Bible

Feb

2024

Buy Truth

Buy Truth, and do not sell it;

Buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

Proverbs 23:23

Truth…We have all by now heard people say “live your truth,” “my truth,” or “you wouldn’t understand you are not a part of this generation.” Truth has become a variable. When did truth become a variable? It has been a slow evolution from things being black and white to grey.

Our Proverb today says that we should “buy truth and not sell it.” However, we live in a culture that has sold truth. The Bible used to be the source of truth for so many, but now we have Bible scholars that believe that Genesis is myth and Job is an allegory. The more that truth is sold and lies are believed the more the foundation of our society, our culture, and the world becomes unsteady. What can we count on what can we rely on if truth is sold?

We have been encouraged to believe that what makes us happy is what we should trust in. If a relationship will make us happy, we should go after that relationship even if that relationship contradicts what the Bible says. God gave us guidelines in His Word, because He created us and He knows what is best for us. Just like the manufacturer of a chain saw knows that you need oil and gas mixed together in order for the chain saw to run well, so God wrote the Bible as our guidebook so we would know how to live. When we buy truth and not sell truth four happiness, we will actually have more joy and peace than we could ever imagine.

We think that if we do things our way rather than God’s way, we will get what we are looking for. Just like the person that thinks that running the chain saw without oil mixed with the gas will work okay, so our lives will begin to malfunction when we do not follow the truth of God’s Word.

Our verse not only encourages us to buy truth and not sell it, it also encourages us to buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. How do we do this? We are humble enough to seek others out for wisdom and discernment. When we buy wisdom, we are saying in essence that we need it. When I go to the grocery store every week, it is because I need things to eat for the week. I go there to buy things because I need them. So we need wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

Since they are such great needs in our life, we must seek out those that are wise. Do the people that we are seeking out following God’s Word, or are we seeking people that will only tell us what we want to hear? It may be easier to just put gas in your chainsaw, but is it best. In order to follow the manufacturer’s directions for the chainsaw, you need a separate gas can and special oil so that you can mix the oil and the gas together. Follow the manufacturer’s directions and your chainsaw will run well, but do it your own way and it won’t run well.

So it is with our lives. When we see God, His Word, and those that choose to live by God’s Word as the source for wise living, we will experience more peace and joy. The byproduct of buying truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding is a life that will be filled with more peace, hope and joy. Our circumstances may not change, but our response to them will.

We buy what we need. We need to be sure we understand that what we need is truth, wisdom, and understanding. That is what we need to be focused on buying.

Jan

2024

Unbind the Folly Through Training

“Train up a child in the way he should go;

Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

But the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”

Proverbs 22:6, 15

Children! Sunday (January 20, 2024) was Sanctity of life Sunday. We had a baby dedication at church on Sunday morning and ten families dedicated their babies to the Lord. It was a beautiful sight to see. Children are a blessing from the Lord! This dedication service is more for the parents than it is for the children. This ceremony is a commitment by the parents that they will “raise up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4b). Eph. 6:4b is a command given to us by the Lord that takes time, prayer, and patience to follow.

The definition of a Proverb is a short sometimes pithy saying that states a general truth or piece of advice. So our Proverb today gives us a piece of advice and a general truth.

Let’s start by looking at Proverbs 22:15 “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child.” Folly is the same thing as foolishness. Folly is a lack of good sense. Foolishness is lacking good judgement. A child has many things to learn. They need to be taught how to read, write, do math problems, understand chemistry, how to drive a car, etc. They also need to be taught that the stove is hot and we should not touch it. A road is a dangerous place and we need to watch out for cars. Frozen ice may or may not be safe to walk on (there are still adults that are learning this lesson.)

From a biblical perspective, we have to teach our children how to live their lives according to God’s Word. Children do not have to be taught to serve their own interests. Rather, they have to be taught to serve others, deny themselves, and worship God. Our natural inclination is to love and serve ourselves because we are all born with a sin nature (Rom 3:23). Sin is luring and seductive telling us that if we satisfy our desires, we will be happy.

