growing in christ – Page 31

Wednesday Wisdom: Resolutions of a 20 year-old

2 Comments / July 17, 2013 July 17, 2013

My sister-in-law sent me an e-mail the other day. In it she included three or four of the life resolutions that Jonathan Edwards had written. They were compelling and I found myself searching for the book that contained them. What I found was a small book written in 1723 by 20 year-old Edwards containing 70 life resolutions. His goal was to read over the resolutions once each week. No sowing wild oats for him. No wasting time on the pursuits of most 20 year-olds. Here was a young man who took his spiritual life very, very seriously. Here are several of the resolutions that gave me cause for thought–

Resolution 7 Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

Resolution 15 Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.

Resolution 20 Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

Resolution 21 Resolved, never to do anything, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.

Resolution 24 Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might.

Resolution 25 Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

Resolution 28 Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

Resolution 33 Resolved, always to do what I can towards making, maintaining, establishing and preserving peace, when it can be without over-balancing detriment in other respects.

Resolution 34 Resolved, in narrations never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.

Resolution 36 Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it.

Resolution 37 Resolved, to enquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and wherein I have denied myself: also at the end of every week, month and year.

Resolution 41 Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better.

Resolution 52 I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live.

Resolution 56 Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

Resolution 57 Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether I have done my duty, and resolve to do it; and let it be just as providence orders it, I will as far as I can, be concerned about.

Resolution 58 Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity.

Resolution 61 Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it — that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc.

Edwards, Jonathan (2012-04-16). The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. Counted Faithful. Kindle Edition.

Lay aside every weight

Leave a Comment / July 11, 2013 February 16, 2018

I love the movie Up. It’s a movie for children but underneath all of the fun, comical nonsense there is a beautiful story that only adults understand.

The plot is about Carl, a grumpy elderly man. His wife has died and construction crews have come in to demolish his home so that they can put up a high rise. Life is looking pretty gloomy. He decides he is going to take the adventure he and his wife had always wanted to take together and heads off to South America by attaching a gazillion balloons to his house. But he doesn’t count on Russell, a young stowaway. Their adventures are unrealistic and very ridiculous, and yet, so touching.

I hadn’t watched it for a long time, but someone was watching it when when I came home the other night. I was compelled to sit down and watch a bit of it. At one point, Carl, has finally arrived at his destination. He is ready to rest. But Russell has it in his head that he needs to save a very special bird that is being stalked by a very evil man and he takes off by detaching quite a few of the balloons from the house. Carl rolls his eyes and knows he has to go after him. So he tries to leave. But his house has too much weight for the balloons that are left and it won’t lift off the ground.

And so Carl starts taking his stuff from his house and tossing it on the ground to lighten it up. I don’t know how they can make a cartoon show so much emotion, but somehow they manage to make you understand that Carl is making the choice to remove the fetters of his past and move on to a new future. He wasn’t erasing his memories but he was tossing the stuff that was keeping him so emotionally chained to the past.

And so out went his wife’s favorite chair and so many other material possessions that had brought him comfort, so that he could save the life of a small boy named Russell.

Wow. Did that scene hit me. Perhaps it is because of where I am at in life right now. In a lot of ways, I have been hanging on to stuff. A lot of it. While some of the stuff is material, most of it is mental. Life has really been changing for me over the past year or two and I see much more change ahead.

But I guess in a lot of ways, life is changing for all of us all the time. We have to always be very careful not to get too attached to the things of this world, whether they be material possessions, memories, or even people.

It reminds me of Hebrews 12:1.Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

We can easily think of the sins that keep us from running a good race. But what are the weights we need to lay aside? I am no theologian, but could the weights be things like memories and longings for the past and perhaps even frustration at the life we have been given? These things keep us from running the best race we can run. Just like Carl could not move on to a healthy future with the weight of his past, neither can any of us.

The movie Up was able to convey that thought so beautifully. I don’t know what weights are holding you down. Life has a way of throwing us some serious curveballs sometimes. We can either accept them and move on or we can wallow in our longings for the way things were or the way we wish things to be. The choice is up to us. As for me, I realized I have some things I need to start tossing from my house, so to speak!

