Listening to a child

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 4-7; Psalm 102

TO CHEW ON: "And the Syrians had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. Then she said to her mistress, 'If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.'" 2 Kings 5:2,3


I love the unnamed little Israelite girl in this story. She gets past any resentment she may have felt at being captured and enslaved. She overcomes any fear or shyness she may have felt toward her mistress. It's her testimony of compassion and faith that gets this story started, and Naaman on the road to recovery.

In our time and place children are probably given a lot more credit and listened to more readily than were the youngsters (especially slave children) of Elisha's time. As parents, grandparents, teachers, and leaders, interaction with children is often a balancing act between training and disciplining them versus appreciating, doting on, and loving them.

The Bible tells stories of children who were obviously brought up well.

• Samuel assisted Eli in the temple - 1 Samuel 2:18.

• A boy alertly retrieved arrows for Jonathan prior to his secret meeting with David - 1 Samuel 20:36.

• Joash was crowned king at seven - 2 Chronicles 24:1.

• Jesus at twelve years was engrossed in fulfilling his destiny to be about His "'Father's business'" - Luke 2:49.

• A lad gave his lunch to Jesus - John 6:9.

There are also Bible stories of children that imply failed training.

• Elisha himself was the butt of a mocking gang of youths - 2 Kings 2:23.

• The prophet Isaiah includes disrespectful children in his list of things that will oppress people - Isaiah 3:5.

Jesus' attitude toward children is a good one to study and imitate.

• He invited them to come to Him and blessed them - Mark 10:14; Matthew 19:14.

• He warned against causing them to stumble - Mark 9:42.

• He appreciated and encouraged their praise as He recalled David's psalm about the potential of a child's words: "'Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants / You have perfected praise'" - Matthew 21:15,16, quoting: "Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants / You have ordained strength, / Because of Your enemies, / That you may silence the enemy and the avenger" Psalm 8:2.

Let's keep these things in mind as we relate to the children in our lives.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the potential in each child. Help me to listen to and love well the children in my life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 102 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God's apprenticeship program for leaders

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 34:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses." Deuteronomy 34:9


I wonder how Joshua first came to Moses' attention, and why. Perhaps it was his innate leadership ability, for he was first mentioned as a leader of the Hebrew fighters when they battled Amalek (Exodus 17:9). (That's the battle that the Israelites won as Moses kept his hands raised with the help of Aaron and Hur.)

He then became Moses' servant—someone who did a lot of lingering in the background. It was Joshua who accompanied Moses partway up Mount Sinai waiting around while Moses got the commandments (Exodus 24:12-13). His staying behind at the tent of meeting after Moses met with God there is fascinating (Exodus 33:11). One gets the sense that he so enjoyed being in God's presence he didn't want to leave.

When Moses sent spies into Canaan, Joshua was one of two (Caleb was the other) who came back with an encouraging report—whose view of God was bigger than fear of the giant Philistines (Numbers 14:6-30). That incident was about 40 years before the events in today's reading.

Moses had recently laid his hand on Joshua in ordination. He was God's choice: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him...and inaugurate him..." (Numbers 27:18-21). Moses then challenged the Israelites to respect and follow him (Deuteronomy 31:1-8). And so here he was, their leader after Moses 'disappeared.'

Joshua is an example of how God sometimes puts future leaders into an apprenticeship program where they serve more than lead.  Elisha serving Elijah is another instance of this.

It doesn't always work out that way with servants, though. Remember Gehazi, Elisha's servant? Elisha may have been trying to mentor him. After all, he sent Gehazi back with the Shunamite woman to raise her son from death. Gehazi couldn't do it (2 Kings 4:29-31). And later, he proved himself unworthy as even a servant when he went after Naaman for the gift he had offered Elisha, lying to both Naaman and his boss (2 Kings 5:20-27).

Perhaps you sense that you're really leader material but feel stuck in the background serving. Don't grow impatient. Rather let this time of service sift and strengthen you. For if leadership is God's plan for your future, you are in the perfect apprenticeship program.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of wise, godly Joshua who served before he led. Help me to be a willing and faithful servant, waiting for You to raise me to more responsibility—or not. Amen.

