What Are Your Principles?

Our Tuesday evening Ladies Meeting was a bit different. Oh, we had our wonderful buffet of favorite dishes – enough to feed twice as many as attended. We created a group prayer list of those we know that could use our support and God’s mercy. We had a lesson, and though we have one each meeting, this one was a bit different.

Instead of a speaker or our pastor’s helpmeet, we listened to InTouch.Org’s Dr. Charles Stanley discuss Daniel’s makings of wise decisions. Scripture references he gave was Daniel, Jeremiah 5:4-18, Jeremiah 32:26-28. Yep, you read that right – the book of Daniel, not a simple reference from the book.

You see, to live by principles rather than preferences, one has to know the principles. To live by the Bible’s precepts, one has to know the Bible. I cannot give you all of Daniel’s story here, it is up to my readers to know, or to do the background. Daniel made his decisions based on principles of his trust in God and God’s word.

For Christians, our principles are moral rules based on the word of God guiding our conduct. Those rules are God given and are boiled down by Christ:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40 KJV)

Doing anything else is living by our preferences – based on our likes, dislikes, pleasures, desires – without regard to moral rules. This is circumstantial or situational ethics, changing with society’s whims or cultural changes. Here there are no absolutes and the rules change with what feels good.

Oh, there is so much more we learned about choosing between principle and preference. And more of my notes will finding their way into this blog. Why? Living by principles takes place every single day. It’s a growth process, learning new things every single day, adding to the knowledge of how to become the image of Christ.

Trust me – we fail in so many ways, but we continue to admit our errors (and praise God as He forgives us!), look for examples and ways to do better and spend more time with God’s family. We will not achieve perfection here, so don’t hesitate to provide constructive criticism or ask questions about the journey.

I’m still growing.

Images

Wow, look at that precision!! Very carefully, these Air Force pilots have created the illusion of a mirrored image, only it is very, very real. Note that the pilots cannot see each other. This cannot be done on a trial/error methodology. They must plan before attempting.

I searched for such a photo when I thought of writing a blog about the book Second Daughter bought me for Christmas, “Changed into His Image: God’s plan for transforming your life.,” by Jim Berg.

First paragraph of first chapter is exactly what one would expect:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2 KJV)

You gotta know it’s not easy when the book has 350+ pages, a bibliography of three pages and scriptural references that cover ten pages. I also received (a bit by accident) the student book that accompanies this marvelous training tool.

I’ve only scanned the book, haven’t started the study at this point. I believe I need to give serious thought to what I believe He is like. If I’m going to work toward His image, what do I see?

Just recently we’ve looked at Him as the Good Shepherd. We’ve read of Him as the light of the world. We know Him as the Word that was in the beginning. He told the woman at the well who He was:

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:25-26 KJV)

He healed with a touch. He healed from a distance. He raised the dead. And we are expected to be His image. Tall order! But, He has explained who makes this happen.

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 KJV)

I don’t know how much from the book I will be posting – and it may take me a while to go through because I intend to use the Student Workbook I received, too.

Want to work through it, too? Be transformed?

I Must Admit

I’m doing things a bit differently. I used to write my blog in MS Word, formatting the scriptures as I copied them from e-Sword. Doing a Copy/Paste to the blog’s entry screen – then fixing format changes that occurred whether I wanted them or not. Since I keep ‘mirror’ blogs on Blogger and on Multiply, I then take the HTML code and place it on the other.

I self-imposed a limit – one standard 8.5x11 page and I’d finish my writing. Sometimes it took a tweak on the top and/or bottom margin to fit in that very last thought.

Now things are different. Bro. Brad Gilbert introduced me to a piece of software I didn’t know I had – Windows Live Writer – that came with my new laptop’s Windows 7. Now this is a snazzy little bit of software. Of course, as an old hand at GUI testing, it does lack a tiny bit of intuitiveness, but that’s true of all software. Somehow programmers just do not read our minds!!

It does free me up a bit on time. Everything is in one place. I don’t have to insert a photo, then do my Copy/Paste, edit, format. It’s all done in this one screen, then post to my blog. I can post a draft the publish it later. Well, that’s not really new – except the draft is posted from Live Writer – and Live Writer can retrieve that very same copy for additional editing, whether it’s published or not. Handy little gadget.

Look for it in your Windows 7. If you don’t have Windows 7, check it out with someone that does. Experiment. It’s fun.

Tomorrow – back to a Bible Reading post, I promise.

Parables

When I think of parables, I think of Jesus speaking to the people during his ministry. What I did not realize was references to parables in the Old Testament occur 17 times. Seven of these are used up in the story of Balaam and Balak in Numbers 23 and 24. Balaam, for all of his error, could not speak out against God’s chosen.

The last Old Testament reference is in Habakkuk following a vision given, for an appointed time, where is said:

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! (Habakkuk 2:6 KJV)

In the New Testament, Christ often explained his parables – when His disciples let Him know they did not understand what He was getting at. Can you imagine walking with Him daily and still having to ask? Why not, we do it all the time.

I also think about walking with Him in His home. Saying aloud, “So that’s what that meant!” Imagine for a moment the fullness of understanding that will be available to us.

But we can’t wait until then, any more than the Pharisees should have when Jesus said:

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13 KJV)

As they, we must go and learn about the meaning of His words.

