What God Says, He Does

Have you ever heard the phrase, “do as I say, not as I do?” It’s a subtle jab at our hypocrisy as humans, at our inability to be consistent. We fail to practice what we preach. We teach our children to be kind to their siblings, and then berate the cashier for being so slow at the check out lane. We tell our friends we will pray for them and then never do. We talk about serving the poor yet fail to serve our own family.

It’s a common problem for us all: we say one thing and yet do another.

How wondrous the contrast between fallen humanity and our holy and faithful God! Psalm 33:9 tells us, “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” For God, to say something is to do something. They are one and the same. When he speaks, it happens. The Hebrew word for “and it came to be” (hayah) literally means “to be.” In the Hebrew, this verse reads “he spoke and it was.” It is the same word used in Genesis 1 where God spoke and the world appeared. “Let there be light.” God spoke and stars hurled across the sky. He spoke and waters teemed with fish. He spoke and life appeared.

This is true of everything God says. Whatever God says in his word is certain. Whatever he wills, always comes to pass, “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Is. 55:11). Whatever God promises is guaranteed. In fact, we can consider it already done.

How many times have you made a promise to someone and failed to keep it? I make commitments all the time and then have to cancel them because I got sick, my car broke down, or something prevented me from keeping the commitment. Sometimes, I tell my children I will do something for them and then simply forget my promise. Other times, I make a promise and then simply decide I just don’t want to do it. I’m too tired. I don’t have the resources I need to follow through. I changed my mind. (I can’t be the only one…)

But God! Every promise God makes comes to pass. He would cease to be God if he failed to keep his word. God keeping his word is inherent to his very nature, to who he is as God. Because he is God, he cannot fail to do all that he says. Because he is God, speaking and doing are one and the same. As the Puritan David Clarkson wrote:

“He would cease to be God if he failed to perform any promise. For he ceases to be God when he ceases to be most perfect. If he does not perform his promises, this divests him of all perfection. If he does not perform his promises it is either that he will not, or cannot. He would lack either in power, or in wisdom. If he never intended to perform, then how is he upright? If he intended, but now has changed his mind, how is he unchangeable? If he is not unchangeable, he is not eternal. As sure as he is God he will perform his promises…He engages himself when he engages his word. Men can be men, though unfaithful, but God cannot be God; he cannot deny himself.”[1]

This means we not only cling to the promises in Scripture, but we can know without a doubt they are certain. We don’t read them as wishes or hopes. We don’t read them as merely inspiring words that lift us up in the moment. God’s word is the same as his actions. Just as he spoke and the world came into being, so too will all his promises come to be.

Consider the significance of promises such as:

• “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

• “…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

• “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:8 NIV).

• “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

• “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Rev. 21:5).

What encouragement for we who fail to keep our word! What remarkable truth for we who live by the motto, “do as I say, not as I do!” Dear friend, as you read God’s word, as you read the statements God makes about you, as you read his promises for you in Christ, as you read his declarations about who he is and what he has done, know that whatever God wills always comes to pass. What he says is the same as what he does. Rejoice and give thanks to your promise making and promise keeping God!

[1] Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings, p. 194.

We Need True Friends

People have strong opinions about neighborhoods with a Home Owner’s Association (HOA). Some refuse to live in one. Perhaps because such neighborhoods often come with restrictive rules, regulating things such as exterior paint color, yard care, and the number of vehicles parked in the driveway. Others like HOA’s because of the rules, for the regulations often mean an increase in home value. Not only that, but there’s less of a chance of looking over at your neighbor’s yard and seeing a cemetery for broken down cars.

I don’t have a strong opinion about living in a neighborhood with an HOA, but when ours recently sent us a letter telling us our driveway needed pressure washing, I wasn’t thrilled. It looked okay to me. And it meant work I didn’t have time to do. But I didn’t have a choice. So I tracked down a pressure washer from a friend. As I swept the wand of pressurized water back and forth across my driveaway, I realized it really did need attention. The water pushed away the dirt and mold and I saw the true color of the driveaway underneath.

As it turns out, my driveway was not supposed to be brown.

