Meandering Monday - Keeper of the Memories - Martin Wiles

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

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV

I was the keeper of the memories.

I’ve never had to keep the family memories before. Sure, I knew them—and even helped with a family genealogical book—but most of my relatives were strangers to me. My immediate family was the only ones I had built memories with. Those memories I didn’t have to worry about forgetting because I had patriarchs and matriarchs to help me recall.

Then, it happened. One by one, family members began dying. Now only my mother remains. When she’s gone, I’m next in line. Since her memory is fading, I try to ask her everything I might want to know about the family. Hopefully, someone in the family will keep the memories alive when I’m gone as well.

Early in his history with the Israelites, God instructed them to keep the memories alive. Not family memories necessarily, but commandment memories. The only way their children and grandchildren would know God’s commands was if the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents talked about them continuously. Regardless of where they were, they should let God’s mandates be on their lips.

The only way to move items from short into the long-term memory bank is through memorization and continual use. I memorized multiplication tables as a middle schooler and have used them all my life. I don’t have to think about what eight times six is. I’ve calculated it so many times the answer comes naturally.

So do God’s commands. I’ve known them since I was able to comprehend them. My parents engrafted them into my mind through various teaching methods. I did the same with my children. Hopefully, they will do the same with theirs.

We can force salvation and godliness on family members, but we can offer them by making them a regular part of our speech and living out the memories through everyday activities.

Are you keeping spiritual memories alive for your family?

Prayer: Father, may we keep the memories of Your commandments alive in our family’s lives. 

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Baring the Soul - Martin Wiles

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:10 NLT

When the time came, she immediately spoke up and shared.

My wife enjoys the small group atmosphere. A little lecture time on the Bible subject at hand, followed by a lot of discussion time, suits her just fine. When leading a small group, having someone like my wife in the group helps to get the discussion flowing. As she shares, others open up and talk also. After all, that’s really the point of a small group: talking, not lecturing.

But there are some things my wife won’t share. The real personal things. I’m more apt to share them—and then hear from her later that I shouldn’t have. She grew up in a home where her parents shared nothing personal. Like many from their generation, they were very private.

Mom also possesses the gift of gab. One person once told my dad they knew why he went into the ministry: so he could have an opportunity to talk. Spending a little time with Mom bears out the truth of his observation. She shares … and shares again … and shares some more. So much so that getting a word in takes real effort.

Unlike my wife, Mom will share the personal stuff. Spend a little time with her, and you will know everything there is to know about me and my two brothers, along with our wives, children, and grandchildren. Mom shares too much, but she enjoys baring other people’s souls.

Hannah bared her soul. No matter how hard she and her husband tried, she couldn’t conceive. With tears of anguish, she took the matter to God, and He answered her prayer. As she promised, after the child was weaned, she returned him to God to work in God’s house.

Sharing isn’t easy for some because doing so involves vulnerability. And becoming vulnerable takes down the façade we enjoy erecting. The front that makes it appear we have life altogether and that we’re perfect in everything we do and say—even though we know those things are lies.

But baring the soul carries important benefits. For one, it keeps us humble. As we share our struggles and pitfalls, we let pride fly out the window—a trait God despises. And when we open up, it encourages others to open up and share as well. When this happens, we build trusting relationships with others—some that last a lifetime. We also learn from each other. I’ve discovered many biblical truths I had never thought about before through small group interaction.

Why not find a small group and bare your soul?

Prayer: Father, give us the courage to bare our souls before You and others. 

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Caring and Sharing - Martin Wiles

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:16 NLT

Though only three, he cared and shared.

I had to sell admission tickets for an after-school softball game—part of my responsibility as a teacher. My wife and my daughter’s two boys decided to keep me company. Having nothing to play with, the boys soon amused themselves by digging in the dirt with rocks they found.

Before long, Colton, the youngest, ran up to us with a small toy in his hand. “Look what I found, Pop.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a unicorn,” he said proudly and ran off to rejoin his brother in their archaeological endeavors.

Then, we noticed him doing something peculiar. Each time a person walked by—friend or stranger, it mattered not—he stopped them, showed them his toy, and asked, “Do you know who this belongs to?” When they said no, he returned to his playing and waited for the next person to walk by.

Of course, he never discovered who had lost the minuscule toy, and we took it home for him. Meme promised to clean it up so he could keep playing with it. But his kindness and tender heart touched us. He wanted to share his discovery with everyone, but he also wanted to make sure the rightful owner got the toy back.

In his concluding words to his readers, the writer of Hebrews reminds them to do good for others and to share with those who have needs. Both are sacrifices that please God.

When we have discovered complete forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ—something of great value—we should share the news with others, as my grandson shared his new discovery. Keeping the good news to ourselves violates Jesus’ final command to His followers to take the message of His love and forgiveness to the world.

