How Love is Learned

January 7, 2019 by Leave a Comment
How Love is Learned

The beginning of a new year is a natural time for reflection and for taking the time to look back and remember. And as I have done so over the past few days what has really stood out to me is the incredible love that I have been shown, not only in this past year but throughout my life.

To be sure, the pinnacle of love and the very way that love is defined is God himself. God is love and love is God and we will never know a stronger, more pure or more powerful love than the love we will experience in him. But before we can get to the place where we can understand God’s love it is enormously beneficial to have seen and experienced real love from those people who are most influential in our lives.

I know I would not be where I am today if it were not for my amazing parents. I surely did not understand or appreciate the value of their encouragement, protection, support, teaching and stability while I was being raised but I can feel it strongly now as an adult. They modeled an incredible, sacrificial love in how they brought up their two sons but they also set the pattern for how I would love my spouse in the way that they loved each other.

Besides my parents, I know I have been shown and taught love by various teachers, mentors and friends throughout my life. To be sure, they also had a large influence on who I am today and in teaching me what real love looks like.

I wonder how my life would be different and how my relationships would be different if I had not been so blessed. Who would I be today and how much worse off would I be if I had not been so loved? And most importantly, would I have been able to accept God’s love if I had never known real love before?

These are questions worth asking even if the only result is that my gratitude and appreciation is increased for the blessings that I have received. Even more so if they challenge me to take a look at my understanding of love and my relationship with God and with those people that God has placed into my life.

Because I have been so loved I have a strong and enduring responsibility to show love. Because I have been so blessed I have a responsibility to bless others. Because God’s love has been poured out in my heart I have a responsibility to pour that love on others and to consistently express my gratitude to my heavenly father.

And so do you. If you know God and have been so loved and so blessed then your responsibility is the same. God has called us to be ambassadors of his love and to teach it and model it with the things we do and the things we say. The same way that we have learned love we must teach to others, according to God’s word and the leading of his Holy Spirit.

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What We Leave Behind

December 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Will we be remembered?  What will we be remembered for?  Once our lives are over and our time here is completed, what will be our legacy for those who come after?

I am hopeful that I will be remembered as someone who truly loved the Lord and tried to encourage others to do the same.  I want my legacy to be that of someone who pointed the way to Jesus Christ as a teacher of the Word and as a brother in the family of God.

My inspiration in this comes from the apostle Peter.  Listen to these profound words:

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,  because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.  And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.  2 Peter 1:12-15 (NIV)

Peter was nearing the end of his life and what was foremost on his mind was the discipleship and the teaching of those whom he felt responsible for in the faith.  Notice how he states he thinks it is right to remind them to continuously work out their calling and their election (go back to verses 10 and 11 to see this) not only while he remains in this life but also after he departs.

His letters and writings would be there for all to see and anytime someone read one they would be encouraged in their faith and challenged to put aside evil and cling to good.  Even now, nearly two-thousand years later, we can still reference the writings and teachings of the apostle Peter and through the power of the Holy Spirit, be transformed into the further likeness of Jesus Christ.

What a legacy!  What a thing to leave behind!  What a thing to aspire to!  That our words and our teaching would continually enrich and bless the lives of others, long after we are gone- that is something we should be working towards and the goal for every mature Christian.

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From A Certain Point Of View

January 25, 2016 by 2 Comments

truth, The Bible, teaching, instructionThere’s a movie quote that is relatively famous among folks from my generation.  It’s from the movie “Star Wars” and when Luke Skywalker accuses Obi-wan Kenobi of lying to him about the death of his father (who has become Darth Vader) Obi-Wan responds (and I’m paraphrasing here) “your father ceased to be Anakin Skywalker when he turned to the dark side and took the name Darth Vader.  So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view”.

Far be it from me to teach that truth is relative to our own point of view.  That would be the opposite of what the Bible tells us about truth (that it is absolute and resides in God alone).  However, I believe it is accurate to say that our point of view can be an obstruction in our search for truth and that without the proper perspective we will never attain that which is God’s best for us.

In our example above, Obi-wan chooses to practice deception and because Luke trusts him, he believes the lie that Obi-wan tells him about his father.  While this is an example from fiction, it has relevance to reality.  In life, without proper instruction and guidance we too can very easily trust in the wrong people and the wrong things.  Some of us were simply never taught the truth and are therefore in ignorance.  Others have been taught to believe in lies and actively practice evil because of it.  Regardless of the cause, the effect is the same; lives lived in opposition to the truth of God’s Word.

Even among believers this is a common practice.  I think of the many well-meaning parents out there who love their kids and teens but nevertheless allow them to see movies and television shows that teach a morality that is anything but Godly and to listen to music that encourages rebellion and selfishness.  The message that these young folks are getting is often times much louder and stronger from the worldly side than it is from the little bit of Bible instruction that most believers are giving their kids these days.

Ultimately, we are responsible for those that we influence.  And if we know and have been given the truth then we have a duty and a privilege to first live it and to secondly teach it to those around us.  When we fail in this task the entire body of Christ suffers, and when we succeed the body of Christ is built up in unity.

What then is our answer?  How can we, wherever we are in our walk with the Lord, make sure that our point of view is in agreement with God’s?  The first step would be to pray early and pray often.  Take it to the Lord, always!  The second step is to make sure that we study and get to know God’s Word, the Bible.  We need to read it, we need to pray over it, we need to listen to those who teach it and we need to actively seek out those who would encourage us to learn it.

