Day 18: June 30, 2012- Dreams, Righteousness, and the Lord's Confidence

Priceless shots of the day:

On the journey.

I think I should be upset right now.

Hey, they can't all be good.

You put that one up, Dad?



Aw, phooey.

Genesis 37-38:30, Matthew 12:22-45, Psalm 16:1-11, Proverbs 3:27-32

Joseph enters the picture. Isn't it crazy we've gotten that far? Contrast him and his pure, innocent heart for God with that of his older brother, Judah, who sleeps with his daughter-in-law. It makes one wonder how one family produced Jerry Springer kids and patriarchs in God. Who knows how God chose Joseph over his brothers and if it was only Joseph's doing? But the reality impresses on me strongly, a father has a great impact over his children. May I be a father who devotes himself to his children and, may by God's grace and devotion, they become Josephs.

Jesus is called the devil. Well, it had to happen. Have you ever been so attacked in the church? Remember, these old boys, the Pharisees are the church leaders of their day, not just our hindsight proverbial hypocrites. Unfortunately, they don't always get it right, which is why righteous men and women in the church HAVE to stand up. We have to notice and fight against injustice. We have to be men and women of valor. A major step of this is being wise enough to recognize what is good or bad, what is of him or not. Today, he teaches us...

David is really celebrating this time around, which is nice. For all his pain, he can't but sit before God and get all gushy. Get gushy with him. You'll appreciate God, righteousness, and everything holy so much more if you do. Let the floodgates open. Tears and warm fuzzies welcome.

And Proverbs gives us our gentle nightcap by reminding us, after all we've read, to not forget to do good to all we can when we see it. It's not enough to hear the words and have warm feelings. All the fuzzies in the world are worth little if we don't love our brother. So let's turn our learning into living, and really love the world.

Goodnight all, and God bless!




http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037-38:30,%20Matthew%2012:22-45,%20Psalm%2016:1-11,%20Proverbs%203:27-32&version=NIV

Day 11: June 23, 2012- Part 2 of the First Love Story and the Two Brothers

Moment of the Day:

A cool thing happened today.

We successfully inserted Luke into the Fisher Price Swing that had been given to us. And he didn't cry.

He just looked around and reached out, trying to comprehend his surroundings.

As he swung, all of a sudden, I wanted to get his attention. I wanted to tell him I love him. At least to make eye contact.

So I got really close and swayed with the rhythm of the swing.

"I love you, Lukey."

But he continued to paw at the air and looked side to side to try to figure out where he was.

He wouldn't look at me. It was as though he couldn't.

I felt such love well up within me, as I saw him struggle with his surroundings, and all I wanted was for him to know how much I love him and that I'm right there.

But as I got closer, I couldn't get his eyes to meet mine.

He was too consumed by the movement of the swing.

And then I thought, this must be how God feels.

We sway back and forth, so caught up in our surroundings, pre-occupied trying to figure it all out, that he can't get our attention. He looks at us and leans in, so full of desire for us, just wanting to comfort us and tell us it's okay. You don't have to worry about the swing. Daddy's right here. Daddy loves you.

But we don't notice. Our eyes dart back and forth, and we miss what he so desperately longs for us to hear. What he so desperately longs for us to see. That he's right there.

If we could, we'd see the overwhelming love and compassion welling in his eyes, a Father who never stops watching, never stops trying to get our attention.

We'd see a Father who wants to enjoy the ride with us. Wants us to be able to enjoy this with him.

If we could just forget the craziness and movement for one moment, we'd see that he's right in front of us, following us with his eyes, hoping to catch ours. That we're not alone. He's been standing there all along, calling out our name. That he's swaying back and forth to the rhythm of our crazy pace, leaning in, hoping to share it with us.

And more than anything he just wants to say, "I love you."

 

I love you

 

Thank you (or...milk...)

 

I love sleeping on daddy...

 

 ...all scrunchled up

But there's nothing like mommy 

The Readings:

Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, Proverbs 3:7-8

Part 2 of Isaac's love story. Esau and Jacob come into the picture. There's a really good lesson why to honor what God calls important. This doesn't work out well for the guy who doesn't.

An interesting day when Jesus has no place to go. Will you follow him? To really love God, we must be willing to follow without reservation. Even by the end of this reading, Jesus is a loner without welcome.

David has questions. Do you ever? That's okay, so long as you take them to him. And you answer them with what you know is true, not what you feel. David is going through the process.

An ominous change of direction in Proverbs today. Solomon isn't recommending one to seek wisdom and learn; he's warning against being impressed with your own wisdom. This is a really hard one for us. Perhaps especially for us guys. But there is an answer, and man, is it worth it.

Overall, a great day. I hope you guys are enjoying this. God is really speaking to me through it! Nothing like drawing near our Father and learning from him as the Bible comes to life...



Read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2024:52-26:16,%20Matthew%208:18-34,%20Psalm%2010:1-15,%20Proverbs%203:7-8&version=NLT

Day 5: June 17, 2012- Father's Day Reading

(Update: every Sunday will be a video reading, as well as mp3, so people can see how little Lukey is doing. Thought some people would like to see the little guy as he grows every now and then rather than just hear him squawk in the background!)

Genesis 11-13:4, Matthew 5:1-26, Psalm 5:1-26, and Proverbs 1:24-28


A great Father's Day reading today for a father to his son!

The beginning of the family of God. The patriarch. God gives a historic call to Abram (the father of the faith) with a promise.

Changing minds. Jesus gives some unconventional wisdom.

Attitude in need. Psalms encourages us to expectantly wait for God.

Consequences. Proverbs warns with a strong rebuke for not using wisdom.