MORE: A verse to memorize

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:10

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The necessity of Jesus School

"Saul Stricken" - Rubens

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Galatians 1:11-24

TO CHEW ON: “But when it pleased God … to reveal His Son to me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” - Galatians 1:15-17


Today the church celebrates the conversion of the Apostle Paul (first known as Saul). The story of his miraculous turnaround is in Acts 9:1-21.

Those of us who have switched careers or taken on new roles can begin to appreciate what a whiplash experience Paul’s conversion must have been to him. His whole world had been rocked. Everything he had staked his life on as a Jewish leader and Pharisee was now in question. He had been an expert but now he was a baby, a complete novice in this new belief system. All he knew was that Jesus was real, had knocked him off his feet, spoken to him, called him, made him helplessly blind, then sent someone to pray for him.

Our reading in Galatians talks about a three-year silent period in Paul’s life (Galatians 1:17,18). During this time he went off somewhere secluded—Arabia—and received divine instruction. We could probably put this period of time between Acts 9:21 (where news of his conversion sparked amazement) and Acts 9:22 (where we see him confounding the Jews in his hometown of Damascus).

I think there is something we can learn here about the timing of placing people in ministry (and going into ministry ourselves). When a big name celebrity comes to faith, the temptation is to schedule them on the rounds of radio and TV shows and display them on a pedestal as Christianity’s latest trophy and voice.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t give popular personalities a platform to share their coming-to-faith stories. But I do think we should be wary of looking to them as experts in the Christian faith.

If even the brilliant and theologically savvy Apostle Paul needed three years of Jesus School, how much more a movie, pop music, or sports personality needs a little time in Arabia before we lean on them for teaching and direction.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me not to be star-struck by new Christians who  have been successful by the world’s standards. Please give me discernment about who I allow to speak into my life and influence me. Amen.

MORE: The Conversion of St. Paul

Today the church celebrates Conversion of St. Paul. Here is the collect prayer that begins the day’s liturgy:

O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Generation Gap

Generation Gap - Image from xdmag at flickr

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 30:7-19

TO CHEW ON: "There is a generation that curses its father,
And does not bless its mother." Proverbs 30:11


Agur, author of Proverbs 30, is a great counter and list-maker. He'd be a wonderful blogger with provocative titles like:
- Two things I want before I die - Proverbs 30:7-9.
- Four things that are never satisfied - Proverbs 30:15-16.
- Four things that mystify me - Proverbs 30:18-19.

… and what we're going to focus on today: "Four things that bug me about young people these days" - Proverbs 30:11-14.

Well, we don't actually know whether Agur was talking about only young people here. He begins each beef with the words, "There is a generation" implying that he's going to be naming a characteristic of people in a certain age range, and the first one seems to apply to people younger than he is.

The four things that annoy him:
1. Their disrespect for parents - Proverbs 30:11.
2. Their self-deception - Proverbs 30:12.
3. Their pride and vaulted opinions about themselves - Proverbs 30:13.
4. Their cruelty and lack of mercy toward the unfortunate - Proverbs 30:14.

Each one of us could probably make up our own list like this. And we might add other titles: Four things that bug me about my parent's generation or old people or young children. Agur only notes these generation gaps but doesn't propose any ways of dealing with them. How do we?

Concerning the gap between children and parents, the Bible has good advice for parents and caregivers:

• Each generation is responsible for the spiritual training of the next one - Deuteronomy 6:7, 20; Proverbs 22:6.

• We are responsible to pray for the next generation - Lamentations 2:19.

• We are to model kindness to our children - Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21.

• It's a parental duty to control the home and household—not give that control to the kids - 1 Timothy 3:4,12.

• Parents are to correct and discipline their children - Proverbs 3:12; 13:24; 22:15; 23:13.

Another bit of advice that comes to mind as I think of dealing with various types of gaps between myself and others is from Paul in Philippians 2:2-3:

"Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

PRAYER: Dear God, when I recognize gaps of understanding, sympathy, and love between myself and others, please give me Your heart of empathy and love. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.