What Glenn Writes

My beautiful wife, Karen, enjoys reading books more than anyone I know, as long as I didn’t write the book.  She supports me, prays for my writing, and encourages me, but she does not like reading the scary stuff I write.  Her viewpoint in this matter: “I don’t want to read how a character knocks off his wife and then lock myself in a house with the guy that wrote it.”

Fortunately, this doesn’t bother me… really, I only write about things in this blog that bother me, and this doesn’t… which is why I’m not mentioning it. 

She really does enjoy reading books.  She was fortunate to have found an enjoyable job working for a local bookseller shortly after the birth of our first child.  When her full-time career changed paths to adapt to being a full-time Mom (and please note: being a full-time Mom is as much of a career as any other profession – or so I am repeatedly told), a part-time job with a bookseller was perfect for additional income and to provide a source for her insatiable desire to read.

Now with my wife at the bookstore, I had many opportunities to shuffle through their selections more than a few times, reviewing the bestsellers, checking out my favorite authors, and examining books of various topics, genres, and styles.  As I consider the numerous titles, I conclude we are in the most informative age there has ever been, almost to the point of information overload. 

For instance, before this most informative age, people must have thought chicken soup was strictly for eating – never would they have considered the benefits for the soul, healing, marriages, teens, friendships, or golf games.  Executives wasted whole minutes before learning how to manage them.  People did not understand there were books especially for them, nor did they realize they were dummies. There were never any highly effective people because no one knew their habits or which seven would make them successful.  And, everyone thought males and females were from Earth – we never considered the Mars and Venus excuses for our differences.  

Some may consider such a time as barbaric.  We must have been lost, left to thinking on our own instead of having someone else provide us with our opinions or ideas.  How did we figure out how to fix things or build decks on our homes without a handy “How-to” book to show us detailed, illustrated steps?  How did we choose our own clothes without knowing what the celebrities were wearing?  People had to come up with their own craft ideas, home based business ideas, and baby names instead of selecting from an assortment of the best or top one hundred. 

Some people had to actually read the Bible!  Whoa!  Watch out now, because this is getting darn near blasphemous!  You mean before we had commentaries, devotionals, a-verse-a-day-calendars, and big money, book-writing preachers, people actually read the Bible? 

Ouch… this is hitting too close to home for me.  I went over the edge and stepped on my own toes!  Excuse me a moment while I slap myself.  Where’s that flogging stick?  

Ok, short of self-flogging, I admit it.  I enjoy reading the Bible commentaries and devotionals that support the Word of God.  The calendars that give us a verse-a-day are great for reminding us the value of Scripture in our daily lives.  And if a preacher is teaching God’s truth, I have no problem shelling out some dough to buy his book.  However, we should realize an important point to be made in these should not be our only resource to God’s Word.  We should crack the Bible to get to the original truth and compare it to what we are learning from the “other” sources.

Scripture is very clear about our position in relation to comparing our teachings to the Word of God.  We are given an example of this in Acts 17:11, “…for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”  This passage is talking about the Bereans and describes them as noble in their eagerness to receive the message and compare the message to Scripture.  They did not just accept what someone told them about the Word of God – they read the Bible to confirm their teachings.

We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil.”  I find this to be a great instruction and an excellent warning.  The only way we are able to determine what is good is by testing it. 

I have practiced this for years and am often surprised at what does not correspond to Scripture.  We are living dangerously when we accept lies and false truths, or trust popular beliefs as facts without testing or comparing them to God’s Word.  Our choice is to believe blindly or to form our own understanding and opinions based on the truth. 

The Word of God is our standard.  If something or someone does not agree with God’s Word, which is wrong?

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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My wife and I were putting the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up after dinner.  Yes… I know the macho-male code of household chores does not mention dishes and forbids any inside activity that does not include a two foot wrench or the bare wires of a 110-volt electric line, but I was still helping my wife clean up. While I subscribe to the macho-male code, I also know there are exceptions – which are allowable as long as you do not wear an apron, fold clothes, iron, or touch anything that has Martha Stewart’s name on it.

As I was saying… err, I mean writing, I was helping my wife clean up after dinner when one of our children started crying.  We glanced at each other and, without saying a word, we both knew the cry was as fake as big time wrestling. 

As parents soon learn after the first child, there are many types of crying.  When they are younger, you have the “baby is tired” cry, the “baby is hungry” cry, the “baby filled his drawers” cry, and the real actual cry of pain.  (By the way, the macho-male code refers to the “baby filled his drawers” cry as a warning for all men to suddenly find something to do in the garage to avoid any activity involving “baby wipes”.)  When they grow older, there are similar cries (or whines), such as the “anger cry”, the “I’m old enough to decide where I go whine”, the “I can’t find my yo-yo whine”, and the ever popular, “its not fair cry”. 

I find it amazing that parents learn almost as much as infants learn when it comes to the early communication.  Most parents understand the gibberish and grunts of their own child.  I can still remember my oldest daughter asking my brother-in-law for a drink of water when she was an infant – I understood exactly what she was asking, yet he responded, “Hulk Hogan does what?” 

Communication does not have to include words.  We like words, as it is easier to express ourselves and understand each other.  Yet I believe a close relationship includes communication that goes beyond words.  My wife can communicate with me by giving me just a look… sometimes that look can be extremely threatening (if I describe it any further, I run the risk of becoming the recipient of one of said looks), and other times very loving.  She can express herself with a simple nod or gesture that tells me her intentions.  She, in turn, can pick up on my subtle signals and know my mood. 

Our wordless communication was not instantaneous.  We did not go out for the first time and suddenly know each other enough to understand.  Nor do parents immediately know the peculiar cries of their babies.  This wordless vocabulary is developed through spending time together, through a loving relationship, and by being receptive to the needs of one another. 

Isn’t this the same in our communication with the Lord?  We have His written Word, which is alive, inspired, and communicates His love for us.  Some may be blessed enough to hear the audible voice of the Lord, as Moses did on Mount Sinai, yet most of us must learn His desire for us through the Bible and through what the Holy Spirit communicates to us in a wordless vocabulary. 

The Book of Ezekiel foretold this in 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.”  John confirms this prophesy in
John 14:26, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

In Ezekiel, the Lord tells us His Spirit will “move” us to follow His will.  This does not say His Spirit will tell us, or speak to us, but instead, it says His Spirit will move us.  In this same way, John tells us the Holy Spirit will teach us “all things”. 

With my wife and children, we developed a silent vocabulary through spending time together, through a loving relationship, and by being receptive.  The same is true with the Lord: through spending time with His Word and in prayer, we can develop a loving relationship and become receptive to Him.  His Spirit will move us and teach us.  We will learn His will for our lives in an unspoken communication.

With me, I find His communication in the form of a prompting to do something, or an urge to “move” in a direction I wouldn’t normally move.  When I have the desire to do something beyond my comfort zone, I recognize the Lord has something for me to do.  The more I respond, the more I come to understand this unspoken vocabulary. 

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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