Four Daughters and Eight Years, AMEN!

Wow, have things been crazy; four girls...FOUR!

My wife has it worse than me though. I go to work everyday and then she has to manage the house and all four girls by herself until I return (not that I'm all that helpful when I return...but I do try). Of course, God is the center of our marriage/family, but without my wife I'm not sure I'd be able to say that. She is truly my "helpmate" in all things. I love her so much.

Coincidentally, today is our 8th anniversary. It's been the hardest and most rewarding eight years of my entire life. Even when things were at their worst, we still emerged knowing we are blessed.

I can't help but pray that everyone knows the love that I know, and hopefully, somewhere in the world...four godly men are in the making...and if these girls grow up to be like their mother, boy are those four godly men going to be blessed.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Fatherhood

We just had a baby girl. She is absolutely beautiful. When I look at her I see a blessing. I am overjoyed at being a dad. Sometimes I get a little concerned about raising a girl in the world today (lots of crazy worldly values out there…not to mention the predators and exploiters), but then I remember God’s guidance about worrying. There’s more than enough to concern myself with today without worrying about tomorrow. Today I will raise my girls up to know God, and I will have faith that He will be with them tomorrow.

Leadership

I am the head of my household. God said so. So, my wife and I submit to God and play by His rules…as best we can.

I didn’t always agree with God on this issue. I believed the role of the head of the household was to be shared/shouldered equally by both my wife and me. To my surprise, my wife set me straight on this issue.

She told me, “There cannot be two Captains of the same ship.” It does not serve to have two Captains, but one Captain and one First Officer is a proven formula.

I know what some folks are probably asking: “Why not make her Captain?” Refer to the opening statement referencing our submission to God…then read the Bible.

As Captain of the USS Marriage, I first trust in my God, then I work with and rely on my First Officer, and I pledge my very life to the wellbeing of the ship, the crew, and any personnel we pick up along the way (that’s children for the slow readers). My First Officer pledges to first trust in God and to follow and support my leadership for the wellbeing of the ship, the crew, and any personnel we pick up along the way.

It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of trust from both of us, and there is no room for either of us to doubt the commitment or effort of the other.

What Is A Christian? (Part II)

In “Part I,” we succinctly covered what a Christian is: a person who is reconciled to God by grace alone. In this installment we will cover what a Christian isn’t.

Generally, two parts must be considered with regards to what a Christian is: God’s part (grace), man’s part (faith). Often a third part comes into play: man’s actions (works). We often get really hung up on man’s actions or behavior. We see with our eyes what man does (works) and we jump to conclusions about …some might say “we judge”…what is or isn’t in his heart (faith). Here’s where we segue over to what a Christian isn’t.

First, there are two versions of this question: what is not a Christian; what is a Christian not? The former is answered when we examine our findings from part I; a person who is not reconciled to God by grace alone. Simple. The answer to the latter is not so simple. Similar to the issue of what a Christian is, it breaks down into God’s part and man’s part, but gets hung up on man’s works.

Why do we get so hung up on works? Why are we always trying to label behavior as Christian or non-Christian? We see with our eyes man’s works, and we judge his heart…his faith. We are not to judge. We are not Judge.

Notice, I did not say “Christians are not judge.” “We” throughout the paragraph above refers to all of mankind: God is the judge of us all (even those who don’t believe He is). God loves us all equally and will judge us all wisely, justly, and perfectly by the same standard according to His grace. If a person is reconciled to God by grace alone, they will freely submit their life to His holy judgment and in the time of judgment when all of mankind will submit (for He is God), they will be saved; that person is a Christian.

Only God can see past the works and into the heart; God knows…and only God knows. Maybe that’s why the real answers to questions about Christians come from God, and they reveal more about God than man.

May the Lord reveal more of His holiness to me and through me; for His glory. Amen.

Honor Thy Father and Mother

My mother very recently and very suddenly passed away, and I found myself asking a very important question: Did I honor my mother?

