growing in christ – Page 43

Wednesday Wisdom #7: For Our Children

Leave a Comment / August 1, 2012 August 1, 2012

Welcome to Wednesday Wisdom! Amy Carmichael is one of my favorite missionaries. As many of you know she served in India for many years, especially ministering to children, raising many of them as her own. She was also a wonderful poet. Many of her poems are compiled in a book called “Mountain Breezes”. It is well worth the purchase. Below is one of her beautiful poems on praying for our children.

For Our Children

Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying;
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril;
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them;
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life’s troubled waters steer them;
Through life’s bitter battle cheer them;
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleadings thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

Lust and Love

6 Comments / July 30, 2012 July 30, 2012

1340661_42925738 — In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. I Timothy 2:9-10

“If you’re an adult male, you cannot deny the power of a flash of flesh to draw your attention. A too-short skirt. A hint of cleavage. It’s really an incredible force of nature. Most women understand that a revealing outfit brings a certain amount of attraction from males, but they have no idea how much power they really have. Every man reading this is well aware of that power.” **

As I came upon this paragraph, I realized exactly why it is so important for women to dress modestly and, just as importantly, why it is so critical for Dads to share this information with their daughters.

I have given God many excuses as to why I can’t write on this particular topic – I will offend – I will be viewed as legalistic – Some of my friends and their daughters dress inappropriately – My three daughters and I are guilty of immodesty ourselves, at times. Please, no, God, don’t ask me to write on this topic. But He would not let me go, so here is the post I have been dreading to write for at least a year.

As usual, this summer has brought skirts and shorts that are too short, shirts that give way more than just a hint of cleavage, and bikinis that leave very little to the imagination. I think the saddest thing of all is that there there is very little – if any- difference between Christian and non-Christian women when it comes to how we dress. I see facebook pictures of Christian young women displaying their almost naked bodies. We can find half-exposed breasts and long, sexy legs in church services and at weddings. And, even more surprisingly, no one seems to be sounding the alarm that this isn’t appropriate.

I wonder if so many of us women do not truly realize what our immodest dress does to the men around us? Do we realize that we are tempting them to lust by not properly covering ourselves? I submit to you that this is not showing love to our fellow Christian brothers, but instead throwing temptation in their faces and just expecting them to deal with it.

And I would like to especially challenge Fathers of teen-aged girls. You, of all people, know what goes through the mind of a male who sees an improperly clothed woman. Why do you let your teen-aged girls go out half-dressed? Sure, if you ask them to change they may get mad and stomp off but many years later they will thank you from the bottom of their hearts. Parenting is tough, but we can’t give in. We need to protect our girls, their reputations, and the hearts and minds of the young men in their company. Many are the conversations my husband has had with our three girls – asking them to change – telling them why – never giving up on protecting them and the young men in their company. I feel so incredibly blessed to have a husband who is honest with them about this difficult topic.

Some men will say they are not tempted by immodestly dressed women. And maybe the culture is so inundated and flooded with sexual messages that it is true. But I doubt it. I would guess that they are not telling the truth. I watch men turn their heads and pay attention. I know the constant attention given by the men in my life to turn away, trying not to turn back for a second glance, because of where their thoughts will go.

Ladies, do we really want to be guilty of this? Do we want to be the cause of a man’s lust because we didn’t dress modestly? And exactly how is that showing the love of Christ to those around us? How is this type of dress bringing glory to Jesus Christ, the one who died to save us? God commands us to be modest and I believe that one of the main reasons for that command is to protect our dear Christian brothers and the wives (our sisters in Christ) that are married to them.

I know that a few of you will agree with me as you read this post; a couple more may give what I have written here some thought; but my fear is that most of you will think I am off of my rocker for even bringing this up. In all circles of my life I find little consideration is given to this subject. No one seems to care anymore. But perhaps it would be good for all of us to humbly ask God if our attitude about how we dress is the attitude He would want us to have. Even I, as I write this, find myself thinking about a few things I need to get rid of in my closet.

You see, this isn’t about rules – Thou Shalt Not wear such and such. This is about an attitude of submission to God and love for our fellow man. As Christian women, we are called to express our Christian love by keeping ourselves properly covered. As parents, we have the responsibility to teach this important principle to our girls. Are we inciting lust or showing love by how we dress? It is certainly something to think about.

