Encouragment

I mother very young children. There is a lot of this going on in my house:

"no!"

"ahh! don't do that!"

"obey or else!"

And other things to that effect. I think you know what I mean. Discipline sessions involve Scripture. Daily family time includes Scripture. I haven't really thought much about using Scripture to encourage. Encouraging times are outweighed by teaching times most days around here. Teaching times are good, as these three little hearts are young and tender. But I want to make sure I pepper the teaching with enough sweetness to keep us all going strong.

And at Bible Study this week, our "Home Training Lesson" was on Commending Spiritual Attributes. Can't we all use a little commendation now and again? Obviously, not too much. Not in a falsely flattering kind of way. But in a real, truthful, godly kind of way.

So here is what I will be trying to think about more during our days together. I want to "seek to encourage the development of worthwhile and eternal qualities in each child" I am entrusted with.

FORGIVENESS: (Matthew 6:14-15)

SELF-CONTROL: (Proverbs 25:28)

TRUSTWORTHINESS: (1 Timothy 3:11)

FAIRNESS: (Colossians 4:1)

PRUDENCE: (Proverbs 12:23)

OBEDIENCE: (2 John 1:6)

KINDNESS: (Galatians 5:22)

GENTLENESS: (Colossians 3:12)

PATIENCE: (Hebrews 6:12)

THANKFULNESS: (Colossians 4:2)

TRUTHFULNESS: (Proverbs 12:22)

DILIGENCE: (Hebrews 6:10-12)

FAITHFULNESS: (2 Peter 1:5-7)

ORDERLINESS (Colossians 2:5)

GENEROSITY: (Psalm 112:5)

LOVE: (Matthew 5:43-48)

LOYALTY: (Isaiah 26:3)

Do you have any others to share?

I am fully aware of what God hates. He tells me in His Word:

¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil.

Yet I persist in my haughty eyes. I persist in the other sins too, but my haughtiness is what God has been convicting me of lately.

Why is it that I so often think I Would Never? I think How Could They? I think I'm So Glad I. And I can only imagine what my God is thinking as I have those thoughts.

Yuck. To realize that I have had yet another conversation where I have been talking about or listening to how others fall short makes me frustrated with my deceitful and desperately wicked heart.

That fall is going to hurt.


But that is the sin, and here is the hope: Christ shed His blood for that sin, and all of my other sins. God is so good to convict me through the Spirit, and He is faithful and merciful to distance me from that sin, as far as the East is from the West. As I learned at a recent retreat, sin is not just saying, "I'm sorry"... it is saying, "I'm through.". That is much easier said than done, but I surely cannot do it on my own power. Let's hear it for grace!

It was this passage that God used to convict me this morning:

²⁵And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

If I am harboring even a little bit of bitterness, I have to confess it before the Lord can forgive me of that bitterness. OK, I think I got it.

It's Thursday. I like Thursdays.

A Stolen Quiet Moment

¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love. Ps. 147:10-11

I'm a bit tired. Beau came home from his Bible Study last night and said, "Wow, I've never seen you all talked out before". I wanted to talk to him, but I was just too exhausted.

"What do you want to talk about?" is the favorite question around the house these days. Jackson asks me this, and then says, "You talk, I'll listen" (little sneak reversed it on me!) So by 9 pm, I really am all talked out.

Roman is sleeping well at night, but even a solid 6 or 7 hours of sleep doesn't seem to recharge me as it used to. However, there is light in sight. Once we switch to a 4-hour nursing schedule in two weeks, I'm sure my old energy will return. I can't believe he is almost 4 months old! He is the sweetest, chubbiest, happiest little darling that a mommy could ask for. I told a girlfriend a few weeks ago that the more children I have, the happier I am at home. The Lord is faithful in that way.

The above Scripture is helping me get through the days. I don't have to be super-strong. Christ is that for me. I just have to serve my God in fear and humility and teach my children to do the same. My God is so big, so strong and so mighty- there's nothing my God cannot do!

Light & Truth

What is your moral compass and where did you get it? How do I know right from wrong, good from evil - or are those even legitimate categories? The prevailing current wisdom of popular philosophy subscribes to Postmodern thought; which would have me choose to believe (notice the word believe) that there is no absolute truth, and that all truth is subjective to ones experiences. While there is an element of truth in this idea (as there always is an element of truth in the most believable lies) this is a ridiculous claim, which is obviously hypocritical in nature, and easily refuted. After all, if my heart stops beating, I will obviously die; if I close my eyes, I cannot see; etc. The element of truth in the idea of postmodernism is simply the observation that there will always be many different perspectives; and where postmodernism falls short is in its blindness to the truth which bias perspectives can often hide or camoflage. Nevertheless, the conclusion of postmodernism is very troubleing as well: if there is no absolute/objective truth, then society is doomed to deteriorate into a culture ruled by the lowest common denominator.

Thankfully there is hope. In God's Word, the Holy Bible, He gives us not only commandments and decrees for how to live a holy and righteous life, but an instrument and tool for guidance, understanding, refining, and encouragement. Wether one is a believer in Christ or an unbeliever, all can confess that the law of right and wrong, the "natural law" if you will, is written on our hearts. We know it is wrong to murder, to lie, and to steal, without needing to be told. My favorite passage in the Bible discussing the reality of God, the natural law, the revelation of God's existence through His creation, and manking's present state of rebellion to the law, can be found in Romans 1:16-2:29. I especially like the puritan writer Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage. To view it click here.

I was re-reading the second book within Mere Christianity by CS Lewis last night. I read Mere Christianity for the first time a few years ago and have re-read bits and pieces of it many times since. You can get the book at any online bookstore, or follow this link to one I would recommend. Within the first chapter of Book two, titled "The Rival Conceptions of God", Lewis makes this statement: "A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line... just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning." For all Christians the Word of God is our straight line, the light which illuminates our hearts both revealing our selfishness and guiding us towards righteousness.

In God's Word, specficially the epistle written to the Hebrews, chapter 4 verse 12 we find, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." For a full examination of this text and commentaries from Spurgeon, MacArthur, and Piper, please follow this link.

The reason for utilizing Hebrews 4:12 here is simply to point out how God's written Word interacts with us as His creation. What does it mean that God's Word is living and active? It means that God's Word, like a living person, is proactive. But how is it proactive? When read, the Word proactively acts to convict the soul of sin, and encourage the heart to hold steadfast to truth. The Holy Spirit works through and within the Word to reveal the root sin to the sinner, the truth of a matter to the saint seeking understanding.

Psalm 119:105 says,"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." At the risk of sounding postmodern, I can definitely say that this has been true in the experiences which Jennifer and I have shared. It is our hope and prayer that anyone who comes across this blog will open God's Word, read it closely, examine their hearts, and be encouraged to pursue a close relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

By His grace, btw