four things

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Dana

I heard a catchy tune on the radio this morning by a singer named Kris Allen. The name of the song is Gotta Live Like We’re Dying.  A good friend and brother in Christ who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma about a year ago shared a similar message this past weekend.  He described the change of thinking that takes place when you learn you have a fatal disease. Needless to say, unimportant matters become less important and the essentials gain heightened focus.

No one articulated priorities better than Jesus and his apostles, knowing their life was short.  Peter once wrote, “The end of all things is near,” then shared four simple reminders of how to live:

  • Keep clear minded so we can pray
  • Love others deeply
  • Show hospitality
  • Use what God gives us to serve others

Of course our enemy will constantly tempt us to:

  • Be so busy or unfocused that we don’t pray
  • Be so self-absorbed that we fail to love deeply
  • Forget to be kind to strangers or to open our homes to guests
  • Forget that God has given us gifts to use for his glory

The beautiful truth is that we can heed God’s Word wherever we live on this earth. Some of Karlyn’s Zambian team spent this past weekend in an outlying village. A teenage girl welcomed the foreigners into her modest African home. When the mother met her daughter’s new friends, she went out back and brought a chicken to present to the group. To this family, the gift of a chicken was an act of hospitality. To the Americans, the gift of a chicken was a sign of love. To God, the giving and receiving of a chicken meant his children from different nations were choosing to live in a way that brings him glory. May we do the same. (We have not yet heard what happened to the chicken…)

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised though Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” I Peter 4:7-11

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daughters

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Dana

Peter highlighted the beauty of the inner self and used Abraham’s wife, Sarah, as an example of a woman who pleased God. He connected the women of his day to Sarah with two criteria: “You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” (I Peter 3:6)

bungieI love our beautiful daughters, Kinsey and Karlyn. I admire their inner beauty and their love for God. Of course I want them to always do what is right, but I am a bit concerned about how they interpret “not giving way to fear.”

Five years ago, Kinsey spent a semester in Zambia. This season of time sealed her desire to be nurse. She is now a labor and delivery nurse in Little Rock. On their class excursion to Livingstone, Kinsey and her roommate bungee jumped off a bridge over Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. She lived to tell about it, but in January of 2012, an Australian girl jumped at the exact place and the bungee chord broke. This brave young lady survived the fall into the crocodile-infested Zambezi River, but Kinsey and Karlyn’s university decided to forbid future jumps by their students who study abroad in Zambia.

Victoria FallsSusan and I were pleased with the school’s wise decision as Karlyn left in August to spend a semester in Africa. Needless to say, we were quite shocked by the picture our youngest daughter sent from Livingstone this past weekend. There is a certain place at the top of the falls that can serve as an overlook when the water is not too high. This spot is called ‘the devil’s pool’ and instead of ‘fleeing from the devil,’ Karlyn fearlessly swam to the edge for a happy pose. Heaven help us.

karlyn“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” I Peter 3:3-6

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freely

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Dana

An important principle of Kingdom living is communicated through Jesus’ simple words: “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 8:10)

What we receive, we are to share. We know that the best encouragers are those who have walked through fiery trials because they have experienced God’s comfort and strength firsthand. “(God) comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (II Corinthians 1:4)

Paul constantly emphasized that his ministry was a result of the grace he received. “For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you…” (Romans 12:3) The way he lived was “not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.” (II Corinthians 1:12) Paul depended on what he received in Christ.

How critical it is that we humbly receive! Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet until he learned what was at stake. “Peter, if you don’t allow me to wash you with my own hands, you can have no part with me.” We really have nothing to offer if we do not allow Jesus to clean us, serve us, and fill us with himself.

We are saved by grace, therefore, we share Jesus as the Author and Giver of salvation. We have been blessed with gifts and talents, therefore, we use our gifts and talents to bless others. The Father has lavished his love upon us, therefore, we love others the way Jesus loves us. Freely we have received; freely give.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere.” Romans 12:6-9

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in view

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Dana

I had an interesting two-part conversation with a young man last week. First, he told me how much God had blessed him and his family the past few years. “Tears come to my eyes nearly every time I think about what God has done, because I know I don’t deserve anything.”

The second part of the conversation seemed a perfectly natural conclusion: “I just want to live for Him. I don’t want to be consumed with pleasing men; I just want to be faithful to the One who is so faithful to us.” If the character and love of God are in the forefront of our thinking, the result is a grateful heart.

In a section of his letter to the Romans, Paul explained the position of his people, the Jews. As Jesus was rejected, the chosen people of God experienced a hardening of the heart. Paul was confident that God would fulfill his destiny for the Jews, but full of God’s Spirit, Paul grieved for his people.

But while the Jews refused the gospel, a door was opened for the Gentiles. “Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.” (Romans 11:30-31)

Paul seemed overwhelmed by the mercy of God. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Paul could not help but praise God (see Romans 11:33-36). When we see, we praise. When God’s truth is in view, we are changed. “Lord, give us ‘in view’ thinking.”

  • In view of how much God has forgiven me, I will forgive others.
  • In view of God’s mercy, I will show mercy.
  • In view of God’s love, I will love my neighbor as myself.
  • In view of the fact that God rescued me from this world, I will not conform to it.
  • In view of God’s provision, I will be content and share with others.
  • In view of the fact that Jesus washed feet and served others, I will do the same.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

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junior high

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Dana

School is well under way this new year and I have come full circle. In 1981, I entered my first year as a math teacher in junior high. After four years I started teaching high school.  This year I have returned to junior high as an algebra and Bible teacher.

Last week I connected with a school visitor during lunch. “Coach Davis, I still remember a math lesson you taught when I was in the seventh grade!” Rob was in one of my pre-algebra classes my first year of teaching. He was also a key member of my first basketball team. I was taller than Rob at first, but by the end of the school year he was several inches taller than me.

“What was the lesson?” I asked. Rob told me it was a lesson about math properties. “No kidding,” I replied, “I am teaching that very lesson in class today. What made it so memorable?” “Well, you were a little frustrated that we were not paying good attention, so you stood on your desk with chalk in one hand and and eraser in the other and loudly proclaimed your properties. At your crescendo, the principal walked in and asked, ‘Mr. Davis, is everything alright?’”

I decided not to re-enact the math properties lesson that afternoon. First, there is no chalk to be found on our campus, and second, I’m not quite as agile as when I was twenty-one.

I watched Rob and his friends grow up and make it to the state championship basketball game their senior year in high school. At 6’8″, Rob went on to play basketball in college, but sadly, he did not major in math.

Do you know what he has majored in for most of his life? With a lovely wife and four beautiful children, Rob leads an organization called YouthReach International that blesses orphans across the world. Most of his work is in Russia and surrounding countries where there are many needs. Rob and his fellow workers train mentors to lead young people throughout the year. The Light of Jesus shines brightly through this ministry.

You never know the plan God has in mind for a junior high kid.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” I Timothy 4:11

“Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” I Timothy 4:7-8

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