18 inches. That much snow fell on my sidewalk and driveway last week. How do you handle snow that blocks your way?
The blocked paths and roadways brought this well-known Scripture to mind:
Isaiah 40:3 (ESV)
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Prepare the way!
I am thankful for a husband who keeps his pledge–faithful to me, faithful to God.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I try to have a conversation with God about my marriage. I’m annoyed with my husband, and I want to tell God how righteous I am and how unreasonable my husband is.
Instead, God reveals to me my failure to honor Him: money spent on worthless indulgences, time wasted in pointless internet clicks, foolish imaginations set off by degenerate shows and stories. It’s not about the activity itself, it’s about the damage to our relationship.
I’ve been cheating on God. I’m “having an affair” with the world.
Hosea 2:19-20
I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
Troth, a word closely related to truth, is a pledge of faithfulness. God pledges his troth to us. Dare we pledge anything less back to God?
Here’s Ann Landers’ take on our topic:
“Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquility of a lovely sunset.”
I’ll take the proximity and predictability of tranquil sunsets over the fleeting excitement of a distant comet. How about you?
Those traditional wedding vows, I pledge thee my troth and till death do us part, sound old-fashioned. Is monogamy passé?
Lots of hurt comes from broken vows. Some folks insist that their plethora of partners is exciting, but I wouldn’t trade places with them.
Many fathers of our faith were not monogamous: think Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon. Is it a stretch to think that their multiple mates doubled their aggravation, not their fun?
A noble goal from a founding father:
“Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”
Thomas Jefferson, 1787
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Going back to the school issues that inspired this week’s posts:
In one, a superintendent places greater value on students who plan to go to college.
Lord, send a parade of citizens who didn’t go to college across his path: plumbers, carpenters, the friendly face in the coffee shop and, yes, the guy in the snowplow.
The second incident involved an administrator who was insulting and demeaning as he doled out discipline for “harassment, intimidation and bullying.”
Dear God, give him ears to hear his own words, wisdom to recognize how they sounded and the courage to apologize.
Join me in praying that all administrators would be motivated by love, merciful in judgment, humble and more concerned about others than themselves (see Tuesday‘s Bible verses).
Back when my kids were in school, I often prayed for their teachers. The principal and superintendent? Not so much.
1 Timothy 2:1-2
I urge, then, first of all, that
petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for . . . all those in authority
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives
in all godliness and holiness.
So let’s take Paul’s instructions to heart:
Dear Lord, I thank you for our schools and for all the people who oversee them. May our students “live peaceful and quiet lives.” May there be an abundance of “godliness and holiness” among all who walk the halls there. Amen.
There’s good advice in Scripture for those in authority within our schools:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
James 2:13
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Romans 12:3 (NIV)
I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.
1 Corinthians 10:24
No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
