A Few Things, by Lon Alderman

Matthew 25:21
His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

My mom tried for years to teach me a truth found in this passage. The subject always surfaced when I was dissatisfied with my job. She would say, "Do the best you can with the job you have and things will work out."

I tend to grow frustrated when things don't go my way. If my frustration gets too overwhelming, then you will find me "looking", again! I think that there must be something better for me out there...I just have to find it.

What I forget is that God has placed me where I am, even if I don't think it's the perfect job for me. And, God has a plan for me to grow in the place He's placed me. He's given me a little bit to handle now, in hopes that I'll handle it and be prepared to handle more later.

Let's be faithful with our few things!
Lon

The Law of Gravity, by Lon Alderman

Matthew 14:30
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Rachel's article, Fear and Success, inspired me regarding the thoughts that fly through my brain when I step out in faith. I don't always respond well when God calls me, but when I do take a step of faith I find that I immediately feel the gravity of the situation.

As Peter stepped down out of that boat, he must have felt the strangest of feelings. He was a fisherman taught by years of time spent on the water that water will not hold a person up. His experience taught him that "in the boat" was the place to be. These established laws in his life must have been screaming in his mind as he began to do the impossible.

That must have been the moment he began to sink. That moment when he realized the impossibility of what he was doing. This same devastating thought sinks many a good step of faith. We forget the Jesus that got us out of the boat, because our "laws" tell us we can't.

Defy gravity and follow Jesus!
Lon

Subscribers: The Build Up site has been recently updated! You can now search the posts (almost 300 of them) through the use of "labels". Using the labels you can find specific posts to encourage you! For example, there are 10 posts dedicated to the topic of "trust". Check it out!

Fear and Success, by Rachel Smith

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

When Joshua made it to the Promised Land God comforted him by telling him not to be afraid. He also encouraged him by telling him directly (through Moses) not to get discouraged.

Sometimes when we wait and pray for something so long we don't know what to do when we get it. We are both excited and afraid in one breath. Our doubts rush in and we question leaving the known for the unknown.

God, who got you to this point, will get you through this point.

Irrevocable Step, by Lon Alderman

Matthew 9:9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Twice in the last week I have felt God call me to action and twice I responded with a step I could not retract. They were not huge earth-shattering, walk-on-the-moon steps. In fact, these "steps" were very simple and consisted of two short emails. One asked for help and the other offered encouragement from scripture. The main thing these simple steps have in common is that I believe God called me to make them.

In each case, the step I took has developed some inertia. For example, I heard God lead me to ask a friend to help me get a project moving that I have been dreaming about for six years. I wrote a simple email and took the irrevocable step of sending it. I believe God has blessed that effort, because my friend has chosen to help me.

The lesson I'm learning is to listen to God's leading and then act upon it. Jesus put it this way, "Follow Me."

Listen ~ Act
Lon

Watch Out For Holes, by Rachel Smith

I got out of my van the other day and was striding along in the sunshine feeling pretty happy about life. I have recently accepted a new job, have a new haircut and a new dress so I was humming and walking straight and tall in the late afternoon sunshine.

Then I hit a hole. My ankle twisted and I fell.
My pride was hurt and so was my foot. At that exact moment doubt crept in. I started to question my decisions and started to think of all of the "I can'ts".
Every whisper of small concern suddenly had a loud voice. I had fallen and in that moment of weakness I was overtaken by fear and doubt.

I can't help but relate to Peter. I ask Jesus to save me in my hour of need when I have large trials (family illness and loss of loved ones) but here I am getting out of the warm comfy boat and doubt settles in. Christ wants our faith both in and out of the boat.

Matthew 14:30-32 (New International Version)
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

"Preparing", by Rachel Smith

We are in the process of preparing for our summer vacation and I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of work it takes to be gone. Pack clothes, clean the house, do the laundry, kennel the dog, pray my plants don't die…and the lists keep going and going (OH stop the mail!)

I wonder if this is the picture Jesus wanted us to have when he in the Gospel of John "I am going to prepare a place for you…"

I can't even imagine the preparations Christ is making for all of us to come to the father's house. After all there are many rooms and I only have one small place to clean!

