Am I the man? I AM the man. Part I

I've been reading through II Samuel and recently came upon the story of our beloved King David and his sin with Bathsheba in chapter 11. Then in chapter 12 is where the prophet Nathan is sent by God to confront David about his sin.

In 2 Samuel 12:1-6 Nathan used a powerful story to illustrate exactly what David's sin looked like to the outside observer. And as we know, David, seeing the transgression from a position outside of himself declares that the rich man who killed the poor man's lamb should make restitution and be put to death.

Then come the words of Nathan in verse 7 that seem to hang in the air even to this day:

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

There it is. It's that punch in the gut you know you deserve. As you lay there on the ground gasping for breath, you are incapable of being angry because you know it is exactly what you needed.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit can be the same in my life as a follower of Jesus Christ. How many times are we told in the book of Proverbs that every way of a man is right in his own eyes?

Thank you Lord for the Holy Spirit who shows us the sin in our lives that we would not see clearly on our own.

But seeing the sin is only the first step. After realizing that he indeed was the man, David had a choice to make. He had to choose how he was going to react to God pointing out the sin in his life. He had to decide whether to push aside God's efforts at reconciliation and proceed in his sin, or to repent from his sin and return to fellowship with Almighty God.

In verse 13 we see David's decision:

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.

David chose correctly. His repentance didn't eliminate the consequences that followed, but fellowship with the Lord was restored.

So what about me? What about you? What is my response when the Holy Spirit speaks to me clearly and says, "Ryan, thou art the man".

I too have to make the same decision David did; to accept God's efforts to reconcile me to Himself and repent from my sin, or choose to go on in my sin trying to ignore God's conviction.

Recently Keeley and I had a "break in fellowship" over an issue. As you might have guessed, I was the man in the situation. God made it abundantly clear that my sin had caused the problem and I needed to repent and make things right both with God and with my wife.

Accepting the blame goes against our nature. Great, great grandpa and grandma Adam and Eve provided us with an excellent legacy in this area, the original blame shifters. It is easier put the blame on someone else (my wife for example) than to accept the wrong and repent.

This time worked out fine. I listened to the Holy Spirit and made things right with God and my wife.

But what about next time? And the time after that? And the time after that?

I want to always respond correctly. "Yes, Lord. I am the man. Please forgive me"

How do you respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction in your life?


For Part II we will take a look at the characters in the story that Nathan used to confront David. Who do the characters represent in the life of David and what can learn from them?

Trashy Marketing

OK, I just got home from going to pay our telephone bill, and on the way home I was following behind a pickup truck. Something happened that surprised me, and I wanted to share it with you.

As I was driving behind this pickup, the man sitting in the passenger seat threw something out of his open window. Now, this is not the surprising part. If you have ever been to Latin America, you will know that the general attitude towards throwing trash out of your car and onto the street is far different than the US. It is an accepted practice here and something you see ALL of the time.

What I saw today was different however. As I continued to watch the passenger of this pickup truck, I noticed that what he threw out of the window was a yellow sheet of letter sized paper. But not just one. In a somewhat rhythmic fashion, he was throwing more of these yellow sheets from the window, one every couple of seconds.

It became apparent that these yellow sheets were not just pieces of trash he didn't want anymore, in fact they were flyers advertising for a new cable company in the area.

He was passing out flyers!!!!

So the obvious question is, "Does anyone read these thrown-from-the-window-of-a-pickup-truck advertisements?"

To my amazement, the answer is yes. I witnessed with my own two eyes several people picking up the yellow flyers to see what they were.

I can see it now......

Police Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over?

Me: No Sir, I don't. Was I speeding?

Police Officer: No, you weren't speeding. I pulled you over because you are throwing sheets of paper out of your window onto the ground. It is illegal to throw your trash onto the ground.

Me: Oh I think there has been a misunderstanding officer, I would never think of throwing my trash onto the ground. You see, I'm actually just passing out flyers for a new business in town.

Police Officer: Get out of the car son and put your hands behind your head.

Great Quote 2 - The Normal Christian Life

OK, so I'm not trying to type out the whole book for you here in my blog, but I read another great part this morning and wanted to share it.

Check this out. In the context of being consecrated (setting ourselves apart) to God:

I am the Lord's, and now no longer reckon myself to be my own but acknowledge in everything his ownership and authority. That is the attitude God delights in, and to maintain it is true consecration. I do not consecrate myself to be a missionary or a preacher; I consecrate myself to God to do his will where I am, be it in school, office or kitchen or wherever he ordains for me is sure to be the very best, for nothing but good can come to those who are wholly his.

May we always be possessed by the consciousness that we are not our own.

Awesome huh? People ask me all of the time, "How did you know God wanted you to be a missionary?" This quote from Watchman Nee really helps to frame the right question. The questions isn't, "God, do you want me to be a missionary?", the right question is, "Lord, I will do whatever you want, wherever you want, what do you want?"

