God’s Love

My son and I have a bit of a game we play.  It’s called “Who loves whom more?”  As you can guess, he claims that he loves me all the way to the top of God’s head in heaven, and then I claim that I love him to God and back times ten.  And on and on.  But in thinking about my love for my child and being unable to adequately express the depth and breadth of that love in words, I think that this must only be one tiny, miniscule fraction of the love God has for us, his children.  And with that, I let the David Crowder Band take over in this video below of their song, “How He Loves.”  Let God touch your heart today.  (Hit “Continue Reading” below–haven’t figured out this glitch in the system yet)

What’s God Doin’?

My 4 year old son has been incredibly curious about spiritual things over the last 6 months or so.  He asked Jesus into his heart during this time and, although the jury is still out on whether he understood enough about what he was doing, he has been asking question after question since then and developing a love for God that is simply beautiful.  One of the questions that he asks daily (and by daily, I mean multiple times a day) is:  “What’s God doin’?”

So I’m asking for help.  Help me answer his question.  There are only so many times I can say things like:

“He’s smiling at you.”

“He’s listening to people’s prayers and answering them.”

“He’s taking care of the world.”

“He’s loving you and being proud of your interest in Him.”

“He’s helping people.”

I’m reading a great book right now put out by Focus on the Family called “Teaching Kids About God.”

It lays out what kids can comprehend about God (and what we should be teaching them) broken down by age groups.  Hopefully I will have more answers to my son’s questions after reading this book, but in the meantime, does anyone have any ideas?

One Nation Under God

The Pledge of Allegiance. . .the Declaration of Independence. . .our Founding Fathers. . .God Bless America

These documents, people, and songs are a part of America’s history and heritage.  They have been the foundation of this country for centuries. . .and what’s more, God has been the foundation of this part of history.  There are some out there today that want to deny that fact, and although it is undeniable that God has been a large part of our past as a nation, there is a strong possibility that He will not be our nation’s future.  Are we sure we want that?  And are we ready for the fight that could ensue as well as the ramifications of denying God?  Our great country will go to “hell in a hand basket”.

The Lord says in Isaiah 65:1, “I’ve made myself available to those who haven’t bothered to ask.  I’m here, ready to be found by those who haven’t bothered to look.  I kept saying, ‘I’m here, I’m right here’ to a nation that ignored me.  I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, people who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way.  They get on my nerves, are rude to my face day after day, make up their own kitchen religion, a potluck religious stew.  They spend the night in tombs to get messages from the dead, eat forbidden foods and drink a witch’s brew of potions and charms.  They say, ‘Keep your distance.  Don’t touch me.  I’m holier than thou.’”

Our self-centered culture, obsessed with New Age and Humanism, is stiff-arming God, essentially saying, “I don’t need God.  I rely on myself and myself alone.  I’m holy enough.”

Jeremiah 7:27  “Tell them, ‘You are the nation that wouldn’t obey God, that refused all discipline.  Truth has disappeared.  There’s not a trace of it left in your mouths.”

Truth is, in fact, disappearing.  It still exists, as surely as God exists, but it is being denied, refused, and squelched in society today.  Obedience and discipline are fading virtues as well.

Psalm 59:8  “But you, God, break out laughing; you treat the godless nations like jokes.”

Do we really want Almighty God laughing at us and treating us like jokes?!  Yet we continue to desire godlessness.

Galatians 6:7  “Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.”

We will sow what we reap. . .individually and as a nation.  That is enough to scare me.

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Oh, how I long for the United States of America to be a nation whose focus is again on God our Lord!  How I long for a revival so powerful that God and God alone will be praised!

“If we ever forget that we’re One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”  Ronald Reagan

How true, and my fear is that we are headed there. . .and headed there fast under President Obama’s leadership, a liberal Congress, activist judges, and corrupt local governments.

From Happiness to Holiness in Marriages

Why are marriages failing at an alarming rate?  And why are fewer people deciding to get married at all, choosing instead to co-habitate?  According to MarriageToday.org, more than 50% of marriages are now ending in divorce, and “for the first time in our nation’s history, married-couple households are in the minority.” 

