Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. (Psalm 112:1, 2 NLT)
It has always been of great concern of mine that I raise my children up so that they would walk fully in the ways of the Lord. Over the years, with much saddness, I've watched so many young people go astray - even in Christian homes. Now, there is nothing that I can do or say that will guarantee that my children and grandchildren will walk in the right path, but there are some things that I can do that will raise the percentage up that they will be followers of God - one of those being that I am a God-fearer myself - that, I would example what it is like to "delight in obeying His commands." If my/your children are seeing and being exposed to what a godly Christian man or woman is like - chances are they will emulate that in their own lives. Again, what I do is no guarantee that they will walk with Jesus but it does increase the odds. Acts 16:31 tells us that if we believe on Christ that our household will also. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to raise up a child in the right way and when they are old - they will not depart from it. I don't ever want to be an excuse for why my kids don't follow God but I want to give them every opportunity to see what it is like to walk with Christ. There might be seasons of drifting away from God, but someday - when their lives are up against a wall - they will come back to the faith of their parents and they too will lead their children in the ways of the Lord. Don't wait until tomorrow to lead your family but start today by asking God to make you the most awesome parent ever by personally following God's ways. Your kids might not thank you now but they will thank you someday!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
MADE TO SERVE A KING
O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? says the Lord. Look, as the clay is in the potters hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! (Jeremiah 18:6 NKJV)
It is a fascinating thing to watch a potter take a lump of clay and turn it into a beautiful vessel. He works and works the clay on the wheel and then He shapes and molds it into the desired image in His mind. If the end product is not what He desires He returns it to the lump and starts all over. Does that sound like what God is doing in your life right now? Does that feel like what you might be going through? Your life is on the potters wheel today. He is taking His time to shape a vessel that He can use to serve others. Don't jump off the wheel and run from the potters hand. Submit. Sit still and wait for the touch of the maters hand. Don't be upset at the type of vessel that He's creating. He knows what is best for you as He is the one who created and wired you the way you are. This is not an overnight process but one that will take place over your whole lifetime. When He's done you will be fit to serve a king!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The Discipline Of The Lord
Hebrews 12:5-6 (NLT) 12:5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
This is not a verse that I necessarily like but it’s an important verse. No one likes to be corrected or disciplined. However, without it – we would never grow. As a father, discipling my children or even my grandchildren is at times very hard. I remember my dad or mom saying “this hurts me more then it does you.” At the time I didn’t believe it at the time but when I was having to discipline my own kids – I knew what they meant. God the Father so loves us and will do anything to help us become the men and women that God wants us to be. Discipline is part of growing up. We must not make light of it and always remember that God does this out of heart of love for us.
Waiting On God
Isaiah 30:18 NLT - {18} But the LORD still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them.
A few years ago my wife and I made a trip to Colorado to be with some friends in the month of December. Although the weather was cooler in Southern California it was very cold in Colorado – 12 degrees when we landed. Our plan was to get a hotel that night and meet up with our friends the next day. We picked up our luggage and made our way outside to stand under the sign that said Hotel Pickup. (Do you remember that I said it was 12 degrees out?) What should have been a couple of minutes wait turned into 45 minutes as the bus we needed never came around. I think it might have been one of the longest waits of my life. When we finally got to the hotel – we we’re completely frozen which was a good reminder for me why I enjoy living in Southern California. Waiting is not one of my strengths in life as I mostly am impatient for things to happen quickly. It is one of the areas my wife and I are opposite in as she has great patience for most things in life – including me which is a real miracle! I confess – I don’t understand the timetable that God has in life – especially when it comes to me and my own journey upon this earth. Waiting has always been hard for me and it is something that I’ve been forced to learn about over my 56 years of living on this earth. My wife has always called me “A Joseph” as he was one who had to endure a lot in life and had to wait for a long time to receive God’s promises that we’re given to him as a young boy. But God did come through for Joseph – perhaps not in the way or in the timing that he thought but He did come through and God has come through for me. Isaiah encourages us to wait for God who is waiting for us to come to Him in our need and to let Him know that we are ready for Him to show us His love and compassion. He reminds us also of the faithfulness of God and the blessing that are coming our way for waiting for Him. I know that I have no arrived and have a long way to go in life but I continue to learn about God and His ways by my learning to wait upon Him. I am often reminded that God is more concerned with our character then our comfort. Waiting then is a way for me to develop more character in my life. I guess… waiting isn’t so bad as it will bring about God’s best in walk and journey with Him.
