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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
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Mother was a Pack Rat
When I was five years old our house burned down. Mother saved a piece of burned wood from that house. During the war (the Big one) we were on “rations.” My mother saved some of the ration books and “points.” She even saved a picture of me with long curls, and it has been on display in more places than I want to recall. She wanted me to remember the days of my youth, the way our family lived and the events that shaped our lives.
Recently I re-discovered some memorabilia that I had not seen in many years. It included pictures of me as a baby—even my birth announcement. There were pictures of me in the first through sixth grades, my freshman year in high school class picture, and many others. Again, she wanted me to remember where I came from and who I am.
There was a time when I resented her saving all those things; I wanted to grow up and be a “man,” forgetting my baby curls, those knickers and the other objects that reminded me of being a child. Now, years later, I am so grateful she kept those things, for I am now able to realize their value.
Mothers do things like that, partly because her children do not realize just how important their roots really are. The grown man is the product, at least partly, of those years in his youth. I need to be reminded of those ladies who taught me the Bible when I was eight, and the men who taught me when I was fourteen. Many things ought to be forgotten—but not our roots; not our youth. Living in the past? No, but not forgetting our past either.
Mothers, it may be up to you to maintain your children’s equilibrium as our society seeks to carry them into situations and activities that would take them far from where they should be and where you know God wants them to be. Fathers and mothers are so different in those ways. I have a picture of me as an infant being held by my father on the running board of a Model-A Ford. Do you think he is the one who kept that picture? No, we fathers don’t seem to be “bent” in that direction. By seeing that picture I am called away from today’s high-tech culture and reminded of what was important in the days of my youth. Solomon said it this way:
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them,” Ecclesiastes 12:1.
That word “remember” is also translated “record” or “recall” in other passages, telling us to make a record, to remember our Creator and respond to His love and goodness toward us. One way of doing that is to do what we see in the Bible. The “son” often addressed in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes is cautioned, reminded and motivated to be what he should be, not what others want him to be.
Our children need to be given memories of their past, their ancestry, their roots. Such is plentiful in biblical texts. Even though centuries separated Jesus from David, He is still called the “son of David,” reminding us—and others—of the importance of our ancestry, our “growing up.” A genealogical search is not my objective, but encouraging parents to establish a foundation from which their children can launch out into the world with confidence and with direction. If ever this was needed it is in this 21st century, by a generation being separated from the ethics and morals of their parents—and the Bible.
I’ll be glad to show you my pictures, but my own grandchildren can’t believe that boy in the picture is their Paw Paw—too much has changed. Mothers and fathers, give your children memories of their youth. Even if you are gone before they can appreciate them, they will thank you for doing so, even as I do mine for her time and effort.
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“It is while we are young that the habit of industry is formed. If not then it never is afterwards. The fortune of our lives, therefore, depends on employing well the short period of youth.”
“Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee,”
“A man without a memory, like a people without a history, cannot grow wiser, better.”
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Praying in the Name of Jesus
The most common phrase we hear at the end of a prayer is, "In the name of Jesus. Amen." While God's word teaches us to offer our petitions to the Father in the name of the Son, it is obvious that many people fail to realize what it really means. Do we understand what we are saying when we close our prayers with this phrase? The Bible gives further insight into this much misunderstood concept. What does it mean to pray "in the name of Jesus"?
It means our prayer is powered by the authority of Jesus. Christians have the awesome privilege of approaching the throne of God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). But without the authority of our Lord we would be unable to do so. Upon healing the lame man, Peter and John were asked, "By what authority, or by what name have you done this?" They responded, "By the name of Jesus Christ…this man stands before you whole? (Acts 4:7-10). The apostles were saying that the healing of the lame man was powered by the authority of Jesus. Though the apostles physically imparted the miracle, it was Jesus' power that actually effected the result. So when we make known that our prayer is "in Jesus' name," we admit that it is only by His power and authority that our petitions can reach God's throne.
Also, it means that we are praying according to the will of Jesus. The apostle John stated, "if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14). Not only what we pray for, but also how we pray is of utmost importance to God. To pray "according to the will of Jesus" means, first of all, we must be "in" Jesus. How can we pray according to His will when we're not even living according to His will? Only Christians have the privilege of prayer through Jesus.
Secondly, the very things we ask for must be in line with the desires of Jesus Himself. I once heard a woman leading an assembly in prayer (some of which were men) asking God to increase the population of her particular denomination. She quaintly ended the prayer with, "in the name of Jesus. Amen." According to the apostle John, God will not hear that prayer. Why not? It was not asked according to the will of Jesus. Among other things women are not to lead men in prayer to God (1 Timothy 2:8-12), and denominationalism, by definition, is against the will of God (John 17: 20-23; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13). The prayer was wrong in both how it was asked and in the request made. In short, her prayer was not "in the name of Jesus."
Finally, to pray "in the name of Jesus" means to pray through the Mediatorship of Jesus. It means to recognize that he is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). The Buddhist may seek to approach deity through Buddha, the Monist through nature, but the Christian knows that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6). He is the only "merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God" (Hebrews 2:17). Yes, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1), and thankfully God has given us the power and privilege of prayer through Him.
As we commonly end our prayers with "In Jesus' name," let us not merely mouth these words as though they were some kind of spiritual formula. We should rather have a working understanding of the vital truths they signify while giving thanks to the Father for the privilege of prayer.
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