The Eyes of the Lord

            Mikaela Jocelyn Lamb is a climber!  At eighteen months she considers any perch, no matter how high or awkward, to be a challenge.  She stands in the doll stroller or uses it as a ladder to get to the top of the coffee table or wherever.  She uses the doll crib to get up onto the window sill.  My grandbaby is a climber!

            I have teased my son about being one of today’s young parents who take a picture with their cell phones before they remove their children from a potentially dangerous perch.  But he assures me he is right there and he’s watching her.  I thought about that.  John can hardly take his eyes off Mikaela, partly because he loves her and is proud of her, partly to protect her, and partly to discipline her. 

            In a beautiful picture, my Heavenly Father can’t keep His eyes off me or off my children.  He has his eyes on me and my family in love, protection, and discipline.  And I am so grateful. 

            Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry.”  He is watching me and listening to me, just as I watch John and John watches Mikaela.   II Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”

            God is looking out for my safety.  Though I was not always in a place where I could protect John and John will not always be able to protect Mikaela from harm, God is always there.  Psalm 33:18-19 says, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”

            Sometimes John sees Mikaela disobeying him or going someplace she is not supposed to go.  Then he is watching to discipline her.  And sometimes God is watching to see when I need discipline.  I Peter 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”  Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”  Just as sometimes a father knows a child is disobeying and chooses not to correct, God allows me to suffer the consequences of my actions. 

            Psalm 103:13, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”  God can’t take His eyes off me!

                                                                      

                                                                                      ~~Faith Himes Lamb

A Know-It-All

A-know-it-all...we all know someone like that. Whatever you have done, they've already done it twice...with better shoes on. They have their lives planned and the lives of their children...who no doubt will become NBA athletes and doctors because of the stellar parenting they received. Thankfully and usually I can understand that it's insecurity on the part of the boaster before I say something foolish from my own lips.

It is always wise to glean from someone who's "been there" but I can certainly do without knowing it all. However, are you not glad, as I am, that we have a God who knows it all...knows it all and still loves us, knows it all and doesn't tell us ahead of time, knows it all and holds our hand through every minute of our life's journey?

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Joy Dilts

Being Provocative

“And what did you learn from that?”

“Hmmm.” I paused to think about an event I had just mentioned to a friend. “I learned that I don’t get my value from what kids think of me.  I learned that I still love teaching even when I’ve had a bad experience.”

“Well, there you go!” 

Don’t you love it when friends hold you accountable and make you think? My sister says she has one friend she calls when she want sympathy and another she calls when she wants to hear the truth. We need both, I believe. That’s at least part of what being in a church means, and I’m so glad to be in a church setting where I have people who love me enough to push me to be better, who ask me questions I’d rather not have to think about.

Hebrews 10 reminds us not to “forsake the assembling of [ourselves] together” so that we can encourage (It really says “provoke.”)  one another to “love and good works.”  

Let’s be thankful this week for those who sympathize with us and also for those who provoke us.

--Sherry Poff

MY FATHER DOES NOT GIVE THE SILENT TREATMENT

My earthly father never gave me the silent treatment when I did something wrong. In fact, if I slammed my door and tried to hide in my room, he pursued me. He did not allow communication to be absent from the situation, though there were times I didn't want to talk. My father did not allow things to go unaddressed.

If my human father can be so loving and persistent to restore me to right behavior when I'm so rude, I can't help but think that my Heavenly Father must behave similarly, and I have found it to be true in my life. The Father does not accuse me (that's what the enemy does), rather He pursues me in my sins. He brings people into my life that speak His truth. He brings to memory passages of Scripture that remind me that it is sin. He whispers ever so lovingly into my ears that He loves me and reminds me that His children don't do these things. I can try to hide from Him or ignore His voice, but he persists. When I stop my sin, it does not bring a reunion with God my Father, for He's been with me the whole time. It brings rejoicing!

Praise be to God who washed away my sin on the cross and chooses to remember it no more (Heb. 8:12)! Praise be to God who will never leave me or forsake me (Heb. 13:5)! Praise be to God who doesn't give me the silent treatment when I sin!

~Rebecca Phillips