Tag Archives: Decisions

Lessons from my daughter

Posted on August 23, 2012 by | Comments Off on Lessons from my daughter

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

My wife and I are proud parents of an almost two year old girl.  As the parent of a toddler at the age of 42, the entire experience has taught me important lessons about myself and my relationship with God.  One of the lessons that she has taught me this week is that we need to seek God’s wisdom, guidance, and help when we face difficulties.

Earlier this week, on Monday morning, my daughter was trying to get one of her toys from under the glider-rocker that is in her room.  Normally, when she tosses a toy and it lands somewhere she can’t reach it, she will come and get me so that I can help her.  Monday was different.  Instead of coming to get me, she managed to get her head stuck between the seat and the base of the glider-rocker. I was getting things ready for my Tuesday afternoon class when I heard her cries and screams for help!  

Since I made the decision to accept Jesus as my personal Savior, I would love to say that I have continually sought his guidance in all areas of my life including the problems I have faced.  Just like my daughter, occasionally I still try my own way first rather than asking for help from God.  When the apostle Paul wrote For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, he was reminding Christians that at the time of our salvation and afterwards, we have a special relationship with God that allows us to call upon him as a child calls for his or her parents (Romans 8:15).

We all know Jesus’ teaching about the wise man that built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand.  This teaching also applies here – when we turn to our own understanding and reasoning in solving problems, we actually begin to build on sand.  This is why so many times in my own life that I have come up with solutions and quick fixes for problems only to see it all unravel.  The apostle Paul wrote to the early church at Galatia But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage  (Galatians 4:9)? When we pause to consider what this can imply: when we try to solve problems the way we did before we were saved, we are willingly putting ourselves back into bondage.

Consider what David, a man that God describes as being after His own heart, said about the peace that God provides:  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake(Psalms 23:1-3).  If there is ever any passage of scripture where God reveals his desires for his children, it is this passage.  He doesn’t want us to experience difficulties and hardships of our own making, but wants to provide us a place of spiritual comfort and restoration.  Even Jesus taught in his earthly ministry to Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:29).

It’s a hard lesson to learn and even harder to remember when we are standing toe to toe with life’s problems.  One of my favorite hymns, Solid Rock, tells us to “cast our every care on the Lord…” Although my daughter’s loss was only a toy, it was her toy; and in her mind, her solution was going to work. For us, our loss can also seem just as large as a child’s toy is to them – whether it is a financial difficulty, the loss of a job, a family problem, or even a health problem – to God, it is as he reminded Abraham and Sarah, Is any thing too hard for the LORD (Genesis 18:14)?

On a personal note:  My daughter was not hurt and was just fine after I got her out of the glider-rocker.   Since then, she has had a couple of other toys end up under it, and each time, she has come to me and asked for help.  I, too, am doing the same thing with the problems our family is facing – asking God to provide for our needs.  Please keep us in your prayers.  

 

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Difficulties and Trials

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Off the cuff: a scriptural lesson from the kitchen

Posted on July 30, 2012 by | Comments Off on Off the cuff: a scriptural lesson from the kitchen

After being inspired by several television shows that my wife and I watch on the Food Network, I have really begun to sharpen my kitchen skills.  Having watched shows such as Chopped!, Restaurant Impossible, and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, I have begun to pull cookbooks off the shelf and give new recipes a try.  It has been enjoyable but what amazes me is the small scriptural lessons that I’ve learned from this latest endeavor.

We all know the story in Jeremiah about the visit to the potter’s house.  Jeremiah watched as the potter worked the clay.  If the potter was happy with the results, the pot was baked in a kiln.  If the potter noticed a flaw or some potential problem with the pot, he would start over.  Well, there have been a few of these lessons that I’ve learned while trying new recipes and cooking techniques.  One lesson in particular that comes to mind is one that can be tied to Proverbs 20:23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.

Michelle and I have two sets of dry measuring cups.  We have one set that is made of green plastic and a set that’s made of a heavier, more rubbery, black plastic.  While both sets look identical when it comes to measuring dry ingredients, they actually aren’t.  Last week, I did an experiment where I took a glass bowl and a postage meter and weighed half a cup of white corn meal using the two different sets of dry measuring cups.  The weights should have been the same with, at most, a quarter-ounce difference.  What I found truly amazed me – the green measuring cup did not hold as much of the white corn meal by narly a third of an ounce!

While I am not a professional chef by any stretch of the imagination, I have quickly come to appreciate the importance of having accurate measuring cups.  Anyone who enjoys cooking knows the importance of having accurate wet and dry measuring cups and spoons.  You must be able to know that you are putting in the exact amount needed – nothing more or nothing less – than what the recipe calls for.  There are some recipes where “close enough” does not quite reach the mark and where just the slightest variance in measurement can make the difference in a meal that really is wonderful or that ends in near-disaster.   The same can be said about how we view ourselves and how we view others.

Although I have already posted a few entries about the importance of not judging others, it is a topic that I honestly feel that needs to be continually evaluated in our daily life.  I have been on the receiving end of what I had explained to me by a church member of “wholesome and meaningful judgment” as well as judging others using my own set of standards.  In a sense, at some time in our lives, we all will experience both roles as the judge and as the judged.

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Don’t put your faith in a box

Posted on July 24, 2012 by | Comments Off on Don’t put your faith in a box

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6).

Its amazing what we learn about ourselves when we finally begin to gain true perspective in our lives.  I didn’t grow up in a Christian home.  While I was saved while I was 19 years old and while at college, the church I attended did not offer much in discipleship.  Instead of seeking a church that did, I was content to approach my new-found faith based on what I thought it meant to be a Christian.

Believing what the world taught about faith and Christianity, I strove to keep my “church life” separate from my “school life” and “work life.”  Without knowing it I had done the very thing that Jesus warns against: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

I know that one of the reasons that my walk with God has not always been where it should be is because I did believe that as a member of modern society, I had to keep my beliefs separate from work, school, and secular pursuits.  Even as recent as a couple of years ago, I struggled with my Christian identity and faith while attending graduate school to work on a Ph.D. in U.S. History.  At one point, I even had one of my instructors tell me that it would be extremely difficult for me to ever teach at a liberal arts college if I insisted on displaying my Christianity.

When the apostle Paul was on his various missionary journeys across the Mediterranean world, he would often follow up with churches that he had help start.  These early churches did not have the benefit of having both Old and New Testaments to gain reassurance and instruction.  They faced tremendous pressure to conform to the world around them  – to worship pagan statues, to participate in state sanctioned appropriate activities and festivals to honor pagan gods.  Paul’s advice to them was to be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

The reason that so many Christians, myself included, have such a hard time in our walk with Christ is that we have been conformed to this world.  We have been taught to regard our faith as something we do on Sunday and at the home.  What Jesus calls us to do is far more radical – our faith should become the center of our life, not just some small and isolated component.  We adopted the world’s view of Christianity under the misrepresentation that we should not judge but instead be compassionate and respectful of those who are different that we are.

What Jesus calls us to do is to allow our faith to shape who we are without any reservation.  When we claim to be a follower of Christ but do not allow our faith to shape our daily lives, we become what Paul warns about: those who call themselves Christians and they profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (Titus 1:16).  In other words, to live a Christ-centered life means that we must also acknowledge him in all that we do.  It should be evident from how we go from day to day, doing the things we normally do, that there has been a fundamental change in our lives.

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