and Glass“.  On April 8, 2006 (a couple months before this CD was released) I was invited to perform this song for the ”Purely Committed Banquet” held at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, MN.  In a gorgeous banquet room full of college girls who were committing (or recommitting) to save their bodies until marriage, it was such an exciting opportunity for me to share this song with them.  If you get a chance to listen to it, I hope that it enourages you.  If you’d like to have a copy of the CD, all you need to do is send an email to weaksidemusic@yahoo.com with your mailing address.  All of WeakSide’s CDs are sold for whatever you can afford (whether that’s $15 or $1.50 or 15¢); the goal isn’t to make money, the goal is to encourage people with the good news of Jesus!  You can now download this song (and many other WeakSide songs) on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/weakside/id383584667 or listen to a number of songs from all of WeakSide’s CD’s at www.myspace.com/weakside 

For concert videos and conversations, you can also join us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WeakSide/114776865244862

Thanks for listening! 

[i] “Wait for Me” by Rebecca St. James; “Someday” by Larue; “Guard Your Heart” by Steve Green

           What a wake up call!  I wonder, as a husband, what “good things” are being withheld from my bride because of my sins?  Or, as a pastor, what “good things” is Chalk Hills Community Church missing out on because of my sins?

           Fathers, what “good things” are being withheld from your children because of your sins? 

           Men, this verse ought to shake us.  Can our families and churches “taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8)” when their leaders have become relaxed in sin?  What blessings have been “turned away” because we have become comfortable with casual Christianity?

           “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30)

           God is looking for men who are willing to stand in the gap for their families and for their churches.  In Ezekiel’s day, God sought for a man like this but “found no one“.  Oh, may this not be the case today.

           Yet, among some, there exists a silly notion that Christians are forbidden to express any sort of negative emotion; that we ought never to be visibly frustrated with life.  Christians are always to be happy and know it…and to have a face that surely shows it!

           On the other extreme, I’ve known “Christians” who couldn’t be paid enough to smile.  Apparently, to some, it is much more spiritual to be somber and serious all the time…especially during a church service.  Heaven forbid that you actually laugh during church.

           We have been deceived into thinking that Christians are required to be a plastic sort of people who are even keel all the time.  As a pastor’s kid (and now a pastor myself) and a music leader in the church, I’ve seen many “pew folks” who never display any sort of emotion.  The cross doesn’t move them to tears, and the empty grave doesn’t lead them to praise. 

           I’m not judging.  I don’t know their hearts.  However, I do question it.  Why is it that we will scream at the television when our team is losing in the championship game and we will cry when the dog dies in the movie, but we’re hardly more animated than a “deer in the headlights” during church?  Why are we scared to show emotion when it comes to Jesus?               

           David, the psalmist, was called a man after God’s own heart[i], and his emotions were a spiritual rollercoaster.  David never donned a fake smile.  Nobody had to second-guess when David was discouraged.  It was quite obvious!  Likewise, it was impossible to miss when he was excited about his God![ii]

           His psalms are overflowing with emotion on both sides of the pendulum.  Much of the time, he wrote when His heart could not contain the joy that he was experiencing.  Yet, other times, his writing is a reflection of the deep hurt he was feeling.  There is very little light at the end of the tunnel in some of David’s psalms.  Psalm 22 is a heart-wrenching example of a time when David was overwhelmed with the feeling of depression, discouragement and utter hopelessness.  Psalm 88 is another song that was written with no apparent redeeming merit.  The author simply needed to vent his frustration with life.  There is no bridge with hope for tomorrow.  It’s simply a lament; an honest song of the discouragement that was felt in that moment.

           Christians are not meant to be plastic people who never experienced hurt, discouragement and frustration.  Neither are we required to suppress or subdue our feelings with an artificial smile.  We’re not winning “spiritual brownie points” with God because we are successful in hiding our feelings.  GOD CREATED EMOTION.  AND GOD EXPRESSES EMOTION.  In His humanity, our Lord Jesus experienced and expressed the whole gamut of emotions…both of joy and of frustration.

           That’s the heartbeat of “Flood”; it’s simply an honest account of frustration in the life of a Christian.  Frustration at myself…that I keep backsliding despite how hard I try to run to the light.  Frustration because of “all those who see me [and] laugh me to scorn”[iii] every time I stumble and fall in my Christian walk.  The Bible says that Christians are supposed to be a helping hand for those who stumble.  Yet, it seems that many of us have become much more adapt at pointing fingers instead.

