Thanks!

I thought I would take just a few (insufficient) words to express thanks. I had the opportunity to eat lunch with some friends today, including one from Georgia. It was a great time of fellowship and I realize how rare that is in today's culture. We under value the importance of good friends and quality time. So I wanted to express my thanks to God for my family and friends who have helped to make life enjoyable. THANKS!

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Cor 9:15

Unfavorable?

As I read Jeremiah 42:6, which says "Whether it is favorable or unfavorable we will obey the Lord our God...", I wrote "obey" in the margin. But as I did, I paused to think, "Did that say what I think? Really? Unfavorable? Surely, I'm mistaken." Upon rereading, my brain was correct and "that" word is actually there. Ok, so obeying is simple when it's favorable. After all, that's why it was so easy for me to make the note in the margin. But unfavorable? I thought obedience would, therefore, make it favorable. Then I asked, "Whose favor?" If I evaluate my decisions based on the people around me or the world's view or some other perspective, then obeying God may be seen as unfavorable. This doesn't mean to ignore wise counsel! But when it comes down to the final decision, obeying God may be seen as unfavorable to some or the world. It will always be seen as favorable to God but may create problems in the here and now. I guess I didn't expect to see obedience referred to as something we do "favorable or unfavorable". Well, I guess that's why I read the Bible for direction rather than projecting my ideas onto it.

Light

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matt 5:14). Light has some interesting properties but I won't pretend to really understand them. However, there are a few that I have been pondering. First, when light enters into darkness then the darkness is not just hidden but actually no longer exists. However, the only way for darkness to enter a lit area is for the light to be turned off or hidden. You remember the song: "hide it under a bushel, No!" If we are called to be light to the world then it would seem that as we went through our day, light would be overcoming darkness everywhere. This is, however, predicated on the idea that "light" is in us and therefore darkness is not. Second, color is created by light. If I understand correctly (again I'm not an expert in this), color is seen by us as a result of light waves being absorbed by an object and the remaining waves bounce off resulting in the color. Someone once explained it this way. When a gallon of paint has the lid on it, the paint is white. So all the paint on the shelves are actually white. However, when the lid is removed and light shines in, we see color. So without the light, color does not exist. I think the same is true for us - we are colorless without light. As we go through life, we eliminate darkness and add color to life by carrying God's light through the world. How cool is that? Also, God's light remains with us unless we allow someone, something, or ourselves to turn it off or hide it. As you go through your day, take control of your mind, keep it focused on Him, and walk in Light.

Pass It On

In our small group Bible study the following point was made and I've been pondering how it applies to my family. Several verses (particularly in Deuteronomy - 4:9-10, 6:6-9, 11:18-19) talk about passing scripture on to one's kids. There are particular differences in today's culture. In Biblical times, families worked together and interacted more frequently each day. They also traveled together by "[walking] along the road" (11:19). Parents were/are instructed to talk about the things of God as they sit, when at home, along the road, when you lie down, and when you wake. Scripture was passed on orally as were the stories of how God had worked in their lives. The stories we now know as Bible stories, were actually the events many of them had experienced. I wonder if families today only talk about the Bible stories and forget to pass on to their children how God has worked in their lives. Don't misunderstand me and think that the Bible stories be ignored but rather we (parents) need to be passing on both to our kids. They need to hear the Bible stories but they also need to hear the family stories of how God has worked. Pass It On!