Category: faith

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Yes, I Will Share Christmas Tree Photos, Gifts and All

There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Well it’s around this time I also see the following messages about materialism. Parents get chastised on Social Media about the number of gifts, the size of the gifts. They’re not teaching the ‘real meaning of Christmas’. I usually pose the question, “Your meaning of Christmas or the true meaning, Jesus Christ?”  It never gets the warm fuzzy response. It’s usually followed by the usual defense about Christians are wrong and hypocrites. There is a reason to why I share my photos of the entire Christmas scene in my home. I take my thinking from Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV):

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Every gift under my tree, and yours, is a representation of those good works. It’s a testament to how God has blessed you through the year to get to the point you’re at now. Readers won’t know about the job loss, the bills that didn’t get paid on time, when you came up short on the mortgage or rent. No, they don’t know that.  Those that know you will get it.  They will see what God has done for you and testify on your behalf without you even knowing it. That ripple affect changes those hearts that look at what’s under your tree.  Those that don’t believe will see what God can do when you hang in there. Those that believe get motivated by seeing God’s masterwork in your life.

Social Media Guidance for Sharing Christmas Tree Photos

  1. When you post your photo, post your testimony with that photo. Talk about what God has done for you and your family.
  2. Share how God has blessed you to be a blessing to others
  3. Remind people that while there are gifts under the tree because of God’s grace, Christmas is about the birth of Christ, period.
  4. Finish with a call of inspiration to those who are “going through it”. Remind them that Jesus has not forgotten them, and always responds on time.

Make your post a blessing to others. We’re here, now let’s go there.

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The Cultural Impact Of Worldview and Apologetics, Part 1

Here at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Apologetics as an evangelistic endeavor and intellectual theological outreach finds itself in something of a paradox.  When the West thought of itself in terms of resting on broadly Judeo-Christian assumptions, the discipline was not as desperately needed while most within the church at least knew of the field’s existence as a subject. At the time, the less practically inclined among the membership dabbled in the subject by contemplating abstract questions and topics.  However, as society moves away from Biblical assumptions and the church finds itself in desperate need of the discipline to prevent both individuals and nations from sliding into the abyss, it seems very few even know what Apologetics is and those that do are often contemptuously dismissive of this kind of scholastic undertaking in favor of a more pietistic or even mystical approach to the Christian faith.

In the anthology “Passionate Conviction: Contemporary Discourses On Christian Apologetics”, Paul Copan and William Lane Craig have assembled a number of essays rallying the faithful as to why Apologetics is necessary and tackling head on a number of the greatest challenges to the Christian faith prevalent in the world today.

Renowned futurist Alvin Toffler has remarked that the changes sweeping over society are akin to waves that can  be so unsettling that they leave those they have rolled over in a state of shock while leaving those still riding the crests of previous conceptual epochs dumbfounded as to how to address the changing situations around them.  Particularly hard hit has been the humanities, of which the areas of study such as philosophy, religion, and thus ultimately apologetics happen to be a part.  Unlike previous eras of world history in which the average individual often dealt with a limi

ted space in terms of both mental and physical geography, today even the poorest resident of the twenty-first century West finds himself bombarded constantly with opposing worldviews.  These come at us in the forms of an omnipresent media establishment, the swarms of people pouring over our borders from every conceivable corner of the globe, and the shocking number of our own countrymen willing to abandon the worldview this civilization was built upon in favor of any number of alternatives that turn out to be less than solid upon closer inspection.

It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  The confusion characterizing the spiritual scene today would not have come about unless there had been a widespread abandonment of what Francis Schaeffer termed the “Christian consensus”, what C.S. Lewis referred to as “Mere Christianity”, and what those wanting to cast the most ecumenical net possible might characterize as the Judeo-Christian belief system.  G.K. Chesterton is credited with observing that the problem that arises when we abandon orthodox theology is not that we won’t believe in  anything but that we will believe in anything.

The pillar or keystone of Christianity setting it apart from all other religions and philosophies is that Jesus as the only Begotten Son of God and second person of the Trinity came to earth by being born of the Virgin Mary to live the sinless life no man could, to die on the Cross as payment for our sins and to rise from the dead so that all that believe in Him might spend eternity with God in Heaven.  This is what is known as the Gospel message.

All excursions into error (no matter how seemingly ancient or modern) begin as either an outright denial of or failure to recognize these fundamental truths.  This can be seen in terms of both popular and academic culture.

