Discernment – Page 37 – Growing 4 Life

On purses and bad decisions

Leave a Comment / December 5, 2011 December 5, 2011

“Mom, can you cancel my bank card right now?” The distressed voice said quietly in my ear. My mind quickly thought of a few scenarios that may have triggered this request, but I wasn’t expecting to hear that my daughter’s car was broken into while she and her boyfriend were delivering turkey dinners to the needy for Thanksgiving.

After a long and drawn out conversation with my bank to deactivate the card, I called my daughter back to get the longer version of what happened. She had hidden and locked her purse in the car around 10am, when they had joined a group to deliver the dinners. About five hours later she returned to a broken car window and a missing purse (along with a few other items). Thankfully, she still had her iPhone and the car key. But her favorite purse- a loss in and of itself- had contained a special key chain with all of her other keys, her glasses, her camera, her bankcard (with $300 stolen in a matter of hours), her license, and a number of other items hidden within the depths of that purse.

When she returned home, we had a long conversation about why it isn’t ever wise to leave your purse in a locked car in the city. It wasn’t wrong–it just wasn’t wise. If she had asked me (the older and wiser person in this case) I could have steered her in a different direction…at the very least I would have suggested she put it in the trunk. While it caused some major inconvenience and expense, we all make mistakes and thankfully it wasn’t the end of her world. You can get a new license. You can get new glasses. You can buy a new camera. And supposedly the bank is even going to return her money.

But it did make me wonder–how often could we spare ourselves consequences if we listened to someone wiser than ourselves? Not only on the black and white issues that are clearly stated in God’s Word, but on the gray issues, too.

Some mistakes aren’t just inconvenient and expensive. Some mistakes cost a lifetime…or a relationship…or your life savings. Why are we so slow to ask for…and then follow…advice from someone older and wiser than ourselves? Perhaps we don’t always need to learn the hard way. What if there are people who learned through some very difficult circumstances and can tell us where our current path will probably lead?

That lady who married an unbeliever may tell you marrying an unbeliever is like playing Russian roulette.

The workaholic, now aware of his mistakes, may tell you that what he gained financially wasn’t worth what he lost in relationships.

The recovering alcoholic may tell you that it all started with a weekly trip to the bar.

The nagging wife may tell you that all her nagging got her was an unhappy marriage.

The recovering gambler may tell you that he would give anything to never have walked into a casino.

Oh, the wisdom that can be gained from listening to those who are older and wiser than ourselves. But, no, we think it won’t happen to us. We won’t become the alcoholic who destroys our family or the gambler that puts our family into financial jeopardy. We think the person we marry will become saved… eventually. We believe that “nagging is just my personality”. Oh, we come up with all kinds of rationalizations, moving full speed ahead.

But do we have to always learn things the hard way? Or does a wise person learn from the mistakes of others? In fact, God’s Word, in Proverbs 19:20, instructs us to “listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” The person who shuts his eyes and proceeds to travel a dangerous path is going to fall. It is not a matter of if…it is when.

Pride and stubbornness lead to heartache. An unwillingness to listen to wise counsel leads to heartache. And do you know what is the most heart-wrenching thing about this principle? It is that nine times out of ten–if the person would have just listened– they could have saved themselves such dreadful consequences.

As I write this, I think of a girl who just made this statement. She has found herself in a terrible, awful mess. About the worst you could find yourself in as a 22 year old. And as she ended up tumbling down to the bottom of a very deep emotional chasm, she said to the person who had counseled her wisely several months before: “I should have listened to you.” She wishes she would have listened to the wise counsel given to her. But, for her, it is too late. She has a long, dreary, difficult road ahead of her now.

We have one opportunity to live this life. Only one. And there is no guarantee on how long it will last. May we be wise and teachable. May we learn from our elders. May we not be so arrogant and naive to think we will be spared the obvious consequences of unwise behavior. May we never think we are too old and wise to learn from the experiences of others. And most of all–may we desire to please the Lord in all that we do.