As we all make arrangements for summer travel, remember that Christ too is preparing a place for you- are you ready to go?

John 14:1-4
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

Vigilance 2

1Thessalonians 5:6
...let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

Water, over time, can carve out the Grand Canyon through the process of erosion. This kind of change is often overlooked because it seems like the amount of change is so slow and harmless. However, small change over time can make an amazing difference.

I believe we need to be vigilant in identifying and addressing the slow decay type changes in our lives. Particularly, we tend to overlook the slow, incremental changes in our spiritual life. We skip a devotion time here and pass up the opportunity to pray there. Then one day we realize how far away from God we've slipped.

Stay alert!
Lon

Vigilance

1Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Driving late at night on an interstate is difficult for me. The difficulty comes not from the traffic (because their isn't any), but rather from the boredom. I can't see the passing landscape due to the darkness and the driving itself is easy with no traffic. So, I start to drift off paying little if any attention to the road. Then, out of nowhere, a deer is in my lane!

For the most part, life is pretty easy going. Yes, we have our schedules to keep, but the major challenges we face are few. So, life gets kind of routine, normal, even boring. We drift off. Then, out of nowhere, we are faced with a devil of a problem!

Let us not let boredom lull us into a false sense of security. Let us stay vigilant, self-controlled, and alert, because danger may loom just around the next corner.

Stay alert!
Lon

“You’re weird!”, by Rachel Smith

Those two little words proclaimed by a fellow little leaguer to my seven year old son cut me right to the heart. Kids sure can be mean. I wanted to rush in to his defense, but life is going to be full of people making unfounded statements about what we are or are not, so I waited.

My son paused, cocked his head side ways and grinned big, “I know” he laughed and trotted back to the dug out. He wasn’t crushed, he was complimented! He was proud to be singled out for acting differently then the pack.

No wonder Christ reminds us to be like children.

1 Peter 2 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (Emphasis mine)

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Serenity, by Lon Alderman

Romans 8:6
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

When we focus our attention on the things of this earth, we are on the path to death. That is, the natural end of earthly things is death. Therefore, if we are governed by things that die, then the natural end is death, too. As we daily move closer to the death of earthly things, an anxiety grows and peace is lost.

On the other hand, God never dies. If we focus on God and make Him our Governor, then we have chosen something that will continue forever. When we look forward spiritually, we see an unending communion with God. Our earthly death becomes a step closer to God. And, there is peace.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

Children of Light, by Rachel Smith

Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

I’ve been thinking on this verse on and off today and wondering what it means to live as children of light? I keep picturing toddlers mimicking every motion of their parents: their mannerisms, speech patterns and conversations. Young children soak in every action and word. It tells us in Ephesians we are to be copycats of God.

Ephesians 5:1
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children

Another Cure for Pride, by Lon Alderman

Psalm 139:1-3
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Honesty is another cure for pride! Our pride stems from selective self-knowledge that amplifies our positives. We puff ourselves up with "our successes" and down-play our failures. We pat ourselves on the back as we compare ourselves to others and soft-pedal our relative shortcomings.

However, when we look at ourselves as God sees us, we find little upon which to be prideful. Instead, we see the sin lurking in the shadows of our lives. Through God's eyes we see clearly the errors of our motivations, actions, and thoughts.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

A Cure for Pride, by Lon Alderman

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Gratitude is a cure for pride. When we choose an attitude of gratitude we take the focus off of ourselves. And in doing so, we place our focus on God where it belongs. Giving thanks to our Lord is the right response to all He's done for us and through us.

1Thessalonians 5:18
...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ.

Humility, by Lon Alderman

1Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

The key to living humbly is to recognize that God is the true source of everything good in our life. When we realize that we can account for nothing, then there is no cause for pride. God created all and provides all, so I have no grounds for taking credit.

Humility begins with a deep, honest reality check.

