Saturday, October 27, 2018

God's Model Home


Take a moment to listen today to what your children are trying to say; Listen to them, whatever you do or they won't be there to listen to you. Listen to their problems, listen to their needs; Praise their smallest triumphs, praise their littlest deeds. Tolerate their chatter, amplify their laughter; Find out what's the matter, find out what they're after. If we tell our children all the bad in them we see; They'll grow up exactly how we hoped they'd never be. But if we tell our children we're so proud to wear their name; They'll grow up believing that they're winners in the game. So tell them that you love them every single night; And though you scold them make sure you hold them, and tell them they're all right, "Good night, happy dreams; Tomorrow's looking bright." Take a moment to listen today to what your children are trying to say; Listen to them whatever you do; And they'll be there to listen to you (Dr. Denis Waitley). Almost all of us have heard the adage, “There’s no place like home.” Scripture and social science testify to the undeniable truth of that statement. For good or ill, no place and no people impact us like those at home. The quality of our home life can make us or break us, hurt us or heal us. More than perhaps any other single factor, how things are in a home impacts how things will be for the people who live together in that home. Be careful to note the subject under consideration is the home, not the house. The house may look like a dream on the outside even as life for those inside it has become a nightmare. Life in the home will be as good or as bad, as strong or as weak, as healthy or as unhealthy as the people who make it up. It is not the house that shapes the happiness, stability, emotional and spiritual well-being of the people who live in it. Rather it is the home itself – that is, the cumulative sum of characteristics, personalities, priorities, values, attitudes, actions and behavior of the people who make it up that determines, more than anything else, the quality of the home, family and married life. The crying need in America at this very hour is not more model houses, but more model homes. Poet William Cowper called the home “the only bliss of Paradise that has survived the fall.” True enough when home life is as God designed it.

[Psalm 127:1] “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain”. Many homes today are neither built nor maintained according to God’s Word (thus we stand guard over a country the Lord may or may not still be watching). In the worse case scenarios – abuse, addiction and abandonment make some homes more like outposts of hell than a foretaste of Heaven. A house, someone observed, is built by human hands, but a home is built by human hearts. Ephesians 5:18 thru 6:4 sketches out God’s plan for insuring that your family will live in a home, not just a house. Note this scan of the various attitudes, roles, relationships and behaviors in a home where God guides and abides: joy, spirituality and happiness (5:18-19); gratitude instead of complaining (5:20); cooperation instead of “it’s all about me” (5:21-24); love and selfless giving (5:25); concern for moral purity and holiness (5:26-27); emotional nourishment where every family member is appreciated and valued (5:28-29); intimacy, unity and devotion to others (5:30-32); respect, courtesy, obedience, honor, well-being, training, teaching, nurturing, loving discipline, concern for the Lord’s will and His way (5:33-6:4). No matter the kind of house, there’s no place like that home - a home the Lord watches over as you guard it from the wilds of the world.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

The Model


A young ambitious sort of boy asked one of his teacher’s if he could borrow their cell to make a quick phone call. The teacher obliged, assuming he was going to call a parent, and stood nearby to safe-guard both the boy and the phone. “Hello, Dr. Anderson. I’m seeking to earn a few dollars for camp and was wondering if you needed a boy to mow grass and maybe run some errands for you? Oh, you already have a boy? Are you completely satisfied with the boy you have? Okay then, good-bye Doctor.” As the boy thanked his teacher while returning the cell phone, the teacher said, “Just a minute son. If you’re looking for work I could use a boy like you.” The boy replied, “Thank-you, but I have a job already.” The teacher queried, “Didn’t I just hear you trying to get a job from Dr. Anderson?” “Oh, that,” said the lad, “no, you see I’m the boy who works for Dr. Anderson. I was just checking up on myself.” Not a bad idea for all of us to perform.

[2 Corinthians 13:1-10] “...Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves...” A young preacher was shaking hands with members as they filed out after worship. One lady told him as she passed by, “Young man, you are a model preacher.” He felt really good about this. But his self-esteem and preacher’s pride took a serious hit when he got home and looked in the dictionary under “model” and read the definition: “a small imitation of the real thing.” Mankind (man and woman alike, hereto referred to in the masculine form) today is a magnificent creature. He possesses faculties and capacities which places him far above all other living creatures. Endowed with free moral choice, man can reason, plan, think and create. He is possessed by a powerful drive to question, learn, explore and discover. He has developed knowledge, skills and technology that have enabled him to accomplish amazing things. He harnesses the power of the sun, wind and water to improve life. He has developed brilliant and astonishing medical knowledge and techniques. Communication technologies not heard of a generation ago now makes possible wireless and instantaneous communication with anyone anywhere on the earth. Man can access an almost unlimited amount of information on practically any question or subject thanks to the internet. He has been to the moon and now has his eyes on Mars and beyond. He builds roads, bridges, buildings and dams that are breathtaking in scope. He builds cars, planes and trains whose beauty, comfort and efficiency are a tribute to his creative genius. On top of all this he paints, sings and produces magnificent works of art, music and drama that touch and stir the heart making us laugh, cry, hate and love. No one can deny man is a magnificent creature. But man is a small imitation of the real thing God originally created him to be; made in the image of God to have dominion over all creation (Genesis 1-2). Sin marred the model man and man is unable to fix himself. In spite of intellectual, academic and technological magnificence - war, hatred and crime dominate the headlines. The gift of human sexuality is expressed in ways that pervert the Creator’s plan. TV and the internet are saturated with vulgarity and pornography. People lust, lie, steal, kill, deceive, divorce, grumble, gamble, grab, hate and hurt others to get what they want or enact revenge. As a result there is death. Sin has indeed marred man’s magnificence. Is there no hope to restore man’s glory? With God’s help there is! Jesus is the answer (Hebrews 2:5-18), “...Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Jesus: n. Savior (to save us from ourselves).

