“Daddy’s home!” — a distant echo from a time when my children were overjoyed to see me come home after a long day at the office. They were young then and, like their mom, no doubt happy to have someone different to interact with for a while.
I miss that time. Dragging my kids, one on each leg, another around my waist, another on my back, until we all fell to the ground. Yes sir! Dad’s coming home was special — for all of us.
When Daddy Comes Home «
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Respect for the Office of President-Even in Policy Disagreement
History was made as President Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States. No matter where you stand in support of him or his political agenda, the fact that our country voted in an African-American president is historic. I am resolved to pray for this president and to not do what so many did to former President George Bush...bash him. I sense that the way we can best refute the media-led portrayal of Christians as "right wing nut cases" is to not act as they acted. Regardless of how we believed President Bush responded in his duty as President, he was not afforded the same sense of respect that the nation is giving to President Obama.
Lest this become a political column, I simply wanted to make a statement that I plan on responding in support of the office and give President Obama the respect that I had prayed President Bush would receive. Additionally, I pray that a majority of Hollywood and those in the media wouldn't incite the populace toward hatred as they did during President Bush's administration. Prayer will be uttered that President Obama would stand for life and a moral stance that people are more important than money, as President Bush did. My conviction in all of this is that the name of Jesus Christ is lifted high and our actions as followers is a fragrant aroma to an ever increasing hostility to Christianity. We may disagree and even fight against decisions made by President Obama but I pray that in it all we remember who we really serve, at least those who call themselves Christ-followers.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
When Pondering and Planning Meet
From a guest writer, friend of mine, Steve:
The chapter readings for today were Acts 2 and Psalm 111. The key verse for me that linked them together was Psalm 111.2, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”
What does it mean to “ponder the works of the Lord”? Obviously, to think about them, to consider their importance, just as Mary “pondered all these things in her heart” regarding the foretold birth of Christ.
Do we truly ponder the works of the Lord in our lives? How often do we kneel before the creator of the universe and consider how He is working in our lives? If I were to be brutally honest, the answer is rarely. Applying the remainder of verse 2, that means in practical terms that I don’t delight in His works in my life. I do not rejoice in how God moves daily in the mundane moments of my life, because I rarely consider how He does that, or even that he does at all. Instead, I reckon those moments that do occasionally capture my attention as either chance or the success of my own endeavor. If I am truly a believer, they are neither chance or my own success. They are evidence of His ongoing efforts to work in me and through me to advance the kingdom, despite my lack of fitness to the task.
How does that fit into our life plan[ning] endeavor? As we’ve discussed, this is as much an effort to submit our lives to the leading of the holy spirit and the lordship of Christ as it is an attempt to get organized. By allowing the spirit to provide focus in key, high impact areas of my daily existence, I open my spiritual eyes to God’s continual work in me. By periodically reviewing the results of my response to the spirit’s leading, I provide myself the opportunity to ponder his works, and my cooperation with or disobedience to them. My hope is that I will come to rejoice in how I see Him working, and will see wisdom expand in my life as I come to fear (awe, respect, and revere) him more.
The chapter readings for today were Acts 2 and Psalm 111. The key verse for me that linked them together was Psalm 111.2, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”
What does it mean to “ponder the works of the Lord”? Obviously, to think about them, to consider their importance, just as Mary “pondered all these things in her heart” regarding the foretold birth of Christ.
Do we truly ponder the works of the Lord in our lives? How often do we kneel before the creator of the universe and consider how He is working in our lives? If I were to be brutally honest, the answer is rarely. Applying the remainder of verse 2, that means in practical terms that I don’t delight in His works in my life. I do not rejoice in how God moves daily in the mundane moments of my life, because I rarely consider how He does that, or even that he does at all. Instead, I reckon those moments that do occasionally capture my attention as either chance or the success of my own endeavor. If I am truly a believer, they are neither chance or my own success. They are evidence of His ongoing efforts to work in me and through me to advance the kingdom, despite my lack of fitness to the task.
How does that fit into our life plan[ning] endeavor? As we’ve discussed, this is as much an effort to submit our lives to the leading of the holy spirit and the lordship of Christ as it is an attempt to get organized. By allowing the spirit to provide focus in key, high impact areas of my daily existence, I open my spiritual eyes to God’s continual work in me. By periodically reviewing the results of my response to the spirit’s leading, I provide myself the opportunity to ponder his works, and my cooperation with or disobedience to them. My hope is that I will come to rejoice in how I see Him working, and will see wisdom expand in my life as I come to fear (awe, respect, and revere) him more.
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