O, to be Like a Crossing Guard

Leave a Comment / November 17, 2011 November 12, 2024

Each morning I pass by a busy intersection near our local middle school. And every morning, I see the same lady faithfully directing traffic and protecting children. She stands with confidence and is dressed appropriately for the conditions, whether there is sunshine, rain, wind, or the dangerous fog. She is observant and always on her guard because any lapse of judgment would put the children she protects in great peril. And, given it is middle school children she directs, I can imagine that the “thank yous” are few and far between. She has also probably put up with a couple of obscene gestures and angry drivers, as well. But she keeps doing her job. Because she is dedicated to that job and takes it seriously.

There are a few lessons we Christians can learn from crossing guards–

1. We, too, should know what our job is and do it with confidence. God’s Word tells us the “job” description of a true believer in Jesus Christ. We should know what that is according to scripture and then go about it with confidence. There is such an emphasis on tolerance in this culture, that many of us, while being and looking like true believers in our hearts and homes, are not so confident out in the middle of the intersection. Fearfully, we “kind of” tell those who don’t know Christ to slow down and consider their eternity, but we are afraid to offend anyone by saying “Stop! Do you know where you are spending eternity?”

2. We should stand strong in all types of weather. It is hard to do our job when tough times come. And tough times are not just the big stuff, like job change, death, or divorce. Sometimes tough times can be a long week of being unable to sleep at night. Or they may come with a child who is simply downright difficult. For some, it is related to children leaving the home or perhaps intrusive in-laws. We all have different weather conditions we face. But I think it is safe to say, we all experience different types of weather. Just like the crossing guard shows up and does her job, no matter what the weather, so we, too, should be standing strong with Jesus, no matter what the weather.

3. We should be dressed appropriately. Ephesians 6: 10-20 gives a vivid description of the armor of a Christian. Paul describes how we should be covered from our heads to our toes. And, yet, so many of us are missing a piece of armor. Perhaps it is Truth that is to be girded around our waist, or maybe the Breastplate of Righteousness. It could even be the Shield of Faith. But no matter what it is, when we are missing our armor, we become very vulnerable to our enemy. Any chink in our armor becomes a target, where we can be attacked and destroyed. We need to make sure we have on the whole armor of God, as Paul teaches us in this passage.

4. Apathy puts our children in peril. If the crossing guard was not paying close attention to what she was doing, the children would be in great danger. If she stood on the corner lazily smoking a cigarette, the intersection would become a difficult and very hazardous place for the children she has pledged to protect. Why is it any less important for us as we guard the hearts and minds of our children (and also for the baby Christians that are watching us)? We can never let our guards down. We can never stop striving to discern, protect, and make decisions that please the Lord both within our family lives and in our public spheres. There is no time this is tested more than when you have teenagers. Oh, the many times I have been tempted to throw my hands up in the air and shout, “I am tired! Do what you want! I don’t care!” At those moments, it is my husband who tells me, “we have to care! We cannot grow tired!” How thankful I am for his perseverance. It is critical to have this perseverance when raising children. To not have it is to put their souls in great danger. We need to parent with a purpose. We are responsible for these children God has entrusted to us. We can never grow apathetic or lazy in this duty! But this perseverance and purpose can’t disappear when our children are grown, it has to continue on as we strive to set a godly example for all those who come after us.

5. We can’t care too much about what people think of us. As most of us have already learned, there is very little thanks that comes for standing what is right. More often, we are attacked. But if we are standing on God and what His Word says, then we can stand with courage and confidence. What would happen if that crossing guard walked dejectedly out of the intersection every time an angry driver made an obscene gesture? And, yet, so many of us walk dejectedly away when we are criticized or someone disagrees with us. While we are to be at peace with all men to the best of our ability (Romans 12:18), we are never instructed to compromise. So, while we need to go about standing for truth with love and grace, it is important that we stand. Not saying anything when God’s Word is being compromised is sinful. We can never afford to back down when Truth is attacked. May we stand strong even when the heat of the fire starts to burn us!

As Christians, we have been called to be salt and light. God gives us everything we need to know in His Word. May we be like that crossing guard, standing in all types of weather, dressed appropriately, and always persevering. May we give little heed to those who criticize us unjustly. And may we hear “well done, good and faithful servant,” when we meet God face to face.

Which matters more?

