Spiritual Medicine Cabinet

The other day I was looking through our medicine cabinet at home.  I have to tell you, we have a ton of stuff in there.  It’s almost like we’re prepared for anything; yet, whenever we need something, it seems like we don’t have anything to fill that need. 

Has your spiritual life been that way before?  You feel like you are fully stocked as you’ve read your Bible, you’ve prayed, and you've been to church.  You feel like you are fully stocked against anything that the devil may throw your way.  Then all of a sudden something comes up and those supplies are inadequate.

Why does that happen?  How can you feel prepared but instead not have what you need?  Well, this is one thing that I know; unless you are keeping up, those supplies can expire. 

Now you may be asking if all the Bible reading and prayer can expire at this point.  My thought there is that every time that you spend time with God there is something new that He is teaching you.  He speaks to me differently when I read the same Bible stories.  One time He teaches me about this part of the story and the next it’s something entirely different.  Also worship music can hit me in different ways depending on the circumstances which I’m in when hearing it.

So, my point today is that you should never feel fully prepared.  You should always be rotating the stock in your spiritual medicine cabinet to make sure that you have whatever is needed when the enemy attacks.  Keep on reading your Bible. Keep on worshiping God.  This will keep you ready and not finding yourself in need later.

What is all the Buzz About?

A few years ago my wife got the great idea of planting flowers along the driveway side of our house.  She was able to get some flowers from a friend of ours and we went about planting them in the before mentioned area.

One thing that I didn’t know about those flowers was how many bees they would attract when they bloomed.  It’s almost like someone is a beekeeper and has a hive only 2 feet from my house for about 3 weeks every summer.  And these bees aren’t just little things, they are the biggest bees I’ve ever seen!

These flowers remind me of another lesson I’ve learned in my spiritual walk.  It’s easy as a Christian to create a buzz and get people interested in God for a short period of time.  What is difficult is sustaining that buzz and helping those attracted gain their own spiritual walk with Christ. You can easily get a quick glance from those interested in something you are doing, but sustaining that interest is another story.

So, does that mean you shouldn’t get the world’s attention from time to time?  No.  In fact, that attention you gain is great.  Yet, the key is to have a plan for, what you are going to do once you have that attention in order to sustain it and convert it to a love for God.  You have to plan for success, as you never want to plan to fail, right?

Today I want to encourage you to continue seeking others for God and doing what you can to gain the interest of those around you who aren’t Christians in order to bring them to a relationship with Christ.  But, I also want to encourage you to have a plan for what to do with those interested parties once you’ve gotten their attention.  You don’t want to be like the flowers near my driveway that have bees, thankfully, for only a short time.  You want the bees in your life to come near, stay awhile, and get cozy with God!

A Lesson Being Learned

I’m often amazed by the lessons that God teaches me and the variety of ways that He does it.  Quite often He’ll use something that happens to a family member to remind me of a lesson I’d learned in the past or teach me something new.

The past four  weeks have been just such an example.  You see, four weeks ago Noah (my twelve-year-old 7^th grader) broke his wrist sacking the QB and making him fumble in the team’s first scrimmage with the 8^th grade team.  I was standing there on the sidelines watching the play and remember seeing him grab his wrist and say it hurt, but he kept on playing.  I noticed he wasn’t very effective but was still willing to work through the injury.

It was after the practice that we started to evaluate the injury together.  Almost immediately I went back to the time he had broken his arm a few years back and many of the symptoms were the same.  Thankfully I work run an office of four orthopaedic surgeons so I knew which questions to ask, and I quickly determined that he needed to see one of the doctors the next day.

The lesson that God has been teaching me is twofold.  First He taught me that knowledge really can be power.  In this case knowing the right questions to ask and knowing how to treat the injury allowed us to get the wrist taken care of right away instead of letting the injury continue to linger.  This also translates to my spiritual life, as the more I’m in God’s word and the more of it I know, the stronger I am when problems arise.  I know how to handle spiritual situations because He has provided me with the resources to diagnose an issue and take care of it.

The second lesson has been patience.  God has taught me to be patient and not allow my excitement to take over.  I realize that this injury of Noah’s, if not taken care of correctly, could linger the rest of his life.  I’ve come to the realization that 7^th grade football isn’t the end-all-be-all of his career, and that if his wrist takes longer to heal I will be ok with waiting (even if the rest of the parents on the team are not)!  God has reminded me of this lesson as it’s one that I continually need to be reminded of.  It’s His timing for my debt to be paid off, for someone I’m witnessing to gain a full understanding of the relationship they need with God, and with Noah’s wrist healing and his getting back on the field.

