Making Connections in Behavior

I am always amazed when I hear people say that they don't read and/or believe the Bible because it has no relevance to their lives. I am constantly reminded that our God is timeless when I open the Word and read through scripture. I have no problem making continuous connections to my own life.

One of the most explicit examples of this connection is in Galatians where Paul is telling us that we need to live by the Spirit. He doesn't just leave it there but gives us very specific examples of what to do AND what not to do.

Galatians 5:16-26 - NIV (http://www.biblegateway.com)

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Each of the things listed as fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) are things that are involved in our daily lives. I find the line following the list incredibly relevant, "Against such things there is no law." This is completely true of our government today. Our justice system is set up to protect and promote these fruit.

Paul also gives us a specific list of the things that will keep us away from God and therefore come between ourselves and heaven. He lists: "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like." Although there are not laws against all of these things, they are seen as incorrect and bad in our society today. Impurity and debauchery (corruption) are thing that are running rampant. I find it interesting that dissensions and factions are on this list. I had never thought about the back-stabbing and clicks that form in our adolescence and sadly, sometimes in adulthood as being something that is listed as bad in the Bible. But there they are. Jealousy and selfishness are things that every person can work on.

I could spend months discussing the relevance of each of the things (good and bad) listed in this tiny passage out of The New Testament to the lives of Christians today. Whether you are someone who feels that reading the Bible is irrelevant to your life or someone who believes in the power of the Word I challenge you to spend a little time this week with this passage.

Are you gathering fruit? Building walls between you and God?

What good things to concentrate on each day.

Give it Up to God!!

Sitting in church a couple weeks ago I noticed in the announcements that the women's reading group/Bible study that I used to attend was starting a new book. It just so happens that due to some unexpected changes in my schedule that my schedule is newly free at the time that they meet. God shook me that day in church and I knew that I needed to go fellowship with these Christian women that I miss spending time with, even though my brain said, "You don't have time to add another thing."

I knew I would have a great time but what I didn't know was that it was the book that I needed to see just as much as the ladies.

The book we are studying is, "The Chosen Path of the Beatitudes" by Cliff Hulling. The book starts out with an introduction discussing that the beatitudes are not only a great list of guidelines for us to follow but a linear process that we should do in order. I had never thought about this before.

Before we start with the first, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), the author spends a couple chapters discussing things that can stand in the way to Christ and take our minds from where they need to be. So far we have only covered: love of the world, following bad Christian examples, and pride.

Each of these chapters has given me things to think about changing or praying about. It has also given me some fulfillment in knowing that even though I feel far away from God some days that He is with me and helping me to stand firm in my Christian life. I have only been back in this group two weeks and I know exactly why I was God-grabbed and lead to this book.

The whole moral of the story is to listen to God. He speaks when we are expecting it and more often when we are not. He leads us where we need to go even when we think we were supposed to be going in the other direction. Whether you feel certain or unsure, daily give up your life to our creator who sent his perfect sacrifice to save our souls. He will take you where you were meant to go.

Have a great day!

Nitty Gritty Bible Study by Mark Moore

I began teaching the high school sunday school class at our church at the beginning of this month. They were studying Acts, which is a book that I really like, so I decicded to continue this study.

A friend of mine turned me onto an excellent professor at Ozark Christian College, Mark Moore, who has posted his lectures online (www.markmoore.org) and he has a course on Acts. Mr. Moore has so much knowledge, including interpretations of the original greek words, his lectures are incredibly interesting.

I was afraid that the high schoolers in my class would not want to listen to a college course for their sunday school lessons. Not only do they enjoy listening, they voted to start at the beginning of the study instead of picking up at chapter 8 where the teacher before me had left off. We are really enjoying this lecture series and each week I am amazed at the level of knowledge Mr. Moore has on his subject area. He makes studying the Bible fun even at a nitty gritty level. Often he will spend many minutes on one passage or even one word in the book. He goes to great length to discuss how we can be certain that Luke is the author of both Luke and Acts. Also, Moore stresses that the importance of studying this book for Americans is huge because it is the book that concerns salvation for Gentiles which most of us are.

If you have a chance, download some of these MP3 files from www.markmoore.org under resources and enjoy learning the Bible in a really in depth unique way.

Find a church that fits!

For a couple years right after our daughter was born my husband and I quit going to church. My hometown church, from when I was little, had disbanded and the church that I tried next was not inviting or good for my spirit.

I knew that I would not settle for a church that didn't feel like a family, the way that the one I grew up in did. Also, it is really easy to get into the habit of sleeping in on Sunday mornings. While I was not attending anywhere I could feel the void in my life. My comfortable conversations with God happened less and less. I knew that I was not setting a good example for my husband (who did not grow up in the church)or the children. The Holy Spirit nagged at me and told me every Sunday that I needed a church.

God stepped in and took over in only the important way that He can. He used my best friend, Leah. Leah and I were very close in every aspect of our lives except for religion. She was raised Lutheran and had attended a local church in Des Moines that she and her mother had gone to since Leah was younger. She knew I was a minister's daughter and in fact, my dad had married her and her husband. She called me about the Bible only when she had questions like, "Does it really say this?" One day she recieved a letter from her church telling her that they had cancelled her membership because she had not met her giving pledge for the year. She called me in tears and we talked about how I didn't feel that was a very Christian thing to do and that no, not all churches operated like that. We sort of bonded over our personal definitions of what it means to be a Christian and what one looks for in a church.

