The Shepherd’s Journal/ July 6, 2008/ Defining
Today I promised that I would share with you, in one word, God’s education program. God designed this life long curriculum as a foundation for creativity. From the beginning class of two, Adam and Eve, God intended they would graduate from the School of Life’s Adventures under the tutelage of the Master of masters, the Lord God Almighty Himself!!!
The beginning classes were given as a foundation for marriage. This same style of instruction was later used by God many times as a leadership lab, where God would raise up, from scratch, men and women like Noah, Moses, Daniel, David, Solomon, the 12 apostles, and the apostle Paul. Notable women students included Miriam, Deborah, Mary- the mother of Jesus, Mary- the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Priscilla.
The size of the class and the size of the student were unimportant. The more despised the individual was by the world, the more delighted God was to reveal His power through that individual.
The tools needed are simple, a pen and a notebook. If those were not available, (for this is where God really wanted learning to happen) keeping the lessons in the heart, as Mary the Mother of Jesus did, was very adequate.
The process involves three basic steps which utilize the three basic areas of thinking, the mind, the will (or logic), and the emotions. The three steps of the process are observation, comparison, and revelation (making the connections with our emotions).
This process has been used by great minds like Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison.
The single word that describes this God ordained, powerful, but simple process is: defining.
Defining. Before you are tempted to sneer at this word, let’s observe its’ power. Refresh your memory with instances of people, children who were defined by thoughtlessly cruel peers, teachers and family as stupid, ugly, or fat. Vicious pronouncements became self fulfilling prophecies. “Only ______ dress like that!” “You keep going like that, you’ll end up in prison!” “What kind of dummy are you?!”
The fall of man, engineered by Satan, involved demonic defining. “If you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, ye shall be as gods!”
Whenever God wants to ratchet up a persons potential, He redefines, or renames them. He called Abram Abraham, Simon Peter, Saul Paul. He entrusts the defining of children to those most likely to cherish them, their parents. The political party with the most authority and influence not only get to write the laws, they also can define good and evil.
Because of the influence of evolution, we, the human race have defined ourselves as godless animals. We are reaping the destructive results of these falsehoods in wars, violence, impoverishment, and shattered families.
For this reason, it is imperative that we look to God for our answers!!! Instead of disastorously defining ourselves, we need to seek out from God who He is, be a witness to what He has done. From learning at His feet how to define who He is, we will learn who we are. We are His children, made in His image.
God has given us the weapons, the tools needed to defeat the enemy, build our families, and rebuild our society!!! They are a pen, a journal, a daily walk with God, obedience, worship, loving, giving, serving, observing, comparing, revelation, defining. I implore you to not despise this simple but powerful tools that God has given us.
Let’s get started!
