God's Desire For Us

Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.

Micah 7:18

God chooses to pass over our sins. It's a part of his character, as well as His heritage. 

His delight in mercy and loving kindness is greater than any desire he has to punish. 

That's a good God. 

Grand Rapids Trip, Day 1

I had the plan laid out masterfully. I was taking a four day trip to Michigan to visit with Ooss, his family, my family and perhaps an old friend or two I may run into while up there. Noah had his football game on Thursday night, I was leaving Friday morning to head up and watch Mike's senior son, Brendan, play against perennial local football power, Lowell. We were then going to the MSU/Michigan game because HARBAUGH and Go Blue. After that, some quality time with Mom, my sister and her nieces.

Since I was no longer teaching and coaching, I wanted to make the trip as easy on our budget as possible. So, I set out to map a course using public transportation from downtown Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana, where a rental car would be waiting at the tune of just $15 daily. The entire train ride from O'Hare to Michigan City would be Nine Dollars. 

I was to connect from the Blue Line heading out of O'Hare to the Millennium Station. From there, on to the South Shore Line all the way to Michigan City.

I flew Spirit into O'Hare for $89 and the flight was due to arrive in time for me to have about a twenty minute cushion for the train ride from Millennium.

What is this cushion? Because Spirit apparently has only one terminal, we waited on the runway for 25 minutes. I didn't know where I was going when scooting through the airport, but found my way to the train station inside O'Hare only to find a line of around 100 people waiting to buy a $5 ticket to downtown Chicago.

This would not do. I managed to work my way around to the other side of the ticket machine and got my ticket, jumped on the Blue Line headed for Chicago. I still had time if the train kept its time schedule. On this day, it would not.

Each stop took about thirty seconds and I tried to mentally make people get on and off faster. That worked as well as holding the piece of paper coming out of a printer in hopes it will come out faster.

Washington station was in view and the clock was ticking. I exited, unsure of where to go, although I had the East portion to go. Where was the exit tunnel? I couldn't find it. Great! Oh, there it is, Go Andy! One of the keys in arriving at the Washington station is a quick exit as the Millennium Station is two blocks East of Washington. That quick exit didn't happen.

Off I went and I still had an outside shot of making the very last connection to Michigan City for the day, at 10:45 am, if I could find the station. If I could find the station. It was not found until twenty-five minutes later and I was in a sad state of affairs. I did run into a statue of Jack Brickhouse, which would be appreciated a few days later, just not in that moment.

What's next? After looking over the above scheduled stops, there was a brief flicker of hope I could somehow get ahead of the train by having someone drive me ahead. You know, an Uber driver or Lyft or something.

Nope.

I then set out for the nearest Enterprise in downtown Chicago. It happened to be one block away and I was hopeful and prayerful Enterprise would honor the rate I got in Michigan City. Of course, downtown Chicago and Michigan City are quite different in terms of rates. On the 3rd floor of a parking garage in downtown Chicago, I found my way out at a rate of $35 a day with an upgrade.

It was still a fortuitous event and I was on my way to Grand Rapids. As I rolled out of the downtown area, I came upon Soldier Field on Michigan avenue, right next to beautiful Lake Michigan

Yes, I was driving as I took this

Along Lake Michigan with Chicago Skyline

I was losing an hour once I crossed into Indiana, so I had to get rolling. Coincidentally, I was cruising along the same path my train was taking. I passed a train near Gary that was heading East. Sure, they were saving money, but I was going to get to my destination much faster, even with the hour wait in Chicago.

I made it to Grand Rapids around 4pm and had plenty of cushion in order to visit with the Oosse Clan while resting just a bit before Brendan's game. Brendan's team has been a state playoff team for several years now and the last two to three years, he has anchored the defense on their run through the playoffs. Tonight he was being honored by the Armed Forces as their "Player of the Week" in their featured Rivalry series. East and Lowell are big rivalries in Grand Rapids.

Brendan with Mike & Cathy at Half
receiving his award

It was a cold night and although Mike insisted on wearing dress shoes, I was under no such obligation. I was grateful for the additional gloves, coats and longjohns. Mike even got me outfitted in East gear so I could be a Pioneer for a night.

East lost and we now turned our focus to breakfast and Michigan football the following day. Turns out it would be quite a day.

Walk a Mile In My Shoes

A man’s car stalled in the heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car, walked back to the first driver, and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there and give it a try, I’ll stay here and blow your horn for you."

Excerpt From: Hodgin, Michael. “1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking.

