Ponder

...ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
-- Psalm 4:4b

There is incredible noise in our modern lives. Make an effort today to get alone with God, and get quiet. Think about Him tonight as you drift through the land between wakefulness and sleep.
Push aside the cares of the day and focus on the mysteries of God.

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope your Christmas was as incredibly happy and joyful as mine was. Looking back on Christmas, I encourage you to think on the life of Jesus.

Not just His life as recorded in the Bible. Think about the fact that this man walked through the same stages of life as every other human being in history.

Mostly I find myself thinking of his younger life (especially since I have two young kids myself). He needed to be fed in the middle of the night. He had to learn how to walk. He ran around and played games.

God chose to send His son to save us. He was willing for His son to be born in a stable in order to save us.

God bless us, every one.

Scripture

For the past year or two, I've been very consistent about reading a Bible story to my oldest kid every night at bedtime. I read from a simple Beginner's Bible, which paraphrases 95 stories from the Bible. This Bible I particularly like, because it includes many New Testament stories. (For pre-schoolers, I highly recommend the most recent edition of The Beginner's Bible, distributed by Zonderkidz).

This has been a tremendous experience for the both of us. He's learning Bible stories. Actually, we're both learning them. Some of the details that come out even in this simple paraphrase are new to me! He also takes advantage of that time to ask questions and figure things out.

What puts the biggest smile on my face is when he makes references to the stories during the day. He's actually learning this stuff!!!

Today I read Explaining the Gospel to a Child from Pulpit Magazine. Then I realized that as good as our Bible story time is, I can make it better. These paraphrases are wonderful, powerful tools, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. -- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

These paraphrases of God's Holy Word still have power, and are still effective when spoken in Faith. God gave His message to His messengers thousands of years ago. This message has been faithfully passed down and translated from one generation to the next. I am now determined to read a few verses from "the grown up Bible" as a part of our Bible story time from now on.

Why is this so important, you may ask? Because I was dangerously close to forgetting the whole point of reading these stories to him in the first place. It's not my focus that he learns how Jacob stole Esau's blessing; or that Baal was a pretend god; or even that God pursues us like a shepherd after a lost sheep.

These are all pieces to the puzzle. Building blocks to the ultimate goal. He needs to learn that, as my two favorite vegetables say, "God made you special, and He loves you very much." I have to teach him about sin, Heaven, Hell, forgiveness, repentance. It is my job to show the Gospel to him as often as I can; to live it out.

Reading an English translation of scripture not only shall accomplish that which I purpose, but it instills this Gospel into my own heart. It makes it more a part of my own life. It helps me to live it out.

Trouble

My four year old son has this incredibly cute shirt that has 'TROUBLE' written on it.

When we having lunch today, and we were pointing to words around the restaurant. I pointed to his shirt and asked "What does this say?"

"Trouble," he said with a smile. Then he gets that I-need-to-know-everything-in-the-Universe look on his face. "Why does it say trouble?"

"Because you can be trouble sometimes. Are you trouble sometimes?"

"No," he said, still smiling. "That would make sin. I will be good forever."

Now I'm smiling! [T]o such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

Daddy

God is our Heavenly Father. He provides for us (Matthew 6:25-34), forgives us (Matthew 6:14), disciplines us (Hebrews 12:6), Loves us (1 John 3:1), and so much more.

A recent article from Focus on the Family reminded me of an important truth. A person's earthly father colors their perception of the Heavenly Father. This gives me two important things to consider, both as a father and as a son.

As a son, I need to see how my opinion of my earthly father affects my thoughts about my Heavenly Father. It is so difficult to break free from human perceptions. God is spirit, so we cannot see Him with our human eyes. We can feel Him, we can see His work, but we cannot actually see Him. At least not on this side of Heaven.

The clues about who God is are written into the fabric of the Universe. But these are only clues. They do not (and cannot) tell us everything about God. These are hints, provided on the level that we can understand.

God was gracious to provide the perfect man to be my father. Obviously, he is not perfect in every way. But he is perfect for me. While I cannot find a single thing about my Dad to complain about, I have to realize that God is way more than simply a magnification of my father. If I see God simply through the view of what my earthly father is, then I will miss out on important aspects of His character. Even worse, I might take my Dad's flaws and ascribe them to God.

I have to be diligent to take the clues about God's character that I see in my Dad, and stack them up against Scripture. Hold them in the light of my own experience, and the relationship that I am building with God.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
-- Galatians 4:6-7

As a father, I need to be keenly aware that I am perhaps the biggest clue my kids will have to God's nature. I have to be diligent to be the best example of God that I can be. This is a responsibility that is way more than I could handle on my own. Thankfully, God's power is made perfect in our weakness.

I would love to go on about this, but this post is already getting too long. The insanely important depths of fatherhood will have to wait for another post.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
-- Ephesians 6:4

Waiting

A dear friend of mine, Rodney, recently wrote a note of encouragement to me.

I heard someone the other day speaking on Isaiah 40:31.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

They spoke about what WAIT means in this verse. Does it mean to just sit back and wait like you are in big waiting room? Does it means to be anxious like waiting for a Baby? The NIV uses the word HOPE. The speaker put emphasis UPON in the King James. He got the image of a servant.

That gave me an idea. We don't use the term waiter any more do we? They are servers. Perhaps this gives a clue to what it means to wait. Waiting is not passive. Waiting is active. Waiting does something FOR God during the course of the wait. We serve God. We go about his business while we wait. We don't sit back until something happens. We don't become anxious about what is not happening. We keep doing one of the most important things that Christians do. We serve God.

Have a great evening!

In Christ,
Rodney

My evening will indeed by good. Thanks for the encouragement.

Life and death - Scripture says it best

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
-- Romans 14:8