Articles by Paul Faulkner at Heartlight

Loving God

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0600

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:35-38 TNIV).

How do you go about showing your love to God? A friend of mine said, "We could try giving presents to God, but the delivery problems are immense!"

Maybe the best way is by seeking to be like Him. That's the greatest compliment.

Things like loving your neighbor without regard for his or her "lovableness"; showing compassion for those who suffer, or for those who are small and can't defend themselves.

Intimacy with God occurs not so much in worship at church, but in transformed character that can endure silence and solitude as well as do ordinary tasks in an extraordinary way for ordinary people. By a person like you, who is willing to let God have His way in your life in all the little things.

What better gift can you give to God than yourself?

Power to Change People

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Family issues continue to attract the attention of even the business newspaper "The Wall Street Journal." For example, it was recently reported that married men commit far less violence toward their spouses than single and divorced men commit toward women with whom they're involved. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that unmarried, pregnant women are four times more likely to be abused by their boyfriends than married pregnant women are by their husbands. A stable marriage in which both natural parents are present also means a safer environment for the children.

The Journal goes on to say that the place to start with transformation of this domestic violence scourge is with the individual. You change the man, you change the family. You change the family, you change the community. You change the community, you change the nation.

By the way, changing people is what God’s power is all about: change in the real world, in real people, that makes a difference in their everyday culture.

[Jesus said] "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16 TNIV).

Beyond Parental Neglect

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 TNIV).

Consider for a moment this five stage pattern in the life of a violent criminal:

His parents neglect and abandon the child in early home life.

As early as age five or six he hits his mother. He's difficult for school officials to handle.

He joins a delinquent band by age fifteen and he's involved in criminal behavior. Many of his peers are on drugs.

He commits a violent crime with a gang and purchases a gun.

His sixteen year old girlfriend is pregnant. A new child is born, and our nation is in deeper trouble.

Let's go back to stage one -- parental neglect. Marriage is vital, and parents must love and nurture their kids in a spiritual as well as physical way. Kids can't teach kids! They need adults who care!

Living Simply

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13 TNIV).

Thanks to Elaine St. James for writing this: "Living fully doesn't mean having it all and going everywhere and doing everything and being all things to all people. Many of us are beginning to see that too much is too much; it gets in the way of being able to enjoy the things we do want in our lives and to simply be who we are."

Achieving a level of inner simplicity makes it possible to choose intelligently the things that are meaningful in our lives. And they contribute to our peace of mind if they ultimately mean that we do fewer things and have less stuff. However, that decision will not come so much from self-denial, but from wisdom that comes from taking the time to figure out what is important to us, and letting all the rest go.

The message today: learn to live simply with peace.

Vulnerable God

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about him (John 1:18 NLT).

I guess one of the things I love most about the God I read about in the Bible is his vulnerability. He is a God who can roar, who can order armies and empires like pawns. Yet he willingly comes near to man.

This God emerged in Palestine as a little baby who couldn't speak, couldn't eat solid food, couldn't control his bladder; he depended on a poor young couple for shelter.

And at least three times he cried in front of his disciples. He didn't hide his fears or hesitate to ask for help. He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." And at Gethsemane he said, "Stay here and watch with me." How many strong leaders today would make themselves so vulnerable?

And this is what draws us to him. He absolutely understands us, and he still loves us! It's remarkable!

The Person in the Mirror

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Christian people who really want to serve the Lord with willing, servant hearts sometimes neglect their own well-being. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19). And that’s not about being egocentric, but it implies that treating yourself right -- respecting that God knows you, made you, has a plan for you (Psalm 139:13-16). Properly caring for yourself, both body and soul, while recognizing that your body is the temple of God becomes the basis for treating others properly(1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

You would take care of your best friend so that he or she could take care of others. You would try to understand that friend, and comfort and strengthen that friend all you could. You need to do the same thing to the person in your mirror, as well! This is not about being selfish, but about being respectful of God's purposes for you!

Christian writer Fredrick Buechner put it this way, "A bleeding heart is no help to anybody if it bleeds to death." That means not only taking care of yourself physically, but feeding yourself with divine nourishment from God's Word, being merciful to yourself, accepting the bread of life from Jesus, and accepting God's forgiveness. When we do these things, we are then able to share them with others more completely.

Chosen by God!

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Some things just kind of stick in your mind, like when a little boy said, "I've learned that it makes me sad when I'm the last one chosen for the team." Ouch! That hurts to hear, doesn't it! Has anything like that ever happened to you?

I don't remember being picked last, but I remember lots of times when I thought I was going to be. It felt like I was being kicked in the stomach. The last one chosen -- it feels like such a public disgrace. It hurts even to talk about it. Nearly all of us know this feeling at some stage of our life -- relationships, job hirings, friendships, or games.

What I love about Jesus is that it doesn't matter if I'm poor or not smart or clumsy or perceived as ugly. It doesn't matter to him if I'm rich or poor, short or tall, fat or skinny, bald or with lots of hair. No matter what my outside circumstances, I'm still the one he chooses every time!

Jesus told his followers, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last!" (John 15:16 TNIV). The apostle Paul said it this way, "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12).

Chosen by God. What good news! Now pass it on to someone else who needs to experience it!

Free to Serve

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Growing up, we all had our turn at jobs -- like cutting grass with that old mower that didn't cut very well or cleaning the woodwork in the kitchen or worst of all, cleaning the tub, lavatory, and commode.

Those little, tough jobs kids hate doing change as we grow up. They grow into larger, tougher jobs we still don’t enjoy doing! But Christians know that even the simplest, most disagreeable job can be meaningful when we do it for the Lord. As we do things out of love for Him, serving becomes a blessing whether anyone else thanks us or not -- even the little, tough jobs that nobody likes.

The apostle Paul reminds us that the Lord calls us to be free -- free to serve and to bless.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love (Galatians 5:13 TNIV).

So let's serve one another in love.

Leaving a Legacy of Faith

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Children, listen to me, and I will teach you to respect the Lord (Psalm 34:11 ERV).

What do you owe your kids? I believe God expects us to give our children these four things:

all the unconditional love and affirmation they can hold

a great parental model to follow

a Christian value system on which they can build their lives

great family memories

Now other things are important as well, like a good education and healthcare, but these require financial resources not all parents have.

However, all parents can give their kids these four gifts. We can model what we need to be, because our Father modeled for us. We can give unconditional love, because Jesus gave it to us. And the Bible contains the value system to live by, and the great memories are a by-product of the other three.

What are you doing to pass these on to your children today?

Leaving the Past, Living the Kingdom

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

As we get older, we have a tendency to look back, and if we aren’t careful, to give in to the selective eyesight that sees only the problems and failures of the past. It's too easy to look for someone in the past to blame or resent and way too easy to stumble around in bitterness and regret.

The best thing to do with the past is to learn from it, while keeping our eyes on today and looking forward to the days to come!

Jesus talks about a man who "looks back" because he is not ready for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Now what that passage is telling us is that the past can be a distraction that keeps us from being what the Lord needs us to be today! The apostle Paul talks about "forgetting what is behind" and moving on toward the things that God has ahead (Philippians 3:13). We've got to stay centered in today, seeking to honor God and living for his future. Remember what Jesus taught us to pray: "... your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 TNIV).

The best way to change the past is to live the way God wants us to live today, rooted in the moment and living for God -- in service to others and in service to the Kingdom.