Thank You Father, for yet another lovely weekend! Shannon and I were able to get out with some friends for a “date night” Friday evening, and on Saturday a friend of Jonathan’s from Kay’s Kamp came for a visit. He hadn’t seen Matthew since Kamp last summer, so it was a wonderful reunion and the kids had an absolute blast. As for me, with Shannon focused on her schoolwork I got to spend lots of time in the kitchen (the kids really enjoyed making fried wontons), got some housework accomplished and still had “down time” to spend on Sunday watching movies and playing with the kids. All in all, a busy but very satisfying couple of days.
One of the movies I watched on Sunday afternoon was an old favorite of mine (I actually have it on Laserdisc). It’s a 1992 film called “Leap of Fath” which starred Steve Martin as a con-man Christian preacher and faith healer named Jonas Nightengale who travels across the country hosting revivals and performing “miracles” for the crowd. On his way to Topeka, one of the trucks breaks down and strands the troupe in a depressed farming town called Rustwater. Jonas decides to do their show in the small town while waiting for the truck to be repaired, and is quickly met with resistance from the local sheriff (played by Liam Neeson) who seeks to expose him for the charlatan that he is. Jonas’ perspective however, soon changes when a local handicapped boy begins to make him examine his faith in a different light.
This is one of those films I can watch again and again, and yet gain something new from it each time Lord. It highlights some of the depths that in our brokenness we can sink to, and yet also delivers a powerful reminder of Your capacity for love and the spiritual transformation that can only come when we actively seek You. Watching this time, the thing that struck me the most was the look on Jonas’ face when he witnesses an actual miracle of healing during one of his shows. From the chasm of his self-centeredness and disbelief, he’s forced to see past himself and realizes that he’s truly not in control of things.
Mr. Martin does an amazing job portraying the character in this scene. The look of awe on his face at that moment describes quite eloquently the feeling I get when I spend time in Your Presence. 🙂
Heavenly Father, thank You once again for a rejuvenating weekend. It always refreshes me to find Your Messages to us in so many varied ways and places. You truly are the God of “Miracles and Wonders”. Amen.
Over the last couple weeks Father, it seems that I’ve been performing more and more data recovery services at my office. It’s actually work that I enjoy; taking a damaged hard drive where the contents have been rendered inaccessible and extracting the client’s seemingly lost bits of information contained therein. It’s a puzzle sometimes, and each drive has it’s own nuances that requires specific “massaging” to get to the data.
For the client, it’s a time of trial to be sure. Critical business data, family photos, tax returns or years of childhood videos may hang in the balance. People tend to underestimate the importance and value of the information they entrust to their computers these days, and when it’s not there all of a sudden it can be quite a shock. In the end, It’s a wonderfully satisfying feeling for me to hand them back something precious that they thought was lost to them forever.
Hold on… That’s what You do for us!
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5
We bring our lost and broken selves to Your Feet Lord, and through Your Son Jesus Christ we are “recovered” and made whole again. You return to us the most precious part of ourselves, and delight in doing so.
I never thought of you as a fellow geek Father… I like it. 🙂
Heavenly Father, thank You for “recovering me” from my sin and brokenness. Please continue to fill my spirit with new and beautiful “data”, and assist me in promoting Your Wondrous Service to others. Amen.
Wow Father, what a busy weekend! Between projects for work, helping the kids with homework, cleaning, laundry, dishes and cooking I think the craziness at the office will seem a little easier this morning. 🙂 Either way, I was Blessed to spend lots of time with people I love and was wonderfully productive so for that I thank You!
Along with the plethora of activity this weekend Lord, I was able to spend some time with Your Book reading in Genesis. For some reason, I was drawn to the narrative of Joseph and reread it several times. It made enough of an impact on me Father, that with Your indulgence I’d like to discuss this important story this morning.
Following Joseph’s betrayal at the hands of his brothers and being sold into slavery, he was taken to Egypt and sold into the service of one of Pharaoh’s officials named Potiphar.
“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” – Genesis 39:2-5 (NIV)
This really struck several points with me Father. First off, it must have been very obvious to Joseph’s master that You were with him to bestow that level of trust to a slave so quickly. I so want Your Light to shine through me like that! Secondly, through the trust placed in Joseph by Potiphar, his household became Blessed as well. This emphasized a very significant truth to me as well Lord; If we show Your Light to those around us, we Bless them as well!
But as you know Father, Joseph’s trials didn’t end there. He was later falsely accused and imprisoned, and yet his faith in You was stalwart. Even then, It was evident to the jailer that You were by his side and he was therefore placed in charge of the other prisoners.
“So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.” – Genesis 39:22 (NIV)
This position then led to his encounter with two of Pharaoh’s officials who had offended the king and been imprisoned for their indiscretions. Through Your Voice, Joseph interpreted dreams from each man, the events of which then came to pass as described. However, the official that had promised favor for Joseph upon his release quickly forgot his vow, and Joseph remained incarcerated for two more years.
