glorify God

17
Jan
2024

A Good Name

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

And favor is better than silver or gold.”

Proverbs 22:1

 

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it is 2024? (Next year, we will say “Can you believe it is 2025:)  Time has a way of escaping us until one day, we realize that it is a new year. That is why we usually make our “New Year’s Resolutions.” We want this year to be different. We don’t like how last year ended, the state of our health, finances, relationships, or our spiritual condition or walk with the Lord. So we make some goals for the year so that this year does not end like last year did.

I wrote my blog posts last year walking through the book of Proverbs, and since I was not quite completed I wanted to finish it up this year. We ended last year in Proverbs 21.

What a fitting way to start this year off with Proverbs 22:1. How we live our life is our reputation, our name.

I am currently reading through the book of Genesis and have been reading about Joseph’s life. His desire to glorify God meant more to him than anything else. It meant more to him than physical pleasure (Potiphar’s wife – Gen. 39), money or an easy life (Potiphar’s wife – Gen. 39), fame or glory (prison – Gen 40). Every opportunity that Joseph had to tell His story, Joseph always told God’s story. When Potiphar’s wife accosted him his response was “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9). When he had the opportunity to deliver the interpretation of the dream to the cupbearer and the baker, his response was “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Gen. 40:8).

Two years went by and Joseph was still in prison. The cupbearer forgot about Joseph, but Joseph remained faithful to God. When the opportunity came to reveal to Pharaoh the interpretation of his dreams again Joseph’s response was “It is not in me, God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” (Gen. 41:16).

Who became 2nd in command to Pharaoh? Joseph. He did not pout or try to seek the glory for himself. Joseph‘s story could have been totally different if he had made different choices. The name Joseph could mean something totally different based on who he chose to glory in and the choices that ensued.

Our name means nothing until we give it meaning. How many teachers have you heard say, “I would never name my child ___________?” Why do they say that? They have had a student named that and the student was difficult and the name will always mean for that teacher the difficult student. When we name our child after someone, it is because that name brings a sense of love and fondness to our minds and bestows honor to the person the child is being named after.

Joseph was a Hebrew not an Egyptian, and yet his name and his reputation were of great honor and favor. “A great name is to be chosen over riches…” (Prov. 22:1). There were probably many other people that thought they deserved the honor that Joseph received to be the 2nd highest in command. They were probably Egyptians with great wealth and the “family name.” but Joseph had proven himself to be trustworthy. His reputation was one of dependability and honesty. He lived a life that was above reproach. When the doors were closed and no one was watching, Joseph was still going to do the thing that honored God.

So as 2024 lays before us. We still have about 350 days left to change who we are. There is still time to have your name mean favorable, honest, dependable, high regard, and good. When you get to December 31, 2024, what do you want said about you and your year?

If we are going to be like Joseph, we must care only what God has to say about us because He is the only One that can see us at all times. He knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. (Heb. 4:12, 13). He sees us even when no one else does, and His approval is truly the only approval that matters. When we honor and glorify the Lord and represent Him well, we will receive favor.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
01
Nov
2023

A Cool Spirit or a Hot Head

“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”

Proverbs 17:27

I just finished reading a book called “The Heart of Anger” by Lou Priolo. It is a very practical book for parents as they navigate the challenges of raising children. The challenge we as parents have in parenting is that we are proud and self-centered trying to rear a child that also is proud and self-centered. At the heart of this, there is a dire need for Christ, the Gospel, and the Bible.

If we do not see our need for a Savior, the Gospel, the Bible, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit we will be woefully lacking in our ability to raise children that are God fearing and respectful people.

Our verse from Proverbs is an outflow of a person that is dependent on Christ, the Gospel, the Bible, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot hope to have a cool spirit with restrained words, if we try to do this alone. Eventually, we will be like the volcano who ruptures and spews forth angry words of lava under all the pressure that is built up.

What must we do to keep our cool? This verse tells us we must have knowledge and be a man/woman of understanding. This tells me that we must be a thinking people rather than  emotional reactive people. In so many situations that occur, we react rather than act. When we react, we allow our emotions to “drive the train” of our actions. When we act, we allow our biblically sanctified thoughts to “drive the train.”

  1. Be in the Word and in prayer daily

We must daily be in the Word and in prayer, so that we can “renew our minds.” (Rom. 12:2) if we are thinking thoughts that are godly we will be able to have a godly action in the midst of the circumstance. What drives us to react with our emotions is our pride and selfishness. We feel like someone is threatening what we want, what we desire. If we angrily lash out at someone for something they say or do, or we inwardly seethe with distaste for the other person because of their words or actions then we know that we have acted out of selfishness and pride.

We need the Bible and prayer to daily biblically inform us of the kind of people that we are. We need the Bible and prayer to help us daily “Prepare our minds for action.” (I Peter 1:13).

  1. Evaluate your words, your tone, and your volume

“…he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” (Prov. 17:27). The cool spirited person knows what Scripture says about his speech. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1). This cool spirited person knows that it is sin to speak in a way that is not gentle, raises their voice, and inflicts verbal harm to their listener. This cool spirited man/woman does not let his pride/self-centeredness get in the way of the conversation, but rather seeks to understand the other person. This cool spirited person knows that blowing up or sulking during the conversation does not solve the problem, but rather escalates the problem.

  1. Seek to understand the other person not control them

If we blow up or sulk in the midst of the conversation, we are trying to control the other person or the situation so that we can get what we want. We are willing to sacrifice honoring God in this relationship on the altar of the idols of our hearts. We so desperately want what we want, that we are willing to yell, say unkind words, or sulk so that our idol can be worshipped. We are willing to sacrifice the relationship, so that we can satisfy our desire for control. If we desire to glorify God and represent Him well to all that we come in contact with, we will seek to understand them and what is happening in their hearts. The cool person’s desire is not to get what they want, but rather to glorify God.