Wednesday Wisdom: From the Pen of a Fourteen Year Old

Leave a Comment / July 10, 2013 July 10, 2013

My youngest daughter and her cousin started a charity organization called Hearts4theWorld awhile ago. You can read about their organization over at Hearts4theWorld.net. They started off with a bang, but, as is often the case, are now struggling to keep the public’s interest. In her blog there, my daughter has expressed some of the feelings, frustration, and thoughts about the last few months. As I was proofreading it for her, her thoughts encouraged me. If we feel like we are definitely doing something the Lord wants us to do, we need to keep doing it until He makes it clear that we should stop. But sometimes that is hard and discouraging, as these two young girls are finding out. I am proud of the lesson my daughter is learning, written here by her, and believe her thoughts will encourage you, too–

Have you ever had that feeling where you wanted to do something important, something big? What did you do with it? Did you waste it? Did you start… And then when it got a little bit too hard, did you quit? Or did you follow through?

We had all these questions when we were thinking about starting Hearts4theWorld. We got the motivation to do something, something bigger than we had ever done before. But when we thought through it a little more, we realized that this might be a little harder than we thought. How would we send the Bibles where they need to go? Who would hand them out? How would we get our name out there? Would people even like our bottle cap creations? We had to think about all of these questions. We prayed a lot about everything, because we knew that we would get nowhere without God. God provided us with an awesome link in Haiti, and there began our mission. In the beginning, our friends and family bought from us and told their friends. We were so excited and everything was working out perfectly! But as time continued, business slowed down, likes on our page decreased, and views on our Etsy site got fewer and fewer. We were confused, we were disappointed, and weren’t sure what exactly went wrong. But we knew we couldn’t give up. We decided not to quit in the beginning and aren’t gonna even think about it now.

But, we have to admit, we did think it might be easier if we just took a “break” for a little while. But we knew that’s not what we should do. As people say “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. We thought about other things we had done in life. Did we give up when something went wrong? Of course not! We kept on trying! So as we’re at this point, where we’re just not quite sure how to put our business out there for people to see and to like what they see. We decided not to give up, but to completely and totally lean on God. After all, He is the one who planted this idea and love for the world in our hearts. So He can do what He wants and in His own time! After all, patience is a virtue! ;) But that’s not to say that we’re just gonna stand back and say God run the business! No! Of course that’s not what we mean. We’re obviously going to keep trying new ideas, but we just want to put everything that we do in God’s hands and in His time.

So what does this mean for you in your life? Well the point we’re trying to get across is never give up. No matter if it’s a sport, an instrument, school or a mission like this! And if you have motivation to do something (If it’s motivation to do something good) then go for it! What do you have to lose? Maybe you’ll say “It’ll be embarrassing if it doesn’t work out” or “My friends wouldn’t think this would be cool”. Who cares?! All that really matters at the end of the day is did you do your best and do it for the glory of God? Now I’ll be honest, I was a little embarrassed at times because it’s not like there’s a lot of kids starting their own organizations or anything. But then I would think… What is our goal in life? Is it to fit in and be “cool” or is it to honor God in everything I do? You have to make that decision for yourself. But for us, the answer is clear. So we hope you think about what we’ve said and make your own decision to rely on God when your dream isn’t working out exactly as you had planned.

This blog post and others are found here.

Trust is a Powerful Thing

1 Comment / July 8, 2013 July 8, 2013

Have you ever thought about just how powerful trust is? If we trust someone, we will —

1. Want to be like them.

2. Believe what they tell us about others.

3. Believe what they tell us about the world.

For example, think about someone you really trust and admire. If they told you something about someone, would you believe them? I had the “privilege” of hearing two sides of a personal confrontation a few months ago. Each side had their own personal interpretation on what had happened and were influencing people’s opinions of the other person by the tale they were telling to the people who trust them.

