Calvin Coolidge said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
When I think of preschool I think of the picture above. Innocent and thoughtful children learning to interact with each other and learning classroom skills. I wonder why we are in such a rush to expose them to things that rob them of their childhood?
Thought this was interesting! Click here to read.
In his book, Forgotten God, Francis Chan asks the question, how much do you love the church?
I read this with interest and thought about some things that are really disturbing to me. Recently, my son was called a bible thumper in youth group. It made me laugh, although my son was angry about it, but it was a funny statement coming from within the church. I laughed because it’s true! He is a bible thumper and his questions and study make me smile.
We read the bible at our house and we discuss it and we teach it and we try very hard to live it. Although, yeah, with teenagers we sometimes find ourselves defending and explaining ideals that they often find old-fashioned to our culture today. What was meant as a put-down wasn’t in my eyes because it’s our job to teach the bible to our kids. We love the church that much! Not even because we are pastors either. We loved the church before we were in ministry. We are friends of the groom, called to serve his bride and prepare her for a wedding. This is why I love the picture above so much. The people in the picture are caring for every detail of the bride in preparation!
What happens though when the church doesn’t know she’s getting married? I have a friend who is faithful to her church attendance. Her children are in Sunday School each Sunday. Get beyond the basics of Sunday School and her kids know nothing really about the word of God. They can’t pray cognitively for a meal or for themselves or others. Should not love for the church begin at home? I spoke to this issue with her. What I realized was to raise a bible thumper you really have to believe the bible. You have to know it, you have to read it. A thousand sermons at your left hand and ten thousand at your right, makes you no more an effective witness if you don’t know your word. How can your family stand against the trials of the world if they do not know the word or who the bride is beyond a mere acquaintance? So what is the fruit of our testimony? Is it not in part our children and our life? Does it matter that the people who I call friends and co-workers come to ask me to pray for them but my kids live like hell? How much do I love the church? It shows first in my life. No not one of us is perfect nor do any of us have the perfect family, I certainly don’t. I want to try to do better. I want to love the church so much that television or tiredness or overwork doesn’t cause me to forsake my family. I don’t want to depend on the little songs from childhood Sunday School to get my kids through. I want to be active and engaged in their education. I want them to know that I love God not just with my lips but with my action and my advancement of the kingdom in their lives. I ask what my kids are reading in their bibles, and no it’s not the only thing they read. We discuss viewpoints and my bible thumper has some deep thoughts that you’d never know about unless you ask. Bible study is not just for the pastor’s kids, it’s for everyone who loves the church.
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
We were created for God’s pleasure. The word pleasure in the Greek is Thelema and its definition is:
what one wishes or has determined shall be done
of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ
of what God wishes to be done by us
commands, precepts will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure
It was God’s choice to create us and His desire. In these days of tough economic times and with all the things going on in the world, it’s sometimes hard for someone to understand what God really had in mind. It would seem as if we were created for his pleasure that he would take no pleasure in our suffering. He doesn’t take any pleasure in it at all.
When I was growing up, I thought God was just sitting on a throne of judgment with a scowl on his face ready to render judgment and cast my soul to hell. This is why I have such a problem with parents who tell their kids that, “God’s gonna get you”! Not that my parents did that, but my religion did. They meant well, it kept us on a specific track but it wasn’t biblical.
So while we find ourselves in uncertain times and we look to heaven and wonder why God allowed this, the answer is He didn’t. There is a little thing called Free Will that gives us the ability to change the track of where we are supposed to go. When God is in control of our lives, he directs where we are going. Often we ignore his direction.
My husband has a love/hate relationship with Navigation System in our car. He takes the time to punch in the address and then argues with directions. Halfway through the trip he is changing course and direction and is in a battle with the Navigation System as to the best way to get there.
We were created for his pleasure. He takes delight in our well doing but just as any parent, he isn’t so pleased with our errors. I have two adult children and I want everything to be perfect for them but sometimes they make decisions without wise counsel and that sends them on a path that I would have never chosen for them. Yet, they are adults who live in their own homes and I must abide by their decisions whether I agree with them or not.
