Conquering Our Goliaths

Yesterday, in our VBS, we studied about David and Goliath. The point was made that we can conquer the giants in our lives the same way that David conquered his. I am teaching the 1st and 2nd graders and it was interesting to hear them talk about the things that they fear--their Goliaths--things like the dark (I fear the dark too), bad people (you know, I fear bad people), mean dogs (a vicious dog is scary to me), being in the hospital (I have had way more than my share of that fear). I began to realize that the things the child fears are the same things we adults fear and that fear is universal.

As children, we have our parents and other supportive adults to protect us from those Goliaths, but as an adult we often feel we must face them alone. Yet the classic Bible story of David and Goliath teaches even us adults that we can face any Goliath if God is on our side. David said to Goliath, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts..." (1 Sam. 17:45) Oh, if we just had the attitude of David, what could we accomplish?

Paul said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We all know this verse by heart and yet, do we believe it? Do we believe that our God is big enough to defeat Goliath? to defeat my illness or disability, to defeat financial problems, to defeat marital problems, to defeat my depression, etc? It only took one smooth stone, thrown in faith, to bring down David's giant--it only takes one small prayer, offered in faith, to bring down ours.

Dana Burk

We Are Family

While having breakfast with a friend from church this morning, the conversation turned to the importance of family. We have an elderly neighbor who has just been placed into a local nursing home because of some very serious health problems and she has absolutely NO family or close friends to help care for her. It is the saddest thing I have ever seen. Someone, whom she only knew distantly, volunteered to be her "power of attorney" and now is trying to sell everything out from under the poor woman. How does one get to be 75-80 years old and have NO one? One way is to have no "church" family--it is obvious our neighbor has never known God. (Tol has begun to study with her.)

As I have pondered her situation over the last week or so, I have thought about how I never expect to be in her position. We were the only ones who showed up at the hospital for the life threatening surgery she had a few weeks ago--I always expect to have family present when I have surgery. Tol has taken care of her yard after it had gotten totally out of control--I expect to always have family around who can help me with mine. We are the only ones to have visited her in the nursing home since she went there--I hope I never have to go to one, but if I do, I know I will have family checking in on me. My neighbor has NO family--I have a very large family within the church and there will always be those in my spiritual family to care for me. How I thank God for this glorious family.

God has promised us an eternal reward if we are faithful to Him, but we also have many rich blessings here on this earth if we are faithful to Him and probably the greatest earthly blessing from being a Christian is our "church family".

Dana Burk

Talking About Billions of Miles...

As I was preparing for the Ladies Bible class I teach on Wednesday evenings, I looked up some info on what scientists know about the size of the universe. I knew from what I studied back in the dark ages when I was in school that it was enormous, but wow! had I forgotten how enormous.

One thing I read said that the center of our galaxy was 26,000 light years away from where we are. One light year is 10 billion kilometers. That means in an airplane, it would take us billions of years to get to the center of our galaxy and if that is not enormous enough, scientist say they know that the universe contains about 200 billion (with a "b") other galaxies.

These numbers are mind boggling to me and there were even more. But what is most awesome about all of it, the universe, is that our God made it. Solomon said that heaven and the heaven of heavens could not contain our God--I would assume that is the universe. How GREAT He truly is. Yet in all His power and glory, He is mindful of me. Who am I that He would even know my name and yet He does. He loves me, He cares for me, He even died for me. What is it He could ever ask of me that would be too much. Rather, how priviledged I am to be called His child. That is how awesome He is.

Next time you come across a command in the Bible that you find difficult to obey, remember who it is you serve and what all He has done for you--it will make obedience a lot easier.

Dana Burk

Hey Kali!

How cool to get your comment on my blog all the way from Taiwan. Do we live in a great time or what that you can keep up with me when you are billions of miles away on the other side of the world. If I had your e-mail I would have thanked you for your comment but since I don't I'll do it this way.

