Pastor Dan’s Blog
- Reheboam (II Chron. 12:14) “He did evil because he had not set his heart on Seeking the Lord.”
- Asa (II Chron. 14:1) “He did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
- Jehoshaphat (II Chron. 17:6) “His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord.”
- Jehoram (II Chron. 21:6) “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
- Dan Flynn, “He could ride a bike really far.”
- Dan Flynn, “A man who could complain about riding his bike really far.”
- Dan Flynn, “He desired to be faithful to his calling.”
- Jesus, the Lamb of God
- Jesus, the light of the World
- Jesus the redeemer
- Jesus is life
Blog: Jehoiada
In my reading, I recently came across the story of Jehoiada and Joash (11 Chron. 23). I was intrigued by the silent voice, the voice of Jehoiada.
The story begins with the line of David at risk. The evil queen mother, Athaliah, has overtaken the thrown of Judah after the death of her son. To ensure her power, she orders all of the sons of the monarchy to be killed. As the sons await their murder Athaliah’s daughter, Jehosheba, takes one child – a baby named Joash and his nurse and hides them. Eventually the baby is secretly brought to the High Priest at the Temple.
The Temple in those days was large and complex with many rooms. The baby was easily hidden for six years – preserving the royal family through this one child. When Joash was seven year’s old (Read II Chronicles 23) the priest Jehoiada used his influence with the army and had the boy elevated to king. The evil queen mother is killed and the line of David is re-established under King Joash. He ruled for 40 years (chapter 24:1) and we’re told that as long as Jehoiada lived Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
What so strikes me about Jehoiada is how unknown he is. Jehoiada is NOT one of the great biblical giants of the Old Testament. We know of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and David, but not Jehoiada. In biblical history he is a blip on the screen, a quiet whisper, a minor in influence – maybe, just like you and me. Jehoiada knew his role and he lived to that purpose. He preserved the monarchy and led the Kingdom of Judah faithfully. As a result the line of David was preserved and so was the promise of the messiah
It is so easy to deny our potential and our purpose because we don’t see a role. In fact, we see ourselves in a rather insignificant way. When Jehoiada was confronted with a decision, a dangerous one, he made the call and protected a baby prince. I expect he didn’t really plan on protecting a baby but there he was, for seven years, hiding a child.
I believe each of us has a purpose. We can feel insignificant but God looks at us in a different way. God uses us to show the world who He is. It isn’t by title, prestige or power. We are simply called to be who we are and the world will be changed. I really want to live out my own calling. The one that God has in mind. Just like Jehoiada.
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If you have questions, or would like to discuss this blog, feel free to contact Pastor Dan at dflynn@livingwatermi.org.
Blog: How would they describe you?
In my daily quiet time I’ve been reading II Chronicles, which follows the line of King David – so each chapter or so has a different king. It opens with an extensive amount of information on the reign of King Solomon, followed by subsequent kings who become less and less significant until the kingdom falls to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
From chapter to chapter each king’s reign is described and the author writes some brief comment about that king. Look at some of these statements:
“He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” What a terrible thing to have for all time! No diplomacy here and certainly no cover up to what the king’s character was really like.
Each comment succinctly mentions something about the character of the king. This got me thinking. What could be said of me?
No one wants to be known for a greedy character, or lying mouth, or as one son of King Charlemagne is described as “Pippin the Hunchback.” How would people describe you? Regardless of how we see ourselves or others, the Bible tells us some very important things about God, and how he sees us through Jesus Christ.
Note a few to these descriptions:
These descriptions are important. They speak to the quality of the person and for us the love of the Son of God, Jesus. We are also God’s children (John 1:12). This changes everything. It’s too late for Reheboam, Jehoram or even Pippen the Hunchback, but your title is bought with a price and given freely. You are a child of God! A nice title to have – like being a royal prince and it comes with the gift of salvation.
Blog: Who Cares?
I am not a baseball fan. I admit this without any reservation. I do like sports. I have a strong interest in the NFL, college football and college basketball, but not baseball.
A couple of weeks ago, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series defeating the Texas Rangers. This was a remarkable win, because only a few short months before, St. Louis was a whopping 10.5 games away from first place. It didn’t take long for them to peck their way to the play offs, and then ultimately – the World Series. It’s an extraordinary baseball story. This particular series caught my interest along with a lot of other people (In fact, 30 million viewers tuned in to watch game 7 alone).
When the Cardinals won, the city of St. Louis erupted in great joy. The rest of us nodded in acknowledgement and moved on with life. In fact, what I find striking is how quickly we moved on. Besides those obsessive sports addicts who live for sports trivia, to most of us, the Cardinal’s win will be a fading memory.
It’s striking to me what we actually choose to remember – the important stuff. I know the birth dates of my two daughters and my wedding anniversary, but other things just slip through my memory.
It’s remarkable how many of us don’t have a clue when our baptismal birthday is. Here is a great moment when the Holy Spirit created faith in us and freely offered us His salvation – but many families never celebrate it. As we move into adulthood, our baptismal salvation becomes a very quiet whisper. This forgetting can certainly signal indifference, or even complacency, to the act of baptism. I fear that the danger to our faith is not an attack from the outside, but our lack of caring.
