Meandering Monday - God Multiplies Differently - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. Luke 6:38 NLT

My wife’s way of doing multiplication isn’t the method I learned.

PVCs had driven her to the emergency room on several occasions. As she waited to be seen, she noticed a twenty-dollar bill in the seat beside her. Knowing it belonged to someone, she took it to the receptionist (who probably pocketed it later).

When she told me what she’d done, I questioned her actions. We needed that money. The fuel in our car was nearing empty, and payday was a few days away. She defended her honesty by reminding me it was the right thing to do.

Fast forward one month. While I attended the Asheville Christian Writer’s Conference, my wife and two friends went “junking” at thrift stores. Knowing I had been looking for a copy of Eugene Peterson’s The Message, my wife quickly spotted a copy at one of the stores. When she asked how much it was, the salesperson said it was free.

As I prepared to add this Bible to my collection, I noticed a bank envelope nestled inside. Seeing a twenty-dollar bill, I took it to my wife, thinking she had stashed left-over money from our trip there. Imagine our surprise when twenty-four fifty-dollar bills and four twenty-dollar bills emerged. The twenty had multiplied.

We’ve always believed in Jesus’ promise that he will give back to us if we faithfully give to him. And what he gives will far surpass the amount we initially gave. Granted, this is the only time we’ve experienced an incident like this—and we certainly don’t expect it to happen again—but God’s faithfulness has abounded in many other ways. We’ve never lacked food, drink, clothes, or a place to stay.

And may I admit, I love my wife’s—and God’s—way of multiplying better than the way I learned in school.

Be trustworthy in giving, and God will be faithful in returning.

Prayer: Father, prompt us to give out of love for you as we trust you to supply our needs. 

Tweetable: Have you experienced God's way of multiplying? 

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Meandering Monday - Greater Than… - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. Hebrews 1:4 NLT

Far back in my educational journey, I learned the symbols > and < meant greater than and less than.

Knowing that in itself meant nothing, but using them to compare numbers made a little more sense. If my income was greater than my outgo, I discovered myself in the red. If my grocery bill grew greater than the amount in my checking account, I would have to put something back. If my rent payment was greater than what I had left over after paying all my other bills, I might eventually be evicted. Practical stuff.

In many of the early churches, false teachers taught God could only be approached through angels. Some even thought Jesus was God’s highest angel. Angels shouldn’t be worshiped nor is Jesus one of them. He is greater than angels and also some other things I tackle.

Jesus is greater than all our fears as well as the things or people that arouse them. God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Greater is he that lives in us than anything the world can hurl our way.

Jesus is greater than all our anxieties. Numerous things can cause us to be anxious or to worry. Rather than do that, we can present our anxieties to God and experience peace beyond our comprehension (Philippians 4:6-7). Jesus said we shouldn’t worry because he is in control of all our tomorrows (Matthew 6:34).

Jesus is greater than any problem we will face. We must trust in him with all our hearts and not depend on our understanding. When we do, he will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Jesus is also greater than any temptation we confront. He’s promised not to allow them to become so intense that we can’t endure and conquer them with his help. A way of escape always exists (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Have you discovered that God is greater than anything you might meet?

Prayer: God of power and God of grace, we humbly trust our fear, worries, anxieties, problems, and temptations to You. 

Tweetable: Is God greater than what you are facing? 

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Meandering Monday - Making the Negative Positive - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again. 

Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. Exodus 15:24 NLT

I remember little about math beyond the basics, along with a small amount of algebra.

I was once asked to teach a sixth-grade math class. While I knew the material, I was uncomfortable being the instructor. When we arrived at positives and negatives, the kids became confused. Especially when I taught them that two negatives create a positive. Generating a positive from a negative is possible after all.

Moses had quite a few negatives in the bunch he led out of Egypt. When six million people start complaining, one has a problem. We don’t have any water. We don’t have any meat. We’re tired of this manna. Things were better back in Egypt. Who made you the boss? Just a few of the statements Moses dealt with. Moses wasn’t successful in turning all these negatives into a positive, but he made a valiant attempt with God's assistance.

Positives can be formed from negatives. Murmuring occurs when my perception is flawed. I’m not viewing the situation as God does or wants me to. Because of this, a negative spirit takes over, and I complain about my circumstances or a particular person. The Israelites didn’t see what God was doing.

Understanding people and circumstances can cut down on my negativism. Moses knew the people he led were a stubborn lot. I—like everyone else—am a product of my childhood experiences. If I grew up around murmuring, I’m likely to follow suit.

Being around others who have a complaining spirit is contagious. Multiplying two negatives makes a positive—so does multiplying two positives. When I love and encourage those who are negative, the chances of them altering their attitudes increases. Dealing with negative people requires God’s wisdom. Only he can change their heart, but my positivism will go a long way in influencing them toward the same end.

