Its Christmas! | December 2015

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Lilies in the City - December 2015 - Issue 12

lilies city AN UNFULFILLED SERVANT AN INVARIABLE INFLUENCE

Reconciliation SHOULD CHRISTIANS YOGA Frozen Banana Dips FAIL PROOF PARENTING PART 2: DISCIPLINE

It's CHRIST-Mas!

6. An Unfulfilled Servant : Discipline

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ries we've considered the undeniable importance of the school of Christ, the word of God and prayer, but these by themselves are not enough.

The secret to daily victorious Christian living is Christ Himself. He must be both the engine and fuel of all we do.

“… and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).

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he angel brought "good tidings of great joy" (Lk. 1:11) to the fields of Judea. And a multitude of heavenly host joined in the rejoicing - something special was happening that would change the world forever.

In a lowly manger in Bethlehem, the Saviour of the world was born.

And although only ‘dumb’ animals witnessed his birth and but common shepherds soon after came to see the little babe Jesus, by Him, billions would have the opportunity to be saved. For “[n]either is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Ac. 4:12).

to live that "sin shall not have dominion over [us]" (Rom. 6: 13); Christ left us an example that we could safely follow.

Bethlehem was a promise of something better. This promise - that Christ could save us and keep us from sin - ultimately led to the anguish of the cross. "The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him."1 In our se-

Practically, going "Back to Bethlehem" helps us understand the demonstration of His love - His condescension - that was essential to redeem us and re-create His image in us. This love in turn, births in us a heaven-born love for our Saviour and all the others He came to save.

“Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Mt. 1:23). The Father emptied all of heaven in the person of His Son, to free us from the bonds that sin had made us slave to. But it was not only to redeem us from sin that Christ came.

'God with us' came to recreate His image in us, to show us how

1. Ellen G White, Education (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1903) p. 263

AN

UNFULFILLED

SERVANT – Delnita McDavid

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s Christians, we naturally desire to teach and have children who do what is good and noble. In part 1, we laid the foundation for fail-proof parenting and now we will build on it. The following is a list of practical keys to remember and practice daily.

1. Have discipline extend beyond a list of prohibitions.

It is helpful to reinforce the good when teaching your child. Praising the child for goodly actions, recognizing even minute attempts to abide by rules, tends to discourage or eliminate the undesirable actions that they could have done. For example, most children will make attempts to tidy a mess so take notice and affirm them with praise, a smile, hug or kiss.

Further, the affirmation can be linked to a bigger life principle or value they are learning.

"Look mommy! I put my shoes on."

"Very good daughter. And you not only listened to mommy but you listened right away. You make mommy happy and Jesus so happy when you obey quickly."

In this case, the act of independently putting on their shoes is celebrated and with it, the importance of swift obedience is raised and also celebrated.

2. Teach by your actions.

Some children seem to obey with little resistance but others are influenced inadvertently through imitation. I have noticed our daughter putting away her shoes, wiping her area after dinner and saying thank you to the grocery store clerk when I had not instructed her to do any of it. Whereas any of these acts may require further explanation later on, it is easier to if they already have a visual example.

I have also noticed that it is with similar ease that she picks up expressions or behaviours from children we run into. I pay attention to this and quickly address or tell her which behaviour is not appropriate or acceptable.

3. Administer training and discipline by primary guardians.

God holds parents accountable for making the best use of their knowledge and talents in bringing up the children He gives them. Oftentimes, however, parents are confronted by well-intentioned aunts, uncles or grandparents who offer their child "treats" or "just this one time" pleasures. Unfortunately, allowing exceptions to the rules, confuses children’s understanding of the intent and importance of rules.

Rules that are created for the child's best interest and which do no harm, need not be bent.

Safeguarding the continuum

in discipline helps remove desire for future rebellion or resistance.

So then, assume the right to refuse any gesture gently and with a brief pleasant explanation. Perhaps you are teaching self-control. Express faith in their understanding your standard and care for not only your child's temporal happiness, but eternal as well. This parent-child relationship, as it relates to rules, is how the child will ultimately relate to God and to His law.

4. Be pleasant, cheerful and gentle whenever your child is not being corrected.

Allow your child to hear you laugh and be pleasant more than anything else in their day.

May their day be characterized by happy, joyful moods even in the most difficult situations.

