Changing Traditions

Over the past few days I have been reading Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper and her husband John. The book is about creating traditions in which we can help ourselves, our children, and others around us treasure God more. She cleverly breaks traditions up into 'everyday' traditions and 'especially' traditions (the latter being special days such as Christmas and Easter).

Although I haven't reached the holiday section yet (which is why I picked up the book in the first place, seeing as how our first holiday season with a child is drawing near), I have nonetheless been encouraged and challenged by this very practical book so far. Not only is Noel a great writer, using stories, experiences, and scripture to explain her thoughts, but her book's advice is easily understood and applied. She places a huge amount of emphasis on being intentional with time, words, actions, habits, etc. so that God is the center of our lives. She makes the insightful point that this takes planning and consistency and should not be left to chance.

How convicting this book has been for me since I am so apt to spend time cleaning the house, to spend energy planning how to get my next nap in, or to spend words on meaningless small talk. I hope this book's encouragements really do change my habits/traditions. I pray that I would be more and more crucified with Christ so that my worldly nature would no longer live, but Christ would live in me... that the life that I now live in the flesh would be lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me(Galations 2:20).

I really appreciate how Noel pulls from these main verses to show how the wisdom of the Word of God can and should be applied to our traditions, both the everyday ones and the especially ones:

Deuteronomy 11:1-2, 7, 18-19

1 "You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline[a] of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,

7For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.

18 "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Psalm 71:6-9, 14-19

6Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.My praise is continually of you.

7I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

14But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.
16With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
19Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

Psalm 78:1-8

¹ Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

² I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

³things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

⁶that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

⁷so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
⁸and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

¹⁰ You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom^[a] you learned it ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God^[b] may be competent, equipped for every good work.