Category Archives: Just a Thought

“When you come, bring . . .  the books, and above all the parchments.” 2 Timothy 4:13 (ESV)

I dare say many of us live a life in devotionals and not a life of devotion.  Let me explain this statement before I go any further in explaining the side effects.  Maybe this example might help . . .

Imagine that you are going to your favorite steakhouse.  You have spent the whole day thinking of the first bite and the joy of savoring every piece.  When you get to the steakhouse, there is a wait, but you know that it will be worth it.  After all, you have waited all day so another 45 minutes seems insignificant.  You finally sit at the table, place your order, and then wait a little longer for them to prepare your dish.  Finally, your server delivers your plate and then proceeds to cut your steak for you.  This seems like amazing service; he even agrees to stay at the table and feed you every bite so you don’t have to lift a finger.  You happily agree, until he takes your first bite, chews it up for you, and then offers it to you.

This sounds ridiculous to us!   Who would want to eat a steak that had already been chewed?  Yet, this is what we often do in our spiritual lives in regards to Scripture.  We spend a lot of our time digesting pre-chewed food from our pastor or our favorite devotional.  Please understand these things are beneficial to us.  They do provide us with nourishment, but it does not compare with feasting on God’s word for yourself and letting God speak to you through Scripture alone.

When we operate out of devotionals instead of devotion, two things happen.  First, our ability to hear from God through Scripture is weakened because we are dependent on others to chew the food for us.  In times of trial and decision, this often makes it hard for us to hear from God.  We desperately seek him but are not able to hear him.  Second, it causes spiritual impatience.  We want God to do things now instead of understanding that what he has in store is worth the wait.  When these two things work together we are trapped by the idea that we cannot know or understand Scripture.

Paul desired his parchments, or scrolls because he desired to read and study God’s word.  Do you have that desire?  It will be hard at first and it will take devotion and patience, but with reading accompanied by prayer, I promise you will taste and see that the Lord is good.

It is that time of year . . . baseball.  I was never any good at sports and you might say that in every sport I played, I was the other team’s best player.  We expect teams hold practices and we even expect those on the team to show up for practice.  I am unaware of a high school football team that would allow players to miss every practice and still play in the game.  Even in school, we reinforce things through practice.  There are practices for the STAAR test and there is homework to practice new skills.  We understand the importance of practice in so many things, but do we value it in our spiritual lives?

I have a hard time picking a favorite portion of Scripture, but I am often grounded by Psalm 1.  The second verse tells of a man whose “delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night.” Why would a person spend day and night meditating on Scripture?  It is for the same reason that we spend time practicing other things in our lives.  Often, we think of the Bible as a solution for our problems or a guide to help us make an important decision.  If we were honest with ourselves, there are times we have reduced it to a toy like the Magic 8 Ball.  When we have a problem we run to it, but this is not the way we are supposed to function.  It is intended to be consumed through a steady, continual diet.  We are to dedicate ourselves to “practicing” the spiritual discipline of reading Scripture.

If we continue reading the following verses, we find out why.  We do it in order to be ready for what happens in life.  In verse 3 we are given the image of a tree planted by water – a steady, continuous supply of water.  It bears fruit in season and its leaves do not wither.  In good or bad, it is ready for whatever is at hand.  We meditate on Scripture because it is God’s plan for building us in faith and preparing us to be ready for what the game of life holds.  This does not mean it is going to be easy or there will be no struggles.  Ask a football player if being at practice takes away the struggle during the game.  No.  It prepares him for the game and how to handle what happens.  I encourage you to spend some time reading your Bible today.  You might even start by reading Psalm 1.  Don’t wait until a problem arises. Start practicing today.

If you are a parent, I know you have had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong.  You feel like an awful parent.  Even if your children are grown and out of the house, you wonder if you did a good job and if their mistakes and failures are your fault.  In case you were wondering, all parents fail at some point in time and if some of us were honest, we feel like we fail a lot.  No parent is perfect and often times we feel like our failures overpower our successes.  I want you to be encouraged today knowing that even Joseph and Mary made mistakes.