In terms of his own theory of Apologetics, Ravi Zacharias has postulated that there is a highest refined level of philosophy that eventually filters downward to the general population in the form of mass media and entertainment.  This is true of other academic humanities as well and is not a phenomena confined solely to technical philosophy.

The first decade of the twenty-first century, renowned primarily for its advances in electronic entertainment, experienced a publishing phenomena that gripped the public imagination like few things else in the form of a novel titled “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown.  Underlying the suspense of this thriller is the conjecture that Jesus was not divinity in human form but rather simply an outstanding human teacher no different than anyone else but elevated to godhood for political purposes at the Council of Nicea.

Provocative as those heresies might be, what really set the book off like wildfire was the assertion that among those otherwise mundane things Jesus did as an ordinary human being was to father a child by Mary Magdalene.  It was through this lineage, rather than through any organizational church structure, that true Christian teaching was passed down through history through the intermarriage of Christ’s descendants with the royal houses of Europe, especially the Merovingian of France.  Of these astounding claims and their alleged justifications, Charles Quarles writes in the essay “Revisionist Views About Jesus” in “Passionate Conviction”, “This fact coupled with the enormous popularity of the book and the film require thoughtful believers to respond intelligently to the claims of the Code (96).”

It seems odd that so many — both Christian and non-Christian alike — would allow a popular novel to either so shake their faith or to allow it to justify what they already believe.  Quarles writes, “Those whose faith is shaken by Dan Brown’s claims lose their faith far too quickly.  If they will take the time to investigate Brown’s claims, they will find that his statements about biblical and historical Christianity are a comedy of errors and lack historical evidence (108).”  Thing of it is though, Christianity has been maligned and discredited for so long in the halls of higher learning that the average person thinks such radical skepticism is the default position of the open, educated mind.

By Frederick Meekins

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Seasonal Depression: Remembering God’s Provision

Seasonal Depression: Remembering God’s Provision

When we see those words, some of us may think about those persons who lost loved ones during the year. They’re facing the great task of celebrating the holidays without that person for the first time.  What I would like to do is help you rethink the term from a big picture perspective.

I have a friend that was dealing with unemployment during the holiday season. I have another friend that dealt with not having as much as he had hoped for the holiday season. This led to a depression that even they didn’t realize was happening. The stress of not having had become their evaluation of that year. Because they could not do what everyone else was doing, they drifted through the holiday season in a daze.  They were experiencing Seasonal Depression. It is the downward evaluation of your year in review. It’s what you feel when you look forward to the Christmas tree and the fear of having few gifts to wrap. It’s the evidence of goals met, or the evidence of how far behind you really are. That‘s in your mind. That’s what you’re thinking.

These are practical feelings going South quick. God has already presented words of comfort we can review.

Psalm 121 presents an active role for the Believer. It’s what I call a “Psalm on the move“. Here’s a breakdown:

  • V.1: There’s something Christians need to do, and we have to be confident in that action.
  • V.2-4: We should specify where that confidence come from, and remind people that he will never “go asleep on watch”.
  • V. 5-6: God is in control! He controls the day and the night! Why am I worried?
  • V. 7. God protects us externally and internally. It’s not about what you see all the time, but it’s about what you don’t see. The Holiday season is all about what you see. All the decorations, sales, and food of course. It hurts when you can’t participate at the level you want to participate. What I am challenging you to do this season is to let the Holy Spirit intervene. Don’t worry about what you don’t have and take it day by day, as Jesus tells us to pray (Matt.6: 9-13).
  • V.8: God tends to our daily operations. If we can remember that God is in control from the moment we get up to the time we lay back down, you’ll beat Season Depression. Ask yourself this question: How do you start your day? Am I starting my day from a Biblical worldview or do I turn on the TV first? (We all do this, relax.) Make it a discipline that before you start your day you talk to the Lord. Get your mind there  and the body will follow in health.

We all have goals. We’ll meet some and miss some. Life is going to happen. When it does, remember that though you may not be where you want to be, you’re further than what you were last year at this time. Broaden your perspective on Seasonal Depression and help protect yourselves and your loved ones from facing a season where we recognize the birth of Jesus Christ with stress.

You’re here. Let’s go there. We’re praying for you. Got a prayer request connected to Seasonal Depression Tell me about it.

