Terrible Father's Day Sermons

Father's Day...a day to honor fathers.

But most Father's Day sermons I've heard in the last decade have focused on the father's responsibility to his children, not the child's responsibility to his father.

Why?

I think we've forgotten the importance of the Fifth Commandment. Children (especially we adult children) are quick to demand sacrificial honor FROM fathers while giving stingy honor in return.

Sadly, our national disrespect for parents has damaged the moral fiber of our country. We aren't nearly as messed up by bad parenting as we are by our failure to obey God's command to honor parents. 

Honor means emphasizing the best, forgiving the worst, and focusing on our sins, not the sins of our parents (Matthew 7:1-4).
 
God makes this clear:
“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."   Ephesians 6:2-3

Today, let's quit putting conditions on God's commands and start obeying them.
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I spent a lot of years neglecting the Fifth Commandment, and I lost much in the process. That's why it's a reoccurring theme on Bible Love Notes. See Respectfully Saying No to Authority for one example from my life. If you need more encouragement to honor your parents, check out my archive of 1-minute devotions on the subject HERE. 

And if you're a married woman, please check out my 7-part series on blessing your marriage by honoring your mother-in-law. 

Note: This devotion does not address children who have been physically or sexually abused by parents. They must seek godly Christian counsel in handling their relationship with their parents. 

Bible Love Notes

Our Cheerleaders

Godly people cheer us on in our faith...

Books have always mentored me, especially biographies. 

Some years ago, I read missionary biographies with my granddaughter. I told her it was like sitting at the feet of saints from the past and letting them be our "cheerleaders" in our personal walk with the Lord.  

Their stories prove: 
  
1. Godly people suffer.

Hebrews 11  

2. God's strength is enough for any adversity. 

Philippians 4:13   
  
3. Sacrifice and hardship produce incredible faith in people who trust God. 

1 Peter 1:6-7  

One huge advantage of these "book mentors" is our ability to see the "big picture" of their lives—a picture they weren't able to see themselves.

And this helps us remember we can trust Jesus with the big picture of our lives too.  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."  Hebrews 12:1-2

Check out my devotions about George Mueller  & Gladys Aylward
or check out my Inspiring Saints Archive. 

 

Bible Love Notes

Stopped at the Border

On a train in Communist Germany without proper papers...

When we lived in West Germany in the early 1980's, West Berlin was a "half-city" surrounded by Communist Germany. The U.S. maintained a troop train to supply and protect it.

Military families could ride free on this train but only with carefully prepared travel orders. 

Because my husband spent weeks doing field training away from home, I sometimes made the trip on the troop train with our children. It was an opportunity to enjoy Berlin's museums and ride back in a sleeper car, which my children especially enjoyed.

But one trip was especially memorable: 
At the border, Communist East German guards discovered that my travel orders were incorrectly prepared. It wasn't my fault, but legally they could have removed me from the train. 

Being stranded in Communist Germany would have been a frightening experience at that time in history. Fortunately, the Army appealed and I rode on to free West Berlin. 

Riding through enemy territory on our way to an oasis of freedom is a good analogy for Christian life. As long as Jesus signs our travel orders, we'll get past the enemy and safely home (Romans 6:23; Romans 8:38-39) . 

Remember the old song "This train is bound for glory"? Why not hum a few bars today and thank God for your free ride. 

Enjoying Bugs, Butterflies, and God's Creation

For the first time in our lives, my husband and I live in a rural area where we can daily enjoy squirrels, birds, trees, plant life, and even cows in the pasture across the street. We've been amazed at how much enjoyment it brings us.

It reminds me of the time my granddaughter sparkled with joy to discover a pretty bug on the sidewalk. 

If we cultivate that 2-year-old excitement for the generous details of God's creation, we'll begin to notice that the beauty around us:

1. Contains God's divine nature (Romans 1:20).  

2. Confirms His wisdom (Psalm 104:24).

3. Communicates His unfailing love (Psalm 33:5)! 

Even if we live in a crowded city, we can enjoy the sky which daily declares God's glory (Psalm 19:1-6).

