What's in a Name

Benaiah - You might recognize part of the name ("Yah") as coming from the God's covenant name in the Old Testament, Yahweh. Many names within God's covenant people bore His name in a small sense: (say them aloud) Jeremiah, Isaiah, Elijah, Hezekiah, Joshua, etc... All of these names for individuals also said something about God! Such is the case with Benaiah and the reason we found it fitting for a first-born. The other part of his name comes from the Hebrew word "banah" which means to build or be built. Thus the combination of "banah" and "Yah" into Benaiah comes out as something like "Yah has built up" or "built by Yah". This was actually a pretty common name in Old Testament times but the most famous Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was one of David's mighty men and the general of Solomon's armies (2 Sam. 23:20-22)

Around the block today, 26.2 tomorrow!

Picture Speak Louder Than Words (sometimes :-)

Big Boy Benaiah!

Happy Mommy, amazing how make-up and a shower help you feel better!

The Leman Family (Minneapolis)

Meet Our Son!

This morning at 2:05 AM our first son was born - Benaiah Jeffrey Leman (8lbs/12ozs - 21 1/2 inches). His name means "God builds up" which we thought fitting for a firstborn. (though we didn't know it was a boy until he arrived)

It was a grueling 25 hours of labor but mommy Rachel is doing good and very happy. Benaiah's a good sleeper and even let us get a few hours of rest this morning. Rachel's parents are here to help us through the next few days and I'm sure we'll have many more guests after that :-) Thanks for your love and support, we'll continue to need it.

Marcus (for Rachel and Benaiah)

Horticultural Insights (pt.2)

Last week I met a tree. Walking through this arboretum a note by its roots read "Casaurina Equisetifolia - 100 years old". Who kept track of that? When other of its larger cousins were being hewn down and harvested, someone cared for this plant, watered it, trimmed and cleaned... Who did that? I wonder what they looked like... Did they smile a lot? What did the like to eat for breakfast? Could they run like the wind or were they confined to a wheelchair? I'll never know. All I know is that they loved this tree. They loved it, cared for it, and passed it on to someone else who would do the same.

"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." -Moses

Most of us won't be remembered long after we're gone. Family and friends may crack open a photo album from time to time and tell stories. Maybe they'll remember my smile, maybe they won't. But if they can look at my effect on the world around and know I loved Jesus, that will be good indeed. Maybe it will be a person they see, or a group of people. Maybe it will be where I put my money, all that non-necessity money. Maybe it will be an investment of hours week in and week out, or maybe just thirty seconds later today. Maybe it will be in a note I write, or something I say. Whatever it is, will it last, will it point the to God? In fact, it doesn't even matter so much that they know "I" loved Jesus but that Jesus is worth loving because someone devoted a life to it. 27 years and counting...

Whoever planted that Horsetail Tree is long since gone and now a second generation of caretakers is ticking off the days, maybe a third. Do they love trees? We'll see.

Horticultural Insights (pt.1)

Yesterday I met a plant. The brilliant blue of this blossom only shows its face for a few hours... and then it dies. "What a waste!" (we say) "Why would God create such a short lived beauty?" The Ohio Spiderwort, as botanists have named it, is God's gift to all humans to stop and consider the length of our days. Some wise-man once made the observation, "as for man, his days are like grass; as the flower of the field so he flourishes, and the wind passes over it and it is gone."

If we want to be a little less man-centered think about this: every Spiderwort that ever bloomed in every wild-meadow of this tiny earth bloomed to declare the glory of God for God's pleasure first and foremost... only after that to men and angels partake in this festivity. Hundreds of people walked past this Spiderwort yesterday. Did anyone notice it's fragile progress towards explosive beauty and death? God did, and he saw it blossom today though I couldn't be there. But yesterday I heard its story, saw His art, and worshiped.

