Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Love and the Commandments
Have you ever read a book, talked to a friend or heard a sermon and had the topic work its way into your heart and mind? At different times over the past few years a certain subject has been brought to mind and slowly I began to look at people different, look at past experiences in a new light, gauge my interaction with my family and friends from a new angle.
When I hear a sermon or read a book that is particularly challenging, I am all gung-ho about making a change, implementing my new discovery immediately if not sooner. When I take a step back, and thoughtfully and prayerfully consider this idea in light of the rest of Scripture, the rest of my convictions, the context of my season of life I realize that not everything is one-size-fits all. It is a tricky business picking apart and applying the truths that are for me, right now. It takes the powerful working of the Spirit of God, discernment, prayer and faith.
It is with this thinking that I have approached this certain subject over the past few years. Each time I come in contact with someone that has something to say about it, I listen to their wisdom, advice and experiences and tuck them away for further reference in my mental filing cabinet. I have tried to look at my past experiences with this new idea in mind. It is similar to going back and doing it all over again with the wisdom that I know now. Did other people I met back then know this? Is this why they reacted in the manner they did? Thank you Lord for patient friends who loved me through my ignorance and immaturity.
God says we are to worship in spirit and in truth. As I look back at past churches we have been a part of, I ask myself which side of the aisle they fall on. Were some of the difficulties and blessings in the church because they were on one side or the other? What about people that live their life that way on one side or the other?
Truth is relevant. Spirit is relevant. God requires both. We must find a way to have balance without tipping to one side or the other.
I will admit that my husband and I have been on the "truth" side of things for a long time. We are both very left brained, logical people. We liked having the ten commandments, the catechism, the Proverbs and other ways to keep our doctrine tidy. We learned a lot during the first few years of our marriage. A lot of the truths were new to us, even though we had been Christians for years, and with great zeal we wanted to share our new knowledge.
Years later, we attended a church full of people that lived their life on the "spirit" side of things. Thankfully for us, they were mature, seasoned Christians that had seen our type before. We learned about being gracious, about what it was like to walk through the valley with those who were hurting, about how God works to convict people of sin in His timing. Each one of us must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord. That means that the walk of faith He requires of me is different than what He requires of other believers.
On my heart lately is the reconciling of these two things. How do they fit together? Are they opposed to one another?
About truth and the law. God gave us the ten commandments, not to follow in order to be saved, but so that we would know what sin is. Without awareness of sin, we don't know that we need a savior. God says in John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." We must study His word to know what His commandments are, to know what God expects of us. We cannot please Him simply by doing what we feel is best. Leviticus 10:1-3 talks about Nadab and Abihu who offered profane fire before the Lord. God struck them dead. There must be more to it than just a feeling.
About spirit. This is the practical living out of our doctrine. We cannot just know the truth, we must live it. That is quite a heavy task. Simply put we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Once again, how are we to do that? The Bible is the source of how to love. I Corinthians 13 tells us what love is. We must read it, study it, memorize it and live it.
We have been saved by grace, not by following the law. Let me make that perfectly clear. Following a said list of rules is not the way to get to heaven. But lets not throw the baby out with the bath water. Remember, God says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
Practically speaking, we need to know that there isn't a one-size fits all description of what a Christian looks like. There ought to be more unity in the adherence to God's commandments, however. May we all strive to this end, loving and encouraging one another along the way.
When I hear a sermon or read a book that is particularly challenging, I am all gung-ho about making a change, implementing my new discovery immediately if not sooner. When I take a step back, and thoughtfully and prayerfully consider this idea in light of the rest of Scripture, the rest of my convictions, the context of my season of life I realize that not everything is one-size-fits all. It is a tricky business picking apart and applying the truths that are for me, right now. It takes the powerful working of the Spirit of God, discernment, prayer and faith.