Our faith offers us pearls of hope and our indifference never sees it. How can faith become real and vital if we drift away? John notes this to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:4, “You have forsaken your first love.” Here was a vibrant church that lost its way, drifting from the mission, getting caught in a sustaining life but not celebrating life.
I fear that this same word could be spoken to our congregation, maybe even to me, as a pastor shepherding the community. Those words from Revelation are painful and are a risk for any faith community. Who wants to be told that they have lost their first love? For Ephesus (and us) it is a passion of stepping forward so the name of Jesus is spoken and people are saved. When we lose our first love we go through motions and lack passion — and like a baseball championships it’s soon forgotten.
The Cardinals have the chance of winning the World Series again. There will be other tournaments, championships and more sports trivia created. But, really, who cares all that much? It isn’t life. We make it life, but it really isn’t true life.
My baptism is true life.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is true life.
And passing this faith onto our children, the next generation, is life.
These are the things we should remembered.
Blog: Psalm 6
I am struck by the deep sense of emotion found in Psalm 6, written by King David. At this point in David’s life he became so ill that he felt life was slipping away from him – he was broken in some way beyond words.
The psalm is only ten verses long and speaks to the terrible struggle David was experiencing. In verses 1-3, David prays that he would be set free from the pain in his bones and in his soul. Everything that makes up the man is hurting, the very depth of both physical and emotional pain. He yells out, “How long, O Lord, how long?” (vs. 3). David reaches the cornerstone of the psalm in verse six when he cries “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” Despite his anguish, David does ultimately end with the assurance that the Lord has heard his cry for mercy and has accepted his prayer (vs. 9).
At one point or another, I believe many of us struggle with dark nights – wondering how we will endure. Maybe in your own life you have done what David did, flood your bed with weeping.
I recently led a funeral for a fine woman who fought and lost a battle with cancer, leaving behind a husband of 46 years. I walked with both of them for more than a year, and we all grieved as the cancer took its toll on her body. She affirmed her faith in Christ Jesus, just as the psalmist did in verse 4, “…save me because of your unfailing love….” But despite her faith, her husband remains on this side of creation without her, living in the darkness of grieving and a broken spirit (his bones and soul). He will endure and he will heal, just as David acknowledged God’s love even while he lived in the darkness.
I think you understand this. There are times when we all live in this darkened state and wonder, “Will it ever be over?” Where is the light that penetrates into that darkness? After all, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). He penetrates the darkness! He breaks through the awful feelings of hopelessness.
What I really appreciate about this psalm is its honesty. In a world where we hide those hurts and cover up the pains, Psalm 6 brings a fresh honesty to brokenness. Life does bring deep hurts, and God comes to us within those hurts.
The song “Blessing” by Laura Story is a version of Psalm 6 in song. Over two million people have watched the video of the song on YouTube. Listen to the song now. Your heart will be deeply touched.
Psalm 103: Out of the Pit
n each of our lives there is the danger of falling into the pit. We read about such a pit in the book of Genesis when Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit. This large hole was used to capture water in the rainy season. In the dry season it was simply a large hole, a dangerous hole, that one could fall into and be hurt. For Joseph, his brothers threw him into the pit and into slavery and for a number of years—hopelessness.
Notice what the psalmist writes in verse 4: “who redeems your life from the pit….” There is an assumption that we will all, at one point or another, fall into the pit and feel that horrible sense of hopelessness. As with Joseph, others could throw us into the pit. We do live in this broken, sinful, awful world where an enemy does lurk about and is seeking to harm us (I Peter 5:8), and that enemy may be not only the evil one but also other people around us.
Yet, I find this too easy. It is easy to point the finger at someone else and place blame, but the psalmist is clear that we need to be redeemed. In verse 3, “…who forgives our sins…and heals….” We create our own awful pit. And we can sink ourselves into this pit of ugliness and feel horribly trapped and wonder if there is ever a way out. I wish I could say this only happened once, but I have seen it numerous times in my ministry. We make life choices that simply are bad and throw us into the pit of destruction. Scripture is filled with these stories of pain and hurt. David and adultery, Israel and its unbelief in the wilderness, Peter and his denial, etc. We can add our own stories to the list, and it isn’t fun.
Ultimately, we are incapable of pulling ourselves out of the pit. It is literally impossible to jump out of the pit; people keep trying…and failing. This is where the psalmist is so very hopeful: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (v. 8). “He does not treat us as our sin deserves…” (v.10). And I love verse 13, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love….” God himself pulls us out of the pit, and we don’t deserve it.
Here the gospel comes alive. The Psalmist uses active, engaged language, not a passive, observing language. God is active. The arrival of Jesus and his redemptive act for us, not deserved, is the living fulfillment of Psalm 103, “as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him….” He sends Love (Jesus) because God Himself is Love (I John 4:16) and He is the most loving father.
So, if right now you are in the pit of guilt or shame or fear or stress or simply a terrible lack of self assurance, please, please, understand that the One who Loves us is in the Pit with us, and He will most certainly carry us out of that terrible place.
~ Dan Flynn