Why not take some time today to thank God for the world He created for our enjoyment. Perhaps we can renew our childlike wonder for the simple things—even the pretty bugs on the sidewalk.

Bible Love Notes

A Common Misunderstanding About Love

"Love means never having to say you're sorry." 

(line from 1970 film "Love Story") 

The night before my husband left for Army boot camp (1972), we watched "Love Story." It's foolish to watch a sad movie before saying good-bye, but not as foolish as that movie line.

Love means carefully, faithfully, genuinely repenting to God and to others.

Self-deception means never having to say you're sorry. 

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves ..." * 

God forgives our sins "legally" when we become believers, but healthy relationships with God and others depend on regularly acknowledging our sins. 

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:8-10*

Do you have difficulty apologizing? I encourage you to make it a matter of prayer. 

Bite Size Bible Study features a short study on this devotion. Why not check it out HERE.

FREE E-BOOKLET:

Why not add some more of God's Word to your schedule by having a 1-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday. Sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes and get a free e-booklet that will help you add joy and depth to your Quiet Time. Find out more HERE.

Bible Love Notes

Joni Shares 5 Benefits of Suffering

Joni has lived over 50 years as a quadriplegic. In addition, she's had breast cancer and suffers from chronic pain. But she loves Jesus with a fullness few people can duplicate. 

In her book A Place of Healing, she says suffering can: 

1. Turn us from a dangerous path (Psalm 119:67).

2. Remind us where our true strength lies (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

3. Restore our first love for Christ: "Heartache and physical pain reach below the superficial, surface places of our lives, stripping away years of accumulated indifference and neglect," proving that Christ in us is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). 

4. Heighten our thirst for Christ: "In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help." Psalm 18:6

5. Increase our fruitfulness: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

Whatever troubles surround us, God is always at work!
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Note: Point 3 in Joni's book is titled "Restores a lost beauty in Christ."

I recommend Joni's book, A Place of Healing. (Bible Love Notes does not benefit in any way from this recommendation.)

I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word: Wisdom for Life. Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. And find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. You can read the first 4 devotions in the book by clicking "look inside" on Lifeway or Amazon.

 

I also encourage you to sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes and get a free e-booklet. Find out more HERE.

Bible Love Notes

Have You Been Silenced by Culture?

Sometimes people representing themselves as Christians speak hatefully, and they give all Christians a bad name. Even though these bad examples are rare, they are sometimes promoted by our culture.

Recently, Sean McDowell was invited by a major news network to speak on a panel about transgenderism. Sean holds the biblical view on this subject. However, when they interviewed him before the show, they told him he was "too compassionate." So they found someone else for the panel. (source)

This kind of hostility and manipulation makes us wonder if we're better off not speaking about God's loving commands. But we can take our cues from Jeremiah and Paul, who also faced hostility:

"The word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long but if I say, 'I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." ~ Jeremiah, Jeremiah 20:8-9

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." ~ Paul,  Galatians 1:10
 
May we have the same resolve as Jeremiah and Paul as we face increasing opposition to God's Word. Let's not remain silent!
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I also encourage you to read John 6:60-69, a passage where some of Jesus' disciples rejected Him because they didn't like His teaching.

FREE E-BOOKLET:

Why not add some more of God's Word to your schedule by having a 1-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday. Sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes and get a free e-booklet that will help you add joy and depth to your Quiet Time. Find out more HERE.

Bible Love Notes

What Is Godly Tolerance?

"Tolerance" means treating all people humanely even if we disagree with their beliefs. This kind of tolerance is a Christian principle (Matthew 7:12).

But our culture often uses the word tolerance to mean approval, acceptance, and favor for those whom they deem worthy; and disapproval, rejection, and disfavor for Christians who disagree with them.

