Colossians 3:23-24
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Psalm 127:3
"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from Him."
This particular post is meant, not to be a politically correct pat on the back, but to be an encouragement to parents for following the will of God in raising your children, particularly in the area of education. There are many options and God has one that is right for your child. So, what does inheritance have to do with education?
Immediately the story of the prodigal son comes to mind. I believe that the inheritance was given based on the love of a parent for his child, not based on the how deserving the child was. The inheritance was supposed to have come after the father died. As we all remember, the son asked for his inheritance early, and then he squandered it all, before coming home to his father, a broken and contrite man.
I think of the heritage we have as Christians, of the reward we will receive at the end of this life. I think of heaven and the promise, that it will one day be my home. My Father has already died and though I don't deserve heaven, my Father loved me and put it in His will for me. But before He hands it over, He means for me to live. I think of the two precious children God has given to me in this life. I am so very, very blessed. They are God's gift to me, regardless of what I choose to do with them. My inheritance is not just eternity but responsibility. I could squander the time I have with my children. I could waste the opportunities I have been given in them, and I would still be a Christian. I would still inherit eternity in Heaven.
But the question is whether or not I will return to my Father empty-handed. You see, what I do in this life does matter. Good works do matter. Many scriptures discuss doing good, to receive an eternal reward. Heaven has already been guaranteed for the Christian. But God poured His Holy Spirit into each Christian, and part of the fruit of the Spirit is "goodness". So just because we did not deserve our salvation or do anything to earn it, does not mean that God did not call us to do good works. He did!
He has called me to do good each day with the reward of my two children. He has called me to love and nurture, teach and train, encourage and correct. And being the complete God that He is, He also provided a manual to follow in raising them. They did, indeed, come with instructions! God's word (both written and implied) holds the answer to any parenting mystery I will ever face, AND it is perfect for my two children. Everything, even their education is addressed.
My husband and I believe very strongly that God instructed us to put our oldest child (the little one is too young) in a public school in our city. The decision was not an easy one for me, as I assumed His will would be very different. So I scoured the Bible looking for any proof that what God had whispered into my heart was true. My questions, one by one were answered. My fear dissolved and peace filled my heart.
Am I saying that public school is God's will for every child? Absolutely not! What I am saying, is that God calls us to work at raising our children as working for Him. That means that we have to start by asking Him what He wants us to do. Maybe His will is for us to home school our children. Maybe His will is for us to put our children in a christian school , or maybe His will is for us to enroll them in a public school. Whatever His will, He calls us to sacrifice. He calls us to stretch and grow. Whatever His will, you can be sure it will include love, instruction, correction and discipline. Whatever His will is for your children, you can be sure it is perfect.
God means for us to do our best for Him in what He has called us to do. I find that I can spend an amazing amount of time on my child's education, and I am not even his teacher. I can invest a great deal into relationships with his teachers, administrators, and classmates. I can invest in the quality of time I spend with him when he is at home. Because it is not about his education or even about how he turns out, but it is about working for the Lord in my roll as a mom. I pray that one day, when I enter into Heaven, what I have done "good" will include parenting my children with all my heart as unto the Lord. I pray that they will be the crown I lay at Jesus' feet.
What is your story?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Death is at Work in Me
2 Corinthians 4:11
"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."
One of the tools God is using to teach me lately, is a Beth Moore Bible study that I participate in. Those of you who have been through her study on the Fruit of the Spirit- Living Beyond Yourself, will likely remember the video lesson on patience. It went something like this.
There are two kinds of patience. One concerns persevering in a difficult circumstance and is inspired by hope. The other, concerns being patient with difficult people and is motivated by mercy. The one that is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit is- you know it- the one dealing with people. We all have at least one tricky relationship, and you can bet mine has been put to the test lately. Because you see, I am alive, in that I have received God's gift of His son, Jesus, and I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit-ALL OF IT!!! He has put patience within me, but it must be worked out.
How??? Well, one thing about the Holy Spirit is that we have need in Him because we were called to live this life, in this imperfect, flesh-loving body, in a way that brings glory to God. That is what we were called for. That is why we were saved.
Beth talked about having a relationship that just always seems to bring out the worst in us, and I can SO identify. The relationship I am speaking of is one that I can not avoid. It is necessary, and oh, how Satan uses it to remind me of what is still left of my "old, unsaved, mortal self". I can talk to this person and find a defensiveness and pride, that I thought had long ago been destroyed. I can feel the desire for vengeance and the temptation to hold a grudge. One conversation can consume so much of my mind that I can barely hear my Father's voice.
The good news? Having my sin masked by pleasant, easy relationships, does not keep it from existing. Yet, when it is revealed, when it comes up and out, God can deal with it. I don't know if that blesses you the way it does me, but the idea that along and along, God is changing me, not by taking me out of this sinful world, but by taking the sin out of me, whew!!! I just can't get over it!
One day, because of the presence of this person in my life, God will put to death, the sinful nature that is still very much a part of me. And just think, God may be bringing something to life in that person, at the very same time He is working death in me. Oh what a blessing it is to be a child of God, to have been called for the purpose of bringing Him glory, and to have been given all I need (through His Spirit), to do so.
"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."
One of the tools God is using to teach me lately, is a Beth Moore Bible study that I participate in. Those of you who have been through her study on the Fruit of the Spirit- Living Beyond Yourself, will likely remember the video lesson on patience. It went something like this.
