Routers & Switches & Connectivity Issues

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber (Psalm 121:1-3).

Friday, my workgroup had a 3AM maintenance window to addresss one network problem, and afterward I went to Bossier City, several hours away, to troubleshoot a different problem. The effort in Bossier City did not go smoothly, and I left thinking a problem could still exist. I could then access our equipment from my phone, so I returned to Baton Rouge with the hope of bringing my daughter to Disney on Ice as planned and continue troubleshooting later. I was blessed this morning by revelation of other lessons learned by not so smooth maintenance efforts. Once, 10 years or so ago, I went to the then Governor’s home with his representative who would later be appointed interim CIO of state IT. My network manager warned me to plan well: “You don’t want to have to go twice.” Of course, the trip went badly, and we did have to return the next day to get the problem resolved.

Simply put, for the Bossier City problem, we tested & sent over a network switch to connect our router to customer equipment, but after someone connected the cables and powered it up for us, we still couldn’t log on to it to be sure customer connections would work. We had an alternate plan for a customer moving in on Monday, but I really wanted to get the switch working. I estimated the work would take about 30 minutes, but I sat alone on the floor in front of my laptop for about 3 hours. There might have been a command line missing from the switch, but since I had to take other steps to get the fiber connection on the router to work, I’m not sure that I didn’t just search for the wrong word when looking for the potentially missing command. I could have made a typo or just used the wrong term. Finally, the switch started talking to the router, and I could proceed with testing internet access.

Internet access from the site worked when we finished installing the router weeks ago, but not Friday. I vaguely recalled, while troubleshooting the switch problem from our office, entering some commands to change the way the router talked to the switch. One of the things we do to connect our backbone (or major) devices to the internet is include them in a smaller set of addresses associated with the connection to our internet service provider. If a port on a backbone device is not properly associated, whatever is connected to it can talk to other routers in our network but not get to the internet. When you first start configuring one of these devices, the commands available are “global” meaning they are not specifically for one port or one process; like on a computer, different applications are used for different things, but all require the computer to be turned on (global). From global configuration mode, you can enter a different configuration mode to change the nature of a particular port or process, like opening a browser or game or MS Word. The available commands are generally different. The command to create one of these subsets of addresses is a global command: “ip vrf group-name”. To bring a device into that group, you enter interface configuration mode, and the command is slightly different: “ip vrf forwarding group-name.” Likewise, to remove a device from a group, the command is “no ip vrf forwarding group-name”. If you forget the “forwarding,” you might accidently delete the whole group; in our computer example, instead of just saying, no I don’t want to open Yahoo, you say, No, I don’t need internet, just take out the whole IE browser. So, on my Bossier City router, there was no group set up for internet access anymore, & I vaguely recalled entering the command without the “forwarding” once while troubleshooting the switch problem from the office. It took me quite a few tries to get the internet group set up again, but still I couldn’t get out to the internet. Some things looked right, though, so I tried to connect directly from the router using the same interface that was tested before. Still no. My work day had started very early, & I knew my mother did not want to take my girl to Disney on Ice, so I had to just leave.

On Saturday, after looking at some emails and requesting the additional work hours used, I logged into the Baton Rouge router to look from there – which I couldn’t do from where I was sitting in Bossier City. I saw a statement using the same address I was first attempting to use on Friday; this causes a problem for the router: as if while standing at your door talking to your neighbor, the phone rings, and it’s the same neighbor with no idea that you’re already in conversation. However, there was no statement regarding the 2nd address I’d tried. This morning I recalled that to connect a laptop to the small router we installed at Bossier City, a cross-over adapter is required to swap the transmit and receive signals. Some devices, such as our main router in Baton Rouge, will detect the type of device it is connected to and swap transmit and receive on its own. I’d thought about looking for that cross over adapter the day or so before the trip, but I didn’t. It might be in my laptop bag, but had I found it, I might have missed Disney on Ice instead of packing up, so praise God.