A child does not have to be taught not to share their toys, rather they must be taught to share. A child does not have to be taught disobedience, rather they must be taught obedience. Selfishness, disobedience, lying, stealing, pride, etc. is folly and as the Proverb says it is bound up in the heart of a child. We as parents have to do the work of unbinding this folly that is in their hearts. We must work at training them and teaching them that even though their selfishness satisfies for a moment, it will not bring long term satisfaction.

How many times do we ever want just one cookie or one candy bar? We have one and think that will satisfy, but it only feeds our thirst and desire for more. Why do people struggle with addictions? Because one is never enough. One never satisfies.

Training takes time, energy, focus, intentionality, prayer, Bible reading, and modeling. If we want our children to be kind, we must teach them kindness and also demonstrate kindness. If we want our children to have self-control, control their anger, and be gentle, then we must demonstrate self-control and gentleness. If we want our children to follow the Lord, then we must demonstrate so they can see us reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer. We could add many more things to the list, but you get the picture.

Our children’s natural inclination is to follow their selfishness. So is ours for that matter. We must be diligent trainers. If we allow our children to follow their natural bent, that is the kind of person they will be when they are adults. We have been given the responsibility to train our children in the Lord.

We all want a guarantee that if we do the right things we will have perfect children. There are many examples in the Bible of godly parents having ungodly children and ungodly parents having godly children. So what do we do as parents?

We will one day stand before God and give an account of how we lived our lives and how we raised our children. What our children do as adults is something they will have to give an account of before God. As parents we must live our lives to the glory of God, our children have the same responsibility. How we trained them while they were under our care is what we must give an account for, how they live as adults is what they must give an account for.

Be diligent in training your children and unbinding the folly that is in their hearts.

Sep

2023

Wisdom brings Success

Proverbs 15:5 “A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent”

Proverbs 15:10 “There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.”

Proverbs 15:12 “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.”

Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Proverbs 15:31 “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.”

Proverbs 15:32 “Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.”

Proverbs 15:33 “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”

Proverbs 15 has six verses that focus on the importance and the value in listening to those that are wise. There is much to be gained from those that are willing to not just listen but to also seek out those who are wise.

Before we delve into the negative aspects of those that do not want to listen. Let’s look at the positive parts of these verses and understand what makes someone wise. Why is it that anyone should listen to someone else?

Proverbs 15:33 gives us some clues into what makes a person worth listening to.

First, the wise person fears the Lord. This fear of the Lord does not mean that the person is afraid of God, rather this person respects God. This person knows that the best answers to any of life’s problems, issues, or trials will be found in the Lord. They also recognize the sovereignty of God knowing that whatever happens in life they do not blame God for it but rather thank God that nothing is out of His control and trusting that whatever happens in life God has a plan and will use the events to help us to grow.

Another aspect of fearing the Lord is worshipping God alone. We live in a culture that does not want to worship God but rather worship any number of other things or people. Too often the things that we worship are not as easy to recognize or get rid of as the idols that are written about in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the people would trust in a statue to bring them rain, peace, prosperity, children, etc. When they decided to trust in God for these things rather than an idol/a statue they would smash the idols. Today, we do not set up a statue and look to it to bring us peace, hope, happiness, satisfaction, approval/attention, comfort/ease of life, security, or love. Rather, we look at any number of things or people to bring us these things. When we do not get what we want to provide us what we think we deserve we begin to experience fear, anxiety, depression, anger, or panic. We try to control all the situations that we can so that our felt needs are met. We have set up these things: peace, hope, happiness, satisfaction, approval/attention, comfort/ease of life, security, or love, as the idols in our lives. Only, they are not as easily torn down and smashed into pieces as the idols of the Old Testament.

When we worship these idols, we cannot fear the Lord. The wise seek to first and foremost worship God alone.

Second, the wise person is humble. This wise person understands that in order to fear God they must be humble. They must be willing to admit that God and His Word has all the answers in life. The humble person realizes that the only true satisfaction, peace, hope, joy, or love will come from God.

Third, because the wise person is humble, they will receive honor. A proud person demands others to honor them so they seek to control all situations so that they can be honored. A humble person never demands honor, but receives honor because of their humility. They have a gentle and quiet spirit and a soft inner strength that is honorable. This softness and gentleness never demands to be respected and honored, but they are easy to respect and honor because their gentleness is what makes them great.