A few years ago my wife and I made a trip to Colorado to be with some friends in the month of December. Although the weather was cooler in Southern California it was very cold in Colorado – 12 degrees when we landed. Our plan was to get a hotel that night and meet up with our friends the next day. We picked up our luggage and made our way outside to stand under the sign that said Hotel Pickup. (Do you remember that I said it was 12 degrees out?) What should have been a couple of minutes wait turned into 45 minutes as the bus we needed never came around. I think it might have been one of the longest waits of my life. When we finally got to the hotel – we we’re completely frozen which was a good reminder for me why I enjoy living in Southern California. Waiting is not one of my strengths in life as I mostly am impatient for things to happen quickly. It is one of the areas my wife and I are opposite in as she has great patience for most things in life – including me which is a real miracle! I confess – I don’t understand the timetable that God has in life – especially when it comes to me and my own journey upon this earth. Waiting has always been hard for me and it is something that I’ve been forced to learn about over my 56 years of living on this earth. My wife has always called me “A Joseph” as he was one who had to endure a lot in life and had to wait for a long time to receive God’s promises that we’re given to him as a young boy. But God did come through for Joseph – perhaps not in the way or in the timing that he thought but He did come through and God has come through for me. Isaiah encourages us to wait for God who is waiting for us to come to Him in our need and to let Him know that we are ready for Him to show us His love and compassion. He reminds us also of the faithfulness of God and the blessing that are coming our way for waiting for Him. I know that I have no arrived and have a long way to go in life but I continue to learn about God and His ways by my learning to wait upon Him. I am often reminded that God is more concerned with our character then our comfort. Waiting then is a way for me to develop more character in my life. I guess… waiting isn’t so bad as it will bring about God’s best in walk and journey with Him.
Are You Reaping The Right Harvest In Your Life?
James 3:18 (NLT) And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
I don’t have the green thumb like my dad does. If you we’re to go to his house you would find that there is hardly a weed anywhere and everything that he plants grows luscious and fruitful. He has always shown a real interest in farming and planting and growing things. When I was a young boy growing up, My dad used to own a small apple farm in Littlerock, California that he, my grandpa, my brother and myself regularly worked in. There was the tilling of the soil, the irrigating, the removal of weeds, the trimming of the trees and even the bird patrol. And… eventually there was the harvest. In between the rows of trees there would often be other vegetables and plants growing that would supply food to our table and product for the local farmers market. My dad and my grandpa would be so meticulous in the way that they planted the seed and the place where they wanted every seed to germinate and grow. As farmers, they knew an important fact: what you sow is what you will reap. You couldn’t plant corn seeds and expect to get watermelons. You couldn’t plant zucchini and get a pumpkin plant. You only get what you plant in your ground. I have people tell me often that they would like a different type of crop to out of their lives. As an example, someone will say to me, “I want more peace.” That’s a great prayer that I think most of us would desire that in our lives. But peace won’t come their/my way unless they are planting seeds of peace in others. Now, I know that God can miraculously touch us and give us that miracle of peace but somewhere along the line – we need to be planting the right seeds. If we need a financial blessing – we need to be practicing giving. If we need prayers answered – we should be praying for others. If we need peace – we should be peacemakers with others. The list could go on and on. In other words, invest in what it is in that you need in your life. I read about a missionary recently who was dying and was asked about what he wanted said about his life after he died. He looked at them in the eye and said, “I want it said that when I came there was much darkness but when I left there was much light.” I’ve been mulling over this for three days now and can’t get it out of my head. That’s how I want to live my life and that’s how I want to define my life as I come to the end of my days. It is then and only then that I can be assured of reaping a harvest of righteousness!
