Books of the Bible - Galloshans!

This week is an important week for my precious 5 year old. This week is the week that she needs to remember the books of the bible so she can achieve her goal in AWANA and get an invite to the Achievement Party. It was suddenly my responsibility to make sure she had it all correct – at least that was what she told me.

So I sat with Cara and her AWANA book – “Matthew, Mark, Luke …” the first group rolled off the tongue relatively quickly, although she did seem to lose Romans a lot of the time. I thought, “There are a number times that I seem to forget Romans too, or at least some of the things it says in it.” We finished that first group and moved to the epistles – a little tricky for a 5 year old, but she is a smart kid and I am confident that she can do it. She steadied herself and began, “Galatians, Ephesians, Philipians, Galloshans…” I paused her for a moment and enquired what that last book was again – “Galloshans! Daddy.”

She was so close, and yet so far away from the truth. I must say that my first thought was that of Dora the Explorer's little buddy, Boots, and maybe he went to the church of Galloshans. Then I had mental images of what the Veggie Tales people would do with the concept of Paul writing a letter to the church of the Galloshans. When I snapped back to my seat at the kitchen table, I realized that the most amusing thing was that she was sure she was right – and she would today believe that Paul wrote to the Galloshans, had I not helped her see the little pen stroke that makes a C into a G wasn’t actually there.

How often do we do the very same things? How often do we believe something, and believe it strongly, only to find out that our understanding is not 100% accurate, and often it is only the smallest of pen strokes, or most innocuous of things that makes all the difference. As I reflected on this incident this morning in my commute, I was struck by how many times we draw a line in the sand and defend a position that is indefensible, if only we saw all of the facts as they were and not as we perceived them. We believe that we are right, yet we have missed one vital detail. There are even times when we have inserted a pen stroke where none existed, we have inserted information where there should not be any. We have taken our understanding of a subject and defend it as strongly as any proven truth. Yet, we are wrong.

What do you do in those times? Is saving face more important than acknowledging our error and our weakness?

What should we do at those times?

Why are those two things different?

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, Words Can Break My Spirit

I know this is not how the famous little saying goes, but recently I have been wondering if the rhyme may be less than accurate. I have been considering the things that we say, and the way that we say them, and the power that is conveyed through our words. 

The bible says in James 3:5-10,

“⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

The tongue is a very powerful weapon, yet how often we choose to carelessly use it, and cause considerable harm in the process. There is a fine line between challenging and chastising. This became tremendously apparent last week when I was preparing dinner at home while Cara and Emma were sitting at the table. Julie had left some things on the table that the girls really didn’t need to be playing with, so I asked them to put them aside and not play with them. The first request went unheeded and so the same request was made a second time. It was at that point that my 5yr old (going on 40) said under her breath, “We were just looking at them”. This is a new phase for her – a new boundary she is learning, but this was one muttered piece of back-chat that pushed the wrong button. I turned on my heel, and using nothing but words reduced my beautiful sweet angel to tears. Through my tone, and my inflection I used the same tongue that earlier had conveyed love, to now chastise. She got the point, but I fear there may be more moments of correction before we are free of this boundary checking.

This incident set me to think that the bible is true (fancy that) and the way that we use our tongues is incredibly powerful. There are times when I stand before the congregation and try my best to issue a challenge, but after listening to the podcast later I question whether I brought more chastisement than challenge. Oh how I wish I had the wisdom to get that one right in real time. One thing I have learned though is that what may come across to one person as a challenge may be considered as chastisement by the person sitting beside them. It is a very fine line to tread.

So how do we learn to tame the only muscle in the human body with one end unattached? I think we can do no more than follow what the Lord has instructed us to do in His word. Psalm 34:13 says, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies” – we need to exercise control. 

