How do you explain...?

We had a beautiful weekend together. We were able to take our three year old son to fly his first kite, to play his first game of miniature golf, and to the zoo.

We also took flowers to their grandpa's grave. Our one year old daughter is much too young to even have to explain this to, but our newly turned three year old is another story. Just how do you explain such a complicated concept to a young child? His grandpa died one week before he was born, so he only knows him as his papa in heaven. We decided to tell him exactly how it was. We explained to him that this was where his papa's body was buried but that his spirit was alive in heaven with God and Jesus. We explained that when people die they bury their bodies in a box under the ground and then cover it up again. We explained that some day when Jesus comes back that those same bodies will rise up out of the ground and our spirit and our body will be together again. Surely, no one will dare to accuse us of watering things down for him because of his age. The reason we explain things in this manner, which he seemed to grasp far better than I had expected by the way, is because I do not under any circumstances want him to come to me when he is five or six with questions about these things and have him ask me why I had told him something different when he was younger. I feel I would be discrediting the Gospel if I tell him something I feel he will be able to understand and then have to change it and/or add onto it later. I admit the questions of , what body? what ground? died? etc. can get a little tedious of answering after the fourth or fifth time of each one being asked, but it is important not to brush these questions aside because children are most definitely learning from these questions and the answers given to them. He understands far more than I did at his age. Of course, my parents were not Christians and did not approach things in this way. On the drive there I questioned if we should tell him everything, but as we arrived I knew that was the right thing to do.

It seems too many people are scared to use this approach with children, and even with adults. They want to water it down so that the hearer is able to comprehend it, to understand it, when the truth is we will never comprehend all that God is, we will never understand in full the mystery of Christ and His sacrifice for us. It is something that requires faith. We are not doing God any favors by not telling our children or the people we come into contact with the full Gospel. We are not helping them by keeping them comfortable either. We are in fact contributing to the many false converts who profess to be Christians but have no roots.

Matthew 18:7-14

How terrible it will be for anyone who causes others to sin. Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but how terrible it will be for the one who does the tempting. So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven half blind than to have two eyes and enter hell.

Beware that you don't despise a single one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

If a shepherd has one hundred sheep and one wanders away and is lose, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will surely rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! In the same way it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Up until a few years ago I always thought the cut off your hand, eye, foot, etc. was only pertaining to me and my own life. Then I was brought to the realization that we are referred to as Christ's hands and feet and eyes and ears so this also applies to the body of Christ. So if one of us sins and is unrepentant it is in the best interest of the rest of the body to cut off that person since it is well known that sin corrupts the entire body especially the mind and the heart and cannot be allowed to remain a part of the body. We cannot embrace the one who tempts the rest of the body to sin, we cannot allow it to continue and put the rest of the body (especially the new members) in jeopardy.

It is a sad fact that some who claim to be in the body have used the verses about the shepherd and the sheep that has went astray to justify sinning and not only that but to say that sinning is good if it causes that much joy to God when we find our way back. I cannot understand how anyone who has the Holy Spirit in them can think this way. I do not know their hearts, but I do know that this is contrary to the things of God. Yes, God rejoices when we come back to Him, but to put sin in a glorifying light because He does is very wrong.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was a good day for us. We spent it together as a family. However, I feel kind of strange celebrating Mother's Day in the traditional sense. It seems weird to me that we would need to set aside an entire day to honor our mother's now that I am a mother. I feel honored in so many ways every single day by both my children and my husband. I don't want a day off from them. I don't want things made as easy as possible. I just want to be surrounded by my children and my husband and have them know just how much I love them and how much I care for them. My children give me things every day that make me know how special I am to them, their smiles, their pleas for help, yes even their clutching onto me for dear life (although I am not so good at handling this one at times) while screaming at the top of their lungs that they do not want to go to class but would rather stay with mommy and daddy. I just feel weird being the mother being honored I guess, because I feel like instead I should be thanking each one of them for making me a mother as this is the fulfillment of one of my heart's greatest desires!

Matthew 18:1-6

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"

Jesus called a small child over to him and put the child among them. Then he said, "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as a little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts me to lose faith, it would be far better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck.

The first thing that comes to mind when I read these verses is how hard it is to become again like a little child, so trusting, so humble - before pride was a stumbling block and being skeptical of everyone and everything was a given. Yet it is required of us to be humble, to trust Him completely and totally holding nothing back and giving freely a sacrifice of our very lives all based on faith! The second thing that hits me reading these verses is how welcoming a child and leading a child astray is so closely associated with welcoming the Lord and with bringing wrath from Him. Oh how important these little children are to Him! And to think that He has entrusted us with their care as parents, teachers, neighbors, and any other way we may directly or indirectly influence these little ones.

Should Christians Be Popular?

The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 1301, titled "Bible Questions and Answers." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.
Question
How can a Christian be popular with the world?
Answer
The answer is, by being a lousy Christian. There is no way that when you define your Christianity you can ever really in the truest sense be popular with the world.
I think that Christians who have a warm and loving spirit, who do good unto all man as the Bible says, not just to the household of faith; Christians whose lives are exemplary; Christians who meet the needs of those who are in need (like the good Samaritan); Christians who supply for those who have lack; Christians who are loving and kind and gentle will have a certain amount of popularity, they’ll have a certain amount of acceptance with the world. Those who are diligent, those who are faithful, those whose morals and ethics are above reproach will be respected by the world, but in terms of actually being accepted in the system, being a Christian eliminates that possibility.
“What fellowship hath light with darkness,” right? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the sixth chapter in II Corinthians; he said there is no fellowship at that point. The more defined your Christian faith becomes, the less able you are to accommodate the world. And if you’re really bold and honest as a Christian, you’re going to find yourself having to confront the world with honest answers, with honest comments about the true problems in the world, and you’ll be very unpopular.