I don’t have the green thumb like my dad does. If you we’re to go to his house you would find that there is hardly a weed anywhere and everything that he plants grows luscious and fruitful. He has always shown a real interest in farming and planting and growing things. When I was a young boy growing up, My dad used to own a small apple farm in Littlerock, California that he, my grandpa, my brother and myself regularly worked in. There was the tilling of the soil, the irrigating, the removal of weeds, the trimming of the trees and even the bird patrol. And… eventually there was the harvest. In between the rows of trees there would often be other vegetables and plants growing that would supply food to our table and product for the local farmers market. My dad and my grandpa would be so meticulous in the way that they planted the seed and the place where they wanted every seed to germinate and grow. As farmers, they knew an important fact: what you sow is what you will reap. You couldn’t plant corn seeds and expect to get watermelons. You couldn’t plant zucchini and get a pumpkin plant. You only get what you plant in your ground. I have people tell me often that they would like a different type of crop to out of their lives. As an example, someone will say to me, “I want more peace.” That’s a great prayer that I think most of us would desire that in our lives. But peace won’t come their/my way unless they are planting seeds of peace in others. Now, I know that God can miraculously touch us and give us that miracle of peace but somewhere along the line – we need to be planting the right seeds. If we need a financial blessing – we need to be practicing giving. If we need prayers answered – we should be praying for others. If we need peace – we should be peacemakers with others. The list could go on and on. In other words, invest in what it is in that you need in your life. I read about a missionary recently who was dying and was asked about what he wanted said about his life after he died. He looked at them in the eye and said, “I want it said that when I came there was much darkness but when I left there was much light.” I’ve been mulling over this for three days now and can’t get it out of my head. That’s how I want to live my life and that’s how I want to define my life as I come to the end of my days. It is then and only then that I can be assured of reaping a harvest of righteousness!
WHAT TYPE OF MAN OR WOMAN DO YOU WANT TO BE?
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7, 8 NLT)
One of the fond memories of my childhood is that of being with my father almost every summer in the highlands of Yosemite National Park. We would go backpacking and fishing along the Merced River with absolutely breathtaking scenery. It was always amazing to walk and fish along the receded riverbanks that would show the roots of huge trees that were exposed from the spring storms and rushing streams. They were thick and long and went deep into the earth and have been exposed to every type of storms imaginable. These trees would stand tall, strong and stately.
Ironically, I'm writing this in the middle of the night after attending to the medical needs of my own father whose health is deteriorating very quickly right now. Like those stately trees his roots are very exposed right now but his faith remains very strong. He is an example of what and who I want to be in life - of a man who trusted in and has had a confidence in God - a man whose roots go very deep.
As I read this passage again (I suggest that you do this also) I am reminded of the type of man I want to be and the type of man I want to model to my family and even to my church and community. Storms and seasons of drought are sure to come but regardless I want to be known as the man who trusts fully in the Lord and whose roots go deep - very deep.
Monday, August 13, 2012
HOW TO RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7 ESV)
Often, people will read the later part of this verse and grab hold of its promises without consideration of what is said at the beginning. They like the part that whatever we pray about will be answered without understanding that we must first "abide" in Him. Abide means to "remain, continue, stay and wait." It is to be "in the presence of" - to live with in their/ your house. it is to spend time with and get to know that person. Jesus says as we abide in Him - as we pray - He will give us whatever we desire. It's like a Father who will give to His child because He knows He can trust Him with that gift. As we get to know the heart of God, He begins to trust us that we are going to be responsible and gives us what we are asking for. He will never give to us until we are ready to walk responsively with whatever gift given to us. Get to know God today. Give Him your heart and watch how much He wants to bless you today.
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