Encouraging - Affirmation

One aspect of our God-created makeup is our inherent desire to fellowship with one another, and part of our sinful human nature is to constantly seek affirmation from each other. The ever-present temptation is to think that being “in Christ” is not sufficient and that we must have affirmation and approval from other human beings. This compulsion is so great it can often drive us to being man-pleasers rather than God-exalters.

Harry L. Reeder III, The Leadership Dynamic (Crossway, Wheaton, IL: 2008), 24.

Encouraging - Values

For those of you who are receiving this by email, if you have time, click on the link for my blog and check out a cool feature I have recently added. Once on the blog, http://www.colincreel.blogspot.com/, move the cursor over the Scripture reference and see what happens. In addition, for most posts that include a passage from a book, I add a link for those that are interested to find out more about the book referenced. I also have added some fun pictures of Cole in the sidebar.

The heart always provides for what it values (Matthew 6:19-34), and if we value God first, our capacity to love him and others will expand. If we value the world first, we will miss out on not only the joys of knowing God but also the joys of this life. Relationships will denigrate into contacts, and we will seek to manipulate people to get what we think we want. We will be driven to accomplish and impress, and this will detract from quality time with those we love. Activities will take precedence over intimacy, both with God and with people. The idol of accomplishment will erode the aesthetics of the spirit and leave us busy and weary. We will work harder to influence people, and by seeking our security in their responses, we will become disconnected from our true security in Christ. The only way off this treadmill is repentance and return to the pursuit of Christ in place of the pursuit of the world.

Ken Boa, Conformed to His Image (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI: 2001), 47.

Encouraging - Battle

The battle is not to do what we don’t want, but to want what is infinitely worth wanting. The fight is not the oppressive struggle to earn God’s final rest, but the satisfying struggle to rest in the peace that Jesus freely gives. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30). The demands of Jesus are only as hard to obey as his promises are hard to cherish and his presence is hard to treasure.

John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (Crossway, Wheaton, IL: 2006), 184-185.

Pray for our Leaders

For many days now my mind has been entrenched with political thoughts. In general, I try to steer clear of political discussions. In most cases, someone always walks away frustrated or mad. Is that right to circumvent these conversations, probably not? Ideally, each party would have enough respect for one another that we would treat each other with gentleness and respect (Colossians 3:12). I try to be sensitive to others’ viewpoints, but it is very easy to view one side as right and the other as wrong. To that end, it’s challenging at times to see any differences between Christians and non-Christians by how we discuss politics or the ways in which we respond to the outcome. Regardless of our candidate’s success or lack there of, God is sovereign (Colossians 1:16-17, Daniel 4:35). God created all things for His good pleasure. His plan is perfect. A colleague and I prayed this morning for our nation, for the new leadership, and for our country. Let us stand united as one country under God as we press forward.

Here is a great little article reminding us of our duty: http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/14617

Encouraging - Uniqueness

Every child is unique, and every child must find the ways she can fit in the world and the manner in which she is not to be of the world. A child who is too hesitant to buck the world’s system must be called to test the boundaries of convention in order to obey God. On the other hand, a child who can’t seem to conform to any rule must find how to be sufficiently “in” a larger world to engage it with her Christian perspective. Each child will have a bent in one of these directions: either to be “of” the world by conforming too closely to its values or to be “not of” this world and to stand completely apart from it. It is our task to affirm and then challenge the bent. If our child is either a rebel or a rule keeper, it is both good and not good. The good must be grown, and the not-good must meet the strength of parental resistance. The dilemma is that we seldom see good in being a rebel, and we fail to see ill in being a rule keeper. We must work both sides of the aisle to accomplish God’s purpose in developing a tender and strong heart in a child. We must grow a child’s ability to fit the world and also to resist the world.

Dan B. Allender, How Children Raise Parents (Waterbrook Press, Colorado Springs, CO: 2003), 41-42.