I won’t paint all divorces under one broad brush, but I will bet that one significant contributing factor is that we have allowed our culture to teach us to seek self-centered happiness over God-centered holiness.  Actually, we have had this “flesh” with us since sin was introduced in the Garden of Eden, and the culture reinforces it daily.  Whether we divorce because of infidelity (one spouse seeking their happiness over their marital commitment), unmet expectations (we feel that we have a “right” to our happiness), or we’ve fallen out of love, our culture has taught us that these are all valid reasons and that divorce need not be a big deal anymore.  In fact, I’ve even heard psychologists say that it is better for the kids if the parents divorce rather than live in conflict.  I’m not so sure that I agree (although I am not talking about cases where there is blatant, unrepentant sexual or physical abuse of the spouse or children–those are incredibly valid reasons to, at the least, legally separate).

I’m not saying that marriage is easy.  And I’m not passing judgment on those who have been through a divorce.  I’m simply looking at the culture that we live in and watching as those secular and anti-biblical values and worldviews penetrate our marriages, Christian or otherwise, all over the country and world.  I’ve weathered difficult times in my marriage – times that others may have looked in on us and encouraged us to divorce.  That’s what society would have said to us.  But what if marriage was God’s avenue to make us more like Him, rather than perfectly happy (as defined by us)?  As I celebrate my anniversary with my husband this week, I am reminded of one of the most profound marriage books I have ever read called Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.  In this book, Thomas makes a very compelling case that “God designed marriage to make us HOLY more than to make us HAPPY.”  He says, “If I’m married only for my happiness, and my happiness wanes for whatever reason, one little spark will burn the entire forest of my relationship.” 

When I think of the first year of my own marriage when my happiness hinged on what my husband did or didn’t do, and likewise for him, that inevitably led to problems and conflicts, which unfortunately would lead to occasional uses of the word “divorce.”  I realized that it really can be just that easy to arrive at that word.  But when I focus on what God wants to refine in me through my marriage, it becomes not about me, but about God.  And we found that marriage has made us confront our own selfishness and pride more than any other relationship we have ever encountered, or probably ever will. 

Thomas confirms this throughout the book, as you can see through these chapter subtitles:

• Marital analogies teach us truths about God
• Marriage teaches us to love
• Marriage teaches us to respect others
• Good marriage can foster good prayer
• How marriage exposes our sin
• Building the spiritual discipline of perseverance
• Embracing difficulty in order to build character
• Marriage teaches us to forgive
• Marriage can build in us a servant’s heart
• Marriage can make us more aware of God’s presence
• Marriage can develop our spiritual calling, mission, and purpose

When we allow marriage to teach us these things, we will find that we are focusing more on becoming holy as Christ is holy, and not as much on making our spouse conform to our image.  Easier said than done, yes, but if we are spending our life contributing to an eternal reward rather than earthly happiness, then isn’t it worth it?

I highly recommend Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.

Recommended Books on Christian Living

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

The best and only devotional you will ever need!  It is the best look at the tender heart of God that I’ve ever read!

 

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Former atheist, Lewis is one of the leading authors of Christian apologetics.  Mere Christianity is a classic and must-read!

 

See Yourself as God Sees You by Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell reminds all of us, through the Bible, who we are in Christ Jesus and how living in that truth can change our life.

Recommended Books on Marriage

 Sacred Marriage by Gary L. Thomas

An amazing book that puts marriage in perspective.  God did not promise that marriage would make us happy.  He is using it to make us holy.

 

Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs

What a simple message!  Men desire respect.  Women long for love.  Get off the Crazy Cycle for good.

 

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

An essential book on marital communication.  We all have a love language–a primary way that we receive and feel love.  Learn to speak your spouse’s language and teach them to speak yours!

 

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian

What can be more powerful than praying for your spouse?  Stormie Omartian writes in a compassionate way and has beautiful and personalizable prayers for nearly every occasion.  (See also The Power of a Praying Husband)

Recommended Books on Our Culture

The God of Stones and Spiders by Charles Colson

A collection of Colson’s writings from the 80’s. It’s amazing how his observations about our culture ring true even more so today. Excellent and highly recommended!