The fact is, God wants us to know Him and His truth.  He does not desire to hide Himself or the truth of His word from anyone.  But until we are ready to receive His truth and agree with His point of view we will never have His best for us.  We need to pray and ask God to help us to know Him better and for the courage and strength to live by faith according to His Word and the truth contained therein.

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Opportunities For Encouragement

October 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment

encouragement, Thessalonians 5:11, teachingI have a tendency to overlook the small things, to miss their importance in the grand scheme.  I think I am fairly good at keeping the big picture in mind and I am definitely a goal oriented achiever but God is in the details; He says the minute by minute stuff matters and that each and every second of the day belongs to Him.

How does this effect my daily routine?  When I take a break from my desk and make a trip to the water-cooler, for example, do I make it a point to smile and say something encouraging to the folks I pass along the way or am I completely focused on the reason for my trip (the goal of reaching the water-cooler) to the exclusion of the people around me?

Opportunities for encouragement seem like such a small thing but I am starting to believe that they make a tremendous difference to our Heavenly Father.  The beginning of our mission here is to preach the gospel so that souls might be saved in Jesus’ name but the ongoing work is the teaching and the encouragement of those saved souls to continue to seek God’s face and God’s heart and to be like Jesus.

Even though we are saved we still have that natural man within us, that fleshly nature that unless we are taught differently, will continue to lead us astray and into sin.  I need daily reminders to do good and to be good.  We all do.  Without the renewing of our hearts and minds by daily prayer and Bible study the saved children of God will not grow and will never become mature and Christlike.  I need frequent reminders of this truth as I am sure you do as well.

Going back to the example above, if I have Christ’s love foremost in my heart and a smile on my face as I make my trip to the water-cooler then I can share that with others.  Instead of receiving, at best, no regard from me whatsoever and at worst a frown and a negative attitude they get a small taste of God then that can make a large difference.  God can take those seemingly small interactions and use them for great good because little is much when God is in it!

In this I am both the teacher and the student.  It is my sincere hope and prayer that I encourage others so that they, in turn, can encourage someone else.  I am the encourager and I hope to be the encouraged.  I believe that this is how God wants us to treat one another; loving the lost in such a way that they see Jesus and loving the saved in such a way that they are motivated to do good works.

Opportunities for doing good and for being an encouragement are plentiful.  Do I have eyes to see them?  Do you?

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another  – Thessalonians 5:11a (NASB)

 

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5 Things We Must Teach Kids After They Are Saved

October 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

teaching, instruction, youth1.  You have a responsibility to grow:  Whether you are a teacher, a pastor, a blogger, a family friend or a parent this is the primary message that you need to be giving the kids around you.  Being saved is not an ending or a destination, it is a beginning.  We who are in the position to do so need to be stressing how important it is that people start young in learning to love God’s Word and spending time each day alone with Him.  We must encourage growth and we need to be consistent with our message and in helping those coming up after us in developing discipline and spiritual wisdom.

We love our kids, we provide for them and care for them the best that we know how.  And we assume that because biological growth comes naturally that spiritual growth will also.  This is not the case (far from it) and we would do well to spend as much time encouraging spiritual growth in our kids as we do caring for their earthly needs.  If we don’t do this then we are doing a disservice to our children and we are going to be called into judgement over it one day as we stand before the Lord.  Our responsibility is a serious one and it’s time we started making it a priority.

2.  Be humble:  Humility is not often modeled in our society, especially by the athletes and stars that our kids view as role models.  The Bible says “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)  Not only do we need to teach our kids what the Bible says about humility, we need to model it in our own lives and in our interactions with others.  We stress personal accomplishments, team sports, high grades and the uniqueness of the individual but what if we spent just as much time stressing meekness and humility as character traits in our kids?  What kind of change would that make in the world of tomorrow?

3.  Find and develop your gifts:  We are in a unique position to see our kids grow and to get to know the people that God is making them to be.  We should be helping them identify their gifts and talents and then encouraging them to use them for the Lord.  If we teach our kids to love to serve the Lord with gladness while using their gifts and abilities then we will leave a legacy of workers who are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and understand the importance of a unified body of Christ working together.  God richly blesses those who joyfully serve him and the sooner our kids discover this the richer and fuller that their lives will be.

4.  Life is not about having fun:  Despite what the world tells us and the constant bombardment on television for toys and games that appeal to our kids, we were not put on this planet simply to play and have fun.  For many of us, this is a tough message but the sooner we learn it, the better off we will be.  We need to instill a strong work ethic in our kids and students and teach them how to study and be wise with their time and talents.  With the advent of smart phones and the rise of the technology age our kids have more distractions and more games to play than any generation that came before them.  Unless we teach them the value and the pleasure of working hard then we are robbing them of their full potential.

5.  Pray without ceasing:  Prayer for the Christian should be as natural as breathing.  This takes time to develop and is not something that will occur without training, instruction and more importantly, example.  The best way to teach a strong prayer life is to have and live a strong prayer life.  Yes, we need to pray in our prayer closets and in our quiet times but if we are in a position to teach and instruct young people then we also need  to pray boldly and unashamedly in front of them.  We need to tell them to be honest before God and to take everything to Him.  A Christian with a strong prayer life is a Christian that is experiencing a vital life of faith and that is something that we all need.

My people are destroyed (perish) for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)  We teach and instruct because if we don’t our students become easy prey for the evil one and are prone to all kinds of heartache and error.  We teach and instruct to keep our kids close to the Lord and to provide them with the tools they need to grow and flourish as men and women of faith.  It is our responsibility and we must take it seriously if we are to raise the next generation up to be strong for the Lord.

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