Praying > Reading (From Wisdom Chronicles)

888. Satan seeks to interrupt our prayers. Our battle with prayer is not entirely our fault. The devil knows the stories; he witnessed the angel in Peter’s cell and the revival in Jerusalem. He knows what happens when we pray. “Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places” (2 Cor. 10:4).

Satan is not troubled when we write books or prepare sermons, but his knobby knees tremble when we pray. Satan does not stutter or stumble when you walk through church doors or attend committee meetings. Demons aren’t flustered when you read this book. But the walls of hell shake when one person with an honest heart and faithful confession says, “Oh, God, how great thou art.”

Satan keeps you and me from prayer. He tries to position himself between us and God. But he scampers like a spooked dog when we move forward. So let’s do.

“Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” (James 4:7–8

“The LORD is close to everyone who prays to him,

to all who truly pray to him.” (Ps. 145:18)

Excerpt From: Lucado, Max. “Outlive Your Life.”

Nor Height, Nor Depth

Is it too late? 

Running out of time while running to stand still,

I find You.

Comparison is overwhelming 

I cannot hide, arrested by pride.

Stumbling with the weight of self inflicted wounds,

Parched, unable to drink freely from

The Fount.

Reality hammers the truth of my place

Singularity in solitude

Reaching for the fellowship of Him

Through the vain attempts of acceptance

Shrink back and accept the whispers

It's too late

Rise again, for neither heights nor depths 

Christmas

Poet W.H. Auden describes the letdown of Christmas almost too well—reminding me even of things I hadn’t considered:

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree,
Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes…
There are enough left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week—
Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted—quite unsuccessfully—
To love all of our relatives, and in general
Grossly overestimated our powers. Once again

As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed
To do more than entertain it as an agreeable
Possibility, once again we have sent Him away…
The Christmas Feast is already a fading memory,
And already the mind begins to be vaguely aware
Of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension…(1)

For Auden, in the days after Christmas, we step down from the heights of the holiday and along with our colored lights return to dimmer realities: daily life and its monotony, despairing headlines, another year of wearisome failures, blind spots, and missteps. Writing in 1942, Auden’s sense of the dismal reality of life after Christmas was likely heightened by the uncertainties of war and the certainty of violence. For many, Christmas indeed serves as a moment of respite in the midst of harsher realities that promise to recommence. Still for others, the season itself is disheartening and the aftermath is more of the same. Regardless, the picture W.H. Auden paints is one in which many can enter.

The countercultural Christmas story that sits at the heart of all our holiday efforts begs us to see it as far more than a peak event in December. Christmas is an annual reminder of the church calendar that God is on the move and was on the move long before we knew it. In fact, it was precisely into our dismal, empty, post-festive reality that the Child came near in the first place.

In the bleak moments of late winter, Christmas is not anti-climactic; it confronts us all the more. It is our startling reminder that God has not forgotten, though in the thick of our empty routines, despairing headlines, and blinding self-interest we may have forgotten the Child. Yet here, in the quiet and empty days after celebrations have ceased, the sights and sounds of the Child among us can better be noticed and more authentically received. If Advent brings the world’s attention to the sounds of one who stands at the door and knocks, and Christmas marks the culmination of that knocking in the cry of a newborn king, then the days thereafter usher us further into the presence of a God who not only knocks and draws near, but has opened wide the doors of heaven and calls us further into the kingdom.

Faith Without a View

In Daniel 6, we read about the infamous story of Daniel and the Lion's den. The appeal of the story doesn't lessen as I grow older, but the freshness of new insights grows as well.

Faith requires a belief first, and then, doesn't guarantee anything beyond the fact God is entrusted with that belief and He will do as He sees fit. The greatness of his nature buttresses our faith. We, however, would love to see before belief. God asks us to trust His nature before we see.

Daniel did just that. In Daniel 6:23, it is noted Daniel "trusted in God". It's important to note Daniel's confidence was twofold:
1) He knew God
2) He knew he was blameless of the accusations.

Being blameless doesn't guarantee deliverance. But Daniel knew whatever the result, he would be delivered. That deliverance may be in the here and now, or in the ultimate.

In Hebrews 11:33, faith conquers kingdoms...and stops the mouth of lions. Daniel didn't see it happening before it happened. In Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, it states,

"His belief was not with a view to a miraculous deliverance. He shut his eyes to the event, committing the keeping his soul to God, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19), sure of deliverance in a better life, if not this"

Without a view of the miraculous and still acting is the essence of Faith. To trust in God's unchanging nature in the midst of our own distrust is indeed a courageous and counter cultural act.