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I recently was asked a very good question in a group of writer friends. "What one value would you like to instill in the upcoming generation of kids?" Jonathan H. The comments were very valid and thought through. They were really good comments. Things like love, humility, empathy, responsibility, honesty, self-sufficiency, even compassion and vulnerability. The list went on. Really good answers to a really good question. But I was caught off guard at how quickly I wrote what God had shown me years ago. It was just as true then as it is now. I come by the answer honestly out of shear terror. Why? Because as a single mom, I myself sought the one thing that could help me maneuver life through the pitfalls of that harrowing experience of single parenting. What was revealed to me? Here is the story and the ending. It all began when I was in tears... (a little backstory) Single again with three kids, I was in way over my head. I couldn't provide all of the care for my kids that I needed to provide. I remember dropping on my knees and crying on the side of my bed. " God, give me a God answer. How can I help them? I don't know how to raise them. I don't know how to be a mom, much less a single mom. And a single mom to three kids! I am overwhelmed. I am so lost. God, give me an answer. What do I do?" I got no answer. I cried myself to sleep that night. Later... It was at the end of a very long day. I had one of a thousand situations that had put me in my prayer chair. One of my children was pushing my buttons and AGAIN I didn't know what to do. Yes, one of my kids had pushed me beyond my limits. I had stopped everything and sent them all to bed. This had been my parents' answer to all problems - until they calmed down we were always sent to our beds. Dad would never discipline us until he had calmed down. (A very good thing - don't you think? I digress.) So, sending all three of them to bed, I proceeded to try to calm down. It was already near bedtime, so they all fell asleep and by the time my mad was over, I found three little darlings snuggled in bed. Yes, snuggled with their precious heads on their pillows and their faces looking like cherubs. I didn't have the heart to wake them. Walking back to the living room, I sat in my prayer chair and asked God once again for help. Opening my Bible, Solomon's story popped out before me. Let's just take a moment and look at 2 Chronicles 1:7-12 NLT "That night God appeared to Solomon and said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you." Solomon replied to God, "You showed faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in this place. O LORD God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! Give me wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could properly govern this great people of yours?" Think about that for just a few seconds. Solomon, given the opportunity to request and be given anything in the world, requests to have WISDOM. He asks for wisdom. Wisdom: the thing that Solomon asked God to give him when he became king. I nearly lost my breath! God was answering my request. He was telling me what to ask for. Now back to the story of me in my prayer chair. So, let me continue with the Bible story now. Remember Solomon had been asked by God to make a request for anything he wanted to be given and Solomon had requested wisdom. Why? Because he had been given the task to govern God's great people. God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested..." Seeing the connection between the raising of my three children (God's gifts and precious beings) was just like Solomon being put in the situation to govern God's people. I stopped then and there, single mom, scared out of my wits, and asked God for wisdom to raise my children. I have never been sorry that was my request. My children are older now, with spouses and children of their own. The one thing I believe they need more than anything else to raise those grand kids of mine: WISDOM. And they have much. It was instilled in them as I learned how to lean on God and ask for wisdom for all sorts of situations, arguments, celebrations and losses. They watched and learned. Wisdom. Wisdom is the one thing that is needed for every person in every generation. If more kids were instilled with wisdom the world would not be such a traumatic explosion. So, if you ask me, what parents need is wisdom. And they need to share with their children that they are asking for wisdom from God. And that He is guiding them. Today my oldest is 40 and a firefighter, my daughter a chiropractor, and my son a chaplain. They are from a single parent family. They were told by me numerous times that I would need to get wisdom from God over how to handle certain things. And as I have watched their lives, they have shown wisdom, and especially now as they are now raising their own. Statistically, they could have been anything but the good godly citizens that they are. I praise God daily for giving me this Solomon story in 2 Chronicles and showing me that I needed to ask for WISDOM! What do I believe we should try to instill in our next generation? WISDOM. How do we instill that? By seeking and asking God for it as parents and grandparents. Do you agree or disagree that WISDOM is a needed value to be instilled in the next generation? Share your comments below. Still asking God for WISDOM in this daily walk with Him. Robyn & Biff Cox RR&BC, LLC © Our blogs are copyright owned. We are blessed to serve you here. If you would like to get our free emails, please leave your email.
