How Growing Shows Honor

Every time I hear or see the word honor, my mind goes back to Exodus 20:12 which says, “Honor your father and mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Honor is a special thing. It is a type of respect that cannot be faked but must flow from the depths of one’s own heart. Every time, my mind first goes to the command to honor our parents.

Our parents are not the only ones who deserve honor though. The Bible goes on to share about how there are others who deserve honor (Romans 13:7; 1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 Timothy 5:3). We should be faithful in showing honor to those who are deserving.

During my devotion time this morning, something about honoring stood out in a way that I don’t know it has before. I was reading 3 John, and I came to verse 4.

I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.

3 JOHN 1:4 CSB

John seems to be writing to a Gaius about some things that are going on. He takes a moment to express his joy at the hearing that those who had poured into at one time were still moving forward in the faith.

As a parent myself, I can somewhat relate to what is being said here. When a child of mine “gets it” and takes steps towards maturity on their own, it is exciting. It helps me to know that my time in training hasn’t been wasted.

What I began to think about this morning was what takes place in the discipleship relationship that Jesus calls His followers to carry out. Jesus has called every one of His followers to learn from Him, reach out to others and share what you have learned so that they may learn it also. That might be a simple definition of discipleship, but it is what I’m going to work with here.

In the discipleship relationship, a “more mature” Christian takes another Christian under his/her wings to show them what this new life in Christ looks like. There is a period of time where there is a great deal of teaching and even “spoon-feeding” that the more mature Christian does. That phase should shift to one where the one being discipled begins doing some things on his/her own.

John expressed great joy in hearing that those he had poured in to for a time were still going forward in the faith. It wasn’t seen as a waste of time. It didn’t seem as though the investment he had made in them fell on hard and resistant soil. They were continuing to grow in their faith, and this made John overjoyed.

One of the greatest ways that we can show honor to those who are investing in us through discipleship is to “keep on.” There are times when one wants to throw in the towel. It is nice to have someone just spoon-feed us the things that we need, but there comes a time when that is more harmful than helpful.

What would you think of a 30-year-old who still wants his mom or dad to put him in a high chair, place a bib around his neck, and spoon the food into his mouth for him? No doubt, this sounds like a ridiculous scene, but it happens far too often within the church.

We can truly honor those who have worked to disciple us in our walk with Jesus by growing in our faith and even getting to the point where we can do some of the tasks for ourselves. It is not that we do not need them anymore at all. It is that we are maturing and what they have been doing is working. This shows great honor and brings great joy to those who are discipling us.

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Book Review: Enter the Ring

Title: Enter the Ring: fighting together for a gospel-saturated marriage

Authors: D. A. & Elicia Horton

Publisher: Navpress

Overview

Enter the Ring is a book that was written by church planters, D. A. and Elicia Horton to help people who are looking to do marriage in the right way.  They focus on showing what it means to have a “gospel-saturated” marriage by using wisdom from the Bible along with personal stories of their own struggles, mistakes, and victories.

Thoughts

I completely agree with a statement that is on the back of this book: Marriage is hard! Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful and enjoying the wonderful marriage that I have with my wife.  But the truth is that this thing called marriage is hard work.  There are so many things that are at war with marriages in our world today.

I really enjoyed reading Enter the Ring.  I have been following D. A. Horton for a little while now, especially after hearing him share at the SEND Conference this past summer.  I found that this book was very helpful in that it was not just throwing a bunch of “teachings” out there, but the Hortons pull back the veil and are very transparent about their own relationship.  It really felt like you were sitting down with them at a coffee shop and sharing experiences.

D. A. and Elicia Horton do a great job of bringing to light many of the truths found in the Bible pertaining to the marriage relationship.  They also give some good practical steps in working through some issues that a couple might face. (The chapter dealing with finances and the budget layout was really good!)

Recommendation

I would highly recommend this book to any couple out there.  It is rich in gospel truth and practical thoughts.  I really believe that any couple – thinking about marriage, newlyweds, or even further down the line – would greatly benefit from what is shared by the Hortons in Enter the Ring. The marriage relationship is definitely worth fighting for, and this book is a great tool to help a couple win the fight!

