Have You Cheated Today?

Was your first answer to this question a solid "No"? Were you then relieved that you could answer so surely to an activity that is obviously wrong? When I asked myself that question two weeks ago my answer was a strong "No"! And I was relieved that I wasn't at least cheating in my daily life. But then I read the book Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley. My answer was challenged.

I am regularly wrestling with balancing my family life and my ministry life. I love my family. They are my favorite people to hang with. I also love my ministry of counseling. The women I meet with are a pleasure to serve. Herein lies my wrestling! I desire more time with my family and I also desire more time to counsel. How can I get more time? I can't! So my dilemma is how to best use the 168 hours of every week to their fullest and best potential.

In a desire to get clarity on this issue I picked up Andy's book. His premise is that we all cheat. It is a conscious choice that me must all make every day. And that choice is usually being made multiple times a day. We are either choosing to cheat our families or we are choosing to cheat our employers, but we are choosing to cheat someone. Can you relate to that statement? Do you have times where you really want to be with your family but you have to work? Are there times when you can't wait to work at your job but you are stuck doing family things? I can certainly relate!

Some of our dilemma of balance is due in part to how our loyalty and interest is perceived by our families and employers. What communicates to both our families and employers that we are committed, hard-working people who are invested for the long haul? TIME! There's that word again. Commitment is communicated through the amount of time invested.

This is what I wrestle with often- just ask my family and boss! I want all these people to know that I'm invested for the long haul. I want them to know that I love them and am committed to the work that needs to be done for Christ's glory and their good. How that fleshes out week to week is the struggle for me. I want to be committed to "giving up good things for the sake of what is best" (Choosing To Cheat pp. 89). I want to be clear in my calling and effective in how I fulfill it.

I know the wrestling will continue for now. I still haven't found the perfect balance for every day. I'm thankful that my husband helps me by leading me in an understanding manner. I'm thankful for my boss being honest with me and appreciating my bent. And I'm thankful that God is gracious as He continues to teach me where and how to cheat!

Who Are You Carrying?

One of my favorite movies is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I thoroughly enjoy watching it over and over again as well as rereading the books it is based upon. There are many admirable themes running through the trilogy but my favorite is the emphasis upon friendship.

Sam and Frodo are dear friends who embark on a dangerous and difficult journey. Frodo has volunteered to carry a ring, that wields influence for evil over its' possessor, to the fires of Mount Doom of Mordor. There it can be destroyed. Sam refuses to let him go on the journey alone. So they set off together. Toward the end of the trilogy Frodo is exhausted and wearied from the carrying of this "burden", the ring, and he falls to the ground as if to quit. In true friendship form Sam declares, " I cannot carry it (the ring) for you, but I can carry you". He then puts Frodo on his back and begins the arduous ascent up the side of the mountain towards the fires.

I am reminded of Gal. 6:2 each time I watch this scene. We are commanded in this verse to "bear one anothers' burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ". The Greek word in this text for burdens denotes a load that a person would not normally be able to carry alone. God is asking us to help others carry their loads that would be too heavy for them to carry alone. We fulfill the law of Christ when we do this. That is powerful!

Have you been there? Have you had a burden that was so heavy that you believed you wouldn't be able to bear it? Have you been so physically and emotionally exhausted that you thought you couldn't carry it one more day? I have been! And I'm sure you have been also. We are in good company in those situations. Moses is one such example.

In Ex. 17 Moses has instructed Joshua to lead the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites. Joshua does this while Moses, Aaron, and Hur go to the top of a mountain to watch. When Moses raises his hands up holding the rod of God in them the Israelites prevail. But when he lowers his hands holding the rod the Amalekites prevail. Verses 12 and 13 are so powerful! Moses' hands become heavy so Aaron and Hur hold them up "until the going down of the sun" and the Israelites win a victory over the Amalekites! Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses and helped him carry his "burden" when he lost strength to do it on his own!

What about you? Are you aware that someone this week is weighed down under their burden? Is there someone that you know is struggling to continue to carry their load due to physical or emotional exhaustion? What are you doing about it? Are you helping carry them as they carry their load?

I want to be a burden bearer. I cannot carry anothers' burden for them, but I can carry them! I want to be a Sam to the Frodos in my life! I want to fulfill the law of Christ! How about you?