The Bossier City visit & followup work reminds me this morning of how many troublesome troubleshooting experiences I had early in my IT training (with much greater frequency then). My trainers let me walk through some messy installations and upgrades likely knowing the lessons learned alone in a room hours away from the office with limited or no network access might add more to understanding and troubleshooting skills than what is learned from just watching and reading – not that watching and reading aren’t necessary, too. It can be difficult to let someone walk through the process. I’m so glad they did, and I pray for wisdom in encouraging others through a similar process. Ezekiel 45-46 reviews rules for sacrifice for a generation in exile. So many details demonstrate faith in God, and help me perceive His holiness, a quality we can’t wholy attain in this life. I’m reminded the troubleshooting process undertaken by the Israelites from Abraham to the birth of our Lord Jesus took longer than anticipated and had unexpected results. In Hebrews 11, Paul writes of leaders of faith: Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see (Hebrews 11:27). It’s only reasonable that the birth of our Savior would follow the writings of kings, prophets, wars, captivity, and plagues. I’m so glad for Old Testament scripture, but I know without Jesus, I’d still be lost in sin without hope of being restored to the Father. In all my activities, I have joy knowing the Lord helps me grow in my walk, my training is to praise His Name, and my retirement will be with the angels in His glorious presence.

With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven will dawn upon us.It will shine on those who live in darkness, in the shadow of death. It will guide us into the path of peace (Luke 1:78-79).

Baby Blue Jays

As always, I am glad for the good news this morning: God “saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose & grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:9-10). A couple weeks ago, my daughter & I met my dad at an LSU softball game. I’m not much of a sports fan, but hearing the national anthem usually stirs my enthusiasm, & I watched the players with great interest. Nevertheless, two or three times, when everyone cheered, my dad turned to my daughter & I & asked, “did you see her catch the ball?” No, I did not. I don’t know what happened to my attention span during those 2 seconds, but I didn’t see it. I’m reminded of the times when our Savior Christ Jesus appeared to me through another believer or series of events in my life, & likewise, I missed Him. I’m so grateful today that life & immortality have been brought to me through the gospel. Everyday is new opportunity to experience God’s goodness in whatever form it takes. Without Christ Jesus as my Lord & Savior, more than likely I would be blind to what brings me fresh joy & strength. More devastating is the possibility of being seperated from our God forever because I didn’t respond to His call. I’m so glad for the truth of 2 Timothy: “So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack & save me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever & ever. Amen” (4:17-18). Praise God, for He is good! For ages, our families have known of His great works. He who is immortal alone can offer eternity in His glorious presence. Reborn Christians don’t want to be distanced from Him for any length of time. An eternity apart from the God who is love, who restores hope, & who delivers favor would be unthinkable. Lord, every day I shall call upon your great name!

“Proclaim the message; be persistant whether the time is favorable or unfavorable” (2 Tim 4:2).

Rejoice in Singing & Pecking out the Keys

But our citizenship is in heaven, & it is from therethat we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that enables Him to make all things subject to Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).

This morning, reading Jeremiah 48, a prophecy of woe & despair for the Moabites, I wondered about the ratio of sad tidings to glad tidings in my favorite book, the Holy Bible, & I thought how briefly the horrific sufferings of Jesus are described compared to the fate of any exposed to God’s wrath. Matthew 27:26 reads, “after flogging Jesus, he handed Him over to be crucified. Even the miracles of Jesus are described succinctly. The gospel, the telling of the presence of God on earth, the greatest story ever told for many, comprises a relatively small section of the Bible. It seems as though separation from God produces an anguish that cannot be contained.

The obedient son in the prodigal son parable questions his father’s celebration of his wayward younger brother’s return. “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Luke 15:31-32). Praise God, Christ Jesus, full of unfathomable grace & love, desires our homecoming as does our Creator. Jeremiah’s words for Moab are: “How it is broken! How they wail! …So Moab has become a derision & a horror to all his neighbors” (Jer 48:39). Jeremiah, a vessel of the Lord, surely reflects the anguish of God over our turmoil, but it’s Jesus, of course, who willingly becomes a derision & horror allowing our plight to be temporary. Reading through Isaiah & Jeremiah, I must remember the sorrow our Almighty God must have for His Son, still in heaven, whose coming torment stems from all that unfolds below. Our God could turn away, destroy us or simply allow us to run our natural course, & still be God without our spiritual companionship. I’m so glad He chooses to redeem us!

