Walk with God – Roberta Writes

Thankful

I am thankful for the rain. The greening up of the world around me. I’m thankful for the work God has put before me. Thankful for the children he has given me to nourish and guide. I am thankful for a hardworking and loving husband. I am thankful for shelter and warmth. Thankful for a quiet moment to reflect on my blessings. Thankful for my little dog, that keeps me company. I am thankful for the provisions God has given us.

Today I give thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16 – 18 Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Who do we trust?

These are confusing times. Everyone has an opinion about how we should behave and what we should believe. I find the most critical of my Christian faith are people who don’t share it. Criticisms like “you aren’t doing it correctly,” or “if you do this you are a hypocrite” are everywhere. The media, the school, our friends and often even family.

How do we even stand a chance of doing what God wants? The messages are so convoluted and confusing.

Thankfully he left us His word. Not only the Bible but the example of His son, who is the way the truth and the life.

The world will press in on us and try to mold us in their image. We fight this by immersing ourselves in the teachings of the Bible and Jesus.

Jesus taught us what to do. Our first job is to learn to discern what good fruit is. Once we know this we have the tools we need to then judge the fruit of others and will allow ourselves to be influenced by those who bear good fruit.

Matthew 7: 15 – 20 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Self-control

Life is overwhelming and fear creeps in and like a slow dripping leak, it begins to do damage to the stability of our thoughts. “Trust and have faith” we say. While I believe we need to do that, what does it look like? How can we protect our minds against fear?

The answer is unpopular. We live in a ‘let it all out’ society. Self-expression and being our authentic self are touted as the path to happiness. But what if, what if a bit of restraint and self-discipline is the answer? What if getting control of the messages that fear whispers into our minds, and replacing them with the words of God is a better way?

In order to replace the messages of the world, chaos and disarray with God’s thoughts, we need to know what He has said. We need to spend time in His word. We need to let Him speak into our lives. We have to have the self-awareness to know when our mind is getting off track and when we are letting the vagaries of the world infect our thinking.

The key to this is self-discipline. Self-discipline is also a gift from the Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

It’s a dog’s life

I like having my dog around. I love having him come snuggle up for cuddles. Or even follow me around harassing me to take him for a walk. But the best thing is that he is a reminder of what it is to live in the moment.

How much of my life is spent worrying about problems over which I have no control? Or fretting about what might or might not happen tomorrow?

I can get so obsessed with worry that I forget to sit in the sun and enjoy its rays. Or I fail to greet the people I love with an enthusiasm that shows how much I value them. Or I forget to take time to snuggle up with loved ones and pet their bellies. Wait! No – not that one. But maybe I could hug my loved ones more often.

I could learn to be more trusting, like my dog. He doesn’t wonder or worry where his food comes from, he knows his master will provide.

A dog lives now. Not tomorrow, not in the past. Now.

1 Peter 5: 6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Treasures in my heart

My son has reached the age of milestones. We attended his graduation ceremony a couple weeks ago. It seems almost inconceivable to see this little baby of ours turn into this wonderful young man.

When he was in kindergarten I used to walk him to school; past the high school. We’d see the teenagers flood out at lunch. The day that he would attend the high school seemed a million years away and yet here we are – he is leaving that phase of life behind him.

Along the years there were moments, wonderful subtle views into his future. The day I stumbled on a book mark that he made. He was only nine or ten. It read ‘Christian in training.’ Or later popping in to say goodnight and finding him in bed reading his Bible. Or hearing him chatter about philosophy and life with his Grandpa.

Oddly enough I didn’t get emotional at his graduation. But I did get emotional when I was telling him about the moment when I understood he had become a man, and a good man at that. I tried to put voice to the feeling, but I could hardly contain my emotions.

Here is the moment when I saw the boy I raised become a man.

Several years ago, in the fall, Wes was working at the table on house plans. He got up complaining of a headache. It went down hill from there. Within an hour the paramedics were at our house and taking him away to the hospital. The kids were all awake. I asked the girls, their faces showing signs of shock and confusion, if they wanted to sleep in our bed. They did. I tucked them in and said, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

I then went into Gavin’s little room and said, “You are in charge, son.”

He looked at me and nodded. No fear on his face, just resolve. An hour or so later I called him to make sure everything was OK. He told me not to worry that everything was fine.

He was fifteen. They had never been ‘alone’ at night. There had always been an adult with them. At this moment I saw the man my son would be. And I was filled with pride. This boy of ours has grown into a Godly and wonderful man. The sort of man who often reminds me that, “the Bible says not to worry Mom, so don’t worry.”

I don’t know what the future holds for this young man, but I pray that God will bless him and make his path smooth.

Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Follow close

Over the last few years I have occasionally had a frustrating and threatening dream. It is always different but the theme is the same. I find myself in a dark unknown place trying to find my way. Usually I have one or all the kids with me, and I am trying to stumble through the dark and find safety.

It isn’t a dream that leaves me wondering. I know exactly what I am worried about when I wake. The world is so frightening and so out of control that I feel the weight of leading our family through the darkness. My dream is an outcropping of worries that often don’t even reach my conscious mind.

As I review this dream and think over my concerns, I remember that I am not responsible to be the one finding my way. I just have to keep my eye on the shepherd. I just have to feel His presence. I don’t have to know where I am going or where He leads. I do not need to fear. I must rely on Him.

John 8: 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Walk humbly

What does it mean to be humble?

I saw a quote today, it went something like (I’m paraphrasing): Being humble is not about being as important as we can be, but trying to change the lives of others.

