Problem Solving

PROBLEM SOLVING

IDENTIFY, RECTIFY, VERIFY

I’m not talking about “car won’t start”, “water heater” is broke, Etc. All though it works for those too.

IDENTIFY- What IS the problem and why do we have it?

          What- Most of the time it is obvious- name some…relationship problems, no job, no home etc.

Why- Many occur due to “The pursuit of unsatisfied desires without regard to cost or consequences” Let’s look at scripture-Romans 8:5-8  Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

I am NOT suggesting that all problems are Sin problems, however many of them are, most show at least a lack of wisdom and the answers are in the BOOK. (BIBLE)

          Pride-  A “My way or the highway” attitude. There is much in the Bible about pride and the problems it creates. Sometimes pride causes us to put on “blinders” because we are the problem or it seems too serious to deal with.

          Ignorance- “Here’s yer sign” Look around. You probably can figure it out if you think about it. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

          Deceived- “There’s more than one way to look at things” see text? And we think our way is the only way, this is Self-Justification- the act or instance of making excuses for one’s own behavior. Find out what GOD’s way is.

          Selfish- “I’m all that”> we are told not to think to highly of ourselves. Romans 12:3 for by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

RECTIFY- Repair and maintain, how?  It is sometimes a long process. There is usually no quick fix.

                   Study-   Read GOD’s word to really see what it says, Bible study try the “Discovering God” Bible study. It’s on the AgapePoint website.

                   Learn- “Practice what is preached”. Seek wise counsel. In Proverbs 15:22 we are told; Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

The whole book of Proverbs is great for wisdom! Ask Pastors, Teachers, parents and others you know who have given good advice.

Also from the Military the 6 P’s- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

                    Pray- Don’t forget it is a two way street. Pray just like you are talking to a friend, and wait and listen for his answer in your heart and mind and your Spirit. If you have trouble praying use these examples;

ACTS,

Adoration-(praise)  tell him he is Lord of your life;

Confession- Tell him what you have been doing wrong;

Thanksgiving- Thank him for what he has done; list some of your blessings…;

Supplication – (asking, pleading) tell him what you need help with. Or follow The Lord’s Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13 as part of the Sermon on the Mount and Luke 11:2-4 to his disciples.

 

VERIFY- The proof- Let’s look at the Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance(patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

I recommend you read the entire chapter. Many good Do’s and don’ts s.

                   Relationships- “Takes one to know one” See if maybe others you are in relationship with are showing good “fruit”, even if they are not you are still required to do so. Maybe they are but you just did not see it until you took another look.

                   Ministry- “Living proof” watch and see if what you share with others is better, truer, and more Godly. Showing greater wisdom on your part.

                   Peace of mind- “A good night’s sleep”, I believe this is one thing we all want and need. We are given instructions on how to do this and it is His desire for us to have peace of mind, sometimes this is the most significant verification. “You know in your knower”

                   Testimony-“I’m a believer”. The best testimonies are lived not spoken. Prove by how you live daily. People pay more attention to what you do than what you say.

Verifying that the problem is solved may take some time and can be an ongoing process.

I want to share these words from Christ himself-

 MATTHEW 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

I want to leave you with one more verse. Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

 

Parenting and Mentoring

This is good advice for Parents of any age; a follow-up on Mother’s Day and a preview for Father’s Day. Good also for anyone mentoring a child or young person, and just general good advice, even for those of us with adult children.

      

I’m not sharing this because I am good at these things but because I have now seen the wisdom in these instructions and want to do better.

Children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). Children are a heritage from the Lord. Offspring are a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

The following are some of our responsibilities regarding children-

There are NO perfect parents, but if we follow this advice from GOD’s word we can do a better job.

Most of these overlap and together they form a workable plan.

 

You need to be Available – morning, noon, and night, Moms probably know this best. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts, Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

You need to be Involved – interacting, discussing, thinking, and processing life together (Ephesians 6:4)  

Fathers, do not exasperate (to cause irritation or annoyance to) your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Don’t tell them one thing and then do another. Be the person you want your children to be.