           What makes this song so precious to me is its simple honesty.  There is no redeeming merit anywhere in this song.  There is no light at the end of this dark tunnel.  There is no “happy and you know it” hand clapping.  It’s simply, a hurting Christian who is being honest about his struggle.  Oh, to have more Christians who take off the simulated smiles and are honest with one another.

Flood, by Jacob McGowan

• Always so close
• I drift away in my mind
• Every time I go forward
• I always seem to rewind
•   
• I run to the light
• For it’s there I am free
• But I stumble and fall
• While they sit and judge me
•     
• It’s a never-ending race
• And I’m losing the pace
• I may be slow
• But you don’t have to laugh in face
•   
• I slip
• So I grip,
• Hold onto my dreams
• No matter how I explain
• They can’t see what I mean
•   
• It’s like a flood
• Running through my mind
• Wishing things would change with time
• But even if I try
• They stay the same
• I don’t really want to go
• But I don’t really want to stay
• Does it matter if I try?
• Some things never change
•    
• It’s like a tide rolling in
• Consistent as the rising sun
• Eroding all that I can be
• Even before I’ve begun

This song is off of WeakSide’s previous CD “Tears and Glass“.  If you get a chance to listen to it, I hope that it enourages you.  If you’d like to have a copy of the CD, all you need to do is send an email to weaksidemusic@yahoo.com with your mailing address.  All of WeakSide’s CDs are sold for whatever you can afford (whether that’s $15 or $1.50 or 15¢); the goal isn’t to make money, the goal is to encourage people with the good news of Jesus! You can now download this song (and many other WeakSide songs) on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/weakside/id383584667 or listen to a number of songs from all of WeakSide’s CDs at www.myspace.com/weakside.

For concert videos and conversations, you can also join us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WeakSide/114776865244862

Thanks for listening!

           Here we’ve come to the shortest leg in our deserted trek through the Minor Prophets.  Obadiah is the Muggsy Bogues[i]  of the Old Testament lineup.  With only 21 verses, little Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, nearly the shortest book in the whole Bible.[ii]  However, the brevity of the message does not render it less important or less significant.[iii]

           Obadiah is one of a handful of prophets about whom we know nothing except that he was a vessel for the Lord to speak truth.  His name means “Worshiper of Yahweh” or “Servant of Yahweh”.    Both definitions are beautifully accurate for the life of this man about whom we know nothing: He used His 21 verses for the message of His God; 21 verses devoted entirely to what God had for him to speak.  He was a “Worshiper of Yahweh”…in that his 21-verse life was not about him, but about His God.  He was a “Servant of Yahweh”…in that his 21 was used for the service of God, not to serve Obadiah’s interests.

           The question now is, “What are you doing with your 21?” How are you investing the life that God has given you?  As we see through the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), it’s not about how much we have been given in life; rather, it’s about how we choose to invest that which we have been given.

           Isaiah was given 1292 verses in his life.  Obadiah only had 21 verses.  Just as one servant was given five talents, while the other was only given two.  Yet, their reception into Paradise was the same, “Well done, good and faithful servant”[iv] because both were faithful in investing what they had been given for the service of their Lord.

           When Jesus comes back, what will you have done with what He has given you?  It doesn’t matter how much God has blessed you with; it doesn’t matter how many special talents you have…or don’t have; what matters is how you use what you have been given.

           Isn’t that what Gandalf told Frodo in the “Lord of the Rings” when Frodo was wishing that his circumstances were different?  “So do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”  Whether you’re in the 1292 bracket or you’re among the 21 sort, may you be a worshiper of God with every verse you’re given.

           The book of Joel can be divided into two parts: Part one (1–16) is directed toward a nation that is not God’s chosen people.  While the majority of the Minor Prophets deal with the covenant relationship between God and the Children of Israel[v], Obadiah’s book is primarily a message that God has for the children of EDOM.  

           In the second part of his book (17–21), Obadiah focuses on the vindication of Israel and looks forward to the day when God’s Kingdom will finally be established here on earth.

           First of all, who are the people of Edom?  The birth of this nation is found in Genesis 25:21-34 when Isaac and Rebekah were about to have twin sons, Esau and Jacob.  “And the Lord said to her [Rebekah]: ‘Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger’” (Gen. 25:23).  And these two brothers were struggling against each other from the very beginning (v. 22). 