I have issues with this. First, no one ever at any time has ever described being humble as trying to be as important as you can be. That is the opposite of humility. Why that would factor into the description, is a mystery to me. Perhaps they were using it to explain by showing the opposite? If so, I still don’t get it. Trying to change the lives of others is not exactly the opposite of being important, nor is it humility.

Why do we think we can change others? Why do we think we should change others? Is this not arrogant in its motivation?

Perhaps humility is understanding that we can learn from others. Or maybe that others were also made in the image of God. Or even learning to love our enemies, simply because Jesus said to.

This quotation bothered me. Maybe if we stopped agitating for change and just served simply and honesty. Maybe if we acknowledge God’s supremacy, His holiness, His greatness, we might be struck by our own smallness and insignificance. Once we feel that, then we can grapple with the fact that He still loves us. That is the source of humility. That is the posture where we learn to be humble.

John 3: 16 – 18 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Made in God’s image

We as humans have a way of taking a straight forward concept and muddying the water until no one can understand.

The idea of the individual is born in the very inception of the world. God makes man and woman in his image. We are bearers of his likeness. So what does this mean?

This is where the waters get muddy. Many people politicize this issue. One group uses this idea to champion extreme individual rights. Others in seeing the rights of the group as a way of seeing God in others. Individualism vs collectivism. Once we’ve politicized an issue it becomes tribal and deep fissures ensue.

I argue that it goes deeper than politics. It’s fundamental to our understanding of how we manage and shape our own behaviours and actions. This is an intensely personal understanding that we need to digest and accept within our quietest moments.

When I see my neighbour I need to see God’s image bearer, not an atheist, or an African, or a political enemy. Their beliefs and behaviours have to take a back seat. I need to see God in them. I need to treat them in a way that acknowledges the spark of the divine within them. But I am no more responsible for their beliefs and behaviours than they are mine. When I one day meet my maker, I stand alone as do they.

In my marriage I am as concerned for my husband’s eternal soul as I am his earthly happiness. As a result, I do everything in my power to encourage him to follow a path that is Godly. He does the same for me. While I encourage him, I am not responsible for his actions. He is accountable for himself. This alleviates the burden of having to not only direct my own thoughts and behaviours, but of bearing the weight of controlling him. I am free from this. But I can love him and accept his love in return.

There is great freedom in learning to leave the guidance of the minds and hearts of others to God. All I can do is stumble along, doing my best to see his guidance in my own life. I no more want to tell you how to live than I want to be held responsible for your mistakes.

I will however encourage you to look for God. Try find him when you are looking in the mirror.

Genesis 1: 27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Extreme obsession

My dog has few interests. He likes to snuggle and eat and go for walks. But his favourite thing in the world is his toy bone. One particular brand, soft rubber that smells like bacon. As the bone begins to look threadbare and pulled apart I’ll get a new one. So sometimes he has two at a time. He always prefers the new one.

If you bring a new one home, he can tell. He will whimper in the kitchen cause he knows it’s in the bag of groceries on the counter. If it gets stuck under the couch, he will sit by the couch and harass you until you figure out what he wants. When I come home, after being out running errands, he runs to the door with his bone in his mouth. If he doesn’t have it, he will run around and find it before he greets me.

He loves his bone.

The other night it was almost bed time. It is very cold here, so I wanted to make sure he was in the house. He wasn’t in my son’s room, so I went downstairs and asked the girls and they didn’t know where he was. I looked all over. Finally, I looked in the downstairs TV room. He was sitting in the middle of the dark room staring at the couch. I looked at him and shook my head. Then it dawned on me, so I asked if he had lost his bone. He didn’t respond, cause he’s a dog.

I moved the chair, which had been pushed up against the couch, and there was his bone wedged in the corner. He knew where it was, and he wasn’t leaving that spot until someone helped him get it. He is single-minded in his focus.

That is what we need to do with Jesus. He needs to be our single-minded obsession. We need to search for Him in our life and keep Him close. We need to greet our neighbours, remembering to bring Jesus with us. We need to sit still and watch Him.

This is the lesson my dog taught me this week.

Hebrews 12: 1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart.

Oh, how I love Jesus

What does it mean to be a Christian?

At one point in my life I would have listed my denominational affiliation and my doctrinal beliefs, when asked this question. It was as though I sought an identity in a larger group. Of course, I never fully agreed with the group on everything – this is impossible. But, I found it easier to describe my walk with Christ in the framework of a recognizable structure and language.

That has changed. A lot. It has been hard to put my finger on how and why that changed, it evolved over a long period of time.

I was watching a documentary about India the other day. The host was interviewing a couple. He introduced the wife to the audience as a Hindu who has since become a Christian, who is married to a Muslim. He asked her why she became a Christian. She responded, “Because I love Jesus.”

Here it is. This! I turned my back on the definitions of denominational language and doctrinal differences because I want the world to see me as someone who loves Jesus.

Instead of looking at other Christians and people around me as my models for behaviour, I need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. He becomes my pattern, not a religious order. Do these groups have something to offer – YES. And do I love many people who still attend such groups – YES! But for me there is freedom in focusing on Jesus alone.

He can be there when I interact with my neighbours. He can be there when I chat to the homeless man I meet when I’m walking my dog. He can be there when I support friends who are being ostracized by society. He can be there when I teach and parent my kids. He can be there in those private moments with my husband. He is there always. I don’t have to check to see what my Church’s stance is on anything. I report only to Him. I keep my eyes on Him and worry about only being pleasing to Him.

1 John 4: 19 We love because he first loved us.