The converse of the wise person is the foolish scoffer. The foolish scoffer does not fear the Lord. The foolish scoffer looks to their idols to have their needs met. They want to control all situations in life so that their needs can be met. The more they can control the situation or the other people in their lives the better chance they have at getting their felt needs met.

The foolish scoffer cannot fear God and trust God because then they would not be in control, but would have to choose to submit to God’s control and God’s sovereignty. Looking to the Bible for direction in life and seeking the wisdom of those that are wiser such as parents, those in authority, Pastors, etc.; would cause the foolish scoffer to admit that they cannot control all situations in life. To admit this would mean that they would have to humble themselves. They would have to surrender their pride and their control.

The foolish scoffer does not receive honor because they are due honor, but because they demand honor. However, this honor is not given willingly, but is rather forced from others. We see this in a domineering father or husband. He demands that situations go according to his plans, and when they do not, they get angry and yell. Lest we think it is only men that are like this, we women will attempt to control situations also by yelling or by crying and sobbing.

So the question is where do we fall? Are we wise and fear the Lord or are we foolish scoffers that close our ears in foolish pride because the only right way is our way?

Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”

With many advisers our plans will succeed. Do we only seek the advice of those that will tell us what we want to hear, or are we willing to seek the advice of those that may give us a different opinion?

Proverbs is replete with instruction for children to listen to their parents. I know that this is not always the best as there are many parents that also do not seek out wise counsel and the way they live their life demonstrates a lack of fearing the Lord. However, there are many wise parents out there. Many parents who are seeking to make wise choices in how they raise their children and how they interact with their children. These parents willingly admit their mistakes and try to live a life that glorifies the Lord. Our parents should be part of our “advisory council.”

If you do not know if you are the wise or the foolish person, look at your life and ask those that are closest to you. Do you seek to control all situations, knocking over whoever may be in your way of you getting what you want? Are you willing to listen to those that are wise, humble, and honored?

Psalm 18:35 “…Your gentleness made me great.” Those that are wise will exemplify our Lord and be gentle in their speech and in their actions. In their gentle way of living life, they do not seek to live life for their own pleasure but seek to glorify God and serve others.

The converse of this is Proverbs 15:12 “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.” They live and speak harshly seeking to have others serve them. They are seeking to glorify themselves.

Are you wise or a foolish scoffer? The evidence is in your life.

Aug

2023

All Clear

“In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,

And his children will have a refuge.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

That one may turn away from the snares of death.”

Proverbs 14:26, 27

As a child our first introduction to being afraid is often times related to their being monsters under our bed or in the basement. How many siblings have sent their siblings before them to check and see if there were monsters hiding in the closet or going to jump out at them when they went into the basement? I know my girls did thisJ Now as adults, we may have something that we are afraid of though we may not verbalize what that exactly is or may not even be aware of that thing we are fearful of.

These verses referring to the “fear of the Lord” is not telling us that when we are afraid of God we will have confidence. Those two thoughts seem to be an oxymoron of sorts. When we are afraid we will have confidence. Usually, when we are afraid we lack confidence. Remember the sibling sending their sibling in to check under the bed, in the closet, or down the basement stairs to check to make sure it was safe? There was no confidence in what could have been only confidence in the “all clear” from the sibling.

The “fear of the Lord” means to reverence or hold the Lord in the highest of esteem. So we might ask ourselves how holding the Lord in the highest of esteem will produce confidence in our lives. Let’s go back to the example of my daughters. The one who was afraid had confidence in the one who gave the “all clear.” She trusted in what her sister told her. She had faith in the words of the sister who declared “all was clear.”

So we can have confidence in life if we trust in the Lord and follow His commands. Do we live by the principles that He has given to us in His Word, or do we live how we think we ought to live?

As we live out our lives daily following the principles that God has given us in His Word, we will have confidence. When we choose to live life adverse to the principles in God’s Word, we will live in fear.

Our next verse likens the fear of the Lord to a fountain. Have you ever been so thirsty and all you could think about was a cool glass of refreshing water? When we fear the Lord, we are satiating the desires that our heart is seeking for satisfaction. We think that if we obey the Lord then we cannot have what we want and our needs will not be met. When we believe this, we are believing a lie. God is our Creator and who better to tell us what we need and how to live then our Creator.