** Excerpt taken from 52 Things Wives Need From Their Husbands by Jay Payleitner

Living in a Castle the Size of a Country

11 Comments / July 26, 2012 July 31, 2015

If you have done any kind of missions work outside of the Unites States or if you love to read about the world, you know that living in America is a little like living in a sheltered castle. Sure, we venture out once in awhile to give gifts and minister to the peasants, but most of our lives are spent living comfortably and luxuriously in the castle. Castle dwellers face their own sets of problems, of course…facing things like enemy attacks, betrayals, and illnesses. But they are not worried about the very basest of needs, things such as food, shelter, and clothing.

How do we live an effective Christian life in the castle? And can we truly experience dependence on God while we reside in luxury and comfort? Even the poorest American is incredibly wealthy, when compared to many countries, simply because they have their basic needs met. They do not have wild animals stealing their children in the night nor do they fear that enemies will burn down their home, torturing, raping, and murdering their loved ones, as they do so. Most American children are never kidnapped and enslaved.

I struggle almost daily with the question: Why am I here? Why was I born in America? What does God want me to do with what I have?

You see, the easiest, most natural thing to do when our lives are safely tucked within the country-sized castle is to be focused on our own families, jobs, churches, and problems. Unless we take time to read, watch, or go many of us don’t even give the impoverished people outside the castle walls a thought.

As all of this rolls around in my brain, many thoughts come to mind. Here are a few:

1. As believers, we are required to serve others. It is not an option. So many of us serve only when we feel like it. Or when it makes us feel better about ourselves without costing too much. Or when it fits our schedule. I am including myself here. I am ashamed of how often my first thoughts when asked to serve are often centered on how will it inconvenience or cost me?

2. We are to take care of widows and orphans (James 1:27); We are to minister to the Saints (fellow believers) (Hebrews 6:10); But, most importantly, most of the Bible verses about serving have to do with self-denial. We are to deny ourselves and serve Jesus, oftentimes by serving others. This is no easy task and we should start right within our own families. It is no good to be traveling abroad if we aren’t even serving with love at home.

3. There is no need to travel to third world countries in order to minister. Many are the needs here. But I will venture to say that ministering here is a bit like the princess helping the scullery maid of the castle. There are certainly needs but the castle staff is still somewhat protected and sheltered because they live in the castle. It isn’t until you leave the protection of the castle that you see true poverty, in my opinion.

4. Serving often means stepping outside of our comfort zone. This is a big one and takes a giant leap of faith. I say this, because I have experienced it. Fear can’t rule you if you are going to serve whole-heartedly. I continue to work through this even now, as I prepare for my next trip out of the country.

5. Ministering to physical needs is worthless, unless we are addressing their eternal destiny, as well, through sharing the good news of the Gospel. I have long made it a rule to not even give to agencies that aren’t sharing the gospel, even if what they are doing is in the name of Christ. What good is it to feed a body for a lifetime if their soul will be in hell for eternity?

6. We need to be so careful with our priorities. If we aren’t careful, we start living our lives centered around a home mortgage or a car payment. We base important life decisions on selfish things like reputation and comfort. I heard someone say yesterday that if it isn’t eternal, it isn’t important. That certainly does put it in perspective, doesn’t it?

7. And, maybe most importantly, we should be expressing our gratitude every day to our Heavenly Father for not only meeting our physical needs, but for giving us far more than we could ever dream. And yet, many times, we not only take this for granted, but behave as if we deserve it. We demand comfort and conveniences and tend to complain when things aren’t just right. This happens easily in this culture, doesn’t it? Where everyday we are inundated with commercials and billboards telling us we deserve the best. Actually, we don’t deserve the best. We are just so blessed.

As we ponder what the Lord wants from us, one thing is certain. Each and every one of us has a multitude of ways we can serve others each day. But we can only do that when we step outside of a world based on “me” and reach out.

WW #6: Simple Does Not Mean Easy

2 Comments / July 25, 2012 July 25, 2012

Today I am sharing some wise words from a friend of mine who is a missionary in Cambodia. She is a wonderful writer and I know many of you will appreciate what she shared in her newsletter on Monday. The analogy she makes is a great one. Read on and see what I mean!

The heat here [Cambodia] makes it quite hard to want to get out and do anything, really, but I am glad to report I was up bright and early today for a riverside jog/walk. And I almost enjoyed it. Almost.

