Word Fire!

“… If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone … ” (Matthew 18:15).

There is significant danger when sharing with others how we have been or are being hurt by another individual. This sharing can lead to situations, "verbal fires", where it becomes more and more difficult to be reconciled. In addition, we should especially hesitate to say anything negative about anyone in print even if it is a message to that person. We don't want to fuel a fire with our words and especially with our printed words. In general, it seems much better to speak in person about negative things and only put positive things in print or e-mails. I haven't always succeeded in this resolve but it is my aim. Praise and criticism are magnified by how many get to hear it. Let's make it our goal to minimize the criticism and to expand the praise. A word fire is harder to put out and is more destructive than any other kind of fire.

Fully Known by Our Lover

We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets. But, he shall say, I tell you, I know you not.. -- Jesus (Luke 13:26)

In my marriage, I'm not primarily looking for my bride to be a good cook, a diligent mother, or to offer herself as a sex object. What I desire is to be intimately known, to be loved and to be respected. From her perspective, my bride wants me to communicate that I genuinely love her and understand her. If I diligently give her 30 minutes of "couch time" each day but do it out of duty, grudgingly or by constraint instead of love, then it does not really accomplish what it should.

In the same way, God is not primarily interested in how we work for Him, what we give to Him or what doctrine we believe about Him. Rather, He wants us to love and seek Him with all our hearts. Going to church, teaching a class or memorizing scripture does nothing in this direction unless it flows out of our love for God and our relationship with Him. I can say, "I love you", a hundred times a day to my wife but it means absolutely nothing if I don't desire to be with her, hear her voice and get to know her better. A husband might make a great effort to complete the "honey-do" list, but is it because he doesn't want to be nagged or because he wants to please his bride and bring her joy?

Our love for our spouse can become lip service. Our love for God can also become just an appearance. Let's check our love for God. Do we actually "want" to spend time with Him everyday? Do we find time for Him everyday? Do we hunger and thirst to hear His words? Do we treasure His words? Do we genuinely want to please Him?

It is easy to become distracted. And it's easy to acquire wrong desires and priorities. When we are threatened with the loss of a spouse, friend or child, then we see how upside-down our priorities have become. Let's stop and think. Am I really in love with Christ? How can I fall more fully in love with Him? God offers us the Holy Spirit so that we can truly love Him. Let's entreat God for more of His Spirit of love and for more grace to love Him and our neighbor. Let's know our Lover and be fully known by the Lover of our soul.

Strive to enter in at the strait gate.. -- Jesus (Luke 13:24)

Under Attack

Take heed that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you, that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father in heaven. (Matt 18:10)

As a parent, I've sometimes (too often) let anger and irritation drive away the spirit of love and peace. I've sometimes put my desires, comfort and convenience ahead of providing a healthy emotional environment for our little ones.

In an analogous way, this world and culture makes noises about loving children while constantly waging war on children. From the time of conception until death, children are vulnerable and under attack. While the Church and government are supposed to be helping parents fulfill their responsibility, parents still have the primary responsibility. When a church or government is failing to help or even working against children, it is the parents who must recognize the danger and take to appropriate steps.

Consider how many children are being:

• killed before birth
• neglected (e.g. latch key kids)
• damaged by broken families
• orphaned and killed by war, immorality and disease
• sexually abused
• medically abused by drugging for school
• given an education based on godlessness
• fed lies instead of truth by the constant flow of electronic communication media
• indoctrinated and raised to be terrorists
• taught to worship false gods
• drawn into drugs and immorality
• unprepared for real life

The protection of children requires vigilance, activity and prayer. Choosing convenience, comfort or the path of least resistance (going with the flow) is essentially despising them to the extent that we won't suffer for them. Going with the flow will be like floating peacefully along until the current is so strong that we can not escape the destruction at the waterfall. If you are a parent, consider what influences are affecting your children. What can you do provide more truth, protection and growth in faith and love? Take action today.

First Hug Blessing

Granddad's First Hug blessing for Jonathan Douglas Boyd

May the Lord anoint you,
Jonathan Douglas,
to be His prophet
to go before His face.

May you be filled with the Holy Spirit
as John the Baptist was.

May God protect you from evil
and the evil influences of this culture.

May you, Jonathan Douglas,
be surrounded with Truth
and with examples of Christ-filled lives.

May the Lord train and equip you
to be a mighty spiritual warrior,
dangerous to the enemy.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
- Granddad

A Huge Loss

For God commanded, "Honor your father and mother: and, he that curses father or mother; let him die the death" - Jesus (Matt 15:4)

I received a couple of questions about a recent article. about the above verse.

Question:

Not 100% sure your point... Based on the verses you noted, I get the impression that you are saying we should do what our parents say "period", even if we don't agree with them, otherwise we will not be blessed by God and miss his "perfect" plan. When parents are not looking out for their kids best interest are their children still supposed to do what they say?

On the car subject. We can try to get a "easy pass" by listening to others and our parents that have good advice, but at some point we have to become mature not leaning on the knowledge of others. The times that I have learned the most are when I have made mistakes and gained experience and maturity from them.

Answer:
We honor our parents by demonstrating how we value their love, experience, opinions and counsel. Children, who are adults, still have personal responsibility for their decisions and must still determine the best choice for their particular situation. Too often, children dishonor their parents by attacking their foundational values, minimizing their life experience, rejecting their love, and failing to seek their counsel.

Scripture encourages us to seek the advice of many counselors before going to war. Proverbs encourages each of us and especially young people (my definition of young keeps getting older) to seek wisdom by listening to God and to others with more experience. A person who makes decisions without getting counsel from those with more experience, demonstrate that they believe themselves to be wise. Scripture warns that those who believe themselves to be wise are actually fools. I've personally made too many decisions without seeking sufficient counsel and paid the price. As a result, I learned at a much greater expense than I wanted to pay. We can save a great deal of money, time and pain by learning from the experiences of others. Our parents usually have investment, objective interest, and love for us that other counselors lack. Our failure to recognize the value of their counsel will be a huge loss for us.

