Copper Bottom Pans

When my daughter was young we gave her the responsibility of washing dishes a few times a week. I have copper bottom pans and was always so persistent about the copper bottoms being cleaned after every use. She probably thought cleaning the bottoms did not change the effectiveness of their ability to cook our food. I'm sure she thought I was a fruitcake and truly I made more out of that chore than I should have.

In Matthew 15 Jesus is chided by the Pharisees because His disciples did not follow the tradition of washing their hands before they ate. Jesus went on to point out areas of sin in their lives and yet they were so concerned about the tradition of clean hands. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13. "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men." Jesus then goes on to teach that it isn't what goes into the mouth that defiles man; but what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man. The things that come out of the mouth are from the heart and those are the things that defile a man. He lists some of those things. I love how direct Jesus got with His disciples when they asked Him to explain what He was talking about. Then He says "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?" It may seem kind of crude but He was interested in making the point.

We are like the people Isaiah spoke about. We honor the Lord with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. I know this to be true by the things that come out of my mouth.

Traditions can be meaningful and useful but we need to be careful of the motives behind them. Obedience to tradition should never take the place of obedience from our hearts.

Lord, show us those places in our hearts that are disobedient. Cleanse us within so that our mouths will speak of things that do not defile.

"Piece of Work"

,My son uses a phrase when he is teasing someone about their behavior or attitude in some area. "You are a piece of work." He may not realize it but he is absolutely right. I am a "piece of work." God's "piece of work."

We are all familiar with Ephesians 2: 8, 9 where Paul tells us we are saved by grace through faith and that it is a gift of God. These verses are favorites with most of us because they do remind us that we did nothing to deserve His grace. It was a gift. This is one of those places we sometimes leave off a key part in our memorization. Verse 10 says "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

If someone ask you completely unaware of the reason for the question "why were you created?", what would your answer be? We may be quick to say "for His own glory." Do we really think about what that means in our day to day lives? We often forget He created us to be what we are and who we are. It is hard to understand this but if we believe in the sovereignty of God we know this is true.

He didn't create us to play and have a good life of nice things. He created us for good works. His good works. What do these good works look like? Everything we do and everything we say is to promote His kingdom and His coming - our marriages, school work, jobs, attitudes and relationships. God prepared these things beforehand that we should walk in them.

Wherever God has placed you and whatever He has called you to be, remember you are His "piece of work."

"Smile, It Isn't That Bad"

Several years ago I worked the circulation desk at our local library. One morning a man came in, looked at me and said "Smile, it isn't that bad." I was embarrassed. As a person who claims to love the name of the Lord, I did not appear to be very joyful. I realize we cannot walk around every minute of the day with a silly smile plastered on our faces. However, the comment this man made was like a slap to my face. I was reminded of the lack of joy on my face more times than I am willing to admit. I am sure you have noticed people who claim the name of Christ whose faces register very little joy.

Joy is one of the key aspects to our relationship with Christ. The scriptures speak of it many times in many ways. It is one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). In John 15:5 Jesus speaks about being the vine and our need to abide in Him. He tells us these things so that His joy will remain in us and our joy may be full (John 15: 11).

David in Psalm 5 prays for the Lord's guidance in his life. He could find joy even in the midst of enemies pursuing him. He finishes the Psalm with "Let those who love your name be joyful in you (verse 11). Perhaps we do not have joy in our lives which is why many times it does not reflect on our faces. I am sure the pressures of life weigh heavily upon us at times and it shows on our faces. Do we really trust the Lord to guide and protect us as we seek Him?

David says "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord: in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up (verse 3)."

Lord, let me place my trust in you so that I will rejoice from my heart, reflecting Your joy on my face.

Exercise Yourself Toward Godliness

I have been running/walking for the last twenty-one years. I let very little get in the way of my exercise. Many times people compliment me on my commitment to walk or run. The truth is...I love it! It isn't as much a discipline as it is something I love to do. The only thing that keeps me from exercise is a commitment to an appointment. It is the same with my time in the scriptures. I start every morning as best I can with Bible reading and a time spent in prayer. I don't do it out of duty because I know it is good for me. I do it because I love it! It is my lifeline to this life and the next.

Have you ever noticed we usually find time to do the things we enjoy? Whatever it is, however busy the schedule, there will always be room for this activity with some regularity.

In 1 Timothy 3, Paul is writing to Timothy warning him of the great apostasy that will take place and those who will depart from the faith. Paul is teaching Timothy the importance of doctrine and his instruction to others in his ministry. Paul tells Timothy he is to exercise himself to godliness (1Timothy 3: 7). Paul goes on to say, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1Timothy 3: 8)."

