December 7, 2010

12-7-10 Tuesday, 6:22 am Springfield, 20 degrees, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday I landed at Fort Leonard Wood, and took a brief self-guided tour of their outdoor display from the 1940s. My mother had a friend who was killed on this day at Pearl harbor, and many who died throughout the war. She held a grudge against Japan until the end of her life. Today our troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan, with tensions high in the Korean peninsula. It is good to have a well-trained, well-resourced, disciplined military, and only time will tell how world politics unfold.

Hosea 6

Verse 3 “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him.”
Verse 6 (God says) “I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”
Yes, to know the Lord is the greatest gift of the human life, and yet it is so easily discarded, as demonstrated by Adam who broke God’s covenant, and betrayed His trust. My vocation as a shepherd is to lead people to know the Lord, to proclaim the good news, to set the captives free and seek the lost. I do so with my eyes open to the realities that the people of God down through history have been prone to reject His love and his kingdom, just as Hosea painfully experienced the adultery of his wife.

3 John
In this letter to his friend Gaius, the apostle commends him for hosting the traveling teachers. John had written to “the church” about this, “but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us.” I wonder how many unhealthy “leaders” there are in the current church who are like Diotrephes, who refuse to have anything to do with the real work of the gospel. We could call this the “Diotrephes Principal”. John continues “dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.” (verse 11)

Guide me Lord as I follow only what is good. Guard me from deviating an inch from your will in my life and ministry as a pastor. Just as Gaius provided what he had for your unnamed servants, help me to use what I have today for those who I will encounter.