What would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cellphone? Here’s a good read from Focus on the Family.
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Posts Tagged ‘Focus on the Family’
Cell Phones and Bibles
Friday, February 3rd, 2012Has Infidelity Struck Your Marriage?
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011If the stats are correct, then one in three men has had an extra-marital affair. One in four women have fallen into this trap, too. If infidelity has struck your marriage, then you might find this article series helpful as you seek to rebuild your relationship.
On Monday I wrote that I’ll be changing my devotional blog posting schedule here. For the past two years I’ve posted devotional blogs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The schedule change means you’ll see them on Mondays and Fridays from now on. In between, however, I’ll post links to helpful and fun articles and other blogs. I’m also going to figure out how to upload video blogs! Stay tuned to meet me face-to-face here occasionally.
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The Patient Traveler
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009Our kids learned to travel long distances from the time they were babies. Matthew flew halfway around the world twice by the time he was 20 months old; Stephanie made the trip from Nepal to the U.S. when she was only three days old. Kim was born in the States, so she didn’t accumulate frequent flier miles while still in diapers, but she was only 8 months old when she made the first of many road trips from Washington to Alberta to visit her grandparents.
Videos, ipods, and other techno wizardry didn’t exist back then, so our kids kept themselves occupied by listening to Focus on the Family’s Odyssey tapes and reading books galore. On one long trip to southern California, they enjoyed coloring books, water pistols, and bubbles that I’d packed to help pass the time and make it more enjoyable.
Yes, our kids were great travelers, even if they did ask the inevitable: “Are we almost there?” If they’d had a choice, they probably would rather have entered a time warp machine and pressed a button labeled “Instant Arrival.” Instead, they had to learn how to be patient and enjoy the journey until they reached the destination.
Just as we have to learn patience along a physical journey, so we need to learn patience along the journey of life. Sometimes that’s a tough lesson. For instance, we might set our sights on a goal or relationship and then head that direction. We want an “instant arrival,” so we put prayer on hold (ie: “I don’t have time to pray”) and try to take shortcuts, or we speed ahead of the proper process and procedure. What happens? We end up in trouble. I’ve done this myself, and I’ve watched others do it, too.
Becoming a patient traveler on the Highway of Life doesn’t happen overnight. It comes as we learn to trust God’s sovereignty. It comes when we begin to see our circumstances through His eyes and realize that He works on an eternal timetable. It comes as we learn to give our concerns to Him in prayer and then wait for Him to answer in His way.
Psalm 37:34 says, “Don’t be impatient for the LORD to act! Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land…” What does this verse teach us? To set aside our desires for an “instant arrival.” Practice patience. Relax, travel steadily and surely along God’s path for us. Resist the temptation to rush ahead of His timing by taking matters into our own hands. When we do this, we avoid self-inflicted trouble and we experience God’s honor and rewards.
Would you call yourself a patient traveler on the Highway of Life? If not, why not? What troubles have you encountered when you’ve been impatient? What blessings have you enjoyed when you’ve waited for the Lord to act on your behalf?
Journal Entry for April 1-2
Friday, April 10th, 2009I think the attitude with which I read the Bible is forever changed. Over two days, I’ve spent 16 hours participating in “The Truth Project,” produced by Focus on the Family. Our group watched 8 videos on which Del Tackett lectured about Biblical truth as applied to marriage, politics, economics, creation, and more. After each, we split into small groups to discuss what we’d learned and how to apply these insights to our lives.
I was reminded that God is involved in every aspect of our lives and has issued commands for our well-being. I dare not change His commands to fit my whims, nor alter them to suit my circumstances. If I don’t cling to His Word as absolute truth, I’ll run into trouble.
I was challenged not to accept societal norms as “right” just because many people are putting their stamp of approval on them. Here’s an example: society (and the media) says I have the right to be happy. If that means divorcing my husband because I think I’ll be happier in the arms of a different man, then so be it.
God’s Word says otherwise. I’m to remain faithful to my marriage vow until death parts me and my spouse. That might mean enduring very difficult days or weeks or months, or even years. It might mean caring for him if he suffers a crippling injury or illness. It might mean denying my desires for a nice house and financial security so my husband can pursue a job he loves rather than spend most of his waking hours toiling at a task he doesn’t enjoy simply because it pays well.
Statistics show that society approves of divorce. In fact, I read a newspaper article recently that says there are “divorce fairs” in the U.K., designed to help making splitting up easier. But Scripture says that God hates divorce. Is that simply because of the pain inflicted on everyone involved? Not necessarily, although I believe He grieves over it. His hatred for divorce flows from the fact that it goes against His character. He is a God of unity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three separate beings in one. It’s a mystery, I know. He’s designed marriage to reflect that unity, by a man and woman – two separate entities – becoming one flesh. Another mystery. Divorce destroys that unity. It goes against His very character, and that’s what makes it wrong. That’s also why it has such negative effects.
“The Truth Project” contained so much good information that I hope to study it again in the near future. For now, I’ll summarize by saying there’s a cosmic battle going on between good and evil, and its forces are fighting for our souls. The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy, but our Creator God has plans to give us a future and a hope. Those plans were revealed in the person of Jesus Christ who declared Himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life.” When we live life His way, according to His truth, we enjoy intimate relationship with our Creator. What a gift!
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