Tag Archives: Mark

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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Posted in My Walk, Our relationship with God, Our relationship with our children, Relationships

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Building memorials lest we forget

Posted on March 13, 2013 by | Comments Off on Building memorials lest we forget

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As a historian and lover of history, I am always fascinated in my travels when I come across statues, historical markers, and other means that localities choose to mark where significant people, events, or ideas originated or just affected their community.  Within the tri-state area of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, there are literally thousands of such memorials that commemorate everything from famous people, Revolutionary and Civil War battles and participants, Astronauts, and the Great Flood of 1927.

In our homes we also continue to celebrate milestones and people on a more personal level.  In the entryway of the townhouse my family lives in we have pictures of things we have done with our daughter. Upstairs, in our bedroom there is a copy of our wedding invitation that has been mounted in a frame that now hangs on the wall.  Each family has photographs and portraits of family members, many who have gone on before; pictures of graduations, marriages, first car, first house, or other important family events are often prominently displayed for all to see.  We use these things to create memorials so that we will remember those we love and what they or we have been able to achieve.

In the Old Testament, we see that often God instructed those men we consider as the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Israel (Jacob), and Moses were often instructed to build altars, pillars, and to institute feasts and holy days – each with a specific intent in mind: to be continual memorials of the goodness and holiness of God. One of the study methods commonly used is called the law of first usage which is basically any term in the Bible is defined throughout by the first usage of it in Scripture.  In the case of the word memorial it is found here: And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Exodus 3:15).  In this case, the very name of God is to be the memorial to the Children of Israel that for each generation, they would remember that it was God – Yhwh – who had delivered them from their bondage in Egypt.

Within the New Testament, there are such memorials that the Lord Jesus Christ has instructed us to continue within the church.  The first, which is also the only memorial that is considered as one of the two sacraments of the church, is the Lord’s Supper.  Within the gospel of Luke, we see Jesus and the disciples as he began what Christians continue to celebrate today: And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19).  This idea of the Lord’s Supper as a memorial continues into the teachings of the Apostle Paul: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come (I Corinthians 11:26).  It’s easy to understand the significance of such a memorial to commemorate the death of Christ on the cross as payment for our sins.

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Sharing our faith as intensely as we share our vacations

Posted on March 12, 2013 by | Comments Off on Sharing our faith as intensely as we share our vacations

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During the spring and early summer months, our family loves to take an occasional weekend day-trip to a zoo, museum, state or national park, or other places of interest.  It has always amazed me how much money tourist destinations will spend creating spectacular landscaping scenery that not only inspires its visitors, but creates images in our minds that encourages us to share the stories of our destination “discoveries” with families and friends.  Many times, that’s the entire intent behind the monies spent to achieve such landscaping marvels, whether they be inside or outside.  The hope is for an increased visits by others who have become inspired by our pictures and testimony – the telling of our experiences.

Its not only tourist destinations that rely on the testimonies of its visitors as a source for future customers.  Websites such as Angie’s List are dedicated to providing testimonials written by customers regarding local businesses.  Ebay asks those who buy and sell to rate each transaction as a way to provide others with an understanding of the reputation of the buyer or seller with whom they are doing business.  We share stories of our children, our grandchildren, and even our pets with others without any reservations, yet when it comes to sharing what could possibly make the difference in the eternal condition of someone’s soul, we grow strangely quiet.

Sharing our testimony of our personal relationship with Jesus is something that began back in those early days of the church. As Jesus prepared his disciples for his final ascension into Heaven, he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:14-15).  He told the remaining eleven apostles that it was their responsibility to teach – to provide a testimonial – of Christ’s message of Salvation.  These men had not yet been moved into pastoral roles of the early New Testament Church, had not been called as missionaries to far away lands, or called to be song or worship leaders.  Everything they had been taught, everything they had witnessed, and everything they had experienced while travelling with Jesus was  what they were to share with others!

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is the story of the woman at the well.  Jesus offered her living water – true life – and all she had to do was to accept and believe that he was the Messiah  – her Redeemer that had been promised since the days of Adam and Eve. Although she was a Samaritan, she still knew the prophecies of the One that would redeem Israel, that would heal, forgive sins, set the captives free, and all – Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan would be allowed to worship God in Jerusalem.  Jesus began to teach her Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father… But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he (John 4:21-26).

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