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Joe's Blog

JOE HAGAN

July 21, 2006
Satan is still at work at every level of expertise.

I've been attending a week-long graduate seminar earning two hours of credit in Guidance and Counseling for my new day job starting August 1st. Our professor, a nationally known school counselor and author, has been teaching us counseling techniques to use in Christian high schools, techniques I've found to be intellectually stimulating (but you might not, so relax, there won't be a test!).

In brief, this is a man who has it together as a successful expert in his field as well as having raised four daughters who are happily married to Godly men. Today, after imparting to us great wisdom in the area of dealing with young people and their problems, he had the humility (and the guts) to admit to us that he has a prodigal son.

His words to us were both moving and convicting as he explained that degrees and published work and years of study do not guarantee success, even in your home. His eyes moistened as he described how his son has rejected most of what he was taught from the time he was four months of age and has recently left his family to pursue other avenues of life.

I found our teacher's words to his son before he left incredible given the circumstances. He told him, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to know Jesus Christ in a way I would not have thought."

Even more amazing than this man's composure during one of the darkest times a parent can know is the abundant grace poured out from the Hand of his Lord and Savior in this situation. May this young man respond soon to the wise counsel of his earthly father and to the personal invitation of Our Heavenly Father!

May 30, 2006
In this day of an abundance of contemporary worship music, I sure do enjoy singing old hymns from my childhood. And the older I get, the more I understand what they mean.

For instance, "He Hideth My Soul", a wonderful Fanny J. Crosby hymn, is a reference to Exodus 33:22 where the Lord told Moses to stand in "a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by."

In the chorus Crosby wrote:

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land.

A common term in athletics and in mentoring is shadowing. If you want to stop an opponent from getting the ball, you shadow them. If you want to learn about how a successful employee does their job, you shadow them.

In both cases, a person is being protected from harm, either from being defeated in a game or from lack of experience.

And what is God's motivation for keeping His children from harm? The remainder of the chorus tells the story:

He hideth my soul in the depths of His love
And covers me there with His hand
And covers me there with His hand.

May 16, 2006
I enjoy being a student so I guess I should be happy that I learned something new today.

We have a kitchen disposal that hasn't worked in about eight months. I'd gotten so used to it being broken that whenever the water in the sink backed up I'd just put my hand down the drain and sort of dig out whatever was in there. I realize that doesn't sound very pleasant and that it might bring to mind a similar scene from a fairly recent horror movie, the name of which I can't remember.

Anyway, I finally got tired of this ritual and called several plumbers today in the area to see who might be able to fix it while it was weighing heavy on my mind. After leaving several messages, I spoke with a gentleman who was traveling in my direction and would be able to come by within a matter of minutes.

I should have started keeping time as he entered the front door because I'm certain he set a world speed record for a making money. He walked into my kitchen, pulled our a piece of hardward which he stuck down the drain and after two quick turns, he'd thawed the frozen system, so to speak. "Probably a piece of chicken bone," he remarked.

To make sure the patient was completely cured, we fed the disposal some decomposing vegetables I found in the back of our refridgerator as a test. The broken appliance had been redeemed!

Of course, like Christ's redemptive work on the cross, the plumber's visit didn't come without a cost. The way I figured it, he made about $1.50 per second, surely a record.

We did come to discover that our daughters played on the same high school basketball team. Let's just say that his girl needs to pass the ball to mine next year... a lot!

May 8 2006
There are many times in my life that the Lord hits me right between the eyes with truth. I just had one of those moments.

I'm in between day jobs at present and, to be honest, I'm still stinging a bit from the effects of my departure from one position recently. Well, I was enjoying a session of good old-fashioned self-righteousness earlier this evening. You know, the kind where you've convinced yourself of your own perfection in every circumstance.

While playing "I Will Go On" by the Gaither Vocal Band, I noticed these lyrics:

I repent for moments I have spent

Recalling all the pain

And failures of my past.

I repent for dwelling on the fears

Beyond my power to change

The chains that held me fast.

And if that wasn't convicting enough, at the same moment I was also doing a Bible search for the word "continue" and had just come up with 1 John 2:28-29:

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

Whew!! The only thing I could find comforting was that there appeared to be others who've been in the same boat as me. Well, needless to say, I confessed that my thinking about my recent situation was sin and I'm now depending on Him to help me move on!

That was amazing and such a confirmation that God is good and very, very active in the lives of believers! But what else could I expect from my Heavenly Father?