I build my life and ministry activities around what I know from the Bible. And that must seem incredibly strange to a lot of people who have been indoctrinated into thinking that the Bible is some kind of irrelevant relic of yester-year.
Over the years I have been bombarded with many of the claims and attacks on the Bible. At times I have even been impacted by them, confused about what to think of some parts of the Bible, embarrassed to admit that I believe in God and the Bible, and so on. However, as I have taken the time to consider the reality of the Bible and the claims of those who object to it, I have come to a sound confidence in the Bible and what it teaches. I have also seen that many of the charges against the Bible are false, deceptive and at times even ludicrous.
There are many things that could be said about the Bible and I will share some of them with you, to help you understand why I value it so much and stand by what it says with such confidence.
Consider these descriptors which I use to present what the Bible is. The Bible is the most Enduring, Authoritative, Profound, Resilient, Enlightening, Impactful, Endorsed and Significant book in all of human history.
Over the next few days I’ll elaborate on these comments for you, to help clarify in your mind, as it is in mine, that the Bible is truly the most significant book you will ever have the privilege to read.
“I Do” – a marriage poem
With recent discussions about Marriage Poems I decided to try wriing something a little more romantic than my normal fare. I realise that many of my Marriage Poems lack that certain romantic element many people are looking for. So this is an attempt to create something that is more readily consumable in the wider arena. However, I don’t seem to be able to help myself. I find that I’m dipping into “reality” territory again. Oh well, maybe this kind of reality will be a little more acceptable than some of my more direct material.
“I DO” by Chris Field. March 20, 2008
I lift my voice and say, “I do”
And so I pledge myself to you,
And there you do the same to me.
How happy we are sure to be.
Yet in all this I can’t be sure
That my weak spots you’ll ignore,
When I let you down each day
Will that turn your heart away?
I am mud. and cannot be
What you deeply hope from me.
I know I’ll make you hurt and sad
My mother says I drive her mad!
So let me add another pledge
For us to make at wedding’s edge.
Let us promise in this place
To always walk in love and grace.
Let us not be rashly blind
As we tie the cords that bind,
But let us choose up front to give
The grace that always will forgive.
Let us choose to give the love
That we receive from God above,
A love that brings us through the pain
The storms, the hurts, the wind and rain.
So let us pledge our love that’s true
As we speak our clear, “I Do”.
Let us look to saving grace
And let us walk before God’s face.
“I Do”, “I Do”, “I Truly Do”
Commit myself to loving you.
I choose to bless you every day
And find in God my strength and stay.
As you take me as your own
And journey into days unknown
Also take His grace along
So nothing now can spoil our song.
I love you, princess, be my bride.
Come and in God’s love abide.
Let us now as two agree
That God’s grace will keep us free.
“I Do”
Fathers – The ‘Fallen Hero’ of Your Child’s Heart
Fathers are the idols of young children. Solomon observed that the “glory of children are their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6). And we readily see this among young children. “My dad is stronger than your dad”, is what other boys said to me when I was just a young lad. I would tell them how strong and clever my dad was, and they would scoff at my claims and make their own counter-claims. Most children start out with a high regard for their daddy. They innocently think highly of him. They expect him to be their hero and they seem to know instinctively that their own identity is established on the strengths of their father.
In time, however, these same children come to the shocking realisation that their hero dad is made of clay. He is not as clever or as worthy of unbridled trust and honour as they once thought. They observe his failings, feel the brunt of his personality, see him demeaned in the eyes of others and otherwise come to realise that he is just another man, possibly less noble than some. This point of realisation, the moment that the dad becomes a “fallen hero’ and ‘fallen idol“, is a critical time for the development of the child. This is the moment when the child will reveal his or her true character and can potentially make some of the greatest personal gains to that point in their life. You see, a child who is carried along in childish naiveté has not had their heart tested. But when they face pain, disappointment and similar challenges their true heart condition can be revealed. Your child’s heart is the most important territory you will ever have responsibility for. When you child faces the shock of their father being a fallen idol, they must make a choice. They can choose to despise their dad and hold resentment in their heart. They can choose to become self-reliant and independent, or even angry and violent. Alternatively, with godly parental guidance, the child can face the unhappy reality of human imperfection and choose to honour and love their dad, despite his weaknesses and limitations.
When your child is young and innocent they will readily give you their heart. But at some time in the future they may well come to withdraw their heart from you. That’s when the calling which Solomon describes becomes most powerful. “My son, give me your heart” (Proverbs 23:26) is not the request we make of our little children. It is the request we make of those older children who have been offended by our weakness, disappointed by our humanness, hurt by our failure to be all they want us to be.
And that’s the moment of incredible opportunity for your child. If your child can and will obey God, choosing to honour you, and give you their heart, despite the unhappy feelings you invoke within them, then your child has stepped into a powerful place of maturity and wisdom. They inherit the blessings of God. They qualify to be godly seed. Dad’s, the discouragement your children feel through you is not just a part of growing up, it is a crucial cross-roads in their heart. Mums and dads, watch for this moment and shepherd your child through it. Fathers, don’t be afraid of being the fallen idol in your child’s heart – but do have wisdom about how you direct your child through that challenging season.
