Nature Magnifies God

    Good morning! I've chosen a new theme for the next few weeks: Nature. This week, as trees are once again flourishing, plants are growing daily in our gardens, and the birds and bunnies are abundant in our hedgerows, we will consider how Nature magnifies God and how it declares His greatness?

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech or language

Where their voice is not heard.

Their sound has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tent for the sun,

Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

Its rising is from one end of heaven,

And its circuit to the other end;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat."

(Psalm 19:1-6 NKJV)

    As small children, our very first understanding of God comes from our joy of nature - the feel of the cool grass under our toddling feet, the bright endless sky, the squint-causing sunshine, the soft breezes that carry bubbles and dandelion fuzz in swirls around us, and the feel of oh-so-fluffy, furry soft animals.

    All of it declares the greatness of the Master Creator.
    All of nature magnifies God to us!

"For since the creation of the world 

His invisible attributes are clearly seen, 

being understood by the things that are made, 

even His eternal power and Godhead [deity]..." 

(Romans 1:20 NKJV)

    Step outside this week, or sit where you can look out a window, and appreciate the beauty God has created. Let it tell you of His mighty power and His wondrous creativity!

    All of creation declares God's greatness. We, as part of God's creation - the part He declared as "very good" (Genesis 1:31) - should make use of EVERY opportunity to magnify Him to others!

"Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

and let us exalt His name together."

(Psalm 34:3 NKJV)

You can do it! So can I!!

Parents, Don't Get Lost in the Temporary

    Don’t lose yourself in the temporary.

    Continuing our thoughts from last week, it is important that we, as parents, do not lose sight of our ultimate hope for our children: that they walk in the Truth (3 John 4). We want them to choose to do what is good and right in God’s sight, respecting the Bible as His Word, and honouring Him with their lives.

    We cannot lose ourselves in the temporary.

    The “want” of the hour may not matter tomorrow. The “absolute, must-have” item of the day will soon be forgotten and likely be replaced with something new. The “but everyone is going” event will pass… but the minutes, hours, days of pleading and begging may feel like an eternity and it can be easy to give in ‘just this once’ simply to bring about peace. Is that the kind of peace you want though? The short-term peace that lasts only until the next “Please, please, please, please, please!” erupts?

    Don’t lose yourself in the temporary.

    Maintain your focus on Jesus, concentrate on the eternal, and establish long-term peace for your children (and your home) by teaching them to look beyond the current and constantly changing fads of the world to what is real and worthy and never changing (1 Peter 1:23-25, Hebrews 13:8). When we provide our children with insights into God and His loving commands, showing them His manifold wisdom in providing boundaries and granting us immense freedoms to live a beneficial life we will be providing them with the means to build a faith, a focus, and a fruitful life before God, one of long-term peace and contentment.

    Not everything that our kids want is good or needful. Let’s ask for wisdom (James 1:5) to stay focused on Christ and remember our ultimate hope for our kids. Let’s love our children enough to love Christ more (Matthew 10:37) and together, follow His example in obedience to God, and serving others with love and good works.

“Be strong and of good courage…”

You can do it! So can I!!

Let today be the day!!

Loving Our Children Enough To Love Jesus More

"...he who loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37 NKJV)

    Parenting can be tough. We are blessed with the stewardship of raising our children yet there are times when they resist the raising; when they push the boundaries we've set for them and try to establish their own rule. Attitudes and eye rolls suddenly enter stage left, doors get slammed, feet stomp, and volume increases (in their earpods as they try to drown out our voice of instruction). Now is not the time to give in to their demands - this is no hostage situation, this is a normal Tuesday night! - now is the time for wise, prayerful parental decision-making (James 1:5)!

 

    As Christians, we must always be focused on the big picture of life. As we raise our children we must keep in mind our ultimate hope for them: that they would come to respect and reverence God, happily follow His commands, and lead a faithful life before Him because if they have a true love for God in their hearts, all their other future decisions (how they treat others, where they work, whom they marry, how to raise their children, etc.) will guided by and made with respect to God and His Word.

 

    No matter what our kids ask/plead/beg/bargain/barter for we must keep our big picture hope for them in our minds and ask ourselves, "Is what they are wanting going to lead them toward God or away from Him?"

 

    It can be easy to fall prey to their emotional pleas simply to have peace but we must love Christ more than our sons and daughters because in doing so, we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and show our kids, through word and action, that God's way truly is the BEST way!  We will replicate God's boundaries in our homes and live joyfully in the freedoms God has granted us (Galatians 5:22-23), allowing us to reflect God's love and prove His wisdom to our children.

 

    Are you ready to stand for Christ, even if it means having to say "No" to your children? Do you love your children enough to love Christ more?

 

You can do it! So can I!

 

Let today be the day!

Learning to Fear the LORD is the Best Place to Begin

    It’s hard to admit that we don’t know something, isn’t it? We would like to be regarded as wise and learned having something to offer others by way of information or advice. We read newspapers, webpages, and self-help books, we may watch the news and all the current TED talks; we even save up money to send our children to college/university because we want them to be educated and have “a good start in life.”

    There is nothing wrong with any of these pursuits as long as first and foremost we learn to fear God and we teach our children to also fear the Lord (consider Deuteronomy 31:12-13, Psalm 78:4-7)!

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have those who do His commandments.” (Psalm 111:10 NKJV)

    The proverbs declare that fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7, read vv28-32 to see their result) and that the fear of the Lord is the very first – and necessary – step in attaining knowledge and gaining wisdom.

    How do we fear the Lord and attain knowledge?

    We need to humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge that everything we see – everything we need in order to exist – was brought about through God’s wisdom, knowledge, and understanding – EVERYTHING (Genesis 1, Proverbs 3:19-20)! God did all this so that we might seek Him (Acts 17:24-27), fear Him (Psalm 33:8) and tell our children of His wondrous ways (Deuteronomy 4:10, Psalm 145:1-7, 10-13)!

    We also need to acknowledge that although there are many pathways that have been devised by man through the centuries, that there is only ONE path that leads us toward God (Matthew 7:13-14) and access to that one pathway is found only in His Word (John 8:31-32, 14:6)! Compare what you are being taught at church services to what is found in the Bible. Are things being left out? Are things being added? Divergences from the path is no longer the path!  

    Obedience to God’s commands will give you good understanding. For example, there are promised blessings that can only be received through obedience of His commands. Consider the command found in Philippians 4:6-7, ‘Be anxious for nothing, instead pray and be thankful,' the blessing from obeying is that ‘you will receive the peace of God that surpasses all understanding and it will guard your heart and mind through Jesus.’

    When we obey and see the result we will gain understanding of God’s wisdom, His faithfulness, and His love; we will grow to respect and trust Him more, leading us toward greater wisdom and greater understanding as we grow and develop our faith in obedience to Him!

    The very best start you can give yourself is to humble yourself and fear God enough to seek HIM, through HIS word and in obedience to HIS way and in doing so gain wisdom and good understanding, teaching your children through word and example to do the same! Gain the type of wisdom that will be valuable to all generations!

“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom and before honour is humility.” (Proverbs 15:33 NKJV)

From wherever you are right now – BEGIN!