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 I find myself in another moment of WAIT. Do you ever find yourself in that moment? Do you find this to be as true as I? God tends to put us in two timing situations. We are either in: 1. Wait mode, or 2. Immediately go forward mode. It seems to me like waiting stems from the four-letter word W-A-I-T. Immediacy is when God moves in His timing ⏤ Immediately! Don't forget that the wait time is also in God's timing. And in that wait time I can prepare my heart for the immediacy time. I can rest, read His word for wisdom, and pray. Because once that moment begins happening, I must hold on and remember God is God and I am not. I've been in that immediacy place before. I've held on and found wonderful excitement in the moments of immediacy. But right now, I am waiting. During this waiting time I know that God meets me here. I know He will keep me. But sometimes fretting comes in and wedges me away from His peace. I am so thankful that Jesus relates to me. For thirty years Jesus waited to be introduced to the world. Waiting leads to immediacy. Jesus kept His focus, lived His life, built relationships, and walked in wisdom and courage. What an example of waiting. Yes. He does not fret, He seeks time to get alone with His Father and He takes one step at a time. Where can we find how Jesus responds to moments of immediacy? The Gospel of Mark reminds me of Jesus' beginnings: Mark chapter one reminds me of these immediacies:
But in the immediacy Jesus does not hurry, He does not fret, He seeks time to get alone with His Father and He takes one step at a time. Waiting is for a moment in God's time. IMMEDIATELY is light-speed! And I am so thankful that He expects me only to seek and find Him right where He is. Find Him in the waiting, hold His hand, and take the next step. Find Him in the immediate, hold His hand, and take the next step. So, here we go :-) We are not hurrying, we are waiting, until... Be Blessed. Robyn and Biff Cox RR&BC, LLC  ______________ the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds ____________. Who doesn't want that? I know I do. And I need it, more often times than not. I find that the peace of God shared here in Philippians 4:7 is talked about and sought after from people all shapes and sizes, all creeds and colors. We all want that peace that seems illusive to us. And yet God gives us the map to finding it right here in the verses. We being who 'we' are seem to take it apart, extrapolating what we want and failing to find the real keys to how we achieve this peace. First remember this peace is not something that can simply be thought into place. It isn't the 'passing peace' that transpires when we are sitting by a lake, or my favorite 'passing peace' snuggled into my comfy chair with my HoneyB beside me and enjoying a luscious meal that he has lovingly created for me. Even though those points of time are very important, notable, enjoyable, and worthy to define and experience. This Philippians peace is talking about the transcendent peace that is available to us when we walk down the path Paul lays out for us in the context of Philippians 4:6-7. I think of it more like the manna that was gifted the Israelites in the desert. It is something we have to go out and pick up, eat and be full. But don't expect manna (transcendent peace) to be there in the morning. Tomorrow is a new day with new challenges. And we must begin the morning with a walk down the path to transcendent peace afresh. So, going back to the verses, lets look at the words surrounding those we prefer to extrapolate. And trust me, I have been there. Holding on to just that phrase: The Peace That Passes All Understanding seems to be a right of passage that we Christ followers want to have available to us without walking down the path to get it. And the path? Do not be anxious about anything. Say what? Unfortunately, this is my first stumbling block. I can honestly tell you that peace gets put on the back burner so often because I sit in my anxious feelings about lots of stuff. I must consciously take the step of faith to release my anxious feelings. AND I have to do it in every situation. So, I can't just release them one time and be done with it. Stay with me here. I can't just release my anxious feelings to get rid of them. I have to make an effort to replace them in every situation with prayer and petition (supplication). I have to bring them (in every situation) to God and pray and ask God for help. I must replace them with the next step on the walk: prayer and petition. and... Thanksgiving. Before I have that peace that transcends I have to be thankful for the prayer being left in God's domain, and that my supplications and peace are coming from Him and I bask in His presence. And that is when the peace that transcends understanding will guard my heart and my mind in Christ! So forgive me. Now I will leave you. I think I need to do a little walking down the path to that peace that transcends all understanding and into the arms of Jesus. Here I go, I need to release my anxiety and replace it with prayer and petition (supplication) and thank Him in advance for His peace that does transcend understanding. Would you like to join me? Simply meet Him right where you are. He loves you. Because He IS the I am I am Robyn Rochelle Cox Be blessed Robyn & Biff Cox RR&BC, LLC © Our blogs are copyright owned. We are blessed to serve you here. If you would like to get our emails, please leave your email. RR&BC,LL© All writings are protected under copyright laws. Contact the author or link to this page or website if you use or reference.  Christian Ethics. Have you ever thought about them? I find that when I am more aware of them I am less afraid. Why?