I told her how I had been feeling that I needed to get my kids in church because it was weighing heavy on my heart that I was not making that a manditory part of their lives. We decided that we would look for a church together. We tried a few and settled on Franklin Avenue Christian Church in Des Moines. In that church body we found exactly what I was looking for, a family. Leah and I started attending just the two of us and all the kids (together there were 8 of them). Soon, our husbands (who are also best friends) began attending with us and getting involved.

That was over six years ago and now Leah's and my families are completly entrenched in the life at our church. The payoff for getting back in the regular church life is that I have great spiritual people to lean on and learn from, an extended family, prayer warriors who love to pray for me, and very importantly my children are being molded into strong Christian people. My heart almost expolded the other day when my 10 and 11 year old had to write thier definition of what it meant to be smart. They both came up with detailed descriptions of what it means to be wise in the Lord. In this day and age kids of all ages seem to have a sense of entitlement to whatever they want whenever they want it. This flies in the face of Jesus's teachings.

So today my prayer for you is that if you are not regularly attending church that you keep looking until you find one that is a fit for you. Even if you won't do it for yourself, do it for your children!

Making Connections in Differences

I find it easy to get down on myself with thoughts that I am not doing enough or doing things well enough. I have a father who has been a minister and grandparents that were missionaries to Japan for 50 years and somewhat of a legend in their circles. I will sometimes find myself doubting that I made the right decisions in life because I did not follow directly in their footsteps. My path in life led me to find that I have a talent for math and statistics. I have also discovered that I have a passion and a talent for education. I am one of the rare people who get to say that they love their job. Because I enjoy what I do, does not mean that I have made a wrong choice in life. There are passages in the Bible that tell people like me that it is okay to have different talents.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) says:

"There are different kids of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."

I find great comfort in this verse because it quiets the doubt that arises within me sometimes. Self doubt can be paralyzing and can cause us to go backwards or just not go anywhere at all. The Bible shows us that we all have different gifts but if we rely on the one and only Lord we can be glorifying Him in whatever we do.

So, no matter where your talents lie, take Him with you; to the office, the sports team, or the gym. Let God shine through your daily activities. Use your gifts, just make sure that you recognize who they come from!

Traveling, traveling

I usually fly somewhere about once every two years and this last two weeks I spent 11 days away from home. This required 8 take-offs and landings and multiple time changes.

I have an uncle who does this kind of travel on a regular basis and I have a new appreciation for how hard it is to be living on the move. While I was gone and was getting weary I thought of how the apostles must have felt as they traveled across two continents spreading the word of Jesus's sacrifice for us and nurturing new churches.

I was interested to find that in the book of Acts alone the word travel or some form of it appears 15 times. There was a bunch of traveling going on back then and to think that they did it on foot or on animals just blows my mind. It was a lot easier to perservere through my weak times on the road knowing that I had it really easy compared to those who started Christianity that lives on in my time today.

I encourage you to reflect on what is making you weary this week and look for strength in the Word. The Holy Spirit gives me peace when I turn to the right sources for this strength. God is so good1!!

(This is really my post from last week as I am a little behind getting things typed up.)

Cabin Fever in Your Christian Life

At this time in the year (especially after a long hard winter) it is easy to tell that the lack of fresh air is getting to most living things. My plants are all frozen and covered in snow (if they are outside) and droopy and sad-looking if they are inside. My dogs have begun trying to dig holes in the wood floors and have become experts at sighing. My cats meow to go out and then come right back in meowing even more and I am convinced that they are complaining to me about how beautiful the sun looks and how it is just a mirage that it looks warm outside. My children can't go five minutes without arguing with each other and they have started finding outside activities (like basketball) that they try to do indoors. Not to mention the fact that all of the inside activities are getting worn out because there have been so many days, weeks, and months that they have been stranded inside for most of the time. In Iowa we call this cabin fever. Keeping a good attitude in these times every year requires endurance.

This same type of endurance is required in our Christian walk. I am struck by how many times the authors of the New Testament scriptures mention this. In fact, I find it to be the major theme in 2 Timothy. The list goes on and on but I am going to give the ones that keep me moving. Since there are so many I encourage you to jot them down and use them for motivation and meditation as you are working on your own walk with Christ.

Luke 21:19
1 Cor. 10:13
2 Cor. 1:6, 6:4-10
1 Peter 2:20
2 Timothy 2:11-13, 3:10-14, 4:5
2 Thess. 1:4-7
James 1:2-4
Revelation 2:3

Just like finding ways to squash the feeling of cabin fever in my home helps everyone survive long winters, studying the scriptures, learing more about our Lord, and enduring through the hard times with a Christ-like attitude will strengthen us in Christ and make our walk worth while.

This week my favorite verse from above is this:

"Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself."

2 Timothy 2:11-13

Take this little ditty, stick it in your heart and let its words strengthen you and help you stay away from getting cabin fever in your Christian life!!

God Bless