Leave a Comment / November 14, 2011 November 14, 2011

Casey said “I love you so much, mom!” and gave her mother a big hug as she walked out the door. She was headed to her boyfriend’s house, where they would be alone for the next 2 hours. She was disobeying something her mother had specifically told her not to do. So what did her words mean?

Jack passionately kissed his wife good-bye and said, “I love you, honey”, before he walked out the door to meet his mistress for lunch. What did his words mean?

“You are my best friend! I am so thankful for you!” is what Marta heard in her ears…the day before Janet betrayed her deepest secret. What did her words mean?

Which said love? The words? Or the actions? The words are great—if they match the actions. If we truly love someone, we show it with our actions.

So how does this transfer to our spiritual life? Thousands of people across America sing their hearts out, dance to the worship music, raise their hands, and feel “close to God” each week during Worship. But if they are living like they want, giving no heed to God and His Word the rest of the week…are they really “close to God”? The answer is no. It is not possible to live in disobedience and still be close to God. Is it possible that we are being fooled into thinking we are close to God? Perhaps the music, the words, the raised hands are giving us a false sense of closeness. Perhaps we are not really close at all.

This is not about judging the sin in the lives of others. This is about common sense. Just as a child cannot have a close relationship with his parents if he is living in rebellion to their rules and wishes, so it is impossible for anyone to have a close relationship with God if he is living in rebellion and disobedience to God’s commandments and desires.

And yet, if you had the opportunity to peek in worship centers across the country each week, you would see thousands of people raising their hands and “feeling” close to God. Are some of these feelings genuine? Of course. Absolutely. But if we are living in sin–according to the Bible’s definition and without conviction; without any effort to change–then our feelings are deceiving us. How we feel when we worship is irrelevant to the truth.

It is sobering to think about and yet so important. You see, our Sunday worship time should simply be an extension of the rest of our week. Worship is so much more than one hour during the week. It is about how we live our whole life. May we live with a heart that longs to please God with every moment of every day and may we not be deceived by feelings that are oh, so fleeting.

John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

The little girl on the beach

Leave a Comment / October 31, 2011 May 24, 2015

The little girl on the beach was investing all of her childish energy into making obscure shapes in the sand and digging holes to find the tiny sand crabs and the water beneath the surface. It was the perfect pastime on this hot summer day. After awhile, she realized that she hadn’t seen a familiar face for awhile. She looked up towards the mosaic of colorful towels, beach umbrellas, and bathing-suit clad crowds all along the beach. Her little heart started to pound.

Where was mommy? Her heart pounded harder.

Where was daddy? She started to scan from left to right, growing alarmed.

As she stared at the horizon full of strangers, full-blown panic set in and she started to race down the beach as fast as her short legs could carry her. She had no idea where she was going. She just knew she was lost and she had to find someone to help her. Her safe, comfortable world had suddenly grown dark and frightening.

Meanwhile, her parents looked up to notice that their little girl wasn’t where she had been just a split second before. They started to panic as they searched in vain for her blonde head. The beach was especially full that day and the nightmare of a lost child—their lost child—started to become real.

Getting ready to head over to the lifeguard, the father gave one final searching glance that just happened to be in the right direction. He saw a little girl in a navy bathing suit running down the beach as fast as her chubby legs could carry her. It was his little girl. And she was running in the opposite direction.

Before he could even give it a thought he was tearing down the beach after her. His young, strong body was fast—but this tiny 6-year old was making it hard to catch her. The adrenalin flowing through her little body made her much quicker than normal.

As her daddy finally overtook her, she stopped. She looked into his face and she knew that she was safe. That familiar face changed everything. She grabbed her daddy’s neck and hung on for dear life. So very thankful and relieved he had found her, her daddy carried her back to safety.

That little girl was me. I don’t really remember all of the details, so some of them are from my imagination. However, I do still remember the fear and panic that was in my heart as I looked up and couldn’t see my family. I remember running. I vaguely remember the safety of being in my daddy’s arms. My parents tell me the story of how frightened they were when they couldn’t see me. I do know that after that incident I was deathly afraid of getting lost for at least 20 years. I was in my mid-20s before I realized that I was smart enough to find my way home if I got lost.