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him. (Proverbs 26:12)

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. (Proverbs 12:15)

A Happy Landing

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.. – Jesus (Matthew 6)

A few years ago (or maybe it has been decades), when I was in college, I suddenly got the bug to get a sports car. Up to that time, I had survived without a car and had remained debt free through almost two years of college. In spite of that, all of the sudden, I couldn’t wait any longer for a sports car. My parents didn’t think it was a good idea, but I bypassed them and got my grandfather to loan me the money for a good used car. He, however, did not like the idea of a foreign car and pressured me into buying a nice, reliable car. So, I got a nice, reliable car. But, it was not a sports car and didn’t satisfy all of my desire.

A couple of years later, I was able to sell that nice, reliable car and get a loan from a car dealer to fulfill my desire for a sports car. About a year later, I had graduated from college and gotten married. Soon there was a baby on the way and my bride wanted to quit work. Something had to give financially and the only thing that looked optional was my SPORTS CAR. If I had kept the nice, reliable car, we could have enjoyed the conveniences of two cars. If I had listened to my parents, I could have finished college almost debt free. But, I had my desires and I found a way to satisfy them. Besides, it only took four or five years to completely pay off my college debts.

Another man had a great desire to minister full time to men. But, his father wanted him to first work for a few years in his business. This man reluctantly agreed to work with his father, but eventually committed to working in his father’s business for ten years. During those ten years, this man met his wife, got married, had children and began to develop a ministry to men. Now after 13 years, this man has an international ministry to men and to business.

Most of us can probably look back and see messes that we’ve gotten into because of not listening to our parent’s advice or not even seeking it. Some of us may still be suffering with the results of poor decisions. On the other hand, we may also have missed out on blessings because of our stubborn attitude. Today is a good day to re-examine our attitudes and to look at the results of our decisions. Many times we blame God for our problems when we sowed the seeds that are producing the harvest. It might also be a good day to bless or honor our parents for their attempts to help us even when we didn’t appreciate their efforts. But, whether we do that or not, we should be honest with God, our heavenly Father, about our past mistakes in ignoring His guidance and seeking our own desires. Today is a good day to change our mind and our approach to decisions. Just as in flying an airplane, the guidance we have on our approach to the runway is critical to a successful and happy landing.

“Listen to your father that begot you and despise not your mother when she is old.” (Prov 23:22)

“For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother: and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death” – Jesus (Matthew 15:4)

Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian children

The courts continue to push the 'gay' agenda in public (government) schools. See the article here.

In the Instruction of the Lord

I have spoken to a few of you recently who were concerned about your children's public school and your child's attitude toward education. You felt trapped in a school environment and wished you could afford a private school. Ouida and I believe that home education is a great approach. But, not everyone feels they can do it. Here is another alternative that you may not have seen: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com/

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

A child's training is primarily his parent's responsibility. May God give us wisdom how to fulfill it.

The Eager Bridegroom

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Frequently, we hear of struggling marriages. News reports bring stories of marriages collapsing and other relationships being formed. Ex-spouses say that their love is gone. How does love fade away? Relationships consist of conversations. As we stop conversing in one relationship, it will fade and disappear. New relationships start with casual conversations that gradually become more personal. Relationships are defined one conversation at a time.

If we say that we have a relationship with a person but never listen to or converse with him then it is an almost non-existent relationship. In exactly the same way, the strength of one’s relationship to God grows and shrinks as we each converse and commune with Him. God will speak to us as we read and meditate on His Word and we tell Him our fears, needs and joys. We can and should have frequent conversations with the Lover of our soul.

We hear the voice of the World all around us and our natural impulse is to embrace the World’s message, goals and values. But, if we will daily give our life to God through Jesus and converse with God often then our mind and desires will begin to change. Who we listen to and talk to defines our true relationships and direction.

Would you or your wife like a relationship where you get together for sex once or twice a week and never speak to each other otherwise? Do we think that going to church once or twice a week makes a good relationship with God? Let’s don’t fool ourselves. Jesus called us to a radical and intimate relationship. The Church is His bride. Join me in repenting of a too shallow relationship with God and too much time in wrong relationships. Let’s expand our conversation with our First Love, and deepen our relationship with our Bridegroom. He is eager for us to commune with Him.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

(Matthew 4:4)
(John 15:5)
(Revelation 2:4)

Kevin and the Rock

Recently, on an airline flight, I met Kevin. He is in his middle thirties. As we talked, he spoke of his wife, one small son and another child on the way. Our conversation turned to heaven. He felt that it existed and was a gift to children but that adults got there by being “responsible”. Church was an experience that he had a few times as a child. Kevin admitted that he had a need in himself and his family. By the time we landed, he had promised to get a Bible and begin reading the New Testament with the goal of doing what it said. I'm praying that he keeps his promise because, if he does, there will be a new warrior and his family in God's Kingdom.

And why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Am I only hearing Jesus teachings or am I actually doing them?

Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings, and does them, I will show you to whom his is like: He is like a man which built his house,

My family is my house.

And dug deep,

Do I genuinely dig deep into God’s Word? Do I actually read Scripture daily and beg God to reveal how it applies to my own life?

And laid the foundation on the rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house,

One or more tragedies and crisis’s will come into the life of every family. Mine is no exception. The flood will come.

And could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (Luke 6:46+)

Let's build on the rock of hearing Jesus and doing what He said.

May God give us hunger for every Word that proceeds from His mouth and grace to put it into practice. (See Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4)