Heartlight Articles - Making Life Work for Your Family

Free to Serve

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

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 worse, cleaning the commode and the tub and the lavatory.

Those little, tough jobs kids hate doing just change as we grow up. Eventually they turn into larger, tougher jobs we still don’t enjoy doing! But those who follow Jesus 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 -- yes, even those little, tough jobs that nobody likes can become a blessing!

Paul reminds us that the Lord calls us to be free -- free from law and free from sin and free to serve each other in love (Galatians 5:1-6). We are to lovingly serve all people, especially those with whom we share Jesus (Galatians 6:10).

True Freedom?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I don't know about you, but I have a whole bunch of motors out in my garage -- a lawnmower and an edger and hedge clippers and a trimmer, along with a bunch of other stuff. And they all get together on Saturday morning when the weather is good and decide to give me a workout. They work me over! In fact, my whole house will do that -- painting and changing filters and fixing faucets and getting the spots out of the rug.

I've learned that beyond a comfortable style of living, the more material things you have, the less freedom you've got. The house and tools and stuff are using me, instead of me using them!

Jesus didn't have much but a robe. Seems to be telling me that it's not things, it's people that count. Aren't you beginning to get the same point?

No wonder Jesus warned us, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15 NRS).

It Doesn't Require Better Skills

ron@faithfitness.net (Ron Rose) — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500

In 2004 a low budget, independent film, called Napoleon Dynamite made a high school misfit named Napoleon into a pop culture icon. In one of the storylines, Napoleon wants to get a date with a popular girl named Trisha, but he doesn't think he's good enough. He talks openly with his new friend Pedro:

Napoleon: Well, nobody's going to go out with ME!

Pedro: Have you asked anybody yet?

Napoleon: No, but who would? I don't even have any good skills.

Pedro: What do you mean?

Napoleon: You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

Pedro: Aren't you pretty good at drawing, like animals and warriors and stuff?

Napoleon: Yes ... probably the best that I know of.

Pedro: Just draw a picture of the girl you want to take out ... and give it to her for like a gift or something.

Napoleon: That's a pretty good idea.

Truth is, his drawings are horrible, but he doesn't know it. He is blissfully unaware of the social world around him, but he has an innate conviction that you have to have skills before anyone will care about you. Somewhere he has accepted the misconception that love is based on the right set of skills.

In real life, we struggle with a similar misconception. Deep down we wonder if we are good enough to be loved by the God who made us. At times, doubt wiggles its way into our alone moments ... Am I good enough or strong enough? Do I know enough? Am I right enough or skilled enough? Am I really worthy enough to be part of God's family, much less a faith giant in the kingdom?

No! You don't have access to enough "enough-ness" to make it ... but God does. It's all about him. God has a net of grace that works all the time in spite of our inadequacies and insufficiencies ... he is enough, more than enough. So work on; stretch out; try the impossible. He has the skills.

Ron Rose is a noted author and Director of Faith in Families. His new email minsitry, Faith Fitness, provides practical resources for growing faith. For more details, click here.

Website: Faith Fitness

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.