Meg Logan’s Blog

Good teaching is hard to find. Mostly any place you go you hear a sermon about YOUR life. About practical things for YOUR life. Now, I am not opposed to teaching and training the saints in a practical form. Giving them good advice on raising kids, and remaining married, and how to develop a servant’s heart. These are all wonderful and necessary teachings. But sometimes I think we forget to teach the old truths, the doctrines, the creeds, the parts of Chrisitainity which are not so “practical”, but are still essential.

I so often hear from people who think “If it isn’t going to affect my salvation, or change my perspective, why does it matter? And why should I care?” The reason you should care is because GOD does. He cared enough to teach these things in His Word, and ALL of His word is important. I used to believe that you could grade the Word on what was important and what wasn’t “as important”. I no longer think that. It is all important, some of it is FIRST, for example it is necessary to come to the Lord FIRST, to recieve the HOLY SPIRIT, to be baptized, and THEN to learn how to trust and obey. We can understand just from reading the Word that the saving work on the cross is the prime point! Everything from Genesis leads up to His birth, death and resurrection. And everything written after that reflects upon it. But those smaller, less spoken about concepts which are neatly tucked into the Word of God are still important. They are still God Breathed! Still Living Word.

Does the Word of God transcend culture? I say yes. What does that mean you say. Well, it means that the Word of God, though written during a certain culrure, and reflecting that culture, does not become void simply because we are living in another culture. If it is mentioned in His Word, it is supra-cultural.

So how does all this play into the widened road? Well…

Just think. Today we have “churches” that believe homosexuality is OK with God. “Churches” who believe that abortion is the mother’s right to choose! “Churches” who do not require their pastors to teach that Christ is the ONLY way to salvation. THAT IS A WIDE ROAD INDEED…

And I believe that part of this is caused by the lack of teaching of doctrines in the church. Now I could be wrong, it could be that the lack of teaching is the result as opposed to the cause. But either way, teaching the stricter things of the Word would help to solve this epidemic.

I recently realized that someone I know who is saved, and has been for quite some time now, is not convinced of the Trinity. THAT is a pretty big basic doctrine… but why doesn’t this person have conviction of it? Because it was never taught to them, they were never lead through the scriptures to help them reach this understanding. Why does it matter? Because it is TRUTH, and all truth that is revealed is useful. It is important that we believe the truth over a lie, even when we do not see exactly how that works out in OUR life.

Beyond that there are many things that ought to be taught, such as submission to your husband, and the husbands role to provide, protect, and lead, to LOVE his wife. This is important. It is important that the church not sway on how the Bible talks about raising children! These are pretty practical applications. How about, the doctrine of the Trinity, or the Doctrine of Bodily Resurrection? or the Doctrine of Grace? (No I am not professing Calvinism here, I remain un-convinced.) or any number of other doctrines that are more than likely important, simply because they are truth.

So many times I hear Christians tell me that head coverings are a cultural thing. They no longer apply (boy that will lead us down an ever widening path!!)

Or I hear that having many children is a cultural thing. It no longer applies, even though the Lord said “Go forth and multiply”, and calls having many children a blessing, and a reward!

How long until we hear that the Great Commission is no longer applicable? It was only a cultural thing of the time.

Or that loving your neighbor is no longer applicable, after all we hardly know our neighbors!

How long until we start stanging up and defending the borders of this NARROW road?

How long?

–Meg

“my people perish for lack of knowledge” (can’t remember where that one is! but boy is it true!)

Do you recall that I once wrote an article on grace and discipline? How can we determine just how holy we need to be? Or how righteous? When God calls us to righteousness, how can we BE righteous without seeming SELF Righteous? This is a big issue for me. I feel like frequently we Christians condemn other people because they are zealous for the Lord, and righteous in their deed, and we perceive them as self righteous because they are better behaved than us. Personally I think that the Lord would have all of us more righteous, more deliberate for Him, more zealous. Not lukewarm. SO, how do we become righteous vessels without self righteousness? How can we be zealous without becoming prideful? And what should we say to brothers and sisters who have lots of knowledge, live a righteous life, set apart, but perhaps a bit prideful?

What is the difference between righteousness, and self righteousness? How can that difference be expressed to the public?

Anybody??

Anybody got any answers for me?

Meg

This is a serious problem in our society. Grown children raised without a clear understanding of authority, free loading on their parents. We see it everywhere, in rural, suburban, and urban settings. In low, middle and affluent economic classes. Children as old as 30 or (sometimes older) still at home free loading off their parents.

Why did this happen? Well, it happened because parents were told that they should bail their kids out of all kinds of consequences, should not discipline their children with the rod, should extend extra grace and mercy to them. Well, look at them now! Keep extending that grace, and you have a grown man or woman still living under their parent’s roof, rebelling!

It is possible to love your children and discipline them. In fact the Word says that parents who do not discipline their children promptly, do not love them. By allowing young children to run without authority, parents have created adult children with no respect for authority, and adult children who are “handicapped” in society, unable to work because they do not have the self discipline to hold down a job.