It is the same with God. In order to establish a kingdom on earth. He then put a king on earth, Adam, and eventually you and I. He had to then allow us to make decisions that shaped and influenced our kingdom. God’s hope and his pleasure was that we’d counsel up. Imagine the feeling that God must have when our prayers come up not for the messes we find ourselves in but for counsel for the things we are thinking about doing?
Just like the Navigation System where we punch in the address, then we change course and question routes, we find ourselves driving in wrong directions or taking a long scenic tour instead of the course originally set. When people say things like, “If God is so good why are there people suffering on the planet?” We need only to point the finger at the masters of that planet, you and I. If we could learn to live for His pleasure we’d find a lot of answers to the world’s problems and eradicate much of the suffering. Maybe this year, we’ll get a little closer to what’s important.
My husband was dropping off some paperwork at a believer’s house. The woman invited him in and this being her new home she proceeded to show him around the new place. She even showed him the bedroom she sleeps in with the man she is not married to. I guess when sin becomes normal there is no need for pretending even with the man you call Pastor.
What is it that shuts down our reactions to right and wrong? When a person who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Christ does the same thing we excuse it as ignorance but is this the same answer for a believer?
Could it be that a believer may have walked away from their relationship with Christ so that the still small voice has gotten quiet and since we no longer hear it we take it as approval? Could it be that the world’s call to do what everyone else is doing has just become too enticing to not take advantage? These are the questions stirring around in my heart as I write. I want to learn from this. For you see, I was many things in my youth, many worldly things, but now that I have come before the throne of grace and love and surrendered my life, my desire is to learn. My desire is to want what is best for me and to never stop hearing the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Recently, my friend came over my house. I heard myself spilling out about two dreams I’ve had about someone and how I was worried about them. Only afterward, did I think it was gossip. This conversation was not about my friend nor about me. At first, I excused it for the reality it was. I wanted to talk about my feelings with someone that I knew I could trust. Then, I had to come clean and repent. It doesn’t matter what I want, it doesn’t matter that the Lord has put this person on my heart, it doesn’t matter that I don’t have someone in the physical realm to talk to about it, it matters that I do the right thing. I never want to become so dulled that I don’t recognize when I blow it.
In order to keep that up though it must become routine and habit that I go to the Lord for sustenance and examination. In the same way that I go to the kitchen to get something to eat when I am hungry, and then choose what is good for food, I must go to the Lord to feed my soul. I’ve got to exercise my faith that when I am feeling alone with too many responsibilities and no one to share them with that God will be my confidant and He will direct my path. I’ve got to remind myself of the scripture that comes to mind and not give in to what people say is normal. I must choose a different path.
Therein lies the answer of when sin becomes normal. It becomes normal when I reject the teaching I’ve had, and the teacher Himself, and I succumb to what I want rather than what is best for me.
With our economy tanking more people are looking at ways to cut costs. Here is a great article on how some people were able to just that!
It’s time to go to retreat. It sounds funny that we drive off to go to a retreat that we hope will advance our relationship with Christ, but I’m praying for a few days of some serious revelation and relaxation! See you in a few days. I have no idea whether I’ll have Internet or not, and it doesn’t even matter!
I came home from the weekly TLC meeting and jumped on the treadmill to expend some energy and unwind. Listening to this song that defined who I was so desperate to become in my 20’s. I wonder how many other women feel this way?
This is why I’ve loved my spiritual journey. I no longer worry so much about being good. I now just work at what has been given to me, all the while, I try each day to find some peace, some love, some meaning, some contentment and above all abundant life. The rest seems to take care of itself.
That I Would Be Good
By Alanis Morissette
that I would be good even if I did nothing
that I would be good even if I got the thumbs down
that I would be good if I got and stayed sick
that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds
that I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
that I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
that I would be great if I was no longer queen
that I would be grand if I was not all knowing
that I would be loved even when I numb myself
that I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
that I would be loved even when I was fuming
that I would be good even if I was clingy
that I would be good even if I lost sanity
that I would be good
whether with or without you
Pastor Susan 