Hope you are having a great time and learning lots. You are in my thoughts and prayers. See you in a few weeks. Love, Dana

The Record Book

There is a record book I'm told

With every deed and word;

It even keeps the records of

Our thoughts that can't be heard;

The good, the bad and every sin

For nothing has been missed;

It really makes me feel ashamed,

To think what's on my list. (borrowed)

Someone has said there is a way to "press the delete button" and erase all the bad that is in that record book. If we will repent we can have COMPLETE forgiveness and stand righteous before our Great God. It makes me hang my head in shame to think about what must be on my list and I praise God for His infinite mercy in letting me hit the delete button over and over and over again.

What is on your list? Have you hit the delete button lately?

Dana Burk

Parent, What Effect Are You Having?

I have spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection today. A childhood friend recently made contact with one of my kids and it has caused a great deal of sorrow in their life, and I must admit, in mine as well. You see, this childhood friend was raised "in the church" just like mine were, but Mom and Dad divorced during this child's High School years.

The kids met at an FC summer camp during Jr. High and kept in touch for a number of years but after graduation from High School they lost touch. Out of the clear blue the friend contacted my child by e-mail (you can find almost anyone through Google). So what's so sad about that? The friend's life has been one very sad mess after another, including homosexuality and total abandonment of the Church--and saddest of all is the total lack of contact with parents for a number of years. And this young person is only in their 20's. To add injury to insult, they now attend a denomination that condones and encourages "alternate" lifestyles--therefore no stigma attached to sin.

Supposedly the friend is "happier" than ever before and has "found themselves" and yet, through a follow-up letter you can feel the pain between the lines; the utter rejection and total disconnect from all that is precious to them. My heart aches for their loneliness.

I have thanked God a lot today for the relationship that I have with my adult children, for the relationship they all have with their God, but mostly for the relationship I have with my husband--we did not divorce during the most fragile years of our children's lives, destroying their stability and even their identity. I'm not boasting about how great "we" are, I'm stressing how parent's selfish behaviors can set their children up to utterly destroy themselves. Whenever a divorce comes about, it is the direct result of selfishness on the part of one or both involved and there is NEVER an excuse for this in a Christian home like this young person was raised in.

If you are a parent, think very seriously about what effect your actions are having and will have on your children; not only now, but in the future. The effects on this young person are still bearing their fruit. I understand that this young adult is now responsible for their own actions but their is plenty of blame to go around.

I would ask you to pray for this friend of my child. Pray that they will see their sin and error and that they will return to our Heavenly Father where there is real peace and may be able to renew the lost relationship with their parents and family. May God grant them time and mercy.

Dana Burk

Bulletin Board Borders

Sometime back I talked about making crowns for children out of scalloped bulletin board border. Our VBS theme for this year is King of Kings and so the teachers are looking for ways to decorate with a royal flare. Yesterday, I saw that one of the teachers had taken 3" gold foil crowns and used them as border on her bulletin board. The background was done in purple. It was darling.

Two or three of the other teachers saw it also and so today I have ordered about 12 dozen crowns so we can border our bulletin boards with them. It is amazing the versatile ways things can be used if we use our imaginations.

Authentic: DeVinci Code vs. Bible

We were discussing in our Bible class this morning the "trustworthiness" of the Bible and the teacher enumerated several reasons why we can count on the authenticity of the Bible and the fact that it is the word of God such as; verifiable fulfilled prophecies, large number of early manuscripts, archaeological finds, external sources which support Bible teachings, etc. Somehow The DeVinci Code came into the conversation. (It seems to do that a lot as of late.) As we talked, I began to think about how many millions of people are caught up in the frenzy of the false teachings found in The DeVinci Code.

The last tally I heard was that Dan Brown's book, The DeVinci Code, has now sold something like 10,000,000 copies and I see it is now available in paperback which will only encourage the numbers to skyrocket even further. How is it that a book, that the author himself describes as "fiction", can capture the minds of so many people and convince huge numbers of them that what they are reading is true with absolutely no proof and no evidence? Why are people so eager to believe a lie and so ready to reject truth and hard evidence? Let me suggest a possible reason for some of this phenomenon.