As this memory came to my mind a few days ago, it started me thinking about how sometimes we get scared in life and we just start running, searching for safety. We find ourselves in the midst of an unforeseen and uncomfortable trial and when we realize that we are in trouble, we start running like our lives depend on it.

Only we run away from God.

We run towards what looks like the exit door, only to find out it is not an escape from our trial at all but a fake exit door or maybe even a trap. Fake exit doors and traps take all kinds of shapes. They can look like a chocolate cupcake. Or a player-laden green field with lines on it. Maybe it is in the shape of a red Mustang GT or a nice boat. They can look like a thick best-seller or virtual military men on your TV screen. It may be in the shape of a wine glass or a small, white ball. It could be a court room or a corporate conference room. Whatever it looks like in your life, one thing is certain: There will be no escape there. Nor eternal peace or fulfillment will result from going the wrong direction.

But if you are one of God’s children, saved by His grace alone, God will catch up to you. He loves you and nowhere you can run can take you so far away that He can’t find you and catch you and bring you back to His fold. Just like my daddy did what he could do to protect me, so our Heavenly Father protects us. Even though, in ignorance, I ran a different direction than where my daddy was standing, he found me. Our heavenly Father will find us, too–if we are His.

This reminds me of Romans 8:38-39:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we are His, then nothing can separate us from His love and care for us. We may get lost for a little while but He will find us. Great is His faithfulness!

May we find our safety and peace in God alone and not waste precious time running the wrong direction.

saturating your soul

Leave a Comment / October 27, 2011 October 27, 2011

What am I feeding my soul? That is a question I found myself pondering, as I read the story of a missionary who was captured by guerillas. His captors covered his head and placed him in a stone box. They tied his hands to his belt and his feet about a foot off the ground to a tree. There he lay for hours and hours. As he lay there, he quoted memorized scripture. He sang hymns. He tried to show love to his captors, instead of hate.

And I found myself feeling ashamed. Would I even know enough memorized scripture word-for-word to make it effective if I was without my Bible? Probably not. Sure, I know the general message of a lot of verses and can quote a few of those verses by heart. And I certainly know where lots of things are found in scripture. But to quote an entire passage? I have never worked that hard at memorizing scripture.

He sang hymns. Maybe now, for you, it would be worship songs. Again, we know the songs. But do we listen to them enough to sing them without the aid of a worship leader or a band? If Sunday morning is the only time we hear them, then the answer to that is probably not.

Would I be able to love my enemies instead of curse them? If I am filling my head with movies and books and music and video games that promote revenge and the very common theme of “getting even”, then I would probably struggle with this immensely.

You see, I think many of us spend so many hours of our days listening to secular music and watching the news or talk shows, that it ends up being way out of proportion to the beneficial things we fill our minds with. I believe we are so attached to our cell phones, our ipods, our tablets, and our laptops, that the time we dedicate to them becomes time wasted, instead of a good use of time.

I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, saying that secular music, the news, or our gadgets are evil. They are not. They can be great blessings. My question would be what kind of priority do they have in our lives? On what do we spend spend most of the precious hours we have been given? With what are we filling our minds that will help us to understand God’s Word better and grow us in the grace and knowledge of our Lord?

Are we saturating our souls with the things that will stymie, or even hinder, our spiritual growth? Or do we spend our time filling it with things that will augment and strengthen our walk with God? That is a good question for all of us to ponder.

2 Peter 3:17-18 ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Persevering in the Grey

Leave a Comment / September 28, 2011 September 28, 2011

I opened my eyes. The missing sun cast its presence by its absence. Another dreary day. September had been full of them. I sighed. Somehow I would have to get up the energy to be productive for another day. With or without the sun. I hadn’t realized just how much its bright presence cheers me. As I stepped into the early morning, the humid air became a sticky blanket on my skin. So…it was dreary and humid.

As I went about eating my breakfast and tidying the house, I argued with myself as to why this would not be a good day to exercise. I had had the same losing argument with myself for every dreary day the past month. And there were a lot of them. It just wasn’t a good day to exercise. Surely, I don’t need to exercise in such conditions. In the meantime, by body, while not really gaining in pounds, had deteriorated substantially in tone and shape.