In 1998 I moved to Missoula, Montana with a group of people from our church in Kansas City to plant a new church there. I don't know if you have ever been a part of a church plant, but many times the first few years are the most difficult. Your "big ministry" at church might be setting up chairs or making the coffee.

I can remember God taking me through a time of learning there in Montana to change my perspective. Upon arriving in Montana, I had a whole list of things I was willing to do for God. Disciple people, preach, teach the Bible, etc. These were the ways I was willing to be used by God. But God put me back in my place and showed me that I needed to come to Him without a list, bow before Him in humility, and offer myself to be used for whatever, wherever, whenever He wants. Be it setting up chairs, or preaching a sermon, I need to be consecrated to God completely, and not just in the areas on some self-made list.

Are you possessed today with the consciousness that you are not your own?

Great Quote - The Normal Christian Life

I am reading The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee. This morning I read a portion that really struck me and I wanted to share it with you.

"For it is our wills that are in question here. That strong self-assertive will of mine must go to the Cross, and I must give myself wholly to the Lord. We cannot expect a tailor to make us a coat if we do not give him any cloth, nor a builder to build us a house if we let him have no building material; and in just the same way we cannot expect the Lord to live out his life in us if we do not give him our lives in which to live. Without reservations, without controversy, we must give ourselves to him to do as he pleases with us."

I especially like that last sentence. God is not interested in "most" of my life, He want it all. And He is worthy of it all. I am eternally grateful that Christ did not only give us "most" of His life.

Are you giving yourself to God to do as He pleases with you? Without reservations, without controversy?

Taekwondo Classes

Avigail and I started taking Taekwondo classes together tonight.

Each Tuesday and Thursday evening from 4:30 to 6:30 we will go and learn and sweat with a group mostly made up of young kids. The class is taught by a nice guy named Walter. It is obvious that Walter knows his stuff and he is very patient with the kids. The classes are quite a bargain at a mere $6 per month.

The first class tonight showed me exactly how out of shape I am, but I had a great time. Aside from being stared out because I am a tall, white, bald gringo, I am also by far the oldest student. The instructor told me there was no age limit, so here I am.

Both Avigail and I are really excited about the classes and it will be great time spent together as well. Stay tuned for more adventures in Korean martial arts in Spanish.

Premeditated Obedience

I have been spending some time these past few weeks in Psalm 119 and have really been refreshed by the continual challenge to love and obey God’s Word.

This morning I read the following verse and was challenged by God to think about my attitude toward obedience.

I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.  Psalms 119:112

David made a decision today about what he was going to do in the future.  He decided that he was going to obey God’s statutes unto the end. 

David had premeditated obedience.

David committed to obeying God for the rest of his life.  Would he fail again even after making this strong commitment to God?  Sure, just like we will.  But the point is that his life was aimed at obedience.  Obedience was the driving force.  Obedience was the plan.

Failures caused temporary deviations from the plan of obedience, but David was committed to getting back on course as quickly as possible.

How far in advance are you committed to obeying God?  Are you just taking things day-by-day, seeing how things will go, and then deciding to obey God or not depending on what circumstances exist in your life?

I want to have premeditated obedience like David did.  Every new circumstance that God allows in my life should not require the question to be answered anew, “Will I obey this time?”. 

Lord, I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.

A world built for shorter people

I live in a world built for shorter people.

While at 6' 2" I may be a bit above average height in the United States, here in El Salvador I am a freakishly tall giant.

Some examples:

• This picture is of a door way in our newly constructed house. It is one of several in the house that have inflicted damage on my un-ducked head

• I went to a store to buy a desk for my office and could not find one tall enough to fit my knees under

• While driving a friend's pickup truck at night, I had to duck down to have a view of the road that was not made pitch black by the narrow strip of dark tinting across the top of the windshield

• I have to stoop over to wash dishes in our kitchen sink or to prepare food on the counter top. (Are there any chiropractors in Gotera, El Salvador???)

One of Our Singing Princesses

Here is a precious video of our daughter Ella singing from our 2nd floor balcony. Straight out of a Disney princess movie. OK, except for the end.

A video worth watching

Culture Quiz Answer

Thanks to everyone that posted your answers in the comments. Here is what happened, and what should have happened:

What happened:
As you may have guessed, like a good gringo, I went with option A.

I politely told the lady who was offering the food that I had already eaten and was full and satisfied. Thank you, but I am full and happy. And as reflected in the comments, this would have been a perfectly acceptable and polite way to respond had I been at a social gathering in the United States. The person offering the food would have happily moved on to the next guest to see if someone else would like to partake.

What should have happened:
Actually the B/C combo answer is probably the most correct.

Immediately after the woman offering the food had moved on to more willing recipients, the pastor we were sitting with (who had also previously eaten, but took another plate) informed us that culturally it was impolite for us not to take the plate of food specifically prepared with us in mind. Ouch. He explained that it is better to take the food and not actually eat it, than to decline it. You can pick at it a bit, save it for later, or just wait for an appropriate opportunity to dispose of it, but to not take it is bad. Very bad.