Lately I’ve been made aware of a harshness in my attitude. I suspect the Lord will work on de-rooting that as He’s done for other less Christlike facets of my personality. If so, the process will not always be pleasant, but suffering is temporary. Helen’s piano lesson is this evening; she doesn’t look forward to the lesson or practice, but she likes the music. She doesn’t have any notion of the joy she’ll recieve in years to come if wepursue this ability. As her mommy, I am part of that effort, but the reward will be hers & hopefully used mightily by the Lord. I’m just so glad to particiate in God’s plan.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer & supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

Mardi Gras Mambo 10K

It was fun..I mean other than the super crowded start, the inclines, & the wind on the levee, but all that’s a blur now.

Praising God for Holes in the Wall

Acts 9:24-25 tells how Paul escapes an attempt on his life: “Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.” Sometimes the wall is a hard head or a situation, but separation from God is still an attempt on our lives. Praise God for prayer opportunities, especially those at choice moments when we’re willing to accept a word from believers & be lowered to our escape route whose name is JESUS.

After watching a couple clips of speakers at Whitney Houston’s funeral yesterday, I thought about the grevious events that brought me into a house of God before I was reborn in Christ. It is almost too easy to sort those occassions by my own degree of seperation from God. I’m blessed today that this morning’s Bible reading puts my ponderings into a scriptural context. John the Baptist came before the Lord Jesus. His work was to prepare hearts to receive the gift of God. Most anyone knows its difficult to communicate with someone who’s not sorry for anything, who’s full of self-justification & rebellion. Isaiah 40 reads: 

“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level…And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed’” (3-5).

During hurricane Katrina, I stayed at my parents house. I was somewhat participating in an approved drug rehab plan, & my previous companion was in jail.  The Katrina damage kept me there longer than I expected. When I attended church with them, their preacher asked people to give towards a relief effort. He suggested that especially those who were unable to help much at 9/11 or the terrible tsunami the Christmas before should do whatever they could for the many whose lives were devastated. I had a few pangs of guilt about the selfish life I led. Then, some music was played that particularily touched me, & I couldn’t stop crying the rest of the service. I think the preacher gave an altar call, but I didn’t respond. Today, crying in church is a regular occurance for me, but that’s wasn’t the case when I was further from the Lord.

Six years ago, the only son of the companion mentioned above died. He was 19 or so. I didn’t know him well. When he came to visit dad, an argument over money or pills usually occurred, the inevitable result of addictions within a family. A new guy was still in my life, but I attended the funeral for the dad’s sake. Months behind on a number of bills, including my house note, I begged & borrowed to get something to help me through the service which was packed with more people than I probably even knew after 30 years in Baton Rouge. I was devastated at moments for the boy’s parents, particularly mom who tearfully thanked me for coming, but mostly I was uncomfortable. I have to assume some prayers were said & a message was given, but I was away from God in various ways, unrepentant, & couldn’t recieve. I’d felt closer to God when I saw Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat a couple years before. I rode to Atlanta with my dad & the dogs to visit my sister & her dogs; I was drug free for the week, & no one else was living in my house at the time.

Just a few weeks after the boy’s service, my cousin’s teenage daughter passed. Praise God, a beautiful & gifted younger sister was given to them some years before. I tried to imagine the sadness they endured. I wished I could offer consoling words or see grief depart for a while, but again, I could not experience the presence of God.  Although my cousins live up north, it was Mardi Gras in LA, & 5 months pregnant, I’d  managed to find some mischief the day before. During the service, the preacher talked about how my cousin’s daughter had sought the Lord in recent months, giving her life to Jesus. Although it sounded good, away from God, the miracle of that news was lost on me. Eternity was not a consideration for me before I was reborn in Christ.