Or let’s think about our kids for a moment. We have such power to influence positively or negatively because of trust. If, as Christian parents, we love them enough to set boundaries, have the hard discussions, and live out our faith, we will build the trust that will make it so much easier for our children to follow the Lord. But if we are self-absorbed hypocrites, well, then there is little trust and our kids will probably walk away from the Lord.

How about pastors and teachers that we trust? If they tell us the entire world was created from a rock, we will give them credence, because we trust them to tell us the truth. Or perhaps they interpret a certain passage of scripture differently then we have ever heard– if we trust them, we will believe them. Or political leaders? If they tell us they will put more money in our pockets by lowering taxes, then we will…well, I guess that’s not such a good example, is it? Not a whole lot of trust when it comes to the government anymore.

My point is this: the more that others trust us, the more responsibility we have to honor that trust. We do this by —

1. Being extremely careful with our words. Words are so powerful, and even more so if people are actually listening to our words. The more people that listen, the more powerful our words become. I don’t want someone to form an opinion about someone else based on my experience with that person. Just because I didn’t have a good encounter with a particular person, doesn’t mean that everyone else won’t. And judging people on one encounter is never a good idea, anyway. It’s better to just keep our mouths shut about others. And if we are just natural “venters” then we should at least counter our words with something like this: “but I know I probably didn’t handle it right, too” or some other such phrase. (I would add here that I am talking about personal relationships and not about warnings regarding false teachers, which is something we are called to do in scripture Acts 20:29-32).

If people trust us, our words also can be used to sway them towards God or away from God. We can set a good example by speaking words of truth and faith and love and kindness or we can pull them away from God by our complaining and skeptical words.

2. Being extremely careful with whom we respect and trust as Christian leaders and pastors. If people trust us, then we want to make sure that we are being very careful with where we place our own trust so that we are directing them to godly men and women who know and follow the traditional interpretation of the Word of God (2 Thessalonians 2:15). I look for men and women who are humble and holy (Titus 1:5-9) and for one who has not fallen into heresy or capitulated to worldly compromise (James 1:27) Unfortunately, my list of respected Christian leaders grows smaller almost every day. I try to be very careful with the links (listed to the right) I recommend because of this. I don’t want to be responsible for directing anyone astray. In fact, last year, there was a link listed there of a ministry I did trust but when I became aware of some heresy in that ministry, I immediately removed it. Sometimes we don’t know about a certain ministry, but when we do find out, we need to carefully withdraw our support of that ministry.

3. Being extremely careful with our actions. Oh, this is a tricky one and I often feel the weight of it. You see, I know my kids (and probably others) are watching me to see what I am watching, reading, listening to, and wearing. If I make a choice to do or wear something that is on the line, then I will, in essence, be giving my approval of that thing. Even if, afterwards, I recognize that it was not a good decision the damage will have been done. Occasionally, I will watch a movie that may be questionable by myself first before allowing my kids to watch it but, more often than not, I just don’t watch it. In fact, the older I have gotten the more I lean towards just not wasting my time on something that includes things that offend my God. Life is just too short for that and the trust issue too great. I still do mess up sometimes, though, on this one.

Our actions, of course, also include things like flaring up in anger or gossiping to our friends or lying to our boss. People, and especially our kids, are watching us all the time. It is critical to do the right thing not only to please the Lord (which is the primary reason) but also because of the observant eyes of the ones who are looking to us as an example.

Trust is a mighty thing. If we have it, we need to be very careful with it. It can be lost in a moment by doing something stupid. And there is a constant struggle going on inside with the perpetual question: “Do I want my kids (or anyone else who trusts me) to be like me?” If I am honest, my answer is always no. I have such a long way to go in my walk with God. But I keep trying, knowing that people are watching and that I have a responsibility to be the most godly person I can be based on what I have learned about God and His Word so far.