How true this is of my own life! There are things in my life and heart that I’ve simply grown used to. Temptations I frequently give into. Habits that shape my days. Sins I’ve embraced. Idols I worship. They blend in so that I don’t notice that they don’t belong. Until someone points it out to me. They show me how I’ve wandered from Christ to do my own thing. They then remind me of who I am in Christ. They remind me that I’ve been cleansed and made new. They remind me of the grace that is mine through Christ and of his Spirit at work in me.

Their exhortation shines a light in the darkness and I see the harsh reality—I see the ugliness that I’ve long overlooked. And I’m reminded once again of how much I need the redemption Christ purchased for me.

Sometimes we need someone else to see what we can’t see. Yet how hard is to hear a friend’s exhortation! Just as I didn’t like receiving the letter from my neighborhood, I resist it when my brother or sister in Christ points out where I’ve strayed from the Lord. After all, I’m content with how things are, why should I change? Or maybe I compare my life to others and think it doesn’t look so bad. Because if everyone around us has brown driveways, it’s hard to see the need for cleansing. But a true friend tells the truth. Not because they enjoy pointing out error in us. And not because they think they are without sin. But they do so out of love for us—out of a desire for us to be who we truly are in Christ.

A true friend doesn’t allow us to play in the mud when a beautiful beach lies just around the corner. A true friend wants us to know the blessing that comes through the sanctifying grace of our Lord. A true friend doesn’t want us to miss out on the joy that comes from walking in the ways of the One who knows what is best. As the psalmist wrote, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it” (Ps. 141:5).

Many friends will see us wander off the path of life and not say a thing. Some will tell us whatever we want to hear rather than what is true. Some will even encourage us to do what feels right, rather than what is right. But a true friend in the Lord will go to great lengths to rescue us, sometimes even from ourselves. May we all have friends who desire the best for us, who desire what Paul wanted for the church at Philippi, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11).

And by the way, my driveway is now shiny white!

Life Update

Ah summer. That sweet time of year where life slows down—where there’s no agenda and lazy afternoons are spent at the pool; where the only decisions to be made are what to read next and what do we want to grill for dinner tonight?

Well, not so much. At least for my family. We’ve been busy non-stop since school ended. It’s like we are making up for lost time, doing ALL THE THINGS. Traveling. Enjoying the great outdoors. Spending time with friends and family. Serving. Summer camps. Appointments. Sports practices. Projects.

You know, all the things.

I thought I’d catch you up on a few things we’ve been up to. My oldest attended a Summit Ministries camp at Covenant College in June. It’s a camp that helps teens learn to discuss their faith, engage culture, and develop a biblical worldview. My son talked for days afterward about his experiences. I highly recommend it.

Earlier this month I tagged along with our church’s youth group on a trip to Eastern Kentucky where we helped repair houses damaged by the floods this past spring. Our original trip was cancelled due to the pandemic and we had to pivot to serve a different ministry in a different location. The teens adjusted well to this change and over the course of the week learned to do things they’d never done. So did I! I discovered that I enjoy mudding drywall; it’s quite satisfying! We also attended a local bluegrass concert and everyone got on the dance floor.

With all our activity, I haven’t written much for the blog or for anywhere else. But I am in the editing process for two projects I finished this past spring. Like Our Father: How God Parents Us and Why That Matters for Our Parenting will release with Moody Publishers sometime next spring. Stay tuned to hear more about it. I’ve also written a follow up book to Tell God How You Feel, titled God Hears Your Heart. You can expect to hear more about that next year as well. This summer, I’ve also enjoyed doing some webinars with readers in Mexico about Los ídolos en el corazón de una madre.

Do you read Tabletalk Magazine? It’s a devotional magazine published by Ligonier Ministries. I will be writing for it every month during 2022. Keep an eye out for my weekend column!

After more than a year of cancelled speaking engagements, opportunities have picked up for me since the spring to speak at women’s ministry retreats and other events. I’ve been busy preparing for upcoming events both locally and in other states. I’ll be in Pennsylvania and Nebraska next month and look forward to speaking on relationships in the church and the fear of the Lord, respectively.