Recently I saw on twitter or facebook remarks concerning a popular singer’s words about demons. The response was more or less: listen to your songs. Once in a while, I overhear conversations that might suggest people who aren’t Holy Spirit filled Christians outright ignore a truth that’s plain to them. I am at times guilty of this behavior. How forgetful can I be?

Matthew 3:5 says of John the Baptist’s call:  Then the people…were going out to him…& they were baptized by him…confessing their sins. Hearing the call for repentance is a miracle in itself. John the Baptist was no ordinary man. An angel told of his coming. His doubting dad couldn’t speak until he was born. Jesus said he was the greatest on earth.  Praise God for all who lead us to a moment of repentance. Tangled in sin, I rarely sensed God’s presence enough to be remorseful. I eventually called to Him in anguish. I still struggled with the drugs, but I was preparing my home for a new housemate who thanked God for her sobriety & did her best to live God’s way.  The prayers of believers & the grace of God led me to a straighter path where I too could eventually recieve the gift of God.  You hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried…Hear, O Lord, & be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper” (Psalm 30:7-10).

After my deliverance, when my child was just a few months old, I experienced a window of stability. Many who struggle against lifestyles of sin go through windows of stability. Luke 11:24-26 speaks of such times: the unclean spirit leaves, returns to find the house in order, & brings 7 other more evil spirits. Praise God, at this time I was strengthened. I attended a church service where I was led in a prayer of confession & acceptance of Christ as my Savior. Although I didn’t leave my seat or give the prayer much thought afterwards, I know beyond a doubt a change was initiated. Within a month or so, a wrong door was closed. Certainly it was not my last struggle against sinful lifestyles, but preparation for the way of the Lord was underway: “the uneven ground shall become level, & the rough places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4). God is good! He is good!

 “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:37-39).

May He Bring us Relief from our Work (Genesis 5:29)

