Hardened is a word that has many meanings depending on its use. If you’re involved in the construction or engineering field, hardened can refer to metals that have been made harder.
In the medical field, hardened can mean someone who, through experience, is no longer sensitive to the unpleasantness of healthcare. In each of those, being hardened is a good thing. However, there are many aspects of our life where being hardened isn’t a good thing.
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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living
Tagged 2 Chronicles, Christian living, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, James, Job, Matthew, Psalm, Romans, Teachings of Paul
From a psychological viewpoint every person is designed to be a social creature. God’s plan is for each person to share their lives with others. The Bible offers this: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:8). This is especially relevant in understanding the basic psychology of what a social creature actually is. No one disputes that a dog by themselves do not enjoy life to its fullest and will appear down or depressed. Put that same dog with a human companion or even another animal companion, and immediately the dog’s attitude changes. Emotionally and mentally, the dog needs a companion to feel needed and complete. Humankind was wonderfully made by God to be the exact same way.
I will be honest; if I were to rate my abilities as a parent I would give myself a failing grade for my first children who are now adults. For the child my wife and I had when I was 40, I would probably give myself a passing but needs improvement score. The difference is my relationship with the Lord. Instead of having a fleshly, and world focused view of life as I did before, I now have a Christ-centered world view. Therefore, the daughter I am raising now will, if the Lord is willing and blesses, not have to face the issues now faced by my adult children. Where before I was careless in what my children were exposed to, now I try to make sure my daughter are exposed to things that are beneficial to her.
The apostle Paul was concerned about the spiritual health of those he ministered to during his missionary journeys. Just as in his world, we have the same basic things present that can add spiritual weight to our lives. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). This may seem like a strange verse to include in this particular study, but I assure you it will soon make sense.
During the Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God gave a commandment directly to those who are responsible for the raising and teaching of children: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:7). There is a lot of responsibility God has placed on parents. Not only do I have the obligation to teach my children the things of the Lord, but I also have the obligation to teach them the things of life. And one of those things is the wisdom of the apostle Paul: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14).
With these two verses together, parents have the responsibility to make sure that the friendships our children have are ones that will lift them to the Lord. It may mean that the child next door, who yours wants to hang around, is not the best friend for your child. We’ve got a young girl in our apartment complex who I limit (if not avoid) her having contact with my daughter. She’s in the second grade and will often wander to behind our townhouse. At first, she seemed like a nice child until I heard her using profane language and encouraging the other children to “use adult words.” I am 46 years old and was in the army for almost seven years; I still do not feel comfortable even hearing those words said in movies, much less say them myself! To hear a nine-year-old use them was a shock!
I am reminded of Psalms 34:13, Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. When I was fresh out of the army, I did have a profanity problem. In 2006, after receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I decided that my surrender to Him would be complete. This morning, while listening to the Dave Ramsey Show, guest host Chris Hogan said something pretty profound. He said, “When you’re giving something up, when it is a sacrifice, don’t count what you are giving up. Count what you are gaining.” In the process of my complete surrender, the Lord has laid it on my heart to get rid of things.
Paul wrote, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). For me, this meant getting rid of some of my DVDs, CDs, science-fiction books, and even some friendships. David had adopted a new attitude and wrote, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me (Psalms 101:3). For me, God expanded the meaning of this verse in my heart; if I were going to live the life that God has called me to do then I cannot be a participant in things that tie me to temptation or sin.
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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Relationships, Standards
Tagged 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Deuteronomy, Genesis, Philippians, Proverbs, Psalms
At the community college where I work, this week is the last week of coursework. Next week is final exam week – the week dreaded by both college student and instructor alike. For the instructor, it means a lot of time spent grading exams and final projects, computing grades, and all the other festivities that goes along with the end of a semester. For the student, there’s the stress of preparing for exams in the classes taken, final projects that must be done, then the anxiety of waiting for the posting of final grades. For many students, the fear of this anxiety drives them to do the best they can all semester. For others, they are unconcerned until the last week of coursework. At that point, they will begin to ask for extra credit, or to turn in missed assignments – all to keep them from failing the course.
Until recently I never realized the similarities in lessons of a common, everyday occurrence of a college semester and life and the many applications that can be made. The Bible tells us, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28). This passage, of which so many people focus on the first verse (verse 27), explains the greatest reward for passing the final exam – salvation. As we live our life, we do not have to wait until the end of our life – the end of the semester – to know if we’ve passed. Once we have received Jesus as our personal Savior we’ve already done what is necessary to pass life’s final exam. But this is only just the beginning of our journey through life’s semester.
I’ve taught at the college level since May of 2004. In the last seven years I have noticed something about the college student, from the instructor’s point of view, that really has stood out to me. Once a student realizes they’ve already passed the course, their attitude changes. They begin to enjoy the course, begin to take part more in the discussions, and will even come to my office during office hours to just sit and talk. They continue to work hard but there’s an observable enjoyment in their attitude. Then there are the other students that aren’t passing the course. A few honestly have no idea they are failing but the majority who are – know they are. Then at the last week – before the final exam – they become concerned about how to do just enough to pass the course; sometimes they will be able to pass and other times they can’t. Unfortunately there are those who simply never care about the course and fail. I am sure that by now, you can see the similarities in how we face life.
As I was grading final papers earlier this morning I began to realize that many people approach life the exact way students approach their college courses. Now make no mistake about this, I am not talking about a works-based salvation. College courses are performance based and are the results of the quality of work done by the student. This does play a role in my analogy and I will explain how later in this post. But for now, it is the mindset of the college student that I would like to focus. Students approach any college course with three basic mindsets: “Oh I hate this subject”; “I will survive this course somehow”; and “I can do this.” On the first day of class I give each student a copy of the syllabus and we spend the first meeting simply reviewing all the parts of the syllabus so that every student will know and understand what is expected of them. Much the same is done when we first hear the gospel message of Jesus the first time. Just as it is hard to believe the syllabus is the road map to an A in the course, it is just as hard for many to believe that all we have to do is to receive Jesus as our Savior and King. But unlike the college class, all the work has already been done!
For the believer, our final exam comes when we stand before the throne of Jesus and He rewards us for what we have done in His name. There’s a parable taught by Jesus where he talks about servants whose master left on a journey and gave the three servants talents to use while he was away. The servants were never told when their master would return, but all knew he would return some day. Each man was given a number of talents based on their demonstrated abilities and dependability. As you may recall, two of the servants did as much as they could and increased what the master had given them. These servants are like the college student that fully understands the syllabus, then realizes they can pass the class. From that point forward, they do what they are expected to do, they are determined to excel, and they enjoy the course. The final exam doesn’t bother them in the least because they know they have already passed the course!
Then there is the other servant. He, too, heard the master’s instructions but for some reason, just simply didn’t want to do what the master had for him. Instead of seeing his master as being compassionate, knowing his abilities, and calling him to greater things in life, the Bible tells us: Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine (Matthew 25:24-25). This passage can be used in a variety of applications but in this instance, I believe there is another application. Like so many college students, this servant saw what the master was asking him to do as being unreasonable, beyond his abilities, and instead of asking questions, getting confirmation of what was expected, he simply excused his inaction by blaming the master.
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Posted in Christian Living, My Walk, Off the cuff
Tagged Deuteronomy, Hebrews, Matthew
From LifeNews.com From Christian News Now