How do we exercise ourselves toward godliness? The Lord has given us music, literature, teachers and preachers for this purpose. However none of that should take the place of our time in the scriptures and prayer with the Lord. If your exercise toward godliness is limited because of your busy schedule be sure the scriptures are your first choice of exercise toward godliness. Pray that the Lord would cause you to love his Word. If we love it we will stay in it. Let us say with the writer of Psalm 119: 97 "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day."

How Can He Do That!

He can do that because he is a sinner like all of us! How many times do we wonder how a Christian can do the things they do, say the things they say and yet truly be a Christian. Many ask that of themselves as they wrestle day after day with sin in their lives. I know pastors who have been addicted to pornography, setting up meetings with young teenage girls on the internet, having affairs with their secretaries etc. I have known several Christian women who have had affairs. I knew a pastor's wife who left her husband a note and took off never to return as his wife. I couldn't even begin to list the sinful things people can do and the evil that is still present with all of us at times because sin runs that deep in this world and still is a struggle in us. Yet, when we are personally affected by these types of situations we stand back and say "How can they do that!"

Romans 7: 13-25 is Paul's explanation for this question. This very fine Apostle who was theologically educated, saw Jesus face to face, lived a life of dying to himself so he could live for Christ, still struggled with sin. As he is explaining his struggle with sin he speaks of how sin dwells in him. In verse 21 he says, "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good." He uses the word evil. It is a strong word which depicts the total depravity in each one of us. Therefore what we say and do is effected by sin. Here is the marvelous, wonderful, awesome good news. We can thank the Lord as Paul does that it is through Jesus Christ our Lord we have been delivered from this body of death! "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1)."

When we have been "shattered" because someone we love has sinned against us let us remember that except for the grace of God in our lives we would do the same thing. When people behave as evildoers instead of the Christians they profess to be pray for them and remind them with humility that Christ died so they can be free from the power of sin over them.

Let us not be surprised by the sin that dwells in us but amazed by the grace of God and His forgiveness to us through Jesus Christ.

Love Covers

If you have grandchildren have you ever noticed how quickly you will cover for them? My eleven year old grandson has been given the task of emptying the dishwasher in the mornings. As with many eleven year olds, he has a tendency to procrastinate and take more time doing his task than is necessary. One morning his mom had already given him the ultimatum of what would happen if he continued to procrastinate. She left the room and a few minutes later I walked into the kitchen to find him playing with his cat. I spoke to him about the importance of obeying his mom and than said "Please stay with your task until it is done. Your mom will be very disappointed if she finds you playing with the cat." He continued and finished. I love him and did not want to see him paying the consequences she would set out for him. I covered for him. I could have told her but I dealt with it and he finished.

When someone we love does something wrong or sins against us do we counsel them to help them see what they have done or are we quick to tell others, therefore stirring up trouble?

In 1 Peter 4 Peter talks about Christ's sufferings and ours and then he says "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)." Peter quotes this from Proverbs 10:12. "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." This does not mean that we condone sin or that we turn our backs to a person's sinful behavior but it does mean we are to correct others out of love and not hatred. Quoting from Tyndale on this passage of covering sin it says "It is ready to forgive again and again. It finds a way to shelter the wrongdoer from exposure and condemnation. This is how God has treated us."

If we find we do not look for ways to help others cover sins, forgiving them, chances are we are not acting in love as Christ taught us to do. "Love covers a multitude of sins."

Communication That Encourages

One of the definitions of communication is "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior." We usually rely on words or body language for communication. Our body language and tone of our words can very often cause miscommunication.

In seeking effective communication skills between you and your spouse we should focus more on our own communication skills. Do we come across as arrogant, bossy, judgmental, looking down our noses as we speak to our spouses? It is very difficult to communicate with someone who is not a communicator at all. One of the best ways to help someone else to strengthen their weaknesses is to look at our own weaknesses first (Matthew 7: 4, 5). We cannot hope for change in our spouses until we have adequately sought the Lord to change us. This takes prayer, prayer, prayer.

Thanks to the Lord there are many scripture verses we could "camp out" on to help us communicate more adequately. I am using Ephesians 4:29 for this post. "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." If we want to communicate effectively we need to choose words that are not unwholesome, degrading or immoral to the hearer. People will miss the positive point you are making if it is surrounded by words they find offensive. If we truly want effective communication with our spouses we need to be sure the words we chose are encouraging and will build them up. The whole point to this verse is that everything we say is to impart grace to those we are speaking to. It is to build them up and encourage them. Paul says we are to speak the truth in love. We don't need to falsely sugar coat our statements for our own gain but we should certainly look for every opportunity in our communication to be sure we are encouraging them while we are speaking the truth in love.

We can usually be pretty effective in communicating with those outside of our household. It is our spouses and children who may suffer sometimes because what we say to them does not build them up but in fact tears them down. If your spouse tears you down with his/her words continue to encourage them with your words. "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32)."