Thought you would enjoy my husband’s exhortation over on his blog this morning.
Archive for the 'Practical Christian Living' Category
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The disciples had questions about forgiveness, just like we do. Sure, we can understand the need to forgive someone once, especially if they repent and seek our forgiveness. But what about the person (say, a family member) who just keeps on doing the same thing over and over and then over and over again? And what if they know they’re sinning, but they still do it? What about them? Where do we draw the line and say, “That’s it! I’m done forgiving you! I’m just going to get bitter now.”
It’s worth noting that it is usually those closest to us (i.e. family members) who can bother us the most. And they are the very people with whom we should have the sweetest fellowship. There are two sins involved in this (at least). One is the sin of the offender; and the other is the sin of the one who takes offense. Taking offense and keeping it is like taking ugly pills. Ever seen the face of a long embittered woman?
This whole forgiveness thing must have seemed a little outlandish to Peter. He wanted to know just how many times he had Continue reading ’70 x 7′
We all know we are supposed to forgive one another. That is not a new, shocking idea that I cooked up this morning while having my coffee. It is fundamental to the Christian life. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
Let’s say someone has wronged you, and it’s not your imagination; it’s an objective sin. It is easy to put that grievance in a compartment somewhere in your heart and keep it there. For years and years. After all, it was a real sin and it’s easy to feel totally justified in being indignant. It could be one of your family members, or someone at work or at church; it could be the neighbor who cussed you out for parking funny, or it could be one of your own children who didn’t sin at all, but just woke up too early this morning. We can gather up grudges from all kinds of places, for real or imagined sins.
But Jesus wants us to think about this a different way. Upside down in fact. Do we want God to put our wrongs in a compartment where He can review them regularly and hold a grievance against us? Aaaackk. No! We want Him to put them Continue reading ‘Forgiveness’
Christians are sometimes suspicious of success. We are far better at failure. We can be “spiritual” about our own failures, but we can feel guilty when God blesses us with success. We can even process it pretty well when someone works hard and nearly succeeds. But when a fellow Christian really succeeds, many Christians start to get a worried expression. Some feel the need to express the warning, “Be sure this doesn’t go to your head.” Others may assume immediately that the person must have already compromised the faith simply because of the success.
Some Puritans had the view that if you were not being afflicted, God must not love you. Some even prayed for affliction because they felt left out. I know that’s hard to believe! But it seems so spiritual. So sometimes our natural instinct is to assume success and blessing must be the result of some compromise. Continue reading ‘Dealing With Success’
Christians of all people should love words. God created language and speaks to us on the pages of Scripture. Jesus is the Word and spoke all things into existence. The Bible is overflowing with teaching (using words) on many subjects, including how we should use our words. Proverbs alone has plenty of discussion on the trajectory of words.
Journal-keeping can be a positive way to use words if the journal-keeper is wise. I think I learned this from my son: writing is a little like cooking. Don’t overcook it. Don’t serve it raw. Add the right seasonings. Make it beautiful to behold. And hope your readers enjoy your cooking. Words are not neutral or unimportant to God. He hears, He reads, even our thoughts. He sees and reads our writing. Does it please Him?
Consider this handful of Proverbs that teach us the benefits of a wise tongue: “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life” (Prov. 10:11); “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver” (Prov. 10:20); “The lips of the righteous feed many” (Prov. 10:21); “The lips of knowledge are a precious jewel” (Prov. 20:15); “A word spoken in due season, how good it is!” (Prov. 15:23); “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge” (Prov. 15:7). A good journal is nourishing to the reader and the writer. 
As you may have guessed, many of those quotations above are just half of the proverb. I haven’t done a count, but I am guessing there are more Proverbs dealing with the negative nature of the tongue. Here are a few to prove my point: “The mouth of a fool is near destruction” (Prov. 10:14); “The mouth of fools feeds on foolishness” (Prov. 15:14); “In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Prov. 10:19); “He who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (Prov. 13:3). Careless words, written and spoken, are destructive. Loose lips sink ships. Continue reading ‘Journal Keeping, Part 2′
Over the past decade or two, journal-keeping has been viewed in some quarters as a spiritual exercise, right up there with Bible reading and prayer. I realize that keeping a journal can be very positive, just like gardening or exercise or baking cookies, but it is not a spiritual duty or the key to super-spirituality. In fact, it may very well be a snare.
Let’s consider the subject of journal-keeping first. If a person is writing about the birds they are observing or recording the weather patterns or tracking the garden blooms or listing all the books they have read and what they thought of them, then hats off to them and their journals. If a mom is recording all the funny things that her kids do or say each day, all to bless them when they grow up, well done. I have no beef with that. If a person wants to be a writer and commits to writing a stimulating piece each day to hone her writing skills, kudos! All of that kind of journal-keeping is as good as bee-keeping, which is very good indeed.
However, some folks have a different bent when it comes to their journal. They view it more like a diary, a place to vent, a means of uncorking or brewing over things and introspecting. They write down their inmost thoughts, desires, temptations, Continue reading ‘Journal-Keeping’
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