I have a new position in women’s ministries at my local church: co-coordinator. Our women’s ministry team is headed up by an older and a younger woman. In case you were wondering, I am the older woman of our duo. I’m excited to serve my church in this way. In addition, over the past year I’ve been working with my pastor on developing a counseling ministry to women in crisis. We’re hoping to launch it sometime soon.

How about you? What has your summer been like?

A Bigger Perspective

I’ve always enjoyed art— wandering through galleries and marveling at the way people use color and light to express themselves. I enjoy learning about an artist’s chosen medium, their creative process, and their technique. I’m not an artist myself, though I have taken a few classes because I desire to learn how to express myself creatively.

During a recent family vacation, I took a painting class. We sat in a room, surrounded by glass on all four sides. The Rocky Mountains stretched out before us, its jagged peaks covered with fresh snow, the hills below bright green from recent rainfall. The sky was wide and dappled with clouds, the pond behind the building teeming with birds. It was an ideal spot in which to spend the afternoon with a blank canvas.

The instructor placed his own painting on an easel and invited us to paint something similar. It was a mountain scene and looked like many of the places our family had recently hiked, filled with desert shrubs and rocky cliffs. He walked us through it, teaching us how to paint shapes and mix colors. Not everyone in the class was an artist, so I was happy to learn that I wasn’t the only one who did not know what they were doing!

As I painted, I grew increasingly disappointed. All I could see were lines and shapes. My shrubs looked like large eggs sprouting ears. My mountain looked like a misshapen blob—far from anything majestic. I’d add lines as he instructed, but they didn’t look anything like cliffs or crevasses.

The instructor walked around the room, giving us individual help and guidance. Several times he said, “Every once in a while get out of your chair and step back from the painting and you’ll see it from a different perspective. Up close, it won’t look like anything. But a few feet away it will all make sense.”

I never got up to see it from afar but kept mixing colors and painting away, all the while feeling discouraged that the image I had in my mind was not transferring to the canvas. It wasn’t until I brought it back to our cabin and propped it up on the window sill and looked at it from afar that I saw it as he said. All the lines and shapes that looked so strange up close looked so different a few steps away. My bushes actually did look like bushes! The red rock mountain looked like it had dimension and depth. There were cliffs and crevasses after all. It looked more like a place I had hiked and explored than the smearing of colors it looked like up close.

My painting experience reminded me of how I often view my life—of how I see the picture God is painting. I often only see the trial and hardship I am in at the moment. The brush strokes seem wild and unhinged. The colors look like they’ve been splattered on the canvas with no thought or intention. The shapes don’t resemble anything that makes sense. I feel discouraged and can’t imagine that what I am experiencing has any purpose. How can something so messy and confusing transform into something beautiful? And sometimes, when the trial is especially intense and hard, all I can see are dark brush strokes in one corner of the canvas.

And I wonder, is this all I’ll ever see?

Stepping back from my painting was a reminder that in my own life all I see is one small section of the picture God is painting. I need to step back from time to time to see it from a different angle. To get a new perspective. To see my life in light of the greater work of redemption God is doing in my life. To see it in light of eternity.

While it’s true that I won’t see the full and complete picture until God is finished, but I can get glimpses of it in Scripture. Like an architect’s rendering of a house before it is built, I have God’s promises of what his finished product will look like. I even know other people in my life whose pictures are a bit more developed than mine and I can see the similar work God has done in their lives. But even more, as I study the Bible, I can see the image of Christ that he’s transforming me into. And rather than despair over the seemingly meaningless brush strokes before me, I can turn and instead watch the master Artist at work, shaping my life to image that of Christ.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get so caught up in looking at the shapes and strokes right before me that I get discouraged. I fear that my life will never take shape or make sense. That’s when I need a bigger perspective. That’s when I need to step back and view my life through the big picture of God’s work of redemption. I need to look at and take in what he’s completed so far and marvel at how far my life has come. But most importantly, I need to remember it’s not yet finished and when it is, it will be even more breathtaking and glorious than anything I’ve ever seen.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Helping Teens Navigate Social Media

When I was a teen, I spent many afternoons at my friend’s house. We’d arrive after school, rummage through the pantry for our favorite snacks (anything filled with artificial colors and flavors!), plop down in front of the wooden television set and watch the latest music videos of our favorite big hair bands. Later that night, we’d call each other on the phone. I’d use the one in the hallway outside my bedroom, snaking its mustard yellow spiral cord underneath my door for privacy—assuming no one else was using it—and we’d talk for hours about anything and everything.

