Walk On The Roadside – Part 2

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For the introduction to the Lessons From My Father Series – Click Here

 

newborn-baby-on-handLESSONS FROM MY FATHER #2

WALK ON THE ROADSIDE – Part 2

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

 And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

 I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Hand under the Head

Walking on the roadside of my family has meant a lot of different things…physical safety, emotional and financial security and spiritual direction – to name a few.  In all of these areas, the lesson of my father was that of protection.  How do I prevent harm and provide help?  How do I show consistent strength and share unconditional love?

It was not supposed to be like this.  I am older…stronger…more experienced, but I was having trouble breathing and I had no strength to fight back.  He was only sixteen years old and yet my son had me pinned in a chest-crushing wrestling hold and I could not break Continue reading →

Walk On The Roadside – Part 1

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For the introduction to the Lessons From My Father Series – Click Here

Walk on the Roadside – Part 1

“Chivalry!—why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high affection—the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant —Nobility were but an empty name without her, and liberty finds the best protection in her lance and her sword.” – Sir Walter Scott

It was probably just a routine walk from home to another perennial school event.  You know, the kind of event that drags reluctant parents to their kids’ elementary school to see bizarre pipe-cleaner collages hanging on the walls or to “oooh” and “aaah” over science projects that were mostly completed by coerced parents.  It might have been just an evening walk for the family around the block, although those kinds of walks were rare.  I really don’t even remember the reason we took the stroll.  All that remains of that memory is a shadowy image floating in my mind of my sister, my parents and me on a dark night Continue reading →

6 Marks of Discipleship – #4 Abide

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If you missed the Intro post in this series, be sure to read it.  It will provide more context around this series.

Jesus gives 6 very clear statements about being one of His followers or disciples.  These are not requirements for salvation or forgiveness; rather they are conditions or evidences of being His disciple.

  • Mark of Discipleship #1 Hate
  • Mark of Discipleship #2  Suffer
  • Mark of Discipleship #3 Forsake

The first 3 Marks of Discipleship are seemingly negative – on the surface.  They are designed to help us shed the old self (Colossians 3:9) The last 3 have a much more positive bent and are meant to develop the new self (Colossians 3:10).  But the goal remains the same – to make us better Followers of Christ; to make us Disciples! Continue reading →

6 Marks of Discipleship – #3 Forsake

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If you missed the Intro post in this series, be sure to read it.  It will provide more context around this series.

Jesus gives 6 very clear statements about being one of His followers or disciples.  These are not requirements for salvation or forgiveness; rather they are conditions or evidences of being His disciple.

Mark of Discipleship #1 Hate
Mark of Discipleship #2  Suffer

Mark of Discipleship #3:

“So then, none of you can be My disciples who does not give up all his possessions.”  Luke 14:33

The Call from Christ is to first, Hate; then Suffer; and now Forsake!  Where do I sign up?  There has got to be monastery someplace with my name on it! Continue reading →

Are You Listening?

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Music Lessons

As I was jogging along the path, content to listen to my iPod, a biker suddenly passed me from behind and nearly scared me into the ditch.  I was listening but I was not hearing. I quickly pulled out my ear bud and I think I heard a slight giggle fading into the distance.  Life is so filled with noise that when we need to hear something, we often miss it.

How many times has this been true of us as Christians as well.  We petition and cry out to our Father and ask Him for help, encouragement, answers…we then walk away from our ‘closet time’ and only listen to the sounds of life: Continue reading →

6 Marks of Discipleship – #2 Suffer

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If you missed the first post in this series, be sure to read it.  It will provide more context around this series.

Jesus gives 6 very clear statements about being one of His followers or disciples.  These are not requirements for salvation or forgiveness; rather they are conditions or evidences of being His disciple.  The 1st Mark of Discipleship is Hate. Here is the second:

“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  Luke 14:27

Are you kidding me?  First I have to Hate and then I have to carry a cross – Suffer? This ‘following Jesus’ thing sounds more like torture! Before we jump to conclusions about what we presume Jesus is requiring of us, we need to go back in time.

When Jesus said these words, it was BEFORE His own crucifixion.  This was not understood by His audience as a foreshadow of His own death (even though it was).  It was understood to be a reference to the Continue reading →

It Hurts When I Do This

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This week’s discussion is Shaking off feelings of guilt. Bonnie Gray is hosting a blog-and-comment discussion on “keeping faith fresh.” When you have finished reading here, hop over to Faith Barista and join in on the jam session!

A man goes to see a doctor about a nagging pain in his shoulder.  As the doctor examines him, the man turns his arm in a certain way and says, “Doc, it hurts when I do this.”
The doctor says, “Then don’t do that!”

Pain is the body’s way of telling us that something is not right.  When pain is doing its job, it acts as a warning bell of something that needs our attention.  When pain is out of control, it serves only to distract and incapacitate.  That’s the thing about pain:  we all hate having it but we would be in a world of ‘hurt’ without it! Continue reading →

Anniversary of Pain

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Anniversary of Pain

The withered dreams of a lost tomorrow
Still haunt the dark of the night
Threads of memory replay each sorrow
Breathing life into squandered spite

If Time’s a Healer and mends the heart
Why do the winds still send rain?
Sights and sounds send a fiery dart
And make this an Anniversary of Pain

A new kind of normal describes every thought Continue reading →

6 Marks of Discipleship – #1 Hate

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If you missed the first post in this series, be sure to read it.  It will provide more context around this series.

Jesus gives 6 very clear statements about being one of His followers or disciples.  These are not requirements for salvation or forgiveness; rather they are conditions or evidences of being His disciple.  Here is the first:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”  Luke 14:26

Is Jesus really asking us to hate as a condition for following Him?  This statement comes from the Man who said the greatest commandment is to love God and love our neighbor as our self. Matthew 22: 37-40 Contradiction?  Confusion? or Comparison?

Perhaps you have read this story…its worth reading again:

Pearl-Necklace

 

The Pearl Necklace

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Continue reading →

6 Marks of Discipleship – Intro

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I understand Student or Protégé; Apprentice or Scholar; but Disciple? This is not a term we use very often outside of our comfortable religious circles.  But it is a common reference in our churches and we talk and write a lot about discipleship.  So what does it mean to be a disciple or for that matter, what does it mean to be a Christian?  Is it enough to say that you follow the teachings of Christ?  And if that is enough, what does it mean to “follow” Christ?

“Following” neither describes activity or involvement!  One might say, “I am a Christian because I go to church.” Then when you go into the garage are you a car?  Continue reading →