Christian

You Think Your Boss Is Rough

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment
Angry boss with face getting red Royalty Free Vector Image

We just finished VBS week around here. The last several years (10 if I recall correctly) I have been cast with the job of story lady. It’s interesting because every single year, without fail, I tend to learn something new. Either a story I am not super familiar with or maybe a small part of a familiar story that I never thought about. Sometimes it is intertwined in the scripted story, but often it comes from me going and re-reading the stories in the Bible before I tell them. That was the case this year. 

Our story was about when David was running for his life from King Saul in 1 Samuel. We talked about how God hears our prayers and the focus was Psalm 86. We also talked about how when we deal with being treated unfairly or dealing with hard things, God is there for us. Such a good lesson for kids. However, when I was reading the story from the Bible in preparation, something else stood out to me. David was the commander of Saul’s army, a high position that Saul himself gave to David. Essentially David was a very loyal employee of King Saul. David was the kind of employee that all the bosses I know, including my very own husband, would love to have. He was loyal (a trait that can be hard to come by), hard working, honest, never complaining or whining, and really really good at what he did. He was so good, that it made him famous. Unfortunately, his fame is what got him in the trouble he was in.

Through his military triumphs, David became more famous than the king himself. That is not a good position to find yourself in, especially when you are serving a king with an ego. If you go back and read the story, you will find that Saul wanted to kill David, which is what sent him into hiding in the wilderness. David had every reason to want to kill Saul to save his own life. However, time and time again, David made the choice to not harm Saul (please, if you are not familiar with the story, take the time to go read starting in 1 Samuel 18). I think there is a lesson for all of us in that action. David didn’t spare Saul because he was afraid, rather he spared him because he was God’s chosen person in authority over him. He knew it wasn’t his position to do harm to the very man God had chosen. 

Let me explain. We all have people in authority over us. Maybe you have an incompetent jerk of a boss, difficult family relationships, or any number of people who may have some sort of authority position who don’t have your back. Our human nature wants to have revenge in those situations. We want to participate in the slander of that person, or worse yet we want with all that is within us, for that person to fail (and maybe even take steps in order for that to happen). However, even if we don’t agree or like the person, we are called, like David, to remember that no one is given any authority without God knowing it. Our job is to serve with loyalty, honesty, and integrity while we are under their authority. But, just like David, there may come a time when we simply need to leave. Maybe it means quitting a job and moving on or maybe it means getting rid of a toxic friendship that is destroying your marriage, or possibly making drastic changes in your own life to get away from that situation. 

No matter what we are dealing with, we are called to honor those in authority. Honoring does not mean we agree with everything they say. What it does mean though is that we respect the position God has given them. I know I haven’t always done that right. I have my fair share of regrets in that department. I want more than anything to learn how to do that better. I want to be a person people are glad to have on their team. I want anyone in authority over me to identify me as someone who is dependable, honest, hard-working, and loyal, not as someone who will stab them in the back, not do the job well, or can’t be trusted. I hope all of us will strive for that!

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” Romans 13:1-2 NLT

Who are you, really?

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment

I wrote this a few years ago but thought it was worth sharing again!

                It’s that time of year again, high school and college graduations are going on nearly every weekend in May and into June. This time of year, I always think back to when I was about to graduate from high school and college, and how smart I was back then. Of course, I say that sarcastically, because looking back now I see how little I knew about life. It’s so easy in your teens, and early twenties to be so sure of your life’s path. We build our identities so much on what we do, who we know, and even what kind of clothes we wear or vehicle we drive.  However, none of those things are eternal. Jobs change, in both expected and unexpected ways, friendships definitely change, and material things go in and out of style and eventually end up worn out and tossed aside.

               So, who are you, really? If all the fancy clothes, “cool” friends, money, and talents were suddenly stripped away from you, what. would remain? Are you a person that does whatever it takes to fit in or be admired? Or perhaps are you willing to go into tremendous amounts of debt just to look the part of someone wealthy? Or maybe you are willing to compromise and “fudge” your beliefs a little at work or school because you don’t want to be called a prude? On the other hand, maybe you have a firm set of beliefs and are unwilling to compromise on those just to fit in with the world?

