Do You Think its a coincidence that Jesus sixth word from the cross was “It is finished” and on the sixth day of creation God finished? Even more so, do you think its a further coincidence that Jesus seventh word from the cross was, “Into Your hands I commit my Spirit,” The ultimate picture of rest, as pictured above.
It’s good to finish something well. recently I was putting a carburetor on my push lawn mower, normally the sort of a task that’s hard to finish for me. My fearful way of reassembling usually consists of adding one component and testing, going back redoing it, testing again etc…, etc… back I would go back test many times and rarely if ever really finish or in my case put everything back on the mower I took off.
This time I was confident in spite of the complicated mechanical task, without testing once, I completely reassembled the mower, every hose and filter, even put the cover back on before I tried to start it and sure enough once I was really finished, pulled the cord only about half way and the mower fired off like new. Now I could rest and I mean really rest in a great place a job well done.
What is the only thing commanded in the 23rd Psalm, REST! “He MAKES ME lay down in green pastures. What’s the difference between a good new born baby and a difficult one? Answer: If they sleep through the night- REST.
Look carefully at Genesis 2:3 ” Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing. ”
Note the word “bless” in Hebrew: Barak- to kneel. Clearly God blessed Saturday, who doesn’t love Saturday. Consider with me that God has won, his plans are to bless me, not to harm me, right? RIGHT? Getting that concept from my head to my heart is beyond difficult; just yesterday when I was sure I was running out of gas fretting, and worrying it seemed the world was coming to an end!! I was stuck in traffic right before the tunnel from West Virginia to Virginia car’s distance to empty had gone from 26 miles to 2 in less than five miles because we were in an hour slow down, I was ready to burst. REST? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Ahhhhhh… Now with that in mind, Robby, kneel, really, just kneel, give it to God, the Big guy has this and Oh by the way He did. DO I TRUST HIM OR NOT?
That’s why kneeling, resting, trusting God blesses Him, what parent dosn’t delight in his kids resting and trusting them? Be still my soul…please God help me to grow in faith and trust and hope, not just for the tiny running out of gas incident but for the larger story – The Kingdom is Coming and my story is full of gospel power if I will boldly share it.
At the celebration of my dad’s life March 24th God gave me this to share. “Being the namesake son of a great man is not easy as it falls upon me to share the story well.”
Great Men reflect God greatly. Example: Jesus
Great Men are greatly misunderstood. Example: Jesus
Great Men risk greatly. Example: Jesus
Great Men don’t stay dead they come back from the dead. Example Jesus
Like all of us; “MADE IN GOD”S IMAGE” is a huge understanding to celebrating life. God’s very glory is reflected in each and every one of us in a very unique way, we were made for that, to reflect God so the whole world can see that facet of God’s glory we uniquely bear and if we don’t reflect that no one else can. I believe that’s what the Angels long to see in us, that unique aspect of God, His glory reflected. To understand how my dad reflected God, let me share the stories that I believe illustrate God’s Glory, though broken, as we are, still our true colors do come shining through in Christ.
Just as God named his favorites deepening their identity, my dad’s identity was deepened in his name. My grandfather, Hermon Dilmore was fascinated with the story of Scotland’s – Outlaw King, Robert the Bruce. He loved it so much he named his third son Robert Bruce Dilmore and even as a young boy he shared the stories with my dad, stories of a warrior King bent on freedom, outlawed and hunted for his very life, (sound familiar).
My grandfather’s favorite story was when Robert the Bruce was given the vision of a spider trapping it’s prey and was inspired by God to stop running and fighting as an outlaw but stand and lure the English army into his web. The result was freedom for the Scots, but a freedom that only came on the other side of war.
The life and death struggle of war came on my father early and as God allows, training my dad to be a warrior with live fire before he was ten. He got a horrible case of chicken pox and without anyone knowing it, one chicken pox festered underneath a tonsil for months the resulting infection weakening his heart for years to come, but at the time it truly threatened his life, once discovered he was too weak to take any anesthetic so he had to have his tonsils removed with nothing to put him to sleep or kill the pain, saving his life, yes, but the wound and his hatred of hospitals, doctors and pain stayed with him till the end.