There are many who are willing to tell us. Unfortunately, some are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7:15 KJV)

No – I don’t think we’re suppose to flee from preachers wearing wool! But we do need to flee from those who preach false doctrine. How many times have we heard, seen or read that the Bible is a collection of myths and fables. That it cannot be true, it preaches violence and hate, but some of its principles are good to live by? We were warned about that.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV)

In all honesty, I have not been called to tell anyone which is right or which is wrong. God has that information for all of us when we spend time in prayer with His word. God grant that we may understand Christ’s doctrine, taught with authority. Look for the doctrine in His words.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28-29 KJV)

“Good Shepherd” by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674)

Troubles?

Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles:

Sound like a good start for your day? Got troubles? Not close to the ones described by the psalmist here, for he continued:

and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. (Psalms 88:2-3 KJV)

I would venture to say most of us are not facing the grave right now. We will someday, but not today. We face trials and temptations, but there are so many ways to face them standing firm on the rock of our salvation.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV)

Jesus told us patience has importance:

In your patience possess ye your souls. (Luke 21:19 KJV)

And how do we gain that patience? Paul wrote to Christians about this very subject:

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:1-5 KJV)

My heart remains broken for one who lost patience, turning away from opportunity, heading down a path that does not display the Lord’s loving signposts. How do I know this? Not through judgment, but through fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)

Please do not assume I’m being judgmental, though eventually that will be my job description:

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3 KJV)

Until then, I’ll stick to fruit inspection, such as yesterday’s post.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:16 KJV)

Ephesians 4:29

While reading in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, I find philosophers, from Plato to date, extrapolate philosophical discussions from totally impossible hypothetical situations.

That’s one reason I do appreciate our youth pastor. How did I jump so far in topics? I didn’t. Our youth pastor is working to show that God is real and that we need not look for hypothetical scenarios to discover this reality.

I’ve known him since he was a teen. And now he’s writing the lessons for our teens. Today’s lesson is:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4:29 KJV)

His most vivid illustration is that when we use corrupt communications, it is like shoving rotten fruit into someone’s mouth! Now that’s a picture we need to keep in our minds when we’re tempted to pass along a tidy bit of gossip, isn’t it?

He asks our young people to “keep each other accountable and encourage one another to read the Bible and pray daily.” The same thing I’ve been doing right here for several years. He’s asking them to use positive peer pressure, which will take the place of the negative peer pressure that can lead to damaging a child’s life. What we’re teaching is based on years of experience, handed down.

Encouraging teens to obey the law and not drink or be around teens drinking could have saved the lives of many who died in drunk driving accidents. Whether the church frowns on it or not, there is a legal age limit that teen peer pressure attempts to thwart – and some parents, too. The worst excuse in the world is, “They will drink elsewhere, so I’d rather they do it here.” Yet, I’ve heard those very words from a parent of two teens.

Teen years are volatile and boundaries are stretched, often times beyond their limits. There are no examples in the animal world around us that match this situation. Leaving the nest doesn’t capture the relationship children retain with their parents, neither does assimilation of youngsters into a lion’s pride. There are no other relationships in the natural world as that of teens, stuck in between being children and acting as adults.

Corrupt communication coming out of their mouths got there through their ears and eyes over years. They may have heard it from their parents or other family members. Or it may be new to them through friends at school. It is their decision whether to take it in, or walk away. Teens have not shown expertise in walking away from corruption, communication or not. Part of that boundary testing.

So we speak to them of real world situations and offer to them opportunities to tell their own scenarios as to how to stay away from corrupt communication. We teach them about edification. That’s not an old word, it’s still in use today. We use it when we talk about an edifice when we speak of an imposing building. Edify means to build up, to encourage, in a spiritual sense, for spiritual improvement. Actually, these blogs I write are intended to do just that – for me and for my readers.

Encouraging spiritual growth offers something to both me and my readers – I have the opportunity to serve, to minister to those who will hear, and through grace, that undeserved favor from God that is given to those who serve Him, my readers are edified. It is my prayer that they will pass along the verses, the thoughts, the nearness to our Father that they bring.

Isn’t it a blessing, just being a Christian!

Job 3

"Job restored to prosperity" by Laurent de la Hyre

I’ve not spent much time reading Job. It begins one of Professor Horner’s Lists and yesterday I read the third chapter of each of those lists.

And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. [Job 3:2-6 KJV]

I was struck with the beauty of the description. I can understand why John L. McKenzie, in “Dictionary of the Bible,” calls the book of Job "the most profound and literary work of the entire Old Testament." It is poetry at the same time describing God’s interaction with this one man.

In those four verses, we read Job’s cursing the day he was born, but never once blaming God for that birth. We were told earlier in Job:

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. [Job 1:1 KJV]

He prayed and sacrificed for his children, too:

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. [Job 1:5 KJV]

I have seen and heard less righteous blame God for happenings in their lives. Here is a bereft man with his friends and he only mentions that God should not look upon the day of his birth.

I’m afraid that I’ve looked upon Job as poetry and a lesson in patience without seeing the painful reality of this historical figure. For the first time I could visualize him sitting in ashes, clothes torn in spiritual agony for the loss of his children, scraping away the oozing from the painful sores afflicting him. All because God allowed it to happen – and for thousands of years it brings opportunity to acknowledge God’s sovereignty. There would have been no example for us had Job cursed God for his pain. Instead, we see God’s provision for Job, His own patience as Job and his friends work through “WHY?”

Micah tells us what God requires

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? [Micah 6:8 KJV]

Can we do so through unbearable pain and sorrow until we see God’s plan unfold?