                Those are hard things to think about, because we have such an attachment to status. I know that when I first graduated college, my identity revolved so much around what I did that when I suddenly found out that my location was closing and I was being laid off, I was crushed. It was at that point that I really had to start figuring out who I was, beyond what I did or who I knew. I had to go back to Genesis and realize that I was formed in the very image of God and regardless of who I was or what I did to earn a living. I also had to remember that God had a plan for my life and He wasn’t surprised in the least about the fact that I was being laid off. “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 NLT.                At that point, my sincere hearts’ desire turned toward walking the path God Himself had laid out for me. I started praying more than I ever had before. I chose to put my focus on one thing: the approval of God Himself. That isn’t an easy task. In the materialistic world we live in, if you don’t run with the right crowd or have the fanciest house on the block, you can sometimes be looked down upon. Although having nice things is not a bad thing, letting those things own us is. It can also be challenging when you are not willing to bend on your morals, I have especially seen this as a teacher when kids are not use to being held to a high standard. It can be lonely at times when it feels like everyone else is just going along with the world. Whatever we do though, we need to focus on doing it as a witness of the gospel. “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT. Whether you are a doctor or a garbage collector, that doesn’t really matter. Each one of us has a great commission from Christ to make disciples of ALL nations (See Matthew 28). We need to have an eternal focus in whatever it is we do for a living. We must have integrity, generosity, love, and honesty no matter what we do for a living. We also must be willing to stick to our morals and beliefs no matter who is trying to convince us to bend “just this once”.  I know that I have fallen short in so many of those areas. However, I pray constantly for God to use me to reach others.
                I pray for all my former students, friends, and relatives who are graduating that your focus would not be on the status of what you do, the money, how much stuff you have, or what others think of you. Rather, I pray that you would work every single day as if God Himself was your ultimate boss (Hint: ultimately, He is). Don’t become a fake person who changes depending on the people they are with. Be the person who, when others are going through a hard time and need a true and honest friend, they seek you out. Congratulations and best wishes to all of you! I can’t wait to see where your life’s journey will take you!

It just so happened….

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment

I have always believed that even if we make wrong decisions, if we are earnestly seeking the will of God, He will always work all things out for our good (see Jeremiah, 29:11). However, when you are in an uncertain situation, and things aren’t necessarily working out the way you think they should, you may wonder if that is true in your situation.

I was reading a very familiar story this morning, the story of Ruth, when a certain verse jumped off the page. As a little background for anyone not familiar with the story here is a brief synopsis (you can read the full story in the book of Ruth):

A famine had struck the land of Judah. Because of the famine, a man named Elimelech along with his wife Naomi and their two sons moved to a foreign land where the worship of false gods was prevalent. Elimelech arranged the marriage of his sons to 2 women who were not followers of the same God as they were (a big no no in those days). Unfortunately, Elimelech and his 2 sons all died within a few years after they arrived. Eventually, Naomi received word that the famine had passed, and so she decided that she would return to Judah with her two daughter-in-laws but soon told them to return home so that they could remarry. One of them went back, but the other, Ruth, refused to leave Naomi telling her that she would follow her wherever she went and that Naomi’s God would be her God. So they both returned to Judah. Because they were both widows, they were very poor and eventually Ruth resorted to gleaning grain (basically following behind the harvesters and picking what they missed or left behind)

This is the point where this story took a little different turn for me today:

“Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone who allows me to? ”Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family. Ruth 2:2-3 HCSB (Emphasis added)

I had never really noticed that phrase before. Since when is there ever a coincidence in a Biblical story? Then I noticed there were some verses cross-referenced win the phrase “she happened to be”, so I looked them up. Here is what I found:

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” Proverbs 16:33 HCSB

“A man’s steps are determined by the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24 HCSB

That’s when it hit me. Nothing is a coincidence. If you know the end of the story, Ruth ends up marrying Boaz and they are part of the lineage that leads up to King David and eventually to Jesus. God knew exactly what the outcome was going to be. However, he did not prevent Ruth from going through hard things to get there. It had to be devastating to lose a husband. It had to be incredibly hard to live in such poverty that you have to go, essentially beg, and gather grain behind harvesters. But, God redeemed all of it. He gave her the strength to endure the hard, on the way to the blessing.

