Developing Discernment with God’s Wisdom
I had a favorite necklace in high school that I never took off. I got it on a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was a gold necklace with a small camera charm. In my junior and senior years, one of my favorite classes was photography; between learning to develop film using chemicals and being in the darkroom, the camera was a big symbol to me back then.
But because I never took the thing off, and the fact that it was costume jewelry, the gold layer rubbed off, revealing a cheaper-looking, coppery metal underneath. For a long time, I still wore it because I loved it, but eventually let it go, as it looked super beat up and other things grabbed my interest.
Prioritizing Family Worship
Almost a year into our marriage, Sam and I bought a house. It was in coastal North Carolina, and it was much, much bigger than our tiny 1-bedroom basement apartment had been on Long Island. Because it was the tail end of Covid, and so many people were leaving New York for elsewhere, we had trouble finding a moving truck. There were literally none to be had anywhere near us and there weren’t any estimated to be for a long time.
So, we had the idea to drive our cars– packed as much as they could be– down to North Carolina, close on our home, and rent a moving truck from there. Then, Sam would turn around, drive the moving truck back to New York, get the rest of our stuff, before coming back down to our new home.
Making an Effort to Memorize
I went to preschool at a Christian school, so woven into the curriculum was Gospel truth and scripture. When I learned my alphabet, I learned the letter in sign language, the sound it made, and a scripture verse along with each letter.
“A, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” “B, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…” and so on.
The Strong Tower We Run To
The church I grew up in had several worship teams throughout the decades I spend there. One worship leader’s name was Dolores. She only lead very occasionally, when there was a rare gap in worship leaders’ schedules, but when she did, she was always on an acoustic guitar.
Dolores is a genuine flower child, saved after her wild days in the 60s, but her style of worship was still very “Stevie Nicks found the joy of the Lord.” She always sang songs that no one else did. One of them was this exact scripture, and there weren’t too many other words than that. But I cannot hear that scripture without hearing her singing it with that strummy guitar behind her.
So what does it mean? It’s obviously metaphorical about the strength and protection of the Lord towards His people, but how is it practically applied?
The Wings of Womanhood
I wear very few items of jewelry on a daily basis. One piece that barely ever comes off is a small chain with a set of wings given to me by my sister. She gave it to me as we read Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot during her engagement. Chapter 8, “The Weight of Wings,” resonated with us both, even at our differing stages of womanhood and marriage.
For Those Who Need to Hear God Speak
Do you see God as a friend, or as a distant entity? Do you see His commands as necessities to your life, or as guidelines often ignored?
The mark of a maturing Christian is the one who embraces the Lord’s teachings as life-giving guidance and turns to God in joy and exuberance in communion. When you see God’s counsel as if it were trusted advice from your best friend, you know you’re in a good place. You’ve drawn near to the Lord not as a wish-fulfiller or a militant box-checker, but as a sister or a faithful companion.
The Light on Our Path of Righteousness
‘If the sun is not awake, then you aren’t allowed to play yet.’ That’s the rule in our house for our three year old. A few months back, we were going through a phase where she would wake up in the middle of the night and wander the house– usually hiding somewhere so that when we figured out she was out of bed, we would have to search to find her before settling her again. Once she realized that didn’t work, she started coming to our bed every night, which also grew old fast.
That was when we taught her that when the sun goes down, we go to sleep, and when it rises again we can start a new day of playing. But if she wakes and the sun isn’t up yet, she has to try to go back to sleep.
Fearing the Lord and Gaining Wisdom
What does it mean to be completely devoted to someone or something?
Even marriages have the “honeymoon phase,” where the couple is totally enamored with each other. Everything is new, and precious, and exhilarating. There’s something similar when you become new parents– “the bubble” as it’s now affectionately called. Where you bring that child home and they are so agreeable, so cute, so new and wonderful, that the world just feels novel and sweet.
Playing Evangelism, the Long Game
An older gentleman was featured on Humans of New York’s Facebook page this week. He shared his story of running for New York City Council ten years ago in Eastern Queens. He speaks about how even just ten years ago, in a post-9/11 city the people of his community were legally abused because they lacked political power at even the lowest levels. Most were not even voters.
This man’s community was, more specifically, South Asian Muslims.
Pursuing Good Theology
Back in the early 2000s, our scope of who could be accessed for Biblical teaching was limited. You had your pastor at your local church, maybe a few tele-evangelists, and whatever books you could get your hands on if you had a Christian bookstore around. It was probably more simple to sift through sources and try other teachers if the Gospel wasn’t being preached.
Compare that to now, and the information, teachers, and material at our fingertips is so endless, you could never possibly get through it all. With the internet, you can access this past Sunday’s sermon from any given church that has a video camera, a microphone, and a YouTube channel– and that includes megachurches right on down to the tiny, country church in America’s smallest town.
Christ’s Witnesses, P4: Scripture
In John 5, Jesus calls upon one more witness to His Godship and His deity. After using a physical testimony like John the Baptist, the miraculous testimony of the works in His ministry, and the spiritual testimony of God the Father, Jesus finally calls upon the scriptural testimony of God’s Word.
Of course, at that time, He would have been talking about the Old Testament. But this Jewish law is something that the religious leaders were well versed in. The Old Testament was something that they knew backwards and forwards; knowledge that they used on a daily basis.
Christ’s Witnesses, P3: God the Father
Calling your father to the stand might seem like a weak defense. In most cases where a father is involved in their son’s life, they love him and see the best in him. We’ve all grown up and had a parent gas us up when we’re down. They say we’re smart, or beautiful, or creative, or awesome, and the common response is, “You HAVE to say that. You’re the parent.”
And yes, our parents can have rose-colored glasses when it comes to our abilities or aptitudes. But they also know us better than most people. A good parent has been there for it all. They’ve seen every report card, every dance recital and soccer game; they’re there for every skinned knee, birthday, and hard knock. So a good parent would know your character, your history, and be an advocate for you.
Rooting Our Theology in Biblical Truth
I knew someone once that adamantly said that she didn’t understand the importance of ‘theology.’ She always said, “Why can’t we all just love Jesus and let go of all the details?” I think what she really was trying to say was that some people can get so caught up in the intellectual ins and outs of theology that they distract from unity with other believers and the importance of the gospel itself. But regardless, whenever the word ‘theology’ came up she was very quick to throw the conversation out the window.
Walking in a Manner Worthy of Him
There are many things people try to prepare you for when you’re becoming a parent for the first time. There are big things and small things; from warnings about the looming sleepless nights and allowing yourself to get rest where you can to the savoring of every moment. Between bottles, diapering, feeding, sleep schedules, and keeping up with baby’s milestones, there’s a lot to learn and focus on– and that’s just the first stage of a child’s life!
Going Deeper in the Currents of Wisdom
A river runs through our town, and at this time of year, it’s partially frozen. The thing about a river is that for it to be totally frozen is rare. The temperature has to be way below freezing for an extended period of time in order to overcome the constant flow of water and freeze it solid. If you look at a river that is starting to freeze though, you’ll notice that the ice is primarily on the banks, where the current is the slowest.
Letting God’s Wisdom Lead Us Down the Good Path
I’ve lived in some interesting places with some cool history.
I’ve lived on Long Island, where the Revolutionary War was fought and lots of that history is still being preserved. I’ve lived on the coast of North Carolina, where Civil War and pirate history is kept, including the wreck site of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was infamously captained by Blackbeard. I’ve lived and studied in Cape Town, South Africa, which still remembers Apartheid and is a melting pot of many different cultures.