christian Life

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THE OWNER

“Who’s coming to visit?” Joseph asked as he entered the house.  “The owner!” Martha exclaimed.  “He’s coming to see what we’ve done with the farm.”

“How do you know all this?  Did a letter arrive?”  Joseph sat down at the kitchen table to rest and hear more of the story.

“No,” replied Martha.  “Roscoe called to let us know.”

Roscoe was an old friend who worked for the owner.  His call may have unnecessarily worried Martha.  Joseph knew that Roscoe was a bit of an alarmist.

Joseph inquired further, “Did he say why the owner was coming?”

“No, but he sounded like we’d better be on our toes,” Martha said with urgency in her voice.

“You know that the owner loves us.  When he set us up here, he was kind and helpful”, Reflected Joseph.   “I’m more likely to believe that he wants to see us and spend time with us.  I don’t think he’s coming to inspect our progress.  Besides, things are going well.  There have been a few setbacks, but we’ve done our best.  He’s not looking for more than that.”

Martha relaxed a little.  “Well, it is a good excuse to use my China tea set.”

 

Someday the owner is coming back to Judge what we‘ve done, but today his visit is probably just to be with you.  He is a generous, kind, and loving owner full of grace and mercy.  Invite Him in and enjoy His presence.

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A FATHER’S DISCIPLINE

I came to the realization today that God has me in a tight spot with no wiggle room.  I can’t wiggle myself out of this situation.  The only thing I can do is trust Him.  I have a tendency toward self-reliance, but I can’t think myself out of this one.  God knows me so well.  I chuckle at myself as I realize that God has infinite patience.  He can wait me out.  I am slowly surrendering.

As I ponder this quandary, I recognize the Father’s touch.  He loves me enough to work in my life.  He is disciplining me.  I then remember the words of Hebrews 12:5-6:

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son?  It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

The God of the universe is taking time for me!  He loves me enough to discipline me.  I can’t take this lightly.

 

I now have a choice.  I can humble myself and learn the lesson, or I can resist and gain nothing.  Surrendering to discipline is not easy.  Verse 11 reminds us, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.”  Yes, I concur that it’s painful, but the verse continues, “Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”  I hope I can stick it out.  I will definitely need His help.

 

I pray by God’s mercy and grace that I will learn this lesson.  May my heart be humbled and encouraged, so I might reap the fruit of this lesson and gain what the Father intends for my life.

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DO NOT WORRY

In the Bible the word “worry” is always preceded by “do not” or “why do you”.  Jesus doesn’t want us to worry because it hinders our ability to live in the peace and freedom that He purchased for us.  He wants us to trust Him and not worry.  He speaks to this topic in Mathew 6:25-34.  Jesus explains that our focus should not be on what we will have to eat or what clothes we will wear but on the Father’s kingdom and His righteousness.  God is going to walk us through the problems of today, and He has already worked out what’s going to happen tomorrow.  Yes, there are difficulties and trials for today, but don’t miss the blessings of today by worrying about what might happen tomorrow.  As the word says, “… For tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough troubles of its own (Matthew 6:34).”

It is very difficult to give up worrying.  Worrying is a human coping mechanism.  Somehow by working things over and over in our minds, we feel like we have some control.  Yet as we work the process of worrying, we pay the high price of anxiety.  Anxiety does all kinds of damage to our physical and emotional well-being.  Jesus knows this.

How do we get beyond worry?  The Apostle Paul gives us solid directions.  In Philippians 4:4-7 (The Message) he writes:

Celebrate God all day, every day.  I mean revel in Him!  Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them.  Help them see that the Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any minute!  Don’t fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

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WHY DO I BELIEVE

Every now and then I come to a time that I review why I believe.  I just read the creation story in Genesis 1&2 and enjoyed the thought-provoking contemplation that it brings.  Can such an awesome being exist?  Is there really an entity that can speak the entire universe into being?  Then I travel through my memories reviewing why I believe this to be true.