I like the share it with your kids idea too. This works as long as they didn't get their own first plate at the same time you did.

Lesson learned. (The hard way)

Since this incident we have asked several people to tell us more things like this that are social landmines waiting to be stepped on by some hapless gringos. What we have found though is that it is difficult to think of this type of thing before it happens. Try to think of some in American culture. It is not as easy as it would seem.

So when you are traveling in Latin America and someone offers you a second plate of food after you are stuffed to gills already, remember the Blackstocks and do the right thing.

Culture Pop Quiz

Are you ready?

You are in El Salvador at a New Years Day celebration for your local church.  It is a park with a swimming pool and the kids are having a great time.  Your host family feeds you a wonderful plate of food which you eat completely leaving you very full and satisfied.  Several minutes later, another very nice lady from the church offers you another full plate of food that she has just prepared.

What do you do?

A. Politely tell her you have just eaten and you are very full already, but that you appreciate the offer.

B. Graciously accept the plate of food but do not actually eat it.

C. Graciously accept the plate of food and somehow manage to consume all of it.

Please post your answer below in the comments.  For my next post I will tell you what I did do, and what I should have done.  Good luck!

Consumerism

Check out this video about being a "good" consumer. Obviously it is an exercise in irony.

Here in Costa Rica we too are bombarded with the endless commercials during this time of year (most of which are squarely aimed at our children). When you think about all of the money and effort that are put into the consumer mentality, it is quite mind boggling. Enjoy. :-)

Am I Dreaming?

They say that there are multiple seismic tremors every day in Costa Rica. They say that lots of small, harmless tremors are good because they release pressure from the tectonic plates and make large earthquakes less likely to occur.

During our time here in Costa Rica, a little more than a year now, we have had only 3 or 4 tremors that were noticeable to us. Usually they were very short, and by the time you had figured out what was happening, they were already over.

This past Tuesday night, around midnight, I was awakened by the sensation that I was moving. Now, I am known to have vivid dreams that have a tendency to blend with my reality, especially in that muddled state between asleep and fully awake (just ask my wife, she has quite a collection of stories). So when I felt like I felt like the room was moving, my first instinct was to assume I was dreaming.

As I became more and more awake by the second however, it became apparent that this was no dream. We have a large dressing mirror hanging on the wall above our dresser and it was loudly slapping against the wall. Wind chimes are a very popular decoration here, but they are normally put inside the house where they are exposed to very little wind. The purpose of the wind chimes here is to indicate the presence of a tremor. Ours was making a lot of noise.

Once the reality hit that this indeed was an earthquake, two thoughts were running through my mind. 1) Is it going to be over in a second or two like all the ones before it? or 2) Do we need to get the girls and get out of the house?

I regularly pray that God would give us wisdom in the event that we need to get out of the house, because the small tremors and a potentially deadly large earthquake can begin in the same way. The 5 sets of locks that keep us safe from those outside the house that would do us harm, are the same 5 sets of locks that would keep us from exiting the house quickly in an emergency.

If you have never personally experienced an earthquake, it is hard to imagine what it is like. I have never been in a really big one, and God willing I never will be, but I have spoken to some people that have. The ground under your feet that has behaved in a predictable way for all of your life begins to do things it is not supposed to do. There is a feeling of complete lack of control. This is not something you went looking for, it has found you. And there is no way to get away from its affects, only attempts to position yourself in such a way as to not have something fall on you.

God knows when the earthquakes are going to come, small or large. We are trusting that He will give us wisdom about what to do if a big one comes.

You can read below and article that talks about this most recent activity.

Have you ever experienced and earthquake?

Early morning 6.2 quake was felt all over country

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

An earthquake that was estimated at a magnitude 6.2 struck at a point on the Panamá-Costa Rica border at 12:12 a.m. today.

The epicenter appeared to be a few kilometers inland from the peninsula that both countries share.

The location was listed by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center to be 55 km (35 miles) west-southwest of David, Panamá, 45 km (30 miles) south-southeast of Golfito and 220 km (135 miles) southeast of San José.

The quake was felt in San José as a short and a long tremor. The duration may have been as much as a minute.

The area of the quake, Punta Burica, and nearby Puerto Armulles in Panamá are a frequent location for such events. There have been no reports of injuries or damage yet, the magnitude of the quake is in the danger range.

Online seismographs at the Obvservatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica showed that the quake was felt all over the country.

A quake hit the same area early Dec. 25, 2003, and killed two persons and damaged at least 70 homes. That quake was registered as a 6.3 magnitude.


U.S. Geological Survey, National
Earthquake Information Center
Red dot shows estimated location of quake

A Family Favorite Video

This video is one our girls favorite to watch. In case you weren't clear on the plot of Star Wars, this little girl will clear things up for you. Enjoy!

Our Creative Daughter

Here are some merfolk that our daughter (5 years old) Avigail put together. She first drew the different body sections on colored paper, then cut them out and glued them together. She is very creative and likes to draw and make things.

She is a true joy to us.