Have you ever put something together or gotten out the operator’s manual so you knew how to put that thing together or how to operate your new gadget? We may even watch a YouTube video so we better know how to operate our new gadget or put together our new item. One wouldn’t look at the instructions for a highchair when you are trying to put together a crib. Each has it’s own individual instruction manual. So it is when we try to live life without looking at what God’s Word says in how we are to live. When we try to do things our own way and not follow after God’s way of doing things, we will lack confidence and our thirst will never be quenched.

When we fear God, we want to know what God says about how we are to live life so we can have confidence in living. Wouldn’t you rather get the “all clear” from God who made you in His Image rather than something else that will lead you astray?

Fearing God takes trust that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. So it took my daughters trusting in their siblings that when they said it was “all clear” it really was “all clear.” I never did hear anybody screaming through my house that there was something scary in the closet, under the bed, or in the basement. The coast was always clear.

Feb

2021

It’s Bigger than Flannel Graph

I started reading the book of Exodus for my daily devotions last week. I love the stories of the Old Testament. They are real and authentic people going through real and authentic challenges, difficulties, and hurdles. Too often we relegate these Old Testament narratives to “flannel graph” stories. As kids we would go to Sunday school and sit in front of the flannel graph board and listen to the Sunday school teacher tell us the Bible story as we watched her/him put the flannel graph pieces on the board. I appreciate all the time and effort that every Sunday school teacher put into preparing their lessons. I learned so much from them.

However, has it ever seemed that the Bible characters weren’t real? It was just a nice story, but it’s not applicable to me.

Joseph is such a giant in the faith, he must have had something that I don’t have. There is no way that if I went through all that he went through that I would be able to say “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” (Gen. 50:20). What about Daniel or Job? They endured so much, they most certainly must have had something that I don’t have.

Actually, we have so much that they don’t have. They didn’t have a copy of the Bible, yet we have it in its entirety. They couldn’t look back and see all that Christ did for them while He was on the earth culminating in His death and resurrection. So we actually have it better than they did.

Job went through horrendous suffering without having the written word of God and he was still able to say, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20, 21).

So what can we learn from the Old Testament? First, we must appreciate that the Old Testament narratives are stories with real people going through real struggles, just like us. Their lives were filled with difficulties and daily challenges that resulted in daily hardship. Not only that, they didn’t have the modern conveniences that we have today. They didn’t have running water and grocery stores or cars and computers with internet. We have these things going for us.

We also have the inspired Word of God in our hands. Many of us have multiple copies of God’s Word. We have the words of God in a written form that we can read and memorize and meditate on. Do we see this as one of our most valuable treasures or do we take it for granted? The God of the universe wanted to make sure that we had His Words so we could read them and live by them. What a special treasure that is for us today.

In this magnificent Word of God we have multiple examples on how to live. We have encouragement from these saints. When you begin to talk to someone that has gone through a similar life struggle as you, doesn’t it provide encouragement to know that they have been through what you are going through and they have made it through to the other side? We have this same scenario in God’s Word.

So when you struggle, go to God’s Word. See how the narrative plays out and see what they chose to do in the midst of the trial. They didn’t have something you don’t have, you actually have something they don’t have.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1, 2)

Jan

2021

This is the Day that the Lord has Made

Have you ever prayed the same thing for a really long time and then realized that just maybe your prayer may not line up with Scripture, at least the intention of your prayer did not?

One of the things that I have prayed for my kids and husband and quite honestly anyone is to pray that they have a good day. My idea of a good day is to have nothing go wrong in their day. The world’s idea of a good day – No problems. No struggles. No trials. No heartbreaks. No dilemmas they couldn’t solve. No sadness.

Is that God’s idea of a good day?

I keep thinking about Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Every day that we have is a gift from God. Even in the midst of this pandemic, no matter the day that God gives us, it is the day He has made for us. Even if I have a flat tire, it is a good day that I should rejoice in because it is the day that God has for me. Even when I have to cancel or change my plans because of the virus, it is still the day that God has for me.

I needed a change of perspective in my prayers. Every day that I wake up is a gift from God. Every day that He allows me another breath is a gift from God. Each day that I can serve someone else and show them the love of Christ is a gift from my heavenly Father.