Reflections Nearing Fatherhood

I’ve been given cause lately to think about parenting, specifically fatherhood because in God’s design that is my coming charge. (T+1 day) God has given fathers the charge of leading and their own household, to provide and protect what is under their care. And this is hugely important because a father isn’t just “Dad”, a father is a role model for both sons and daughters, a father is both a friend and an authority, a father is leader who does so through service, a father is strong and yet knows how to be gentle, a father is courageous but also knows how to cry, a father doesn’t rule for his own comfort but for the good of all those under his care, a father blesses and builds up, a father loves...and one might rightly call him a king, but not a tyrant. Earthly fathers don’t always know what to do, but they know to whom they must look. They are the image of God to the world in a way that no other creature can! Such is my understanding of fatherhood from Scripture and experience.

And glad am I that “experience” is one of God’s gifts to me! Almost every Father’s Day in the Sunday sermon we are reminded how difficult a day this can be, honoring our fathers. For many this holiday is not celebratory because their father was nothing like what I’ve described above...but, thanks be to God, mine is!

I remember as a child peeking into my parent’s room just before bedtime, and there was dad on his knees, praying. You see, he didn’t always know what to do, or where to lead, or how to bless and build up, or what it meant to be fulfill the impossible task of modeling the Father to us kids...but he knew the Father and that showed. Because even though no dad is perfect, by God’s grace he’s taught and modeled for me how to be a friend, how to lead through service, how be strong and courageous yet gentle and compassionate, how to bless, how to build up, and most of all...how to know the Father.

So, he’s to you Dad, on this special day of remembrance. Though I’m full of trembling at soon joining the ranks of Fatherhood, this is a day I can truly be thankful for God’s gift to me and my family.

I love you! Glad to be your son,

Marcus

Due Date...and Counting

The long anticipated day is here! And yet we're still waiting for baby to arrive. Mommy is doing ok, pretty stiff and tired. She's more eager than anyone to meet this little one she's carried day and night for nine months now. And yet we wait...

Those of you who've had children before can empathize with this expectation. You wake up every morning and wonder, "is it the day?" Sometimes you're startled in the middle of the night and the mind races with all the possibilities. Yet all the signs show that every hour takes you one step closer to this long awaited event.

I've been challenged by this series of events. I've only experienced expectation like this as we prepared for out wedding day. How much more so the return of our Lord Jesus? Yet this event is even more like the final day we're all awaiting. We can't put the day on our calendars and mark it off...but we know it is coming, all the signs point to it! We can wake up each morning and wonder, "is it the day?" and yet live that day with all our might knowing that the day is coming. Like Paul we've all received a task in life "according to the mandate of God our Savior and Jesus Christ our hope." Hope, wait, and pray with us for this baby and that glorious day!

P.S. - Here are some recent pictures from an outing:

A City to Come...

How refreshing it's been these past two weeks as Rachel and I have had time to settle into our new apartment and prepare for Baby's arrival. We've enjoyed the relaxed pace after such an intense year of study. We're very thankful for this respite!

But God is good to not let us over-enjoy these pleasures such that they become idols in our lives. I was reading an email today that I receive from Voice of the Martyrs about the Christian community in NE India. In 2008 there was a lot of violence in Orissa State and many Christians lost their lives at the hands of Hindu extremists. Others, nearly 100,000 were internally displaced as their homes and villages were destroyed. (This is a good place to ask why we never heard about this in the regular news sources!?) Two years later nearly 50,000 of these believers are still displaced and homeless - monsoon season is coming. Take a moment to pray for their physical provision and spiritual perseverance.

I was reminded of a dear scripture from Hebrews 13:

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. "

Oh friends, let us enjoy every gift our Father gives, enjoy it fully and happily - but let us never idolize these things. May we too learn that this "city" is not our true home, we look for the city to come when our King descends and establishes the Kingdom. Let your Kingdom come Lord!

Why Study the Old Testament?

As part of our final exam for Old Testament: Background & Message we needed to write a brief response to this question. I thought that some of you might want to read my response. It's not exhaustive and is geared more towards my experience from the past semester. Nevertheless, I hope it is a helpful read. After all, the OT is 75% of our Biblical content and if any of you read through the bible in a year, this is certainly a very relevant question (especially as you trek through Leviticus or I Chronicles 1-9). Happy Reading!

Response: Why Study the Background & Message of the Old Testament?

Having taken a two “Introduction to the Old Testament” courses before this class, once in high-school and then in college, I thought I knew what this year of study was going to be like, perhaps only on a deeper level. I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong my expectations proved to be! I’ve catalogued the most significant improvements in my understanding of the Old Testament in terms of canonicity, continuity, and complexity.

Q :: Why Study the Background & Message of the Old Testament?

A1) It is not only 39 books but also one Book about God. (canonicity)

In God’s glorious design he wrote a book over the course of 1000 years using a variety of noted and anonymous authors from all walks of life tracing His sovereign work from the dawn of time to the days of silence. Each of these individual books plays and important role in the life and doctrine of God’s people and they also play a significant role in the one Book we call the Old Testament (OT). While the English Bible ordering is useful and helpful in numerous ways, I have been significantly helped by studying these books in their Hebrew ordering** and thus discerning the overarching message of the Book. The Hebrew Bible is divided into three sections: Law, Prophets, & Writings. The Law lays out the foundations and covenant stipulations for God’s people. The Prophets trace the promising but sad history of the covenant people up to the exile. The Writings record directions for the diverse situations those who truly seek to live out the covenant will encounter. Knowing where the individual books of the OT fit in this scheme greatly helps us as modern interpreters to understand them more clearly and apply them more precisely.

(**Hebrew Bible Ordering: (Law) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; (Prophets) Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, The Book of the Twelve; (Writings) Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles.)

A2) It is foundational for so much of the New Testament. (continuity)

Jesus himself said after his resurrection, “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44 ESV). The three-fold division of the OT all attests to the Messiah and fills us with anticipation for his coming reign! The corpus of the OT does not only point to the reign of YHWH over all the earth but is progressively building towards the day when he would send a Seed, a Prophet, a Priest, a King, a Branch, a Servant, a Redeemer who would save his people. I have been so helped by seeing afresh how the Law and sacrificial system undergird so much of the NT and even more function as types of Christ! I have been so helped by seeing, perhaps for the first time, how all these great men of the OT chronicles were YHWH’s gift to his people and yet ultimately failed to provide what the people needed; they too were types of Messiah. Thus, the OT is primarily about Jesus if we have eyes to see!

A3) For all its wealth is can be very difficult to read. (complexity)

It is this last point, that the OT is about Jesus, that is most difficult for us to see and understand. Yes, it is about him as far as prophecy and preparation for his coming, but there is so much more! The gospel is heralded throughout the OT text and yet it is also a few steps removed from the immediacy we find in the Epistle to the Romans or the Gospel of John. Reading a text in its canonical context understanding its continuity to NT themes leaves only one difficulty, the complexities inherent in a Book 3000 years and half a world removed from our lives. Thus, it is very worthwhile to study the background and message of the OT for it gives us the framework to go deep into our text and not drown, it is the Bible that all the NT authors knew and used to show us Jesus, it gives us pictures of Christ by undergirding NT allusions and showing us God’s gospel from the beginning, and knowing the background/message gives us tools to unravel some of this complexity that turns many away from God's Word.

So, let us be as Ezra who set his heart to study, to teach, and to do the Word of God. Let us be strong and courageous like Joshua knowing that as we think over these hard texts of the OT God will give us understanding in everything (2 Tim. 2:7). Study Hard!!

All Moved In

Whew! We made it! We finished the semester, we moved down the hallway, and now we're just waiting on the nine-month alarm to go off. Rachel's really happy with the new place and we were both surprised how much extra space there is. It is a wonder how such a small addition to one's life can make such massive changes, we're only just beginning to know. Enjoy a few pictures of our new environ. Hope to see and speak with many of you soon upon the blessed arrival!

The Home Stretch

It's been a busy three weeks since we've written thanks for sticking with us! Last weekend found us in two locations - Rachel teaching her life guard certification course, Marcus attending Andrew's graduation from the University of Illinois. It was exhilarating and exhausting for both of us! This past weekend Marcus was in Chicago again for a gathering of missions pastors as part of his global outreach internship.

But now we're in the home-stretch! Four days until the spring semester ends for Marcus and and 27 (projected) days until baby arrives. The words of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes ring in our ears: "for everything there is a season, a time for every matter under the sun." (3:1) We're summarizing the next few weeks and months this way: a time to complete, and a time to begin; a time to settle, and a time to embark.

As classes, seminary and lifeguarding, come to a close we are also looking forward to new beginnings that this summer will bring. But we're also looking forward to a sweet time in-between to gather together our thoughts and lifestyle. This summer has a lot of adventure in store, the smallest of which is Marcus beginning Biblical Hebrew, the greatest of which is a new life entering to world. We're also hoping to settle amid these new adventures: to focus of only one class, the new apartment we hope to acquire next week, the development of relationships begun this past year, and the rhythm of life to persevere through the next 3 years. Thank you for your prayers!

Running Hard, Marcus & Rachel

47 Days and Counting...

Parenthood came knocking at our door 7 months ago. More recently it's been hanging out at our apartment, taking over bookshelves, manifesting itself in my closet, taking precedent of the weekend, inching into our checkbook, and many far more invasive procedures! Not more than 47 days from now it will become a permanent dweller in the Leman household and will forever be one of us...and we feel like we're just getting to know it!

Yet, as the spring flowers begin blooming on the trees so Rachel is in full bloom! Now we can see footprints when Baby kicks, yes footprints. I keep saying soccer player, Rachel keeps saying swimmer, we'll see... Both mommy and baby are doing well, daddy is the one to be concerned about, he's just generally a wreck. 47 doesn't seem like enough time, but it just so happens to be the perfect amount because that's all we get. Up next: a hospital tour, moving to a new apartment unit down the hall, lots of reading (all in English though), and frank discussions about what color to paint the "baby room". Thanks for your love and support, we're so glad to have many friends praying for us these days as we continue our preparation and now begin a family.

Pray Today

April 18, 2007 was a day of tears throughout the church in Turkey as 3 Christ followers were brutally murdered for their faith. Since then it has been a day of prayer and I mark it in solidarity with the faithful ones yet in the land of Turkey. Would you join us?

This past week I was in Louisville, KY at a conference focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. While there were many powerful moments in those four days, one of the most powerful for me came on the last day. Everyday before I had opportunity to sit on the floor level close to the front. The last day found me in the grandstands near the back. But during the time of musical worship I wept openly as the 7,000 member throng sang "My sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!" I looked out on this assembly and my heart broke again for the believers in the land of Turkey for within sight of my two eyes were more godly men than there are believers in all of Turkey! Lord, haste the day when their numbers swell!

So, I'll be praying today for pastors, for Christ followers, for those in bondage to sin throughout this ancient land. AMEN, let it be, Lord.

Way Down South...

I guess Louisville isn't that far south, but it's a good 16 hour drive from Minneapolis. I'm leaving in an hour with a van full of seminarians to drive down to Southern Seminary in Louisville. (Don't you wish you could be in on our 16 hours of conversations!) We're all attending the Together for the Gospel conference being hosted there. I think they said that about 7,000 will be in attendance so it should be a powerful time of worship, prayer, and waiting on God as we gather together.

Pray for us:

-That we might be attentive to the Spirit's voice through this journey

-That we might be attentive to our wives at home in Minneapolis

-That God would do some mighty dream-shaping, vision-casting in the lives of these brothers

Deja Vu!

So, have you ever had times in your life when things just seem to repeat themselves? I'm getting that Frenchy feeling these days that some call "Deja Vu" (to see again). Let me see if I can help you enter into my relapses:

1) I've got a new job! About a month ago I applied to become a missions intern at Bethlehem Baptist Church, the church that houses my seminary. There was an opening and after waiting for others to have the opportunity to apply I decided to enter myself in the runnings when I heard no one took the bait. We'll it looks like I'm their man! I'll be starting in three weeks after we return from Kentucky and the Together for the Gospel conference. That also means I'll be quitting my job as Starbucks for the foreseeable future. Yep, I'm hanging up the green apron again, sorry to those of you who have benefited from all my free coffee perks! Now, this whole pattern happened just two and a half years ago when Rachel and I were married. I was working the espresso bar and was asked to take a missions internship at First Baptist of Geneva. - So, now you understand part of my double-vision.

2) Pastor John is taking a total leave of absence! This past week in worship our pastor for preaching and vision, the chancellor of our seminary, announced that he was taking an 8 month leave of absence to give greater attention to his ministry to his wife and family and as a sort of fasting from public ministry to combat pride. While we're all saddened by this news he sounds very eager to be back with us in 2011 and hopes to continue his ministry of preaching and teaching for at least 5 more years here at Bethlehem. So, pray for this man and his family, that God would bless and use the months to accomplish His mysterious and wonderful purposes. As we reflected on this in class today it was our consensus that this bold and humble act is an object lesson to all of us seminarians that no lecture could ever convey. It's a lesson in humility. It's a lesson in priorities. It's a lesson in love: love to God over ministry, love to wife and family over ministry, love of ministry enough to put it aside when it becomes controlling. (Read More)

Pray for all the staff at Bethlehem (which now includes me) as we seek to press on in the vision God has given us to "spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ."

Prophets as Preachers (pt.2)

Writing yesterday I tried to give means for reading the prophets without being confused and bored! Today reading the account of Balaam in Numbers has caused me to challenge that thought a bit, but not much. Some prophecy is this situational message bearing prompted by the Lord. It takes on both the unique personality of that prophet and the unique message of YHWH to the audience. But even Balaam spoke Bible and perhaps didn’t know it, “Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you” (Num. 24:9). This is a direct echo of God’s promise to Abraham, father of the people of Israel. So, while there certainly is a situational and experiential aspect to many of these prophecies (i.e.-Acts 21:10-11, Is. 44:28, I Kings 19:9-18), I still hold to the fact that the majority of written biblical prophecy is “sermonic”. May God be pleased to bless our reading of ALL His Holy Word.

Prophets as Preachers

Can I share with you some of the fruit of my day in class? Good, because this was powerfully encouraging to me today. It can be hard to sit in class all day, but today was riveting, so buckle your seatbelt, here we go!

Ever wonder what to do with that huge section of the Old Testament we reverently call the prophets? Ever wonder how to interpret all their strange imagery and calls of condemnation? Well I sure did and hoped that my time here at seminary would help me develop my thought instead of indulge an "avoidance ethic". (You know what that is, its skipping tough chapters and avoiding Leviticus entirely! :-) But we don't have to indulge, we just need some solid understanding.

So, the prophets, who were these guys? Radical spiritual ascetics out in the wilderness who came into town with a message and great need for a bath? Did everything they said come as a result of a vision or a divine voice? These were at least the images I had in mind as the semester began here at Bethlehem. But no longer! The prophets were primarily preachers of the Pentateuch. Oh, they were men of God filled with the Spirit and a message, for sure! But their message was already decided for them in one sense. They were preaching a text that Israel already had and yet was living in ignorance it. They were called by God to come shine the light of certain truths already written in Deuteronomy into the darkness of people's lives. They knew their Bibles, were filled with the Spirit, and then preached the truth God's people needed to hear - calls to repentance, promises of comfort, hymns of praise, prayers of intercession.

So, next time you run into Jeremiah or Nahum or Haggai don't consider just flipping over to Matthew again. Read it as a sermon that a godly man is preaching with power and tears to a people he loves and doesn't want to see the curses of Deuteronomy 28 fall upon but hopes that God might stir repentance in them so that they live holy lives and the blessings of D-28 rain upon their heads.

Baby-Blizzard

So, we were in Michigan this past weekend for a baby shower. Turned out though this it was more like a baby-blizzard and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many friends and family members. Upon returning home to our Minneapolis apartment we had quite a job squeezing everything in! Whew! Check out so pictures below, and thank you to all who have shown us such great generosity in these days.

A Vision of Fear Leading to Holiness

What follows is a devotional thought that I wrote for class, may it bless you in the reading:

Exodus 20:20 - And Moses said to the people, "Take Courage! for God has come down in order to test you, in order that the fear of Him might be in you, in order that you might not sin."

A little context might help us here. Exodus 20 is the famous chapter in which God gives the 10 Words, the 10 Commandments, to Moses and the people of Israel. He speaks these 10 Words in the hearing of all the people because at this point in the narrative Moses is at the bottom of Mt. Sinai speaking with the people as well. But to the people the voice of YHWH was like peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, shakings of the earth, and loud trumpet blasts. And quite naturally they feared for their lives! They say to Moses in v.19 - "You speak to us and we'll listen; but don't let God speak to us or else we'll die!" So when we arrive at v.20 this is Moses' attempt to comfort the people in their terror.

Moses' injunction, "Take Courage!" is followed by a string of purpose clauses which serve as the ground or reason why the people can obey Moses' command.

1) "God has come to you in order to test you" - This awesome display of power before your eyes it a test for you, Israel, to see where your trust lies. The Septuagint translator is so set on communicating this point that he uses both a purpose conjunction and a purpose infinitive to make the point. But this purpose is not God's ultimate aim in this encounter.

2) "in order that the fear of God might be in you" - This reverent fear Yahweh is aiming at must be "in you". It is an external test with inward aims. God will not settle for externally submissive worship if their hearts are "far off". Pharaoh showed this kind of reverence at times when he acknowledged the greatness of Yahweh but the fear of Yahweh was not in him. God came to test Israel to produce inward fear, but this purpose is still not ultimate.

3) "in order that you might not sin." - Here we land on God's ultimate purpose in this fiery ordeal, holiness! Sin is a powerful adversary and it has a death grip on all of humanity. Only something more powerful can combat this evil foe, only something that penetrates our hearts deeper, only something that fills us to overflowing. The people of Yahweh needed a reverent fear of Yahweh produced by a magnificent vision of Yahweh if they were to follow the ways of Yahweh, His 10 Words. This is the ultimate end of this verse, a fearful vision producing holiness.

Did this happen? Sadly, no; v.21 tells us the people stood "far off" and the fear was not courageously in them. Not many chapters later the people of God learned how to completely ignore the thunders and thick darkness while they worshipped images made in the likeness of creation. But it need not be so with us! Everytime we sit before the sacred and terrible Word of God, take courage! God is there to reveal Himself in all His glorious majesty so that we fear ("believe") and live holy lives. What mercy it is to know Jesus Christ! In Him we can take courage and in Him have eyes to see this fearful vision leading to hoilness!

Picture as seen on: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/RelS369/Pics/LXX.jpg

Reporting in from sunny Minneapolis...

What a joy it is to see the sun today, to feel it's warm rays, to breathe deeply of the cool air. God's gifts abound all around, let us give thanks!

By word of update, we're resuming life as usual. What's that like you say? Well, I'm glad you asked. I've begun tutoring in ESL again. Every monday we have about 20-30 graduate students from the U of M who assemble at our church building to talk with their tutors about that week's assigned subject. I've been getting to know two guys very well, both are from Mainland China and here to study. Besides this I am in class Mondays and Thursdays, at Starbucks Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and studying every spare moment I get. But this is just great because I told Rachel today, "this kind of studying is what I want to do for the rest of my life!" (but in order to teach!) On the weekends I usually come to work with Rachel and study in the hotel lobby, she likes the company :-)

Rachel is doing quite well too. She takes lots of naps and works hard everyday. Last night at church she tried about 10 different sitting positions because Baby was kicking up a storm. They must have wanted to make their presence known with the sermon being about "spiritual parenting" and all that! But when Rachel's not managing the waterpark or teaching little kids how to swim, you can usually find her stretched out on the couch with a good book or talking on the phone or doing her bible study workbook.

We're so thankful to the Lord for every element in our lives right now, even with all the busyness that it brings. We'll that's about all from sunny Minnesota for this week.