Money In The Bank

I have been thinking about being an ‘Empty Nester.’

It is a transition time in young adulthood for our grown children, and for us as Middle Agers. It is a time of change, a time of adjustment in practical as well as emotional ways.

Not all change is easy. As well as the practical changes involved in moving our grown children out of the house, there are also changes in expectations.

Will our oldest still keep in touch, even if by occasional text message or e-mail? Will she drop by when she’s in the area? Will she even think about us, as we are still thinking about her and wondering how she is managing this new phase of life? Will she share with us what is going on in her life? Or will she want to put emotional as well as physical distance between us?

I think of the fun times we have shared as she has grown up. The funny situations we shared, the inside jokes that only our family knows about, the common things that made us laugh together and brought some kind of cohesion in a world that seems to be constantly fracturing itself.

I wonder about the unintended wounds I left her with that we didn’t have time to talk about, the unresolved ‘issues’ between us. Will she find a mentor to help her achieve her goals? Someone to take her under their wings to help her discover and develop just where she is at in her stage of life, where she is going, and how she will get there?

All these are natural things for a parent to think about. They come from a Fatherly heart that still, even now after upsets and disagreements, cares for her well-being and safety.

Can I relax and let God continue to work in her life without my hovering over her? Can I allow her the freedom to choose her own beliefs, even if in some ways they are different from mine? Can I go to sleep at the end of the day wondering if that 1992 Buick will stall on her on a dark road late at night? Am I willing to let her make her own way and learn from her mistakes?

I feel like what I imagine the Prodigal Father in Luke 15 might have been like with his son. He had to let him go; it was time. He had two sons: I have two daughters. We are the same except that our youngest daughter is in University, and comes home on holidays and some weekends.

What did it feel like for him to let his son go? Unlike the Prodigal Father, I didn’t have any inheritance money to give my daughter to set herself up in a new life. I wish I had. But the fact I didn’t means that I cannot control her with finances. I cannot withdraw my monetary support, because there wasn’t any to begin with. Maybe that’s a Blessing in disguise. She should know, though, that she still has my emotional and prayerful support.

My oldest  daughter has a job, and a place to live. Maybe that is all that is needed here. Except that I wonder about her relationship with her Heavenly Father.

I keep wondering if I failed her in presenting her with a less than perfect earthly illustration of  what the Heavenly Father is like.

It’s natural and desirable for our young adult children to ‘go their own way.’ After all, we don’t want them to stay at home and not venture out to discover who they are in God without our desire to control them, if only for the sake of their moral, intellectual, spiritual and physical protection.

When all is said and done, my wife and I did the best we could with what we had. We entrusted her to God on the day of her baby dedication. We realized that she was only ‘on loan’ to us for a Time and several Seasons.

The Prodigal Father in Luke’s Gospel watched for his son every day, wondering if this would be the day he would return to ‘mend the fences,’ to restore the relationship, to enjoy being rightly related.

Even though my daughter cannot live with us again because of the rules involved with our rented apartment, she is always welcome to stop by, watch TV with us, enjoy a meal together, and share a laugh or two about the absurdity of the world we live in and how we make our way in it.

So, even as I ponder these things, I have entrusted my daughter into the care of our Heavenly Father and I know, that I know, that I know, that even though she might not be thinking about Him and His will for her life, He will never leave nor forsake her. 

That’s like money in the bank.

It's what we say in the United Kingdom --if your money is in The Bank of England it is 'safe as houses' .

PRAYER: Thank you, Heavenly Father, that You number the hairs on our head, You know about the number of our days before there were any of them, You watch over us, and You know about every sparrow that falls to the ground. You are Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent. May these thoughts comfort us when we realize that we are not in control, You are! Help me to let go of my tendency to worry about my grown children and to let them be who they are in Your Tender Care. Thank you for Your Goodness and Greatness toward us. Amen

You Raise Me Up

It’s sort of funny in a strange kind of way that when you repent of your sin(s) it’s like being ‘Born Again’ again.

Having recently been through an intense personal struggle – and it doesn’t really matter over what in particular, the principle remains the same,  -- it seems to me that my ‘spiritual vision’ (what Paul calls the ‘eyes of our heart,’) is much clearer now than, say, a week ago.

I do think that I’m now actually being renewed in my mind -- Romans 12:2

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will,” and 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

It’s a little like King David after his affair with Bathsheba. He says in Psalm 32:

“Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.”

You will notice in verse three that there was a physical aspect to results of the sin with Bathsheba.