And yet, Joseph’s faith never wavered.
Then Pharaoh had some dreams which left him troubled. He called on the expertise of his magicians and wise men, but none could provide a meaning for the nighttime messages. Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, whom Joseph had aided those two years prior was suddenly reminded of his accurate reading, and made Pharaoh aware of Joseph’s ability. Joseph was then summoned, and again through Your Voice was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Yet again, Your Presence in Joseph was so obvious that Pharaoh placed him in charge of his palace and of all his subjects, second only in authority to the king.
“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”” – Genesis 41:39-40 (NIV)
With his newly found position, Joseph went to work preparing Egypt for the famine which had been prophesized to come. Once again, Joseph’s rock-solid faith not only granted him Blessings in his own life, but also Blessed those around him as well.
Heavenly Father, thank You for placing Joseph’s example in my heart this weekend. I pray that I can find the strength to be as faithful, as dedicated and as courageous as he was in Your Service. May Your Light be that obvious in me, so those I encounter have no doubt of Your Influence in my life. Amen.
To begin with Father, I want to thank You again for yesterday. As You told me it would be when I woke, it was a good day. 🙂
Today Lord, I’d like to focus my prayers on my wonderful wife Shannon if I may. As You know, she’s been on my mind even more than usual the last few days. The past year has been an amazing transition and growth year for her both personally and professionally, but in that same respect her workload has increased and changed from what she’d been used to for so long. From being a stay-at-home mom and part-time assistant at a Christian Preschool she now :
– Has a job as a full-time Preschool Teacher with a full class of four-year-olds at a school she loves, surrounded by people that encourage and appreciate her.
– Has started taking college courses to further her education in Early Childhood Development.
– Plays viola for the Dover Symphony Orchestra and a private quartet that does weddings and parties.
– Teaches violin, viola and other instrumental lessons to a number of children in the area.
And on top of that Father, she always finds time and energy for her loving husband and two little boys. I am indeed Blessed to have her as my wife, my best friend and the mother of our children.
When I first heard the song “Dancing in the Minefields” by Andrew Peterson played on K-Love earlier in the year, I shared it with her and we both immediately felt a connection to the message it contained. It’s been running through my heart a lot the last few days, so I thought I’d close the week by sharing :
Heavenly Father, You’ve bestowed upon me the most amazing gift any man could ask for; a true soul-mate in life. I thank You for such an undeserved Blessing, and pray that You continue to shine Your Light through her eyes and her heart. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father. As You’re aware Lord, I’ve had something on my mind the last few days that’s been bothering me. The funny thing is, my aggravations are regarding an event I’ve never really had much interest in; the Super Bowl.
I’ve never been a big football fan. In fact, other than a couple of games I went to when I was in college, I’ve never even attended a live game… It just never really caught my interest. This year really wasn’t much different, until I read a news story about a commercial that had been rejected by Fox Broadcasting Company for “delivering a religious message”. As I’ve seen some pretty racy and scary Super Bowl commercials over the years, I went and sought out the “offending” segment :
Really?? This was deemed to contain too much religious doctrine?? Wow… I am so terribly sorry Father. We’ve truly fallen from You as a society. From a country that has “In God We Trust” on our currency, this truly makes no sense to me. Fox certainly isn’t worried about offending viewers with the content on shows like “Family Guy” or Fox Sports’ Internet show “Cubed”, but they’re concerned that someone might take a reference to a Bible verse as an affront?
Fox issued a statement last week that stated :
“As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Ok, so the reason they’re airing commercials for the new movie “The Rite” is because it’s not from a religious organization? Wow… I’m completely at a loss on this one.
I realize that as a private company Fox has the right to choose what they do and don’t air on their network within FCC guidelines, but if a little of that “concern” about offending viewers were redirected to examining some of the programming and advertisements they do broadcast, I have a feeling the lineup would be far different than it is now.
Heavenly Father, thank You for letting me rant on about this today. As always, You’re a wonderful listener. Please fill our hearts and minds with Your Presence and Understanding, so that everyone can experience that Hope :
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day.
One of the movies I watched on Sunday afternoon was an old favorite of mine (I actually have it on Laserdisc). It’s a 1992 film called “Leap of Fath” which starred Steve Martin as a con-man Christian preacher and faith healer named Jonas Nightengale who travels across the country hosting revivals and performing “miracles” for the crowd. On his way to Topeka, one of the trucks breaks down and strands the troupe in a depressed farming town called Rustwater. Jonas decides to do their show in the small town while waiting for the truck to be repaired, and is quickly met with resistance from the local sheriff (played by Liam Neeson) who seeks to expose him for the charlatan that he is. Jonas’ perspective however, soon changes when a local handicapped boy begins to make him examine his faith in a different light.
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