I start with remembering when I was at my lowest point, and I called out to God.  Somewhere in my inner being, I knew he was there.  My life changed dramatically from that moment, and I have walked a blessed life since that day.  He has spoken to me in the most intimate ways on a number of occasions.  He has directed my life in ways I didn’t understand at the time, but His ways have always brought blessing.  We have a long term relationship that is ever growing.

So as hard as it is to imagine a being who could speak the entire universe into existence, I have a personal relationship with Him.  I communicate with him on a daily basis.  He answers me.   God loves me, and I love Him.  I see His beauty in all that He created.  I say yes!  There is a being who spoke the entire universe into existence.  I believe because I have experienced Him.

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CAN YOU LET GO?

I tend to keep my mind focused on anxieties like worries, concerns, and fears.  I actively hold on to them till they become a part of me.  They are like familiar friends.  It seems like to worry is my natural default.  However, Jesus told me not to worry.

Jesus has recently asked me, “Can you let go of these things and give them to me?”  His question definitely presented a challenge, yet it was very instructive.  I thought these worries, concerns, and fears were my responsibility.  I didn’t ask for them, yet somehow I felt it was my job to wrestle with them.  Jesus’ question led me to understand that I was not supposed to hold on to them.  How freeing to realize that I could just let go and give them to him.  I did, at least for the moment, let go.  I wanted to keep that feeling of freedom forever, but alas it was fleeting.  I found myself grabbing all these anxieties right back. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that letting go is a spiritual and emotional battle, but I now know that the battle is worth it.  When I let go, my joy returns, and I become pleasant to others.  My heart desires to be kind and generous, but these anxieties hinder and distract me.  So I grasp that letting go is not a moment in time fix, but it requires a continual action of surrender and trust.  Only in Jesus can I find the strength to do this.  In him I can let go.

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HOW CAN I REPAY THE LORD

Psalm 116:8-11 reads:  For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 

When I was young I learned about the Lord in Sunday school.  I even went to church.  However, my daily life was on me, and I didn’t think much about the Lord during the week.  Then divorce came into my life.  On my own, I tried to fix the emotional distress of this tragedy.   I floundered in a cavern of unsuccessfulness.  Finally, I came to the end of myself and called on the name of the Lord.  He was right there to help.

Jesus delivered my soul from anguish, my eyes from tears, and he gave me direction for my life.  Jesus gave my life purpose, and I stopped randomly stumbling through life.  Overnight, life completely changed.  I felt alive again as I started my new life walking with him.  In his mercy and grace, Jesus was very good to me.

“How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?” asked the Psalmist in verse 12.  He shared his answer in verses 13 and 14.  “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.  I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of his people.”  To me this means I will praise the Lord for the salvation he purchased for me.  And, as I have vowed, I will continue to serve the Lord for the rest of my life.  This I will do in the presence of his people.  Gratitude and faithfulness will be the hallmark of my existence.

If you haven’t found the mercy and grace of Jesus just call on the name of the Lord.  He will answer you.

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A SOLID FOUNDATION

Throughout my diverse teaching career the subject I most commonly taught was U.S. History.  Having spent my early years on the east coast, much of what I taught was set in places that were familiar to me. The inscriptions that I often read in those places were filled with Christian words and ideals.  It was obvious to me that our country had a Christian foundation.  Aren’t those inscriptions still there?  Aren’t our founding documents full of Biblical references?

What would be the purpose of denying this foundational connection to the Christian Religion?  Perhaps there are those who would go another way, to change the foundation.  Can you change the foundation without destroying the building?  If the foundation is faulty, don’t you have to build a new building?  What would be the foundation for this new building?

I will close with this excerpt from George Washington’s Farewell Address from 1796:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

[This is a repost from last August.  I thought it worth revisiting in light of the current political circus.]

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THE LORD HAS BEEN GOOD TO YOU

Regardless of your circumstances, the Lord has been good to you.  The fact that he died on the cross for you should be enough to count him good.  As I say this to myself, I reach for the place where I embrace this truth and find comfort.  When times are tough it is a reach.  I want to be rescued by circumstances not just intellectual truth.  I want things to be better!