“My Life is MINE!” – A warning to youth
Have you been told, “It’s Your Life!” Well, don’t be fooled by that idea. Yes, you have a free will. You can make your own bed and you will have to lie on it. But that doesn’t make you your own property, nor your life your own life.
Part of the destruction of young lives is to disconnect them from real meaning and purpose. A clever way to do that is to suggest, “It’s your life, so do with it as you please!” If a person feels ownership of their life they think they are not as accountable for it. They only have to answer to themselves. “It’s my life, so I can waste it if I want to!”
At the same time they are disconnected from real meaning, purpose and fruitfulness, because they go off chasing butterflies rather than connecting with bigger things.
You are not your own! God owns you. God created you for His purposes. You are on the planet for divine reasons, and you are not supposed to miss them or mess them up. And what’s more, you impact others and must give account for that as well. If you cause someone else to stumble you will be dealt with severely by God. If you undermine someone else’s destiny and divine calling your will have to answer to God. If you marry someone and entangle them in your own life-wasting activities you will be held accountable for that.
Your life is not your own. You are not here to do as you please. You are a fully responsible person and you will be judged for ETERNITY for the things you do and say. There are HUGE consequences to your life. You will even have to account for every idle word you speak, let alone those big arguments, or those obvious times when you hurt others. Even your THOUGHTS are laid bare before God.
To make matters worse, God is watching your actions, words and intentions and will give you what you deserve based on what He sees. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, seeing what both the good and evil people do. God rewards those who trust in Him and he curses those who trust in themselves or who live life by man’s wisdom and standards.
The only thing you own is your will. But even there, you have no power to do anything but love God and be blessed or defy God and be cursed. You have no power over your life or the outcomes of anything you do. God holds you in His hand. God can bring you sunshine or rain. God will give you what you deserve – almost!
The good news is that God is patient and loving toward you, and will not give you everything you deserve as soon as you deserve it. He is patient with you, waiting for you to repent and get rid of the garbage in your life.
Give up your foolish self-focused ideas. Get into reality. You are a created being, put on the planet by the Living God, for His eternal purposes. God has an amazing destiny for you, but He requires you to trust Him, in faith and to go His ways, no matter how hard that turns out to be. God allows you to cop out, run away, rebel and be eaten up with foolishness. It’s your life to destroy if you are stupid enough to do so. But in reality it’s not your life to do with as you please. Your life is God’s life, created for His pleasure and purposes.
Get smart. Humble yourself before God and make Him Lord of your whole existence. He will put you through the ringer, giving you some touch challenges, to sort out the men from the boys, but the end result of going God’s way is incredibly beyond anything else you can ever hope to do with your days.
Your life is His Life – so yield it to Him.
Are You Ready for Reality?
Sarsha & Dijon are deeply in love. She desperately needs him to help her after a troubled childhood. He is totally captivated by the idea of being her troubadour. He is going to make her happy and she is going to complete him. The fantasy has begun and they eagerly marry so they can live their dream.
Many irresponsible months later, after notching up a string of giddy moments and experimental exploits Sarsha and Dijon are going to have a baby. It is one big adventure and it’s just SO exciting to them both. This is their greatest achievement and the fruit of their delirious love for each other.
But after a wrenching year of incredible duress the couple are struggling to maintain their marriage. They DEFINITELY will NEVER have another child. Babies are just SO demanding. The impact of the baby on their free-wheeling lifestyle has been traumatic. The load placed on their flimsy relationship has almost been to breaking point.
What went wrong? Why didn’t the baby fit into the fantasy? Why did the bubble of delusion ever have to be burst? Why couldn’t the baby just do what the parents wanted it to do? Why couldn’t they just continue their silly game with a baby as part of the picture?
What went wrong for this couple is that Reality hit. Their foolishness did not dictate reality, but simply hid their eyes from it. Giddy giggles are not the stuff on which real life is built. Shallow personalities and empty values are straw, no matter what they dress up as.
This couple was not ready for reality, but reality is what they had. Over the next few years they will both mature, even if painfully and haltingly. They will finally come to the place where they see other things than their fantasies. Hopefully that day will come, for their sakes and for the sake of their baby.
Immaturity and romantic fantasies do not prepare people for parenting. And in our highly peer-streamed culture few young adults have shared in the care and nurture of babies and children. Many young mums have never held a baby before their own. Many young dads are ill-prepared for the invasion of a young dependent baby into their home.
Children are a blessing from God and are God’s reward. Yet many people reel in shock under the unexpected impact of a baby in their life. The problem is not with the baby, but with the way our culture prepares people for reality. The “happily ever after” stories and self-indulgent values rob many of reality and undermine their chances of a healthy start to marriage and family.
The reality check which comes from a first child and the work-load resulting from a growing family are what contribute to a person’s maturity. I have heard it said of a young man and woman at times, they have much going for them but will be so much better value once they have been married and started a family. The experience of facing realities which marriage and babies force upon them brings out a maturity and strength that is needed.
I encourage those who have not yet started a family to spend time with those who have. I encourage those who have young children to actively involve children, youth and young adults in the experience of caring for the child. These experiences help bring reality into the understanding, and protect people from the fantasies that would otherwise overwhelm them.