By accepting stories like The DeVinci Code, man brings Christ down to our level, stripping Him of His divinity and sacredness and it raises man to almost a "superhuman" level, giving him almost "Godlike" qualities. If Jesus did marry and have a child that had to be secretly hidden from the world to preserve their lives, then He wasn't much different from us and His human lineage is among us today--and who knows, you might even be part of that blood-line. Not only that, if mankind has been a part of some conspiracy and been able to conceal these truths through little known secret societies throughout the centuries, how "Godlike" they appear. This is really exciting and intriguing stuff and makes us feel really good about ourselves.

On the other hand, if Jesus is the Christ we read about in the Bible, if the Bible is literally the word of God and we are going to stand before our maker in judgment based on our obedience to that word, then that demands change in each of our lives. Change is not exciting or intriguing--it is hard and requires work and humility on my part--I must acknowledge how unlike God I really am. It would be a "lot more fun" to believe The DeVinci Code.

What this proves to me is that many people are not at all interested in "truth" but rather in what makes them feel good. The evidence proving the Bible can be piled in volumes sky high and will be ignored by the man who does not want to change.

Dana Burk

One Mother

It is rather odd that one mother can take care of ten children, but ten children can't take care of one mother. Wonder why? (borrowed)

What One Visit Did

This is a true story. One Sunday several years ago, a couple attended a service of a local congregation near where they lived. For some reason they were not impressed with the service and planned to go to a denominational church the following Sunday. They had no intentions of returning to the first.

However, on Friday evening of that week, two members from the congregation visited in the home of this couple. These men had no idea of the good they were doing. The people were so grateful for the visit that they decided to return the following Sunday. They did, and kept coming. A short time later they were both baptized into Christ.

This man and woman are pillars in the Lord's church in a distant city. It would be impossible to calculate the tremendous good they have done during the years since.

Now why were they converted? Their salvation and all the good done since hinged on that one visit! Make an important call and visit this week! (borrowed)

Tol and I have always said you can never underestimate the power of a visit. This story illustrates that so clearly. We have similar experiences ourselves.

Visiting takes your personal time away from you and forces us to come out of our comfort zones but the results can be life changing--for you and the one you visit. Do you love other souls? Make the effort to visit others in their homes and show you care.
You and they will be glad you did.

Dana Burk

A Praise Team

I was just reading a bulletin article from a church of Christ and I want to share a piece of it with you. It reads:

The elders of the xxxxxx Church of Christ in xxxxx, WV recently issued the following note to their members. "Our use of a praise team in leading our worship has taken our practice of acappella music to a whole new level....We came to the conclusion that the Bible approves of instrumental music in youth worship....we have encouraged the use of instrumental music in youth worship..."

How disturbing! Where is scriptural authority for a "praise team" and how do you bring acappella music to a "new level"? Why is instrumental music okay for youth worship and yet we must have acappella in the regular worship? What is the difference? In this same article it talks about how congregations are having along with "praise teams", solos, duets and choirs. The only purpose of these types of singing arrangements is for the entertainment of the audience.

When we go to God's word, we never see ANYWHERE that we are to worship for OUR entertainment. Our worship is for teaching and admonishing one another and for the glory and adoration of our Great God--therefore, it will only be pleasing to Him if we do it His way. We are to sing together to one another, unaccompanied by any instrument other than our hearts. (Eph. 5:19, Col.3:16)

One of the great defenders of the faith early in the past century once said, "Brethren, it is later than we think." Those words are just as true today. Liberalism in the church today is in full bloom and it is probably later than many of us want to think. We must be watchful and on guard. We must be willing to STAND.

Dana Burk

Using One's Talent

I have no voice for singing,

I cannot make a speech.

I have no gift for music,

I know I cannot teach.

I am no good at leading,

I cannot "organize".

And anything I write

Would never win a prize.

But a roll call in Bible class

I always answer "here".