Practice smiling whenever your child makes eye contact or physical contact. Keep a song in your heart or play joyful, praise-filled music. More than anything, this empowers the child to bend towards obedience when firm, corrective actions are enforced.

Side note: learn and be weary of your energy drainers. These are anything that clouds your mind and causes you to become easily irritated. Some examples are: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine (tea, coffee, chocolate), sugary beverages, dehydration (ie: insufficient water), lack of sleep,

fresh air, sunshine or exercise, foods made of processed and refined ingredients, vitamin and mineral deficiencies such as B vitamins (ie: iron) or copper, undiscovered sensitivities to gluten and excitotoxins like MSG. These will work against you and undermine God’s purpose for you to be peaceful and have clarity while parenting.

5. View your child as a gift.

No truer statement can be made in this article. Going a step further, every child is also a divine and holy trust. Like all of our skills and talents, we need the Lord's daily guidance to discover, sharpen, and grow to reach maturity. So too, we need the Lord in parenting children to their fullest potential. He will guide, direct and bless every parent who kneels before His throne of grace for mercy, wisdom and strength. Especially seek the Father to instill in children an attraction towards purity and godliness, a hunger for the Word, thirst for a relationship with Christ and a repulsion towards all that is contrary to God. Such prayers the Father longs to grant.

As a parent you are co-labouring together with God. Do your very best and trust that He will uphold His end which includes giving you grace for every day:)

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ecently, I’ve been regularly practicing Vinyasa Flow Yoga (a type of Hatha Yoga) in a class offered freely by my local public library. As a devout Christian, I was aware of the ambiguous nature of my involvement with it. However, reasoning that my intentions were purely to benefit physically, I determined that nonpursuit of its spiritual side was enough to guard my soul from disloyalty to Christ.

After a close friend further cautioned my conscience, I decided to research the matter for myself.

To my amazement, I discovered that the mention, practice, and even a few poses1 2 of yoga trace back to ancient Vedic3 scriptures 4 5(Vedas) and Hindu mythology.6 They’ve been passed down to present day religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism7; even the New Age movement.8 9 10 While we don’t want to be afraid of our shadows, God expects us to live by the knowledge He provides us. “The word yoga, is derived from the Sanskrit root, ‘yuj’, meaning to bind…to yoke…to concentrate one’s attention on….”11 Hatha Yoga (‘Forceful Yoga’)… emphasizes the physical aspects (postures, cleansing techniques, and breath control) of the transformative path. “‘Ha’ means sun; ‘Tha’ means moon.”12 Hatha yoga is small portion of Raja yoga13 14 , which is “the achievement of union with the Supreme Universal Spirit, by becoming the ruler of one's own mind by defeating its enemies [lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and envy].…”15 Thus, the true purpose of yoga is “to teach the means by which the human soul may be completely united with the Supreme Spirit… and thus secure absolution.”16 Although I’m not a yogi17 (one

who embraces yoga as a lifestyle and belief system), the heritage of yoga begs the questions: (1) Can Christians eat the ‘fruit’ (practice yoga) for the physical benefits alone, and spit out the ‘seeds’ (ignore its non-Christian/ anti-Christian heritage)?

(2) Is exercise a way of worshipping the One True God? (3) Are there alternative exercise regimens that offer the same health benefits?

The essence of Christianity is to follow Christ (Matt. 16:24). As Christians, we believe Jesus to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life;” the means by which we have been liberated from the yoke of sin. God is the object of our worship; not health, fitness or self (John 14:6, Matt. 6:33, Lam. 1:14, Gal. 5:1, 5, Matt. 11:29-30). Health maintenance is an element of our devotion to Him [just as Hatha Yoga is a portion of Raja Yoga]. Worship starts in the mind, with prayer and study of the Word; seeking His divine will for our lives (Matt. 4:10, 1 Cor. 6:19-20, Romans 12:1-2).

Health maintenance keeps “the room” in a clean and inviting condition for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and teach us the assimilation of Christ’s character (John 1:1-4, Psa. 1:1-3, 1 Cor. 6:19-20, John 14:16, 26; 15:26, Rom. 8, 2 Pet. 1:3-11, Gal. 5). With the strength

and resources God provides, we continually surrender self and self’s will power, making way for the Holy Spirit to lead (Gal. 2:20, Phil. 4:13). In addition to praise and thanks, obedience is the most defining act of worship to God (2 Chron.

