The Better Part, week 17

 

This week's FB posts:

The Better Part, day #104:

 

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

 

That moment when, after telling God you need encouragement, you realize why so many of the pastors you listen to are in 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Timothy 4....

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #105:

 

Col 4:3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison--

Col 4:4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Col 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. 

 

Simply my watchwords for today- and, boy did I need them: Pray, walk, and watch the talk...

 

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #106:

 

"Oh, baby, I think we may have caught the static..."- Lucius, Pulling Teeth 

There was something I heard on Michael Youseff this morning on the way into work that caught my ear as a possible TBP topic. A tiny voice said, "don't forget to apply," and got more or less a "yeah, yeah" response from the front of my mind. At work, the reception I got for David Jeremiah was more static-y than usual, and this line from that song wouldn't get out of my head. Then, I did what has become a "customary review" of all I'd heard to glean the day's post. I knew there was something I'd heard, but I couldn't remember- no, I wasn't ALLOWED to remember it, I could tell. Then, that interference, the static on the radio, the static in the song- I got the message. These posts are not meant to be teaching posts, and I darn well knew it. They are "sharing what I learned today", and I was doing my best that day to make everything I was supposed to be learning a "sound bite" for the post.

 

Stop. Rethink. Learn. Like Yesterday, pray, walk, talk. Suddenly, I remembered what it was I had heard- and what I had failed to apply. I'd like to say I won't make that mistake again, but I caught myself again before the morning was over. Some days my dunce cap fits tighter than others.

 

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #107:

 

 

Exo 14:15 The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

Exo 14:16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

Exo 14:17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Exo 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." 

Sometimes, like today, I wonder about how I'm going to get everything accomplished I want to do in a day. (Never mind that I'm far from up against a wall task wise.) But today, this passage came up a couple of times, and the best thought about it was shared by Alistair Beg: "You don't need to know how God is going to do what He's going to do. He will keep His promises; your job is just to put your stick out over the water and watch Him keep His promises."

 

 

 

The Better Part, day #108...

 

On a day where God, from several mouths, had me debating all the "but that's just me" items that work contrary to His will in me, I finally got a graphic demonstration. After a talk with my boss about a certain problem, I said to myself, "What frustrates me is, when I report a problem, I want it solved. He likes to kinda 'flow around' the problem. I mean, it works, but I'd rather solve it."

And the voice in back of my head says, "And how's that work for you?"

I answered, "Usually with solutions that don't work, or don't address the actual problem, or just plain aren't feasible. But I want it solved, because I'm stubborn...

 

"...but that's just me."

 

That moment when your dippy boss is right all along- and so is God.

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #109:

 

 

Pro 22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all. 

 

 

A Pastor I've had... well, issues with before, said something that bothered me on 2 levels. During a sermon on the proper ways for a man to treat his wife, he delved into "not leading them into temptation". His statement involved it being wrong to "throw her out into the workforce" where she finds "in the office all these slicked-up fellows" while having to come home to "you in your raggedy old t-shirt and jeans".

 

 

First problem, this SEEMS to be saying, a man should be able to keep his wife at home all the time. A working wife is PROMOTED in the Bible; in many places, most notably the last chapter of Proverbs.

 

 

Second problem- and one that constantly amazes me coming from those who are supposed to follow Christ's example, is the attitude that EVERYBODY works in an office. Hello, factory workers here, construction workers here, service workers here! Almost EVERY national radio preacher seems to make this assumption- and the two worst at it, incidentally, are the two most notably involved in politics that I hear. I realize when you are managing, in some cases, multi-million dollar ministries it gets harder to realize that not everyone lives like you... but it doesn't mean that everyone who hears your message lives like you.

 

So my thought is, pray for our pastors, that while they have to cater to those that can afford the 'conference cruises to Alaska', or the 'enriching trip to the holy land', they are also talking to quite a few somewhere between the Rich Man and Lazarus who need enriching as well.