We have an epidemic of children diagnosed with AD(H)D, on Ritalin, told that they are unable to concentrate, or sit still. But I wonder just how many of those cases are really POOR PARENTING. If a parent does not train a child to focus their mind, to sit still, to be quiet, how can we send them to school and expect all of them to conform? If a mother allows her young boys (or girls) to run around the house screaming like banshees, never requiring them to sit still, or to be quiet, or to focus on an intense project; HOW CAN YOU EXPECT that they will do this in SCHOOL?

I think parents are doing a PISS POOR job in todays world. And I am afraid to discover what all these rebellious, children who lack self control and self discipline will be like in 20 years. Perhaps they will be free loading off their parents, and when their parents cannot help them anymore, they will turn to welfare, or they will get a job!

So… what do you do when your grown child is still at home? After you have already created that child, trained him or her to be this way? This is my brief idea… i bet it isnt prefect, but it is an idea better than letting them free load their whole life.

1. Apologize. Tell your child that you are sorry you did a piss poor job of raising them. Tell them that you feel responsible for your child’s inability to work, and inability to become independent.

2. Set up new rules. (Oh the thirty somethings are gonna HATE this… they may even leave just to avoid submission.)

(These rules should go something like this: 1. you will submit to your mother and father. 2. you will honor your mother and father. 3. You will promptly begin looking for a job. 3. you will attend a church of your choosing. 4. you will submit to the authority in this house, i.e. your mother and your father, with regards to discipline. 5. as soon as you hold a job you will begin paying rent.)

If any of these rules (except 4.) are broken you will discipline your child. Find a willowy switch, if you have a daughter, the mother will administer “lashings”, if you have a son the father will. The child will submit to the discipline or they will leave. If they know what is good for them they will submit, knowing that they will be better off for it! If your child does not submit, you kick them out. If they will not leave you wait till they leave on their own free will then change the locks, and lock down the house. If they are reclusive and NEVER leave the house, you will find big male friends to escort them out.

Any questions?

step 3. TRAIN your child! Require them to submit, and then USE YOUR AUTHORITY to teach them. RETRAINING is harder than training the first time, but it will save your child from the gates of Hell. You must devote time to them, and require it of them. To teach them. To disciple them. You are starting over, even though the child is grown, if they are willing to submit it is not too late. If they are not willing to submit there is nothing more you can do for them. KICK THEM OUT, CUT THEM OFF. This will not kill your child either, it will force them to grow up. IF your son or daughter leaves, and comes back repentant, require the same rules, and open your doors. If they break the rules throw them out. The loving Father always welcomes us back, but we are not always in His good graces, unconfessed, unrepented sin separates even the saved from the Father’s blessing for a time.

You thought I was radical before, hehehe, bet you didn’t see this one coming from a mile away! Oh I bet I will get all kinds of flack for this post!
If you don’t agree, you don’t need to be nasty. Just state your point, and I promise I will think on it! There may be a better way!

Peace,
Meg

Jesus says that divorce is a no no. For how can you separate one flesh!

“‘From the beginning of creation ‘God made them male and female. ‘for this reason the man shall leave his mother and his father and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together let no one separate.’”

Mark 10:6-9

Jesus says that Moses allowed a certificate of dismissal or divorce, because we people have hard hearts! Is that an excuse!? I say no! Far better to grow and change than to be hard of heart!

Jesus goes on to say that there is only one reason that divorce is “overlooked”, unchastity (adultery). If your spouse is unfaithful to you Jesus says divorce is excepted (not accepted), but if there is no infidelity, you have no excuse! I happen to think that this also means that if you marry a person who claims to have never lain with the opposite sex, and then after marraige they tell you they did, that person was unchaste, and unfaithful, but I am not saying that this should be used as liscence to divorce!

Divorce is never condoned, and only “excepted” or excused in cases of infidelity, and then ONLY BECAUSE of the HARDNESS of YOUR HEART. Yup, it’s on you folks!

Besides! If you are getting a divorce you are placing your trust (or lack of it) in man, not on Jesus! If you truly believed that Jesus was all powerful, you would believe He could heal your marraige! No matter how hard! And not only COULD, but WOULD!

Divorce is eating away at our families in the US, it is eating not only unsaved people’s families, but the families of Christians! How dare we take the easy road! The Lord walked that narrow brutal dusty path to Calgary! Can we not endure for but a season in a rough marraige?

Oh I can hear all the “But…” and “You don’t understand… ” and “you aren’t married to MY…” Oh yes, so you are different!? No, NO you are not! The Lord holds you to just as high of a standard as the rest of us. He holds you to the WORD, and HIS Word says divorce is BAD. It is like redning apart ONE body. (Not to mention what you do to a family body when kids are involved… You are responsible for them too!)

How can we even begin to justify divorce if we are truly loving and seeking the Lord? I see no way!

