School days, school days, dear old golden rule days; reading and writing and 'rithmatic... There are years and dollars spent on getting an education. Learning to listen and reason and memorize and put it all together is a good part of all the time spent going to school. There are quizzes and tests and exams. These are to be expected in order for you and the teacher to find out how much you have learned.
All this is not just to make groves in your brain, but that knowledge is to be put to use. A doctor needs to know math besides anatomy and physiology. An engineer needs to know chemistry as well as physics. Acquiring knowledge is a life-long exercise to be put to use, not stored in a briefcase.
There may be times when you think, "Boy, I have got it." Those algebra formulas were a mystery, then you finally saw the light and knew you were going to get an 'A' on the upcoming exam, but the problem was worded just a bit differently and you missed it. Time to go back to the book!
There have been so, so many times that I have thought I had it when it came to understanding myself or God's way, but when it came to 'where the rubber meets the road', I failed. In the spiritual realm there is more required that putting book learning in your head. You can memorize the whole Bible and it do you not one whit of good. You can read the Bible every day and still come out a looser. It is to be used not just known. The basic requirement for using it is a willingness to obey it. Jesus said, in John 17:7 "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God..." If Jesus' teaching is of God, it needs to be obeyed. Jesus was chiding Jewish leaders for not having obeyed Moses' law. They had this law for more than a thousand years and supposedly revered it, but they had not taken it personally and obeyed it. They had not gotten it. They just thought they had. They failed the test. They did not recognize Jesus as the one God had promised to send in those books they had read and studied for years.
It is time to take God seriously. He reveals Himself in the Bible and discloses His way to us. It is up to us to take it in and take it personally and put it to work.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
#Immunity
The human body is an amazing thing. From the time a baby is separated from it's mother, it is on it's own. Nourishment comes through it's mouth and not the umbilical cord. It breathes through it's nose. It's immune system has received a good start from it's mother, but now has to build on to that foundation.
It is so natural for babies to crawl before they walk and the floor is the place where that happens and floors are not always clean. Babies put everything they can into their mouths, dirty or not, and sometimes unwashed thumbs. Try as they can, mothers cannot keep everything clean all the time, but perhaps that is a good thing. A body gradually builds resistance to germs as it becomes exposed to them over time. If all things were sanitized there would be no opportunity to build a strong immune system. So, playing in the dirt and making mud pies and eating finger food is really doing a beneficial thing for the body.
It has been said that 'nail-bitters' may have a healthier immunity because of all the germs occupying space under the nails. Exposing the skin to moderate amounts of sun creates Vitamin D on the skin and taking Vitamin D3 and C strengthens the immune system. The body has resources built in itself to fight invaders. Physically speaking we are in good shape in this world, but then, there is the spiritual world and we need resources to survive in good health.
Jesus told his followers that they were to 'be in the world, but not of it' which means that while we live on this planet we are not to absorb the world's system into our lives. We are not to play in the mud. We do have a spiritual immune system; "Christ in you, the hope of Glory" and resources to strengthen it. The Word of God is better than Vitamin D3 to the soul. A daily dose of God's Word will do wonders to give you the ability to fight invaders and shore up your faith and keep you healthy.
It is so natural for babies to crawl before they walk and the floor is the place where that happens and floors are not always clean. Babies put everything they can into their mouths, dirty or not, and sometimes unwashed thumbs. Try as they can, mothers cannot keep everything clean all the time, but perhaps that is a good thing. A body gradually builds resistance to germs as it becomes exposed to them over time. If all things were sanitized there would be no opportunity to build a strong immune system. So, playing in the dirt and making mud pies and eating finger food is really doing a beneficial thing for the body.
It has been said that 'nail-bitters' may have a healthier immunity because of all the germs occupying space under the nails. Exposing the skin to moderate amounts of sun creates Vitamin D on the skin and taking Vitamin D3 and C strengthens the immune system. The body has resources built in itself to fight invaders. Physically speaking we are in good shape in this world, but then, there is the spiritual world and we need resources to survive in good health.
Jesus told his followers that they were to 'be in the world, but not of it' which means that while we live on this planet we are not to absorb the world's system into our lives. We are not to play in the mud. We do have a spiritual immune system; "Christ in you, the hope of Glory" and resources to strengthen it. The Word of God is better than Vitamin D3 to the soul. A daily dose of God's Word will do wonders to give you the ability to fight invaders and shore up your faith and keep you healthy.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
#INDEPENDENCE
Some mama birds have to push their little fledglings out of the nest when they are ready to fly on their on, but something is holding them back. I was not one of those. I was so ready to be on my own and be independent. After graduating from high school and working just three months in a hospital as a lab technician, I decided to leave home and go to college. There was no fear or worry, just great anticipation for life. I don't remember seeking counsel from my parents or receiving any. I just bombarded ahead.
That was my style, full speed ahead. It was my style with God, too. I had become a child of God's at the age of 10 and knew He was my Heavenly Father, yet I kind of ignored Him. Growing up going to church twice one Sunday and once or more in the middle of the week had given me lots of sermons and memorizing of scripture and '"knowledge". I was an independent believer. But, God didn't want that kind of relationship. He want a close, intimate, father-child relationship and after 15 years of waiting, He began a serious campaign to get me to want a closer relationship with Him. It worked and I agreed with Him about what He was convicting me about and took steps to solve the problem, but the bad habits of independence are hard to break.
Some ten years later, I realized that I did not have that intimacy other Christians had with God and took a big leap and sought counsel from another Christian. She recognized the problem immediately and told me that what I had done with God earlier wasn't to be just a one time thing, but was something that needed to be done daily, This father-child relationship required frequent talking with one another and getting to know each other. Of course, God already knows everything about me, but He is infinite and there are not enough hours on earth to get to know Him fully, so every little minute I spend reading His word and telling Him how I feel and asking Him to elaborate only helps me to understand this marvelous Father-God a little bit more. The independent spirit has developed into a dependent spirit that acknowledges a great need know Him better and better and to love Him more and more and to obey and honor my Father-God.
"I need Thee, O, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee." This is my theme now.
That was my style, full speed ahead. It was my style with God, too. I had become a child of God's at the age of 10 and knew He was my Heavenly Father, yet I kind of ignored Him. Growing up going to church twice one Sunday and once or more in the middle of the week had given me lots of sermons and memorizing of scripture and '"knowledge". I was an independent believer. But, God didn't want that kind of relationship. He want a close, intimate, father-child relationship and after 15 years of waiting, He began a serious campaign to get me to want a closer relationship with Him. It worked and I agreed with Him about what He was convicting me about and took steps to solve the problem, but the bad habits of independence are hard to break.
Some ten years later, I realized that I did not have that intimacy other Christians had with God and took a big leap and sought counsel from another Christian. She recognized the problem immediately and told me that what I had done with God earlier wasn't to be just a one time thing, but was something that needed to be done daily, This father-child relationship required frequent talking with one another and getting to know each other. Of course, God already knows everything about me, but He is infinite and there are not enough hours on earth to get to know Him fully, so every little minute I spend reading His word and telling Him how I feel and asking Him to elaborate only helps me to understand this marvelous Father-God a little bit more. The independent spirit has developed into a dependent spirit that acknowledges a great need know Him better and better and to love Him more and more and to obey and honor my Father-God.
"I need Thee, O, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee." This is my theme now.
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