Digital
Life
God has recently showed me something that I hold onto
with great value. He has uncovered for me
that when I let go of all the selfish things I hold onto in this world, and get
fully engaged & interactive with my children, that my life has much
more joy and happiness in it. We live in
a world now that has started to take away the life experience of being with someone
in mind, body & spirit--replacing it with a digital life that requires less
and less personal investment. I know in
my own life, my smartphone is something that tears me away from those that I
care about. So many times in my own
life, as I’m lost in the digital life that is my smartphone experience, I hear
one of my children call out to me, and as I slowly fade back into the real world
I find that I missed something special.
Adventure
Time
When I speak of getting fully engaged & interactive
with my kids, I’m talking about those really great moments in life where time
holds no meaning. All my thoughts are
simply there with my kids:
I
decided it was time to have some adventures with my oldest son Brody. He just got done watching “Jake and the
Neverland Pirates” on TV…so I guess it’s time to play pirates I told myself. My mind quickly formulated a plan and I
sprang into action.
“Brody,
are you ready for some adventures”, I yelled.
“Yeah!”
he screamed back to me with childhood exuberance.
“O.K.
buddy, lets go behind this wall and hide from the witch”, I said.
As
Brody and I quickly ran behind the wall, he looked up at me with this smirky
little grin that told me he wasn’t so sure about what we were doing, but that this is finally the kind of action he had been craving from his dear old
daddy.
“Let’s
use our swords”, Brody screamed as he pretended to hold a sword in his
hand. I could see his eyes look at his
hand and slowly follow it up to its imaginary peak. He expectantly looked up at me for what’s
next and quickly tried to rush out from behind our imaginary cover…
“Wait
Brody”, I explained, “We have to be patient and stay safe here behind the wall,
or the Witch is going to get us”. I
slowly raised my finger to my mouth and whispered, “Shhhhh”, to my son as I
peaked around the corner.
“O.K.
Brody, do you have both your swords ready?” I asked.
“Yes”,
he said as he raised both of his pretend blades above his head.
“Alright
then, ATTACK!!!!!”, I yelled as we both jumped out from behind the wall. Together as brothers-in-arms, we triumphantly
sliced and diced our enemy before us-- bellowing out sound effects to go along
with all the awesome.
I wrote this story about one of the fun adventures I had
with my son Brody, to hopefully give you a taste of what I mean about being fully
engaged & interactive with my children. When I think of my life with my kids, these
are the times that bring me the most joy & happiness.
God
the Father is Omnipresent
23Am
I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the
same time. 24Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in
all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. (Jerimiah 23:23-24, NLT)
I think of how awesome it is when I’m fully engaged &
interactive with my own children...and then I think about how God the Father,
who has absolute power and authority over all the heavens and the earth, is
fully engaging and interacting (omnipresence)
with each and every person that has and ever will be…well, I’m left humbled and
reverent to the all-powerful LORD!
26Look
up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an
army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power
and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. 27O Jacob, how can you
say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores
your rights? 28Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the
everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No
one can measure the depths of his understanding. (Isaiah 40:26-28, NLT)
I know how great my relationship is with my own children
when I let go of my selfish desires and get fully engaged & interactive
with them, but can you imagine how great our relationship could be with Our Father
in Heaven when we, as His children, get fully engaged & interactive with
him?
Engaging
God in our Walk
See Image Here: http://images.wikia.com/glee/images/7/72/Hands-cupping-candle.jpg
So how do we get fully engaged & interactive with Our
Father the LORD? I think a great place
start not only is getting saved, but trying to walk that narrow road that Jesus
calls us to as Christians in turning from our own darkness and continuing our
walk with God on the higher road…
14Turn
away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. 15The
eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their
cries for help. 16But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he
will erase their memory from the earth. 17The Lord hears his people when they
call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. 18The Lord is
close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. 19The
righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each
time. 20For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is
broken! (Psalms 34:14-20, NLT)
I believe that when the scriptures speak of being
righteous, perhaps a more simple way to put it would be walking the higher
road. All throughout the bible, God’s
word tells us what righteousness looks like.
Here in Psalms, we see that being righteous means turning from evil and
doing good. Even through The Father
turns his face from us when we are making evil choices, his presence is everywhere. God, the perfect
judge, knows those who are to be condemned to suffering and gnashing of
teeth, and their memory will be wiped from the earth.
I find it very comforting to know that God is close to
those who are brokenhearted, and rescues those whose spirits are crushed. How great is it to know we have a God who
draws near and engages us when we need it most?
Come
close to Our Father in Heaven
See
Image Here: http://www.titus2atthewell.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Draw-near-to-God.jpg?9d7bd4
7So
humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you
sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the
world. 9Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep
grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (James
4:7-10, NLT)
I pray that those of you reading this blog can learn the
truth of what God has shown us in his word.
I hope that you draw near to Him so that He can draw near to you.
Peace be with you brothers and sisters.
See
Chris Tomlin’s video “Whom Shall I Fear” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg
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