Reading through the account of Noah in Genesis brings to mind two moments for me. First, at age 13ish when a friend mocked someone’s belief in creation, instead of defending what I’d accepted without thought or question, I brushed aside the Lord with little hesitation and replaced weak faith with ambivalence. Also I recall all the anxiety I experienced when I realized the Christian walk I’d chosen required me to believe in the flood: the ark full of animals with Noah’s family & the death of all air-breathing creatures in existence before the flood. Reconciling myself to the biblical story of creation wasn’t too difficult, really. After all, who am I to say it didn’t happen that way? What risk is there in believing that God created the heavens and the earth? A smirk from the kings of evolutionary theory? Will they sentence me to the principle’s office? It’s easy to be double-minded about creation vs evolution, too: “oh, I believe in evolution, but I also believe God started it all. Genesis just skips over some of the details.” James, the brother of Jesus said, “a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do”(1:6-8). You’ve probably seen the error message on your computer before about the application you’re using becoming unstable after you change your mind about what you want to do and try to enter some new command while the some other one is still in effect. I’m usually glad I live in the age of home computers and networking, but they often remind me of the tower of Babylon. When you exalt an older PC beyond its intended capabilities with processor intensive internet sites and programs, the parts stop functioning together & give annoying “out of memory” or “insufficient resources errors.” Eventually it will likely crash at which point you…reboot. The Holy Bible reads “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”(Gen2:7). Poetry? The Lord gave us intellect and dominion “over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”(Genesis 1:26). He wants us to use our talents wisely. “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance”(Matthew 25:29). But we were not called to be defiant students pecking holes in every attempt our instructor makes to educate & mature us; Isaiah 61 reads, “Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified”(21). When what I experience during the day conflicts with what I previously believed, and my intellectual & emotional well-being become distorted and out of sync, I have to reach out for the Lord, in prayer, song, or in the gibberish sometimes referred to as speaking in tongues. These are acts of faith that reboot my spiritual system so I can return to a functioning state.
Sometime after stumbling over the creation hurdle, I was confronted with Noah and the ark full of animals, sole survivors of the Great Flood of the Old Testament. This hurdle seemed a little taller. I don’t generally read science & research magazines, but Google searches can be fun & enlightening. A National Geographic ariticle in the 2/2009 issue refutes an article from 2007 which suggested some partial flooding possibly caused by the melting of an ice sheet could have contributed to the rise of European farming. The new article reads, “We know the mud is exactly the same age as the shells and so can determine what the sea level was about 9,400 years ago” & suggests a local floodwater rise of 30 feet – hardly agreeing with the Holy Bible 1.0 account in Genesis chapter 7: “And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.”(19-21) In my work at a local ISP help desk, we occasionally run into issues that defy our understanding of the applications and hardware involved. Sometimes we have to upgrade software because of a bug or reset a process. Our vendors’ websites have pages and pages of listings for resolved issues & unresolved issues for how various peices and parts operate using hundreds of different software levels. Sometimes a device has to be…rebooted, & that may or may not fix the problem. The most frustrating times are when so many different things are done that when the problem is finally resolved, no one is quite sure what caused it or what the fix was. I’m not educated on the methods and instruments used in geological studies, but I don’t want to use any talents, memory, or resources to refute the Word of God. In Ephesians, Paul instructs the people to use their gifts to build up the church so “We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”(4:14) Exploring the wonders of the Lord God’s creation is wonderful, but by default, taking glory from Him gives glory to the prince of this world, Satan.
Rereading Genesis chapters 5 – 7, I thought about Noah building the first ark and the sinking of the Titanic. The Lord said, “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper”(Genesis 6:14-16) I built a Javascript calculator once. I have at least 200 versions of it, and maybe 10 of them float. I know the Lord could guide us through building a car if it were His will to do so, but I wonder how many holes He plugged up for Noah & his sons. The Lord who “took” Noah’s great-grandfather Enoch after he walked “in close fellowship with God”(Genesis 5:24) for 365 years surely could have destroyed everyone and saved Noah another way. The Bible is full of examples of servants of the Lord demonstrating their faith. “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him”(Genesis 6:22). He had to build the boat and live in it for many months with air-breathing creatures of every kind. The least I can do is believe. If I won’t believe our God flooded the earth to rid the population of wicked humans, how can I believe He raised His son from the dead to compensate for our wickedness?

When asking John to baptize him, Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires”.(Matt 3:15). Whether assembling a car or upgrading a computer, following instructions is generally advisable. Skipping steps, particularly in non-routine efforts, often leads to unexpected results. The end picture of Christ Jesus raised from the dead ascending into heaven leaving repentant hearts turned to God was possible through a process only the LORD could envision and accomplish. Matthew says of Jesus, “News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all”(Matt 4:24). Jesus healed the sick to reveal the glory of God so the gospel would still be spread 2000 years later. Today miracles of physical healing occur, whether or not they are believed, but His Spirit, sent to us only after Jesus’ return to Heaven, follows in His footsteps repairing, reconciling human souls to relationship with God. Our Savior said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose”(Matt 5:17). Paul explains in Romans 3 that the law only shows us our sin. Noah spent many years building the ark and may have only known its potential when, inside with his family, the rains came. We might know the joy of reconcilation with God when first saved, but His majesty, seen in our gifts and talents, is powerfully demonstrated in our trials, temptations, failures, and loss. Understanding and accepting that our survival is because of Christ Jesus fine tunes our heart; our spiritual resolution becomes clearer as faith in our Creator is established.

Paul said, “Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith”(Romans 3:27). Faith requires an investment just like geological studies and applications and networking. Whatever habits we put before the Lord are the ones we choose and can lead us to a big blue screen crash. Only the Lord can save us from the flood when the enemy bears down on our lives and loved ones. We have to put time and energy into pursuing the Lord. “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matt 6:21).

