Generations to Come

By Gillis Killam –

Every generation leaves something for the next, whether good or bad.

The New Testament opens with the genealogy of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, which is traced back through David and the nation of Israel to Abraham and to Adam. This shows how important generations are to God.

When God looked at the evil antediluvian world and decided to destroy it, He found only one man who was perfect in his generation. The world had become so corrupt that everyone but Noah and his family were contaminated by evil. God provided a way for him and his family to escape the sin of this world.

It didn’t mean that Noah was sinless when scripture says he was perfect; but he had protected his family and himself from the influence of toxic atmospheres that dominated a planet that gave birth to families that were murderous, socially evil, and filled with violence. Families were contaminated in their generations.

Originally God intended that families would promote His values and beliefs and pass on their faith in God to generations to come (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

This should make us take a look at our world where the evils of the ancient world are the same as those that characterize the world today. Listen to the news and watch it on television. Worst of all they are the sins that condemned the world that are the same sins that are now deemed right and are classified as not evil. God’s patience with the antediluvians ran out and it will also run out for us. Read 2 Peter 2:1-10.

Now we are living in a world that is the same as that of the days of Noah. Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37 NIV).

Before the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan, a land that was filled with evil, God gave a remedy for saving future generations. It was by teaching the children to “Love the LORD your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV), and to “impress them on your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV).

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for past generations who have lived out their faith so that we have examples of how to live in a godless world. AMEN

A Honeymoon Do-Over

By Diane Mayfield –  

I just returned from a fabulous trip to Maui, Hawaii, with my husband Dave. We had not been back there for thirty-seven years. This trip was our honeymoon do-over. It was definitely better than the first one.

Thirty-seven years ago Dave and I landed in Honolulu, Hawaii, with no reservations for a two-week Hawaiian adventure. Dave’s uncle had encouraged traveling without reservations saying that you didn’t really need them. That idea was quickly crushed when we landed at the airport and had no clue where to go from there. We drove in our rental car to a Burger Hut for lunch and began to look up hotels in the phone book of a pay phone. Does anyone remember those?

We found a hotel on the beach with a vacancy. When we arrived, however, the bellman proceeded to take us to a room with twin beds. My young husband didn’t care about the twin beds; he was just ready to be in a room. This new bride had more romantic ideas, so I said, “no, I want one bed, please.” That was the beginning of our Hawaiian adventure. After that, we did meet with the hotel concierge and planned out our next two weeks in the islands. We lugged four big bags and golf clubs on small planes to three other islands before heading home.

We only knew each other for three months before we were engaged and then three months later we married. Communication was not down to a science yet. In fact, Dave was sure he’d made a mistake when we had our first conflict ever. He was out hitting golf balls early in the morning when this still starry-eyed young bride woke up to snuggle. When he returned to the room, he did not understand why I was upset. Reality set in.

Thirty-seven years later I am happy to report that we have really learned some things. I’m not sure communication is a science, yet, but we do know how to do it with authenticity and love. This trip no golf clubs were taken. I really wanted him to take them, though. For him, they were part of the wrong focus on a honeymoon. We stayed on one island, the beautiful island of Maui, where we had reservations way in advance.

Most importantly this time, our focus was on being with each other, apart and together. We gave each other freedom to enjoy our different interests. I took power walks while Dave read on the porch. I shopped, and he paid for it. We had leisurely breakfasts at the ocean-side restaurant, sat on the beach and waited for the whales to jump, shared what we were each reading and enjoyed each evening’s sunset. He indulged me in a luau that after the third course of a five -course dinner with the masses, we both decided we had enough and left. Back in our room, we each dived into a Hagan Daz ice cream bar, one of our favorite beach treats.

As we reflected on our past years together, we both recognized that we had grown spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. That to us is a testimony to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and our relationship. Without Him, we could not have made it.

So, the Honeymoon Do-Over was quite a success. We came home refreshed (except for the jet lag upon landing) and looking forward to more years together or, at least, more trips to Maui for honeymoon do-overs.

