The second most wonderful privilege of my life

When our kids travel from afar and we get together, we tell stories.  We laugh and I usually cry.  The things we remember are not the big moments.  It’s about Saturday morning pancake breakfasts, hilarious hijinks at the dinner table, the day to day experiences of the Scott Family. The trip to Disney does not come up much.  The kids remember life- that we loved, that we had time, that we were ‘family.’

It will be Father’s Day on Sunday.  I’ll remember my Dad (in Heaven now for 5 years!) and I will give thanks for my second most wonderful privilege in life – being a Dad! (First is being Bev’s husband.)

Dad, are you living your life in a way that honors God and blesses your kids?  The Bible says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4, NIV) The Message says, "Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master."  God handed fathers a hard job.  We must teach our children, coach them, and lead them into adulthood.  Moms have an important role of nurturing, encouraging, bandaging skinned knees and soothing broken hearts.  Dads teach and discipline.  (Those roles overlap!)

The Lord does not waste a lot of words as He tells us that we need integrity, Dad!  "Don't exasperate your children ... lead them!"  If we tell our kids to live one way while we live another, we will confuse them, make the angry, and give them a reason to ignore us. Nothing disillusions a child more than the dawning realization that Dad does not keep his word, that he talks a much better Christian game than he lives!  

 Dad, you can talk about loving your neighbor, but nothing teaches that like taking a real interest in the broken and bruised that live around you.   You can talk about the importance of loving God, but when you pray with them,  when you take (not send them) to church,  when you 'do ministry with them' – your choices will give weight to your words.

You won’t get it right every time. Nobody does. That’s why God, our Father, gives us grace and forgiveness.  We are ‘becomers.’  We work at growing in Christ. When we get it wrong, we admit it – to the Lord first, and then to our family. Real confession of our sins and failure, offered without excuse, demonstrates honesty.  There is an upside for us, too. It is so painful to be honest about our failure, hopefully that will keep us from doing it again!

You never stop being a Dad to your children.  Our youngest is 30!  I get the privilege of offering advice, encouraging, and giving blessings.  I am no longer responsible for their discipline.  My adult kids answer directly to their Father in Heaven, and yet I am blazing a trail for them to follow.  

It is my desire, as long as God gives me life, to be the kind of man that causes my children to seek my friendship and wisdom.  As I am ‘fathered’ and led by God, inhabited by His Spirit, my desire is to continue to lead the way.  I want to be able to say, without any reservation:  "Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1, NLT)

The word from the Word – 
"The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." (Proverbs 20:7, NIV)  
"God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children." (Proverbs 20:7, The Message)
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Hit him again! Really?

People love a good fight. Oh, they say they don’t but evidence is, they do!  Politics here in America are deeply partisan. If one side says, ‘yes’ the other says ‘no’  no matter what is best for the country.  Too many families that are divided over some relatively unimportant issue that took place years ago. 

God gives us, His children, a charge to bring peace wherever possible.  We are not to be people of drama, people who hold grudges, people who keep stirring the pot!  We are to build bridges of reconciliation.  How? Learn a lesson from Abigail.

David, is a rogue and a hero, a sinner and a saint;  aren't we all?  He was on the run from King Saul, living desperately in the wilds south of Jerusalem. He got his daily bread by providing a security service for the people of the region. One day he sent several men to a rich farmer to collect payment. Nabal, whom the Bible describes as 'surly and mean in his dealings,' refuses the request and adds an insult for David, implying he's just a 'street punk.' 

When David got the message his response was an irrational anger and a consuming desire for vengeance! He says to his warriors, "Put on your swords!" and took 400 of them to settle the score with mean old Nabal, aptly named, by the way; for his name means, "fool."

Enter Abigail. She was Nabal's wife and the Bible says that she was 'intelligent and beautiful.' When word reached Abigail that her husband had insulted David and that he was on his way to settle the score, she "lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them....." (1 Samuel 25:18-20)

She interceded eloquently for her husband with wise words of peace! “Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant.”(1 Samuel 25:28-31) David's anger faded as he listened, but it's not over! The drama is about to increase. (Violins rising, please.)

Abigail went home and found her husband drunk at a party. The next day when he sobered up, she told him about the disaster she had averted. Nabal, realizing his stupidity, had a heart attack, slipped into a coma, and died 10 days later! David later married this woman.  Talk about a win/win outcome. His conscience is clear AND he gets the beautiful girl! (And who says the Bible is boring? That's better than Shakespeare!)

Are you a person of peace?
Are you willing to wade into conflict with wise words that seek to restore relationships and heal old wounds?

Christian, the will of God for us is that we "Seek peace and pursue it."  Conflict is persistent so we must run after peace, reaching out to take hold of it, making every effort in our attempts at reconciliation and peace-making. When we make peace, we are like God, who seeks to reconcile us to Himself.