Wednesday Wisdom: The Discipline of Our Thoughts

Leave a Comment / July 3, 2013 November 28, 2018

This week’s Wednesday Wisdom comes from John MacArthur, one of my very favorite resources for biblical teaching. All of his sermons are available for free download from his website Grace to You (gty.org) and I highly recommend them. He has really helped me grow in my understanding of God’s Word. The portion I present here today is from the blog that is found on the Grace to You website. It’s about just how incredibly powerful our thought life is (something we often forget)–

Do you realize that the difference between a sincere, Spirit‑controlled, devoted, godly, obedient Christian and a defeated, weak, struggling Christian is what takes place in the mind? They may be attending the same church, active in the same ministries, and externally doing the same things, but one is defeated and the other lives a spiritually fruitful life. The difference is the thought life.

One day the difference will be made manifest. Paul told the Corinthians that when the Lord comes, He “will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Jesus said something similar: “Nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). And, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:1-2).

I urge you to look deeply into the mirror of God’s Word (James 1:23-24), which is a powerful “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, KJV). As Jeremiah counseled Israel, “Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” (Jeremiah 4:14). And as Paul said, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

How can we deal with the problem of evil thoughts? The process is like mortifying any other sin.

First, confess and forsake the sin. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, emphasis added). If your thought life harbors sins of immorality, sins of anger toward someone, sins of vengeance, sins of bitterness, sins of covetousness, or whatever, confess them to God. Repent and ask forgiveness. If we confess, He is faithful and just to forgive and keep on cleansing (1 John 1:9).

Refuse to entertain those thoughts. Purpose to abandon your wrong thought patterns immediately and begin to build new, righteous habits. If you find yourself slipping into old ways of thinking, confess your sin and refuse once again to give place to evil thoughts. Consciously direct your mind to fix itself on pure things: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). In other words, reprogram your mind with truth and righteousness.

Feed on the Word of God. “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). The Word insulates the mind. It strengthens the heart. It occupies the soul and fortifies it against evil thoughts. Only as we use the sword of the Spirit skillfully can we mortify our fleshly imaginations (Ephesians 6:17).

Avoid evil attractions. Don’t expose yourself to activities, images, or conversations that provoke evil thoughts. Like Job, make a covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1)—or with your ears, or with whatever sensations lead you into evil thoughts. Refuse to feed any tendencies that draw your imagination into wickedness. This is what Jesus meant figuratively when he said, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30).

Cultivate the love of God. David said in Psalm 119:97, “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” And then four verses later he said, “I have restrained my feet from every evil way.” If we set our minds on things above, things on the earth will cease to hold the same fascination for us (Colossians 3:2). “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21)—and where your affections are set, your thoughts will be there as well.

David ended Psalm 19, his great paean to the sufficiency of Scripture, with these words:

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer (vv. 12-14).

That is the state of mind of every truly godly person. It is also the goal of biblical instruction: “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).

So, how’s your thought life?

You can find this post here, along with many other helpful resources.

Weary Warriors

31 Comments / July 1, 2013 May 23, 2017

Being a Christian soldier in this culture is exhausting. Everywhere you turn, Satan is attacking. The battle is being fought all around us, leaving us with little, if any, time to put down our battle gear and take a rest.

Sometimes the enemy’s deadly sword looks like a big, giant lollipop coming at you. It’s really only through serious study and discernment that we can pick up on the fact that it is a sword made to look like a lollipop.

Think with me for a moment about the book The Shack. It’s just a story, right? But it single-handedly changed how many Christians think about God. I read this quote recently and it really summed up why The Shack is a problem–

“Christian idolatry is betrayed in this telltale phrase: ‘I like to think of God as________________.’ I like to think of God as a loving Father–as a mother–as an artist–as forgiving–as an architect…But the problem is that such thoughts are often coupled with a denial of something else the Scriptures teach about God–for example, that He is Judge…[We] don’t like to think of Him as a judge, but as a loving Savior.”

That is exactly why I believe this book is dangerous. It is a very one-sided and incomplete view of who God is. And yet evangelical Christians, by the thousands, love this book.