           As the firstborn son, Esau had a special, spiritual heritage awaiting him.  When his father was gone, he would become the priest of the family…meaning, he would be the family member who had a very unique relationship with God.  This was known as his birthright.[vi]  Yet, Esau didn’t give a hoot about this relationship with God.  In fact, we read that “Esau despised his birthright” (Gen. 25:34) to the point that he sold it to his brother Jacob for a bowl of red stew.  “Therefore his name was called Edom” (literally, red).[vii]  In that very poor bargain, Esau (Edom) showed that he would rather have a bowl of soup than have a relationship with God.  Two chapters later (Gen. 27), we read of how Jacob was coerced by his crafty momma into also stealing Esau’s blessing.  Now, everything that rightfully belonged to Esau (the firstborn) had been given to Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel[viii]).

           That was just the beginning of this brotherly struggle, which grew into a struggle between two nations (Edom and Israel).  Many years later, we read of Edom’s refusal to aid Israel in their wilderness journey (Numbers 20:14-21).  In 586 BC, when the Babylonians took over Jerusalem, the Edomites can be heard from the bleachers as they cheer on Israel’s defeat (Ps. 137:7).  This struggle continued all the way to Bethlehem in Matthew 2 when an Edomite King (Herod) ordered the slaughter of all mail children under the age of two in his attempt to kill Jacob’s most important descendant: King Jesus.

           So, while most of these Minor Prophets focus on God’s relationship with His people, God has given Obadiah a different message for “his 21”, and this little prophet was faithful in delivering it. 

PART ONE

1          “The vision of Obadiah.  Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, ‘Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle’).”

           First, we see that this is a vision that was from the Lord.  This miniature book is not a compilation of Obadiah’s personal feelings.  These are not his thoughts.  This is not his personal vendetta against the Edomite nation.  What he is about to share is a vision from the Lord.[ix]  There is a report that has gone out from the Lord to muster up the nations against Edom for battle.

           Then, through the pen of Obadiah, God addresses Edom directly in verses 2–16.

2– 3       “‘Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised.  The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, “who will bring me down to the ground?” 

           Here the Lord declares to Edom the root cause of its impending doom: PRIDE.  Edom put its trust in the strength of its own city walls.  Perhaps, these verses are referring to its capital city, Petra, which was a fortress hewn out of a rocky mountain and which is still in existence today.   

           This stronghold was protected by an extremely narrow entranceway making it easily defended against invaders.  The people of Petra lived in great buildings which were carved out of solid rock inside this great canyon up and down the sides of it (“in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high”).  It’s an overwhelming sight, and the people of Edom thought that they were perfectly secure within its walls (“Who will bring me down to the ground?”).

4          Though you exalt yourself as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,’ says the Lord.”

           The eagle was a symbol of deity.  Quite frankly, Edom began to think of itself as a god.  In their hearts, the people of Edom were “above it all”.  Does this story sound at all familiar?  It’s not the first time in history that creation has attempted to exalt itself above its Creator.

            Pride’s debute performance is recounted in Isaiah 14:13-14 when Satan said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…”  Both stories end up panning out the same way: “‘From there I will bring you down,’ says the Lord” (Obad. 4); “Yet you shall be brought down…” (Isa. 14:15).

5 – 6      “If thieves had come to you, if robbers by night – Oh, how you will be cut off! -  Would they not have stolen till they had enough?  If grape-gatherers had come to you, would they not have left some gleanings?  Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!  How his hidden treasures shall be sought after.”

           Here we read of Edom’s total ruin.  Their destruction will not be partial as though a thief were coming.  For thieves leave at least a little something.  Grape-gatherers would leave at least some gleanings.  Yet, for Edom, there would be nothing left when God was done with them.

7          “All the men in your confederacy shall force you to the border; the men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you.  Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you.  No one is aware of it.”

            When the God of the world stretches out His hand against Edom, they’ll have nowhere to turn.  In fact, in fulfillment of verse 1, the nations are already turning against Edom.

8-9        “‘Will I not in that day,’ says the Lord, ‘Even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau?  Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed.  To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.’”

           Teman was a grandson of Esau.  It was also the name given to another chief city of Edom; evidently, a cultural and military center where the intellectual geniuses and military elite gathered.  However, God is not impressed with their wisdom.  Nor is He threatened by their might.  He will “cut [them] off” in their pride, both the wise and the powerful.

