Tag Archives: Galatians

The first heavy frost, quiet examination, and a growing faith

Posted on November 15, 2013 by | Comments Off on The first heavy frost, quiet examination, and a growing faith

Winter Leaves

Over the last few days, winter-like weather has set in over much of the nation.  Even in my hometown of Henderson, Kentucky, we had low temperatures in the teens and low twenties for much of the week. Personally, I enjoy cold weather there are some people I know in the area simply do not like the changes that winter brings.  For some, aches and pains are more prevalent in the winter months; for others, it’s the inability to enjoy the outdoor activities associated with those warm summer evenings.  For me, winter brings about a time of reflection about the year that’s almost done. It’s a chance to examine myself – did I meet the goals I set for myself and what do I need to do to prepare myself for the things that the next year may bring.

I love winter for several reasons and there is even a biblical reason for it. The first mention of winter actually occurs as Noah offers a sacrifice to God: And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:21-22). The last time that winter is mentioned in the Bible is mentioned is during Paul’s travels as he writes to Titus: When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter (Titus 3:12).  What else is interesting is that the word, “winter,” is mentioned fourteen times in the Bible and according to Edward F. Vallowe, the author of Biblical Mathematics: Keys to Scripture Numbers, fourteen is the number that represents deliverance or salvation.

Our faith is a growing faith and until the day we depart this world for the next, the apostle Paul wrote, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). I honestly believe that part of our working on our own salvation does involve an honest personal assessment – or examination – of our faith.  Our faith is to be a living faith and is to be a personal faith tailored to our spiritual needs, our spiritual level of growth, and the personal calling that God has placed on our lives.  Paul wrote to the Christians at the church of Corinth:  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup (I Corinthians 11:28) and Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (II Corinthians 13:5).

In the verse in I Corinthians, Paul is writing about the proper way the Lord’s Supper – or Communion as some call it – is to be observed.  He was reminding the Christians that they need to look at themselves – the condition of their hearts, the thoughts of their minds – before they took their part in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  This examination was to assure themselves that not only were they prepared mentally for the observance, but that they were spiritually ready to take part in something that symbolizes the literal price of our salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ paid.  The second reminder for Christians to examine themselves, as found in II Corinthians 13:5, has no set schedule but the simple reasoning of the need to examine ourselves – we need to see that Christ is dwelling within us.  We do not measure ourselves according to our own measurements, but we are to measure ourselves to the standards set in the Bible. I believe that the need to examine our lives for the purpose of reminding ourselves that it is not anything we have done for our salvation, but as in the words of the apostle Paul, For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

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Lessons from parenthood

Posted on May 29, 2013 by | Comments Off on Lessons from parenthood

DSCN0387 (Small)Ever since she learned to stand and walk on her own, my daughter has loved the thrill of climbing to the highest spot and jumping into my waiting arms.  In her own voice, Michelle and I will hear Edith count, “one…two…three…” as she prepares to make her jump.  Just like any child, she completely trusts that her parents will be there to prevent her from falling and getting hurt.  Although I do have three other children from my first marriage, it is this child that has taught me the most about the relationship that God desires to have with His children.

During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, he tried to explain to us that God desires that parent-child relationship with those who believe in Jesus.  We are told several times and in several different ways that after we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour we also become a child of God.  In one of the instances of Christ’s teachings on the subject, he tells us: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (Matthew 6:26). In a world that teaches our children that mankind is just an animal, nothing really special, and that we are the same as other animals, its reassuring to know that in God’s eyes, mankind IS different, unique, and worthy enough to be redeemed!  If God provides for the finches, the quail, and cardinals that do not have a soul in need of redemption, how much more does He love us, as Christians, Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men (I Corinthians 7:23).