Much has changed in the life of teens since that time; much more has changed in technology. The challenges, temptations, and issues our teens must navigate in the age of the smartphone are mind-boggling for those of us who still remember when phones were mounted to the wall. Even more, our teens need parents who understand these challenges and are intentional to walk alongside them in it.

The Way Teens Communicate Today

My husband recently assumed that one of our teens communicates with his friends by talking on the phone. He was wrong. Teens today don’t call each other; they are likely to use an app to communicate. For those of us who remember how foundational long conversations over the telephone were to our adolescence, this is totally foreign. It seems like an entire form of communication has been cast aside all together for a visual medium, where teens connect via abbreviated text, memes, and images….

To read the rest of this post, visit Rooted Ministry.

A Responsibility to Remember

As a Gen-Xer, I grew up hearing stories about the Great Depression and WWII. I learned of the hardships and sufferings my great-grandparents and grandparents endured. I listened to accounts of life in poverty—of empty bellies and too tight shoes, of leaving school in the eighth grade to support the family, of relational brokenness, neglect, and abandonment. I heard the stories of war and saw its decades long impact, especially the emotional scars that lingered far after all the the physical ones healed.

In all these stories, I heard whispers of grace. I saw how the Lord was faithful. I could trace his grace throughout the generations of my family, bringing hope and redemption in the midst of brokenness.

In Deuteronomy 11, Moses prepares God’s people for entering the Promised Land. He calls them to obey God and his commands. And he calls them to remember all God has done. But he doesn’t call on just anyone. He calls on specific people: those who remember what God had done for them in delivering them out of Egypt and bringing them through the desert. He calls on those who experienced the Lord’s discipline firsthand. He calls on those who witnessed God’s faithfulness to tell the younger generations of God’s great work among them.

“And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place…For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did” (Deut. 11:2-5, 7).

We also have a responsibility to remember who God is and what he has done. Further, we have a responsibility to pass on that testimony to those behind us, to share the stories of God’s grace at work in our lives.

Moses continues, telling God’s people that they are to teach their children about God, about his character, his works, and his ways. They are to teach them all God has taught them, at all times and in all places. They are to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord.

For Israel, that meant passing on the redemption story of the Exodus. It meant teaching their children about God’s law and his commands. It meant cautioning them with the consequences of what happened during their desert wanderings, of the discipline they received, and of the punishment several families faced in Numbers 16. They were to learn of the covenant God made with his people, and of its accompanying blessings and curses. They were to hear and understand their story and legacy, the special call that made them a people, a family of God.

On this side of the cross, we as parents— we as spiritual guardians of the testimony, we as those who have witnessed the mighty acts of God—have a responsibility to remember. I grew up wondering why my grandparents always talked about the past. They were always remembering. Now that I am older, I understand a bit more about remembrance. If we fail to remember God’s past deliverance, we won’t trust him in the present. This happened all too often in Israel’s history. They quickly forgot God’s faithfulness and turned instead to false gods and counterfeit saviors. Remembrance keeps our gaze fixed on who God is and what he has done. It gives us a holy perspective.

But we don’t remember these stories to keep them to ourselves. We have an important call to share what we have seen and experienced with those behind us. To urge on our children, grandchildren, younger men and women, and those we teach and mentor, in the faith. To encourage them with the ways God has answered prayer. To equip them with gospel-filled stories of how God met people in their suffering with his strength and deliverance. To exhort them with truth in the face of falsehood. To help shape their identity, meaning, and purpose around the grand story of redemption: of a people beloved before time began and bought at a very great price.

No matter what age and stage we are in, we need to be around those who take their responsibility to remember seriously. The older I get, the more I need to hear from those ahead of me how the Lord has carried them all these years. We all have a responsibility to remember. Who are you sharing your stories with?