From somewhere deep inside, I recognized that I was going to have to push through the grey. Push through the humidity. Persevere. I reluctantly walked upstairs to put on my running clothes. Then I grabbed my iphone, my headphones, and headed out the door.

The first mile was tough. The stickiness melted my clothing to my body. Even when I was only walking. I kept going. I started to jog. I knew, even though this wasn’t fun, that I was doing the right thing. Not just for me. But for my family. I am a much better “me” when I exercise. As I jogged, the flourescent pink trim and laces on my new running shoes made me smile. There was a little brightness everywhere…if you took the time to look for it.

As I ran, I listened to these promising lyrics:

Everyday’s a brand new day
A chance to undo my mistakes
And be the me I know that I can be

Count my blessings one by one
Grateful for what God has done
Spending more time down upon my knees**

As I listened to this song, God showed me that my life choices weren’t so very different from this run of mine. Every day, we are given the opportunity to make choices. Good ones. Bad ones. The good ones are so much easier to make when the sun is shining. When there is a crisp breeze in the air. When the flowers and fields are sparkling in the sunshine. But when it is grey…when all is dreary and dismal around us, then the good choices are harder.

When we lose our best friend…when we get sick…when our spouse is struggling at work…when a child is rebellious…these are the times our minds cajole us, saying things like: “Eat what you want. You deserve it. Watch TV and escape the world. Go shopping. Go golfing. Escape with this book. Play this video game. Because you will feel better if you do this.”

But you never do. You never feel better. You always feel worse. Oh, maybe for a minute or two I will feel some satisfaction from eating some Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream. But as soon as the last bite is done…if I am eating it for the wrong reason…then the guilt comes.

As I finished my exercise with a brisk walk, the sun made a brief appearance and I heard this in my headphones “Now the bridge leads on…to a brighter dawn. It’s waiting for me.” And I realized that the bridge does lead on. That we who love Jesus Christ have the hope of an eternal dawn. Where there are no grey days. We need to persevere…we need to make good, wise choices–no matter what our circumstances– as we move ever closer towards that eternal, brighter dawn that is waiting for us in glory.

**Higher Calling by Blessid Union of Souls

The Amish Boy and the Cigarettes

14 Comments / September 19, 2011 August 12, 2019

I didn’t even notice him at first. I was standing in line with my Wawa coffee and peanut butter pretzels. It was about 8:30pm on a Sunday night and we had stopped on our way home from the beach to stretch our legs. Ahead of me in the line was the boy. He was about 18 or 19 years old. He wore black pants, suspenders, and a royal blue shirt. His blonde hair was cut in the typical bowl-cut style used by the Amish. Nothing unusual about him. As he got to the counter, I remember thinking that he had nothing in his hand to buy, which caused me to ponder, as it was highly unlikely that an Amish boy was going to buy gasoline. So I watched. I did not have to watch long. I heard him mumble something that the clerk apparently understood. The clerk reached for a pack of Camels and laid them on the counter. The boy, a little sheepishly, gave him the money and walked away. As I watched the whole thing unfold, I thought about the absolute incongruity of the whole situation. Here was a boy who is part of the Amish church. This church is famously known for its policy of keeping separate from the world–down to its horse-driven plows and their favorite mode of transportation, the horse and buggies (because engines are worldly). They only use gas lights (because electricity is worldly) and use no modern-day conveniences within their homes. And yet he was buying cigarettes.

Now, of course, you can’t live anywhere near an Amish community, without knowing their tradition of “rumm-shpringa”, where boys and girls sow their wild oats for a period of time in their late adolescence. This is often celebrated by drinking and dancing parties. And I guess cigarettes, as well. I confess I have never understood how such a tradition could have ever started and seeing it in action has given me no more insight.

But it did make me wonder. How many things do we Christians do that are so incongruous to what our Lord stands for? Over history Christians did not drink, go to the movies, gamble, swear, or dance. They wouldn’t dream of wearing immodest clothing, much less a bikini. Christians went to church on Sunday mornings. The world recognized this “portrait” of a Christian. That was part of how you could tell if someone was a Christian. Of course, not everyone who behaved in this traditional way was an actual true believer. There were many hypocrites. So much so, that,about 25 years ago, we decided to throw the baby out with the bathwater and decide that God only cares about the heart and we can do whatever we want (although I am not sure what it says about our heart if we desire to do so many of these worldly things…just sayin’). This is the latest thing, is it not? Rationalizing our gambling, our R-rated movies, our swearing, our school dances, and our bikinis. Actually the tide has turned so much that there isn’t much rationalizing going on anymore. Most of the things in that list are already accepted as okay for believers to do.

