Sunday, August 31, 2008

Listen to Jesus!......Moses

Jesus is the greatest prophet who has ever lived. This may seem like an obvious statement, but for many Christians including myself early in my Christian life I unknowingly elevated Moses to a place in my mind as the most revered prophet in the Bible. Not only was this wrong, but Moses himself would have been ashamed of this thinking. In Deuteronomy 18:15 he prophesied of a greater prophet than him that God would raise up in the future that we should listen to.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen.

So who is this prophet that Moses spoke of in 1405 B.C. that God would raise up? The New Testament is clear that the answer is Jesus. Here are a few of the references....

Matthew 17:1-5 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

Acts 3:18-24 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Though Moses was a great prophet, he was a type of the final Prophet that God would reveal in the last days. Paul Washer articulates this very well in this short 5 minute YouTube video.

Many Christians struggle with understanding how the law of Moses applies to New Covenant Christians. I hope this video is helpful for you in seeing the differences between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ that New Covenant Christians find themselves under.



1 Corinthians 9:20-21 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

To watch more videos from Paul Washer or to read about the missionary society he leads called HeartCry check out his website. HeartCry's way of doing missions is really tremendous and worthy of your support.

http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/home

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Update

We just got an e-mail from our caseworker of a new birthmother they are working with. She is due in a couple months and is looking at profiles tomorrow. I'm not real optimistic about her picking us because she told them she is agnostic and doesn't want an "overly Christian" family. I'm sure she would consider us to be "overly Christian" but you never know how God will work. I told our caseworker to go ahead and submit our profile and we will be praying for her.

We know of two other birthmothers our agency is working with; they will be looking at profiles in September. Luke is planning on going to the "Together for Adoption" conference in November with another friend from our church. We're really looking forward to that--should be a great time for them both.

Please keep praying for us!


Friday, August 22, 2008

Our First Field Trip

We had our first field trip today with our homeschool co-op. We visited our town's fire station. It was very interesting and the kids all had a great time. Here's some pics from our trip:

Caleb waiting for the firefighters to start the tour
Isaac visiting the inside of the fire truck

Part of our group posing by the fire engine

Isaac has a new blog where he is going to be writing. Check it out at http://isaacsthoughts-isaac.blogspot.com/. He'll be keeping everyone updated on his kindergarten year.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

hablas español?

We found a great deal yesterday on the Rosetta Stone Spanish software. We ordered it on ebay and it should arrive in a couple days. We want the boys to start learning a foreign language while they're young, and Spanish seems like a very practical language to learn.




We bought the homeschool edition which means each family member can have their own program going at their own pace. (Luke and I want to learn it too.) The program is supposed to be easy enough for a young child to do by themselves, so we'll see how Isaac and Caleb handle it. Our plan is to have Isaac run the controls while Caleb watches and learns as well. We've heard wonderful things about this software so we'll see if it lives up to its reputation. We'll give our offical "product review" in a few weeks after we have used it for a while.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Back to School

We officially started homeschooling this past Wednesday, the 13th. I decided to start the same day as our school district so that Isaac would be on the same schedule as all his neighborhood friends. And since we are hoping that sometime soon we will be bringing home a new baby, I wanted to get a head-start on the school year so that we can afford to take some time off when we get "the call."

Our first three days went really well. Both boys were excited to start school (Caleb is doing preschool) and seemed to enjoy our mornings together. I am so glad we decided to do this. I love teaching, and teaching your own children is so rewarding. I am looking forward to all the memories we are going to make together and watching them learn firsthand. Here's some of the highlights from our first few days:

We decided to start a "Back to School" tradition of taking the boys out for ice cream the night before school starts. The boys, of course, thought this was a great idea.












Here's the boys on the first day of school.













Thursday we talked about the short vowel /e/ and read Green Eggs and Ham. We decided we needed to fix green eggs for lunch that day.


As you can tell from the first day of school pics, we still haven't finished our basement. It is functional, clean and organized but it is still just concrete walls and floor. We have come to a standstill on that project because we aren't sure exactly what how much we want to "finish" it. Luke's installing a new light this week to give us better lighting down there, but we're not sure about the rest.

On the adoption front, we found out last week that there are two more birthmothers in Missouri that our agency is working with. They are both due this fall. Please be praying for them. We are going to St. Louis in September for an adoption seminar that is required for all adoptive parents. It should be interesting, and we're excited to meet other families that have adopted or are in the process.

We'll keep you posted!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Another update

We found out this week of another situation in Missouri, a baby girl due in October. She has some special needs issues, but as with most situations they have no idea how severe her problems will be until she is born. We have submitted our profile and are trusting God for the result.

Today we found out that two of the three birthmothers we mentioned a couple weeks ago have chosen families. The birthmother in New Jersey was looking at profiles today for the first time. I found that out this afternoon which gave me the opportunity to pray for her today as she was making the decision.

Keep praying for us and the birthmothers and we'll let you know what happens!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Hymn for August - How Great Thou Art

This month we are going to memorize "How Great Thou Art" in our family devotions. This hymn is extra special to our family. It was one my grandfather Emery's favorite hymns. He was one of the most Godly men I have ever known. I will never forgot how wonderful it was to hear a filled church building sing this hymn with great acclamation at his funeral.

How Great Thou Art!

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Refrain
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander; And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Refrain

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.

Refrain

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Refrain

Carl Boberg, 1886

Here is a link to the tune...

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/non/foreign.htm?sv/ostoregu.htm