When it comes to bringing a challenge, we need to exercise control and only bring that challenge that comes from the Lord, not add our own ideas to what the Lord has given us. I think we step across the line into chastising when we don’t control our words. I pray that as we continue to grow as a body together that we will be patient with one another, holding each other up and being gracious to each other. I pray that as a family together we will use our tongues to edify and not to destroy. When we find ourselves feeling that we have been chastised, then maybe we can show grace and help the speaker understand how we feel, without making them feel the same way. When we feel that we have been challenged, then maybe we can take seriously the challenge that was made and not selectively pick out single words or phrases which we then use to disqualify ourselves from what was said. 

I suppose when it comes to controlling the tongue we need to do everything that we can to keep our speech pure, and maybe we should learn to believe the best from the speaker and trust that even though their ‘challenge’ may have felt more like chastisement, it wasn’t intended to come across that way. Then we can show grace and mercy with our tongue, and edify. 

I know I have a lot more to learn on this, and I hope that as we grow together you will graciously help me in that process.

Its about Prayer, not Beer

Today is St Patrick’s day - a day when the whole world attempts to claim it’s Irish heritage by dressing in green, drinking beer and if you live in America, eating corned beef and cabbage. Sadly, none of these things were actually done or would even be condoned by the Irish saint (especially the corned beef and cabbage thing) whose day this is all in honor of. St Patrick brought the truth of Christianity to the people of Ireland, but only after he has been kidnapped, beaten and sold as a slave before he eventually escaped and following his call from God and traveled to the Emerald Isle with Good News.

The following prayer is attributed to St Patrick and this version is found in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 4, §14, critical note on St. Patrick. Schaff, notes that this Irish hymn is found in the Book of Armagh, and is "called S. Patricii Canticum Scotticum, which Patrick is said to have written when he was about to convert the chief monarch of the island (Laoghaire or Loegaire). The hymn is a prayer for the special aid of Almighty God for so important a work; it contains the principal doctrines of orthodox Christianity ... in a composition intended as a breast-plate or corselet against spiritual foes."

This St Patrick’s day why don’t you take some time to pray this prayer and find out what the real St Patrick was all about.

St Patrick’s Breastplate
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgment Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., traveling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., traveling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

The River Looks Kinda Dirty

My beautiful wife and I just returned from a fantastic short trip to see one of the 7 natural wonders - the Grand Canyon. We drove from Vegas to the South Rim of the canyon filled with anticipation of the sight that would greet us. We had seen photos and pictures, but there is usually no real comparison between the panavision and the real vision. We parked the car, and headed for the view. What a view it was! Breath taking, awesome, vast, OMG, are poor word choices which flooded my mind when I stood there on the edge of this great chasm.



As far as the eye could see to the left was a carved landscape of varying colors and eroded layers of time etched out of this barren landscape. Looking to the right provided a similarly stunning vista with the only difference being the direction the river had carved its path. One thing that was striking was the flatness of the top of the canyon that bounded this abyss. There were no mountain peaks to see, there were only sheer cliff-side drops that drew the eye eventually to the river below. When I say below, I mean way way way below. At the South Rim (where we were), it is a vertical mile (or 5,000 feet) from the rim to the river (7 miles if you walked the trail). The canyon is approximately 10 miles across from South to North rims and the canyon has a total length of some 270 miles.

I was stunned. What other emotion could one possess at that moment? What other thought could go through your head as you gazed upon this sight?

Just as I was contemplating the view I heard a voice from my right hand side. A husband and wife stood about 10 feet away from me looking at the same view I was awestruck by. The husband points to the canyon floor and says, "Look honey, there is the river." to which the most amazing statement was given in reply. The wife, with all seriousness, responds to her husband with these unforgettable words, "It looks kinda dirty, doesn't it?"

I'm sorry, what did you just say? You are looking at one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and your main concern is the fact that from over a mile away it appears as if the water in the river may not be crystal clear! I wanted to reach out the right hand of fellowship and slap the love of Jesus into that woman, but I refrained.

How can you look at a view like that and only see dirty water?