The next real battle in my dad’s warrior training was at home, being the sickly child he got more than his fair share of his parents attention, so like Joseph’s brothers in the Book of Genesis, they really wanted to throw him in a pit, but they settled for bullying him especially his oldest brother, Hermon, Jr.. Little did Hermon know that what Satan meant for evil God used for good as this injustice brought out the warrior in my dad; he hated a bully and I mean if you wanted to see my dad’s passion let him even guess someone was being bullied and he was on them like white on rice.
Let me tell you that one of the greatest misunderstandings of my dad was his temper, we had a saying in our family we would call it, “He went Bob Dilmore on them”. What would seem like the nicest man ever would turn into a furious raging warrior. It didn’t take a lot in my house growing up to understand, “The Fear of The Lord”. My dad was terrifying when he was enraged and it didn’t take a whole lot to get him that way. For years I really struggled to understand. Simply put, it’s a reflection of the world’s fiercest warrior, Jesus. Exodus 15:3 “The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned.”
Did you get that, “hurled” – not tossed or thrown, a picture of enraged Savior when you bullied his kid. Jesus clearing the Temple did some hurling. Jeremiah 20: 11 “But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me.”
Yes, Jesus is a Juggernaut and so is my dad, little did I understand that it was how my dad reflected God and now looking back on his life it was how God used my dad. The last 30 years of my dad’s career he was expert witness in court cases where car dealers were suing General Motors, Ford or Chrysler for bullying them. He was the Robin Hood of the car business, he helped lawyers take from the giant corporate bullies and give to the beleaguered car dealers.
My dad was always up for a battle of wits with the fiercest corporate lawyers and his company MPG (Management Performance Groups) was hated and I mean hated by the big three’s legal teams.
Love is a risky business and risk is another place my dad shined God’s glory. God risk giving me free will, WOW! God risk loving Judas, Ahab, Hitler and me. Yes, God is the ultimate risk taker and my dad also reflects that.
My dad with no college at all applied for and got a job with Buick motor division when he was 19 years old. He was the youngest assistant car distributor ever and I feel certain that record will never be broken.
By 1966 he was the Chicago Zone Business Manager and at the Chicago Auto Show that year all the big wigs were coming down from Flint and wanted to see Tony Bennett who was singing at Cobo Hall, my dad went down to get a table and when he arrived, Chrysler had the front row table with a huge Chrysler ice statue. Talk about a risk, he tipped the maitre ‘d $1,000 and when the Buick Executives arrived they were seated in the front with a Tri-Shield (Buick) ice statue. A week later my dad was promoted to Flint as Director of National Used Car Sales for Buick. Yes my dad was a risk taker.
My dad loved adventure, especially the Colorado Mountains where he was born. Even at 86 he still took us trout fishing, he loved those mountain roads, flying around the curves, I feel quite sure my daughter saw her life flash in front of her eyes many times on that mountain drive. Adventure is risky, it brings out the man in you and my dad reflected that masculine heart. He took my brother and I salmon fishing in Vancouver, Canada when he was in his 60’s a trip my brother and I will always cherish. He took my wife and I to Hawaii just two years ago driving the road to Hana he was in his element, adventure. Yes God loves adventure, look at any Character in the Bible and God always took them on an adventure, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Peter (got his feet wet), Paul, oh my goodness did Paul have adventure.
Another place my dad was greatly misunderstood and perhaps his biggest struggle, my dad was a ladies man. No doubt about it, and its a good thing or I wouldn’t be here to tell you about it. My wife would tell you, he set such a standard that my wife Tammy has compared me to him for years, “why can’t you close the car door after I get in like your dad does for me? Why can’t you just sit and talk with me like your dad does?” Oh, brother, a hard act to follow.