When others are teaching

I lend a listening ear.

After the class is over

I praise its every part;

My words are not to flatter,

I mean them from my heart.

It seems my only talent

Is neither big nor rare,

Just to listen and encourage

And to fill a vacant chair.

But all the gifted people

Could not so brightly shine,

Were it not for those who use

A talent such as mine.

---Author Unknown

What a powerful verse and one we all can benefit from reading. How true it is that there would be no purpose for those who are gifted if they had no one to share their gifts with. The person who is always "present" has a tremendous gift to offer to the Lord's church, however. Truly they are an encouragement to each of us--they can always be counted on.

The apostles called Barnabas "son of encouragement". In the book of Acts we see him encouraging others. We never see him doing any "great thing" necessarily, and yet his life touches so many of the early Christians in a positive way. I believe that is why we have his name recorded and his simple deeds detailed for us--we too can be sons of encouragement (and daughters) by being where we ought to be and doing the simple things God has called us to do. Jesus said just a cup of cold water given in His name would bring us great reward. (Mark 9:41)

Dana Burk

VBS Bags

I was reminded today that I need to put more tips for teaching on the blog, so, here goes one. In our congregation, we give our children folders, pouches or bags for them to transport their Bible class material to and from class each quarter and for VBS.

For the last few years we have been purchasing blank canvas bags from Oriental Trading (www.orientaltrading.com) and ironing computer generated iron-on transfers onto them. We use a graphics program like Print Shop or Print Master to design our graphic to fit the theme of our VBS (or theme of the Bible class quarter) and then print it onto iron-on, T-shirt transfers using an ink jet printer with its "normal" ink. The bags we purchase cost from $1.00 to $1.50 each and are very durable. We still have a number of them floating around from previous years. Our children love them (as do their parents) and look forward to their new bag each year. This year our theme is King of Kings and we are using canvas, back-pack bags. We have a picture of the five different kings we will be studying on the bag.

FYI--The T-shirt, iron-on transfers can be purchased at any office supply chain as well as Walmart. We buy ours from Sam's and save considerably with the cost. One word of caution: be sure and select the "print reverse for iron-on transfer" option from your print set-up screen just before you click "print" or else the names, words, and images will be backwards when ironed onto the bag.

Be creative and enjoy! Let me know how this works out for you.

Dana Burk

Philippians 4:13

If God led you to it, He will lead you through it!

What a great saying and yet, so often it is not the things that God led me to that I struggle through, but rather the things I led myself into. The result is the same, however, because God will help us through all of our struggles. Paul says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

What comfort that can be when I see no way out to know that my God knows exactly how we're going to get through this and He will be with me every step of the way. Next time you find yourself in a situation that you just can't do anything about, give it to God (and don't go and take it back from Him) and let Him worry about it. You can trust Him to see you through and help you navigate through the rough waters of life.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Dana Burk

He Comes Home Tomorrow

My husband and I have been married well over a quarter of a century and have settled into our own "hum-drum" routines in life. We spend a lot of time together, but we also spend a great deal of our time working on our own "projects". I am a very independent woman and feel I am pretty self-sufficient. But, when he goes out of town (which he does quite frequently), I am sooooo ready for him to return.

Tol has been gone for 15 days now and I passed lonely days ago. It is so quiet and so serene in the house while he is gone--even the dogs are not as lively. I have been extremely busy trying to finish up the last chapter of a book I have been writing as well as preparing for VBS in two weeks and yet I have still found time to miss my sweetheart.

I thank God for the incredible man I have and I know I have been blest with the kind of marriage God intended each of us to have. I find, when he is gone, I reflect on the blessing he is to me in a way I rarely do when he is around. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

In a way, I suppose I am fortunate that he travels frequently, because it causes me to miss him and appreciate him more. How sad, if we go through life, not realizing how important the most significant person is in our lives. I know how important mine is and he comes home tomorrow.

