Oct
4
2011
With three teens in the house, everyone has their own schedule through the week and some days it is hard to recognize we are a family other than in passing. Combining their adjusting focus from family to friends with all three going to separate schools and having different interests, and it becomes easy to understand how our daily focus is rarely even close.
Fortunately, there are moments in the week when we miraculously find ourselves eating dinner together and are reminded we are a family. These are good times to just enjoy one another’s presence… instead of focusing on ourselves and what we want, we can focus on one another.
As a believer, I am beginning to understand this is one of our first callings in our relationship with the Lord: instead of focusing on ourselves and what we want, we focus on Him. I am still learning this concept, as I find it easy to turn to Him when I am struggling, but what about when there are no troubles? › Continue reading
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Oct
3
2011
When you have a teenage driver in the house, you know the words you will here every time you decide to go somewhere: “Can I drive?”
Teaching and couching my daughter to drive has been a fun experience. I think back to when we first began, I was attentive to every little detail in how she drove the car and have since backed off, even falling asleep on the way to church last week. I am still with her; if she gets into trouble I can help her, but eventually she needs to take the road on her own. By backing off a little, I begin to see how she will do on her own and if she will remember everything I have taught her… I begin to see if she will be obedient. › Continue reading
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Sep
23
2011
My last couple of articles covered the influence of doubt in our lives; if you missed them, check them out here and here. Doubt is one of those easy words we use in a variety of ways throughout life.
- We use it as a form of agreement. “That movie was great!” “Yeah, no doubt!”
- We use it to disagree. “I can beat you at arm wrestling.” “I doubt it.”
- We use it to question intentions. “I doubt they will come to dinner.”
- We use it as a comeback to criticism. “You’re a jerk.” “Doubt it.” (ok, not a witty comeback, but still a reply, no doubt.)
The way we use this word seems to dilute the power implied by what the word portrays in our lives: the power of belief and unbelief. Whether you choose to be a believer in God, a believer in yourself, a believer in other things, or a mixture somewhere in between, your belief influences every decision you make throughout your day – even those little decisions you barely notice. › Continue reading
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Sep
21
2011
National Geographic covered a story about free soloing with Alex Honnold, a 26 year-old climber. If you are unfamiliar with free soloing, it basically comes down to climbing a mountain or wall without gear; the only thing a free soloing climber takes with them is a powder bag, shoes, and sheer determination to climb. Alex has set records, climbing such rock formations like Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in three hours when it takes most climbers two days.
During his interview with National Geographic, he stated climbing takes commitment. An hour or so into climbing Half Dome, “…you start to get tired, your body and mind gets tired, and you start to doubt. You doubt your holds. You doubt your route. You doubt why you are doing this in the first place, and this paralyzes you on the wall in the middle of the climb.” › Continue reading
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Sep
19
2011
In our house, there is one movie that will always reign superior to all others: “The Wizard of Oz.” This movie is not a favorite in our house because my kids enjoy it, but because my wife has always held this movie as her favorite (she was married in ruby slippers, if this gives you any indication).
While I do not have the entire script memorized, there are a few lines we recite at times when the moment is right and applicable. Yet this morning, the exchange between Dorothy and the Wizard is what came to mind when I woke up.
Dorothy: Oh, I don’t think there’s anything in that black bag for me.
Wizard: Well - you force me into a cataclysmic decision. The only way to get Dorothy back to Kansas is for me to take her there myself!
Dorothy: Oh! Oh, will you? Could you? Oh! Oh, but are you a clever enough wizard to manage it?
Wizard: Child, you cut me to the quick! I’m an old Kansas man myself…
“…you cut me to the quick…” is the phrase standing out this morning. A quick Google on the phrase explains the meaning as, “…to cut someone to the living tissue…”, which translates to hurt someone deeply. In the above storyline, how did Dorothy hurt the Wizard? She doubted him. › Continue reading
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Sep
14
2011
In the last couple of articles, we questioned where we see God’s presence and if we are ready for His kingdom to come. These are challenging questions to the way we see our relationship with God and our whole understanding of His presence. These questions also change our perspective when reading Scripture; this new understanding opens the door to more depth in His Word.
Can you see how it adds depth?
Take for instance John 2:13-16 where Jesus kicks the livestock sellers and money changes out of the temple.
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
Let’s consider some things we know about this incident.
- We know people came to the temple before the Passover to make their animal sacrifices.
- We know livestock sellers would set up shop in the temple to sell animals for the sacrifice at extremely high prices.
- We know some people paid the high prices because they had no other animals or their animals were not as perfect as the temple priest preferred.
- We know the temple priest got a cut of the profits.
- The people were getting ripped off royally! › Continue reading
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Sep
13
2011
In yesterday’s article, we checked ourselves for where we see God’s presence; is He far away or near to us. Scripture tells us He dwells in each of us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are His temple.
Getting our minds around this concept is a challenge, yet it so defines the portion of the “Our Father” prayer where we pray, “Your kingdom come…” This is the disciples’ prayer given in Matthew and Luke when Jesus shares with them how to pray.
Luke 11:2-4
He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” › Continue reading
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Sep
12
2011
One of the Scriptures I pray each morning is in the form of thanking God for where He has placed us, as we are convinced when we purchased this house that it was God directing us here. We asked the Lord to confirm the decision several times before closing on the house, and each time He provided a confirmation as well as many times since then. The passage I pray is from Acts 17:26-27, where it says, “[God] determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
Some folks struggle with this whole thing about God not being far from us. Their understanding is God is far away, sitting in some throne room, and taking care of things in Heaven like God must have to do. Maybe He is up there doing God-things, making God-plans, and when He is not busy, He likes to play God-games… and His focus is in Heaven and faraway from anything happening in our lives.
› Continue reading
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Sep
9
2011
I have thoroughly enjoyed the past two weeks reviewing unconditional love and unity. We dove deep on some days and opened up a topic far deeper than we can comprehend, but I find this encouraging and motivating. My hope is that you were encouraged in your relationship with God.
Let’s take a lighter side of encouragement today with a couple of jokes and toons. Have a good weekend!
A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn’t want her to walk with him and she wanted to give him a feeling of independence, but she also wanted to know that he was safe.
When she expressed her concern to her neighbor, Shirley offered to follow him to school every morning for a while, staying at a distance so he wouldn’t notice. Shirley said that since she was up early with her toddler anyways, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise. All week long, Shirley and her daughter followed Timmy as he walked to school with another neighborhood girl.
As the two children walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy’s friend said, “Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?” › Continue reading
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Sep
8
2011
Before I was a believer, I heard those Bible thumpers talking about the depth of God’s Word, how they would meditate on one passage and learn the true meaning. I remember reading the Bible at the time and wondering how they could get something more after the first reading; it just didn’t make sense.
This all came back to me when I was writing a Sunday School curriculum for our children’s church and planned to spend one Sunday on John the Baptist. After the first lesson, I tried to write the next and kept coming back to John the Baptist… I realized the Lord had something more than just one Sunday, so I wrote the second lesson. Six weeks later, we were still checking out John, but we had gone far deeper into his life, the subject of baptism, and the heralding of Jesus’ ministry than I ever expected.
I finally understood the Bible thumpers. › Continue reading
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