Are you allowing someone else’s negative spirit to affect your positive outlook on life?

Prayer: Father, make us the bright light of encouragement to those who suffer from a negative attitude.

Tweetable: How can you turn negatives into positives? 

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An Undivided Heart - Martin Wiles

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11 NIV

Division can be good … or bad. Helpful … or unhelpful.

Division was one of those math concepts I enjoyed, along with addition, subtraction, and multiplication. I even enjoyed pre-algebra, but after that, I lost interest. As a teacher calculating grades, I still use division. Even the school’s grading program automatically uses division. When I enter grades for a particular assignment, the system totals the grades and then divides them by the number of students to calculate the class average for the assignment.

Sometimes, I don’t enjoy division. Such as when my wife divides a pie or cake she has cooked—and I only get one of those pieces. Division helps us to know how many slices to cut, depending on the number of people who will eat it. The more people, the smaller my piece. On the other hand, the smaller my piece, the fewer calories I’ll consume. That part of division works in my favor.

Division can be helpful. My wife and I have a favorite restaurant in town that we often frequent. They serve a large hamburger which my wife and I share by dividing. This saves us money, helps us consume fewer calories, and helps us get the large burger in our mouths.

David prayed for an undivided heart so that he would fear God’s name. He wanted to reverence Him more each day. He knew this wouldn’t happen unless his heart was undivided. David desired to focus on loving and serving his God.

What David prayed for Jesus later reiterated, but in the opposite way. Jesus said people could not serve two masters. They would either hate the one and love the other or serve the one and ignore the others. David prayed for an undivided heart, and Jesus said we couldn’t have a divided heart—although we might try.

Division is bad when I try to serve God and other things or other people. The things and relationships might not be bad or even sinful, but if I put them before God—and if they interfere with my sole allegiance to Him—then I have divided my heart. 

Division is bad when I keep God’s love to myself instead of sharing it around.

Division is good when God’s people take the spiritual gifts and talents He gives and divide them among the world, so the world hears about God’s love, comes to know Him, and in turn, disseminates His love across the world.

When we pray for an undivided heart, we experience life as God intended. In the beginning, He walked daily in the garden with Adam and Eve. He wants that same type of relationship with us.

Follow David’s example. Pray for an undivided heart.

Prayer: Father, give us an undivided heart—one that moves us to love and serve You.

Tweetable: Is your heart divided? 

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Flashback Friday - Discovering God's Purpose - Martin Wiles

Discovering God’s Purpose

I’m not very proficient in math, but this I know: the correct answer comes only by following the proper procedure.

For the first time this year, a grammar and Bible teacher had to teach a sixth grade math class. I accepted the challenge thinking: “How hard could it be teaching sixth grade math?” The headmaster comforted me; “Remember ‘My Dear Aunt Sally.’” Which means the order for solving problems with several operations is multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. If I put division before multiplication or subtraction before addition, my answer will be incorrect. Read more...

Tweetable: Have you discovered God's purpose for you?

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God Understands - Martin Wiles

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. Psalm 139:1-2 NLT

Regardless of how many times I explained the concept, some continued to misunderstand and make mistakes.

Correctly punctuating compound sentences—or independent clauses—was one of the simplest yet most difficult concepts I taught in Language Arts. The rule was simple: when two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a comma must precede the conjunction. In order for an independent clause to be claimed as such, it must have a subject, verb, and a complete thought—not just a verb and a few prepositional phrases.

And it was the latter that confused many students. Many of them would place a comma when the sentence was actually a simple sentence with compound verbs. Others would mistake the word “then” for a coordinating conjunction and place a comma. I spilled much red ink when correcting papers that related to correctly punctuating compound sentences. Although I explained the concept in every imaginable way, the rule often didn’t sink in. Their failure to understand cost them many unnecessary mistakes.

I, too, have failed to understand concepts when I was in school. My misunderstanding was more in math than English classes though. And more worrisome is being misunderstood by others. The psalmist was confident God understood him. After all, God had created him. He knew everything about him, even his innermost thoughts.

Failing to understand a concept and being misunderstood by others aren’t pleasant. Both can lead to frustration. I’ve taught students who practically gave up, and I’ve known people who struggled with depression because others just didn’t “get” them. 

Since God made me, He knows everything about me. He knows what things I struggle with—the hard subject, the unpleasant work atmosphere, the tough relationship, the co-dependent friend, the addiction. He doesn’t have to hear me voice my frustrations because He knows my thoughts. He understands me.

There will always be things I don’t understand, as well as some who don’t understand me. I can live with that as long as my Creator is by my side, guiding me along life’s journey. He’s the friend who will never leave, who will always comfort, and who will forever understand.

Take comfort in knowing God understands when no one else does.

Prayer: Father, thank You for creating us and for understanding everything about us. 

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