And so if you stand up and say, “Hey, wait a minute! Something’s not right here!” we are labeled.

We are judgmental, critical, narrow-minded, ridiculous, unintelligent, among a variety of other names.

And we get tired. Exhausted, even.

We decide the hassle isn’t worth it and we shut up (exactly what our enemy wants, by the way).

But these kinds of subtle deceptions aren’t our only battlefield. No, standing for Truth even goes into the arena of entertainment, dress, and life where somehow in this crazy mixed-up world, we find ourselves being ostracized and looked down upon by Christians because we believe books that glamorize witchcraft and the occult are dangerous, R-rated movies inappropriate fodder for our minds, bikinis inappropriate clothing for our daughters, and gambling and drinking unacceptable ways to spend our God-given time and money.

Have you stopped recently and thought about how CRAZY that is??

Sometimes it feels quite surreal that this is what modern Christianity has become in the year 2013. This can’t possibly be reality, can it?

But this is not the Christianity I was taught as a girl and this is certainly not Christianity as defined in the Bible.

Here are a few things the Bible says —

I should not even look at evil (Psalm 101:3; 119:37)

Those who practice sorcery will be burned in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)

God hates sexual immorality, whether it’s in our life or on a screen (Colossians 3:5)

To not let filthiness, coarse jesting, and foolish talk be among us (Ephesians 5:4)

To be separate from the world (James 1:27)

I am to be modest (I Timothy 2:9)

That I am different if I am a believer (I Peter 1:14-16)

I am not sure when Satan made his inroad into the Church. Perhaps it was when marriage became less sacred and divorce more common, leading to a breakdown of the family. Perhaps it was when shallow, me-centered music became part of the worship service. Maybe it was when worship became more about “The Show” than about God and pastoring became more about entertaining than about feeding and caring for the flock. But, most likely, it was when the church was sold the lie that people will only be won for the Gospel if we become like them. And thus the word “relevance” pretty much destroyed any purity and separation that was left within the churches.

I don’t know when exactly it happened. And I guess it doesn’t really matter. What matters now is how we Christians respond to this madness.

Are we going to melt into the crowd and do what everybody else is doing? Or are we going to take a stand?

Are we going to fight for the spiritual health of our families? Or are we going to die on the alter of peer pressure?

Are we going to grow tired and weary and give up the battle? Or are we going to stay and fight in the strength of the Lord?

My husband and I are tired. So tired. It is especially wearying on the home front, where we have spent many years trying to explain from scripture why many of the popular movies, music, video games, and books are not glorifying to God, all while most of their friends are out having a good time doing all that we are encouraging our kids not to do. We feel so outnumbered and have even questioned our sanity on a number of occasions.

But whenever we take a moment to re-look at something or to question a stand, we end up back at the same place–God’s Word calls us to live holy, pure lives separate from the world. Period.

If we want to serve Him, we can’t ignore this command. We can’t get around it. We can’t push it under a box. We are soldiers in the Lord’s army and this is a big part of our duty.

And, so…here we are. Weary warriors but still fighting. Anyone else with us?

Wednesday Wisdom: As Long As You Are Glorified

1 Comment / June 26, 2013 June 27, 2013

I stumbled upon this song quite by accident but it struck a chord within me. In a one-dimensional world of Christian music, mostly based only on ME, this song fell like refreshing rain as this turns our focus instead towards God and glorifying Him, no matter what befalls us. What is the purpose of trials, anyway? The line in the song says it best: “I long for nothing else, as long as YOU are glorified.” Comfort, convenience, pain-free, tear-free are all nice things to be but they are no guarantee when we walk with the Lord. This songs says it better than I ever could. (I have included a link after the lyrics, if you’d like to hear it)–

As Long As You Are Glorified

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain,
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow then doubt

Oh, let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified.

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are you King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night.

So quiet my restless heart!
Quiet my restless heart!
Quiet me restless heart in You.

You can listen to this song here.

Are We Dropping the Ball?