You’ll have to forgive me if a lot of my object lessons recently have been about exercise and the physical side of things. It is taking a bit of my focus and energy right now, as I am working toward some “before forty” goals. (The clock is ticking!) But I am beginning to see why many of the NT writers used athletics and sports allegories to make their points about the spiritual life. There are so many parallels!

A number of years ago, a doctor said to me that—unless your weight gain was due to medical reasons—all you had to do to lose weight was to eat less and move more. It’s that simple. It comes down basic math, really. If your calorie intake is consistently less than the number of calories you burn day after day, you will begin to lose weight. This is not rocket science, folks!

However, “simple” does not necessarily mean “easy”.

Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows how hard it is to change lifestyle rhythms or habits. It is soooo difficult to pass up that extra helping, or that tempting snack. It is exhausting to submit your body to rigorous exercise and grueling to stick to disciplined daily routines.

Weight loss might be simple on paper, but it certainly is not easy.

In the same way, salvation is basically simple. You have a debt of sin that you could never repay. Jesus has paid the price in full, and offers to clear your account. You simply have to accept His gift and His Lordship in your life.

But there is nothing easy about the Christian walk. The dying to self, the denial of fleshly desires, the breaking and bending of the will to the Spirit’s control. None of this comes naturally. But it must be done, intentionally and regularly. Besides that, the world will heap us with abuse once it sees we are trying to do things differently, not living by its norms and standards.

The basics of salvation might be simple to grasp, but living it out on a daily basis is probably one of the hardest things a person can do.

We do a great disservice, I fear, when we minimize the cost of following Christ. When we promise a primrose-strewn path, leading not only to future Glory, but also to heaven here on earth. We mislead others if we do not prepare them for the rocky road ahead.

Of course we do not walk this path alone. We need not strive and strain in our own strength. We have a Helper always available to us. In fact, He is eager to do most of the work if we will just submit to His control. It’s that simple. But not that easy.

–by Deborah Wise

The Changing Landscape

2 Comments / July 19, 2012 July 19, 2012

For 25 years now, we have made occasional trips to the area where my husband was born and lived for the first 10 years of his life. Many of his extended family still resides there and so we go at least once a year for a reunion. A few weeks ago, we headed there for the sad occasion of his uncle’s viewing.

It was a beautiful summer evening for a drive and I enjoyed looking at the lovely landscape. And, like many times before, I thought of how different this drive was from when we first started our trips east. WaWas, Wal-marts, and Wendy’s had popped up. Several new shopping complexes were now on the route. And so many homes! Hundreds more than when we first started making this trip. Most in well-manicured developments, each home similar to its neighbor. My, how the landscape had changed over the years!

The same thing has happened in the area where I live, but I never give it much thought. I am so used to seeing it, that I don’t realize just how drastic the change has been over the past 25 years.

It makes me wonder just how much the landscape of my life has slowly changed. For some reason, we don’t seem to notice the gradual changes in whatever is closest to us. We all change over the course of our lives, many times without even realizing it. And then comes the inevitable question – are the changes good or bad?

I started keeping a journal when I was about ten years old. Most of my young adult life is recorded in cloth-covered books. Every now and again, I will spend a few minutes glancing over them. It is especially interesting to read the ones I wrote in college. In my head, I am still the young, naive woman who got married at 22. However, when I read the journals, I know that I am not that girl anymore — and that’s a good thing! It is through my journals that I see that I have matured and grown up in the Lord. Oh, I have a long way to go, but I can see a lot of positive changes (and also some pesky flaws that keep hanging around, too!)

Most people do not have a journal to see the changes that clearly, but it may be a good idea to think for just a minute how the landscape of your life has changed. Are you more patient now than when you first got married? Are you more and more conscious of the sin around you? Or have you become comfortable with a sin in your life? Is there a wall that has grown higher and higher between you and someone else?

I know for me, really thinking about this has led to me to be convicted about a few areas that I have let slide, areas that have continually grown worse (instead of better), always thinking that “someday” I will try to work on this or change that. But unless we purposefully commit to change, “someday” rarely comes. Living intentionally will help the changes in our landscape to be pleasing to the eye, instead of looking like the run-down slums. And so, it is good to ask this question: What do the changes in my life signify about me?