There are two kinds of patience. One concerns persevering in a difficult circumstance and is inspired by hope. The other, concerns being patient with difficult people and is motivated by mercy. The one that is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit is- you know it- the one dealing with people. We all have at least one tricky relationship, and you can bet mine has been put to the test lately. Because you see, I am alive, in that I have received God's gift of His son, Jesus, and I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit-ALL OF IT!!! He has put patience within me, but it must be worked out.
How??? Well, one thing about the Holy Spirit is that we have need in Him because we were called to live this life, in this imperfect, flesh-loving body, in a way that brings glory to God. That is what we were called for. That is why we were saved.
Beth talked about having a relationship that just always seems to bring out the worst in us, and I can SO identify. The relationship I am speaking of is one that I can not avoid. It is necessary, and oh, how Satan uses it to remind me of what is still left of my "old, unsaved, mortal self". I can talk to this person and find a defensiveness and pride, that I thought had long ago been destroyed. I can feel the desire for vengeance and the temptation to hold a grudge. One conversation can consume so much of my mind that I can barely hear my Father's voice.
The good news? Having my sin masked by pleasant, easy relationships, does not keep it from existing. Yet, when it is revealed, when it comes up and out, God can deal with it. I don't know if that blesses you the way it does me, but the idea that along and along, God is changing me, not by taking me out of this sinful world, but by taking the sin out of me, whew!!! I just can't get over it!
One day, because of the presence of this person in my life, God will put to death, the sinful nature that is still very much a part of me. And just think, God may be bringing something to life in that person, at the very same time He is working death in me. Oh what a blessing it is to be a child of God, to have been called for the purpose of bringing Him glory, and to have been given all I need (through His Spirit), to do so.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Snobby about my Chocolate
Isaiah 55:2
"Why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."
Last week, I was incredibly busy. You know the kind of "busy" I am talking about. Each day I had several things scheduled back to back, for which, I had several lists. As I was checking through the lists, I had this feeling like I was forgetting something. Not that I could have squeezed in anything else, but at least I could have rescheduled,right? And sure enough, I did forget something on Tuesday. I was so frustrated, because, I really wanted to get everything done, and I wanted to please the Lord in the process. So, Tuesday night, I made a complete list of everything for the week, committed it to prayer, and asked God to help me to have wisdom and discernment, energy and a cheerful spirit for each day.
I went to bed, fully trusting that the days would go by in pleasant haste, and that I would be astounded by God's ability to accomplish so many things through me. I woke up around 3:00 a.m. with kidney stone pain and was up for the rest of the night. I was hurting so badly that I opted to take Aleeve, which makes me very groggy. Then some time around 6:30ish, I dozed and had these little weird "mini-dreams". The one that I woke up thinking about involved Starburst candy and its' point value in Weight Watchers. I joined a few years ago, and was very suprised to find that every little thing that goes into our bodies counts. And if you can only consume 20 points in a day, a handful of M&M's and a couple of Starburst hardly seem worth the points. After all, they don't leave much room for food with actual value. I learned to become quite the snob about what I consume. I just cannot be bothered with cheap chocolate!
As I went through Wednesday and the remainder of the week, I began to weigh each activity as worthy or not worthy of my time. I began to see that little indulgences, such as watching other people's drama on T.V. is a bit wasteful, when all around me there are people hurting, people I can actually help with a kind word or a card, a meal, or a listening ear. I began to see that having my garage spotless is a bit of a waste of my time, when my children are hurting and need some "Mommy time". I could go on and on, but you get the point. We have so many opportunities each day to do good things, and sometimes, we have to choose a couple and let the others go. Because there is nothing wrong with watching the Biggest Looser or cleaning the garage. Sometimes, it just isn't God's best for that day.
"Why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."
Last week, I was incredibly busy. You know the kind of "busy" I am talking about. Each day I had several things scheduled back to back, for which, I had several lists. As I was checking through the lists, I had this feeling like I was forgetting something. Not that I could have squeezed in anything else, but at least I could have rescheduled,right? And sure enough, I did forget something on Tuesday. I was so frustrated, because, I really wanted to get everything done, and I wanted to please the Lord in the process. So, Tuesday night, I made a complete list of everything for the week, committed it to prayer, and asked God to help me to have wisdom and discernment, energy and a cheerful spirit for each day.
I went to bed, fully trusting that the days would go by in pleasant haste, and that I would be astounded by God's ability to accomplish so many things through me. I woke up around 3:00 a.m. with kidney stone pain and was up for the rest of the night. I was hurting so badly that I opted to take Aleeve, which makes me very groggy. Then some time around 6:30ish, I dozed and had these little weird "mini-dreams". The one that I woke up thinking about involved Starburst candy and its' point value in Weight Watchers. I joined a few years ago, and was very suprised to find that every little thing that goes into our bodies counts. And if you can only consume 20 points in a day, a handful of M&M's and a couple of Starburst hardly seem worth the points. After all, they don't leave much room for food with actual value. I learned to become quite the snob about what I consume. I just cannot be bothered with cheap chocolate!
As I went through Wednesday and the remainder of the week, I began to weigh each activity as worthy or not worthy of my time. I began to see that little indulgences, such as watching other people's drama on T.V. is a bit wasteful, when all around me there are people hurting, people I can actually help with a kind word or a card, a meal, or a listening ear. I began to see that having my garage spotless is a bit of a waste of my time, when my children are hurting and need some "Mommy time". I could go on and on, but you get the point. We have so many opportunities each day to do good things, and sometimes, we have to choose a couple and let the others go. Because there is nothing wrong with watching the Biggest Looser or cleaning the garage. Sometimes, it just isn't God's best for that day.
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