John 6:22-40

Verses for today and yesterday:
The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore, waiting to see Jesus. For they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat, leaving him behind. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. When the crowd saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. When they arrived and found him, they asked "Teacher, how did you get here?"

Jesus replied, "The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the miraculous sign. But you shouldn't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose."

They replied, "What does God want us to do?"

Jesus told them, "This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent."

They replied, "You must show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What will you do for us? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, "Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat."

Jesus said, "I assure you, Moses didn't give them bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "give us that bread every day of our lives."

Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will comes to me and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. And this is the will of god, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eteranl life - that I should raise them at the last day."

Wow!

Time goes by so fast! Our beautiful daughter will be turning one in ten days. Our son turned three just a month and a half ago and we will be celebrating our fourth anniversary next week! I have heard of many mothers and wives who are very worried about losing their identity as a woman when they become a mother or a wife. This is strange to me. In the past four years that I have went from being a single young woman to a wife and then also to a mother I have noticed something. My identity is being a Christian wife and mother. Afterall, I was created to be his help meet! This was the purpose for the creation of woman, so I don't know why I should desire an identity apart from my role as a wife. This is my job and I take it very seriously and I feel no loss of identity but rather I feel fulfilled in the roles that God has put me in. I find that when I grow as a wife and as a mother I also grow in my individual relationship with Christ. They are connected, as a man and a woman are joined together to be one. When we are wives and mothers striving to bring glory to God in our homes and putting His word in our hearts we are inevitably going to grow as women as well.

Psalm 34:15-22

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous face many troubles,
but the Lord rescues him from each and every one.
For the Lord protects him from harm -
not one of his bones will be broken!

Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,
and thoe who hate the righteous will be punished.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
Everyone who trusts in him will be freely pardoned.

The thing that sticks out most to me in the last two days with going over this particular Psalm is that God is faithful, that He will protect us and give us what we need but we need to seek Him out, we need to revere Him, we need to fear Him, we need to serve Him, we need to obey Him. If we do these things surely we will not lack "any good thing". However, this is according to what God knows we need and what God has in His perfect will, not necessarily what we want or what we think we need. We must trust in Him, call upon Him, and give Him our lives.

Psalm 34:1-14

Today's verses:
Psalm 34:1-14
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are discouraged take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness;
let us exalt his name together.

I prayed to the Lord and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and he heard me
He set me free from all my fears.
For the angel of the Lord guards all who fear him,
and he rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who trust in him!
Let the Lord's people show him reverance,
for those who honor him will have all they need.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust the Lord will never lack any good thing.

Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
Do any of you want to live
a life that is long and good?
Then watch your tongue!
Keep your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good.
Work hard at living in peace with others.

The rest of this Psalm will be my meditation and study for tomorrow. I have to say the part that says "those who look to him will be radiant with joy" just calls out to me. This is just an awesome reminder to me to consciously praise Him in everything I do, in attitude, in heart, and in deed. Oh yes, let us exalt His name together! Let us as the church, as Christ's body make every effort to live every day praising Him and exalting Him and doing what is right!

Being Thankful...

It can be hard at times to understand how you are glorfying God by doing loads of laundry, vacuuming the floor, playing games with your children, and on certain occasions it being a rarity to even leave the house. However, be assured that you are doing just that when you do it with the correct, godly attitude! When everything you do (yes even the day to day small stuff) is done with a joy and a determination to follow after Christ and to bring God the glory your children will see it, your husband will see it, and you will be changed daily to become thankful for your ability to stay at home and take care of the home. For years, I thought that things would get better for us once we were able to move into a bigger home (we are in a one bedroom at the present time). In the past I have become thankful for the place we have since it is definitely enough for us and it is far more than a lot of people have. However, in the past month I have had a drastic change of heart. I am no longer thankful for this place because of those reasons - I am truly absolutely thankful to God for this house and I am giving God the praise and the glory He deserves in providing it for us! I am now dreading moving to tell you the truth, if and when we do. I have come to cherish the closeness we have and the closeness it is fostering in our two young children. I have come to absolutely love the fact that there is little or no room for anger, resentment, selfishenss, in these small quarters. No one can go into a room and seclude themselves because they are upset with another member of the family. If we are here, we are here together and I love that. It has taught me so many things and I know it is teaching the rest of my family things as well, and now that I have come to be truly thankful for this place I cannot believe I went for so long wanting something different, something more, when God had the entire time provided exactly what we needed and still is and I am honored to stay at home with my children and take care of this place and now perhaps I can make this a refuge for us all the way it was meant to be. The attitude of the mother makes a huge difference in the attitude of her home. Now I long to do it all to God's glory and seek Him out and His will, instead of striving after my own!

Verses for today:
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now let me remind you, dear brothers, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it - unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me - that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of the brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, I saw him, too, long after the others, as though i had been born at the wrong time. For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me - and not without results. For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it is not I, but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach. The important this is that you believed what we preached to you.