And how it must break God’s heart. Nowhere in God’s Word is there any indication that we should ever sacrifice our personal holiness to reach the world. In fact, I would say that the whole philosophy has back-fired and we aren’t reaching much of anyone. The people who are reached are those who just want fire insurance. The opportunity to do what they want while “knowing” they will end up in the “good” place for eternity instead of the “bad” place. But salvation that doesn’t include personal holiness isn’t salvation at all.

Of course, there are some new Christians who struggle as they learn God’s Word. They struggle learning what is acceptable in God’s sight. But our Christian culture has gone so far down into a pit, that I truly find myself wondering what exactly would be the description by most Christians of “worldly”. If James tells us to remain unspotted from the world (James 1:27) can someone explain exactly what he means in light of our current “Christian” standards? If we are to be separate (2 Corinthians 6), how is this accomplished exactly? John 15:19 goes so far as to say we will be hated by the world, because the world loves its own.

Wow. This was not really the direction I was headed when I started writing about that poor, pathetic Amish boy. The boy who has “permission” from his “Church” to do and behave in whatever way he wants for a short period of time. Seeing this tradition in action makes me realize how silly we Christians look in our worldly actions. Claiming to love a Holy God, and being anything but holy in our behavior. It is utterly incongruous and quite sobering, indeed.

Be careful…your character is showing.

1 Comment / September 12, 2011 September 12, 2011

The two boys walked lackadaisically across the street. I waited in my car. Watching them. They both looked unaffected by the fact that a 4500 pound piece of metal on wheels could be used as a weapon with the wrong driver. They looked unaffected by much of anything, actually. I suppose that no one ever told these boys that jay-walking is illegal (in other words: wrong). I guess no one had told these boys that walking slowly and lazily across an intersection- even at a crosswalk- is not only selfish and unkind to the motorists waiting for you, but perhaps a little dangerous, as well. From all appearances, these boys did not feel any responsibility to walk faster. In fact, I am quite certain they were completely wrapped up in their own world and cared about no one but themselves.

I can’t help but contrast these boys to the heroic video showed last night in honor of the tenth anniversary of 9-11. The day that is forever etched in many of our minds. Hundreds of human beings stepped way outside of their selfish box. They stepped up to meet the needs of people they did not even know. For hours. And then for days. They searched and dug by bucketfuls through the dust and the rubble. Looking for both the living and the dead. One firemen talked about his dread of doing that work each morning. But he did it. Because it was what he had to do. Often, character and strength will show up in situations like that. Adrenalin moves in and humans do what needs to be done. It is what a hero is made of. I believe I know many heroes. Men and women who would not hesitate to do what’s right in the midst of a crisis. And I am thankful and proud to know them.

But, let’s face it–it is the daily grind where our real character shines through. It is our daily decisions that show who we really are. Our lives are not shaped by a heroic moment or two. They are shaped by each and every decision. It is so very difficult to do the right thing when there is no one watching. It is difficult to do the right thing when the decision (we believe) will affect no one but us. It is difficult to make the right choice when our parents or our spouse or even our children aren’t there to question us.

Whether it is something as small as lazily walking across the road and forcing people to wait for you or as big as landing in prison for selling drugs, they both show a selfish character. A character that says “I am going to do what I want!”, without care for anyone else. Most of us stay within the “acceptable” social guidelines of selfish. There are hundreds of different, very socially, acceptable ways to be selfish in this culture. But it is still selfish. No matter what the culture says.

As you walk through your day, think about each decision you make…and why you are making that decision. Let’s examine ourselves today. Let’s live beyond the status quo.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

P.S. God just showed me…like, literally right now, just how selfish I am. As I poured a cup of coffee and had a conversation with my daughter, it quickly turned into a mild argument…because I was being selfish. I may not like this “examine yourself” stuff!

