Last Lessons #60 – TIME AND PLACE

 “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.”   Acts 17:26

Have you ever thought about the fact that not only every nation, but every person, has been born to live an allotted number of days in the place where God has him or her for his purpose?  It is a staggering thought, isn’t it? 

I wonder why God had me born in 1929 in Jacksonville, Florida, and for what purpose?  I don’t really know, but I do know that God had persons in the Bible born at specific times to live in specific places for his purpose.  I also know that God molded them for his use.  He grew them, taught them, disciplined them, and gifted them.  The process took a lifetime for each one and it takes a lifetime for you and me.  In my next number (?) of blogs, I want to tell a few of the lessons I have been taught by God as he has molded me for his purpose.  Whether I learned my lessons well or not is another question, but here goes ---

I was born number four in a family of six children.  The first two were girls and the third was a boy.  My brother, Don, was five years old when my mother was pregnant with me.  Having two sisters, Don wanted me born his baby brother.  The story goes that my father asked Don what would happen if I was a girl and that prompted the answer, “Then we will send her back!”  When I was born – a girl – my father took Don in to see me and asked Don, “Well son, shall we send her back?”  Don took a look and said, “Not one that cute, let’s keep her.”  Don and I were very close for our whole lives.  Don was one of the four people who envisioned and became the first board of the Rafiki Foundation as God had purposed.  I’m so glad that Don didn’t want to send me back.

Some lessons:

1.      God created brothers and sisters - male and female.  I am glad that I was created a female and that God gave me a brother and four sisters.  No matter what people want to do to change their sex today, it’s not possible.  They can take hormones and identify themselves what they like, but it’s God who decides whether we will be male or female.  He decides our identity.

2.      When I was born abortion was a crime.  I am so glad my mother did not abort me.  She was a Christian so she would not have.  Abortion is still a crime no matter what the courts say.  Today, I grieve over the millions of babies aborted – to those who say, “This baby is not wanted, let’s send it back!” 

3.      God created the family as the nucleus of society.  When families are not there, the society falls apart.  Nations were intended by God to be made up of families.   Note Psalm 22:27. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.”   That is why when children are orphaned in Africa, Rafiki has done what it can do to put at least a few of the millions into cottages with a mother to form a family.  It’s why adoption agencies try to place children into homes as a part of a family.  I am so grateful to God that I live in a country that is made up of families and that the government does not tell us how many children we may have.  However, we see too many broken families today.  The break-up of the family is the root of most crime.  Sons don’t have present fathers.  Daughters don’t have model mothers.  Too many children grow up with divorced parents or same-sex parents.  If the nuclear family disappears from our country, we will lose our country. 

I don’t know why God put me on this earth at this time and in this place.  But maybe a tiny part of it is so that I would encourage you, my blog readers, to stand strong against sex change, abortion, and divorce.  God made humans male and female (Gen. 1:27).  God commanded that we must not murder (Ex. 20:13).  And God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16).

Maybe part of your purpose for living is to stand up for what is right according to God’s Word at this time and place in whatever way he leads you. 

Last Lessons #59 – QUESTIONS

As I age, I think about the most important questions that have confronted me as a human being made in God’s image.  I believe these are the questions that every person, especially a Christian, should consider throughout life.

“Did God actually say?”  Genesis 3:1

In other words, where do I find truth?

“What is this that you have done?”  Genesis 3:13

In other words, do I recognize my sin?

“Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?”  Genesis 4:6

In other words, why do I get angry and become depressed?

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Genesis 4:9

In other words, what is my responsibility toward others?

“O Lord God, what will you give me…?”  Genesis 15:2

In other words, what am I asking God for in this life?

“How am I to know that I possess it?”  Genesis 15:8

In other words, do I believe that God answers prayer?

“Where have you come from and where are you going?”  Genesis 16:8

In other words, what are my gifts and what are my goals in using them?

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Genesis 18:14

In other words, do I trust God for big things if they are in his will?

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”  Genesis 18:25

In other words, do I become too worried over current events in the world? 

“Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved?” Genesis 19:26

In other words, can’t I make some things a little easier by partial obedience to what God tells me to do?