Dana Burk

I Want You There

Last night, while I was putting my son to bed, he and I had a very interesting conversation. He began to tell me, in his two-year old wisdom, about God's house. I told him one day he might be able to live in God's house. He responded to me that he wanted me to live there too. I told him, as tears began to trickle down my cheeks, I will be there and I want him to be there too one day.

I, as a father, will never forget his words explaining to me his desire for me to be in Heaven. I promised him I would. Can we as Christians actually say such a thing? YES!! Here are some thoughts I would like for you to consider:

1) Eternal life is not owed--Rom. 3:23; 6:23
2) The blood of Jesus forgives sins--Rom. 6:1-7
3) There is a place prepared for us--John 14:1-6
4) I can know I have eternal life--1 John 5:13
(borrowed)

I think the story above has some very sobering implications for each of us--especially parents. Will you be in Heaven with your children--will your children be in Heaven with you? We must be diligent to teach our little ones about God and the home He has prepared for each of us. Then we must be diligent to live the type of life that will be pleasing to my Father above so He will give me entrance into that eternal abode.

Dana Burk

You Never Know

You know, we truly never know when our last day here on earth will be. We all acknowledge that verbally, but I think sometimes we don't really accept it mentally.

Last evening, as I arrived at a weekly Bible study I have with two young ladies on Tues. evenings, I was greeted by one of them who was, I think, still in a bit of shock. She had arrived at her job extra early that morning for a supervisor's meeting and one of their key "players" in the group was late. This lady worked in the office next to the young lady and had reminded her the day before to be sure and not be late for the meeting. The girl I study with said she had told some of her other co-workers that when the other one got there she was going to really rib her about telling her not to be late.

They waited and waited and the other co-worker never showed. I believe she said it was around 9:30 or 10:00 that they received news that the woman had been found dead in her bed. She had died in her sleep. She was 42. We truly never know.

Jesus tells us that we know not the day nor the hour of His coming--we also know not the day nor the hour of our leaving. We must be ready at all times to meet our God because, you never know.

Dana Burk

Becoming Spiritual

"We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must under take something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided." Phillips Brooks

Sobering Words

"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever." (1 Chronicles 28:9)

What sobering words David had for his beloved son Solomon. We too should take heed of their warning. Our God is a loving and merciful God who desires each of us to return back home to live with Him. He has paid the ultimate ransom for our souls and waits patiently while we seek to come to know Him and His will. His longsuffering is immeasurable and His kindness to us is unsurpassed. Peter tells us, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward, us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9)

But, we cannot allow ourselves to be lulled into complacency by this forbearing display of mercy. David reminds his son, that if he forsakes seeking after God, that He will be cast off forever. So often, because we see no physical signs of God's displeasure in this life, we forget He will judge us and is coming without warning. We tend to believe we have a "lifetime" to repent and get ourselves right with God. Peter continues by saying, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." (2 Pet. 3:10)

When our Lord returns and ALL that is in this world is burned up, what is it you will have left that will have been worth going to Hell for--going into eternal fire and torment where there remains NO hope? Job reminds us that we came into this world with nothing and we will leave it in the same way--only our souls will remain to be judged by our Great and Just God.

David warned Solomon: if you seek God, you will find Him, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off! What are you busy doing? Seeking or forsaking?

Dana Burk

I Feel Better

I just got back from a stretching and exercise class I am taking on Saturday mornings. It starts at 7:45am--that's the only problem with it--but I feel so much better when I get out and go to it. The class is with ladies from church where I attend and so the camaraderie is also good.

In our Wednesday evening ladies study, we discussed dealing with depression and our well being and one of the things we talked about is how we need to get out of the house and even participate in mild exercise. I want to be an alive, alert and energetic Christian for the Lord and being with other women who have the same goal certainly pushes me forward. I encourage you to get involved in something similar. Maybe start your own group. We even start ours with prayer which is inspiring.

As a said at the end of the Wed. evening study that I teach--open the curtains, turn off the tube, get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine!

Have a really great day.

Dana Burk