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The Oak Tree

A background picture on some slides in church this morning made me think about the oak tree and how God might want us to be, at least in part, like that oak tree.

The oak tree goes through seasonal changes… light green leaves begin to bud in the spring, which darken as summer approaches. They change colors in autumn and fall to the ground in the winter.

We go through seasonal periods in our life that are different from the life-seasons that we experience. By life-seasons, I mean the typical changes we go through in life from newborn through adolescence to adult and, if we live that long, senior citizen. Aside from those, we also go through periods that I'll call seasons, in which we — like the oak tree — blossom with new life, experience the majesty of our growth in summer, and go through a life-changing season. But even in winter, when the oak tree looks dead it really isn't. It may have lost its leaves and appear lifeless in the storms that blow through its naked branches, but it's not dead. According to one Web site, a mature oak tree can take up as much as 50 gallons of water per day.

I think our lives are kind of like that oak tree. We have seasons where we blossom and grow, seasons where we appear mature and solid, and we have seasons where we lose part of ourselves and appear to die. Nevertheless, the same God who created the oak tree, sustains us through these seasons.

One of the lessons we can learn from the oak tree is that no matter the season, we need to stand firm in our faith and continue to feed from the living water that Christ provides us through His Word. And like that oak, which stands firm on the hillside when winter's storms blow the leaves away, we too will stand firm in life's storms as we continue to dwell in Christ.

How to bless your children

Hey dads, do you want to bless your children?
Psalm 103:17-18 (NLT) reads: "But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commands."
So you want to bless your children and their children? Fear God and remain faithful to his covenant.

The value of an encouraging friend

Of all the online, print and other instruments available to give people a glimpse at their skills and to gauge their talent and drive for certain careers, God used my best friend earlier today in a telephone call to illustrate that I'm moving in the right direction to pursue a career in teaching.
Six years ago I lost my job in journalism. Since then the realization that I wasn't going to get back into that field forced me to search my mind and heart for the drive and motivation for another career field that fits with what I've done and what I am driven to do. Teaching wasn't on top of that list. At least not initially.
Since then I've taken a host of different personality and skills tests aimed at helping me pursue the career that best fits my skills, dreams and personality. All the while I continued to ask God to show me where He wants me and where He's created me to be.
In a round-about way, my friend greatly encouraged me in my pursuit of teaching by praising my skills in my former career of journalism. He did this in a way no academic instrument used to test personality and skills ever could.
Over the past year or so I've sought ways to continue my writing, even if I wasn't being paid for it. Blogging allows this, and my interest in politics and human interest stories has given me an outlet to write about things that interest me. As a journalist my goal was always to make a difference by educating people and helping them to understand what's going on around them, and to hopefully encourage them to make a difference as well.
My friend's comments came as praise for how I write and how my words clearly educate my readers. He's seen my blogs and has seen my facebook posts as one of my facebook friends. His praise was genuine and was a great encouragement to me. Likely without realizing, he was applying the biblical principles regarding how we're to be an encouragement to others through words and deeds. Then he said that I really need to continue with my efforts to go into teaching because of my ability to educate through the written word.
Teaching is really the ultimate place where one can make a difference in the life of a young person. Not only do teachers instruct and provide knowledge, but good teachers understand how to impart knowledge and help students gain wisdom and common sense at the same time.
Never stop encouraging your friends to pursue their dreams and to find that place where their dreams, desires and skills fit in their life and the lives of others.

A few noteworthy examples of praise

A friend of mine recently wrote in some online, social networking chatter something you don't see or hear very often. He simply posted a note celebrating more than a quarter-century of marriage "to the most hot, godly woman in the world." He finished the post by writing "I'm blessed."
You don’t see or hear this very often. Instead, it’s more common to overhear negative, backbiting comments about one’s spouse, or boyfriend or girlfriend. It's usually language overheard at work or in the store about "the old lady" or "that bum," (oftentimes it's language peppered with coarse adjectives) but rarely language commensurate with Paul's exhortation in Ephesians 4:29. I like the way it reads in The Message version: "Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift."
So to hear and read stuff like this is refreshing.
In one instance a woman I know from church made a cute comment about her husband’s impending arrival home after a business trip. In another, a friend’s Web site included a cute comment about the husband by the wife. In both cases I took the opportunity to single out the praising party and let them know that I found their comments refreshing and worthy of praise.
Why is it so easy to backbite, gossip and say negative things to and about another person? Particularly, why do we do this to the people we’re supposed to love the most?
I firmly believe if we practiced this that divorce would not be so rampant in this country. Moreover, marital infidelity would likely be as rare as people would not be seeking the personal validation they do through illicit affairs, and families would be blessed because both parents would openly exclaim their love for each other, and in turn teach their children how God would have them respond to others, whether that be on the playground, or later in their own dating and possible marital relationships.