The Spirit of God Hovering Over the Waters (Genesis 1:2)

Happy New Years! The last week has been joyfully busy with family and Christmas, but looking forward to 1/1/2010, my thoughts kept straying to last New Year’s Eve. I was ready to start a 30 week series of classes through my church to prepare myself as a disciple of Christ, but I’d already created a schedule conflict for a week-end in the first month. I didn’t think that would be such a big deal, & I attended the New Year’s Eve Watch Night service hoping to get a spiritual OK of sorts. The message was a radical call to discipleship delivered with great distinction and urgency, & instead of getting an OK, I thanked the Lord for meeting my “but if not” request to change my heart towards his will. I decided then that I would not miss any of the 30 classes barring misfortune beyond my control. Sometime during 2009, my pastor gave a message on the significance of one good decision in determining our course in life. I could speak of so many examples of this in my life, & I thank the Lord for every good decision I’ve ever made, but that one seemingly petty decision likely impacted my year in immeasurable ways.

The hugeness of our decisions is sometimes overlooked. Our heavenly Father said through the prophet Isaiah (1:2-3), “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.” Do we as sinners believe the Israelites, the chosen ones, children of Abraham led by a cloud and a pillar of fire to the promised land, got up in the morning and consciously rejected the Lord their God? Do we do that? Certainly not! It’s done through our minor daily decisions. During the course of my deliverance from drug addiction by the Lord Jesus Christ, my mother would plead with me to call her for prayer the next time I considered buying drugs. Surely at some point while going to an ATM, making phone calls, driving wherever, I could stop to call her so she could pray with me. I tried to explain to her that from the moment it entered my mind, the decision had already been made, & it was too late to change my course of action. However long the process took, my mind and spirit were already done. That’s an extreme form of bondage, but it shows the core of many of our less self-destructive activities also. How many little things in our lives are simply “decided”, etched in our mind without consideration? Prayer can help us find the things which most offend the Lord and bring about whatever deliverance, or change of heart to His will, is necessary.

Had I made the decision last January that missing a class here and there was OK for some things, I would have set the Lord back on my priority list. Moses told the Israelites early on “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:5) What’s an hour on Sunday to learn about serving the Lord who brought me out of sin and put me on a path towards Heaven? If I had missed that Sunday in January, why not miss in April when it’s raining outside, & I don’t want to have to suffer the awkardness of carrying an umbrella with a toddler or damp clothes. Just how much is to be expected of me in return for salvation through Jesus’ bloody stripes, the crown of thorns, and a few hours on the cross? My deliverance came from the grace of God requested through the intercessory prayers of many fine Christians, but God is at work in all of our lives whether our tempations or bondages show on the outside or not. Moses also said, “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.” (Deut 6:15). What habits in my life still take precedence over serving the Lord? I have gospel tracts in my purse, but I’ve only sent them through the mail – partly because I haven’t read them all yet (note to self – next time buy lots of 1 or 2 options not a few of lots of options.)

Honestly, last January when deciding on whether or not to skip my class, had I known where not skipping would lead me, in the flesh I would have chosen the blue pill and let my life carry on as a Sunday believer. That’s because in the flesh, I can’t experience the sensational presence of the Lord that draws me nearer and nearer to Him as I continue to worhip, pray, and study His Word when I would otherwise be pursuing my own goals using my own chosen format and regime. However, like toddlers try to imitate their parents’ activity with toy phones and laptops without acheiving anything, we can try to imitate the awesome glory of God with our toys, intellect, or drugs without coming close to the wonder of His holy presence. We should never forget that our toys and intellect are gifts from Him just like our children’s toys and intellect are from us. We want them to grow and enjoy their lives while sharing that joy with us, the parents. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being…But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:7, 20-22). God takes care of our needs. A relationship with Him is a privilege, not an obligation.

Paul says in Romans 1, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.(18-21). If you read through Romans chapter 1, many forms of wickedness are described. When cleaning a house, if you think you have to start in the room with the biggest mess that you hate the most, you might never agree to take the red pill and break out of the matrix. Find one Christian CD you like that glorifies the Lord, play it loud, and see how our heavenly Father helps you move from doing the chores you like to liking the chores you hate. Then relish the pleasure of a job done with more joy than sacrifice for He will “equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21).