“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT…” (10-14)

           Have you ever done something stupid that was immediately followed by the thought, “Man, I really shouldn’t have done that”?  If I had a nickel for every time this thought has crossed my mind…I’d have a whole lot of nickels!

           Like the time my childhood buddy and I decided to pound a nail into an old paint can.  We needed more paint, and our brilliant plan was to puncture a hole in the can to drain out all that remained.  (Warning: if you’ve never tried this before…don’t.  The pressure inside the can causes it to explode, covering any innocent bystanders with its colorful contents!)  When our little mishap was finally over, I turned around to see my little brother’s face plastered in the green dye.  Apparently, paint is very unhealthy for the eyes…or so my momma told me over and over again that evening in a volume that was very hard to miss!  Then the thought came: “Man, I really shouldn’t have done that.”  In the end, my brother came out of the ordeal just fine, and I haven’t nailed a paint can since!

           Several years later, my same childhood buddy and I were out riding a couple mountain bikes.  After a couple hours, I got bored of the “same ‘ol”, and so I decided to spruce things up a bit.  Once I built up enough speed going down the hill, I would attempt to mimic an Indian chief (sitting Indian style with my arms folded across my chest)!  No hands and no feet…yes, what a genius idea.  This stoic pose lasted for maybe two whole seconds before bike and rider had a very intimate encounter with the pavement.  And while my left leg looked like something off the grill, my concern was for the bike.  Why?  Because it wasn’t my bike.  I had borrowed it from the neighbors.  So you can see why I might be a bit concerned.  But wait…it gets worse.  The frosting on this bitter cake was that the neighbors hadn’t been made aware that their bike had been borrowed!  Lying on the road next to this marred bike, there was that old familiar thought: “Man, I really shouldn’t have done that.”

           In 12-14, God is reminding Edom of the really stupid things they did to their brother nation, and we hear God saying, “You should not have done that.”[x]

• You should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity (v. 12)
• You should not have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction
• You should not have spoken proudly in the day of distress
• You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity (v. 13)
• You should not have gloated over their affliction in the day of their calamity
• You should not have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity
• You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped (v. 14)
• You should not have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress

           Edom relished the destruction of Judah.  Not only were they dancing with the cheerleaders[xi], they even placed bets on Jerusalem’s demolition[xii] and stood in the crossroads to cut off the Israelites who escaped[xiii].

           What is it that would cause a person to treat a brother like that?  PRIDE.  When a person is lost in pride, he takes whatever opportunity he can to exalt himself over others.  All of creation has this in common: apart from the grace of God, we all tend to derive pleasure from another person’s failure.  It tends to soothe our inadequacies and magnifies our successes.

           Growing up, it was always so hard for me to watch my little brother get first place at every single wrestling meet, while big brother was constantly pulling in 56^th place.  I’ll never forget the day he finally lost.  While it was hard to see him lose out on the trophy, it made me feel a little bit better about my little sliver of ribbon!  My brother’s defeat eased my wounded pride that day.

15-16      “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head…”

           Obadiah looks into the future and sees the great and terrible day of the Lord coming, when all accounts will be settled.  In that day, Edom will be judged as it judged its bother Israel (Matt. 7:1).  In that day, Edom will reap what they have sown (Gal. 6:7).

           That’s the end of part one: Edom, for “the pride of your heart”[xiv] and “for your violence against your brother”,[xv] “‘I will bring you down,’ says the Lord”.[xvi]

PART TWO: In verses 17–21, Obadiah offers HOPE to those in the covenant relationship with Yahweh. 

           “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions” (v. 17).

           The second part of the book holds out the hope of salvation to the remnant of Israel and promises that, in the end, the kingdom will not belong to the Babylonians nor to the Edomites…but to the Lord.  The promises made long ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (that their descendants would possess the land) will not be frustrated.