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Don’t Dismiss the Power of Prayer

Don’t Dismiss the Power of Prayer (Open list)

Have you ever found yourself in a spiritual rut? I know I have. Life gets busy, the church feels like one more thing on your to-do list, and prayer feels both cumbersome and ineffective.

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12, 13

The Power of Prayer

There are two kinds of prayer — the prayer of form and the prayer of faith. The repetition of set, customary phrases when the heart feels no need of God, is formal prayer. We should be extremely careful in all our prayers to speak the wants of the heart and to say only what we mean. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one holy desire.  The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart.

But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed just as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting that it would be granted—this is the prayer of faith. The publican who went up to the temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshiper. He felt and knew that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate desire,

“God be merciful to me a sinner.”

After we have offered our petitions, we are to answer them ourselves as far as possible, and not wait for God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand it. Divine help must be combined with human effort and energy. But we cannot reach the heights of heaven without climbing ourselves. We cannot reach  those heights by the prayers of others when we ourselves neglect to pray; for God has made no such provision for us. The unlovely traits in our characters are not removed and replaced by traits that are pure and lovely, without some effort on our part.

The power of prayer is undeniable to those who pray regularly. True stories of prayer making a difference in a moment, a life, or the world inspire each of us to examine and strengthen our faith life regularly.

“Reach deep inside to access the power of praying to change our lives and change our hearts.”

In our efforts to follow the example set us by our Lord Jesus, we shall make crooked lines. Yet let us not cease our efforts. Temporary failure should make us lean more on Christ.

There it is. The fuel that drives everything: prayer.

Please find a collection of prayers chosen by men, women, and children from multi-denominational Christian backgrounds. Contributors include politicians and royalty, as well as ordinary people.

While I have no scientific measure of how “popular” a prayer might be, nor is popularity to be equated with quality, there is something about the following prayers that make them surely among the world’s most favorite prayers.

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A New Era of Worship

The "Praise and Worship" Revolution

Contemporary Christian music is an interesting phenomenon. Few subjects have generated more conflicts than the kinds of music one should listen to or the kind of music best suited for church music.

Arguably the single biggest alteration in the life of the average Christian congregation within the last 30 years has been the sweeping change in the music that is played on during church service.

Where formal choirs  and vocal soloists along with organ and piano once held sway, a flood of guitars and “praise choruses” suddenly came rushing in during the 1980s. An irresistible, grassroots, pop-culture-driven force met the immovable object of tradition and sentiment, and the ensuing years saw no shortage of conflict and controversy as a result.

In telling this history, people often conflate the rise of “praise music” with the rise of “Jesus Rock” and its later avatar, “Contemporary Christian Music” (CCM).

While the Jesus People movement faded by the early 1980s, the impact of its musical innovations continued to reverberate throughout the Christian church. Hundreds musicians evolved into professional songwriters and “worship leaders” and created their own praise-and-worship publishing entities. Seminars and worship workshops crowded the landscape, and many churches across the continent replaced hymnbooks with overhead projectors and—by mid 1990s—big-screen video projectors.

A New Era of Worship

“It is clear that Protestant musical expression has irrevocably changed.”

“Worship Wars” have become a fact of life as traditionalists battle champions of the new music. But the existence of Christians who are constantly creating inspiring songs out of their convictions about God and Christ is both an amazing and unique thing  often resulting in separate worship services for the youth or the uneasy compromise of “blended worship.”

Once a well-meaning Christian leader said “Ahh, music is so overrated. We don’t need music in Church?  However, we need music and it’s important to offer worship and gratitude to God, not only through our thoughtful expressions and notes, but also through music. Consider this passage from Ephesians 5:15-21:

Do you notice how the Scriptures instruct us to worship? “With psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

With that, here are some of the current most popular Christian songs. May these fill your heart and mind with glorious, awestruck thoughts of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

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Warranty and Salvation Aren’t Enough

Warranty and Salvation Aren’t Enough

Most days I moonlight as a lube technician/oil change guy. It’s how I pay my bills. It’s during this wonderfully flexible job that I hear some of the most uninformed people making crazy declarations they believe to be truth. They will stand on sinking sand and claim that they are perched on the mountain.

I was helping one customer when I recommended that something on his vehicle be serviced. It was the rear differential oil (for those of you who know what that is), and it looked like it had water in it. (For those that don’t know, you never want water in any of your vehicle fluids). When he realized what I was showing him, he declared with gusto, “Warranty will take care of that!”