So when my new puppy is difficult to manage, God has a reason for that. When I face decisions in life and am not sure what direction to go, God also has a reason for that. When people in life are not always easy to get along with, God reminds me to seek Him and seek to minister to them as He would.

I am sure you could make your own list, but each event in life that happens is not something that takes God by surprise. Even though we may not look at the events that happen in life as good, God always has a purpose and a plan that will not be thwarted and will bring Him glory.

As we face a new era with a new president and his leadership, we must not forget that even these days are days that God has made, we must rejoice and be glad in them. These days in our country as a Bible believing and Bible following Christian will be a challenge.

Will we rise to the occasion and take a stand for what is right, what is true, and what is honorable to God?

How we take a stand will set us apart from those who violently take a stand. No situation takes God by surprise. Each is an opportunity for us to represent our Savior and Lord. As we see each day as an opportunity to share the love of Christ knowing that each situation may not be the one we would pray for as being good, God saw it as necessary to bring about His ultimate plan.

May you view each day as the day that God has made for you. Rejoice and be glad in it. Let your neighbor see, let you family see, and let your coworkers see that no matter the circumstances you will rejoice in the God who ordered your day.

Apr

2020

I Hope in Your Word

Here we are facing more days of the “stay-at-home” order from our Michigan governor as she extends this stay home order to May 15. While I appreciate her desire to decrease the spread of the virus, I also think that the citizens of this great state understand the severity of the virus and the risk involved to each individual if one should get the virus. I see people that are careful when they go to the grocery store. People don’t get near each other. People are wearing masks. The grocery stores are cleaning like never before. We have all learned our lessons on how to prevent the spread of the virus.

During my time with the Lord each morning I spend time praying through the Psalms. I am currently in Psalm 119. I especially liked the following verses and felt like they are so applicable to us as we all face different challenges of our own. Everyone is dealing with these restrictions and struggling with them in different ways, yet God’s Word is relevant to each of us in our situation.

¹⁴⁵With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statues. ¹⁴⁶I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies. ¹⁴⁷I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. ¹⁴⁸My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. ¹⁴⁹Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life. ¹⁵⁰They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law. ¹⁵¹But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. ¹⁵²Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. (Psalm 119:145-152)

As you read these verses, notice the first part of each verse in the first five verses. Life is hard. We have difficulties and challenges that seem overwhelming. We cry out to the Lord with our whole heart, we call out to God, and we are awake at night because of the challenges that face us in our lives. The author of this Psalm (probably David) knew challenges and heartaches. We have these in our lives too. Those that are facing unemployment. Those that cannot pay their bills. Those that are sick with the virus. Those that are sick with the virus and cannot work. Students who have had their school years disrupted. The list of the challenges that we all face are many. These challenges cause us to struggle emotionally because the current events and the unknown events of the future are challenging.

That is the beauty of these verses. We cannot hope in the circumstances around us. If we spend our time focused on them and worrying over them it will do nothing more than cause us to be discouraged. So what do we do?

The Psalmist says he cried out to the Lord. He asked the Lord to hear him. The last part of each of these verses then tells us what to do. Focus on God’s Word. Keep God’s laws.

This crises that we are in will not be the last crises that you will face, nor is it the first crises that you have faced. How have you handled previous crises?

Over the last year and a half I have been memorizing scripture. I have memorized Psalm 145, Daniel 9:3-19, Psalm 103, and now I am in Colossians 3:1-17. What I have found as I have committed myself to not just memorizing Scripture, but rehearsing it when I go on my walks in the morning, when I drive in the car, or when I lay down at night to sleep is my focus has changed. It has been a slow and a gradual process, but I have noticed in myself that I do not worry as much. I do not focus as much on all the negatives that happen. When something bothers me I do not hold onto the bad feelings for as long.

God’s Word via the memorization of it has transformed my heart. I understand the words that the Psalmist wrote in these verses. I have worried about things and been in turmoil over them, but then I remember God’s Word.

I challenge you during these extended days of our “stay at home” order to memorize Scripture. Do something productive rather than sit and fret over all that is wrong. Focus on what you know to always be true no matter the circumstances: GOD’S WORD.

