Reading, Writing, and Reality

"If you have 4 bananas and give 2 to your mom and dad, how many bananas do you have left to eat for breakfast?" the kindergarten teacher asked a girl in her class.

"None," the girl answered. "I don't like bananas."

In a nearby school, kindergarten and first grade students have began gathering in class rooms to learn their letters, numbers, and simple arithmetic. But as noted above, math isn't always that simple. 

The importance of learning isn't as simple as reading, writing, and arithmetic either. In fact the most important subject may be the one our children are not learning. Like the truth about Jesus and how they need to know Him personally. 

Scripture says people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. For lack of understanding the unchanging truth about God. Today's young people grow up being offered dozens of options for everything from shampoo to salvation. One young mother recently said that since the Bible can be interpreted differently by each person, how can we say absolute truth exists? 

That sounds like "banana math." The kindergartener couldn't say she had 2 bananas to eat for breakfast when she doesn't include them in her diet. In the same way, when we reject the foundational truth of God's Word, it becomes ambiguous, undefinable, and circumstantial at best.

Crisp September mornings, yellow buses, and backpacks remind us that another year is underway. Each day our children and grandchildren gather in classrooms to learn the building blocks for a good education. May the school year remind us to also teach our little ones the Reality of God's Word and of salvation through Jesus alone. We can't let them grow up and step out into this world without the most valuable truth they will ever learn. And as most of us know by now, they do grow up fast.       

Love at 25 miles per hour

As I sat with a cup of coffee, a car sped down our road and jolted the quiet morning. The driver ignored the 25 mph signs, and flew past houses going twice that speed. True, I rarely see a police car cruise by or set up a stake out. It's a low risk road for getting pulled over. But is that the only reason for driving the speed limit?

We want other drivers to take it easy past our houses. We expect them to watch out for 

our kids and pets. For us that includes the hens. Our three chickens used to cross the 

road every chance they got. Why? Who knows, it's a chicken thing. At least now I know where that philosophical question came from. Apparently chickens love to cross roads.

Once a pickup and a car had to stop while they shuffled back home. If someone flew

by that day, the chickens may not have survived. (They now have their own fenced yard.) 

Our world gets small when all we see is our to do lists, schedules, and the needs of our families. We tend to forget the One who made us all and how important each person is to Him. Driving the posted speed in a neighborhood or on any road is a powerful way to show love for others.

Jesus tells us to love God completely and love our neighbors as ourselves (see Mark 12:30,31). Both show that we fear the Lord. And we know He didn't just mean the people who live within a four block radius of our house. 

When we think about love, what symbols come to mind? Cards, heart-shaped boxes of candy, a wrapped gift, or spending time together. We don't usually think about how we drive. And yet that may be one of the most important ways to show genuine love. This 

love considers others as more important than ourselves. The kind God pours into our hearts for all people, even those we'll never meet.   

        One of the many ways we can express God's Love - driving past another's house, or their cars on the road, as we want them to drive past ours.  

Fearing God from A to Z

K is for Knowledge

The pomegranate provides one of the healthiest juices we can drink. It prevents heart disease and many types of cancer.  For the last decade, experts have been saying pomegranante juice lowers LDL levels, reduces inflammation and is even low glycemic to help the millions of people who are dangerously close to becoming diabetic. This revelation came after years of extensive, scientific research.Thank God for research or should we just thank God for pomegranates? 

People spend millions of dollars attaining university degrees of all degrees. Then the 5% who enter their field of study, pour their knowledge into a career that hopefully helps others benefit from it. In certain fields of research, some go on to discover nutritional treasures such as the pomegranate and all its benefits.   

Scripture calls the fear of the Lord the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). It also says God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). So fear of God must mean listening to Him. And why not? He knows everything.

Take pomegranates for instance. God made them and always knew their nutritional value. That's why He added them to a wise list of foods long ago: 
"The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of brooks of water...
wheat and barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranantes, olive oil, and honey." 
(See Deuteronomy 8:7,8)

So the land wasn't just flowing with milk and honey.  It also offered foods that have come to light in recent years as cutting edge discoveries by educated men and women holding doctorates. And just think...this list of excellent food choices has been nestled in the Penatuch for thousands of years. 

Imagine all the knowledge we stumble through life without, simply because we don't listen to the One who knows everything. A growing fear of God changes that as surely as it changes us.

Fearing God from A to Z

J is for Joy

My mom and two sisters left yesterday after a week long visit to our house near the coast. Today, I feel like I should still be racing around serving guests in my own, inept way. It's like when you take off a pair of roller skates and put your shoes back on. Your feet feel like they should still be on wheels, making each step awkward.   

The mere thought of company coming instantly shows me all the housework I've been neglecting. This time I worked on cleaning every room. I even painted the bathroom. Though I've learned the hard way that I can't achieve perfect, I wanted everything to be as nice as possible. 

I cleaned, shopped, cooked, and reminded myself to breathe. But as always, my to do list outstretched the time I had to work at it. For instance, I forgot items when I shopped for their visit. Make a list? I did, but misplaced it on my way to the store. When they pulled in the driveway, the weeds, webs, and dusty windows greeted my guests along with me.   

In view of such short comings, what should our main goal be when entertaining company?  

Scripture says we serve God by serving others. He also encourages us to serve Him with joy and a glad heart for the abundance of all things (Deut. 28:47). Visitors bring us the chance to share our joy in the Lord with them. Authentic joy reflects gratitude for our blessings from God. He loves to see us rejoice, even if the kitchen floor stills needs replaced. Even though the dogs bark and beg, and the top of the fridge wears a six month coat of dust. 

The fear of the Lord, a verb phrase, includes all the colorful, joyful ways we express His Word. Next time company drops in, we can rejoice! Not in a house well-cleaned, or a meal well-cooked, but in a God-honoring visit well-shared.