Another Bible version uses the phrase which says that David’s bones “waxed dry within me.”

I know what that’s like, and so do you.

Your bones feel dry, brittle, as if they would break at the slightest hint of more pressure than you are currently under.

In verse 4, David also felt the strong hand of God the Father’s discipline upon him:

“For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.”

And we all know that such discipline is not pleasant as in Deuteronomy 8:5

“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.”

And Job 5:17
“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.”

See also Job 36:10
“He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.”

It’s a far cry from Psalm one, verse three in which the faithful is like a tree flourishing by the water’s edge:

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.”

It’s also like the picture of what I will call the ‘The Soaring Christian’ in

Psalm 103:5 where God “^5 (who) satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

And Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

I am so glad that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me like a son and corrects me when I stray.

Do you have a relationship like that with God the Father?

Prayer: Dear God, my Heavenly father, forgive me for my sin, which has been removed at the cost of the precious blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, on Calvary’s Tree. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You, and You only. Please cleanse me and renew a right spirit within me; remove the heart of stone, and replace it with a heart of flesh, so that I may know You, the Only True God. Thank you for loving me enough to send your Son to die for me. Thank you that you hear the cry of a penitent sinner. Help me to go forward and to sin no more. Thank you that if and when I sin again, I have an Advocate who will plead my cause before You. Amen.”

'You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.'

(From “You Raise Me Up” -- Music by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland and the lyrics by Brendan Graham).

'I need a Saviour with Cutting Shears!'

I have been thinking about Pastor Joel’s sermon of two weeks ago where he talked about how dumb sheep are.

This morning I awoke with a very strong image in my mind of a ram caught in the thicket. I am, of course, thinking of Abraham and Isaac on the Mount. As Abe and his son trudged up the mountain, Isaac asked, “Father, where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied,” The Lord will provide the Lamb for the burnt offering, My Son!” At the right time (Gal.4:4-5), the pair saw the ram caught in the thicket. The Lord provided the lamb for the sacrifice.

As I came to -- even before my morning coffee! -- I saw myself as that dumb sheep that had gotten caught in the thorns! Yes, I got there by my own devices. I ran away. I wandered off from the safety of the sheepfold and protection of the Shepherd. I placed myself in that situation. I was at fault. I am to blame for my situation. It was my sin that got me there. I am caught in a trap of my own making. I listened to and believed the Enemy’s lie. I fell, hook, line and sinker for his deception. It’s true, I was like that dumb sheep. I followed the crowd, went where every other dumb sheep has been before me, and will still end up going.

So, as I come out of the deep fog of a good night’s sleep, I am lying there, stuck with barbs in my fur and cannot move because, if I do, it will mean the barbs dig deeper and tear into my skin, and the pain will grow more intense. I am stuck, and I cannot free myself. I need a Saviour! I need a Shepherd armed with wire cutters! I need Him to rescue me. I need Him to tend my wounds, to salve my pain, to heal me. 

It is said that often the Shepherd will leave the lamb in the thorn bush until it stops struggling, and gives up trying to free itself in its own strength. Then, and only then, does the Shepherd come to free the stricken lamb. You would think that after being one of His sheep for more than 45 years that I would realize this! It is also said that the Shepherd will pour and rub oil into the wounds of the sheep’s skin to bring health, healing, reconciliation, restoration, and renewal.

We cannot save ourselves. When we get ourselves into a situation where we cannot extricate ourselves, we need to stop struggling and let Him save us. We need a Saviour to do the work of Salvation for us. We need a Saviour armed with powerful cutting shears to free us! We need a Saviour Who will rub oil in our wounds and heal our scars! Call on Him while He may be found!(Is.55:6).

I will still bear the wounds of my self-inflicted pain, but He will bring the Balm of Gilead, pour oil in my wounds, and heal my broken heart, mind, soul and body. My wounds will become trophies to remind me of His Grace. I will experience His Mercy. (Grace is getting what you haven’t earned; Mercy is not getting what you deserve). He will renew my spirit and put a new song in my mouth (Ps.40:3)! 

Thank God that He has done this in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary! He came after me!

PRAYER: I praise you Father, that you have not left me to my own devices, but that You took the initiative to come and rescue me (Rom.5:8). I acknowledge, confess, and repent of my sin (1 John 1:9). Please forgive me and renew a right spirit within me (Ps.51:10) and, when I am tempted to stray away again (Jam.1:14-15), please correct me with your Shepherd’s crook. (“Thy Rod and Staff, they Comfort me,” Ps.23:4). Amen.

Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.