Honor your spouse

“Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to [them], since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

-1 Peter 3:7

 

I don’t know how many husbands read this because the majority of comments left here and on Facebook are by women.  Nevertheless, the advice probably went without saying to women back then, who had to show honor to their husbands.  Being subject to so much here on earth, their prayers were undoubtedly heard by God just as those less fortunate (of either sex) are heard by God today.  So show honor to your spouse if you want God to hear your prayer.  For example, since the Penguins were eliminated from the play-offs last night, I shaved my beard, which made my wife very happy.  However, I suppose my making my wife happy shouldn’t have been dependent on the Penguins losing in the first place.

 

My prediction

"The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame."
-Isaiah 50:7

I have confidence that good will prevail. This is timely because my union proposed a retirement incentive that would save the district $1.19 million by eliminating 14 of the highest paid teachers, whereas the board would have to furlough 29 of the least experienced teachers to save as much. The proposal is good for the 14 because it pays an extra $26K over three years and good for the district because eliminating only 14 teachers instead of 29 helps to save the number of programs we offer the students. It was tabled by the board yesterday instead of approved, which made people think they were either intending to cut programs and all the teachers involved in those programs to save even more money or hoping legislation in Harrisburg allowing them to furlough the highest paid instead of the least experienced would help them save more money by reducing the quality of the programs. As a sign of my faith, I posted a prediction on my wall last Friday stating that the board will ultimately furlough nobody and rehire the two teachers allegedly furloughed illegally last year.

You're Low

“God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”

-1 Corinthians 27b-29

 

In this case, being low isn’t such a bad thing.  All good things come from God, but it’s easier to believe when those that seem incapable of doing great things do great things.  They (people like us) couldn’t do great things alone, so it must be a miracle when things go right.  It must be God in control.  Yesterday’s quote talked about how God takes revenge, we don’t take revenge ourselves on those who do wrong, but in some situations, God may work through us or other people to humble the proud.  We can’t volunteer ourselves for that job, but we can be open to it if God calls our number.

 

Vengeance

"But, you, O Lord of hosts, O just Judge, searcher of mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause, O Lord my God!"
-Jeremiah 11:19-20

This doesn't seem very Christian, but I guess that's because it's Old Testament. One thing that's important is that Jeremiah isn't trying to take revenge himself. He's still letting God judge, even though these people are just like those people who we have been talking about the past two days (the rude ones that drive us crazy). Nevertheless, he does want to be there when justice is served. I guess that's OK.

For example, when someone speeds by me or cuts me off in traffic I try to remind myself to say, "God bless them anyway." I picked that up driving around with a priest in high school. However, when I see that same car pulled over to the side later on down the road, I still get a sense of satisfaction from it.

Venting

"I have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, Who walk in evil paths and follow their own thoughts, People who provoke me continually, to my face."
-Isaiah 65:2-3a
 
As important as it is to have poise in the moment (referring to yesterday's post), I guess you are allowed to vent to your journal or to God about those rude people in your life that drive you nuts as Isaiah seems to do.

Poise

"When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly."
-1 Peter 2:23

I don't even know if poise is the best word to describe what I'm thinking. I know it's the best word I can think of though. As a junior high teacher of students with various special needs, sometimes it seems like those needs are manners. So I hear a lot of insults. When the someone insulting you with words is obviously less adept at the English language than you, it would be difficult to not embarrass that person publicly if your objective was not to serve God in the best way possible.

God doesn't want you to be the judge because he can exact a more suitable punishment for those who reject his word than any embarrassment you could inflict and a more suitable reward for anyone who tries to follow his word than any satisfaction gained from besting someone of inferior skills. In some of the situations that I'm envisioning in my mind, God may not punish them because they may honestly be oblivious and not know what they are doing, despite my best efforts to teach them how to act properly in what I consider society. What I go through is a far cry from what Jesus went through in the Passion, so if he was able to pray for those people, I believe he will give me the strength to continue praying for my students.

Dumbo's Green Scapular

"God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.'"
-1 Corinthians 1: 28-30

It has been said before that the only thing we can take credit for is our sins. All good things come from God, so anything good that we do is thanks to him. Lately, I have felt a new sense of faith in God working through me. Certainly, he was capable of working through me before, but I think my faith was too weak to allow him to do much. Specifically, the green scapulars are an amazing tool to help strengthen faith and cure physical and mental illnesses, but their power comes from faith of those that distribute it and/or those that receive it.

It's like Dumbo's magical feather that convinced him he could fly if he had it. Even after he lost it, he was still able to fly. The feather was just a tool to strengthen his faith as the green scapular is for us.

I have green scapulars for any one who wants one.

Resistance

"So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
-James 4:7

This is still as straight forward today as it was when it was written, so it's not as critical for me to share my reflections on it as much as it is for you to read the quote itself. God bless you.

Far from worthless

"Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."
-Phillipians 2:14-16

When working with students with special needs, you may feel that your work is in vain because you don't get the same results as you get with other students. With success being measured so often by test scores, you may not get the consolation you desire because you are looking for it in the wrong places. I don't remember what I got on my eighth grade standardized tests, although I remember they were never good enough to be considered "gifted." I do remember certain teachers because of the emotions associated with them, more so than any specific lesson or piece of information I may have gotten from them. They at least made me a better person, if not a smarter person. I hope that the people who come across my path and your path learn something about how to be a better person. That's worth more than test scores or anything else of this world. Goodness is divine because all good things come from God.

Sorrow

"Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment."
-Joel 2:13

You can't buy forgiveness from God, no matter how much money you donate. Donations are good and necessary while we are down here, but God wants you to be sorry for your sins, not just make up for them. You can't earn your way into Heaven by never sinning because none of us have never sinned, regardless of original sin. Even though those sins were wrong, hopefully God brought some good from them by helping us realize how much we need to rely on him, which should make us feel sorry when we let him and ourselves down.

Mind over lunch

"I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."
-Romans 12:1-2

Our bodies can be our prayer. That's especially comforting when we feel too busy to "pray" as long as we are busy doing God's work. I've been too busy helping others at work to remember to eat lunch, but I don't know if I can call it a sacrifice because I didn't even realize I was hungry until I got home one time and found my lunch still in my bag.

Jesus, the ultimate tag-team partner

"No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."
-1 Corinthians 9:27

We have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. We need to learn how to resist all earthly temptations, not just temptations of the flesh that Paul usually infers. That kind of training can never end because the devil is always presenting new temptations, perhaps more subtle each time, until we let our guard down and he gets a hit in. We must be vigilant and rely on Jesus as our personal trainer to get us ready to handle it ourselves or tag Jesus in when it gets to be too much for us.