I didn't throw any parades for her or tout her parenting skills to all my friends. I disobeyed her on occasion, and I’m sure I’ve done plenty of things she would be ashamed of. If she was a scholar, it might be easy to honor her, but what if she was just ordinary? What if she was a drug lord or crime boss, then what?

If we use the worldly definition of “honor” (to lift up or make proud), we could find ourselves subject to our parents’ fickle and/or sinful standards. We could end up celebrating or adopting sin in an attempt to honor our parents; for instance lying about or hiding our parents’ destructive behavior, or serving other gods as we seek power, prestige, fame, or fortune in order to make our parents proud.

“Honor thy father and mother” is a commandment of God, and it must be taken in the context of God. God does want us to heed our parents and make them proud…by adhering to His word according to the teachings of our parents.

Ephesians 6:1-4 spells it out plainly: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord..”

So, parents are called to raise their children according to the word of God, so that their children can grow up and honor their parents through a love for God as He intended.


Bless her and keep her Lord in all your grace and mercy; may I honor her faithfully as long as I draw breath.


Mom
April 22, 1953 – June 11, 2007

Less Self Equals Selfless

It's about as hard to post to this blog as it is to read my Bible. I have so many other things I'd rather do. Don't get me wrong, I really want to grow my faith and my life in a manner that glorifies the Lord, and I want this blog to grow and to help spread that glory, but I am so weak.

Reading the Bible and posting to the blog both seem really, really simple. I constantly ask myself, "How hard can it be?" It's easy to play video games. It's easy to pursue a degree. It's easy to manage my career? Why is it so hard to read my Bible?

Reading my Bible serves something greater than me. Posting to this blog serves something greater than me. My video games, my degree, my career, and even my fitness often serve only me. It's much easier and seemingly more rewarding to serve myself.

Also, I don't need help serving myself, but without support it's near impossible to keep plugging selflessly along. If I don't have support, I am much more likely to fall into the easier, more self oriented pursuits.

So, it's not hard to read my Bible or post to the blog, but when left to my own devices it is hard to put my self on the back burner. Sometimes, I can be so selfish.

Virginia Tech

After the shooting at VT, we went to Bible study at our little church, and a young man joined us as we began to get into the Word. As the pastor went through the Word, the young man rocked and prayed, seemingly oblivious to the pastor’s words. His lips moved as he prayed, pausing only to kiss the beaded cross that hung at his neck. Then, his growing agitation couldn’t be contained any longer and he stood up and began perusing the reading material on the table near the door before finally interrupting the study.

He read to us from a label peeled from a sports drink. He seemed to think the label contained possibly some enlightenment and a definite humor which he laughed at; we didn’t. He went on to later indicate that he was spreading the word “the right way,” and he didn’t even need his Bible to do it. When our pastor asked him if he would like us to pray for him, he said yes, and after we prayed, he thanked us and left.

As I indicated in previous posts, I grew up in the city. I make it a point to analyze potentially dangerous situations and plan for the worst. I sized the young man up from the moment he came through the door, and I never took my eyes off his hands. I took into account his size, the distance between us, the obstacles between us, his potential awareness of my presence, and all manner of attack and defense scenarios. I set and prioritized my goals, identified potential weapons and strategies, and even shifted my weight and positioned my feet for efficient and expeditious response.

I was so ashamed, but I couldn’t stop myself. I missed almost the entire study, because I was so focused on the “intruder.” As I chastised my complete lack of…grace or love…I caught one point in the study: our effort is not requisite for the fulfillment of the will of God. I watched the unstable young man diligently as I wrestled with God’s will versus my desire. I desired for my family and I to live through the study (if this guy intended to do harm). Was that God’s will? Had I bothered to inquire of God about it? Then came the time to pray for our guest...

That’s when it hit me the hardest. I am supposed to put God’s will ahead of my own, even at my own physical peril. Nothing I could do, no amount of planning or effort, could take from or add to the will of the almighty God. So, I closed my eyes and asked for God’s forgiveness and prayed for that young man’s soul while trusting God with mine, according to His perfect and divine will.

Amen.