Monthly Archives: December 2018

Alternate Choices

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I grew up in the typical worldly home, and that was topped off by my parents getting a divorce. I was the average lazy teenager. I spent my time in the most fun way. That was my life until after the Air Force, two years of college, and one year of marriage. Then the Lord saved Teri and me. Our world changed. Hallelujah!

Teri and I surrendered our lives and home to the Lord and grew in Him. Life was refreshing. Raising our children, we made some nontraditional choices in how we, as a family and as individuals, spent our time. We felt Scripture taught us that our time was precious and to be used in edifying ways.

There was some risk with these decisions as we raised our children in our understanding of the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It was possible as adults they might have said they wished for sports and lots of entertainment like other kids.

Imagine my joy this week to hear one of my sons, almost 30 years old, say, “I’m glad that I am not a sports fan. I would much rather spend time with my wife and children. I also doubt I would be where I am at with my business.”

Dad’s, I encourage you to pursue the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

Steve

Have You Told Them?

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Are you saved? Do you know that you know (1 John 2:3) you are saved and will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus? I hope so. Does your family know you are a child of the King? Is it assumed, or have you told them your salvation experience? When is the last time you told them in detail about when you were saved? Do they know your account so well they can tell it back to you? Okay, why should that matter?

Next week we celebrate Christmas. What makes Christmas worthy of great celebration is that God sent His Son Jesus, God in Man, to this world to redeem us. What makes it real is when Dad and Mom tell the children how Jesus Christ changed them—what their life was before Christ and following. May there be no doubt in the children’s minds that Jesus Christ is real and changes lives.    

“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done” (Psalms 78:4).

Steve

Lying

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I’ve yet to meet anyone who likes being lied to. How do you feel about being lied to? What if someone close to you lied to you? Do you ever lie? Do you ever lie to someone close to you?

If you answered “yes” to lying, shouldn’t that sin be dealt with immediately?

Let’s assume your answer was “no,” you don’t lie. Let me ask you another question. Do you ever lie to yourself? No? When was the last time you said you were going to do something but didn’t do it? Even if you didn’t tell anyone else, wasn’t that a commitment to yourself?

If we excuse ourselves from keeping commitments, then it will be easy to excuse ourselves (lie) to others too. May we be men of integrity.

“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9,10).

Steve

My Favorite Question

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For those who have worked for someone who consistently made poor decisions, you understand how demoralizing poor decisions can be for those who must live with the results. Frankly, quite often Teri and my hearts go out to wives whose husbands would resemble that employer just mentioned. At least with a job, you can look for another one, but that isn’t God’s plan for marriage. (God hates divorce. Malachi 2:16)

Listening to dads share decisions they made and the corresponding fruit they are harvesting often prompts me to ask my favorite question. “So Brother, how’s that working for you?”

It is good to step back and consider the fruit resulting from a previous decision and perhaps re-evaluate. “But wisdom is justified of all her children” (Luke 7:35). Over time the fruit will prove the decision.

Evaluate those situations. How did you get there? What might have been your motives in making the decision? Were you just trying to “make the pain go away” or earnestly seeking the Lord’s will, no matter what the personal cost?

“Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:21).

Steve

Christmas Joy or Christmas Failure?

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It seems that most moms enjoy Christmas, looking forward to the focus on Christ, giving, and family time. It can be a delightful, sweet season. There is something that can happen, though, in the midst of the joy of Christmas that might certainly dampen it.

Have you ever been decorating for Christmas and become irritated with your children’s interruptions, or if they were helping, critical of how they did something? Perhaps you are out Christmas shopping with the children and they begin bickering in the back seat. Your voice belts out a rebuke much louder than you wanted since you are feeling hungry and tired yourself. Those are situations I sometimes experienced, and I didn’t like my responses.

The Lord would convict me after those situations, and I wondered if there was hypocrisy in my heart. I questioned being busy preparing for celebrating of the Savior’s birth, heralding peace on earth and good will toward men while my own children received my irritation, impatience, and criticism.

Can we even avoid these undesirable reactions? If so, how?

In the Word

When you become busier with Christmas do you go to bed later, get up later, and skip your time with the Lord in the Word? Or if it is scheduled for another time of the day, you miss it for various other reasons. Would the Lord Jesus think that was a good trade? We need that spiritual nourishment as much when we don’t think we have time for it and most likely even more. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

On Your Knees

What if you were to ask the Lord to keep you from reacting negatively in your Christmas preparations and celebrations? What if you were to ask Him to replace every thought that leads to a negative emotion with a thought of gratitude, praise, or worship? What if that were your daily and even hourly prayer?

What if when you are in situations you know you have reacted to in the past, you prayed for His strength and mercy to allow you to avoid those ungodly attitudes and give you the fruit of the Spirit? “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Letting Go

What if you were to let go of any expectations you might have for how things would go over Christmas and when they would happen? Could it be that a perfectionistic mindset puts pressure on you that everything must be just so? Does God put that pressure on you? What do you think matters more to Him—your sweet spirit or when, what, and how those Christmas preparations and celebrations are accomplished? “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

If you proactively anticipate the emotional pitfalls of the Christmas season, you have the opportunity to proactively avoid them with God’s help. Time in God’s Word, prayer, and resisting perfectionism were keys for me in that battle. I hope they could be for you as well. May we be women with sweet spirits this Christmas contributing to its joy for our families.

Here is a link to a practical article from a few years ago on de-stressing Christmas that goes nicely with this article.