Thanksgiving - Steve Fulton

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  (1Thes. 5:18)

Nothing is quite so fitting to a Christian as a mantle of thanksgiving.  Indeed, one of the things that clearly separates the world from the Christian is the ability to give thanks.  Unregenerate men are unwilling and unable to acknowledge God and give Him thanks (Romans 1:21).  For a Christian to be unthankful is a wrong condition.

Our text says “in everything” (Greek: en pante) which means in everything that enters your life experience.  This is a clear indication that God is actively in control of all the things that we experience in life. Since they come from Him, we are required (this is a command) to give Him thanks or risk implying that we are kinder and wiser than He..  Thanksgiving is the proper response to the contemplation of His goodness.

When our boys were young, we tried to create thankful hearts within them.  With the command “Say thanks!” , we  were able to demand submission (or stimulate rebellion).  But it was, by itself, totally unable to create a thankful heart. 

We found that the best way to generate a heart of thankfulness was to involve them in profitable work . The kind of work where they could see the results and participate in the reward.  If  they rejected that process, we took away fundamental privileges (meals, clothing, freedom).

God works the same way.  He involves himself in our work.  Our tendency is to survey the results of the works of our hands and celebrate what we have accomplished.  In truth, God is the provider of every good thing.  In time, God may judge our thanklessness by taking away the privileges of life.  Life can be hard while He waits for us to turn and give him thanks.

The second part of the text declares that giving thanks is God’s will for those who belong to Jesus Christ.  We study the scripture to see how we should act.  There are just a few passages that declare openly that God wants us to do something.  This is one of those passages.  

My 90-year old mother came to me the other day with a Bible question (Praise the Lord!).  I asked her if she would do the will of God for her if she knew it.  Or, would she go her own way and risk offending and answering to Jesus Christ.  Thankfully, she responded that she would be sure to do it.

Consider the ten lepers of Luke 17.  Ten were healed.  Only one returned to give thanks.  Jesus saw his heart and gave him salvation in the bargain.  “It’s so hard to find someone more thankful than a brand new Christian” MacArthur.  

How about you?

Are you going through life complaining because of the things that happen to you?

Are you anxious about your circumstances?

Or, in humility have you counted yourself a servant of the Most High God and daily declared your thanksgiving for his goodness to you?

Stop now and thank him for your ability to read this document.  Practice thanking Him with each step you take today.

Kicks

I tend to get on "kicks." I'll find some new activity and I'll get real gung-ho about it...but only for a while. After a little time, the thrill seems to wane and my kick will be set aside.

For a while it was chess. I remember the excitement of a new chess board, reading chess books, and studying the games of masters. I memorized many of the common openings (Ruy Lopez, Spanish variation is my favorite with white, and Sicillian for black) and I got pretty good...then I got bored. And now, though I play from time to time, the kick is over and my $100+ chess board sits on a shelf collecting dust.

Sketching was another kick. I got the set of pencils, the sketch pads, and the technique books. I've sketched lighthouses, still lifes of vases and coffee cups and I recently started studying caricatures. And now, though my pencils are still used from time to time, there is still that half finished portrait of my daughter that I never got around to completing. The sketch books are shelved next to "Winning Chess Techniques and Strategies."

Last week I started painting rocks. Courtney had checked out a book from the Library and for fun one night I painted a lizard. Larry (the kids named him) appears to be sunning himself and in just the right light he almost looks real! So next I painted a coiled up snake (even more real)! A few nights ago I tried flowers (for the record, the flowers were for Courtney...she wasn't a big fan of the snake). It's a fun hobby...but chances are it won't last for long. I mean, what do you do with painted rocks? Courtney is not totally sold on the idea of decorating her house with tacky art. Not that she hasn't been supportive. After all it was her suggestion to start a rock garden...in the far back corner of our yard. I can't say I blame her. I mean, just where do you put a coiled up cotton-mouth? It's sad, really. I'm sure in the next couple of weeks Larry the Lizard will join the others on the shelf of the short-lived.

Growing weary of hobbies is one thing, but a far greater challenge is not allowing my heart to grow weary of ministering to God's people. At times, pastoring can be exhausting on every level. It's physically exhausting as I'm often going to bed late and getting up early. It's mentally exhausting as I'm constantly thinking, strategizing, and studying. It's spiritually exhausting as I'm often under attack and working hard to fight the enemy. At times, I must admit, I find myself growing weary.