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Detestable Prayers

I came across a Bible verse the other day that really hit me hard in the gut.  Have you ever had that happen?  Ever had a Bible verse that you know that you have read over many times before, but all of the sudden… BAM! Right in the gut.  That was me.

God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law. (Proverbs 28:9 NLT)

When I read that, I was like, “Did I read that correctly?  Maybe it is a translation issue…”  So I checked out other trusted translations…

He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (NASB)

If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (ESV)

Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law – even his prayer is detestable. (HCSB)

It did not take long to realize that there was no issue with translation.  The Word said what it meant. There is such a thing as detestable prayers.

It is hard to imagine that God’s stomach might turn at that some prayers that are offered, but that is exactly what that verse is saying. It is in those times – the ones where what you read cannot be right in your mind – that you begin to put it to the context test. How does this verse measure up with the rest of Scripture? When you do that and remove your thoughts from the equation, it is easy to see why this verse is here.

Proverbs 28:9 says that these detestable prayers are offered by those who have ignored God’s laws. These are those who have already heard from God but chosen to ignore what He has said. How many times do we hear/read God’s truth from His word and choose to ignore it? When we do that and then come to God expecting Him to answer our prayers as we wish, we play God for a fool.

I do not like it when people ask me for advice and refuse to do anything I advise. When that person comes again needing some advice, what do you think is going through my head? Could it be that God goes through the same thing when people come to Him to bail them out or help them but have refused to do ANYTHING that God has previously commanded?

I believe that God hears our prayers. It is not a question of ability. But do our prayers bring detest or delight?  The answer to that question is determined by what we have done with what God has already given us. It could be that before God answers our prayers, He needs to get us into position for the answer. That position comes from obedience to what God has commanded prior to the request.

There have been many false teachers that have come on the scene using verses like “But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7 NLT) to float the thought that one can make God do what they want. This makes no logical sense whatsoever to me. Who do we think that we are talking to when we pray? If we are praying to the God of the Bible, then maybe we should revisit Revelation 1:12-18to get a glimpse of exactly who we are praying to. He is the living God of the universe and answers to NO ONE!

If you look carefully at John 15:7, you will notice that there is a similarity with Proverbs 28:9. Both passages talk about the importance of obeying what God has already said in reference to what we would like those Him do in the future. If we want to see God do even greater things in our lives, we need to make sure that we are already doing what He has shared with us.

Are the prayers that you are praying today detestable or delightful to God? 

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One Thing I'd Change About Eternity

As I think about eternity there are many things that I am looking forward to: a new body that will not have to battle sickness or death, meeting saints of old, seeing loved ones again, and mostly seeing Jesus face to face. There are so many things that would make one long for eternity.

With all these great things, there is one thing still I would change. I know that heaven will be perfect because it is created that way by God. If He were to ask me about it, this one thing I'd change. What is this one thing?

I would change the relationships in heaven. According to Jesus, there will not be relationships as we know them here on earth (Luke 20:34-35). My wife, Naomi, will not be my wife in heaven. My sons would not be my sons in heaven.



I have to be honest that this thought does not make me happy. I love my wife and boys more than anyone on the face of this earth. I cannot imagine relating to them in other way than I currently do. But according to the Scripture mentioned above, eternity will change our relationship.

With Father's Day just around the corner, I've been thinking about what this means for today. If the relationship I have with my wife and sons will change in eternity, then I've only got one shot at it. There's only one shot to be the husband I'm supposed to be to Naomi. There's only one shot to be the father I'm supposed to be to my three wonderful boys. This is the thought that came to me: I'd better make the most of it and give it all I got now because there's only one shot.

I cannot change the truth that we will not have spouses or children in heaven. That's God's call. I do have a say in these relationships now though. Here on earth I am a husband and father. I had better make the most of these moments now because they will never come again.

How would you do relationships differently if you knew this was your one shot with them?

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