Unfortunately, and this customer will soon find out, that isn’t how vehicle warranty works. And the same is true for our salvation.

When you buy a vehicle, new or used, most car dealerships will include some kind of warranty. Sometimes it is for 5 years, others offer 7. In rare case, a dealership will offer you “lifetime warranty”. What is often missed or misunderstood are the conditions in which warranty works.

Just because something breaks on your car doesn’t guarantee that warranty will cover it. Some warranties are only for the engine. Some are strictly for the transmission. There are other warranties, with their clever wording and clauses in fine print, that will expire at a certain time or mileage, whichever comes first. Even with these restrictions, you are not guaranteed a new engine under warranty should it break down. You may still have time and mileage before your warranty runs out, but you may not get the repair done for free.

When you buy your vehicle, you sign a contract stating that you will maintain the vehicle. You will change the oil in the engine. You will make sure that there is oil in the transmission. You will make sure that there is no water in any of the vehicle fluids, so not to rust out important moving parts.

If you don’t maintain your vehicle, or if you don’t pay someone to do these check and changes for you, there is the very real possibility that your warranty will be void. It will be no good. You will make a claim, saying that your engine is broken, but if they find out that you never changed the oil, it won’t matter. Your warranty won’t cover it. You will have violated the rules and arrangements you signed and stated you would follow.

Some people believe that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior that life will suddenly become easier. “Jesus is Lord, he’s the master of my life. He’ll fix everything” is a the assumption. Because we have this salvation, a “deal” with God, that suddenly everything is taken care of. “There is nothing more that I have to do now that I am saved.”

This idea about salvation is just as wrong as vehicle warranty.

This isn’t a downplaying of salvation or the importance of it. But saying a few words or the Sinner’s Prayer doesn’t grant us a problem-free life. Praying a prayer, asking Christ to be your Lord and Savior is about entering into a relationship. It’s like the signing of an agreement. It’s the start, it’s the beginning of a kind of deal that requires your involvement, something like having vehicle warranty. You have a part to play, there are things for you do to, and you need to be aware of that. Whether you are evanglizing to other people or processing your own faith journey, you need to know that warranty and salvation aren’t enough. That isn’t the end. It is just the beginning.

Salvation Calls You To Work

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say,

“You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”- James 2:14-18

The letter from James says that saving faith is the start, but it doesn’t end there. Simply believing, having found salvation in Jesus Christ is not enough. Salvation, this spiritual deal with Jesus, isn’t a guarantee that doesn’t require anything of us. On the contrary, it demands that you act.

Salvation needs to be followed up by works. James says, “I will show you my faith by my deeds.” I will prove to you that I have salvation through faith in Christ, and the proof is in what I am doing. I cannot sit still and simply hold on to this salvation. I have to demonstrate it to the world. That is what I must do. That is part of the deal.

This isn’t to say that we are forced to do good deeds. Christ doesn’t become a taskmaster, whipping us into doing these things. Doing good deeds should be an expression of our faith, a visualization of the joy that we found and want to share with the world.

Salvation doesn’t give us a free pass to be complacent or inactive. In fact, it should drive us to be that much more active. Show the world the faith, the salvation that you have found through good works.

Salvation Provokes You To Growth

I’ve talked about salvation being similar to signing a contract or making a deal, but that is a very poor analogy. The truth is that salvation is a part of the relationship with God that we get to have because of faith in Jesus Christ.

With every relationship though comes a challenge. We need to grow. Staying at the beginning of the relationship will not work. You have to mature, get to know the other person in the relationship. You have to figure out what they like and don’t like, even if that other person is God.

The Apostle Paul knew that being at the beginning of a relationship, like being a kid, was fine for a time (1 Cor. 13:11). But you can’t stay a kid forever, nor can you live forever at the beginning of a relationship. Even with God. You have to grow past the point of salvation, into deeper relationship with God.

What might that look like? Paul answers that question a few verses later.

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.”- 1 Corinthians 14:1

To start to grow in relationship, to move beyond the beginning, we need to follow the way of love and desire the gifts of the Spirit. The way of love is found in Jesus. The way he lived, the things that he spoke of when he was on the earth, these are the things that we need to be following and living out. Praying for those that persecute us. Giving to those that are in need. These are just a few of the ways to follow the way of love.