7:3, John 14: 15-21, 1 John 3:23, 24). Thus, we are cautioned by God’s Word, not to be deceived by seeking other paths to liberty and eternal life (Colossians 2:18, 19).

So what now? Is there an alternative to yoga that produces the same health benefits? The Lord desires us to be in good health (so as to optimize our spiritual connection to Him), and would not withhold any good thing from those seeking to live uprightly (3 John 1:2, Psa. 84:11).

Statistically, stress and nonspecific low back pain are two of the most common conditionsTHE that WORD people seek YOGA to IS address through yoga.18 Exercise releases DERIVED endorphins, FROMaTHE hormone that positively impacts the brain, SANSKRIT improvingROOT, the body’s ability to respond to stress.19 20 In addition, ‘YUJI’studies MEANING have shown TO that maintaining a secure relationship BIND…TO (through prayer YOKEand meditation on blessings and

scriptural promises) with a loving God buffers the effects of stress.21 Pilates is an exercise method that’s based on eight principles: concentration, centering (core strengthening), breathing, control, precision, flowing movement, isolation, and routine.22 The Pilates system of movement works the body as a whole, and aims to coordinate the rest of the body with the core; improving strength, flexibility, posture, and coordination, and facilitating everyday tasks.23 Though there is exercise equipment specific to the Pilates system, all movements can be performed on a mat.

The founder, Joseph Pilates, “also studied eastern disciplines, like yoga and martial arts. He blended them with more Western forms of physical activities such as bodybuilding, gymnastics, boxing, and recreational sports…even incorporating ancient Greek and Roman forms of fitness practice.” Despite this interesting fact, it is clear that Joseph’s intention for this fitness approach was to promote optimal health through physical fitness.24 The apparent difference between yoga and pilates is the emphasis; spiritual liberation versus increased physical fitness. Classically, pilates isn’t dedicated to a god. Yoga, however, is directly traceable to Hinduism and other Eastern religions, and the New Age Movement. While some may find pilates to enrich their chosen spiritual path, choosing pilates as an exercise regimen won’t undermine faithfulness to God. We are admonished to “Fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth…choose ye this day whom ye will serve.…” (Josh.

24:14, 15).

THE WORD YOGA IS DERIVED FROM THE SANSKRIT ROOT, ‘YUJI’ MEANING TO BIND…TO YOKE In the spirit of doing so, people will fall into three categories: 1) Ignorant / Well-Intentioned 2) Vaguely Knowledgeable / Skeptic 3) Very Knowledgeable / Convicted God judges the first class based on their hearts intent, whether for good or for evil (Rom. 5:13; 2:14-15).The second class, God judges by the portions of knowledge they have, in combination with how His Spirit influences their conscience (Jer. 17:10). The final class is judged by their thorough knowledge on a matter (which usually indicates they’ve reached a conviction) (Rom. 3:1920). In any case, it is in our best interest to do as God wills.

I encourage you to do your own research, to allow the Lord to guide your decision, and to operate in love when there are differences (1 Cor. 8) I pray for your faith.

Further information on this topic will be available on the blog ‘SeeMeHealthee’.

REFERENCES 1. Shantigreen. (2014, January 5). How to be a

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focus-3-warrior-poses/ 15. Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966). Light on yoga: Yoga 2. S Hoffman. (2011, September 1). Yoga pose

Dipika. (pp. 528). New York, NY: Schocken

of the month: September. Retrieved from http://

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16. Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966). Light on yoga: Yoga Dipika. (pp. 19,535). New York, NY: Schocken

3. Vedic religion. (2015, March 5). In Encyclopæ-

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dia Britannica online. Retrieved from http://www. britannica.com/topic/Vedic-religion

17. Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966). Light on yoga: Yoga Dipika. (pp. 19,535). New York, NY: Schocken

4. D Keller. (2015). Making an offering of yourself.

Retrieved

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18. (May 2008). Yoga for health: Uses for yoga in the United States. Retrieved from https://nccih.

5. The vedas. (2013, January 18). In Ancient His-

nih.gov/health/yoga/introduction.htm#hed4

tory Encyclopedia online. Retrieved from http:// www.ancient.eu/The_Vedas/

19. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (2015). Physical activity reduces stress.