You might see that all the questions I have mentioned are taken from the Book of Genesis.  That is because as I read the Bible, these are some of the first life questions presented to me.  The Bible is full of questions.  I believe that is because God wants me to think deeply about life.  He doesn’t want me to just skim through life.  He doesn’t want me to only see, hear, experience, or feel things.  He wants me to think about them. 

This present generation is too busy to think.  Most people watch TV, text each other, play games, participate in sports, party, go out to eat, exercise, or a hundred other things that keep them from thinking.  When was the last time you took time to do nothing but think?  One time in Africa I visited a primary school and observed a group of children quietly sitting on a blanket outside.  I asked the teacher what they were doing, and she said, “Nothing.”  She said that she worked one hour each day into the schedule where the children are quiet and do nothing so that they can learn to think. I said WOW!

I have learned that the best way for me to think about the important questions of life is to read through the Bible and stop when a question arises in the text and meditate on that question.  What more should I learn about it?  How does it affect me?  What should I do about it?  And mostly, why is this an important question for my life?

I realize that now as I live alone and do not go out much, I have more time to think than most of you reading this blog.  Still, I pray that you will take the time to be with God to think through the important questions in your life.

The most important being, “Am I ready to go home to be with Jesus and to see him face to face?”

Last Lessons #58 - PSALMS

“…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Ephesians 5:18-20

For years I have been getting into bed and before going to sleep I read a psalm.  It helps me go to sleep with the Word of God in my mind and heart.  I use an iPad so I don’t have to hold a heavy Bible.  Plus, I can make the print as big as I want – and every year I make it bigger!   

I am still reading through Psalms every night, but this time I am reading a book (on my iPad!) with each Psalm.  The book is by Dane Ortlund, who also wrote Gentle and Lowly.  I have recommended it to you in the past.  His book on the Psalms is called In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions through the Psalms.  Dane prints out each Psalm and then gives us a meditation on it in a couple of paragraphs.  His words are very encouraging and help me sleep in peace as I reflect on who God is in every circumstance and reminding me that Jesus is with me all the time.  Dane Ortlund’s books (hard copy and Kindle) are available on Amazon.

I also recommend W. Robert Godfrey’s book on Psalms, Learning To Love the Psalms.  Dr. Godfrey is writing commentaries on the Psalms now (published by P&R).  He has written two volumes so far.  Look for them and read them when you can. 

I have learned that reading and meditating on the Psalms has greatly enriched my life.  I have memorized a few – I recite Psalm 23 every morning to myself before I get out of bed – but, sorry to say, I have memorized only a few others.  I used to pay my children ten dollars for every chapter of the Bible that they memorized.  You can be sure that the first chapters they memorized were Psalms 117, 131, 133.  Only a few verses in each one.  I encouraged them to memorize Psalms 23 and 100 by singing them.  Of course, Psalm 1 is the most important one to memorize because it not only introduces all the Psalms but tells us how to live our lives if we want to be blessed – that is --successful and happy.

Of course, if you want to go deeper and study PSALMS with some others by using the Rafiki Bible Study, I definitely encourage you to do so.  Since the 150 chapters of Psalms are divided into five books, I would suggest that you start with Book 1 (Ps. 1-41) which has 16 lessons.  That means about four months study.  Then take off and study another book of the Bible before coming back to Psalms Book 2.  You can find out all about the Rafiki Bible Studies on Rafiki’s website (www.rafikifoundation.org).

Did you know that in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) they used to sing only psalms?  I’m not sure if that is true today, but their whole hymnal was the Psalms put to music.  I thought it was a wonderful way for church members to learn the Psalms and I asked for a copy of that hymnal.  I sometimes still use it to sing – to myself.  That’s ok since I live alone now.

The Psalms have blessed my life and they will bless yours too.  I pray that you will read, study, and even sing the Psalms. 