Is this who we’ve waited for? (Downhere, How Many Kings)

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 16:1)

When King Asa of Judah saw the attempts of Israel to surround him, he made a treaty with the King of Syria instead of turning to the Lord who had given him vicory in other battles. King Baasha backed down, but the seer Hanani’s message to him was “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand…In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:8-10)
Hannai told King Asa, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2Chron16:9). We know the Lord searches for those who will serve him not just faithfully as in loyally but with unquestioning faith just as “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen6:8), and the Lord told Abram “go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation” (Gen12:1-2) King Asa probably did not know he was about to offend the Lord and bring great wars on his people when he called upon the King of Syria. He was just handling business using his kingly intellect and diplomatic skill.

I can’t speak of what was going on with King Asa 3000 years ago, but I know when I get busy or overconfident in my own capabilities and set my heart and mind on my own will, I’ve lacked in my study of the scriptures and prayer life. Certainly I haven’t had to worry about the King of Israel surrounding my land with fortresses so none can leave or enter, but Satan the enemy of all is constantly on the attack. Baasha King of Israel saw King Asa defeat of large armies and made a move against him. When Satan sees the Lord show us favor, he will certainly build up his forces in our lives such that we see Ramah everywhere we turn. This is why daily prayer and study of the scriptures is so important. Jesus said “I am the bread of life”(John6:35). His Word is nourishment to our spirit and we need it everyday. The Lord, our heavenly Father, wants to hear from us daily, not just when we’re in dire straits. That’s diet and training for a blessed life. Many serious runners build up their diets weeks before a race not just that morning. I don’t mean Olympians, just serious runners who race for enjoyment and to see the best results they can get. This is the type of focus in my prayer life I’ve seen yeild great and unexpected results. We can’t know what the weather will be like, if our sinuses will act up, or if we’ll have bad leg cramp, but the Lord sees around every corner. Like daily training of any kind, fervent powerful prayer gets the ball rolling so we’re prepared for anything. We might not even know King Baasha is out there building up Ramah, but if our strength in King Jesus is built up, we can see all 10 pins knocked down for a full strike just by letting go of the ball.

Some 300 years later, after the exile to Babylon & return to Jeruselem, the prophet Haggai delivers the message from the Lord that the temple is to be rebuilt & to not be discouraged in that daunting task. The prophet Zechariah is shown a vision of the rebuilding of the Lord’s temple; he’s told Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, laid the foundation and will complete it. “For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth” (Zech4:10). The Lord, again, looking for the faithful. In Revelation 15:1, John sees “seven angels having the seven last plagues”. He calls it a great and marvelous sign “for in them the wrath of God is complete.” Behold, the finish line! Who knows the joy at seeing the end of the race come to pass. In 500BC, the seven rejoice to see the plumb line, the foundation of the rebuilt temple. The work has begun! Jesus came after the temple was rebuilt. Honor to and faith in God Almighty had to continue for the miracle of Jesus Lamb of God to be fullfilled.

David said in Psalm 143: I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.(6) Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.(8) Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life. Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.(10-11)

Prayer and scripture reading may seem trivial and too time-consuming to be worthwhile. Maybe when you’ve started before, the enemy who wants to see you in hell tell you how foolish you look talking to yourself and reading ancient works instead of educating yourself further in your field or training for your next race. Joshua and his people probably felt a little foolish marching around Jericho for 7 days, too (Joshua 6). General Naaman was angered when Elisha told him “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River,” but when he did, his skin was restored and he was cured of his leprosy. When we sing Christmas carols and open gifts to celebrate Jesus birth in a manger 2000 years ago, we must remember our King was born in a manger and visited by shepherds. Take 5 minutes a day to pray to the Lord and meditate on a scripture. If you are at 5 or more, increase it. If you miss a day don’t quit. For who has despised the day of small things?

Sing “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.’” (Rev 15:2-4)