Monday, October 15, 2018

Your Influential Ballot


As a concerned citizen of this great nation, and more importantly, as a citizen of the kingdom of God, I believe it to be vitally important where the candidates running for public office stand on certain issues, especially those relating to God and morality. I know that many people vote for the candidate that best assures them financial and national security. These are important, but are they the MOST important? I think not.

William Crawford was pretty put out with his two sons. He was running to retain his seat on the central committee of the Erie County (Ohio) Democratic Party. He and his challenger, David Giese, got exactly the same number of votes – 43 each. Now here’s the hang-up. Crawford has two sons, both eligible to vote for their dad, but neither of them bothered to cast a ballot. Andy is a college student who lives at home with mom and dad, and Jim lives just across the street from the family home. They simply chose to skip the election. Who knows why? When you think about it, it’s not really that big a deal. The fate of the republic was not at stake here. But it does illustrate the fact that we complicate our own lives and those of others by being disconnected and careless. Apathy is a terrible thing. I guess Jim and Andy had no idea they would put their father’s position in jeopardy by failing to show up to vote. I’m sure there was no conspiracy to take down their father. It was simple negligence fostered by the common idea that one person just doesn’t make all that much difference. I wonder if Eve thought that. Aren’t you glad Noah didn’t think that way? What about Jesus? When Paul left Jerusalem to evangelize the Gentile world, did his efforts make a difference? I know that the phrase “make a difference” is so cliché these days, but you will almost surely have a decision to make today that may seem small or inconsequential to you, but may have long term, even eternal consequences that could affect you and others around you. Don’t sell yourself or your influence short. An old preacher was once heard to say, “God has cast his vote for you to be saved and to live in righteousness, joy and peace. The devil has cast his vote for you to share hell with him. It’s a tie, and you will cast the vote that decides the election for your eternal seat.”

[Deuteronomy 8] Moses spoke: “...Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes... lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God... Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get wealth... And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.” God will not Bless America while His Word is being abandoned through legislation that approves the shedding of innocent blood. God cannot Bless America while there are those who are seeking the dismantling of the home – the very backbone of society. Read 2 Kings 21, to see what happened to Judah when God and His Word were removed from the country. I can assure you that if we continue to ignore the issues before us that have pushed God aside there’ll be no bright future to look forward to in America.

Saturday, October 06, 2018

Building Up or Tearing Down


While driving the other day on the major highway that runs through town, I couldn’t help but to take exception to the changes in the business landscape over the past thirty plus years. Much of what used to be is gone and that which remains has either been surrounded into near obscurity or repurposed to serve a different aspect of everyday life. Very few places still hold true to there hometown roots serving the community as they did a generation ago. It’s amazing how long it takes for a new business building to be erected and opened to the public and yet it takes no time at all for the old to simply disappear. It seems with the snap of the fingers the local High School became a parking lot after it looked like it would take forever to build a replacement. A small tornado damaged a couple of favorite eateries, one an almost historic hamburger stand, and poof, one day they were gone. Spring and fall migrating birds are still coming through town, as they have for probably thousands of years, only to find less and less natural landscape to roast on, so cover the parking lots and power-lines after a lucky few find rest in the scarce amount of trees remaining; post-progress. I guess the old adage, “Out with the old; In with the new” will forever be, but I’ve seen some of the old is still better than the new.

[Ephesians 4: 29] Progress is the building up of what exists, not necessarily the show of total replacement with something new. It’s easy to demolish something. It doesn’t take much skill or wisdom to tear down. One doesn’t need to read a blueprint or give much attention to details. All it normally requires is brute force and power. When it comes to the matter of a Christian’s influence on others, the Bible is quite clear that we are not to be in the business of demolition, but edification; building up. “But,” one might argue, “Demolition is so easy.” And, it is! All it takes is a few power words like, “failure”, “hopeless”, “ugly”, “bad”, or “worthless”. There doesn’t have to be any affection or carefully measured words of encouragement. It takes only a few blows of the tongue, even in gossip, to become the sledgehammer blow that shatters a heart. Sometimes the Christian’s influence on others is most effective when one is silent; actions speaking louder than words. A big Marine sergeant was once asked the circumstances of his conversion to Christianity. He told of a private in his company who was frequently harassed by other soldiers for his religious faith. One night the private came into the barracks quit late. It was a very rainy night. Before getting into his bunk, he knelt, as was his custom, to pray. The sergeant said he picked up one of his own boots, heavy with wet mud, threw it across the room and hit the private in the side of the head. The private said nothing. He wiped the mud from his face and crawled into bed. The next morning, when the sergeant woke up, he found his boots clean and polished by his bedside. The sergeant said to the interviewer, “It broke my heart!” Turning the other cheek is not easy (Matthew 5: 38-42). The first inclination is to strike back, to get even, or to seek revenge. The route Jesus urges upon us is the behavior which is more likely to influence the other person for good. May we all give care to what we say and do! To tear down the spirit and worth of another takes no godliness at all. To batter down those already discouraged by troubles is about the easiest task one will ever find. On the other hand, to be a masterful builder of men, to inspire love and dedication to God in those we meet, is to be like Christ himself. Please pray for our country, our representatives, judicial and executive branches of government – and prepare to vote in November.