1 Comment / June 24, 2013 October 16, 2024

All around us we see youth from Christian homes who have turned their backs on the one true God. A decent percentage of them have walked away to live lives in utter, immoral chaos. But, more often than not, most are trying to live good lives, attending church on the Christian holidays, and trying to make a decent living and raise a responsible family…all in their own power, not truly knowing the Savior who gave His life for them.

When I read Titus 2, I realize just how far we have strayed from God’s plan for who we are supposed to be. Paul, in this letter to Titus, defines what we are to look like as believers in this passage.

These words seem almost ridiculous in a culture that prides itself on staying young, partying, living for the moment, and having a good time. Here are the adjectives that should be used to describe a godly man: sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience.

And godly older women: reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. We read on to discover what these good things are.

Somehow, in the last five years or so, I became one of the older women. It comes to all of us at one time or another. And here is what the Bible says I am supposed to be teaching younger women: to love their husbands and children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, and obedient to their husbands.

And let’s go on to the young men, who do not escape Paul’s descriptions. Here is what he says they are to be like: sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

So, if this is what true believers are to look like, then why do so many of us not look like this? Or, in the light of our imperfections, perhaps an even more important question is: why do believers not want to look like this?

Could it be that we older people have dropped the ball?

It starts in our homes, where many of us allow our toddlers to control everything from the TV to the schedules. And then it blossoms into the churches, where we have allowed the youth to determine everything from worship style to church programs. When and why did the older generation relinquish their responsibility?

Was it when we, too, became more enamored with our stuff than with our Lord?

Was it when we got scared of the accusations and name-calling (fuddy-duddy, traditionalist) and ran away?

Was it when we made ourselves our priority and stopped spending time with our adult children?

Or perhaps it was when we started listening to worldly wisdom instead of God’s Word?

I have no idea, but somewhere there has been a breakdown of godly living being passed down from one generation to the next.

May the Lord help us not to be one of those weak links! I pray that my kids and grandkids would be stronger and holier and bolder for Jesus Christ than I am! I want my family to grow stronger in the Lord, not weaker.

Yes, this takes work–the kind that never ends. It takes late nights and long phone conversations and confrontations. Sometimes it is lonely. But we have a responsibility and we need to step up to the plate and take it seriously! Let’s stand strong and encourage those who come behind us to stand strong with us!

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: ²that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. ³The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; ⁴that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. ⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. ⁷In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, ⁸sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. Titus 2:1-8

Found Out a Little Too Late

2 Comments / June 20, 2013 June 20, 2013

It all started when I decided to start running again. I began getting severe pain in my left knee, but I figured it was just because I hadn’t run in awhile, so I pushed through it. But when the pain became excruciating, I decided to use the elliptical machine for a little while to try to settle it down a bit. About a week before my scheduled Color Run (the reason I started running again), I decided to finally go see the doctor.

He looked at it, poked and prodded a bit, and then put me on an anti-inflammatory, telling me to use it as much as I was able and to come back if it doesn’t get better.

Fast forward four weeks. I took the pills, ran only about a third of the 5K and walked the rest. And then I came home and limped around for awhile. But the more I used the knee the more excruciating the pain became until I was forced to return to the doctor. He scheduled an MRI, which I had done yesterday. I am now waiting for the official results.

So why do I tell you this? I assure you that it is not to garner your pity, concern, or prayers. It’s just a knee. I can still walk and do what I have to do. I am not dying.

But here’s the thing– every time I sit down, every time I get up, every time I move that left leg, every time I bend or lift or stand or walk, I feel pain.

And I realized something. I have had over 45 years of trouble-free knees that I took completely for granted. I never thought about how well they worked or how much my life would be affected if they don’t. All of a sudden, I am calculating just how much walking a trip to the mall will be or just how long I can work in the garden without completely debilitating myself. Almost everything is now done with that painful knee in mind.

Chicago sang a song in the 80s called “Hard Habit to Break.” In that song is this line:

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, and I found out a little too late.