That's not tolerance. It's bullying.

No one, absolutely no one, approves of all beliefs because beliefs conflict and contradict each other. If we all agreed, tolerance wouldn't be necessary. 

 

As we face increasing censorship, each of us must make a choice:

1.  We can keep silent and make Jesus ashamed of us (Mark 8:38).
2.  We can depend on our human reasoning and worldly philosophies that foolishly reject God's truths (Proverbs 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:18-20).
3. Or we can love Jesus enough to stand for His truth, no matter the cost (1 John 5:3).

God's principles, truths, Word and ways are the purest wisdom. Nothing about them is hateful, impure, unloving, or wrong.

We can't force God on the world, but we must be careful not to let the world force their foolishness on us.
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Why not add some more of God's Word to your schedule by having a 1-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday. Sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes and get a free e-booklet. Find out more HERE.

Bible Love Notes

Big Feet of Gladys Aylward

After the death of her mentor, British missionary Gladys Aylward (1902-1970) found herself alone in a remote Chinese mountain village without support. 

Chinese friends recommended she beg the local mandarin leader for mercy. But Gladys had nothing but rags to wear, and entering his presence in such clothes could cost her life. 

There was no path before her... 

A few mornings later the locals were shocked when the mandarin arrived at Gladys' door and insisted she become his official foot inspector.(1)  

This was a time in Chinese history when women were cruelly handicapped by the practice of foot-binding, and the mandarin wanted it to end. Because Gladys was the only grown woman in the area with "big feet" (normal feet), he wanted her to convince the local Chinese not to bind the feet of baby girls.

In order to have her help, the mandarin paid Gladys and gave her permission to share Christ wherever she went.

God supplied for Gladys' needs so she could rescue the Chinese from practices which bound their soles—and their souls! 

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation" (Isaiah 52:7 & Romans 10:15).

How lovely were Gladys' "big feet" on those Chinese mountain paths. May we use our feet for Your purposes too, Lord Jesus.
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(1) A mandarin was an official and a scholar.

If you would like to listen to a series of podcasts telling the full story of Aylward, you can do that here: Moody Audio. 

You might also enjoy 6 Lessons from Gladys Aylward.

These two sources explain the practice of foot-binding: 
Wikipedia and Smithsonian.

I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for

 Life Devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word. To find out more see 10 Reasons Why You'll Love Wisdom for Life. I also encourage you to sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes and get a free e-booklet offering quiet time encouragement. Find out more HERE.

Bible Love Notes

God Wins All Wrestling Matches

In 1980 I toured communist Czechoslovakia. 

The government had an inflated exchange rate for their money and black-market money was readily available, but buying it was against international law. So, as a Christian, I exchanged money legally.

Then I ran out of money on the weekend when the banks were closed, and our tour guide offered me a black-market exchange. I needed money for supper, so I convinced myself that I had no choice but to disobey the law.

Thus began the “wrestling match”: me telling God it was necessary. God reminding me that I was using situational ethics to disobey His commands (Romans 13:1-6; 1 Peter 2:13-17). 

It was an unjust government and an unfair law—but that particular law didn’t violate God’s law. 

So I quit “wrestling,” returned the black-market money to our guide, and reminded myself of 1 John 5:3: 

“This is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”

I could have walked away from the wrestling match and done what was wrong, but I'd have lost in so many ways.

The beauty in wrestling matches with God is this: when we let Him win, we win as well. I learned to apply my faith to a real-life situation, and this small temptation strengthened me for greater temptations in the future (Luke 16:10).

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Note: I was willing to go without supper that evening to obey God, but I didn't have to. Nor did I even have to borrow money. A new friend insisted on buying my supper, and she knew nothing about my lack of funds! 

Please check out the Bite Size Bible Study based on this devotion. It contains scriptural guidelines for obeying and disobeying government laws. I also share why I gladly disobeyed another Czech law on that trip in 1980.
 

Bible Love Notes