Monthly Archives: November 2011
Am I Really Thankful?
This past Sunday, our pastor taught on contentment from Psalm 131. I have been thinking about it ever since. One statement he made has particularly remained with me. He said that if we are not satisfied in God alone, we will not find contentment in anything else. I think I am paraphrasing a bit, but this was the general idea. The question I have been asking myself ever since is “Am I satisfied in God alone?” And if not, why? When we moved back to St. Louis over 20 years ago, we had virtually nothing. We pulled up to my parents’ house with about $5 in our checking account and very little possessions. The next several years were pretty lean, as I worked seasonal and temporary jobs. As the years went on, I found more consistent employment and our financial situation became less erratic and more secure. However, as the years have progressed and God has provided for us a family, I have not found that I have become more content. When we were poorer, I was actually more content. One of the reasons is because I think I trusted God more when we had less. I had nowhere else to put my trust. I certainly could not put in my ability to make money! In addition, my satisfaction was found more in God than it was in other things. I think this is partly because I knew most things were completely out of my reach then. Now, they are … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Living, Contentment, Faith, Thankfulness, Trust
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Talking My Ears Off
When our son, Caleb, was very young, his speech was slow in developing. This is often common, among other delays and issues, for someone with Down Syndrome. But we used to wonder when he would be able to talk and carry on a conversation. Well, those days are long gone. Caleb is definitely a talker. One day, when I called my wife at home, I could hear Caleb, in the background, continuing to talk away, even though we were on the phone. So, I asked my wife to give him the phone. I told him, “Now, I don’t want you to be talking your Mom’s ears off all day. You have to give her a break sometimes.” He replied, “Okay Dad. I know. I will talk my own ears off.” This was, of course, a classic example of what our family has come to call “Calebisms.” (For more “Calebisms,” see The World According to Caleb.) As my wife and I were talking later, she mentioned that it is a good thing that God never tells us to stop talking His ears off. What a great point. Can you imagine? What if God had a limit to what we could say to Him every day? What if He limited us on when we could talk to Him and for how long? I think that one of the reasons that Caleb talks so much is because he does not have the filters that many of us have learned to put in place … Continue reading
Posted in Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Patience, Prayer
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The Resume of Jesus
“To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1). I was recently asked to write a letter of recommendation for someone who was applying for a job. This person is gifted and hard-working, so it should not be that difficult of a task. But as I thought about it, my mind turned in another direction. What if I was required to have a letter of recommendation to present to God? What would I want it to say? What could I have it say that would have any impact on God? God is holy and His standard is perfection. In Scripture, the standard response to being in the presence of God was one of being overwhelmed. The prophet Isaiah, when seeing a vision of the Lord, cried “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). Not only is God holy, but He calls His people to be holy (1 Peter 1:14-16). This is a very high standard, and it is one that we cannot accomplish on our own. We have no qualifications to stand before God. The Lord has made it clear that no one, in their own righteousness or goodness, can stand before God. All of us have sinned and fallen short … Continue reading
Posted in Atonement, Christian Living, Faith, Good Works, Righteousness
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