We find this in Luke 2:41-52.  Their custom was to travel to Jerusalem every year at Passover, but on this particular trip, they accidentally left Jesus behind.  On their way home, after a day’s travel, Joseph and Mary noticed that Jesus was no longer with them and they could not find him anywhere.  (This almost sounds like a plot from the movie Home Alone) In fact, it tells us in verse 46 that it took three days for them to find him – put yourself in their shoes for just a moment.  So, where was he?   He was sitting in the temple, listening and asking questions.  There are a lot of truths contained in this passage, but there is something I want you to notice.  Joseph and Mary were not perfect parents, but they were the ones chosen by God for Jesus.

For those of you that have never misplaced a child, congratulations!  However, there are other times you have been disappointed with your actions, worried about the future of your child, or wrongfully compared yourself to other parents either for justification or condemnation of your own actions.  This does not just apply to those that have kids at home, but also those whose kids are grown.  We have all made mistakes, and we all will make mistakes in the future.   So what do we do about it?  Acknowledge your mistakes, pray that God’s grace would cover them and that his mercy would cover your child.

I want you to know one great truth as a parent: God loves your children more than you do.  At first, you may find this offensive, but let it sink in and bring you comfort.  Your desires for your child pale in comparison to His.  Through prayer and seeking his will, his grace covers our mistakes.  Wherever you are in life, surrender your family to God, for his purposes.  Set aside the anxiety, worry, and comparison.  You are not perfect, but you are the parent that God chose for your child.  He knows your flaws and his grace is sufficient.

Why Grace in Truth?  It is the realization that when we encounter the truth in Jesus Christ and in God’s Word, there is an offer of grace extended to us by accepting that truth.  Honestly, we can never understand the grace of God unless we come to grips with the truth.  This is true when we look at the first time we received the gospel.  Paul wrote that this was the very moment the people of Colossae “understood the grace of God in truth.” (Colossians 1:6) The Colossians heard the truth and upon accepting the truth of the gospel, they found grace.

It is our desire to extend that grace through the explanation of the truth found in Christ and in Scripture.  Jesus told his disciples “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  In this, we find that our first experience of grace comes from understanding who Christ did and what he accomplished for us through his death, burial, and resurrection.  However, this does not stop at salvation.  It is through encounters with truth in Scripture we are offered grace as we are transformed from one degree of grace to another into the image Jesus Christ.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  Where do we learn the truths that the Holy Spirit uses for this process?  The Bible.

It is our prayer that through this column that two things will happen.  First, that you will experience the grace that is offered to you through Scripture.  Second, that it will be a resource for you as you seek answers.  We invite you to email questions about the Bible to the address below.  We want to equip you with knowledge and understanding of Scripture so that you experience the grace and freedom that come from the truth.

At what point in our history did children become a burden instead of a blessing?  Last week I took Amy out to eat for her birthday and we sat next to a mother and daughter.  The girl might have been six and during the entire conversation, not one positive word came out of the mother’s mouth.  In fact, her continual griping about the little girl being too loud was much more disruptive than the fun the little girl was trying to have.  At one point during the meal, the daughter was very confused and asked the mother, “what happened?”  The lady quickly answered, “you happened!”  Then today as I was sitting in a parking lot I listened to a father yell at a little boy, about 8, “God d*** you!”  I prayed for the little boy and wondered if the father actually realized the magnitude of the phrase he used so lightly, yet hatefully.

I will be honest with you, in both those cases, I was ready to come out of my seat and let the parent have a taste of their own medicine.  At the end of our meal, I approached the table beside us and told the woman that she had the most well-behaved little girl I had ever seen, she was polite, respectful, and well-mannered.  The lady was speechless, but the little girl beamed, I think her name was Brianna.  I didn’t get that chance with the father and his son.

Somehow children have become something that get in the way of career plans, financial stability, and having a successful life.  With this shift in attitude, we still wonder why so many of the youth in our towns act in certain ways.  I see kids walk by my house every day (the youngest might look 6) on their way to the park, with the only parental supervision being a cell phone, on which they are too busy texting to watch for cars.  People even laugh when they hear things like, “children make a rich man poor.”  I want to tell you that children make a poor man rich!

The only thing of value left on this earth when you leave it, is your children.  They will be the ones that carry on in the manner in which you trained them, be good or bad.  They are a blessing from God, Psalm 127:3-5, and we will be held accountable for the way in which we raise them, Matthew 18:6.  I want to encourage you; the next time you begin to quip about your children, degrading them in public or tearing them down, stop.  We want to be part of the solution not the problem.  Everyday I pray that God makes up for my mistakes as a father and covers them up with his grace and mercy.  Remember, our children live out what they are taught in word and action.