You need to Teach – the Scriptures and a biblical worldview (Psalm 78:5-6; He (GOD) decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

PRAY with and for your children. Explain how the world should be and the differences between how things are and how GOD would have them be.

You need to Train – helping a child to develop skills and discover his/her strengths (Proverbs 22:6)   Start children off on the way they should go, when they are old they will not turn from it. 

Have them read from and teach them from the book of Proverbs as soon as they can read.

You need to Discipline – teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly Hebrews 12:5-11; And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,“ My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.

Proverbs 13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is CAREFUL to discipline them.

As in Psalms 23, the rod was used to prod and encourage, it is not always referring to spanking. No shepherd would injury their flock(children) intentionally.

You must Nurture them – By providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love (Ephesians 4:29-32);  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Encourage them, teach them “failure is not final”, tell them you love them, and that you love them for who they are, and that you love them no matter what.               

 

You should Model with Integrity – living what you say, being a model from which a child can learn by “catching” the essence of godly living (Deuteronomy 4:9, Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Don’t always tell-show. Think about issues like “white lies” and “Do as I say not as I do”.

 

Fathers be the kind of man you would want your daughter to marry and Moms demonstrate to your sons what to look for in a wife.

 

I hope this has been both enlightening and challenging. The best testimonies are lived not spoken; take a few minutes to examine yours

 

 

Do we live in a "Little Red Hen" world ?

Once upon a time there was a little red hen. She lived with a pig, a duck and a cat in a pretty little house which she kept clean and tidy. The little red hen worked hard at her jobs all day, but the others never helped. The pig liked to roll around, oinking in the mud outside, the duck used to swim, quacking in the pond all day, and the cat enjoyed lying in the sun, purring.
One day the little red hen was working in the garden when she found a grain of corn.
“Who will plant this grain of corn?” she asked.
“Not I,” oinked the pig from his muddy patch in the garden.
“Not I,” quacked the duck from her pond.
“Not I,” purred the cat from his place in the sun.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. So she found a nice bit of earth, scratched it with her feet and planted the grain of corn.
During the summer the grain of corn grew. First it grew into a tall green stalk, then it ripened in the sun until it had turned a lovely golden colour. The little red hen saw that the corn was ready for cutting.
“Who will help me cut the corn?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” oinked the pig from his muddy patch in the garden.
“Not I,” quacked the duck from her pond.
“Not I,” purred the cat from his place in the sun.
“Very well then, I will cut it myself,” said the little red hen. Carefully she cut the stalk and took out all the grains of corn from the husks.
“Now, who will take the corn to the mill, so that it can be ground into flour?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” oinked the pig from his muddy patch in the garden.
“Not I,” quacked the duck from her pond.
“Not I,” purred the cat from his place in the sun.
“Fine,” said the little red hen, “I will do it myself.” She took the corn to the mill and asked the miller if he would be so kind as to grind it into flour.

Illustration detail by Joyce Hesselberth

When he had finished the miller sent a little bag of flour down to the house where the little red hen lived with the pig and the duck and the cat.
“Who will help me to make the flour into bread?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” oinked the pig from his muddy patch in the garden.
“Not I,” quacked the duck from her pond.
“Not I,” purred the cat from his place in the sun.
“Very well,” said the little red hen. “I shall make the bread myself.” She went into her neat little kitchen, mixed the flour into dough, kneaded the dough, and put it into the oven to bake.
Soon there was a lovely smell of hot fresh bread. It filled all the corners of the house and wafted out into the garden. The pig came into the kitchen from his muddy patch in the garden, the duck came in from the pond and the cat left his place in the sun. When the little red hen opened the oven door the dough had risen up and had turned into the nicest, most delicious looking loaf of bread any of them had seen.
“Who is going to help me eat this bread?” asked the little red hen.
“I will,” oinked the pig.
“I will,” quacked the duck.
“I will,” purred the cat.
“Oh no, you won’t,” said the little red hen. “I planted the seed, I cut the corn, I took it to the mill to be made into flour, and I made the bread, all by myself. And now I will eat the bread all by myself.”
And that’s what happened. The pig, the duck and the cat stood and watched as the little red hen ate the loaf all by herself. It was delicious and she enjoyed it, to the very last crumb.