Declaring who you are

1 Comment / September 8, 2011 September 8, 2011

My friend and I tried not to stare at the person in front of us. We had spent a few minutes looking at our menus and this “person” came to wait on us. The problem was we had no idea if it was a boy or a girl. There were so many different clues, declaring both to be true, that we found it impossible to tell. After the person took our order and left our table, we spent a few moments discussing it quietly…sharing the clues each of us had picked up on. There was an “I Love Boys” bracelet. But there was no bra…or anything to fill one. There was the high-pitched voice. But there was the short, cropped hair. We tried to solve this puzzle all through lunch and we just never did. We both left that restaurant still wondering if we were served by a boy or a girl.

This made me wonder…do we make people wonder about our Christianity? When they search for obvious clues can they find them? Or are we confusing people with our signs, so that many people shake their heads and never do really figure out if we are Christians?

She goes to the food bank on Saturdays. But she dresses unseemly and immodestly throughout the week. She goes to church on Sunday. But she was at the bar the night before. He plays in the worship band. But he has an ongoing, angry argument with a family member. He would give you the shirt off of his back. But his language is worse than most truckers.

We are confusing people with our wobbly stance on worldliness and sin. Sure, we all sin. We all make mistakes. But habitual sin and worldliness brings not only heartache for us, but confusion and bewilderment to the unbelievers who are watching us. Are they a Christian? Aren’t they a Christian? Are we sending mixed messages?

I can’t help but wonder if that person who waited on us is happy? I have no idea about the personality or background of this person. Why he OR she chose to live in the middle…somewhere between man and woman. But I do know that straddling ourselves between two opposite sides is a painful, tense place to be.

Let’s declare our Christianity and then make sure our actions match that declaration. Let’s live for the Lord and cast our own worldly desires aside…so that when someone is watching us, we can be certain they will say, “there goes a Christian.”

Forming a Life

1 Comment / August 25, 2011 August 25, 2011

Little did he realize that when he took that first shot of vodka, he would be forming his future life. He was simply out partying. He wanted to have a good time. Nothing wrong with that. But 20 years later he is an alcoholic. Drinking, cigarettes, and gambling are all known for their addictive qualities but let’s think about some other areas in which we develop bad habits and haven’t even given it a thought–

How about spending money? You use a credit card for a purchase and think–“wow. that was easy.” And so you do it again. And again. Buying stuff you do not need. Stuff you could live without. But it is so easy. And then the bill comes and there is that momentary feeling of uneasiness. But you pay the minimum and then you just keep charging to a credit card that you can’t pay. Stuck in the cycle of credit card billing. Never paying it off. Forming a life of debt.

Or how about with what you eat or drink? Perhaps you find yourself drinking 2 or 3 sodas every day. It isn’t until you decide to kick the habit that you realize the hold that soda (or chocolate…or you fill in the blank) has on you. And your body is starting to rebel. You are gaining weight. You are not feeling well. You are achy. You are tired. You are fueling your body with something it wasn’t ever meant to be fueled with and now you are paying for that decision. Forming a life of indulgence (the opposite of self-control).

Maybe one evening you were so tired, that you just fell in front of the TV to veg. Before you know it, that is what you do every evening. You have wasted thousands of hours vegging in front of an electronic box. Forming a life of laziness.

You see, your life is not formed by the big moments, but by the little moments. Who you are depends on those little decisions you make each and every day.

But the exciting news is that if you are alive, it is not too late to change! And change comes with every little decision. So instead of finding yourself locked in the same pattern…one day, you choose, instead, to–

-walk away from those really cute shoes.

-drink water.

-turn the tv off and read a story to your kids.

And then you continue that same pattern the next day…and the next day…and before you know it, you have made a positive change in your life!

I am personally working on kicking a sugar habit right now. I did not realize just how badly I fueled my body until I was feeling it in a multitude of ways. I am working at making those small decisions to make my life healthier, and consequently, more productive for God’s purposes.

We can never give in to Satan’s lie that it is impossible to change. If we are God’s child and have been saved by His grace, it is NOT impossible to change. God is bigger than my bad habit. Isn’t that good news?

So what little change will you make today?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle