How to Give Glory to God

Taking Things a Step Further

Megan Breedlove December 5, 2016 0Comment

Guess what? I’m a great-grandmother!

Yes, that’s right, at the age of only 45, I have become a great-grandmother. How, you ask, especially since you may know that my oldest child is only 13?

It happened like this: Lindsey’s and Jessica’s hamsters (a boy and a girl) did, well, what hamsters do, and yesterday, Lindsey’s hamster, Wafflez, gave birth to two itty-bitty baby hamsters. Whereupon the proud father, Jessica’s hamster, Pancake, was summarily removed to another cage to live by himself so that he wouldn’t do what new-father hamsters do.

Both Lindsey and Jessica are super-excited. They each named a baby hamster—one is Cheese Puff; one is Berry—and they’ve been checking on those babies frequently. Especially Lindsey. At 10 years old, and being the kind of diligent kid that she is, she has researched everything there is to know about hamsters and their mating habits; hamster pregnancy and birth; the care and feeding of baby and new-mama hamsters; and pretty much anything else you can think of.

She’s learning a ton about science, far more than I think she would learn in a year of written curriculum. I’m glad. But if science is the only thing she learns from this experience, I will have missed an opportunity.

That’s because learning about how our world works tells us a lot about God and His ways. Even the intricacies of mathematics tell us that our God is a God of order, rules, and planning. The study of English or any other language tells us that God desires to communicate His truths to us, that He desires that we be able to communicate them to each other, and that He’s set up ways for us to do so. History allows us to see that when people follow God’s designs for how mankind relates to each other, things go well; when we don’t, they go badly.

Science, then—in this case, life science—tells us that God is an incredibly intelligent, powerful, creative God to have designed so complex a world. It illustrates to us how God planned things even down to the smallest detail, such as placing instincts within a hamster to take care of her babies in the way that will ensure their survival. It shows Lindsey that she has an opportunity to work together with God in caring for His creation, just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden.

So while I’m really proud of her for taking the initiative and learning all of these things, I don’t want her just to learn science; I also want her to learn about God. To that end, I will do my best to prompt her to think about these things. When we take our daily picture of the hamsters so that we’ll have a record of their growth, I’ll remind her that each living creature grows according to God’s plan for it. When she feeds her hamsters, I’ll point out that God has a plan for the health of every living thing. When she expresses delight over how perfect and tiny Cheese Puff and Berry are, I’ll tell her about the Bible verse that says that not even a tiny, seemingly insignificant creature is unnoticed by God (see Matt. 10:29).

You can do this too. You don’t have to be some kind of science, English, or math expert. If you know your God and know what your Bible says, you’re in a great position to illustrate God and His truth to your children every day, even in the most ordinary of circumstances. How? In any given circumstance, simply stop and ask yourself, What is God revealing about Himself through this? What does cooking, or taking out the trash, or admiring a leaf teach me about Him? Which of His glories has He chosen to show forth in a kind word, or the fact that I have a car to drive, or this cold, wintry day? How has He chosen to illustrate Scripture in the smell of coming rain or the stickiness of glue?

I bet you could think of something right now to talk about with your children, through which you could help them to know God better. No? How about the fact that you’re reading these words on some kind of device? What does that say about God and His world?

Try it this week. Pick something ordinary and talk about it with your children. You might need to give them examples of how to learn about God when they have difficulty tying their shoelaces. But if you can train them now to begin seeing God in every situation, you will have given them one of the most valuable gifts a parent can give a child.

That’s because learning how God’s world works is great, but learning about God Himself is even better.

Psalm 19:1-2—The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. (NIV)

God’s Response to the Presidential Election

Megan Breedlove November 14, 2016 0Comment

Less than a week ago, Americans went to the polls and chose Donald J. Trump to be the 45th President of the United States. The aftermath of that election has been an aftermath unlike any other.

Many Americans are rejoicing that Trump was elected. Most of them believe that the other major candidate, Hillary Clinton, lacked personal integrity and would have disregarded citizens’ needs when they conflicted with her personal advantage; they also feared that her belief in every woman’s right to an abortion would lead to an untold number of babies being sacrificed for a mother’s convenience.

However, many other Americans are grieving. They see Trump as a man who will lead our country to trample on citizens’ rights and basic human dignity; they fear the results of the hate and racism which they believe Mr. Trump has espoused and which they believe others will also feel free to express in the wake of his election (as, indeed, has seemed to be happening).

Some of us have spent the past several days vilifying the “other” side. Others have questioned the Christianity of people who voted for (insert either candidate’s name here). Some have staged protests, mocked protestors, shouted things that should be unspeakable at authorities, and committed acts of violence or hate against people that aren’t like us. A growing number of us is begging everyone to just calm down and live peacefully with others even as we work to see the change we wish to see.

In the midst of all the emotions and ideas swirling around as we try to figure out how to go forward, I thought it would be wise to stop and consider what God thinks about the election.

I don’t presume to know the entire mind of God, but I do know this: God is not surprised that Donald Trump won. He knew from before the foundations of the world that Trump would win. Many Americans were surprised by the results, but God wasn’t. I know this, too: God’s plan was neither assured nor derailed by majority vote. God is not now scrambling to figure out what He will do in the wake of America’s decision. He knows exactly how He will work in and through Trump’s strengths and despite Trump’s weaknesses to bring about His plan. He is neither rejoicing that now, with Trump in the White House, He is finally able to bring His will to pass; nor is He grieving that His plan has been thwarted by Secretary Clinton’s defeat.

God will use Donald Trump, just like He would have used Hillary Clinton if she had won, to bring about His eternal, immutable purposes. It doesn’t matter whether or not Trump cooperates, at least in terms of the success of God’s plan; God’s purposes will not be thwarted. The President of the United States is a powerful individual, but his or her power is nothing compared to the power of our Almighty, Omnipotent God.

That being the case, how does He want us to respond?

Again, I cannot claim to know all the specifics of God’s will for each of us. But I do know that He will never lead anyone to do or believe something that contradicts His will as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, I know this: God ultimately wants us to place our trust in Him, not in any human being. If we’re happy that Trump was elected, fine. But we must remember that God is no more or less able to accomplish His purposes now that Trump has been elected than He would have been if Secretary Clinton had been elected. If we have for a single moment believed that only in a Trump administration can God perform His will, we have put our trust in a human being rather than God Himself. We have elevated another human being to the place that only God deserves.

I also know this: God wants us to love each other. This means we can’t shame someone for voting for Trump or mock people who are deeply upset that he won. It’s not okay to be disrespectful just because someone holds views that are different from our own or displays a different reaction. In fact, during the Last Supper, Jesus instituted one last, new command: Love one another. Spraying hate messages on people’s property, or destroying that property in protest, is not what He had in mind.

Neither is acting in hate toward another person for any reason, much less because that person is a (insert a minority group designation here). How God’s heart must break when we wound someone else by our hateful words and actions! He never once showed hate to anyone; He always showed love, even to those who kept trying to kill Him. Hear me: if we act hatefully toward anyone, for any reason, God calls that sin.

Finally, God wants us to realize that there is no authority except that which He has established, and to respect that authority. Does that mean we have to respect every policy the authority might institute? Of course not. Does it mean we have to like the authority? No. But just as it’s not okay to disparage individuals made in the image of God, it is likewise wrong to disrespect authorities instituted by God. It’s more than fine to stand against any policy that dishonors God; in fact, we must. It is not okay to show disrespect or contempt for what God has done.

Maybe we’re still trying to figure out what we think or plan to do now that we know who the next President will be. But far more important than deciding what we think is aligning ourselves with what God thinks. And far more imperative than doing what we want to do, is doing what God wants done.

As we move forward post-Election 2016, may God’s glory and satisfaction be our only goal. May we pursue that goal only in ways that honor Him. May we focus not on satisfying our own desires but on bringing Him glory.

And may God bless America.

Amen.

Isaiah 14:27—For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (NIV)

Romans 13:1—Let every person submit himself to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except what God has established, and every authority that exists has been appointed by God. (MGT)

John 13:34—“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (MGT)

When God Refuses to Help You

Megan Breedlove October 10, 2016 0Comment

A couple months ago, my family and I joined a new church. Because it is a fairly large church, I’m still learning many people’s names, especially the children’s. So when Timmy wanted to have a little girl named Taylor over for a playdate recently, I had a hard time making that happen. Here’s how the conversation went:

Timmy: “Mommy, can Taylor come over?”
Me: “Who’s Taylor?”
Timmy: “She’s a girl.”
Me: “I don’t know her mom’s name. If I don’t know her mom’s name, I can’t look up her phone number and call her and ask her to bring Taylor over.”
Timmy: “Then just call Taylor. She’ll tell you her mom’s phone number.”

I told Timmy that things don’t work that way, and I even tried to explain why. But Timmy wasn’t buying it. He obviously believed that he had provided sufficient information for me to locate Taylor and make a playdate happen, and that if I wasn’t doing so, it must be because I didn’t want to help him.

I thought about trying to explain some more, but I knew it wouldn’t change anything. Timmy was not willing to give up his preconceived ideas about how things work, listen to my explanation, and adjust his thinking. In his mind, I ought to be able to do exactly what he wanted me to do, and if I wasn’t doing that, there was only one possible explanation: I didn’t want to.

You and I look at this scenario and laugh. It seems silly to us that Timmy would question someone with an understanding of how things work that is (at least, at this point) vastly superior to his. It’s even more ridiculous that Timmy would come to a false conclusion about my willingness to help simply because I didn’t do what he wanted.

Yet you and I do the same thing to God. We bring our limited understanding to the table, believing that obviously, the best thing for Him to do would be to do what we think He should. Sure, we know His understanding is far superior to ours, and we even acknowledge that He is working out His plans and purposes in ways we may never comprehend. But just let Him act like the far superior Being that He is by rightly refusing one of our requests, and we conclude that He doesn’t really care. Doesn’t really love us. Doesn’t really want to help.

That’s just plain ridiculous.

Who are we to think we can understand Him well enough to rightly conclude something negative about Him, especially when His superiority over us far, far exceeds even our intellectual superiority over our children?

We are His creation…not His peer.

Job 36:23—Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him, ‘You have done wrong?’ (NIV)

Yay, Daddy!

Megan Breedlove March 17, 2014 0Comment

It was a cool, overcast Sunday afternoon. Phil and I and the kids were in the minivan on the way back from Phil’s parents’ house. The four older kids were playing their DS’s or reading, Phil was driving, and I was working on a cross stitch project (there will be a devotion about it later). Timmy was sitting peacefully strapped into his seat watching the world go by. All was quiet, until….

“Yay, Daddy!” Timmy shouted, clapping. “Yay, Daddy!”I turned and looked at him, surprised by this out-of-the blue enthusiasm. Timmy grinned. “Yay, Daddy!” he repeated, continuing to clap.

“Thank you, Timmy,” Phil said.

Timmy shouted again, “Yay, Daddy!”

Several times, Timmy repeated his cheer for Daddy, clapping enthusiastically. It didn’t seem to have been brought on by anything in particular except Timmy’s general good mood. But my husband enjoyed hearing it, and I did, too.

God feels the same way when He hears us praising Him, I realized. Especially when it’s not due to anything in particular except the overflow of our heart.

Often, we spend the majority of our time talking to God in asking Him for things. It’s not bad to ask God for what we need and desire; the problem comes in when we do so to the exclusion of praising Him for His marvelous attributes and actions. Hardly ever do we (even figuratively speaking) clap and say, “Yay, God!”

Yet repeatedly in Scripture we are exhorted to praise God with abandon (see many of the Psalms). We’re even told that God has ordained praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants (see Matthew 21:16). Why are we to praise Him? Why has He ordained for us to do so? Not only because we need to be reminded of how wonderful He is, but also because He loves to hear it.

You know how you feel when your children say, “You’re the greatest mommy in the whole world!” Well, God loves hearing it when we tell Him how great He is! And not just when He’s just granted a request, but any time. For no reason at all other than just because.

How much time do you spend praising God? If your answer is “Not very much,” then wouldn’t you love to bring gladness to God’s heart by praising Him? Don’t you want to bring joy to your Father by telling Him how wonderful He is?Why not tell Him right now?

Psalm 150:2—Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! (ESV)

Wish it Were Christmas

Megan Breedlove September 9, 2013 0Comment

The sights: red and green; Christmas trees; sparkly gold; bustling shoppers; brightly-wrapped presents; children with eager faces.