God wants to use you to repair a marriage

Let me ask you a question: if you saw someone being beaten up by a thug, what would you do? Would you call the cops or would you do the more expedient thing and inject yourself into the situation and stop it by whatever means possible?
Would you change your mind if you were armed?
This hypothetical, but plausible scenario now takes a different tone.
What would you do to help save someone else’s marriage? Would you change your answer if you were armed? …follow me on this.
First question first: What would you do to help save someone else’s marriage? Do you even have the ability to do this? How do you know when someone else’s marriage is in jeopardy of divorce?
This is obviously much more difficult to answer than the question about the thug beating someone up, because you can see it happening in front of your very eyes. But how often do we see couples struggling, on the verge of divorce, and we sit back and do nothing? We don’t even call someone else for help!
“But that’s none of my business,” you say. “I don’t know them.” Or, you might respond: “I don’t know what to do.”
I firmly believe that those are lies straight from the pit of Hell. Satan fools us into thinking that we’re ill-equipped or that it’s simply none of our business if Joe and Sally are on the verge of divorce, after all, I’ve got my own problems to deal with.
Yes sir, you’re right; you have your own problems to deal with. But what if you didn’t? What if someone else was handling your problems? Would it make any difference then? What if I told you that you could unload all of your problems and free yourself up to help Joe and Sally? Just to add to the story, Joe and Sally have three children, ages 7, 9 and 15. NOW does that change your response?
You see we already have the ability to unload all of our problems. Jesus Christ promises to carry our load if we’ll just give it to him (Matt. 11:28-30). Now, without those burdens we’re freed up to help our friends, who so desperately need someone to come along side them and help them with their load.
Now what about that question about being armed? Well, take a look at Ephesians 6:10-18 and see how God can outfit you for the kind of combat that’s sure to come when you do step in to help Joe and Sally. God never said our life was going to be easy, or that we’d always have smooth sailing, but He does promise never to leave us or forsake us (Deut. 31:6).
I’ll bet right now that you know someone who’s struggling in his or her marriage. If you don’t, you’re probably not paying attention. I challenge you to open your eyes and ears and let God lead you into a situation that He wants to repair, but for His reasons, He wants to do it through you.
And just think about this: what if, through your efforts and by the grace and strength of God, Joe and Sally do realize that their marriage is a sacred bond that God created and that they do learn to love each other again? You’ve not only saved a marriage, but you’ve helped preserve a family, and you’ll likely never know how much pain you prevented five people from having to endure.

The purpose of a church

Have you ever been to a church, particularly your first time in a new church, for whatever the reason, and you just didn’t feel like you were welcome there?
Or, maybe you’ve been to the church where 17 people greet you between your car and the front door and tell you how glad they are to see you, and you wonder if they’re trying to sell you a new car if you’ll just sit down and listen to the “free” sales pitch?
Why did you go to church in the first place? What were you looking for behind those doors? Was it friendship? Understanding? A relationship? Help? A good time? God?
What brought you back after your first visit to a particular church? Was it the people? Familiarity — now that you’ve been there you might as well go back? Was it hope in something bigger than you? Maybe it was the music, or even the attractive person you saw sitting a few pews away during last week’s service. Or, could it have been the captivating stories the pastor told during last week’s sermon that made you return?
How do we pick a particular church to attend? Is it because a friend mentioned it at work one day and he or she told where they go — or even better, invited you? Could it be you simply saw a particular church building on your way to the market one morning and thought that might be a good place to try? Maybe you were flipping through radio stations, purposefully looking for a good, Christian station in hopes of being pointed to a church through an advertisement or some other mention. Maybe you even went a bit further and did some of your own research to find a local church. So how did you come to choose THAT particular church? Was it the word “Baptist” or “Nazarene” or “Catholic” or “Methodist” in the name? Maybe you picked out a church that had none of those names listed, but gave you some other impression that they were non-denominational, and that seems to fit your style better for one reason or another.
While some would suggest that it was that still-small voice within (God whispering to you) that drew you to a particular church, whether by invite or by pure happenstance, you made it to church. We’ve all been there, particularly if we didn’t grow up attending church as a child and somehow as an adult found ourselves darkening the doorway of a local church.
What keeps you going to church? Are you a Christian looking for a home church or are you someone merely looking for … something, but you’re not quite sure what it is just yet?
Let me speak to those of you in the second group? Why do you come back to that particular church? What draws you back? Something drew you there in the first place, but what is it that keeps you coming back?
Whatever it was: the pastor's funny stories, the music, the programs for children, the variety of Sunday School groups to choose from… were you MADE to feel welcome and were you INVITED to return?
I once attended a church in a city I'd never been to. Long story short, I was there for a few weeks at a very dark period in my life, looking for some like-minded people to fellowship with.
I found in this church a congregation of accepting, warm and inviting people. I found in this church one person in particular whom I may never see again this side of Heaven, who took some time out to show me around and actually introduce me to people.
Am I that kind of person… someone who will seek the opportunity to befriend someone apparently new in church and actually get to know them and then introduce them to others?