In Memory of Consumers Distributing

Some of you may remember Consumers Distributing. It was a store that operated from 1957 to 1996 in which customers selected items from a store catalog instead of from store shelves, and employees would then go to a warehouse behind their counter to get any catalog items requested. I loved Consumers Distributing, and was sad when they closed. I used to eagerly page through the Consumers catalog, wishing I could afford so many of the things that I saw. I can fondly remember random items that I bought there: a baseball glove, a wall clock, a microwave cabinet, a floor lamp. And so many other things. I think I enjoyed shopping there because it was so easy to browse their entire stock as you just stood in one place and paged through their colourful catalog, knowing that whatever you found could immediately be brought out and presented to you like a gift (that you then had to pay for)! It was like Amazon before the internet and without the shipping fees! And just as Amazon aims to provide us with all that we want all on one website, Consumers Distributing tried to provide whatever any consumer might want all in one catalog.

All of these memories occurred to me this morning as I read Proverbs 23:23. "Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding." 

These are all invaluable items! Much more precious than baseball gloves and floor lamps. And it occurred to me that they're all readily available in the pages of one beautiful book that contains the words of God: the Bible! I can eagerly read my Bible knowing that every page is filled with truth and wisdom, instruction and understanding, and all of it is affordable because it's free! Isaiah wrote, "...he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). The food Isaiah spoke of was spiritual food. He went on to mention an "everlasting covenant" with God (55:3) in which we know that wine is symbolic of the shed blood of Jesus and milk represents the rich nourishment of God's Word. And it's all explained and made available in a book that has no product pictures, and yet is full of pictures for those who have eyes to see!

So as eager as I was to browse the Consumers Distributing catalog (and as eager as I may sometimes be to browse Amazon), I have so much more reason to be excited about reading God's Word. In the pages of my Bible are truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding; they are always in stock and always free. And the Holy Spirit is continually available as our teacher in these things (John 14:26), though He doesn't wait behind a counter to receive our requests as we find things – He comes right into our hearts to enlighten and encourage us as we read. So read eagerly, looking for all that is available and always free!

© 2016 by Ken Peters

Lessons learned from Japanese Economics

The other day, I was put in my place by such an accurately cut, well-fitting remark, that it left me with the feeling that I could see myself in a mirror in a brand new suit that I didn't want to buy. And yet I kept staring at it, fascinated by the fit.

It all happened on Facebook (oh-oh, some people are thinking). I made the mistake of commenting on someone else's comment on a news article on Japanese economics. Yes, that’s right, Japanese economics. Well, needless to say, my comment generated many comments aggressively contrary to mine, and yet I kept right on commenting, defending my little contribution on Japanese economics (yes, Japanese economics) until it began to feel like I was digging a hole for myself. It was then that the oh-so-fitting cutting remark was made. Just as my hole was approaching a depth of about six feet, someone replied with a few rebuttals, concluding with, "I don't mean to be rude, but your lack of clarity seeing the big picture is astounding."

Astounding.

I was dumb-struck. And embarrassed. And rightly so. My first impulse was to beat a hasty retreat from the conversation and hide in the digital bushes by temporarily putting my Facebook account to sleep. Ha! They'll never find me! I actually went through with that as though I thought that hiding my account from all those meanies would help somehow. It was then that, in my flustered embarrassment, I finally heard the Holy Spirit amidst it all. "That was Me," He said quietly.

What? "That was Me." Oh. I paused as that sank in. The next thing He said was, "Wouldn't it be better to repent and apologize rather than to put your Facebook account to sleep?" I cringed. But back I went, re-activating my account, and writing an apology for being so strident about something I clearly didn't understand.

Then I began to reflect on what I needed to learn from this! For example, don't mistake the few measly trees that I may know something about for the more complex forest that a discussion is actually about (or put more simply, don't profess to know something about something I know very little about).

But then the Lord widened the lens of this lesson by suggesting that perhaps this little episode is a reflection of how I approach life itself sometimes. He reminded me of a proverb I had recently felt inclined to memorize: "A man's steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?" (Proverbs 20:24). Basically, what this verse tells me is that we don't see life from as good a vantage point as God does. We can't see as clearly as God can where our steps are leading or why things happen the way they do on any given day. And when we act as though the few circumstances we’re focused on must be indicative of His overall plans and intentions, or when we go so far as to insist on knowing more about His overall plan for our lives, we get into trouble. God simply doesn't feel obliged to always inform us of why He allows certain circumstances, or why He takes so long to answer certain prayers. As the God who oversees our steps, He doesn't feel the need to fill us in regarding every detail, or expect us to fully understand why everything happens the way it does in our lives. He simply expects us to humbly trust Him. But at times, we get anxious or frustrated or even upset with God regarding certain outcomes or timelines, and when we do, we’re basically telling God that we must understand what’s going on – He must give us details! That’s not how God Almighty operates. He doesn’t tell us everything, and not only can we not see the “big picture” of all that He's doing in our lives, but we’re not meant to. That’s why life with God is called a walk of faith. And that's why God can say to me (on various levels), "Your lack of clarity seeing the big picture is astounding – and you should get used to that."

Proverbs 16:9 is another verse that seems applicable: "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." That means that whatever we have in mind regarding the big picture of our life and however we want our life to go, it’s valuable to remember, if we're His son or daughter, God will be sure to direct our steps to what's best. That’s an encouraging thing to be assured of when living amidst circumstances that we don't understand!

So with that in mind, if the suit fits, wear it!