If you are in that place right now, take heart. If you feel like you cannot endure another thing, remember that “a man’s steps are determined by the Lord” and He has a plan to get you through whatever you are going through. Who knows, maybe your breakthrough will be found in the midst of the exact pain you are in, just like it was for Ruth.

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 HCSB

Grafted

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment
Oreo and little orphan Buck

If this image looks a little strange to you, it’s because it is. We raise a breed of goats that are called Boer (they are the ones with white bodies and red heads typically). However, we also have a handful of Lamancha dairy goats that we inherited with some of the Boers that we purchased a few years ago. Lamanchas are an interesting breed of goat because they are some of the most gentle, even tempered goats you will ever meet. The drawback is that they are ugly as sin because they have no ears and they are not really a market animal (which is what we are in the business for). Well, this particular black and white Lamancha, Oreo, is such a sweetheart. Unfortunately, she had a hard time giving birth to her very first baby last weekend and ended up delivering a stillborn, that my husband had to help pull. Rather than her finding out that her kid didn’t make it, I quickly grabbed my little bottle baby, Buck, so that we could try to graft him onto her.

Little Buck couldn’t even stand up for over a week after he was born

Let me give you a little back story. Buck was born a little over a month ago and was the runt of a set of triplets. He was not able to stand up and his mother really didn’t tend to him. After trying throughout the day, unsuccessfully, to get her to tend to him and get him to stand up, we finally decided to get him inside and get him warmed up and fed. Since that time he has been my little bottle baby. He lived in a small water trough inside our house for about 3 weeks so that I could feed him (forcefully to begin with) and treat a nasty eye infection. Over time he healed and started standing, walking, running, and finally got well enough that we couldn’t even keep him in his little makeshift pen because he would just jump out. So we moved him to a little pen out in the barn with the other goats.

Buck in his new home in the barn when we moved him out of the house

My goal has always been to get him a real goat mom, but I was unsuccessful trying to get his actual mom to take him back. Goats are funny about that. Once they abandon a kid, they will not take them back. So I went along just feeding him several times a day. That all changed a week ago when I finally had a mom that needed a baby.

It has taken the full week but the picture at the top was the very first time she was letting him nurse without me having to be in there with her. It is an amazing feeling (even if it is a goat) to see an orphan gain a mom. And that got me to thinking about a few things.

I realized that every single person who calls themselves a Christian is also an orphan that has been grafted into a new family. “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.” Romans 11:17 NLT

Grafting is an interesting process in the plant world. It is essentially taking part of one plant and putting it with another to make it grow as one. As time goes on in the process, the plant being grafted on (called the cutting or scion) takes on the characteristics of the one it is being grafted too (called the rootstock). Grafting is not a simple, or painless, process. As a matter of fact it involves cutting, bandaging, and a lot of time. This is often done when a plant has rooted poorly, or not all, and would die otherwise.

WOW! Isn’t that an analogy for us? Our process of grafting into the family of God is not necessarily a painless one. Sometimes there are things that need to be cut away and lots of time for healing past wounds. Nonetheless, we are called Sons and Daughters of God. We have been adopted, but we are chosen as heirs to the very kingdom of God. “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” Romans 8:17 NLT

Did you catch that last little part? Yes, we are His children, but we are also not immune to suffering on this earth. So, while you go through the pains and frustrations that can come with your own grafting process, I want to encourage you with this: as you heal and are fully grafted, you will also grow closer to the source of life and with that you will also start to take on the characteristics of the rootstock. So no matter what you are going though, push through the pain and remember that you are already grafted and accepted just as you are.

But also remember this: just because you are accepted exactly as you are, that doesn’t mean God is going to leave you that way!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” Psalm 51:10-12 ESV