It is with this thinking that I have approached this certain subject over the past few years. Each time I come in contact with someone that has something to say about it, I listen to their wisdom, advice and experiences and tuck them away for further reference in my mental filing cabinet. I have tried to look at my past experiences with this new idea in mind. It is similar to going back and doing it all over again with the wisdom that I know now. Did other people I met back then know this? Is this why they reacted in the manner they did? Thank you Lord for patient friends who loved me through my ignorance and immaturity.
God says we are to worship in spirit and in truth. As I look back at past churches we have been a part of, I ask myself which side of the aisle they fall on. Were some of the difficulties and blessings in the church because they were on one side or the other? What about people that live their life that way on one side or the other?
Truth is relevant. Spirit is relevant. God requires both. We must find a way to have balance without tipping to one side or the other.
I will admit that my husband and I have been on the "truth" side of things for a long time. We are both very left brained, logical people. We liked having the ten commandments, the catechism, the Proverbs and other ways to keep our doctrine tidy. We learned a lot during the first few years of our marriage. A lot of the truths were new to us, even though we had been Christians for years, and with great zeal we wanted to share our new knowledge.
Years later, we attended a church full of people that lived their life on the "spirit" side of things. Thankfully for us, they were mature, seasoned Christians that had seen our type before. We learned about being gracious, about what it was like to walk through the valley with those who were hurting, about how God works to convict people of sin in His timing. Each one of us must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord. That means that the walk of faith He requires of me is different than what He requires of other believers.
On my heart lately is the reconciling of these two things. How do they fit together? Are they opposed to one another?
About truth and the law. God gave us the ten commandments, not to follow in order to be saved, but so that we would know what sin is. Without awareness of sin, we don't know that we need a savior. God says in John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." We must study His word to know what His commandments are, to know what God expects of us. We cannot please Him simply by doing what we feel is best. Leviticus 10:1-3 talks about Nadab and Abihu who offered profane fire before the Lord. God struck them dead. There must be more to it than just a feeling.
About spirit. This is the practical living out of our doctrine. We cannot just know the truth, we must live it. That is quite a heavy task. Simply put we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Once again, how are we to do that? The Bible is the source of how to love. I Corinthians 13 tells us what love is. We must read it, study it, memorize it and live it.
We have been saved by grace, not by following the law. Let me make that perfectly clear. Following a said list of rules is not the way to get to heaven. But lets not throw the baby out with the bath water. Remember, God says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
Practically speaking, we need to know that there isn't a one-size fits all description of what a Christian looks like. There ought to be more unity in the adherence to God's commandments, however. May we all strive to this end, loving and encouraging one another along the way.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
My thoughts on moving on.
Perhaps the title intrigued you. Perhaps you have heard rumors and wanted to know whether they were true. It is true. We will be moving on to a house in Minot so that we can be together as a family. Our plan is to stay there through the duration of Larry's work there. We don't know how long that will be.
In our life together, we have moved 15 times in 20 years, including living in 4 different cities and 2 different states. It never seemed like a burden to move our family, just something necessary. With each move we approached it with a sense of adventure, looking forward to all the treasures that lie ahead. In preparing the children for a potential move back to North Dakota, I told stories about life there, places we had lived, sites visited, friends still there. As thrilling as my stories were, the children began asking questions like, "Do they have a ______ there?" "Will we be able to do _______there?" It was an invitation to teach them an important lesson. I told them that I would have no talk about what North Dakota didn't have, no talk about what is better in Colorado, no talk about all of the things here that we would miss. Rather, I want them to look forward to new things, to see the good that comes from relocating, being open to new experiences, new ways of doing things, and new places.
I was 27 when we moved here to Colorado and I will be 38 when we leave. Our children were 8, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 11 months old then. They are now 19, 19, 17, 15, 13, and 11 joined by 6 more children born since we moved. Our hearts are full with the friendships we have made, and the memories of our years here, 11 almost to the day. God has used each one of you in our lives to change us, to teach us, to love us and we will remember you no matter where we are.
