Fear of Death

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

~ Hebrews 2:14-15

This is one of my favorite verses about death because, once the fear of death is conquered, what else is there to fear? Praise be to Jesus for giving us the victory over fear of death!

Training for Maturity

In my other blog, I wrote at length tonight about the training that we're doing with Tobin to help him learn submission and obedience, so naturally the verses that have been on my mind come from Hebrews 12.

I'm most familiar with the NIV, but The Message is refreshing to read for its new way of expressing thoughts. It reads like this in verse 11:

At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

"The well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God." That's exactly what I'm shooting for with Tobin, and that's exactly what I'm striving for myself.

Content

A wise man will desire no more than what he may get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly.

~ Benjamin Franklin

Christians can be and ought to be content with the simple necessities of life...First, when you have God near you and for you, you don't need extra money or extra things to give you peace and security...God is always better than gold...Second, we can be content with the simplicity because the deepest, most satisfying delights God gives us through creation are free gifts from nature and from loving relationships with people. After your basic needs are met, accumulated money begins to diminish your capacity for these pleasures rather than increase them. Buying things contributes absolutely nothing to the heart's capacity for joy...Third, we should be content with the simple necessities of life because we could invest the extra we make for what really counts (God's kingdom).

~ John Piper (emphasis mine)

Both of the above quotes come from The Well-Planned Day, a new planner Jeff got for me at the homeschool convention we just attended. Scattered throughout it are thought-provoking quotes and scripture verses--just one of the many things I like about it! :)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

~ Hebrews 13:5

Too Much to Deny, Too Little to Be Sure

Over time, I have grown more comfortable with mystery rather than certainty. God does not twist arms and never forces us into a corner with faith as the only exit. We will always, with Pascal, see "too much to deny and too little to be sure."

~ Philip Yancey

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

~ Hebrews 11:1

You Need to Persevere

The Teacher's Dream

by W. H. Venable

from Poetic Pearls, 1887

quoted in Easy Homeschooling Companion

by Lorraine Curry

The weary teacher sat alone

While twilight gathered on;

And not a sound was heard around,

The boys and girls were gone.

The weary teacher sat alone

Unnerved and pale was he;

Bowed 'neath a load of care, he spoke

In sad soliloquy.

"Another round, another round

Of labor thrown away--

Another chain of toil and pain,

Dragged through a tedious day.

Of no avail is constant zeal,

Love's sacrifice is loss,

The hopes of morn, so golden, turn,

Each evening, into dross.

I squander on a barren field

My strength, my life, my all;

The seed I sow will never grow,

They perish where they fall."

He sighed, and low upon his hands,

His aching brow he prest:

And o'er his frame, ere long there came

A soothing sense of rest.

And then he lifted up his face,

And started back aghast--

The room by strange and sudden change

Assumed proportions vast.

It seemed a Senate-hall, and one

Addressed a listening throng;

Each burning word all bosoms stirred,

Applause rose loud and long.

The 'wildered teacher thought he knew

The speaker's voice and look,

"And for his name," said he, "the same

Is in my record book."

The stately Senate-hall dissolved--

A church rose in its place,

Wherein there stood a man of God,

Dispensing words of grace.

And though he spoke in solemn tone,

And though his hair was gray,

The teacher's thought was strangely wrought--

"I whipped that boy to-day."

The church, a phantasm, vanished soon--

What saw the teacher then?

In classic gloom of alcoved room

An author plied his pen.

"My idlest lad!" the teacher said,

Filled with a new surprise--

"Shall I behold his name enrolled

Among the great and wise?"

The vision of a cottage home,

The teacher now descried;

A mother's face illumed the place

Her influence sanctified.

"A miracle! A miracle!

This matron well I know,

Was but a wild and careless child,

Not half an hour ago.

And when she to her children speaks

Of duty's golden rule,

Her lips repeat, in accents sweet,

My words to her at school."

The scene was changed again, and lo,

The school-house rude and old,

Upon the wall did darkness fall,

The evening air was cold.

"A dream!" the sleeper, waking, said,

Then paced along the floor,

And whistling slow and soft and low,

He locked the school-house door.

And, walking home, his heart was full

Of peace and trust and love and praise;

And singing slow and soft and low,

He murmured, "After many days."

Even though this poem was written 123 years ago and shows evidence of its age in lines such as "I whipped that boy to-day," I still appreciate the reminder of how important it is--whether the task be mothering, educating my children, growing in my walk with God, or whatever--to keep a long-term perspective. Day-to-day duties can feel like drudgery; but in hindsight, something beautiful is being built. I want eyes to see that...but even more, the conviction to persevere, even when I don't see the end result.

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

~ 2 Chronicles 15:7

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

~ Hebrews 10:35-36

Tossing Peanuts to Behemoths

God makes most plain how he feels about the animal kingdom in a magnificent address found at the end of Job. Look closely and you will notice a common thread in the specimens held up for Job's edification: a lioness, a mountain goat, a rogue donkey, an ostrich, a stallion, a hawk, an eagle, a raven, and a behemoth. Wildness is God's underlying message to Job, the one trait this menagerie all share...Most wildlife writing focuses on these vanishing [Yancey previously mentioned some endangered species] animals themselves, but I find myself wondering about the ultimate impact on us. What else, besides that innate appreciation for wildness, have we lost? Could distaste for authority, or even a loss of God-awareness, derive in part from this atrophied sense? God's mere mention of the animals struck a chord of awe in Job; what about us, who grow up tossing peanuts across the moat to the behemoths and leviathans?

~ Philip Yancey

Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you...

Can anyone capture him by the eyes,

or trap him and pierce his nose?

Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook

or tie down his tongue with a rope?

~ Job 40:15,24 and 41:1

I could have--and wanted to--include many more verses from the last few chapters of Job. Actually, just read the last 5 chapters of the book. They're all good.

Chapter 38 begins with God answering Job out of the storm. He rips into Job and puts him in his place most convincingly, finally saying in 40:2, "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"

The text continues: "Then Job answered the Lord: 'I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer--twice, but I will say no more'."

But then--I love this--God doesn't say, "Oh, OK, Job. Thanks for repenting and seeing it my way. Here, let me give you a hug." Oh, no. God continues to cut him down to size by saying, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?" and on and on and on. He doesn't let Job off easy, but He continues the conversation with him until Job is completely and permanently humbled and blown away by the glory and majesty and power of God.

Finally in chapter 42, Job reaches the point of saying, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." He was a changed man.

God's treatment of Job reminds me of Proverbs 3:11-12 (which is quoted in Hebrews 12):

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline

and do not resent his rebuke,

because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

as a father the son he delights in.

The end of the book of Job shows us God's delight in Job. God accepts his prayer on behalf of his friends, God makes him prosperous again and gives him twice as much as he had before, God blesses him with 10 children, and most of all, God says to Eliphaz, "You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." High praise coming from the mouth of the Almighty!