response to a wicked heart

Luke 1

we see God responding to the wicked heart of Zachariah when Gabriel shows up and tells him he is going to have a son after his wife Elizabeth has been barren her whole life (and she is well along in years).

there are times when God responds to a wicked heart with wrath and punishment, with the ultimate purpose of His glory.

check out how Zachariah story ends...he celebrates his sons birth because of the promise God had made with him.

some strange way i can envision God in this situation. i desperately don't want to personify God in a way that is contradicting to scripture but my heart can see God's response in this situation. the problem with Zachariah is his wicked heart and God's main goal is to change his heart. God's discipline is to take his vocal cords away till John is born.

i imagine a patient God's when seeing wickedness, He maintains composure but administering discipline. God's ulimate goal is not to get His way but to eliminate the wickedness in the heart. His goal is to recognize what the wickedness is and punish accordingly to where wickedness is dealt with.


UHHH...Application?


as a father i punish because i do not get my way. i behave like a child but use my grown up voice. i yell, belittle, send to time out, and spank all out of being disrespected. my children disrespect me and their mom; so i look to correct it.

hows that working out Jordan?

well not that well.

i have two AMAZING boys, they struggle though (as any two and four year old do). their struggles in obedience and listening (or lack of) are in continuance day in and day out...over and over again. that's the definition of insane right? there are days that their mother and i go absolutely insane. we lose our cool and lose our temper. REASON? because it's about us (if we honestly seek the answer to that). i feel disrespected and so my kids get my reaction. a pride issue. a "you will obey me" thing.

an act of pride vs. an act of humility.

is this bad? no! there is nothing wrong with disciplining and desire respect from my boys but i MUST do a better job of recognizing the sinful, rebelious, wicked hearted nature and punish accordingly.

the glory of God is at stake here. i desperately desire my boys (and Noelle too when she reaches a age of discipline) to recognize the root of their evil desire and correct the problem where it makes an eternal difference in their life.


God, hear my heart and develop my behavior as a father as such...for your glory and not my own. build into my kids the capability and the heart to recognize where they fall short of your glory and change them daily. i pray the same for both Stacy and i. never let us to find complacency.

the love of YOU God is the most humbling force in the universe...not the wrath of God.

i MUST remember this when i deal with my kids day in and day out! may my wrath not be their force of change but our love and the love You offer them be their changing force!

an amazing wife

i will never forget my Christmas' growing up as a kid and watching my dad get the least amount of presents and never envying that.  i never wanted to be that guy who has no presents under the tree.  it's amazing what growing up will do.  

this year, Stacy and i expressed to each other and everyone else in our family that we do not want Christmas to be about us...make it about our kids.  we celebrated our 6th year wedding anniversary on the 22nd and made it clear we were going to make it all about us then.  and we did.  Nana took the kids for the night and Stacy and i took off for a great dinner and then went out to get tattoos together!  

amazing wife act #1:  tattoos together (not just allowing me to get one but her getting one with me)

the whole month of december we have been building into our boys the Christmas story...making sure they new the real "reason for the season."  they got it.  they could tell you the whole story thanks to Noel Pipers advent calendar.  

we knew Christmas morning was going to be huge to them and it was.  this is the first year that they got "Santa" and anticipated his coming.  they saw the presents building up and knew they were for them.  as much as we built into them the reason for the season, Christmas morning was coming and they knew it involved presents.

little to my knowledge, and against all for warning, Stacy went behind my back and got both of our families to buy into getting me a new computer for school.  she worked hard hours of being sneaky and creative lying to keep me far away from any knowledge of it.  

it's suppose to be all about the kids right...so i figured we were on the same page.

the final present of Christmas morning had my name on it.  as i opened it, i saw for the first time my brand new macbook...just what i wanted but NEVER thought i would receive.  the card on it read "we BELIEVE in you."  

amazing wife act #2: surprise macbook

i have never felt so humbled in my life.  my wife would do ANYthing for me and i am convinced of that.  we are not at a place financially to afford anything like this but she made it happen.  



GOD, You blessed me with an amazing partner and lover.  she always goes the extra mile for me.  sometime is shows up in HUGE ways like this and other it is huge in my heart...like when she looks into my eyes and tells me she loves me!  i believe her!  You have given me so much more than i deserve and NEVER let me take advantage of Your gift!

my purpose in blogging

i am looking for a place to journal my thoughts and revelations. i have never been a blogger before but i am finding myself online all the time so i might as well use it to my advantage. realize as you read i am not deep or complex. this blog is created for an outlet for me so if you find yourself reading it know that i am not trying to be something special. this is simply me!