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Mentored

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I have a few copies of CoC Devotional for Mothers and Daughters AND the Women of the Bible Devotional for $6.50 (plus whatever it costs to mail them). If you are interested email me here- paulawiseman@paulawiseman.com

Here’s a revelation- I am not a daring risk-taker. (To my husband- not… one… word) I have never liked going first. Second was okay, but I wanted to watch someone else before I tried, whether it was fire extinguisher class in my chemist days or the trampoline in seventh grade p.e. class. When my husband got a pistol for Christmas, he found someone to teach us (me!) how to shoot, seeing I had never held a gun before.

Sometimes I need some help with intangible things, like how to raise the three wonderful, unique little people God entrusted to me, how to be the partner my husbands needs, or heavy stuff like how forgive the seemingly unforgivable. I need practical demonstrations to watch and learn from. God understands this about me, and He’s given me several options for learning how to navigate life’s situations.

1. Scripture- You knew that was coming, right? But God includes tremendous stories in His word about people dealing with a range of issues and handling them in good and bad ways. The Bible characters aren’t plastic, perfect people. They are flesh and blood with faults and flaws. Saul is my favorite example of how not to deal with the expectations of others. Philip is very sincere and practical in his faith but he has trouble grasping that Jesus has much bigger ideas in mind. That one sounds a little familiar too. If you get inside the lives of Biblical characters, the lessons are endless.

2. Mentors- Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 ‘Imitate me as I imitate Christ.’ There are folks out there, a little further down the life’s road who are great examples. Soak up their experience. I have a few writers I look to for guidance on how this process works, and what I need to do to develop the gift and the passion that God gives. There are few women whose life experiences have blessed me and helped me through some difficult times. Now those examples are people I don’t know personally. I’ve met or emailed them… but that’s about it.

The real mentors I rely on are folks I talk to regularly, through IM or email or over lunch or ice cream. We discuss how faith work in our daily lives, what God is teaching us, or what we don’t understand. The funny thing is, sometimes they think I’m mentoring them. No matter if you’re a baby Christian or a seasoned saint, you need to be in the middle of a mentor relationship, both learning and leading. My son mentors his 2 year old sister, but he gets mentored by his older sister (unwillingly, at times, I admit).

If you haven’t already, find a mentor… and a ment-ee. I highly recommend it.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: 1 Corinthians, ,

Study Tip: Repeat, Repeat

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One way to improve your Bible study is to be an active reader, notice what’s in the text. One of the first things you’ll notice are repeated words and phrases. For instance, Psalm 26:1 says ‘I have walked in my integrity’. Verse 3 says ‘I have walked in Your truth’. Verse 11- the next to last- says ‘I will walk in my integrity’. The Psalm begins and ends with walking in integrity.

From the dictionary (and last week’s tip) integrity means a strict adherence to a moral code; genuineness, and your walk is how you conduct yourself through this life. ‘Your truth’ from verse 3 tips us off as to what that code is.

So a key idea God wants to teach us in Psalm 26 is to live day by day with an honest, genuine commitment to His truth. (His truth is the ONLY truth, but that’s another topic altogether.)

If God says something in His word, it’s important. If He repeats Himself, then we should take notice.

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: , , , Psalms

Let It Begin With Me

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If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.
1 Samuel 12:14

I had to give up watching the news. Oh, I still read the headlines on the internet, and I still get email updates, but no more news broadcasts on any network for me. I found that they were contributing to a general discouragement and made me harbor some unsanctified thoughts about some of my countrymen. However, I cannot deny that our country is in deep trouble. Court rulings, legislation and political policy seem increasingly hostile to God’s authority and His standards.

As I read Scripture, the remedy won’t be found in the halls of Congress or on a picket line outside. (This is not to say that people shouldn’t avail themselves of whatever means God leads them to use to speak the truth.) The key to good God-honoring government resides in my heart and the hearts of others. If you fear the Lord, serve Him, obey Him and don’t rebel against Him – did God make Himself clear, or what? – If we as citizens commit ourselves to personal holiness, then our leadership will follow suit.

I am one person. I can vote, but how much influence do I really have on Washington D.C.? I can control my own actions, though. I can choose to fear God and honor Him. If THAT catches on, then the nation will change. If we live out genuine faith, if we become vessels of honor, sanctified, cleansed and prepared, we become part of God’s solution to the ills of our society. True healing is only found in Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 1 Samuel

Sanctified Dishes

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It’s Friday! What is it about Fridays? They just feel different. This Friday, it’s going to rain all day, but the more it rains, the more likely we are to get work done on Alan’s bedroom. (It also means no baseball practice, but that’s a whole different issue.)

Yesterday we left off here:
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20-1)

Sanctified, useful and prepared.

I have some dishes up in the corner of my attic, Christmas dishes, and every year, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving, I bring those dishes down and put them to use. After New Year’s, I pack them back for another year. In a sense, those dishes are sanctified, set apart for a specific purpose. If I chose, I could use those dishes in July. Or I could use them everyday. Either way, they are still set apart for a purpose, determined by the one who purchased them. I am set apart for a purpose determined by my Lord, who purchased me.

My dishes are useful. The bowls don’t leak. The plates hold the food. They do what they were designed to do. I was designed by my Father to function in the roles He assigns. And I’m suited for the role just like the bowl is suited for ice cream.

My dishes can be set apart and can be useful, but if they aren’t prepared- that is, clean and in the cabinet- I can’t use them. My kids have some old plastic dishes in their playhouse outside. The dishes are dirty, stained, and many are chipped and cracked. They are no longer useful. Truth is, they were no longer useful when they were relegated to the playhouse.

Now my nature is to be one of those dishes that gets used every meal, every day. But God in His wisdom knows that’s too much for me. He knows when and how to put me to work to accomplish His purposes and glorify Him. My responsibility is the stay prepared by keeping clean and being available.

One more point- what happens if one of my Christmas dishes is used for dirt in the yard? It’s still a Christmas dish that I bought, but I’m going to have to bring it inside and run it through the dishwasher on the super-hot “sterilize” cycle before I’d consider using it again. It’s the same way with me. If get out and get myself dirty, God has to put me through some really hot water before He can use me again.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: 2 Timothy,
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