And once we discover this pearl of great price, we’ll also want to intervene in others’ lives. Needs they have, we’ll try to meet. We appreciate so much what God has done for us that we want to do for others—as my grandson searched diligently for the owner of the lost toy.

When you’ve unearthed the best news in the world, care enough to share it with someone else.

Prayer: Father, give us the desire to share the good news of Your love with others.

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Flashback Friday - Greatness in the Small - Martin Wiles

Greatness in the Small

What seems insignificant God may use monumentally.

Some months ago John* stopped by the church…but not for a handout. He needed money—he was out of work, but he didn’t want it for free. He was willing to work. And the pastor obliged him. Since that first encounter, he has stopped by regularly to see if there’s anything he can do for pay. Recently, he made his appearance again. This time he needed food for his family. Their stove was on the blink. Not only was he given some work but the pastor also took him to the local Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and bought enough chicken to last his family three days. A small act of kindness that will one day no doubt be acknowledged with great rewards. Read more...

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Giving from the Heart - Martin Wiles

“I tell you the truth,”“this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. Luke 21:3 NLT

“If that’s the best you can do, you need to find another church.”

Jerry heard the words as the church treasurer handed him his annual tithing report—but he couldn’t believe them. Jerry had been injured and was out of work, but his disability hadn’t started yet. He gave what he could—including working in the church. He simply couldn’t afford to give what the treasurer thought he should.

When the treasurer slid him the report and made his cutting remark, Jerry took him at his word. But Jerry didn’t find another church—at least not immediately. The comment disillusioned him so much with church and Christians that he didn’t attend church anywhere for quite some time. I’m glad to report that Jerry is now back in church and doing well. He and his wife are regular attendees and hard workers.

Obviously, the church treasurer hadn’t read Jesus’ story of the poor widow. As Jesus watched people drop their money in the temple treasury, one poor widow deposited two small coins that represented everything she had to live on. Jesus’ conclusion? She gave more than those who gave more.

Some of those whom Jesus watched gave legalistically—by the letter of the law. But for Jesus to say what He did means some gave with improper motives. Others could see the money and the expressions of the givers while Jesus could see their hearts.

God is more concerned with why we give than how much. I can give a legalistic amount and God not recognize it—or give me credit for it—because I gave with improper motives. I didn’t give cheerfully, or I gave because I wanted recognition—like many of the religious leaders.

My gift expresses gratitude for what God has done for me through Christ. I can never repay Him, but my monetary gifts help the church do its work of serving others and spreading the gospel. Judging others by the amount they give isn’t my place. My responsibility is to look at what I contribute. Do I give it gladly, do I give it expecting nothing in return, and do I give a reasonable portion of what I earn? If so, God is pleased with my gift—whether anyone else is. And He’ll never tell me to go somewhere else if that’s the best I can do.

Whatever you give, give it from the heart.

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Prayer: Father, we offer our gifts to You with cheerful attitudes, open hands, and willing hearts.  

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Give Until It Hurts - Martin Wiles

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew 25:40 NLT

She wanted others to have the educational opportunity she never received, so she gave.

America was stunned in 1995 when an elderly woman named Oseola McCarty donated $150,000 to the University of Mississippi for their scholarship fund. She was 87 and had been forced to drop out of school in the sixth grade to care for her family. For sixty years, she had made a living washing clothes for hire in Hattiesburg, saving as much as she could. Now she wanted others to have educational opportunities she hadn’t and made that possible by giving away her life savings to the school.

Comparatively, what she gave might not have seemed like much. Like the ones Jesus told about in His story about the final judgment. They were allowed into His eternal Kingdom because they responded when they saw Him thirsty and hungry, when they visited Him in prison, when they gave Him clothes, and when they visited Him when He was sick. By doing such things for others, Jesus told them they had actually done them to Him.

Giving is parcel to the original human genome. Adam gave to the animals by naming them. He gave to Eve by loving her. They gave to each other and to the garden God placed them in by tending to the animals and plants. And they gave to their children and grandchildren. 

Giving is God’s plan. The entire Bible illuminates the principle in one way or another. Jesus illustrates it well in the story of the widow who placed her last piece of money into the Temple treasury. Jesus took giving to the maximum by giving Himself on the cross.

For believers, giving should be a lifestyle. It’s more than throwing money in a church offering plate and thinking I’ve done my part—although that is my part. Giving is searching for opportunities to give in ways that make a difference in other’s lives. That causes them to take notice and wonder why I’m helping them. Giving is petitioning God for the opportunities and the means with which to share my time, talents, and money.

Giving until it hurts is a lifetime of actions—prompted by pure motives—in which I lay down myself for them as Christ did His life for the world. 

Ask for giving opportunities, and watch what God will do through you.

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Prayer: Father, give us the opportunities and the desire to pour ourselves into the lives of others. 

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