6. Gruenwald, C. & Marchand, P. (n.d.) Shiva. Re-

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7. McCrary, Meagan. (2013). Pick your yoga prac-

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tice: Exploring and understanding different styles

(2015). Exercise fuels the brain’s stress buffers.

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http://www.adaa.org/under-

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J., Galek, K.C. (2014). Prayer, attachment to

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Ellison, C.G., Bradshaw, M., Flannelly, K.

god, and symptom of anxiety-related disorders among u.s. adults. Sociology of Religion. 75 (2):

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www.britannica.com/topic/New-Age-movement 22. Menezes, Allan. (2004). The complete guide 10. (n.d.) Helena blavatsky and the theosophi-

to Joseph Hl. Pilates’ techniques of physical

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14. McCrary, Meagan. (2013). Pick your yoga

In John 15:13 we read, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Here, the Bible says that the greatest love that a man could manifest is to die for his friends. In Romans 5:10 we read about the Son of God having died for us while we were yet His enemies– “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

The question then begs to be asked, if there indeed is no greater love than a man dying for his friends, then what kind of love is manifested when someone dies for their enemies? Indeed a kind of love that passes knowledge. However, it gets deeper.

The death of God’s Son was absolutely one of the greatest acts of love shown throughout eternity. Notice the 4 descriptions Paul gives about mankind prior to the death of Christ in Romans 5:6-10: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

First, how are we strengthened?

Ephesians 3:16 reads, “That he would grant you, according to

the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”

We are strengthened by the Spirit of God. When the Bible says we were without strength it is not speaking in terms of physical strength, but rather the Bible is describing the condition of mankind – void of the Spirit of God – without the strength to resist sin.

Powerless sinners, ungodly, and enemies with God. Now, if we were enemies with God then we were friends of the world. For in James 4:4 the Bible says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” Not only were we friends of the world and enemies of God, but we were also adulterers and adulteresses, spiritual harlots.

Just imagine the condition of mankind when Christ came and died for us! In verse 7 of Romans 5 Paul said that it’s hard for people to even die for good and righteous individuals, yet Christ came and died for us when we were degraded, demoralized, wretched human beings.

Pay close attention to the last four words of Romans 5:8 and then the first two words of verse 9, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

Right after Paul speaks about Christ dying for us, He adds the words “much more.” At first, I found this addition perplexing, but once my understanding was quickened, friends, I shed tears. Oh, the wonderful love of God! In order to understand the deeper significance of these two words, in the following verse we read, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Christ’s death brought reconciliation!

What is a sinner reconciled? A saint. What is an enemy reconciled? A friend. This means that after the death of Christ and after one accepts this death he or she is no longer an enemy of God but a friend of God. If Christ would do something as colossal as die for us when we were His enemies, now that we are His friends, what would Christ do?

MUCH MORE! In addition to dying for us, now Christ lives for us! “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (Rom. 5:11).”

Friends, even in this time of atonement, let us not look upon God as a fierce and exacting Judge waiting to condemn us for our sins.

Rather look upon Him and consider the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in His infinite purity and matchless love; then consider how MUCH MORE He is doing.

“The price paid for our redemption, the infinite sacrifice of our heavenly Father in giving His Son to die for us, should give us exalted conceptions of what we may become through Christ. As the inspired apostle John beheld the height, the depth, the breadth of

the Father’s love toward the perishing race, he was filled with adoration and reverence; and, failing to find suitable language in which to express the greatness and tenderness of this love, he called upon the world to behold it. ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.’ 1 John 3:1. What a value this places upon man! Through transgression the sons of man become subjects of Satan. Through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ the sons of Adam may become the sons of God. By assuming human nature, Christ elevates humanity. Fallen men are placed where, through connection with Christ, they may indeed become worthy of the name ‘sons of God.’ Such love is without a parallel.

Children of the heavenly King! Precious promise! Theme for the most profound meditation! The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him! The thought has a subduing power upon the soul and brings the mind into captivity to the will of God. The more we study the divine character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly we discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite and a tender pity surpassing a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child.”1 Do you love Him? How could you not. Let us ask of God for the transforming power that will enable us to live lives in harmony with His commandments. That our love to Him could be perfectly demonstrated more and more throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity! (see John 14:15) 1. Ellen G White, Steps to Christ (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1892) p.15