My wife noticed this a few weeks ago and posted the following passage around the house in several places;

Gal 6:9-10 ESV And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (10) So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

What a reminder! And what a promise! There is a HARVEST coming if we continue to work hard in the lives of people! If we keep on loving, serving, and ministering to God's people, we will see fruit! Love, joy, peace (Gal. 5), virture, knowledge self-control (2 Pet. 1). We will see lives changed, people saved, and eternity impacted. And most importantly, GOD will be GLORIFIED! And isn't that so much better than painted rocks?!?

"Our Response To Difficulty" by Deanna

I have been greatly encouraged by my Bible reading over the last several weeks! God's Word is always right on when it comes to what I need for the day or week that I am facing. The past few weeks have been no different. My family has been under incredible pressure over the past few weeks as have many people in our extended family and our circle of friends. That has led to times of deep discouragement and doubt for me. I have been asking God some tough questions. "Do you care, God? Do you see the pain we are in down here? Are you working on our behalf? Have you forgotten mercy in this trial?" The list goes on and on. But God in His greatness is not changed, threatened, or affected by my questions! Instead, He brings me to passages in His Word such as James 1:2-4 that remind me God has a definite purpose. It is to grow patience and maturity in me through the difficulty. He also emphasizes His involvement and care for me in passages like Is. 49:15-16. My name is engraved, as it were, in stone for God! He cannot and will not forget about me!

If I would need more truth, He reminds me of Joseph, who was mistreated and forgotten multiple times yet Joseph chose not to focus on that (Gen. 41:51-52) and instead chose to attribute it all to God's plan for his life (Gen. 45:4-8). This is the view I so desperately need! I tend to focus on the here and now- how difficult something is- how it doesn't fit into what I want! God wants us to be looking for His plan and heart in the matter. I might not understand but I can respond as Paul did. In Phil.4:11 he tells us that he had "learned to be content in whatever state" he was in! Imagine! I don't know about you but I struggle being content even when things aren't necessarily difficult. But when they are difficult? Be content? Not my first choice!
God, help me this week to remember that you have a plan for my pain! You love me and cannot forget me! You are working within my difficulties to produce your character in my life for the purpose of your glory! God, help me not to resist You and Your plan but to expectantly embrace both!

Video Blog 2/3/09

WHO ARE YOU?

In class this past Sunday, the teens were studying the life of Stephen. I have spent the past couple of days since then looking at his life more closely. We aren't given very much information about Stephen in the Bible, and yet, the information we are given speaks volumes. Acts 6 & 7 comprise his life story. Acts 6:3 tells us that Stephen was chosen, essentially as the first deacon of the NT church, because he was a man of “good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom”. Then verse 5 tells us he was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”. Wow! He wasn't mentioned in the Bible as a good guy or a nice guy. He was labeled as “full of the Holy Spirit”, wise, “full of faith”, and of “good reputation”. That is some description!

Being “full of the Holy Spirit” or filled with the Spirit is a biblical command. Eph. 5:18 tells us to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”. This is an ongoing, daily reality that God wants in our lives. It is the Spirit controlling every aspect of my daily living, not my fleshly desires controlling my daily living.

Spirit-controlled living (being filled by the Spirit) goes hand in hand with wisdom which is the application of biblical truth. For a person to have the label of “ a wise man/woman” they would need to be daily applying biblical truth to their lives. We will only be productive at applying biblical truth when the Spirit is in control of our choices, decision, and thought processes.
When we are living biblical truth through the filling of the Spirit it impacts our faith. Heb. 11:1 explains that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. We have a God-given assurance of our future reality. This is a trust in God for Who He says He is and what He says He can and will do!

We see a building of these principles toward the climax of our reputation. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we apply the truth of God's Word in our lives because we believe it and Him. This builds my faith. This then impacts my reputation. Reputation is “the general estimation in which a person is held by others”. (Webster's Dictionary) The Bible tells us in Prov.20:11 that “even children are known by their actions...” and then in Matt.7:16 Jesus said that false teachers will be “known by their fruit”. Actions or fruit are the by-product of Who or what is controlling us. We allow control of our lives from that which we believe or accept as truth. When the Spirit is in control of our lives our reputation with look like Gal. 5:22-23.

All of this then begs the question: How would people describe you? Would your reputation look like Stephen's in the Bible or would it look more self-serving and self-absorbed? May we all strive to have a reputation like Stephen's!