The sounds: joyful carols; the oven door opening and shutting as you bake cookies; cheerful greetings; ripping tape from the tape dispenser so you can wrap gifts; excited voices.

The smells: cinnamon; gingerbread; pine; burning candles; crisp winter air.

The season: Christmas.

I love Christmas (can you tell?). I love everything about it. And I wish it were Christmas right now.

Instead, the days are still warm. Hot, even. The children have only been back in school for two weeks. I’ve only rounded up a couple of gifts.

But I wish it were Christmas now.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy summer and fall. I do. Each season has its own charm. I love the lazy days of summer and the brisk, cool days of fall. But I love Christmas more.

Three of the things I love most about Christmas are these: focusing on Jesus and His birth; getting to buy things for my family and friends and anticipating their delight when they open what I’ve purchased; and seeing everyone try to be just a little nicer at this special time of year.

As I sat thinking about these things I love, I realized something. True, Christmas is still three-and-a-half months away. But I can make it a little more like Christmas right now. All year round, actually.

The things I love most about Christmas can be created throughout the rest of the year as well. It’s not only at Christmas that I can focus on Jesus. I can make it a point to think about Him all year long. In fact, I not only can, but should. Why should my thoughts about how amazing it is that He came to earth be restricted to the month of December? Or why should it be only in December that I make it a point to think about Him? The answer, of course, is that it shouldn’t.

Neither should it be only in December that I try to do things for my family and friends that will delight them. This doesn’t mean that I always have to buy them things (though sometimes I might). But I can be purposeful in my efforts to surprise and delight my loved ones. Why should I think about giving them joy only in the month of December?

And being just a little nicer? Once again, something I can do all year long. It’s not only during Advent that I can be a little more patient, a little more generous, or a little more kind. Why not start now?

So it may not be Christmas yet, but it can be like Christmas. You see, that Child who was born more than 2,000 years ago made it possible for it to be Christmas in our hearts all the time—for our hearts to be filled with peace, love, joy, and generosity not just during one season but throughout the year.

Why wait for December 25th? Let it be Christmas now.

Luke 2:14—Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (KJV)

Stylish Accessories

Megan Breedlove November 19, 2012 0Comment

I’m currently on the lookout for a semi-narrow black belt I can wear with a couple long tops I recently bought. In order to achieve the look I want, it must be neither too narrow nor too chunky. And in order to achieve the budget I want, it must be reasonably priced.

Yet the belt isn’t the point of either outfit. The point of the first one is a long, red sweater; the point of the second is a soft, black-and-white draped kind of top. In both cases, the belt is merely an accessory.

I’ve been thinking, as we head into this holiday season with Thanksgiving just around the corner and Christmas not too long after, that we often treat God as a sort-of accessory to our holidays rather than the main point. It’s like the main point of Thanksgiving is family, turkey, and football, with a little bit of God thrown in so we have someone to thank for all our stuff. Likewise, the point of Christmas seems to be the decorations and the presents, with a little bit of Jesus thrown in so we can feel good about having remembered the true “reason for the season” in the midst of the shopping frenzy or before we rip into the wrapping paper.

And this year, my heart is grieved. I’m grieved that we don’t care more about God all year round. I’m grieved we have to make it a point to remember Jesus at His birthday because we’re so distracted by all the stuff. I’m grieved that we act like He is the accessory to our celebrations rather than the focal point.

Although when I think about it, I’m not surprised. That’s because God isn’t the focal point of our life the rest of the year, so why would He the main focus during the holidays? Often, we live our lives with our focus on other people, including ourselves, with God as a benevolent genie in the sky we can invoke when we need some plan of ours blessed or some request granted. Or maybe we spend the rest of the year being mad at Him for something He’s done or failed to do, so we’re sure not going to let Him intrude on our holiday celebrations.

Precious mom, this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. God is the point of everything, not the accessory to it. He is the One Who created all things and continuously upholds them by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), including you and me. He wants to be our life, not be part of our life, as if the main point of our life is something other than Him.

So yes, enjoy the time with family and friends this holiday season. Enjoy the food. Enjoy the gifts! Just make sure that you remember they’re not the point, and they never were. God is the point and always has been. Not just at the holiday season, but all year round.

Hebrews 1:3a—The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.