Now, by Lon Alderman

Matthew 6:34 (The Message)
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

The challenge is to trust God enough to keep our eyes on Him when everything around us squawks for our attention. The world appeals to our "common sense" and tells us we need to prepare for tomorrow's potential difficulties. It says, "You have to concentrate on tomorrow!" The problem is that when people concentrate on "tomorrow", they miss what God is doing today.

Henri Nouwen teaches that the proper stance for the Christian is up on the balls of our feet in anticipation of the next amazing thing God will do. I love that imagery because it places our expectations on God's movement today. Concentrating on God leaves us free from worries about tomorrow.

God is good, today!
Lon

"Why we do it", by Rachel Smith

I play on a slow pitch softball team we organized through our church and boy have we been in a slump! In fact, we haven’t won a game all season. I will admit I was having a lot of fun despite the loosing and we were trying awful hard, but then last night I struck out. Not once, but three times! Talk about discouraging! I felt like quitting.

Then God reminded me why we play softball. We don’t play softball to play ball. We play softball to spend time together as a family. We laugh and tease each other and yes sometimes we get frustrated. But in those frustrating moments we encourage and love one another. The time and relationship building is why we play softball, and that is good. The harvest we reap may not put points on a scoreboard, but it will draw us closer to one another and Christ.

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

Covenant, by Rachel Smith

I recently took a trip via airplane and watched the flight attendant do a very interesting thing. After explaining what to do in an emergency and pointing out the exits over the wings, she went right to the people sitting in the exit aisle, looked them square in the eye and said, "In the event of an emergency I need you to open these doors. Are you willing to do this?" The passengers she was addressing nodded. She waited and explained more firmly, "I need a verbal response. In the event of an emergency will you do this?" The passengers confirmed their agreement with a hardy 'yes'.

That's it.

The passengers had agreed to the task the first time, but by verbally responding, their covenant with the flight attendant was sealed. There could be no misunderstanding. They agreed to the job. This verbal contract binds them with a commitment to the task. The requirement of an audible oath makes them more likely to respond appropriately if needed.

Our agreement with God holds us accountable for our actions. He already knows our hearts, but confession seals our covenant with God. What do you need to confess today?

Psalm 32:5 (New International Version)

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

Email woes - part 2, by Rachel Smith

Part 2- The internet and the Tower of Babel

As you recall from my last post I was having email problems. The specific problem was my provider tightened security and even the people I wanted to receive email from were now going to my “junk” folder. Additionally, anyone else who used this same email provider as I had all of my emails going to their “junk” folders. The result was confusing and frustrating and communication was cut off.

The internet can be an awesome and wonderful tool, but it can also be the source of great sin. Because the email tool was not used for pure communication (spam- advertising-unwholesome talk), the provider had to tighten security and make it harder for people to communicate. The intent is to protect us from ourselves.

The LORD also confused the people’s speech at the tower of Babel. The people could have used their clear understanding of one another to accomplish anything, but instead sin crept in in the form of pride and honor. The people used this great tool not to honor God, but themselves.

How will you use your email today?

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Email woes - part 1, by Rachel Smith

Email woes- part 1

I recently sent Lon an email that said, “I think there is a problem with my email account and I haven’t been sending/receiving emails properly, please respond.” In hindsight that was a pretty silly request. How can I expect Lon to respond to something I’m not entirely sure he is receiving?

Do we do this with God? Do we send up prayers just in case He might respond? Is prayer a way of hedging your bet? Of course we want to submit to God’s will, but His word tells us to ask in a way in which we believe we will receive.

While email may be unreliable, you can be confident that God’s mail system always works.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Absence Past and Future

Mark 6:31
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

Sorry for the absence! I've been frantically preparing for a journey that will begin on Sunday. My friends (Mark and Tom) and my dad (Dick) and I are heading to an island in Lake Superior (Isle Royale National Park) for a 5-day backpacking trip. This will be a time of adventure, a time of spiritual renewal, and (believe it or not) a time of rest.

I will return around May 17th and hope to start posting to this blog soon after my return. Please pray that our trip will be safe and that we will find spiritual renewal and some rest.

Blessings!
Lon