Those of you who know me know that I like languages. My favorite classes in school were the foreign language classes. I know, that makes me weird, right? Most high school foreign language students know what it is like to have to memorize parts of a skit in the target language and act them out before the class. Many students dreaded these skits but I usually enjoyed them. An incident that occurred in my French I class due to one of those skits taught me a lesson that I shall never forget.
One day I was listening to the groups before me recite their parts. There was a part A and a part B. I had the B part. Without exception, everyone who had part B pronounced a certain word incorrectly. (I can't remember which word now). They not only pronounced it incorrectly, it was unrecognizable in the French language. The teacher seemed to pay no attention. I think she was actually grading papers while the students recited. My turn was quickly coming up and I had to make a choice. I would either pronounce the word incorrectly and fit in or pronounce it as I knew it should be and risk standing out. It didn't help that I had heard some of the students discussing the correct pronunciation before class; they had argued about it a minute before deciding on the incorrect pronunciation. I was too worried about being thought of as a nerd to risk offering help.
When my turn came I followed suit and pronounced the word the same way that the three or four people before me had done. When I did the teacher, who had been looking at her desk the whole time, looked up and me and said, "what did you say? you know better than that?" I then pronounced the word correctly and went on. I wondered if she had not noticed the mispronunciations of the other students or if she knew I could do better and wouldn't let me get by with less.
Either way I determined that day never again to do less than my best just because of what someone else did. We all have our unique talents and individual abilities. What I am weak in may be someone else's strong point and vice versa. I must do all I can with the talents that God has given me. When I stand before him I want to hear him say well done. If I have done my best he will not be critical but rewarding. If I have not done my best, then he will know that as well.
Lord, help me today to do my best with the abilities that you have given me. Thank you for the grace to try again when I have failed. Help me to remember that you created me with all my peculiarities and that you love me as I am. You also love me enough not to leave me as I am. You want the best for me and I can trust you with my live. In Jesus name, Amen.
4/25/13
4/24/13
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
There is an old adage that says "the pen is mightier than the sword". The meaning, of course, is that words are the mightiest weapons of all. It was Martin Luther's pen that fueled the flames of the Reformation when he wrote his now famous 95 thesis. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Abraham Lincoln credited Harriet Beecher Stowe with starting the civil war by writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. The list goes on ...
Psalm 45:1 likens our tongue to "the pen of a ready writer." Every time we speak we are writing a story. The words that leave our mouths can be used for both good and bad. They can help to heal or they can start wars. Which it will be is up to me. The main thing about words is that they can't be taken back. Once they are spoken, they will forever be engraved in someone's mind and spirit.
Lord, help me today to think before I speak. Let me weight my words with care; I want to build up and not tear down. I want the pen of my tongue to write a love story and not a war novel. Amen.
Psalm 45:1 likens our tongue to "the pen of a ready writer." Every time we speak we are writing a story. The words that leave our mouths can be used for both good and bad. They can help to heal or they can start wars. Which it will be is up to me. The main thing about words is that they can't be taken back. Once they are spoken, they will forever be engraved in someone's mind and spirit.
Lord, help me today to think before I speak. Let me weight my words with care; I want to build up and not tear down. I want the pen of my tongue to write a love story and not a war novel. Amen.
4/23/13
The Pharisee and the Law
The Pharisees of Jesus' day began with a noble cause. They wanted to keep God in the government. The Sadducees on the other hand wanted a completely secular state without any mention of God. They had adopted, not only the Greek language and culture, but its lewd and lascivious lifestyle as well. It was a life and let live society; if it feels good, do it. The Pharisees arose in opposition to this. They rightly wanted God's word to be observed. The word Pharisee means separatists. They remembered God's command to be a Holy and Separate people.
Their failure was legalism; they made a rule for everything. They expanded the law of Moses with "what-ifs" that made daily life a chore instead of a joy. They called themselves teaching people how to observe God's law but made them dread the law instead. No doubt many where driven to abandon the law altogether because it seemed to be impossible to keep.
The problem with legalism is that one can not anticipate every situation in advance. If I tell someone what to do, instead of teaching him to think, he will always be dependent on me. If I teach him to think, he will eventually become a teacher himself. So it should be in the Christian life.
Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples. Disciples are those who have chosen to discipline themselves to follow the law. Their is nothing wrong with the law. Who would want to live in a society that had no rules? Think about driving down the street without stop lights? What is there were no laws against trespassing or even murder. You get the point.
Observing the law of God is a good thing. It brings the blessings of God on one's life. It keeps the young from folly and gives the old a place of honor and respect in society. It shows us how to live and how to die. So how should this law be enforced? The Muslim answer is to kill those who do not obey. Should this be the Christian answer as well?
As a Christian I must determine to keep the law of God out of love and respect for him. Because I love God, I will obey his word. In doing so, I pray that others will want to follow my example. Hopefully they will see through my joy for life that observing God's law is a blessing and not a curse.
The Pharisees missed the concept of living by example so they lived by law with no grace. As a Christian I must live by grace and let God enforce his law. I will not throw the law out and join the Sadducees but I will seek to live the law without the harshness of the Pharisees. The law is perfected through love.
In Christ's love,
Sullivan Jones
Their failure was legalism; they made a rule for everything. They expanded the law of Moses with "what-ifs" that made daily life a chore instead of a joy. They called themselves teaching people how to observe God's law but made them dread the law instead. No doubt many where driven to abandon the law altogether because it seemed to be impossible to keep.
The problem with legalism is that one can not anticipate every situation in advance. If I tell someone what to do, instead of teaching him to think, he will always be dependent on me. If I teach him to think, he will eventually become a teacher himself. So it should be in the Christian life.
Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples. Disciples are those who have chosen to discipline themselves to follow the law. Their is nothing wrong with the law. Who would want to live in a society that had no rules? Think about driving down the street without stop lights? What is there were no laws against trespassing or even murder. You get the point.
Observing the law of God is a good thing. It brings the blessings of God on one's life. It keeps the young from folly and gives the old a place of honor and respect in society. It shows us how to live and how to die. So how should this law be enforced? The Muslim answer is to kill those who do not obey. Should this be the Christian answer as well?
As a Christian I must determine to keep the law of God out of love and respect for him. Because I love God, I will obey his word. In doing so, I pray that others will want to follow my example. Hopefully they will see through my joy for life that observing God's law is a blessing and not a curse.
The Pharisees missed the concept of living by example so they lived by law with no grace. As a Christian I must live by grace and let God enforce his law. I will not throw the law out and join the Sadducees but I will seek to live the law without the harshness of the Pharisees. The law is perfected through love.
In Christ's love,
Sullivan Jones
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