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Streams in the Desert – January 26

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I have begun to give;…begin to possess (Deuteronomy 2:31).

A great deal is said in the Bible about waiting for God. The lesson cannot be too strongly enforced. We easily grow impatient of God’s delays. Much of our trouble in life comes out of our restless, sometimes reckless, haste. We cannot wait for the fruit to ripen, but insist on plucking it while it is green. We cannot wait for the answers to our prayers, although the things we ask for may require long years in their preparation for us. We are exhorted to walk with God; but ofttimes God walks very slowly. But there is another phase of the lesson. God often waits for us.

We fail many times to receive the blessing He has ready for us, because we do not go forward with Him. While we miss much good through not waiting for God, we also miss much through over-waiting. There are times when our strength is to sit still, but there are also times when we are to go forward with a firm step.

There are many Divine promises which are conditioned upon the beginning of some action on our part. When we begin to obey, God will begin to bless us. Great things were promised to Abraham, but not one of them could have been obtained by waiting in Chaldea. He must leave home, friends, and country, and go out into unknown paths and press on in unfaltering obedience in order to receive the promises. The ten lepers were told to show themselves to the priest, and “as they went they were cleansed.” If they had waited to see the cleansing come in their flesh before they would start, they would never have seen it. God was waiting to cleanse them; and the moment their faith began to work, the blessing came.

When the Israelites were shut in by a pursuing army at the Red Sea, they were commanded to “Go forward.” Their duty was no longer one of waiting, but of rising up from bended knees and going forward in the way of heroic faith. They were commanded to show their faith at another time by beginning their march over the Jordan while the river ran to its widest banks. The key to unlock the gate into the Land of Promise they held in their own hands, and the gate would not turn on its hinges until they had approached it and unlocked it. That key was faith.

We are set to fight certain battles. We say we can never be victorious; that we never can conquer these enemies; but, as we enter the conflict, One comes and fights by our side, and through Him we are more than conquerors. If we had waited, trembling and fearing, for our Helper to come before  we would join the battle, we should have waited in vain. This would have been the over-waiting of unbelief. God is waiting to pour richest blessings upon you. Press forward with bold confidence and take what is yours. “I have begun to give, begin to possess.”
–J. R. Miller

DIGGING DEEPER by K-love – 10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Overcome Obstacles

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10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Overcome Obstacles

brought to you by 23 Blast

 

 

  1. Be a role model: Kids learn most of what they know about problem solving by watching their parents deal with difficulty. So, demonstrate the deep satisfaction that comes with negotiating a challenge.

 

  1. Equip them with the right tools: Tools such as motivation, self-confidence, perseverance, faith, strength of character, sound judgment, and experience in solving small problems.

 

  1. Play problem-solving games as a family: Scavenger hunts, boardgames, word puzzles. This helps kids understand that obstacles are an important element of a rich and fulfilling life experience.

 

  1. Understand the difference between “childhood” and “irrelevancy:” This is very important! Too many parents offer children neither responsibility nor the respect of expectation. Two truths come out of this point:
  • When we expect nothing of our children, then that’s exactly what we get. Rather than solve problems, they will likely cause them.

 

  • Children who are not allowed to contribute to family life tend to develop other skills instead – and those are typically destructive. It’s important to act as if our children really are an integral part of family life, and that they really do have something of value to contribute.

 

  1. Provide children with practice: Introduce obstacles that kids can deal with; teach them how to develop strategy; encourage them to persevere; and then make a big deal of it when they succeed. Involve children with planning family outings, working out details on vacation, and handling the logistics for other family events.

 

Be a role model

 

  1. Do not reinforce giving up: Never solve a problem for your child that they can (with guidance) solve themselves. Instead, nudge and encourage so that “hanging in there” for success is experienced as much more rewarding than conceding defeat.

 

  1. Be there when failure threatens to overwhelm: This is the other side of the coin. There’s no benefit to abandoning children to failure when the struggle is too huge. Can you help them re-direct? Can you steer them toward success, then back off? Can you be realistic, and counsel with them when an obstacle simply will not budge?