Jesus also taught using parental love to demonstrate God’s love for his children.  In the gospel of Luke, it is recorded that the Lord Jesus Christ taught using a couple of questions that really demonstrate God’s heartfelt desire: If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? (Luke 11:11).  It is a profound thought – I cannot imagine giving my child anything that I knew would cause harm to her.  Most parents that love their children cringe with even the slightest thought of anything that has the potential to injure their own child.  Jesus adds If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13).  We are living in a sinful world; we see the results of a world that is drawn to the desires of the flesh.  At the time that Christ was teaching this, the majority of the crowd believed that he was simply a rabbi and not the Redeemer.  If they could love and care for their children and provide for the child’s needs, he was asking them to imagine how a holy God would care, provide, and love them if they would yet but ask!  The same God that had led their forefathers out of bondage in Egypt, had fed them for forty years with manna, had taken care of their shoes and clothing, and gave them a land of their own was again demonstrating His love for them by sending them a way to be reconciled to Him.

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Off the cuff: the Evansville “Lighthouse”

Posted on September 17, 2012 by | Comments Off on Off the cuff: the Evansville “Lighthouse”

The Evansville “Lighthouse”

Our first winter season married, Michelle and I would often take early evening walks along the downtown Evansville river walk along Riverside Drive.  One evening after Wednesday night church, we decided to go take a nighttime walk during a light snow shower.  We were joking as I took the picture of what we called the “Evansville Lighthouse” – one of the many small lights along the scenic riverside walking path.

The picture isn’t anything remarkable from a photography perspective.  The background is blurry and the picture has a slight haze to it; however, from the right perspective, it actually does resemble a lighthouse.  For someone that may not be familiar with Evansville or where its located might actually believe that Evansville, indeed, does have a lighthouse.  After all, there’s a picture of it!  It would be easy to claim and promote this picture as being of something that it is not.

Just as this picture, we also have the potential to represent things not as they actually are but how we think others want to see them.  A good Bible example is demonstrated in the Old Testament when the prophet Micaiah has been asked by the King of Israel, Ahab, about the outcome of an upcoming battle:  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace (I Kings 15-17).

Even God’s chosen man – the prophet of God Micaiah – chose to tell Ahab what he thought Ahab wanted to hear rather than what had been shown to Micaiah by God.  As Christians, we must be aware of this spiritual battle and the temptation to promote the picture we think others want to see.  Paul even writes that as Christians, we need to Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).  Even in my own life, when I have had burdens, or been in the middle of trials, and even while standing in the church building, I have been asked by others how things are going – and my response has always been “I’m doing fine, and you?”

For whatever the reason – our stubborn pride that doesn’t want anyone to know that we have trials or are living an imperfect life; our inability to admit we have our own shortcomings or failures; or maybe even we feel that our problems are not as bad as others we know – we all have a tendency to be guarded about the truth of how we really are.  Instead, we tell people what we think they want us to hear – how our lives are all sunshine and roses – when in reality, we are hurting, suffering, and crying on the inside.  Without any sort of thought to it, we have created a “conversation with covetousness” instead of allowing our conversation to be honest.  How is it being covetousness?  Simply by portraying ourselves or our circumstances as we desire them to be seen and not as they really are.

James wrote that as Christians, above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation (James 5:12).  Simply put, when we tell others, especially our church family, that things are fine when they are not, we are not only deceiving ourselves and them, but we are robbing them of the opportunity to Bear ye one another’s burdens as the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles have taught within the New Testament (Galatians 6:2).  With an honest conscious, how can we help another with their burdens if we are unwilling to let others see us as we really are and not how we want to be perceived?

The “Evansville Lighthouse” will always be a moment and laugh that Michelle and I share.  It will also remain a lesson on perception.  The designers of and workers who placed the light fixture along the river walk never imagined that anyone would mistake it for a “lighthouse.”  It was never meant to be seen as a lighthouse; it was meant to be a source of light – to illuminate the path along the river walk at night.  As Christians, we still fight with the flesh; we will never know of perfection as long as we live this mortal life on Earth.  We are not intended to be perfect; with all our imperfections we are intended to show God’s love and grace to others while bringing them to His saving grace.

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