The simple answer is that this lady could make this statement because she is human - and us humans have the incredible ability to miss the obvious majesty and glory of a creator God and only notice the dirty water at the very bottom of the picture. How often do we stand in the presence of the creator of the grand canyon and instead of looking in amazement and wonder at His beauty, only comment on the dirt of the water in the river.

Lord help us.

Come Follow Me, Come Die for Me

I was recently listening to a podcast featuring Rick Warren and he madethis statement which has been rolling around in my head ever since. For regular readers, things that roll around in my head for a while usually find their way out through my fingers into some sort of article. This statement is no different and has found its way to print.

When Jesus met the fishermen who would become his disciples he invited them simply to ‘Follow Him’. There was no great master plan given to them at the time. There was no discussion about salary, career path, stock options, pension plan, just a simple request – ‘Follow me’. You can read the whole story in Matthew chapter 4, but essentially Jesus sees these guys fishing, stops and talks with them and tells them to follow him and he will make them fishers of men. That’s it, that is all the information he gives. Would you have followed him? Do you follow him now?

It struck me that the same simple request that Jesus made to those first disciples is the same request that He makes to everyone today – Come, follow me. As I considered this it became apparent that when we first meet Jesus and first hear that call that we do not have a 5 year plan given to us as to what ‘following Him’ will look like, yet for many of us we took a step of faith and followed.

As you follow the lives of the disciples you see that the simple request to ‘follow me’ is quickly changed to ‘Come die for me’. In Matthew chapter 16, we see the disciples and Jesus who have been travelling through the land and spreading the Good News about the Messiah. They have seen Him feed thousands from little more than a bag lunch. They have seen countless people healed and set free from all manner of afflictions. They have seen miracle and they have seen heated discussions and attack from some of the religious leaders. However, in Matthew 16:24 they see that Jesus simple request to “Follow Me” actually has more to it. The act of following requires sacrifice – complete sacrifice. Matthew 16:24-26 says,

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny  himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

How many of us in our Christian walk have lost the eagerness to simply ‘Follow Me’ and now demand to know what is in store if we follow? How many of us have refused to ‘Follow Me’ because we think it unwise to do something that we don’t know the outcome of that activity? How many of us will only ‘Follow Me’ if we know the outcome, and will actually refuse if the outcome does not appear to be beneficial to us? How many of us count the cost first before accepting the call to ‘Follow Me’? How many of us justify our refusal to ‘Follow Me’ by saying that it would be unwise, or too expensive, or too difficult, or too painful or too whatever to simply ‘Follow Me’?

How many of us have not read Matthew 16?

We answered the call to ‘Follow Me’ and now we must answer the call to ‘Die For Me’. We need to set aside our own wants and desires, our own wisdom, or own way of doing things and get back to the child like faith where we said “YES!” when Jesus whispered ‘Follow Me’.

Following Jesus is not safe. Following Jesus is not comfortable. Following Jesus is painful. Following Jesus is difficult. Following Jesus brings rejection. Following Jesus brings separation of brother from brother, or from children to parents. Following Jesus costs – a lot.

Does this describe your Christian walk?

Are you really following?

Are you really dying?

Do You Hear That? - That is the sound of family time

As we wake on another beautiful new day of snowfall, school closings, government shut downs, icy roads, treacherous travel conditions, what are you thinking? It struck me last night that the past five or six days have probably for many been the longest period of time that families have spent together, unable to go anywhere or really see anyone else. So how is that going for you? Are you ready to strangle someone? Or have you found that this gift of time with your family has been an opportunity to strengthen your family?

When you look back at the snow of 2009/10 what will your memories be? When your kids look back at the snow of 2009/10, what will their memories be? Will your kids eyes light up as they recall the day when daddy crawled through the snow with them to build that snow fort or snow man? Will their memories be of the fact that mom and dad were home with them for a long time and each day was a new adventure? How have you taken this enforced family time to build your family and strengthen your bonds with your kids?