“‘Any man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and any woman who divorces her husbandand marries another commits adultery against him.’” Mark 10:11, 12

I have a special anger against divorce. A righteous anger against something that breaks the Lord’s heart and stirs Him to anger. You can say I am not being compassionate (I might agree, since that IS NOT MY GIFT, LOL.) But I tend to think I am just being HONEST. If you love the Lord and really trust Him, you can trust Him to heal your marraige.

It doesn’t matter if it is SO bad you cannot stand one more day. You do not have to stand on your own power. Call out to the Lord, reach out to Him who is able to do all things! He will give you peace, and power to stand. Whenever we try to do the right thing out of a love of the Lord and His Word, He is faithful to uphold us, and to give us strength to perservere.

If you have to take it one day at a time, so be it. Pray everyday, all day if you have to, but do not commit another sin by divorcing your spouse. Disobedience is promised retribution, a curse is upon those who choose to disobey. (Deut. 28:15….)

And please don’t try to tell me that “the Lord told me to divorce him! (or her)” We all know that for the LIE it is. The Lord has said in His Word, with aboslute clarity exactly one reason for divorce, adultery, and NO OTHER. He is not going to excuse you for having a hard heart. We will all be held accountable at the Judgement. Do not use the Lord’s mercy and sacrifice as a liscense to commit sin! Do not divorce knowing you will be forgiven, for that is liscentiousness… and a sin in and of itself!

If you have divorced a woman, (or man) and that person married another, and either divorced them, or was widowed, the first spouse MAY NOT remarry her (or him). This is an abomination to the Lord. (Deut. 24 :1-4)

Boy that is a hard one! Yep, I have heard of this happening! And it is condoned and encouraged! Because it is “the reuniting of the one flesh!” NO I tell you, it is abhorrent to the Lord, you have caused another to be defiled! Do not bring shame to the Lord! Obey His commands and He shall set a blessing before you. could you even imagine if He healed your marraige, and gave you a new spouse in the old spouse’s body!? It can happen, if you choose to be obedient, and choose to seek the Lord. (And I don’t mean praying “Lord please change HIM!” I mean “Lord please change ME, and heal my marraige!”)

Grow up in the Lord. Pray, fast if you must, but lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge the Lord! and He will make straight your paths!

Lord, Help me to pray righteously when I am angered by sin. It appalls me and angers me when people sin against you. Forgive me if my heart is in the wrong place, and set me straight Oh Lord. Teach me how to pray! Amen.

Be At Peace in HIS Arms,

Meg

My husband wanted to wait until our first son would be three when the second was born. And it looks like my husband will get his wish.

Even if I were pregnant today, the baby woudl be born in February, only one month before my son turns three.

*sigh*

I can’t wait till the Lord blesses me with another child. Course, the desire of my heart is for more than one at a time… yes you heard right, I WANT Twins.

What a blessing to have two babys at the same time. Oh I know you are all saying “But just think of all the work!” Yup, lots of work… ah, finally I will be busy again! No more time to just cruise the internet. Or waste away in front of a TV set. Only time to WORK. I need something to do anyway, I have so much free time I don’t know what to do with myself.

Two babies. I cant decide if I would rather have two boys (identical) or a boy and a girl. I just pray I dont get two girls! Girls scare me to death! and two at a time! WHOA… I think I might just freak out. I have NO IDEA how to raise girls! Boys, boys I can handle, they rough and tumble, and you let them play with frogs and bring you rocks, and they are sweet, and it is OK for them to be a bit rough around the edges. Girls… You gotta raise them to be submitted to their husbands, I struggle with that myself, and I don’t know how to teach that and still be balanced with self sufficiency.

Although I think self sufficiency is over rated. Being dependant on your husband is a blessing not a curse, but in our day and age a girl must also be equipped for work if need be. Submitted, sweet, meek, mild, all these are qualities of a girl. And funny, they are all qualities I lack in.

I guess that is the real reason I am afraid of having a girl. Oh sure the cute clothes! the pink pink pink! yes, I love pink! But just think of that coy look they give you, that drama… I dont know what I would do. *giggle* But it sure would be a fun adventure!

Right now, I am hoping I am pregnant. We have been “trying” since February. I know that the Lord will open my womb when His time is right, but, soemtimes I just can’t stand waiting! I’m impatient, and curious like a child on Christmas Eve. As we speak there could be a little person growing in my womb, and I wouldnt even know it. Or .. I could come to the end of the month only to find out that there isn’t.

OOh OOOhh… I want a baby so badly. And I cannot wait to sing praises to heaven when He blesses me again! Extra praises of course! Because I am still grateful that He is my God, even if He hasn’t given me a second child.

And on the day that baby is born, the air in my room with SING with joy, and I will leap, and praise, and cry for a new life full of promise. Nothing can explain the feeling of joy that comes upon a woman at the birthing. Or at least that came upon THIS woman!

Waiting on Him

Meg