© 2016 by Ken Peters

Devotions aren't Magic

Jon Bloom is the Executive Director of Desiring God, an excellent ministry that seeks to share God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper. I’ve been encouraged by a great deal of what I’ve read by John Piper and by much of what I’ve discovered on his website. The following post from Jon Bloom's blog was no exception...

Devotions Aren’t Magic

We know that – for the most part.  But still, we can be tempted to think that if we just figure out the secret formula – the right mixture of Bible meditation and prayer – we will experience euphoric moments of rapturous communion with the Lord.  And if that doesn’t happen, our formula must be wrong.

The danger of this misconception is that it can produce chronic disappointment and discouragement.  Cynicism sets in and we give up because devotions don’t seem to work for us.

The longing for intimate communion with God is God-given.  He will satisfy it fully some day.  And the Spirit gives us occasional tastes.  But God has other purposes for us in our daily Bible meditation and prayer.  Here are a few:

1. Soul Exercise (1 Corinthians 9:24, Romans 15:4):  We exercise our bodies to increase strength, endurance, promote general health, and keep unnecessary weight off.  Devotions are like exercise for our souls.  They force our attention off of self-indulgent distractions and pursuits and on to God’s purposes and promises.  If we neglect this exercise we will go to pot.

2. Soul Shaping (Romans 12:2):  The body will generally take the shape of how we exercise it.  Running shapes one way, weight training shapes another way.  The same is true for the soul.  It will conform to how we exercise (or don’t exercise) it. 

3. Bible Copiousness (Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:97, Proverbs 23:12):  A thorough, repeated soaking in the Bible over the course of years increases our body of biblical knowledge, providing fuel for the fire of worship and increasing our ability to draw from all parts of the Bible in applying God’s wisdom to life. 

4. Fight Training (Ephesians 6:10-17):  Marines undergo rigorous training in order to so ingrain their weapons knowledge that when suddenly faced with the chaos of combat they instinctively know what to do.  Similarly, devotions make us more skilled warriors. 

5. Delight Cultivation (Psalm 37:3-4, James 4:8, Psalm 130:5):  When a couple falls in love there are hormonal fireworks.  But in marriage they must cultivate delight in one another.  It is the consistent, persistent, faithful, intentional, affectionate pursuit of one another during better and worse, richer and poorer, sickness and healthy times that cultivates a capacity for delight in each other far deeper and richer than the fireworks phase.  Similarly, devotions are one of the ways we cultivate delight in God.  Many days it may seem mundane.  But we will be surprised at the cumulative power they have to deepen our love for and awareness of Him.

I am such a fool sometimes...

I don't know what it is about Christmas that makes me this way. Maybe it's the pressure and momentum of all that needs doing leading up to it. Or maybe it's my irritation with the commercialistic frenzy that surrounds it. Or maybe it stems from a strange insecurity that's uncomfortable with the special gestures of love that are extended my way at Christmastime. If so, there's pride in that, and it's something to repent of. It's probably a mixture of all those things that make me feel irritable and even downright angry as Christmas approaches.

And so often that anger is toward the ones I love the most -- my family -- my children and Fiona. Which brings me to what I saw in Proverbs 29:11. "A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back."

Ah yes, some people may want to console me by saying I can't be so bad as that. They'd say that I'm not the person that proverb was written for -- I don't "always" lose my temper. No, but lately I don't think it'd be an exaggeration to say that I often lose my temper -- especially with my kids. And from where I sit, often looks a great deal like always. And when I do lose my temper, it causes the very thing that Proverbs 29:22 says it will cause: "strife." As I snap at the kids, they tend to snap back, and strife is instantly created.

Another verse that's quite well known is Proverbs 15:1. It says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" -- which in turn stirs up strife. And it's only a fool who would consciously choose to answer people in a way that only served to create a clash.

But I'm so glad that the Bible understands that we're human. Proverbs 29:11 says that "A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back." It doesn't say that the wise man never has to deal with anger in his heart. It simply says that "a wise man holds it back." Old fashioned self-control.

There's one other proverb that puts it a little differently: "He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick tempered exalts folly" (Proverbs 14:29). In this Christmas season and throughout 2010, I want to be a man of "great understanding" who understands that a gentle answer will minimize strife and that I can bring out the best in others by how I respond to them. I want to grow wiser as I check my anger before I express it, choosing instead to show love in a gentle answer to those I love most. May you have a peaceful, strifeless Christmas!

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Giving like I'll always have enough! (church bulletin cover)

It's so easy to fall into the mindset of "not enough." I think, "I need this!" and "I need to save for that!" and "I need to fix all that!" Such thoughts can leave me feeling needy when I actually have an abundance. And if I fall prey to such feelings, I can end up selfishly hoarding more and more while sharing less and less.

But God's Word offers a completely alternative way of living. Proverbs 11:24 says, "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." That is so counter-intuitive to the world's way of thinking -- or more specifically -- to my natural self's way of thinking. Proverbs 11:25 puts it a little differently: "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered." This is the "reaping what you sow" principle at work. If I look after others, I'll be looked after. As I bless others, I myself will be blessed.

It seems to me that this is only possible because God is involved in such matters. He must keep an eye out for those who are generous with what they have so that He can bless them with even more to give away. And if we believe that, it's an indication that we're trusting in God more than in our stuff. Proverbs 11:28 says, "Whoever trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." Do you see how all these proverbs fit so well together? The inference of verse 28 is that we'll flourish like a well-watered plant when we trust in God rather than in riches, and the message of verse 25 is that we'll be well-watered as we generously water others with what we have.

In other words, trusting God leads to blessing by taking us down the avenue of generosity! That's a promise!

© 2009 by Ken Peters