Deer. Deer! DEER!

By Charlotte Riegel –

It was dusk as we headed onto the road for an appointment in the city. We had not even climbed out of our valley when I spotted a deer ambling along the opposite side of the road a short distance ahead. My husband, the driver, did not see it, so I calmly but pointedly said, “Deer.”

He did not let up speed so I repeated, “Deer!” with a bit more force, anxiety rising. Still no response from my faithful and very good driver. By this time we were almost beside the animal and I feared it might cross the road in front of us, a very common practice that often ends with dreadful, and sometimes deadly, results.

I shouted, “DEER!” which finally got his attention and he began slowing speed. We whizzed by and thankfully the animal did not cross the road in front of us. All of this happened in a few seconds’ time span and I was baffled as to why hubby had not responded sooner. While discussing it after the fact, he confessed to hearing “dear”, not “deer”.

A very long dialogue ensued as to how I might have said it differently to get his attention about the crisis we were encountering. Perhaps next time I’ll rapidly blurt, “There is a deer on the road ahead!” and point towards it as well.

This incident reminds me how easy it is to use ‘Christianese’ when speaking about our faith to others, yet in reality fail to communicate what we actually mean in a language they understand.

“The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63 NIV).

Prayer: Dear God, grant me wisdom to know what to say and how to say it when alerting others to physical danger or spiritual danger, especially when there is little time to think through what we need to say.

The Struggle is Real

By Elaine James –

I woke up with these words on my mind: “Don’t give up!” I immediately rejected that thought because I really did feel like giving up and had no desire to listen. Then I remembered going through YouTube videos one day and coming across one of this little girl singing “Never give up.”

When my daughter caught me listening to this out-of-tune girl singing she said, “Stop! Turn that off.”

It is such a cliché to say to someone who is struggling “Well, don’t give up, things will be brighter tomorrow.” Some days we can receive advice like that with delight; but on other days we could respond with attitude and completely turn away from those words.

Can you identify with the struggle I am describing?

I know the people close to me are thinking “When is she going to snap out of this funk?”

If they only knew all the thoughts I was struggling with. That is precisely the point. If they knew all of the thoughts I was thinking, they would tell me to stop it…and then they would nag me to not give up! Ugh! There are those words again. “Don’t give up!”

Instead of those reoccurring words, we could say to one another, “don’t delay, run straight to Jesus.”

The Bible teaches us, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:11-13 NIV).

If we reminded ourselves daily that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), then we would hold the truth not of the world but the thoughts of Christ in our head and heart. This knowledge is completely different than what the world offers for advice when we are struggling. With Christ’s truth we must look at things differently. All our struggles can be covered by Jesus. We just need to know the truth!

PRAYER: Lord thank you for helping me to understand what you have freely given me. Teach me Lord your way to get through life struggles. Amen.

The Twist

By Cheri Cowell –  

Call it good parenting. Call it bribery. But all of us have done it. We have several more errands to run and the children are getting restless. So, we offer to take them to the park, stop for Happy Meals, or allow them to choose the movie that night “if you will help me get these last few errands done.” If you will…then I will… God uses this same parenting technique with us, but His comes with a twist.

II Chronicles 7:14 is often quoted to make the point that God set up this “if you will do this (humble yourselves and turn from evil)” then God will forgive and heal the land. Some say that because we have not humbled ourselves and turned from evil, God is withholding His forgiveness and blessing.

What this explanation leaves out is that throughout history we’ve repeatedly not held up our end of the bargain, and yet, God still sent Jesus. Jesus is the twist. He rewrites this parenting technique to say, “even if you don’t. . . I will still forgive and shower you with blessings”.
“. . . if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Prayer: God I praise You for being the ultimate parent who, although maintaining the “if you will” goal, steps in with a twist—the twist of grace. Help me see Your grace as the reason to fulfill my end of the bargain.

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