God continually uses situations and other people in our lives to teach us lessons.  Sometimes it is a huge mallet hitting us in the head, while other times it’s a simple tap on the shoulder.  Yet, there are always lessons to be learned in order for advancement in our spiritual lives to be attained.

Donuts

I know you can’t tell when you look at me, but I’m a big fan of donuts (Insert laughter here).  There is just something about the flavor of a donut that I love.  My favorite are a strawberry jelly filled that have a icing on top.  There are two main type of the classic round donut.  There are the regular ones with the hole in the middle and also the ones that have the filling in the middle instead. 

Have you ever seen your Christian walk like a donut?  When you are empty inside and missing God then you are like the donut with a hole in the middle.  At your core there is something missing, and you have an area that could be filled.  There is a void that He is just waiting to fill whenever you ask.  Believers are those that have allowed God to fill them and He has done just that.

So, what kind of donut would you rather be?  Would you rather be out there with a hole in the middle, or would you rather be filled?  If you know what you want to be, why not go out and try to find other donuts with a hole in the middle and get them filled as well?

Virus

Have you ever had a computer problem caused by a virus?  You know, one of those nasty things that infects your computer and tries to take over everything?  It really limits what you can do with the computer, and it can even eventually take over the whole thing.

The virus that is infecting your computer is trying to find a weakness in the computer’s defenses and use that weakness in order to spread.  As it spreads it takes over system after system until it’s run out of space to spread, often crippling your computer.

Do you realize that what I’ve described can also be the process behind how sin works in our lives?  Sin is Satan’s way of lowering our defenses in order to block out the good things that God wants us to have in our lives, just like that computer virus does to your computer.  Satan’s goal with sin is to use it as an entrance into your life and allow more sin into your life.  If Satan can get that one crack in the defenses he will eventually try to block you from the relationship with God that you’ve been building.

So how do you keep sin from getting into your life?  Let’s be honest, sin is a part of life.  You and I are not ever going to be perfect so there will be times when sin will enter your life even when you are vigilant in keeping it away.  So, the key, just like with your computer, is having a great antivirus program.  God provides us with  free access to the best program you could ever download:  The Bible!  Then He also sets other people in our lives that are there to support us and help us grow in our relationship with Him.  There are also small groups, Bible studies, worship music, friends, prayer and accountability partners, and so much more readily available for us at any time.  All provided by the God who loves us all and wants to make sure that we are always growing in our relationship with Him.

So, if you want to keep from allowing that virus known as sin a foothold in your life, it’s time to use the programs that God makes readily available to each and every one of us.  

Positive Memories

What do you see when you look back at your childhood?  Do you remember all the little arguments you had with your parents?  Maybe you remember that big fight you had because you didn’t get your way?  Oh, and I’m sure you remember that time at the store when they wouldn’t buy you that new cereal that just came out, the new cassette tape, or vinyl album?

I’m guessing that what you remember most is the good times that you had.  (I realize that not everyone has fond memories, but follow along here please.)  You remember the family trip you took, or the late night you spend talking with mom or dad.  Maybe you remember the first time dad let you have the car keys on your own, or the sporting events of yours that they attended?

My point is that parenting in my mind is about creating those positive encounters that our children will always look back on in a positive light.  They aren’t going to remember the argument you had about not brushing their teeth tonight, but instead they’ll remember the family trip to Cedar Point.  They will remember the fact that you helped them get better at their favorite sport, or at least attended their games. 

God calls us to be good parents, which can leave a lot to interpretation.  But there is one thing I know for sure.  Being with your children as they are growing up and showing an interest in the things they do and wanting to be with them is a big part of being a parent.  Focus on the Family says it like this:

Your presence matters. Children regard your presence as a sign of care and connectedness. Families who eat meals together, play together and build traditions together thrive.

If you want your family to thrive and your children to have those positive memories of their childhood, spend some time with them and create those memories.  It is another way we can make God’s kingdom stronger.

Time for a Decision

Through my many dealings with people I hear a variety of prayer requests.  Lately I’ve heard from a young lady who really wants her life to be different, but she doesn’t understand why God doesn’t fully answer her prayers.  I was praying through how to help this person when God had this thought pop into my head:  “You can be angry with God for what you don't have, or happy with Him for what you do have.”

What a decision that is!  I had never thought of my Christian walk this way but, man, does that hit home!.  Yet, what a true statement it is! 

In our society it’s become easy to be negative and so not accept that God really is working in our lives.  We don’t have things the way we want them, so we just assume that God isn’t helping us.  Instead, He is richly blessing us every day and we don’t even notice.

So, my question for you today is:  Can you accept that you now have to do the hard thing?  You have to decide to be happy for what you do have instead of being unhappy for what you don’t have.  I have a feeling that once you make that change that you’ll find yourself blessed even more.

So, give it a try!  What do you have to lose?