What my Mother Taught me:

– ON RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, “you better pray the stain will come out of the carpet.”

– ON LOGIC: From her decisive words, “Because I said so, that is why!”

– ON FORESIGHT: Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

– ON IRONY: “Keep laughing, and I’ll giv3 you something to cry about.”

– ON STAMINA: “You’ll sit there til all that asparagus is finished.”

– ON WEATHER: “It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.”

– ON THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”

– ON BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: “Stop acting like your father!”

– ON ENVY: “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who would gladly eat this food!”

God was so wise in giving us mom’s, they are the first person who influences how we will develop and grow. And they will continue to influence us throughout out lives. My mom died about 17 years ago, and I still hear her words ringing in my ears. I do hope that you were able to reach out … READ MORE

When things get difficult for us today we often struggle with two basic lines of thought. One is that, God is not in sovereign, and the second is that God is not Good. In the first chapter of the book of Ruth, Nomi takes her shot at the goodness of God, but saying that “the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me!” Notice that she does not say “against us” (remember both of her daughters-in-law have lost husbands and are currently barren also). It is through this statement that we can clearly see the flaws in Naomi’s core beliefs about the character of God. She believes that God is sovereign, but she does not believe in his goodness. God is not her king in any practical sense, because in her mind he is not qualified to be king. The climax of Naomi’s unbelief is on full display in Ruth 1:15, consider the words of Naomi after Ruth refuses to leave. “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after our sister-in-law). Naomi is saying believe what you want, because the God of Israel has nothing to offer you, because He is not … READ MORE

We often struggle with the Sovereignty of God because we do not appreciate the circumstances that come into our lives that we deem as evil or at least not in our best interest. In the book of Ruth, Naomi struggles with God’s sovereignty. On one hand she says in chapter 1verse 6 that, “The LORD has visited His people by giving them bread” but on the other hand, she says to her daughters-in-law to return to their mother’s houses with the prayer that “The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” (1:8). She goes on to pray in chapter 1 verse 9 “The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” As we read those statements carefully, and begin to connect the dots that lead to a bitter heart, we see that there is a significant difference in speaking about God in a limited, skewed fashion and speaking about him in a robust, complete way. In Naomi’s heart, the LORD had let her down, and her daughters-in-law were just as well off worshipping a god of Moab as the god of Israel. The challenging reality here … READ MORE