These are the things that we should be seeking. These are the evidence that our relationship with God is not stagnant, that it is not still at the beginning. The fruit of the Spirit, as it grows and develops in your life, is evidence that you are maturing from a child into an adult. You are responding to the salvation you found in Christ, and seeping your relationship with God.

A relationship with depth is far superior to any kind of deal or contract signed. Seek a deep relationship with God.

This article first appeared at Christian Thought Sandbox.

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The Benefit of Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude

in God Gratitude Attitude 2017 #24

When I was growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was always one of the best. My dad and one of his friends planted three acres of pine trees on a north facing hill. The plan was that one-day mom and dad would build their dream home in the middle of those pine trees.

“O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree How lovely are thy branches.”

As life happens, those house plans stayed in that cardboard tube and never grew at all. Ahhh..but those pine trees? They grew and grew and grew, and after Thanksgiving, the phone rang and rang and rang.

Lucky for me, Dad and I (probably my big brother too, but I was to self-involved to log that into my memory banks) would walk through that towering green forest (at least it was to me) to find the perfect tree to tag just for us. By the time we returned, Mom would have hot chocolate waiting with plenty of marshmallows.

“Your boughs so green in summertime  Stay bravely green in wintertime.”

As the first weeks of December began, Mom would have some kind of Christmas craft for us to do together. Sometimes they were for us; but most of the time, we would give them away. Sometimes to relatives. Sometimes to friends. Sometimes dropped off in secret as a Christmas miracle.

Nighttimes were devoted to watching mom sit at the cardboard table, writing card after card while Dad and I watched TV, read, or individually – a nap for Dad and homework for me. Friends, Relatives, Dad’s Army buddies, Business acquaintances. I still don’t know how she ever managed to work a full-time job, put up with me, care for a husband who had his first of three heart attacks when I was 10, and write L-O-N-G greetings to each person on the list.

“Let us all remember our gift giving and our merriment with our family and friends and loved ones real and true meaning of Christmas birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ”

That Gratitude Attitude kicked in today as I finished up my own tradition of decorating around the house by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. My furbaby who tore her ACL now is sick and not eating. We are praying it is a passing thing, but the worry is still lurking as I sit on the floor with her and look at the decorations around the house.

“When I look back on the suffering in my life, this may sound really strange, but I see it now as a gift. I would have never asked for it for a second. I hated it while it was happening and I protested as loudly as I could, but suffering happened anyway. Now, in retrospect I see the way in which it deepened my being immeasurably.”  ~ Ram Dass

Traditions are treasures to hold close to the heart. However, those traditions tend to change as one family member morphs their traditions with a spouse’s traditions.

There is only one constant. One very precious constant.

While I am thankful for traditions, I am more thankful for the birth of a baby. A baby who brought us more than traditions. He brought us a new covenant a new chance to return to the Garden, a new chance to see Him face-to-face.

Grace.  “O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum How lovely are, are thy branches.”~”O Tannenbaum”, 1824

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A Dictatorial and Dominating Husband

A Dictatorial and Dominating Husband

In most families, there are children of various ages, some of whom need not only the attention and wise discipline of the mother but also the sterner, yet the affectionate  influence of the father.

Few fathers consider this matter in its due importance. Under this heavy sense of responsibility the poor wife and mother often feel’s guilty and remorseful for that which she has done innocently or ignorantly, and frequently when she has done the very best thing possible under the circumstances.

Yet when her wearisome efforts should be appreciated and approved, she is obliged to walk under a cloud of sorrow and condemnation because of her dictatorial and dominating husband, while ignoring his own duty, expects her to fulfill both her own and his to his satisfaction, regardless of preventing circumstances.

Many husbands do not sufficiently understand and appreciate the cares and perplexities which their wives endure, generally confined all day to a constant round of household duties. If the meals are not on time, the wife, who is frequently housekeeper, nurse, cook, and housemaid is greeted with faultfinding.

A Dictatorial and Dominating Husband

Your life would be much happier if you did not feel that absolute authority is vested in you because you are a husband and father! Your practice shows that you misinterpret your position. You are a house-band. You are nervous and dictatorial and often manifest great lack of judgment.

 

The Selfish Husband

Cultivate refinement and courtesy. Be very tender and gentle toward your wife, who is his equal in every respect to you. Try not to utter a word that would cast a shadow upon her heart. You should begin the work of reformation at home, cultivate affection and overcome the coarse, harsh, unfeeling, and ungenerous traits of your character.