And here's the little guy with his new father...



To just listen:




Read along with us:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011-13:4;%20Matthew%205:1-26;%20Psalm%205:1-26;%20Proverbs%201:24-28&version=NLT

"I have called you by name; you are mine."  (Isaiah 43:1)

Day 3: June 15, 2012- The Flood

(Update: the podcasts aren't working with iphones since they are based on flash player. Go to the web browser of any computer and it should work fine. My apologies for any inconvenience.)

Genesis 5-7:24, Matthew 3:7-4:11, Psalm 3:1-8, Proverbs 1:10-19


To read along:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%205-7:24;%20Matthew%203:7-4:11;%20Psalm%203:1-8;%20Proverbs%201:10-19&version=NLT


"And then the waters came."

Mankind was wicked. Why is it always being like that? I wonder often. But apart from God, we often drift.

In the reading today, there was one righteous man, which must have really mattered to God. It was so important his name was mentioned in the Bible; he was singled out. It was so important, he was chosen.

His name was Noah.

He had a simple response to God. He did exactly what God said.

The New Testament reading, coincidentally, is very similar.

As this story develops, one who had been waited for through all the patriarchs and prophets, the heroes and villians, the ups and downs of Israel of old- the Messiah- comes.

His name is Jesus.

Today, both stories start to unfold.

They hinge on one idea:  doing everything exactly as God tells us.

Both men are baptized, one by a flood, the other by a prophet clothed in camel's hair who eats locusts. Both represent cleansing from sin and purifying to God.

And both did as God said. The second, as we shall see later in the story, holds the key to everything.

It's amazing how God's plan all fits together.

And interestingly, after Jesus was baptized, he was tempted. That's the way it often is with faith. Once we declare our righteousness before God in Jesus, once we are cleansed by him, the world tries to jump in and tempt us.

That's just the way it is. Right now anyway. Jesus wasn't surprised by this. And he didn't give in.

David found himself facing enemies, but he stood up to it without fear "of ten thousand...who surround him."

Noah was the only one.

And in Proverbs, today, the focus comes to you. What will you do, when the world comes around, will you listen?

I think Noah has your answer.


"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'"   (Matthew 1:23- Day 1)

Day 1: June 13, 2012- In the Beginning

This is the beginning. I have a son!!!

"Unto you a son is given..."

At 10:38 pm, on June 12th, 2012, Luke Israel Demsick was born.

And thus began our journey together.

Today we began reading the Bible together (more me than him), just as we began our lives together as father and son.

Today we started at the beginning.

And the beginning is God's Word. The beginning is God's plan. The beginning is every thought He's ever had for every person (as the sand of the sea shore) for all time, culminating in a glorious love story of God for mankind, of danger and loss and escape and daring rescue, of life stolen and then returned. Of priceless worth found and then fought for.

One cannot acknowledge the love of a father for his son without the love of the Father for all of his.

This is where it begins.

The pages of this book are enthralling. The plotline, captivating. It is the most beautiful, epic, romantic story ever written. And it is true.

Humankind finds itself at a place not too different from my son's. Full of expectation and desire, but helpless to save itself.

Ang feeding Luke

It is a journey we all must begin.

This year my son and I will share it one day at a time.

Listen as we read for fifteen minutes or so each day and experience it with us. Drop in and come alongside friends. Watch God's vision from the beginning.

Today, my son's life has begun. I am the happiest parent alive. I wonder if God feels any different?

It is a discovery worth dedicating a lifetime. We'll take it a year at a time.

Oh, and I won't say it.

Ok, I'll say it.

Luke, I am your father.

---



Day 1: June 13, 2012- In the Beginning


Video of our first reading and Luke's first day of life

Listen or download for listening on a mobile device or ipod on the go:



And, if you'd like, read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201:1-2:25;%20Matthew%201:1-2:12;%20Psalm%201:1-6;%20Proverbs%201:1-6&version=NLT

This is yesterday's post. Today's should be up later tonight.

The First

My son is now negative six days old. Ish.

According to the man with the stethoscope and a lounge chair with paper that sticks to people's butts and frighteningly awkward stirrups.

The preparations are being made. His first Bible is on the way. Apparently, though, my son does not
yet have a first name. This is a problem his mother is most keenly aware of.

She has made me aware of it, as well.

I vaguely recall hearing mention of this at times before. Now, in a strange twist, it is being repeated again and with a frenzy.

It has even been circulated that it would be in the best interest of the parties involved to see that he has a name before he reaches zero.

I don't quite know what that means.
But the dull glaze over her eyes when I refer to Boy Demsick could be a clue.

I, myself, am wholly excited about the world of possibility that is within her.

My boy is inside.

An adventure lies on each side of his walls. One out here, I can't wait to show him, of cowboys and tents and living room forts. Trails through forests and sunsets and sails.

On the other, a person is quietly growing, with a glow in his eyes uniquely his own. A passion that will someday become a man's, who will set his own sail to the oceans that rise and fall in his eyes. And the compass in his heart.

These things call to me. They beckon who I am. They bring me to my son.

Who will he be? Will he someday look forward, as I am, immersed in his own self-awareness of what it means to be a Demsick, yet captivated in wonder at the next generation? Will his heart draw him back to the one that came before?

Father. Son. Demsicks. Men.

This legacy of wonder we pass along to our sons.

Though I know but little, I am certain of one thing. This boy is my son. When he grows into a man he will be a fearsome thing.

And he will have a name.

Whether this is the product of a dull glaze over the eyes or frightening stirrups remains to be seen.

In the meantime, I'll go back to preparing his sails and try to ignore the frenzy when it returns.

It is possible that it may pass over in time.