…I hope in your Words. (Psalm 119:147)

Apr

2020

Be Thankful

How is your schedule going? Have you put one into place and started following it? Have you accomplished all those things on your “to do” list that you have always wanted to do, but never seemed to have time to accomplish? I am struggling with feeling like there are just too many things to do. Since we all seem to have extra time on our hands, I feel like there are so many different avenues that people are suggesting of things for me to do. There are webinars to watch and podcasts to listen to. The lady that I follow for my morning exercises is taking longer for my workouts, since she figures I have more time. I certainly hope I am in better shape after this is over since my workouts are going longer.

Be selective

Just like when we are able to go out and do anything we want with anyone we want, we still need to say “no” to a few things, we need to practice that same principle. We still do not have to do everything. We must enjoy this time of not having a packed schedule and enjoy the things we are doing rather than rush through them. Just because we are getting suggestions from everyone to do everything does not mean that we have to say “yes” to these things. Make your schedule and be selective at what you say “yes” to. We have had the privilege of having our oldest daughter and her husband here with us for an extended period of time. Rather than go about a regular routine of all the chores and work that I could get done, I have enjoyed spending time with them playing games, watching movies, going on walks, making food together, working on a puzzle together, etc. What a joy to make these extra memories together.

Be intentional with others

During our normal days, we often let our schedule dictate who we spend time with. Now that our schedules look different, we need to be intentional in reaching out to people. Call friends and family members you wouldn’t normally communicate with on a regular basis and check-in with them and see how they are doing. I am sure a conversation with someone new will brighten and cheer both of your days. Get out the stationary out and write someone a letter. The post office is still running. The postal delivery workers practice social distancing routinely in their jobs as they are out delivering your mail.

Spend time in prayer and Bible Study

The most important thing we need to do during this time is to spend time praying and reading God’s Word. We need to be praying as a nation that this virus will cease to spread and those that are infected with it will recover. We need to be praying for the leaders of our country to make wise decisions regarding our health and how to stop the spread of this virus. We need to be praying for each other that we would learn through this experience rather than get angry and resentful over it.

Be thankful

Every day we have a choice to be thankful for the events in our days or to grumble and complain about them. As a family since this has started, we have been sharing one thing at dinner every night that we are thankful for. Yesterday was my birthday. Before all of this started, I was going to be home alone for my birthday. I was so happy yesterday to be able to share my birthday with my family than be home by myself. If I could pick, I would rather that my daughters be at college and my daughter who is a senior be able to continue her senior year at college as normal. However, since that is not part of God’s plan, I am thankful that yesterday was filled with such love and joy and memories with my family.

With every difficult and challenging situation, we must find the things to be thankful for rather than grumble. We must be sure to enjoy our days and not fill them to overflowing with too many things. Enjoy each day, don’t rush through it. Be sure to spend time reading God’s Word and praying.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chron. 7:14)

Jan

2020

A Year in Review, and A year Yet to be Seen

It is the beginning of a new year and with that so many of us start with new goals or a new resolve. This will be the year… We have tried to change things in our lives and we always start off with the best intentions, but then something happens. We get sick, or extra work from our jobs sets us back, our kids get sick, or we wake up one morning and are so tired from the days before we just don’t have any motivation.

This is the exact moment when the rubber meets the road.

This is when we determine what kind of person we are going to be.

So what are you going to do?

Call it quits on those goals you had at the beginning of the year and determine that it’s just not doable? Label yourself a failure and figure they were stupid goals anyway.

Last year, I wrote a list of goals that I thought were very doable. As I went back through my goals and the things I accomplished, I realized a very important truth that we all have heard many times:

“If you aim for nothing, you hit it every time.”

I realized that the goals that I had set for last year helped me to accomplish some things that I would have never done if I had not set any goals. I may not have been successful at every one of my goals, but in every one of my goals, I MADE PROGRESS.

Isn’t that what you are hoping for? Don’t you want to say at the end of the year, I made progress? Maybe not as much progress as I had set out to accomplish, but I did make progress.

One of my goals was to read 10 pages of a book every day. That would have given me a total of 3650 pages. I was short and only read 3289, but if I had not set this goal I would not have read 3289 pages.

Another one of my goals was to work on my daughter’s crosstich every day for 30 minutes. Again, I did not work on it every day, but I did work on it as you can see from the picture I took last year to the picture I took this year.

I have these things as goals for this year again, and I am excited to see how much I will accomplish.

