Success Is . . . .

SUCCESS IS . . . .

            “Success to me is having ten honeydew melons and eating only the top half of each one.”  ~~Barbra Streisand

            “Success is stumbling from failure to failure, with no loss of enthusiasm.”  ~~Winston Churchill

            “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”  ~~Maya Angelou

            “Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them.”~~  Ben Carson

            “You are a success is as much as God reigns and directs in your life.”  ~~Dr. Lee Roberson

            Everyone has a different definition of success.  This week I heard Ricky Skaggs’ definition of success and thought, “By his definition, I may never be a success.”  His quote set me wondering about my definition of success.  What makes a person successful and what is it to be a success?

            Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.”  So meditation and practice of the Word of God will give you success. That has to mean that we totally immerse ourselves in Scripture.  How else are to know how to glorify God, what pleases Him?  We need to read, think about, and practice Scripture.

            The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  I think the way to be successful is shown in Philippians 1:11, where it says that we are to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”  Colossians 1:10 says that we are to “walk worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects.”  So to me, to be successful is to glorify God through my life and walk worthy of the Lord.  I do not think that means that I do things to win God’s love, in order to be successful.  Rather it means that I choose to do that which will glorify God because I love Him and want to please Him.

            I do not always choose the right thing, the thing which will glorify God, but I want to.  I want to be a success in God’s eyes.  That may be foreign to what men think is success.  Galatians 1:10 says, “Am I seeking the praise of men or of God?”  I may never be a success in the eyes of man, or even in my own eyes, but please, God, let me succeed in Your eyes.

                                                                        ~~Faith Himes Lamb

WHOSE JOB IS IT?

This might sound a little familiar if you've already read your church newsletter...

It's a little like the nature vs. nurture debate from my College Freshman General Psychology class. Since the beginning of humankind, we have been excusing our bad behavior by blaming someone or something else rather than taking responsibility. Some say, “They were born that way.” Others argue, “They were reared that way.” All agree, “They can't help it!”

So naturally…or nurtureally…we want to debate over whose fault it is when a child walks away from God after growing up in church. The parents want to blame the church, and the church wants to blame the parents. The responsibility of the spiritual development of our children is often left to a toss-up between parents and church. Parents expect the church to teach their children the Bible stories and doctrines, while churches shake their heads at the failure of parents to involve their children in the programs designed to do just that. When children walk away from their faith, the parents tend to blame the programs and practices of the church. The church assumes that the parents did not have good parenting skills and probably didn't place the proper amount of value on spiritual things. This blame game does nothing to fix or prevent problems. However, both home and church could have a positive impact on the spiritual growth of our children, if each would understand and accept their responsibilities.

So whose job is it?

In Deuteronomy 5-6, Moses is repeating the law to the Israelites. In the midst of his appeal, he urges parents not only to rehearse the law for their own benefit, but also to diligently rehearse it to their children. We often recite Deut. 6:7 as a reminder that parents have many opportunities to speak into their children's lives. The word "shan-an" translated "teach them diligently" is the word for sharpening, piercing or whetting. Throughout chapters 5-6 Moses urges the men and women to tell the story of deliverance over and over so that their children would know from where they came, what God had done to lead them, why God gave the law, and what the benefit of following the law would be. It has been proven that parents have the greatest influence on their children – positive or negative. So it makes sense that the parents have a great responsibility to positively impact their children’s spiritual understanding.

However, in Titus 2:1-8 we find Paul urging Titus to instruct the older men and women to teach and train the younger in what is good and right. They are also admonished to live according to these teachings so that they will be respected and proven righteous. It's interesting that these verses were not given to parents. They were instructions that were to be given to the church-the believers. This implies that the training of our children goes beyond the constant rehearsing from parents, but encompasses the whole body of Christ working together to instill Truth into our children's lives. How better to encourage a parent to fulfill the Deuteronomy Challenge than for our older men and women to carry out the Titus Challenge? And may I point out that the challenge goes further than a discussion? Our teaching and training is about much more than what we simply tell our children.

Our children are ready sponges waiting to soak up whatever comes their way. So don't delay! Parents, teach. Church, teach. Parents, live out your faith in front of your children. Church, live out your faith in front of everyone. I have a hunch that if we will passionately pursue the teaching of our children, the Holy Spirit will do His amazing work in their lives, and they will grow to be a generation that Knows God, Loves God and Serves God...naturally.

~Rebecca Phillips

~edited by Pearl Phillips, Rebecca’s mother, because it’s her nature to nurture

Let It Rain!

I spent some time this summer reading a book about the hours observed by monks in a monastery. It has given me some good things to “chew on” sitting on my front porch with my coffee cup in hand watching the birds pecking around at the bird feeder. Consider this statement: When we open our eyes with gratitude to anything that comes our way, we see the divine light shining through everything that is.  This sounds an awful lot like “In everything give thanks.” (I Thess. 5:18)

It’s easy to feel grateful for sunshine and good health. This summer, however, we’ve had abundant opportunity to praise God even when sunshine fails, and many in our midst have dealt also with failing health. Can we still give thanks? It’s a good lesson to learn to see the blessing of sunshine behind the clouds and spiritual wholeness hidden within a frail body. To be able to lean on God’s grace and demonstrate to the world how a child of God perseveres through trial is a privilege. It’s not a privilege we would seek, but when it comes, it can be a rich experience.

The author of this book I’ve been reading (called The Music of Silence) goes on to talk about how gratefulness creates generosity. Being generous, he says, creates a sense that [God] blesses us in unexpected ways, often in ways we obviously don’t deserve. Lamentations 3:23 tells us that God’s mercies “are new every morning.” Do we deserve this? Is it because of my own merit that I live here in a land of relative peace rather than in Pakistan or Syria? Certainly not. So how can I first be grateful for the life I have and then share the blessing with others?

I think it begins with acceptance. It’s easy to complain when the rain spoils our picnic or when the car won’t start or when the kids are throwing up. Somehow, even though we don’t say it, we think we deserve better. My mother-in-law made a simple statement that has gotten me through some annoyances this summer without griping. “It’s raining this year,” she said. “Some years are like that.”

I want to see the divine light shining through the rain, to praise God for his goodness, and then to respond in love to those God puts in my path. It’s going to rain; let’s drink it in and let it flow out in blessing.

--Sherry Poff