           From our New Testament perspective we can see how much larger the fulfillment will be than what Obadiah saw.  Obadiah foresaw the Jews reclaiming their land.  Yet, the “children of God” are not to be limited to a Jewish remnant but rather extends out to embrace all those who trust Christ.  ”There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28, 29).  Also, not only is the family of God larger than what Obadiah had foreseen, but the fulfillment of the promised land is much greater.  In Romans 4:13, we are told that the descendants of Abraham will inherit the world, not just certain plots of land in the midst of Palestine.[xvii]

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

           Pride is destructive & deceptive.  It sneaks into your heart and wraps its fingers around your mind before you know what hit you.  It deceives you into thinking that you are really something and acts as a cancer in relationships by “parading itself”, by being “puffed up”, by “seeking its own”, by being easily “provoked”, among a host of other loveless, selfish actions.[xviii]  It strips you of joy because it is always seeking more.  Its thirst for higher and better is never satisfied.  Its longing for recognition and applause is a spiritual virus that fills the heart with fear of really living out our faith because of what others might think.

           And over and over in the Bible, we read of how utterly God hates pride.

• Prov. 6:16-17, “These six things the Lord hates…A proud look…”
• Prov. 8:13, “…pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
• Amos 6:8, “I abhor the pride of Jacob…”
• Luke 16:15, “…For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

           Someday, Jesus is coming back.  And this world (that has turned its back on a relationship with God…that despised its birthright) is going down.  However, God has made a way of escape, a way of salvation from His wrath.  Those who humble themselves under the Lord, He promises to lift up.  When you place your trust and confidence outside of God (when your hiding place is in the clefts of the rock), one day it will all come crashing down.  But those who place their trust in Jesus (those who wait on the Lord) will be ones who will mount up with wings as eagles…“And I will soar with You, Your Spirit leads me on in the power of Your love.”

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”  ~  Attributed to Edmund Burke

Listen to “A Few Good Men” ~ by the Gaither Vocal Band  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqSRaXyDjio

Romans 7:15-25

This song is an echo of the believer’s cry to be delivered from the cruel captivity of sin.  “I’m sick and tired of these chains I’m wearing…I want to be free instead.“  It’s not the story of two different people, but rather it’s the dialogue of two opposing desires within the heart of one man.

Free

• I’ll take nothing less than to be all I can be
• And I won’t stop ’til I’ve reached my destiny
• They say, “To Know the truth is when the truth will set you free”
• “And if the truth has set y0u free, you are free indeed!”
• Oh, I want to be free
•   
• Looking through the rearview mirror of my life
• Watching my world fade away into the distance
• So I guess this is “good bye” then, my friend
• Because I’m never coming back here again
• I’m deleting my existence
•    
• I know you must be thinking I’m a fool
• How could I be so cruel
• To be up and leaving all I’ve ever known
• But the truth is I know I just can’t stay
• I’ve had to learn the hard way
• A land of chains can’t be my home
•   
• I’ve gotta be free
• Freer than the air I’m breathing
• Free
• Freer than the song the songbird’s singing
• Singing above my head
• I’m sick and tired of these chains I’m wearing
• Lying, cheating, stealing, swearing
• I want to be free instead
• Set me free
•   
• You say I’ve got my friends here for me and a job so sweet
• A life ahead that’s hard to beat
• I ain’t deceiving you.
• No, I ain’t just leaving you.
•   
• You see my friends won’t stick when the chips are down
• And every step we take is on dangerous ground
• How can I live in a land where I’m an employee
• Of one who seeks to destroy me
• In the end?
•   
• You can live this one out on the lies you’ve been sold
• I’m taking my chances on the narrow road
• I believe this is where I’m supposed to be
• I believe it’s going to lead me free
•   
• I’ve gotta be free
• Freer than the air I’m breathing
• Free
• Freer than the song the songbird’s singing
• Singing above my head
• I’m sick and tired of these chains I’m wearing
• Lying, cheating, stealing, swearing
• I want to be free instead
• Set me free
•       
• I want the world to know / I want the world to see
• I’m living proof that man can be set free
• If I wrote it on my forehead, stamped it on the wall
• Would it make you believe at all?

This song is the title track off of WeakSide’s previous CD “Free“.  If you get a chance to listen to it, I hope that it enourages you.  If you’d like to have a copy of the CD, all you need to do is send an email to weaksidemusic@yahoo.com with your mailing address.  All of WeakSide’s CDs are sold for whatever you can afford (whether that’s $15 or $1.50 or 15¢); the goal isn’t to make money, the goal is to encourage people with the good news of Jesus! 