I set the goal of reading 10 pages per day, because I want to become a certified Biblical Counselor. In order to do this, I needed to read 1,000 pages from a list of books given to me by those who will certify me. I worked last year at many of the requirements to become a certified Biblical counselor. I have one more thing to accomplish and that is to start counseling people under the direction of my supervisor.

Another of my goals for this year is to actually become a certified Biblical counselor. I am excited to see where God will direct my steps in relation to this.

However, if I did not have goals, I would not have been able to accomplish any of this.

There are things that I have been doing for years that I don’t need to write down as goals. These things have become habits. They would not have become habits if I had not consistently made them a part of my life. I was determined to have these things be habits in my life.

So the purpose of goals is to accomplish some things, but it is also to develop habits.

My encouragement to you is to set goals. Make them doable goals. Remind yourself of these goals as often as you need reminding so you don’t forget. I wrote my goals down in my calendar this year. This way I can go over them and keep them fresh in my mind so I can accomplish them. On the days, you are tired and don’t feel like accomplishing your goals, keep the future in mind. You will happy you put aside the feelings of failure or apathy and took on the feeling of accomplishment through determination.

Be determined. Be motivated. Accomplish your goals every day. When you miss a day, don’t let that be what stops you from keeping on. Resolve to stay committed.

Dec

2019

It’s Not About What Others Say

I was in Sam’s renewing my membership and the cashier asked me for my identification. I handed her my driver’s license and that was what she needed to see that I was who I said I was. When we go to the airport and are screened by the TSA agent before going through the x-ray machine, they require our Identification and our boarding pass. They look at the picture on the id and they look at the individual to make sure they look the same. When I was at Sam’s or when any of us are at the airport, no one that is checking our identification looks to the person standing next to us to see if they corroborate with who we are. They also don’t look at who we are standing with to see if we are who we say we are. The TSA agent passes us on because our identification matches who we look like.

In life, though, how many of us get our identification from the wrong thing? We want a certain person or group of people to like us, because they are the cool kids, so we change our identity to match what they will like. We want those cool kids to see us as cool so we will be accepted and liked. We look at them as the TSA agents and want them to pass us through into coolness so we change our identities into something more hip and cool. It’s not who we really are, but we are hoping no one will notice and maybe as time goes by and our fake identity may become our new real identity.

Have you ever tried to be fake? First of all, it’s exhausting, and second of all someone is going to see through the fake to the real and then you’re in worse shape than you were before.

In this age of confusion over our identities, where do we look to gain who we are supposed to be? How do we not get confused or lost or even disillusioned? The real question is what is the source of our truth?

Our days in school as an elementary, Jr. High, High School, and college student so often impact our self- image or our identity. We get made fun of for our hair or our clothes or that idiosyncrasy we have. We get called stupid or goody too shoes or ugly. So many kids in school are poor and can barely afford clothes to wear to school so other kids make fun of them for this. So often as a young child our identity is stamped into our hearts and minds by all the circumstances of life.

Too often, the unkindness of others molds us into who we think we are. Rather than looking at our identification for who we really are, we look around at who everyone else says we are. The hurtful remarks of others damage our hearts and some have never recovered. They will forever see themselves as ugly or weird or stupid, and they will forever be trying to change that image of themselves.

Here is a truth that we all need to cling to and live by: God made each and every one of us unique and different. I used to tell our daughters all the time, “if you were all the same, I wouldn’t need 2 of you-we have 3 daughters.” God made us all different and unique for a reason.

If we are putting a puzzle together and every piece is cut the same with the same part of the picture on it, how well would the puzzle go together? If we were all fingers, who would pump the blood to us so we could get the oxygen we need.

The Bible is the only source of truth. So many other things change, but the Bible does not change. Who we are needs to be based on who God says we are, not on who everyone in the world says we are. The world and its opinions change, but God never changes. (Heb. 13:8). Look at clothing styles, hair styles, car styles, home décor…it all changes to what is the latest style.

God never changes! What He says about who you are will never change as long as you are His child.

When we board the plane, we feel safe that only those people on the plane are the ones who should be on the plane. There is also a feeling of safety and security when we see ourselves through the lens of Scripture and who God says we are.

You are who God says you are!

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