That said, this weeks blog is about the ancient principal and Christian Ethic of Prudence - something seldom used anymore. We find the word prudence in the Old Testament. However, within the New Testament the words interchanging with the idea of prudence were more on this line: cautious, bringing foresight and forethought. So prudent means: taking care, acting with caution, using circumspection, and even being economical thrifty. When I listen to the horrors on the 5:00 news, my heart hurts. There are so many issues in our world where prudence simply put into practice could solve so many problems. This ethic is not often taught to children. And if they are being taught, the entertainment world, peer pressure, internet social media and unfortunately the majority of public figures tend to tear, counterattack and erase what is of ultimate value: good judgment, caution, and forethought. There is a proverb that encourages us to "Think before you speak or act." This is simply good judgment. However, implementing this proverb seems to fall to the wayside when given the more popular attitude of freedom to speak or act in anyway that 'feels good.' My contention is this acting and speaking what 'feels good' does not bring us freedom in any way. It binds us, deters us, and destroys us in the end. We have a tendency to spend time contemplating what we determine is truth in our own lives, with our own feelings, and in our own relationships. We are very myopic individuals. Aren't we? Good grief! And though these are valid to consider and to learn from, they are not necessarily the most wise things to speak about, or to act on. In fact, they can really jam up our lives and our relationships. Not considering with forethought how others might interpret our feelings, our perspectives, and even our agendas can end up backfiring on us. We are a cookie cutter, instant gratification society that rarely recognizes our words and actions today will find us out in years to come. Not only our digital footprints are being weighed and observed forever. Our daily choices are too. Instead God encourages us to understand that His truth will set us free. He is not talking about our day-in and day-out truths. Our 'he said, blah blah blah' and that 'makes me feel, dah, dah, dah.' He is talking about the Truth concerning the Good News of Jesus Christ. Once we enter into learning and walking the Truth of Jesus Christ through reading and contemplating the bible, placing ourselves in community with people that are wise and prudent, and watching how God is changing our hearts, we enter into a life free of looking over our shoulders and covering up our choices. Our words reflect our hearts and our hearts reflect God's goodness. And oh my goodness, if there is anything that is as wonderful as God's goodness changing our hearts. I don't know what it is! Please take time to get your eyes on the word of God. God really changes our hearts. And our changed hearts change our lives. And in changing our lives God changes others lives around us. And in changing others our world becomes a better place to lay our heads. If you don't have a place to read and reflect on the word. Please think about joining us. We have faithful members that come and share their hearts for what God is speaking to them. We are available daily. And we pray for each other. It really is a community that loves God. Be blessed this week. Because He is the I AM, i am Robyn Cox Robyn & Biff Cox RR&BC, LLC ©2016 www.readthebiblewithrobyncox.com/ Find out more about us by clicking HERE: Reading, Reflection, and Bible Community A place where people from all over the world meet daily to read the bible, reflect with thoughtful questioning and share as God leads. Want to receive our weekly encouraging email? RR&BC,LL© All writings are protected under copyright laws. Contact the author or link to this page or website if you use or reference. |
Robyn Rochelle Cox
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