You can also listen to a number of songs (including “Free“) from all of WeakSide’s CDs at www.myspace.com/weakside or download them on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/weakside/id383584667

For concert videos and conversations, you can also join us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WeakSide/114776865244862

Thanks for listening!

Next to Me

By Jeremiah Knoop and Aimee (Nelson) Lofgren

Aimee sang this song to her husband Nate during their wedding ceremony in Hibbing, MN on June 2, 2007, and she made it through without crying.  The pianist was fighting back tears though!

• Look at me standing here in my wedding dress
• As I look into your eyes, I know I am truly blessed
• You’re the love song in my mind.  You’re the best part of my dreams
• You’re the captor of my thoughts.  You’re the better half of me
•   
• These are the moments I wish would never leave
• These are the moments I need to remind myself to breathe
•   
• It’s the way you look at me
• Like I’m the only one in your world
• And just for a moment everything disappears
• And it’s the way you hold my heart
• Like the way you hold my hand
• I just can’t believe you’re standing here
• Next to me
•   
• Our love is like the circle you put on my hand
• It’s beautiful, and it never ends
• It’s everything I am
• Your smile is like the calm after the storm
• It still takes my breath away
• I love you more here in the moment
• Than words could ever say
•   
• These are the moments I wish would never leave
• These are the moments I need to remind myself to breathe
•   
• It’s the way you look at me
• Like I’m the only one in your world
• And just for a moment everything disappears
• And it’s the way you hold my heart
• Like the way you hold my hand
• I just can’t believe you’re standing here
• Next to me
•   
• I can’t wait to wake up in your arms
• To share a love that’s crazy wild
• To build a brand new life with you
• To be the mother of your child
• Oh’ to spend this lifetime with my deepest, truest friend
• And no matter what tomorrow brings
• This love will never end
• I know you’ll never leave my side
• I can see it in your eyes
•   
• It’s the way you look at me
• Like I’m the only one in your world
• And just for a moment everything disappears
• And it’s the way you hold my heart
• Like the way you hold my hand
• I just can’t believe you’re standing here
• Next to me

           It was such a joy for me to have the opportunity of writing Aimee’s wedding song with her.  She had always dreamed of writing a song for her husband, and it was so much fun making that dream become a reality.  It’s a song that doesn’t really need any explaination.  Quite simply, it’s the expression of overwhelming love and intense desire of a bride for her husband and the anticipation of the life that they are about to share together.

          ”Next to Me” is passionate, honest and beautifully transparent…inviting her lover to feel every single longing beat of her heart.  The language and imagery are reminiscent of the Song of Solomon where a bride is beautifully obsessed in her husband’s love!  “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is better than wine” (1:2); “Lead me away!” (1:4); “Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!  Yes, pleasant!  Also our bed is green” (1:16); ”You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes” (4:9); “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.  Come, my beloved…I will give you my love” (7:10-12); ”Set me as a seal upon your heart…for love is as strong as death…Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it” (8:6-7). 

           These two lovers had no inhibitions or reservations when it came to expressing their desire for each other!  The intimacy of their words is enough to make a grown man blush (4:5, 5:10-16, 7:2-4)!  Yet, this is the passionate romance that God created to be experienced within the purety of marriage.  Adrenaline-pumping romance is God’s design, and this is the heartbeat behind the love song that Aimee sang to her husband on June 2, 2007.

           My favorite line in the song is: “These are the moments I need to remind myself to breathe.”  In the bridge, Aimee shared her excitement to be the mother of Nate’s child.  This dream has since come true!  And while her dream was coming true, her husband was “Next to Her” (see top photo) holding her hand!

           I have had the honor of writing a number of wedding songs over the years, and if you (or someone you know) would like to have a personalized wedding song…just shoot me an email at weaksidemusic@yahoo.com, or send me a facebook message: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WeakSide/114776865244862?ref=sgm

           If you would like to hear more, you can log onto www.myspace.com/weakside or you can download a whole bunch of tunes at iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/weakside/id383584667

           Thanks for listening!

Joel (Part One) //

           As we begin the initial leg of this highly deserted trek, our walking stick will taste its first real estate in the book of Joel.  Why not start in Hosea since it comes before Joel in the list of Minor Prophets?  Short answer: because it’s my blog, and this is where I want to start!  How’s that for an exhaustive exegesis response?                                   

