Month / April 2018

by The Monahans

Reviving The Soul

Reviving the Soul3   Those of you who have are regular readers of this blog probably already know that at one point in my life I had a bit of a problem with drugs and alcohol. For anyone new here, suffice it to say that when it came to following the rules, I didn’t. I won’t dig into the details on that, I’m sure most of you reading this have experienced your own rebellious streaks at one point or another. If I have learned anything, it’s that I’m not nearly as unique as I might have once thought myself.

This rebelliousness that most of us have gone through, or perhaps continue to struggle with, is nothing new. Give a thorough reading to the Old Testament and you’ll see example after example of individuals and groups who rebel against God. The words “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (ie: Judges 17:6) have regular occurrence. It seems by our very nature we are a pugnacious lot.

While there are all kinds of rules we are expected (and sometimes reluctant) to follow, such as income taxes, speed limits, and the like; let us be concerned with the laws that God has set before us. In the Bible, from beginning to end, we find God has lots of rules for us. I won’t take the time to dive into a detailed analysis of all God’s rules, for such an analysis is beyond the scope of this blog, so let’s just focus on a few examples, taken from the Ten Commandments.

“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) So let’s get honest with each other. Who has not stolen something at least once in their lives? Maybe it was just a little something, like a few office supplies from work. It didn’t have to be something big, it was still stealing if we appropriated for ourselves that which belonged to someone else. And someone who steals is called…a thief, right?

And then there’s the rule that, perhaps, I struggle with more than any other: “You must not covet your neighbor’s house…..or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) I suspect I am not alone in my covetousness. For me, it’s usually gazing upon that beautiful new truck that my neighbor just bought, or some other shiny object in my neighbor’s garage for which I feel such avarice. Have you not found yourself desiring that which belongs to someone else? Go ahead and admit it!

We are always tempted to wonder why God has such rules for us. Perhaps the answer to that question actually lies, in part, within one of those rules. In Exodus 20:12 we find this truth: “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Ah, there we have something “then you will live a long, full life….” Yes! Our understanding of why God has rules for us is revealed in that statement.

Now, almost from the first moments of our lives we are already failing to honor our parents. “Be home before dark.” “Eat your vegetables.” “Do your homework.” “Don’t play in the street.” I think we all know why our parents had those rules in place for us. In all likelihood, we have (or had) similar rules for our own children. Because we love them dearly and we want them to survive in this world and to be all they can be. And now we see, in the fifth commandment, that God wants the same for us: to survive in this world and to be all we can be!

In today’s world, a lot of people think God’s rules are archaic and irrelevant; but many of us have the same rules for our children as our parents’ had for us because, as adults, we have come to realize those rules were sensible in every way. And so it is with God’s rules, they made sense then and they make sense now – for it is only when we follow God’s rules that we experience all that life has to offer. It is only when we follow God’s rules that reach our highest potential and experience true freedom. And it is when we disregard those rules that we experience the most pain.

The psalmist wrote: “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” (Psalm 19:7-8) So we see here that following God’s instructions will revive us, make us wise, bring joy to our hearts, and give us insight for living because God’s rules are perfect, trustworthy, right, and clear. And just as applicable for us today as our parents’ rules are for our own children or granchildren!

When I rebelled against my parents’ rules I was first and foremost rebelling against God and my life was a constant uphill struggle. Sure there were some happy times, but deep inside was constant unrest and deep dissatisfaction with life. But I have found the more I follow God’s instructions, like the psalmist says, the more peace and serenity I enjoy. I want you to know that peace and serenity, too, so I invite you to try life God’s way. What have you got to lose?

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

Walk Humbly

Walk Humbly 6  When I think of the word humble, two people come to mind: Jesus is the first, and my dad is the second. All throughout my life, my dad was a living example of humility. It seemed to come naturally to him, being the very essence of his character. He was a quiet man, always willing to listen, to see another person’s point of view, to empathize, and to place his family and friends’ needs before his own. In Philippians 2:3, the Apostle Paul admonished his readers, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” My dad seemed to live this verse in every aspect of his life.

My dad truly enjoyed people. I can close my eyes and picture him conversing with others, always with a smile on his face, his cordiality a natural outflow from the warmth in his heart. My dad never thought himself so important as to feel his needs should come first or that he should complain. At least not around his children. Even our family vacations seemed to be planned around providing the best possible experience for us (though I’m quite certain we kids didn’t always appreciate this as much as we should have). He never gave us the feeling that we were simply being dragged along, a necessary evil to fulfilling his own recreational aspirations.

Once, when I was a child, perhaps 10 or 12 years old, I recall my dad stopping to help a stranded motorist. I asked him why, and rather than offer a response that would imply any heroics on his part, he simply said, “I’d want someone to stop for me.” The simple fact that this memory has remained a part of my conscious thought suggests the impact this experience had on me.  I find that his routine behavior modeled for me an ideal that simply couldn’t have been effectively conveyed with mere words. Indeed, my dad often demonstrated the principles I, and my siblings, would grow to live by.

This extended far beyond our home and, at the height of his business career, my dad took several young coworkers under his wing, becoming not only their mentor but also their friend. His kindness and soft-spoken charm allowed him to make friends easily and his genuine concern for the welfare of others reflected his love to all who knew him. Being myself a rather difficult child, I am quite certain I tried his patience more often than I care to admit, but he never ceased to live the message of James 1:19; “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” All through my formative years and well into my adulthood, I watched how my dad interacted with others and tried my best to emulate him. Like he was to his young coworkers, he was a mentor to me, too.

The prophet Micah, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these words, “The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) My dad passed from this life on March 31, 2018 at the age of 90. This verse from Micah had come to have significance to him during his last days, perhaps because it reflected so well the principles he tried to live by and to pass on to his children. While my dad would be the first to admit he was far from perfect, in the words of my youngest brother, “If I could be half the man my dad was, I’d be twice the man as most.”

The last time my father and I read the Bible together, we read from the book of John. One passage we shared was the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, in which we see how Jesus met this woman right where she was, talked to her without judgment, and humbly offered her the living water of new life in Christ. And this is how Jesus meets all of us, right where we are, offering us new life as only he can. In John 5:24, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” And in John 6, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35) It’s not too late for you to find new life in Jesus Christ. Just do like the Samaritan woman did in John 4:15 and ask!

In honor of my dad, I leave you with this old Irish blessing: May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.