That’s just so true, isn’t it? This singer is singing this song about a relationship he lost with a special girl, but we could sing these lines about many valuable blessings in our lives that were never appreciated until they were lost, couldn’t we?

~Our babies and toddlers.

~Our youthful, wrinkle-free bodies

~Our good health

~The financial means to meet our needs and many of our wants

~A job

~Our parents

~Our siblings

~Our spouse

~Our vehicle, or refrigerator, or washing machine, or dishwasher

~Our cell phone

How many of these things have we ever said thank you for? How many of them have we lost and then went on to complain about? Whether it be the death of a loved one (a BIG deal) or a broken cell phone (so minor in the scope of life, it’s hardly even worth mentioning)?

To keep myself filled with a heart of a gratitude, I started a journal about six months ago. In it, I write three things for which I am thankful. I don’t write every day or even every other day. But a few times each month, I stop for a moment to truly ponder what I am thankful for and to give whole-hearted thanks to God.

Funny how my knees never made it in on that list. I guess I will be writing “working knees” the next time.

I want to appreciate what I have while I have it, instead of missing it and realizing a little too late just how incredibly much I had been blessed.

What are you trying to tell me?

Leave a Comment / June 17, 2013 June 17, 2013

I was taking a Sunday afternoon nap. Sound asleep, I was suddenly jarred awake by a little white ball of fur leaping on my bed. My dog, Belle, did a quick circle and then hopped back down and literally ran out the door. I settled down for a moment or two before she returned, this time making her way up to my pillow and laying down right above my head, panting madly.

I knew she was trying to tell me something, but I could not figure out what it was. The other night, she had acted similarly during a storm, but this particular afternoon the weather was clear and, to my knowledge, nothing else traumatic was going on. What was she trying to tell me? When I asked her what was wrong, she didn’t magically speak to me but instead just stared at me, as if trying to send a message with those dark brown eyes.

Trying to understand what she was trying to tell me felt a little like trying to understand what God is trying to tell me about a specific decision sometimes. Sometimes I just want to say, “God, how about if you send a lone bolt of lightening for YES and big loud thunderclap for NO?” Wouldn’t that be nice?

Unfortunately, it is a rare occasion that God makes the answer to a decision extremely clear, but–on the bright side– there are some good biblical principles to follow which will help us discern the right direction–

1) What does the Bible say? Search the scriptures and discern everything God’s Word has to say about what you are agonizing over. You may have to do a generalized search. For example, if you are trying to decide about a new house or car, then search God’s Word for everything you can find about material wealth and our attitude towards it. If you are married and trying to decide about a business lunch with an attractive co-worker, then find all the passages you can on marriage and falling into adultery.

2) Obey what you know. There are some basics in God’s Word that we know we are to do: The Ten Commandments, loving God with all our hearts, loving others as we love ourselves, submitting to our husbands, loving our wives, submitting to our bosses, praying for our leaders. Let’s obey in the areas that are clear, so that we will be in right relationship with God and will be better able to understand the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the areas that are unclear.

3) Examine your motives. Is this decision all about me? Am I concerned with my feelings, my experience, my life, at the cost of anybody else’s?

4) Think about the outcome. What will be the fruit of this decision? Will it mean being in debt? Will it put you far away from family? Will this damage your reputation? Will this decision be a detriment to your relationship with Christ or others? Just spend a few minutes contemplating the fruit of the decision.

And if you do all of that and you still don’t know, I’ll tell you what I do: I pick a path and start walking, all the while praying that the Lord will close the doors if I didn’t pick the right one. He is faithful! He does show us which way we should go when we are in fellowship with Him; when we truly desire to please Him more than fulfilling our own selfish desires.

So much confusion and strife results when I make a decision based on what I want…when I live my life based on my desires and ambitions. I know this, because I have done it many times and continue to struggle with this.

Life can be tough and we rarely, if ever, get a message from God telling us what to do. But, thankfully, we have His Word as a guide and His promise to care for us. This is great comfort in the midst of making a decision.

I Peter 5: 6-11 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.