Yes, my dad was married three times and in our deepest conversations he would share with me his desperate need to feel loved. He struggled here, but he also succeeded in many ways. When my mother’s mental health was at a critical tipping point he was given a choice by her doctors to leave his beloved career with Buick and it’s lifestyle or lose my mother’s mental health. He chose her, and she did recover and I got my mom back for more that 46 years after that, yes their marriage didn’t end well but that choice bore much good fruit. As John Eldredge would say, he rescued his beauty. In that moment he reflected our Saviors rescue of us, sacrificing his own life in the process. Thus to my last point, “Great men don’t stay dead they come back from the dead”.
After my father left Buick he really struggled, having risen to such heights then working at a car dealership he expected the workers there to have upper level GM professionalism and drive. All told he tried 5 times to be a car dealer all 5 he was either fired or went broke.
The last time he was fired by Les Shellabarger Chevrolet in Grand Junction Colorado, Les even told him that God said he should fire him. At the same time his second marriage failed and I was with him that night, a crying despondent 50 year old who thought his once glorious career and family was ruined, why, why; he cried as he held his snub nose 38 to his head.
With God’s help we made it through that night, the next day he got up and went to apply for a job at a car dealer 20 Group Company in North Carolina called Egan Management, within 3 years he remarried with two more step daughters and founded MPG also a 20 group car dealer company. Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Yes, great men don’t stay dead and my dad is not, I will see him again, but “Not yet, Not Yet”.
Right this moment my dad is with Jesus and they both want all this for you; a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue. Jesus came that you would have LIFE and LIFE abundantly. My dad had that life because at an early age he believed that Jesus was the Son of God sent here by the father to die on a cross and with that self sacrifice, Jesus paid for my dad’s sin, yours and mine. He believed that in order to live forever with God we need to accept that gift by faith and by faith alone, not by works… ITS A GIFT and Jesus died risking everything to rescue His beauty, YOU. Please believe and join us in heaven.
Why is color always one of the most important factors in selecting a car?… I have sold thousands, I promise it really is. What’s your favorite color car? Why do you think you like that color?
What is it with covers, don’t you just love clinging to the covers on a cold night.. Why does every little kid love blankets, love to make a tent, or a fort? Do you think Adam and Eve had blankets or some kind of cover to sleep with before they sinned and got covered? I believe the reason we love our colors and we love our covers is because God does.
Let’s go back to Eden for a moment and see if we may discover why we love our colorful covers. Ezekiel 28:13:
“You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.”
In the Jewish Oral tradition the MidrashRabbah 18 they share something really cool here, that Eve had these ten Chuppahs of these precious stones at her wedding to Adam, why? Really, why do you think?
The more I study Jewish Chuppahs the more I see what God is up to, I pray they would see and connect the dots. The Chuppah is held up by four poles like a tent or a canopy open on all four sides, like Abraham’s tent was open for hospitality to any passer by. The covering that we all love is representative of God’s covering, like a Jewish Yamakas (head covering).
Now remember what Jesus said in Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing “.
Yes, God is all about the colorful covers, the ultimate ruby red blood of Jesus Christ that allows God to snuggle with us. Yes, I have been pondering what Adam and Eve used as covers before the fall and I think I know, it was God and if we have eyes to see these colors, we too can snuggle into the ultimate covers.
What Car Guy wouldn’t love to know more about “POWER” and by this I’m guessing, Paul The Apostle is a Car Guy and certainly a Christian Car Guy.
Here’s why; in the first part of Philippians 3:10 he said:
“My aim is to know Him and the power of His resurrection”
I find that very provoking, here we have Paul who clearly had an amazing relationship with Jesus, yet, he wants more and so do I, I hope you do too. The next part “The Power of His Resurrection” I mean there is power and then there is POWER. Paul had seen so much I don’t even know how to comprehend that, yet here he is saying he wants more.
I teach Special Ministries for Adults at my church and many of those folks are non-verbal so we use sign language to highlight verses and last week Phil 3:10 was my verse and as I signed “resurrection”, I got a new feel for the power, the above picture shows how you have a little two finger dead guy lying there and he comes to life and stands on your hand. Power, Oh my Goodness. This, to me, begs the question when have you seen that kind of power in your life, in yourself or others? Something someone, some relationship was dead, no life and it came back to life resurrected, what’s your story?