Wednesday Wisdom #5: Only a Few Things Matter

Leave a Comment / July 18, 2012 July 18, 2012

The following is from the book “Born After Midnight”. It is by A.W. Tozer, who many of you know is one of my favorite authors. I hope you enjoy this very compelling and interesting excerpt.

It has been suggested here before that life, for all its apparent complexities, is at bottom very simple indeed if we could only realize it. Thank God, only a few things matter. The rest are incidental and unimportant.

Nothing that matters is new. “There is no new thing under the sun,” said Solomon, and he could hardly have meant that there had been no mechanical development or social or political changes under the sun, for he observed elsewhere that man has “sought out many inventions,” and he had himself instituted quite a number of changes in the royal routine. The city of Jerusalem he left behind him when he died was quite another city from the one he took over from his father David. External changes were numerous even in those days, but in nature and in man nothing was new; and it was of these that Solomon wrote.

Nothing is new that matters and nothing that matters can be modernized. One way to evaluate anything in the world around us is to check for possible modernization. If it can be modernized you may safely put it far down in the scale of human values. Only the unchanged and the unchanging should be accounted worthy of lasting consideration by beings made in the image of God.

Should some reader impatiently brush me off as hopelessly old-fashioned I shall not be offended. To escape the illusion of the temporal requires a free mind and a heart deeply engrossed in eternal thoughts and filled with immortal yearnings. And present-day Christianity simply does not produce that kind of mentality. Neither can we hope with Wordsworth “that mellower years will bring a riper mind and clearer insight,” for our direction is away from this and not toward it. Unless we have been enlightened deep in the Spirit of truth, the passing of time will not help us. Rather it may confirm us in our carnality. There is such a thing as spiritual senility. It is the natural result of failure over a prolonged period to live in the light of revealed truth; and any of us can slide into it unless we walk humbly and circumspectly.

Almost everything that men value today has been developed from some primitive archetype: the streamlined auto from the wheel, the skyscraper from the stone arch, the supersonic airplane from the kite, our highly complex monetary system from the cowrie shell or its equivalent, our extremely efficient methods of communication from hieroglyphics or the jungle drum. I think it would be possible to trace about 98 percent of the items that compose our modern civilized world back to their primitive originals. Yet I reassert with emphasis that nothing new matters and nothing that really matters can be modernized.

What really matters after all? My personal relation to God matters. That takes priority over everything else. A man may be born in a sanitary hospital, receive his education in progressive schools, ride in an air-conditioned car, sleep on a foam rubber mattress, wear synthetic clothing, eat vitamin-enriched food, read by fluorescent lights, speak across 12,000 miles of empty space to a friend on the other side of the world, lose his anxieties by taking tranquilizing pills, die without pain by the aid of some new drug and be laid to rest in a memorial park as lovely as a country garden; yet what will all this profit him if he must later rise to face in judgment a God who knows him not and whom he does not know? To come at last before the bar of eternal justice with no one to plead his cause and to be banished forever from the presence of the great Judge—is that man any better off than if he had died a naked savage in the hinterlands of Borneo?

No man can afford to live or die under the frowning displeasure of God. Yet, name one modem device that can save him from it. Where can a man find security? Can philosophy help him? or psychology? Or science? or “progress”? or atoms or wonder drugs or vitamins? No. Only Christ can help him, and His aid is as old as man’s sin and man’s need. The naked aborigine is as near to God (and as far from Him) as the Ph.D. Nothing new can save my soul; neither can saving grace be modernized. We must each come as Abel came, by atoning blood and faith demonstrated in repentance. No new way has been discovered. The old way is the true way and there is no new way. The Lamb of God was slain “before the foundation of the world.”

A few other things matter to be sure, but they begin there, go out from there and return there again. They are that we trust Christ completely, carry our cross daily, love God and our fellow men, walk in the light as God gives us to understand it; that we love mercy, and walk uprightly; that we fulfill our commission as ambassadors of Christ among men; that we grow in grace and in the knowledge of God and come at last to our end like a ripe shock of corn at harvest time.

These are the things that matter. These things are always critical, yet few recognize them as being so. It is all but impossible these days to get attention to the things that matter. Only as the servants of God veer away from these serious and eternal things to talk of politics or world events or sports or science will the nervous and distraught victims of time and space give them a hearing. Yet these eternal truths are all the Bible teaches and all we are authorized to proclaim.