           Dated sometime around 835 B.C., most commentators divide Joel’s message into two parts.  Part one (1-2:27) looks at a local disaster that just took place in the southern kingdom of Judah; Part two (2:28-3:21) looks to a disaster that will take place sometime in the future.         

PART ONE

V. 1 “The Word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.”

           What do we know about Joel?  Almost nothing!  The only autobiography we are given about this man is the name of his unknown father.  Not exactly on par with today’s best-selling authors, is it?  Get your hands on just about any book in your local bookstore, and you’ll find the first several pages filled with “praises” for the author’s literary ability.  Turn to the back cover, and you’ll read a paragraph or two that lists all of the author’s prestigious educational and vocational advances…incentives for you to open your wallet and add this particular title to your collection. 

           How many ladder rungs did Joel climb?  No idea.  How many tributes do we have for Joel’s literary works?  Absolutely none.  Isn’t that beautiful!  He was unknown…but he devoted what little we know of his life to making his God known.  Even his name is a testimony to God… “Yahweh is God”.  His only selling point is that his message is “the Word of the Lord”!

           Oh, for that to be the case with God’s people today.  How I long for people to see my life and know that “Yahweh is God.”  How I long for people to listen to me speak and know that they have heard from “the Lord”.  What would Christ’s church look like if we were content with being “unknowns” in our pursuit of making our God known?

V. 2-3 “Hear this, you elders, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!  Has anything like this happened in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?  Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.”

           Something big has just happened, and it’s something that NEEDS to be communicated to the generations to come.  Now, almost three thousand years later, Joel’s message is still being heard by any who will give ear to his book! [i] 

V. 4 “What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.” 

           A locust horde has ripped through the land and has devoured EVERYTHING.  Often times, it’s a stretch for our imagination to fathom many of the Old Testament situations, and this is one of those times.  EVERYTHING in the ENTIRE land has been COMPLETELY consumed by this army of locust.

           This reminds us of the Egyptian plague that took place right before the end of Israel’s captivity.  Right before God brought about darkness and death[ii] He sent a devastating locust plague.

           “…I will bring a locust into your territory.  And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth…and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field.  They shall fill your houses…which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day” (Ex. 10:4-6).

           Locust plagues weren’t just Biblical pandemics; countries all over the world can attest to the utter severity of this black horde.  They seem to have a “scorched earth policy”[iii] as the fields they leave in their wake look as though a fire just ravaged through the land.

           One such plague seared through Palestine and Syria in 1915 and covered “the face of the earth” from the border of Egypt to the Taurus Mountains.  In the December 1915 issue of National Geographic Magazine, John D. Whiting gives a description of its magnitude: “Once entering a vineyard the sprawling vines would in the shortest time be nothing but bare bark. When the daintier morsels were gone, the bark was eaten off the young topmost branches, which, after exposure to the sun, were bleached snow-white. Then seemingly out of malice, they would gnaw off small limbs, perhaps to get at the pith within.” Whiting went on to describe how the locusts of the last stage completed the destruction begun by the earlier form. “They attacked the olive trees, whose tough, bitter leaves had been passed over by the creeping locusts. They stripped every leaf, berry, and even the tender bark.”  They ate away “layer after layer” of the cactus plants, “giving the leaves the effect of having been jackplaned.  Even on the scarce and prized palms they had no pity, gnawing off the tenderer ends of the sword like branches and, diving deep into the heart, they tunneled after the juicy pith.”[iv]

In 1:5-20 Joel gives an overview of the total devastation.

• (v. 5)      All pleasure has been “cut off”.
• (v. 9)      Their means of worship has also been “cut off”.
• (v. 10)   Judah’s homeland is “wasted” and “ruined”.
• (v. 11)   That being the case, their means of livelihood has also “perished”.
• (v. 18)   Even the animals “cry out” as their habitation has been “devoured”.
• Finally Joel says that all the joy has “withered away” (v. 12), joy and gladness has been “cut off” (v. 16). 

EVERYTHING HAS BEEN EFFECTED

           In 2:1-11, Joel uses this locust horde as a visual illustration of the coming “Day of the Lord”.  Joel seizes this very negative situation as an occasion to share God’s message of warning that, although this locust plague has been a terrible judgment, there is coming a future judgment day that will make this plague pale by comparison. [v]

           Finally, in 2:12 & 25-27, Joel caps off the first half of this book by telling why the locust plague has happened…so that God’s people might “return to the Lord [their] God.”[vi]

PRACTICAL APPLICATION FOR US TODAY

1.         One of the first practical applications we see here is that, sometimes, God fights against His people.  We must not overlook that God refers to this locust plague as “My great army which I sent among you” (2:25).  Why?  Because God has a heart set on destruction?  Of course not!  God is fighting against His people because He loves us them too much to leave them in their sin.  God doesn’t give us a detailed list of Israel’s sin…because it doesn’t really matter.  Sin is sin…and sin separates us from the God who created us and the God who desperately loves us.