 

Last Lessons #57 - RESPECT

“Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”  Romans 13:7

We all have certain obligations.  We owe taxes, debts, respect, and honor when they are due.  Sometimes we become confused about when these things are truly our obligations.  We recognize that we must pay our taxes – can’t get out of that!  And we know we should pay our rent or mortgage – although the government seems to think otherwise.  But do we owe respect to everyone who makes the rules?  For instance, must we respect someone in authority who lies to us, steals our money, or kills unborn babies?

I have learned that there is a difference between respect and obedience.  Romans 13:1-7 is clear that people are to be subject to governing authorities.  Authorities have been put in place by God to avoid chaos in society.  That “society” may be the family, the church, the military, or the country.   We need governing authorities.  When everyone does “what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25) there will be chaos.  We see much chaos in our country today because our authorities are not obeyed.  And it is interesting that the Bible says that authorities are to be obeyed even when they are difficult people.  “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust” (1 Peter 2:18).  There is only one circumstance in which we do not obey our legitimate authorities and that is when they order us to do what is forbidden by God.  When we are confronted with an order to sin and we must make a decision, Acts 5: 29 tells us, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Yes, we are to obey our leaders unless they order us to do something that is against God’s Word, but that does not mean we must respect the leaders that order us to do those things that are not specifically addressed in Scripture.  For example, the Bible does not mention the wearing of masks, or how voting should be carried out, or belonging to teachers’ unions.  We are free to decide these things by how we vote, and how we vote should be decided after getting the facts and prayer.  But once we vote we are to obey those who win, like it or not.  However, respecting winning leaders is another matter.  Leaders often make bad decisions.  Some make decisions only for political reasons and not for the good of those they lead.  Although we must obey these leaders, we are not required to respect them when they mandate things that go against our consciences or our better judgment.  Our verse today says we are to give “respect to whom respect is owed.”  Respect is not owed bad leaders.

I personally cannot respect a leader who lies, who does not keep his promises, who does not respect the sanctity of life, or who does not make decisions based on what the Bible teaches.  I will obey the laws of the land, but I do not have to respect ungodly leaders.

Having said all that, I am grateful to God that not all leaders today are bad.  My children and grandchildren have wonderful fathers, most churches have godly pastors, we have many brave military commanders (my own husband was a decorated military doctor in the Korean War), we have some brave people who try to rescue hostages, and we have had some presidents who protected America well.  I thank God for these men and pray that God will give us more of them for America’s future.

God answers prayer so let’s pray that God will give us godly leaders that we can respect. 

 

Last Lessons #56 – HYMNS

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  Colossians 3:16 

When Paul and Silas had been beaten, thrown into prison with their feet fastened in stocks, they sang hymns to God (Acts 16:23-25).  Their singing strengthened their faith in their terrible situation, but also witnessed to others.  God used their singing to encourage those around them and even contributed to the conversion of the Philippian jailer.  God most often puts us in impossible situations before he extends his grace.  I wonder if God is not doing something similar today on a national scale.  America is in real trouble today, and since I am an American, I pay attention to the news.

The catastrophic and humiliating retreat from Afghanistan leaving so many behind, the release of terrorists from prison, the ravages of hurricanes, the continued CCP virus and Delta variant, our little children being made to wear masks at school, so many babies murdered through abortions, the unbelievable number of illegals entering this country, the riots and shootings in big cities, and the rising costs of everything, to name a few of our troubles, are bound to depress us and make us afraid.  And we seem helpless to stop it.  I have learned that singing hymns helps me get through troubles, and right now, I need to sing!  I believe our whole country needs to sing!  And we don’t need to sing stupid junk songs.  We need to sing Psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs. 

One hymn that I have sung many times when in trouble is Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus.  By Helen Lemmel.  Do you know the words? 

Verse 1

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

   No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

   and life more abundant and free.

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

   look full in his wonderful face;

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim

   in the light of his glory and grace.

I particularly like verse 3.

His Word shall not fail you – he promised;

   believe him and all will be well:

then go to a world that is dying,

   his perfect salvation to tell!

This hymn is for America right now.  It is for you and me when we are in personal trouble.  It is for us to sing to the world that is dying because so many do not know Jesus Christ as Savior.  He is the only hope in a troubled and messed up world.