—Born After Midnight

Wise Words #4: He Is With You

Leave a Comment / July 11, 2012 July 11, 2012

One of the songs that has meant so much to me during some very difficult times has been this song by Mandisa, entitled “He Is With You”. I remember being in tears by the end of hearing it the first time. God used this song to remind me that He is always with me. Even when I feel lonely or frightened or hopeless, I am not alone. God is with me always. How blessed we are to have a supernatural source of comfort and strength if we are one of His children. May we never forget it. I have attached a link to listen to the song on YouTube after the lyrics. It’s a great video, so I hope you take a moment to watch it.

There’s a time to live
And a time to die
There’s a time to laugh
And a time to cry
There’s a time for war
And a time for peace
There’s a hand to hold
In the worst of these
In the worst of these

Chorus:
He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can’t even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby’s gone
And your house is still and your heart’s a stone
Cryin’ God, what’d you do that for?
He is with you

There’s a time for yes
And a time for no
There’s a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There’s a time to run
And a time to face it
There is love to see you
Through all of this

Chorus:
He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don’t know you anymore
And he is with you in the ICU
When the doctors don’t know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you

We may weep for a time
But joy will come in the morning
The morning light

Chorus:
He is with you when your kids are grown
When there’s too much space and you feel alone
And you’re worried if you got it right or wrong
Yes he is with you when you’ve given up
On ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left
And you take your final breath
He is with you

Watch on YouTube: He is With You by Mandisa

Connecting to the Default

2 Comments / July 9, 2012 July 9, 2012

Since the coming of wifi, life has changed considerably, hasn’t it? Most of us think we can’t live without it. And so when we set up our router a few years ago, we had to set it up so that there would be a strong signal in three different locations. The main router is in my office and the network is called Home 2.4, then we have one set up in our kitchen area called Home Extended. The third is in our Business office across the parking lot and there the the network is called default.

Interestingly enough, many are the times when I will be sitting in my office trying to look something up on the internet and it will be super slow. The page will take forever to load and, inevitably, I will look down to the bottom right corner of my screen to see that there is only one little bar of strength. Once again, I realize that my laptop has automatically connected itself to the signal of the default network across the parking lot, instead of the strong Home 2.4 that is right here in my office. I am not sure why we called the office network “default” but it certainly is operating as the default for my laptop! Of course, I will scroll my mouse down to the corner and click on the little signal icon and then purposely connect to the strongest signal.

I have no idea why it connects to the weakest network but, I guess when it comes right down to it, we humans do that all of the time. We quickly fall into our default mode, the weakness of our bad habits, and the same old, same old. We operate at one bar of strength, wondering why life is so hard. All the while the strong signal of God and His Word is unused and powerless in our lives, because we have chosen instead to stay connected to the default network. And so most of us find ourselves connected permanently to a weak network, following our own selfish ambitions and desires, rather than submitting and surrendering to God.

Paul talks about it like this in Galatians 5:

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,^[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹envy, murders,^[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Of course, connecting to the proper network takes some work. We have to spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. We have to feed ourselves spiritual food that is full of pure and biblical doctrine. It is a little harder than scrolling a mouse and then giving it a click. But, in looking at the works of the flesh, I see the default works, the sins we all fall into without effort–strife and envy and idolatry and hatred, to name a few–and I know that I don’t want those characterizing my life. I want the fruits of the Spirit to be evident, fruits like love and joy and self-control.

And so perhaps today would be a great day for all of us to stop walking in the flesh, with all of its weakness and failures, and to turn our lives over, without condition, to the Lord whose strength is beyond measure.

Finding a Better Place

Leave a Comment / July 5, 2012 July 5, 2012

Last night a big gang of us went to watch fireworks. We decided the best place to watch was the parking lot of a nearby historical society. Apparently everyone else thought that, too. But we found a place to park and joined the crowd. With blankets and chairs in tow, we scoped the area for the best place to sit. Most of the grassy area was taken, but we found one we thought would be okay, despite the big building directly in front of us. Oh, well. We settled down to wait for the show.

A few minutes later, one of the guys decided he was going to search for a better spot and off went a group of them. A few minutes later my daughter ran back and breathlessly told us that we should all follow her, where across the parking lot and behind a building, was the perfect hill to watch the fireworks.