I can think of several, naturally the way my heart felt when I first believed for sure and I love to see that in new believers. Then there was my car salesman language, very coarse for sure and filled with the worst death words possible. Not long after I came to Christ I prayed God would give life back to my tongue and it really went from dead to alive.
One of the toughest was my sexuality, that has taken years before he fully got my attention that it had to die to lust and pornography, to be born again innocent and bearing good fruit, love joy, peace etc… Now how about my diet?
Prayer Life, community, Oh what POWER Paul was aiming for, I wan to join him, don’t you… On today’ show, March 9th, 2019 call in and share the power you have come to know 866-348-7884 10am Eastern on The Christian Car Guy Show.
Have you ever wondered why, your kids are the cutest, (especially your grand kids), your dog is outstandingly beautiful compared to any other of his breed, for some strange reason my Truck is the best looking 1995 Dodge Dakota I have ever seen, further my house stands out as a spectacular version of it’s design, the nicest one I have ever seen? My wife, let me tell you, I could stare at her smile, her eyes for eternity, I mean when you look up beautiful women in the dictionary its her picture, I’m sure of it.
This is not exaggeration, I literally see it this way, in my minds these are facts, so no doubt there is something rigged in my brain, a twist if you will, where I view things through my emotions, my affections. Deep down I suspect that other things are equally as beautiful but I’m not seeing the light, literally, why? Or worse, why can some relatives of mine spot a strip club miles away or find a drug dealer anywhere they seem to go?
Jesus taught in Luke 11:34 KJV “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. “
That word single appears to be a key to the passage but what does single vision mean? Many, many times in the Song of Songs, the Jesus Character refers to his bride’s eyes as that of a dove as in Song of Songs 1:15, and since a doves eyes are set in its head without muscles to move them about, (like a human), the dove can only focus on one thing, and since doves mate for life, it is very cool, they only have eyes for their lover…
Single vision, I would also note that dove in Hebrew has the same root as wine, effervescent and no doubt my lovers eyes are intoxicating. Further a dove is the only animal on earth that can not get lost, doves and pigeons are one and the same and what did Noah set out to come back with the Olive branch. My understanding is you set a dove or a pigeon out over 11 thousand miles and they will find there way home. Oh what peace to know your way home, Shalom in Hebrew also means healthy, just saying as the word Jesus uses in translated, “single” in the KJV is, “haplous” in the Greek in many translations is healthy.
The Holy Spirit took me deeper into that word and that idea and here is the twist; like you would twist three ropes together to make one. The Etymology reads- Probably from ἄλφα (G1) (as a particle of union) and the base of πλέκω (G4120)
G4120 is the Greek word “plekō” to twist or plead together and the only place you will find that word in the Bible is when they twisted together the crown of Thorns.. Matthew 27:29 Mark 15:17 John 19:2…
So why would that be translated single? Amazingly, for me the Hebrew word qavah is twisting together, gathering first used in Genesis 1:9 and I feel it’s very much like a cord of three stands watch a rope being made. Oh by the way qavah is the word translated wait as in wait on the Lord used so many times in the Bible. Isaiah 40:31
Hopefully you are still with me, now think about the optic nerve and specifically it’s nerve fibers…
The Miracle of sight is beyond anything I could dream of had I not just simply seen things all my life, but what I see is light stimulating a twisted together bunch of nerves.
Now when Abraham was about to slay his son in Genesis, think about waiting on the Lord and his eyes for his son. He saw a ram in the thicket Gen 22:13 now had you ever considered that Ram was wearing a crown of twisted together thorns. “Haplous” -“Qavah”….
Now here is the application of all this in as God gave it to me. Everything is twisting together if we have eyes to see it. Romans 8:28 “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.”
The plot twist, its all coming together is we have healthy, single vision for our beloved. Have Faith, we ain’t seen nothin yet.
Do You Think its a coincidence that Jesus sixth word from the cross was “It is finished” and on the sixth day of creation God finished? Even more so, do you think its a further coincidence that Jesus seventh word from the cross was, “Into Your hands I commit my Spirit,” The ultimate picture of rest, as pictured above.
