No one in the Bible seems to have children without drama. Isaac and Rebekah are no exceptions.

This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Isaac.

    Abraham became the father of Isaac,
        and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah
            daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram
        and sister of Laban the Aramean.

This is actually a lot less dramatic than Abraham and Sarah (and Hagar), of course. But I digress.

    Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, 
        because she was childless.
    The LORD answered his prayer,
        and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 

So, I remember the afternoon when Danny called and said, "We are expecting" ...

    The babies jostled each other within her,
        and she said, "Why is this happening to me?"

... and I remember even more clearly the afternoon, probably a month later, when he called and said, "... expecting twins" ...

... which reminded me of phone calls I, myself, had made, a lot of years previously - always for one baby at a time, but there were three sets of calls.

That was the first time that I realized how different my life might be from what what I'd expected - plans accelerated, plans placed on hold, plans replaced by other plans...

... plans from God, but I didn't know that, at the time.

    So she went to inquire of the LORD.

    The LORD said to her,
        "Two nations are in your womb,
            and two peoples from within you will be separated;
         one people will be stronger than the other,
            and the older will serve the younger."

So, Rebekah goes to God and asked something like "what the HECK is going on in my life?"

It turned out that God had a plan, but there was a time in Rebekah's life when God has a plan, Rebekah had no idea what the plan was, and life did not look good.

Danny's wife Sarah spent five weeks in the hospital on bed rest. That's an expensive hobby, and it's very isolating - after the first couple of weeks, anyone would hear voices.

But God has a plan. And not just for twins.

This week, please pray with me for

- Shirley's brother Jimmy and Denise, in town for Denise's mother's funeral,

- the family of Shirley's cousin Barbara Jean, who passed away last week,

- my friends who are learning to deal with anger in a way that is pleasing to God,

- a large and unruly group of youth and adults headed to Mexico on Sunday for a mission trip, and 
- many summer travelers, in many directions.

Have a blessed week! Life is good, and Christ lives in you.

Spencer the wonder hamster

I've attended a men's prayer group on Saturday mornings forever - I'm not sure anyone can remember when we started! - and one of the John 15 questions we talked about yesterday was about "being Christ". Do you really BECOME Christ when you love and serve others, or is it just that Christ is present while you serve?

We each share our own understanding of scripture, and do not end with a vote on what the right answer is, but we listen (to scripture and to each other), and it makes us think.

So it happens that this morning, I'm thinking about our discussion as I read this passage from Matthew:

Jesus went to every town and village. He taught in their meeting places and preached the good news about God's kingdom. Jesus also healed every kind of disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, "A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in." 

Jesus called together his twelve disciples. He gave them the power to force out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. The first of the twelve apostles was Simon, better known as Peter. His brother Andrew was an apostle, and so were James and John, the two sons of Zebedee. Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus were also apostles. The others were Simon, known as the Eager One, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions:

"Stay away from the Gentiles and don't go to any Samaritan town. Go only to the people of Israel, because they are like a flock of lost sheep. As you go, announce that the kingdom of heaven will soon be here. Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid."

The thing I'm noticing for the first time about this passage is that Jesus sends all twelve out.

Not because of their own goodness, or because of their own gifts, but only because the crowds were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

He sends out Peter - the impetuous one. He sends out James and John - the ones that Jesus called "sons of thunder", perhaps because of their tempers.

He sends out Matthew the tax collector - we might say "extortionist", because that's what Jewish tax collectors working for the Roman army of occupation really were.

He sends out "Simon, known as the Eager One" - your Bible might say "Zealot". Zealots are Jews who work to resist Roman force with force.

He sends out Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed him.

He sent them all.

In a few hours, I'll be saying "until we meet again" to the youth and adults who are headed to Springfield on a weeklong mission trip, and I'll be praying for their ministry to sheep without a shepherd, confused and helpless. However it happens, Christ's power will be present as they serve ...

... and we who stay behind have opportunities to serve, just as they will be serving.

This week, please pray with me for:

Those on a mission - both near and far.

An absolute massacre of people in my Sunday school class! I'm counting a broken leg, a broken collarbone, and a gall bladder removal, all in the past two weeks. We are now buying "get well" cards in bulk.

Pastors being commissioned for the first time.

Rachael, who's preaching her first sermon this afternoon.

My father George, who continues to weaken. He is now staying in a nursing home.

Graduated seniors, from high school and from college.

My friend who is expecting.

And have a great week! Christ lives in you.

Spencer the wonder hamster