 

  1. Facilitate solution-oriented conversations at the family table: “Hey, kids, what do you think about such-and-such?” “I’ve got a challenging situation – any ideas?” “We’ve decided to slice 10% off the family budget – let’s all talk about what we can do together to make this work.”

 

  1. Volunteer with your children: Find a facility where so-called “handicapped” individuals work hard to overcome obstacles. Participate in community or church projects that call for creative thinking – then let your kids take the lead.

 

  1. Don’t forget balance: Sometimes it’s appropriate to ask for help when an obstacle won’t budge. We don’t drill our own teeth for a filling, most parents need assistance when it comes to funding a college education, and some of us really shouldn’t mess with our own plumbing. Don’t let your children confuse stubbornness with tenacity and perseverance.

 

God’s Story… For My Life – The Fruit of the Spirit

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Gods story

The Fruit of the Spirit

Read Galatians 5:16-26

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
(Galatians 5:22-26)

Reflect

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control—we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law—to love God and our neighbors.

Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-products of the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God’s law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.

In order to accept Christ as Savior, we need to turn from our sins and willingly nail our sinful nature to the cross. This doesn’t mean, however, that we will never see traces of its evil desires again. As Christians we still have the capacity to sin, but we have been set free from sin’s power over us and no longer have to give in to it. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God’s control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the Spirit’s power to overcome them (see Galatians 2:20; 6:14).

Respond

Which of the nine qualities listed in the passage above (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) do you want the Spirit to produce in you? Why? How has God worked within you in the past week?

Streams in the Desert – January 21

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None of these things move me (Acts 20:24).

We read in the book of Samuel that the moment that David was crowned at Hebron, “All the Philistines came up to seek David.” And the moment we get anything from the Lord worth contending for, then the devil comes to seek us.

When the enemy meets us at the threshold of any great work for God, let us accept it as “a token of salvation,” and claim double blessing, victory, and power. Power is developed by resistance. The cannon carries twice as far because the exploding power has to find its way through resistance. The way electricity is produced in the powerhouse yonder is by the sharp friction of the revolving wheels. And so we shall find some day that even Satan has been one of God’s agencies of blessing.
–Days of Heaven upon Earth

A hero is not fed on sweets,
Daily his own heart he eats;
Chambers of the great are jails,
And head winds right for royal sails.
–Emerson

Tribulation is the way to triumph. The valley-way opens into the highway. Tribulation’s imprint is on all great things. Crowns are cast in crucibles. Chains of character that wind about the feet of God are forged in earthly flames. No man is greatest victor till he has trodden the winepress of woe. With seams of anguish deep in His brow, the “Man of Sorrows” said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation”–but after this sob comes the psalm of promise, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The footprints are traceable everywhere. Bloodmarks stain the steps that lead to thrones. Sears are the price of scepters. Our crowns will be wrested from the giants we conquer. Grief has always been the lot of greatness. It is an open secret.

The mark of rank in nature.
Is capacity for pain;
And the anguish of the singer
Makes the sweetest of the strain.

Tribulation has always marked the trail of the true reformer. It is the story of Paul, Luther, Savonarola, Knox, Wesley, and all the rest of the mighty army. They came through great tribulation to their place of power.

Every great book has been written with the author’s blood. “These are they that have come out of great tribulation.” Who was the peerless poet of the Greeks? Homer. But that illustrious singer was blind. Who wrote the fadeless dream of “Pilgrim’s Progress”? A prince in royal purple upon a couch of ease? Nay! The trailing splendor of that vision gilded the dingy walls of old Bedford jail while John Bunyan, a princely prisoner, a glorious genius, made a faithful transcript of the scene.

Great is the facile conqueror;
Yet haply, he, who, wounded sore,
Breathless, all covered o’er with blood and sweat,
Sinks fainting, but fighting evermore
Is greater yet.
–Selected