If you are like me then you have probably had those times when you just wished the roads were open enough for you to slip slide your way to a store just for a break from the noise that kids can generate. Sadly, when I think of these types of thoughts my heart aches that I miss the opportunity to see the potential in giving my kids all of my time and attention and wish for 'peace and quiet'.

Today, I will do the work that I need to do when my kids are asleep, but when they are awake I am going to give them all of my time. I want my kids to look back at this snow fall as the time when daddy and mommy just hung out with them, played with them, did cut and stick projects and were a family.

Today, let's be family, let's create good memories, let's laugh with our kids, let's fill our family with love.

Ready, steady, love on your kids.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I am constantly amazed at my girls. Usually I am amazed at how much volume two little tykes can create, that and their ability to turn a perfectly organized and cleaned up play room or craft room into a scene from "Earthquake!". How can they not just take one toy out, play with it, then put it back where it came from? Is it really that difficult? Then I looked over at my home office desk and realized that this little trait was genetic and they had no hope of maintaining a neat and tidy play-room, but they would learn to clean it up every week.

Last night we reached a whole new level of amazement. This week, Julie and I have started a new venture with our kids - they get a nickel for helping out around the house with the daily necessities like making the bed, tidying the aforementioned play room. There is a sticker chart now adorning their bedroom wall and each night they recount the activities they have done to be good helpers. We are trying not to use the word 'chores' because it has such negative connotations and 'child labor' might get us arrested - so helping around the house it is.

Well, last night was payment night - we were late by a couple of days due to a lack of nickels - and Cara sat with three little jars in front of her. The first jar was for the Church, the second was for Savings and the third was for Spending. Our plan is that on 'pay-day' we will begin to teach them now how to handle their money so when they get to our age they might be better than we are at it.

$2.70 was placed in front of Cara in nickels (did I mention child labor?) and Julie began to explain that 10% immediately goes to the Church, 20% immediately goes to Savings and the rest does not go to Spending - it goes in a pile from which Cara can decide which of the three jars it goes to. Julie and I sat there as the wheels were turning in Cara's little mind and she reached out, grabbed a handful of her coins and poured them into the Church jar. Julie asked Cara if she realized that once the money went in the jar she couldn't take it back out again, and that if she took Emma to the store to spend some of her money and Cara could only spend what was in her 'Spending' jar. My little 5 year old never skipped a beat and looking at her mom said, "I want all this to go to Haiti. I dont need to buy anything this week. I have enough. Can I give it all to Haiti?"

My heart melted. My wife and I looked at each other across the kitchen table and were nearly overcome that here our little angel was old enough to realize that she is blessed and that there are children in the world who have nothing, and whatever she could give to help them out, she wanted to do.

Wow!

Moments later, our little one came into the kitchen, she had been in another room and hadn't been a part of the previous discussion with Cara. It was time to settle our account with her too. She had been equally as busy and had earned the grand total of $2.65. Once again, three jars were set out with Church, Savings and Spending on them. The pile of nickels was laid out in front of Emma and the same explanation given. Julie counted out 10% for Church, 20% for savings and the remaining pile was once again hers to decide over. She looked at the nickels in front of her and then looked at her mom. She reached out her hand, grabbed a handful of nickels and said, "I want to give this to the homeless people, where is the 'homeless people' jar?" Once again Julie explained that once she had given it away, she couldn't get it back and if we went to the store for Cara to spend her money then Emma would not have anything to spend. "That's ok mom, I want to give it all to the homeless people, which jar does it go in?"

My wife and I sat with 6 little glass jars in front of us, 3 for Cara and three for Emma. Two jars marked 'Savings' had approximately 50c in them, two jars marked 'Church' had approximately $2.20 in them and two jars marked 'Spending' were empty. My girls may not be good at cleaning up their rooms, but I will trade that for the rest of their days if they continue to live with generous spirits that see the need that others have as far superior to any need they may have.

I love my kids, and I love my wife for teaching and modeling these principles so well. After all, the girls had to learn this from somewhere.