For those who have walked with the Lord for some time you probably recognize this struggle as the growth of patience and trust that comes from waiting on the Lord.  However, I’ve come to a place of frustration and discouragement in this process.  I can’t see ahead to that door which will open to a new direction providing an answer to my dilemma.  What can I do?  I have often answered this question, “Nothing, you just have to wait and trust in the Lord.”  I find no relief in this answer.  There must be something else.

What a blessing the Psalms provide when we reach difficult times.  This time I found comfort in Psalm 116.  In this Psalm King David retraces his life’s relationship with the Lord.  He reflects on how the Lord saved him, listened and responded to his cry for help, and treated him with compassion.  He finds solace in praising God for what he has done.  Ah, an answer to my question of what can I do.  So I’m doing this, and I’m finding that God has indeed saved me, listened and responded to my cry for help, and treated me with compassion.  I am praising God for what he has done in my life, and I’m looking forward to that moment when I reach this resolution, “Be at rest once more, oh my soul, for the Lord has been good to you (Psalm 116:7).

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HOW TO HAVE A HAPPY MARRIAGE

My wife and I have a perfect marriage.  Okay, I’m lying.  We do have a great marriage though.  For 35 years, we have managed to love and like each other.  We’ve worked side by side for many of those years always with a single goal.  That goal was to seek the Lord and his will for us.  We have always sought his guidance and trusted him for the outcome.  Well, maybe always is a little exaggerated, but we’ve done our best to trust him.

I really believe that our success in marriage stems from our commitment.  The commitment I’m talking about came from before we met.  In August of 1980, we both surrendered our lives to the Lord and committed to serve him.  Bonnie sat down on a piano bench, and I sat on a rock.  We both asked the Lord to take over our lives.  Speaking for myself, I’d made such a mess of things I realized that I couldn’t do life without Him.  On the last day of November in 1980, we met.  From that day, it was a whirlwind of events that led to our marriage in April of 1981.

I had asked God for a wife, and I knew that Bonnie was his answer to that prayer.  And she was sure that I was the man God had sent to her.  This assurance, combined with our faith, has carried us through the years.  One of our early discoveries was that we both believed God had called us to love and care for children.  He has guided us to do just that.  What an amazing life he has given us.  There is no greater existence on the earth than a life with purpose fulfilled.  We have shared that life.

This is what I’ve learned.  Marriage is a partnership of strength.  It is a central point from which to radiate outward for the good of others.  In the process the relationship is strengthened and both partners become more of who they were created to be.  We are happy people in a happy marriage because we allowed God to lead us.

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LOVE OR TOLERANCE

I only found the word tolerance used once in the Bible.  In Romans 2:4 Paul talks about God’s kindness and tolerance toward us, but God’s tolerance is rooted in his love for us.  Can we therefore have tolerance toward others if we don’t first love them?  I don’t believe so.  I believe loving one another produces a much broader connection with our fellow man that will naturally include tolerance.  If I don’t care about you, I will have a difficult time tolerating you.

Our society has rejected the foundation of God’s word, and we have decided to use man’s wisdom to solve our relational difficulties.  This doesn’t seem to be working.  We are told to have tolerance for one another. Tolerance is simply a bandage over the wounds produced by our bigotry and prejudice.   All we have really produced is hate.  God’s way, to love one another, has a deeper power because his Spirit is there to empower us. Man says to tolerate but offers only the power of the will of man.  Our sinful nature is constantly battling against our will.  Without God’s help, our ability to tolerate is at best a draw.

Jesus told us to love our neighbor as our self, to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44).  Jesus lived out those words. In Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  He loved us and gave himself for us even when we were against him.  This kind of love is powerful and proactive.  It involves giving ourselves to others.  Before we are capable of giving love to others, we first need to receive God’s love.  Knowing that we are loved empowers us to give love.

We’ve been teaching tolerance to our children for years without much success.  Perhaps we should take a different tack.  Let’s start teaching them about God’s way of love.  You know it might just make a difference.