It is with these full hearts that we embark on a new adventure. We will fondly remember our time in Colorado and look forward to our visits back. But, we must be moving on, at least for now. There are many friends in North Dakota anxious for our return. We look forward to spending more time with our Grandparents that are all there, and Great Grandparents.
As much as the kids would like to think of North Dakota as the desert in Exodus, and our moving there like the wandering of the Israelites (sorry, please don't take offense, they really like the mountains) I remind them that we don't want to be like the Israelites that grumbled and complained. "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Exodus 16:3. While the children don't believe that God is sending us to North Dakota to kill us with hunger, the attitude is what needs to be watched. I remind the children that God intends good for us, that all things work together for good. Rather than focusing on what God did give them, the Israelites saw only what God did not give or what He had taken away. It is all a matter of perspective. I want my children to be brave and bold and to willingly go wherever God leads them.
For now, that is back to North Dakota.
In our life together, we have moved 15 times in 20 years, including living in 4 different cities and 2 different states. It never seemed like a burden to move our family, just something necessary. With each move we approached it with a sense of adventure, looking forward to all the treasures that lie ahead. In preparing the children for a potential move back to North Dakota, I told stories about life there, places we had lived, sites visited, friends still there. As thrilling as my stories were, the children began asking questions like, "Do they have a ______ there?" "Will we be able to do _______there?" It was an invitation to teach them an important lesson. I told them that I would have no talk about what North Dakota didn't have, no talk about what is better in Colorado, no talk about all of the things here that we would miss. Rather, I want them to look forward to new things, to see the good that comes from relocating, being open to new experiences, new ways of doing things, and new places.
I was 27 when we moved here to Colorado and I will be 38 when we leave. Our children were 8, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 11 months old then. They are now 19, 19, 17, 15, 13, and 11 joined by 6 more children born since we moved. Our hearts are full with the friendships we have made, and the memories of our years here, 11 almost to the day. God has used each one of you in our lives to change us, to teach us, to love us and we will remember you no matter where we are.
It is with these full hearts that we embark on a new adventure. We will fondly remember our time in Colorado and look forward to our visits back. But, we must be moving on, at least for now. There are many friends in North Dakota anxious for our return. We look forward to spending more time with our Grandparents that are all there, and Great Grandparents.
As much as the kids would like to think of North Dakota as the desert in Exodus, and our moving there like the wandering of the Israelites (sorry, please don't take offense, they really like the mountains) I remind them that we don't want to be like the Israelites that grumbled and complained. "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Exodus 16:3. While the children don't believe that God is sending us to North Dakota to kill us with hunger, the attitude is what needs to be watched. I remind the children that God intends good for us, that all things work together for good. Rather than focusing on what God did give them, the Israelites saw only what God did not give or what He had taken away. It is all a matter of perspective. I want my children to be brave and bold and to willingly go wherever God leads them.
For now, that is back to North Dakota.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Listen to my words...
We visited some friends this weekend, and at one point the other mother and I were cooking breakfast in the kitchen. We conversed about many things and the topic came around to some new ideas in the church that have been floating around and taking root over the past few years. (We were both delighted to find that neither of us were being swayed by the new shiny ideas.) Around this time I noticed my two oldest boys hovering around the stove. I wasn't sure if they were truly that hungry and wanted first dibs at the pancakes, or if they wanted to help us cook. They told me they were interested in our conversation and wanted to listen to the discourse.
Proverbs repeats the phrase, "Son, listen to my words". What a joy to know that my boys moved closer to be able to hear what we were talking about, to glean what they could from our iron sharpening iron. Thank you, Lord, for faithful children that seek to know You more and long for Your teaching.
Proverbs repeats the phrase, "Son, listen to my words". What a joy to know that my boys moved closer to be able to hear what we were talking about, to glean what they could from our iron sharpening iron. Thank you, Lord, for faithful children that seek to know You more and long for Your teaching.
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