           We need to see that sin affects EVERYTHING.  Israel’s heart had wandered from their God, and (in His love) (and according to the Mosaic Covenant Relationship) He was going to fight against them to bring them back. So it is with God’s people still today.  If our hearts wander from Him, he will fight against us to bring us back to Him.  Isn’t that wonderful!

           This has definitely been the case in my own life.  When pride begins to seep through the cracks into my heart and prayer starts to feel unnecessary, God roadblocks my life.  He brings me down.  Things go south at home.  Tensions arise in my marriage.  Depression sets in, and it seems like everywhere I turn, there’s no joy. 

           Why?  God is fighting against my prideful heart.  For he is a jealous God[vii], and he will have my hearts one hundred percent…or not at all.

           When he says in 2:12, “Return to me with all your heart,” can you hear what He is fighting for?  All our heart.  Not just a piece on Sunday and a piece at mealtime and maybe a sliver before bedtime.  If you are his, He will fight you until you give Him all your heart all the time…because He wants to glorified as the all-satisfying object of our attention, and because He wants us to experience the unspeakable blessings that our found in an all-satisfying relationship with Him as our one and only obsession.

           Hosea describes the people of Israel going after other gods like a bride leaving her husband.  And God says in Hosea 2:6, 7:

           “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths. She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, “I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me then than now.”[viii]

           What kind of husband throws in the towel when his bride leaves him?  What kind of man would let his bride pack her bags and run away to another lover without fighting for her love?  In His relentless love, the book of Joel is a story of God fighting against His bride for the purpose of bringing her back. 

2.         When God fights against us…how we respond is critical.  Joel’s story teaches us how we are to respond when God puts on the gloves against our sin.  How often do we brush off sin as something that’s not that big of a deal?  How quick are we to justify our sinful actions…to get bitter and angry at God when He stretches out His hand against us?  Is that how God would have us deal with our sin?  Not according to Joel.

           Listen to how the people of Judah are called to respond: “Awake, weep, wail, lament, be ashamed, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, cry out to the Lord…”[ix]  Is that how we are accustomed to dealing with our sin and its affects?  Not exactly.

           We are a people who like fast, cheap, easy, fun.  Lamenting isn’t in sync with how we deal with anything.  We’ll yell, pout, fuss, blame.  But weep?  No, no.  “Hey there, it’s Okay”; “Shh, don’t cry”; “Don’t worry about it”; “Ahh, it’s no big deal”: these are the phrases with which we are quite familiar. 

           I am currently the high school varsity boys’ basketball coach, and I have grown to hate these catch phrases.  One of my guys will make a frustratingly bad pass, and I’ll hear a teammate try to sooth the tension with a “don’t worry about it” comment.  NO, guys…WORRY ABOUT IT.  This is a PROBLEM, and it needs to be fixed.  We don’t need to smooth the waters; we need to fix a turnover problem.  Unless we realize the affect that our bad passing decisions are costing our season, the problem will never be dealt with, AND WE WILL NEVER WIN.  (Sorry, I just needed to vent that out of my system!)

           Duct tape across the flashing orange lights on the dashboard of your car doesn’t solve any of its problems.  I know this first hand!  It only hides the problems that are slowly eating away at the life of your automobile while you pretend like everything is fine.  Sure, you may be spared from the annoying lights, but you’re killing your car in the process.

           Even worse, however, is when we do this with sin.  Through the voice of His prophet Joel, God is screaming, “No, it’s not okay.  Yes, you do need to weep because sin is a big deal.”  We will never hear the Lord encourage us to “be glad and rejoice”[x], we must deal with our sin before a holy and righteous God.

           Finally, when we are truly sorry for our sin and return to God with all our heart, then He promises to “restore to you the years that the locust have stolen” (2:25). 

           Then “you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.  Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is no other.  My people shall never be put to shame” (2:26-7).