The word from the Word today says "the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”(Matthew 5:9)

Pray this –

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

-St. Francis of Assisi

Grown into a person of beauty

God designed us to ‘grow up,’ to mature into productive adulthood.  Growth brings such amazing change. That little girl you have not seen in a decade walks into the room and she’s become a beautiful woman or that scrawny little boy that annoyed you with his antics has grown into a man, ready for life.  The child has become an adult. 

One of the most rewarding experiences in my own life is seeing who my children have become – each uniquely contributing to their world. 

Christian, are you growing into beauty, maturing in the ways of God?  Peter urges disciples to 'eat right' and grow up! "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." (1 Peter 2:2, NIV) Paul pointed out the immaturity of the Corinthian Christians, who continued to bicker with each other, to be focused on emotional experiences, and to abuse the gifts of the Spirit. "I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature." (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NLT) Their immaturity was robbing them of joy and beauty!

Most parents know how difficult it can be to motivate a teenager to start to accept responsibility.  When they tell that boy who is 17 that his weekly allowance will come to an end and it’s time to find a job, he will likely whine and resist.  It's not just laziness. There is fear and even a lack of vision for the future. But, when that boy starts to earn real income and gains some financial, he experiences the reward of independence. 

When we are pressed by our Father to grow up we do not always see the positive result, either.  “Why are you doing this to me, Abba?” we cry in prayer. “How could you let me go through such a hard time?”   It may be that He is desirous of the beauty of maturity! So, what does this maturity look like?  It is about who we are, not what we do! Yes, mature disciples will have skills, but even more important, they will be filled with the character of Christ Jesus.

There is great comfort in the wisdom of our Father as He parents us into mature disciples.  He does not just throw us into the street and say, ‘grow up.’  He provides resources what Bible says will develop us into men and women of excellence. "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. … He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:2-9, NLT)

Even in maturity we keep growing. Until His kingdom comes, we can lay no claim that we have arrived at perfection.  I have been Christ’s follower for 50 years and I am still growing in His grace.  Are you?   Here’s the word from the Word.  Let’s aspire to become mature, beautiful in Him, ready for every good work.  "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things." (Philippians 3:13-15, NIV)

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Power up!

At the end of October, 2012, Hurricane Sandy swept up the East Coast of the United States. About 10 PM on 10/29, the power went out.  Millions of people were suddenly disconnected from the grid. At our home, due to snapped wires and downed transformers, we were off line for 13 days.  Thankfully, just days before the storm an electrician had installed a generator hookup that enabled us to run our well, our kitchen, and our basic necessities.  I cannot imagine trying to live without running water, refrigeration, and lighting for 13 days!  Could I? Of course. Do I want to? Not a chance. 

We are completely dependent on the electrical grid. Our productive, wired, climate-controlled world demands a steady flow of power, yet, few of us give even a passing thought to electrical power until it stops. It is just one of those things we assume will always be there in plentiful supply.

The Power of the Spirit is flowing into your life! Do you keep the connection strong?  Christian, have you become so accustomed to the peace and power of the Spirit flowing into your life that you just take Him for granted day by day?   

Read this prayer (one of my favorite passages in the Bible) again noting the references to ‘power.’ "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21, NIV)    

The Spirit empowers us to live for Christ. 

The Spirit’s power secures us in the love of God. 

The Spirit gives us the power to overcome sin so that God’s radiance will be seen in us.

The Bible reminds us of our dependence on the Power. In Acts 1:8 (NLT) Jesus promised us that  "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power."

Power up and stay connected. Much like our electrical power that provides light, heat, cooling, and communication by silently flowing through the wires, the Spirit’s power is not flashy or noisy. He is just present making the ‘Christ life’ possible.  If love, peace, joy, patience, and perseverance are in short supply in your life, check the power!  IF you're not overcoming sin or sensing God's guidance perhaps you're not connected to the Power. Perhaps your ‘faith’ is just a religion based on self-discipline and/or a system of ethics.  Real Christians are powered up from the inside out!   Are you?

Here’s the word from the Word.  Make this your prayer and receive the power of the Person of the Spirit of God.

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church." (Ephesians 1:18-22, NIV)   Power to make the dead live. That’s His power in us.

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The Power Of Your Love

Lord, I come to You;

Let my heart be changed, renewed;

Flowing from the grace

That I found in You.

And Lord, I've come to know

The weaknesses I see in me

Will be stripped away,

By the pow'r of Your love.

Hold me close!

Let Your love surround me!

Bring me near,

Draw me to Your side.

And as I wait

I'll rise up like the eagle,

And I will soar with You,

Your Spirit leads me on,

In the pow'r of Your love.

Lord, unveil my eyes,

Let me see You, face to face;

The knowledge of Your love

As You live in me.

Lord, renew my mind

As Your will unfolds in my life,

In living ev'ry day,

By the pow'r of Your love.

Geoff Bullock

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