  1. Glorify God and represent Him well

The other person may very well not be happy with us and what we did or what we said. We must evaluate our hearts and our motives and see if there is a “log in our eye” (Mt. 7:3) that must be removed. Then we must evaluate the “speck” (Mt. 7:3) that is in our friend’s eye. None of this can be done if we do not have a cool spirit.

It is easy to be a “Hot-tempered” (Prov. 29:22) person. The cool spirited person seeks to understand other people. Why does the cool spirited man want to understand others? He wants to glorify God. How does He keep a cool spirit? The cool spirited person knows that s/he needs Jesus, the Gospel, the bible, the Holy Spirit, and to deny themselves. We cannot be cool spirited if we do not deny ourselves.

The next time you encounter a disagreement with another person, remember that the cool spirited person comes from a desire to understand the other person, not to be understood. In order to do this, we must deny ourselves.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
11
Apr
2023

Go to the Ant

I have been seeing and killing some black ants in my house. I always wonder where they come from and what makes them think coming inside is a good idea. I always see ants in my garden too. I move a rock or pull up a weed and they come scurrying trying to take their eggs to a safer place. We have all seen an ant carry an object bigger than itself. They have been documented to carry 20 times their body weight. If I carried 20 times by body weight, I would be able to carry 2,500 pounds. (If you do the math, you can figure out how much I weigh:). They will travel up to 700 feet from their nest for food, and will follow scent trails back to their nest after dark. Rather than sleep like humans do, they take eight minute power naps every 12 hours. Someone in the colony is always working. They are incredible creatures.

It is no wonder that God through the pen of Solomon told us to “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6).

Solomon used the little ant as a reprove for those who are sluggards, in our terminology today they are lazy. What things can we learn from Scripture about the ant?

The 1st lesson we need to learn from the ant is that we need to be self-motivated and self-directed.

The ant does not have a “chief, officer, or ruler.” (Prov. 6:7) In other words, the ant does not have someone to tell it what to do. The ant does not need a boss telling them what time to be to work, what they are supposed to do for their work, and how much effort they are to put into their work. The ant is self-motivated and self-directed. How many company owners would love to have employees like this? We had some trees cut down last week. The guy who cut the trees down has done some work for us in the past. During previous times, he had multiple employees. This time it was just him and his dad. He told me that he had a hard time getting any reliable help that worked as hard as his dad did.

This concept is also applied in the home. Whether one is a spouse or a child, the concept of being self-motivated and self-directed goes a long way in building and maintaining godly home relationships. A child who is self-motivated or directed can see the things that need to be done such as keeping their room clean, picking up after themselves, or clearing the supper dishes. A spouse who is self-directed or motivated can also see the things that need to be done without having to always be asked to take care of needed chores around the house. A home is a team effort and when there is someone that spends most of their time sitting on the couch watching television or surfing their phone while the others are busy taking care of household chores, the “couch potato” would be considered a sluggard.

The 2nd lesson we need to learn from the ant is the need to plan ahead.

The ant “prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” (Prov. 6:8). In other words, the ant prepares for times ahead. The ant knows that she needs to follow the calendar and prepare for when food is scarce. My husband comes from parents who are planners, hence my husband is a planner. They have lists for their lists. We like to talk about next Christmas before we even celebrate the current Christmas. I don’t even get a chore complete and he is planning for the next chore that needs to be done. The ant prepares and plans for the future. Again, an employer would love to have their employees plan for the future. Knowing what projects will take more time and planning accordingly.

The 3rd lesson we need to learn from the ant is the need to glorify God through our responsibilities.

A sluggard or a lazy person is found in bed more time than they are found on the job. (Prov. 6:9). When we miss work because we are in bed, call in sick as many days as possible, or are late to work because we overslept, we are lazy. God has given us responsibilities that we need to accomplish. These responsibilities are used so that we can fulfill our purpose in life, to glorify God. (Is. 43:7). If our employers or our families cannot count on us, then we are not glorifying God. Our families count on us to be carrying our load of the responsibilities. When our daughters lived under our roof, they each had responsibilities based on their age and abilities. They did not get the option to sit and play all day, but rather they had to get out of bed and do their chores. The same goes for a spouse. He or she must be reliable and fulfill their responsibilities and not place the burden of all responsibilities on the other. Our goal in our families is to seek to steward the relationships that God has given us in a way that glorifies Him.

The 4th lesson we learn from the ant is that their hands are busy.

The sluggard “folds his hands” (Prov. 6:10). It is hard to be busy with your hands when they are folded. No work can be done with folded hands. The result of these “folded hands” is “poverty” and “want.”  A lazy person will have folded hands that will result in not providing for the needs of their family. If a child’s responsibility is to load the dishwasher and they never do, the dishes will be dirty and the family will want for clean dishes to eat their meals on. If the husband and/or wife do not go to work to provide for the bills that must be paid, the family will experience “poverty” and “want.”

A sluggard is not just someone that fails to go to work to meet the everyday needs they have. A person can be a hard worker outside the home, but fail to “carry their weight” in the home. If they do this, they are also a sluggard.

In America we have become accustom to wanting life to be easy. When we desire ease, we fail to value hard work. This desire for an easy life can be seen in many different areas of our lives.

As you evaluate your life, think about how you respond in every circumstance. Do you want to glorify God and work hard, or do you want to take the sluggard’s way out? Are you self-motivated? Do you plan ahead? Do you glorify God in all your responsibilities? Are your hands folded or busy?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 1 comment