So off we all went with our stuff, down the hill, across the parking lot, and around the building — to the perfect hillside. Most people hadn’t ventured that far and so there was only a couple of other parties of people in the area. And guess what? It was a great place to watch the fireworks. Probably the best place we’ve sat at in years…maybe ever.

This is the perfect picture of why I write this blog! I was thinking about it this morning. So often we are tempted to just settle. We are tired of the weight battle, we are tired of the kid battle, we are tired of the entertainment battle. We are tired of battles! So we just settle. We don’t want to work now for shadowy rewards to come later. We want our rewards now. And so we stay right where we are, taking the easy path. But the easy path doesn’t always lead to the best place to watch the show. In fact, I would venture to say it never leads to the best place to watch the show.

And some of us really do want to take the hard path, but then peer pressure weighs us down. As I think on last night, I realize that if a few of us would have dug our heals in and said we weren’t leaving our spot, the whole group probably would have stayed put. Thankfully, everyone was willing to walk to the better spot last night. But, unfortunately, when it comes to real life, we often need to travel on alone in order to take the best path.

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 9: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring itinto subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

We can’t afford to be tired or pressured by our friends because we are running the race to win! And the rewards are great if we don’t give up — a healthy body, children who love the Lord, a pure heart and mind, but, most importantly, the imperishable crown we will receive in glory.

Do you remember Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare? I know the point of that is that slow and steady wins the race, but I would like to point out here that the tortoise never took a break, either. He just kept plugging away without getting distracted or giving in to his exhaustion. May we be like the tortoise today, as we continue to run the race set before us, always looking for ways to run it better and never giving up! May we never settle for status quo!

Drifting…

2 Comments / July 2, 2012 July 23, 2014

We were enjoying a day at Assateague Island. It is a beautiful, family-oriented beach complete with wild ponies, although we didn’t see any that particular day. We trudged through the sand, looking for a good place to set up. We found one fairly close to the lifeguard, which made us all feel a bit safer, as the surf was in fine form that day. It didn’t take long for the kids to grab their boogie boards and start riding waves. I took my sand chair down to the water’s edge and set up for one of my favorite activities at the beach: people-watching.

Now, if you are a mom you have the art of “ocean scanning” down to a science. Scanning and counting…scanning and counting…over and over again. There’s one…two…there’s kid three…and (sigh of relief) the fourth. I count over and over, making sure they are all safe several times each hour. This started when they were small and even though two are now classified as adults officially, the “mom instinct” doesn’t quit and I am still counting to four several times each hour when we are all together.

This particular day, I got distracted in my people-watching and hadn’t “counted” for awhile. When I finally looked up to start scanning once again, I didn’t see anyone familiar in front of me. My eyes strayed further down the beach and there I spotted our group, several hundred yards away from where they had started. They had drifted, unknowingly, down the beach, away from the lifeguard.

This is such a great picture to what happens to us in life if we aren’t careful. It may be in our marriage, where small selfish decisions become larger and more frequent until we find that we have drifted into indifference. Or perhaps it is our listening and watching habits, where a lack of discernment finds us drifting further and further into the cesspool of what is the American entertainment industry. Or it may be the lure of materialism, where we find ourselves buying “one more thing” and trying to convince ourselves that we will be content, only to find ourselves drifting further and further away from contentment. Drifting is how affairs get started, how relationships break down, and often why our kids walk away from the Lord. We think this one time…this one thing…this won’t hurt. But the next time, it’s so much easier to rationalize once again. And it gets easier and easier. Drifting is a dangerous business.

The only way to keep from drifting is to never let our guards down. Ever. We are to be a watchman for our own lives and for our children. Yes, it is exhausting. It is hard work. And it is time-consuming. But if we are true believers and desire to obey God’s Word, it is required. Too easily, we humans drift into bad habits and dangerous places. Before we know it, we drift away from the lifeguard and the safe place He has provided for those who live in obedience and we move into dangerous territory filled with sharp rocks, giant waves, and dangerous undercurrents. We rarely come away unscathed when we drift away from safety.

Drifting is a natural occurrence. It is only through knowing and obeying God’s word that we can we keep from drifting. It is only through diligent and purposeful examination of each choice we make that we can stay in the vicinity of our Lifeguard. Perhaps we should all examine how close we are to the Lifeguard this day and if we find ourselves far down the beach, may we ask the Lord humbly and sincerely to carry us back to safety.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

I Corinthians 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.