The husband and father who is selfish and overbearing is not only unhappy himself, but his character will cast a  gloom upon all the “inmates” who by now feel like prisoners of his home. The Selfish husband will reap the result of seeing his wife dispirited and his children marred with his own unlovely temper.

An Egotistical and Intolerant Husband

You will eventually have to face up to the consequences of your actions as you expect too much of your wife and children. You censure too much. If you would but encourage a cheerful, happy character yourself and speak kindly and tenderly to them, you would bring sunlight into your home instead of dark clouds, sorrow, and sadness. You think too much of your opinion; you take extreme positions and have not been willing that your wife’s judgment have the weight it should in your family. You have not encouraged respect for your wife yourself nor educated your children to respect her judgment. You have not made her your equal, but have rather taken the reins of government and control into your own hands and held them with a firm grasp. You do not have an affectionate, sympathetic disposition.

“These traits of character you need to cultivate if you want to be an overcomer and if you want the blessing of God in your family.”

The Husband Who Disregards Christian Courtesy

You have looked upon it as a weakness to be kind, tender, and sympathetic and have thought it beneath your dignity to speak tenderly, gently, and lovingly to your wife. The disposition to leave deeds of kindness undone is a manifest weakness and defect in your character. That which you consider a weakness God regards as true Christian courtesy that should be exercised by every Christian; for this was the spirit which Christ manifested.

Husbands Show Love and Affection

If the husband is exacting and critical of the actions of his wife, he cannot hold her respect and affection, and the marriage relation will become a prison to her. She will not love her husband because he himself is not lovable. Husbands be  attentive, constant, faithful, and compassionate. Manifest love and sympathy.  When the husband has the nobility of character, purity of heart, elevation of mind, that every true Christian must possess, it will be made manifest in the marriage.  He will then strive to speak words of comfort, to create an atmosphere of peace in the home circle.

You Reap What You Sow

When a farmer sows into his field he never returns the next day to reap the harvest! Every farmer knows that seeds take time to germinate and grow. There is a work that takes place in the silence of the earth that is unseen. It’s the same way in your marriage. You don’t sow generously into your spouse’s life and expect a response the next day, the next week, or even the next month. Different seeds yield different results at different times. Your role is to simply be a faithful sower. Leave the results up to God.

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What Is Family Worship and Why Is It Important?

What Is Family Worship and Why Is It Important?

If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism prevail. Iniquity abounds. Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against God breaks out in the life.

“Family worship, sometimes simply family prayer, is prayer, bible reading, and singing of psalms and hymns conducted in private homes.”

Family Worship—Vital for Survival!

Enslaved by sin, the moral powers are under the tyranny of Satan. The soul is made the sport of his temptation; and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, the man goes where the arch-rebel leads the way. And yet in this time of fearful peril, some who profess to be Christians have no family prayer.

“Many Christian families have never experienced the joys and benefits of family worship. But as Donald S. Whitney makes clear, the daily worship of God by families at home is a practice rooted in the Bible and common throughout Christian history.”

Family worship glorifies and honors God, it centers the Home, encourages Christian character and binds the Family members together. Family worship also provides common knowledge, trains Children for corporate worship, reinforces Spiritual Headship and  provides systematic discipleship.

The Importance of Having a Time for Family Worship

The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan’s most successful devices to ruin souls. His target is to separate the children from the parents. He always tries to trap the mind of the children. Every Christian parent should convene the family worship to protect his or her children from the peril.

Prayer is communion with God, the fountain of wisdom, the source of strength and peace and happiness. Jesus prayed to the Father “with strong crying and tears.”  “Pray one for another,” James says; “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Be Consistent

By consistent sincere, earnest prayer parents should make a hedge about their children. They should pray with full faith that God will abide with them, and those holy angels will guard them and their children against Satan’s cruel power. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their children about them before the fast is broken and point them to the heavenly Father, who so liberally gives them the bounties of His providence!

How fitting for them to thank Him for His protection during the night and to ask for His help and grace and the watch care of His angels during the day! How fitting, also, when evening comes, to gather once more before Him and praise Him for the mercies and blessings of the day that is past!

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The Prayer of All Time

How many times have you recited the “Our Father”? Hundreds? Thousands?

Have you meditated on this prayer?

The first time that God is referred to as a Father in the Bible is when God tells Moses to say to Pharaoh,

‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” … Exodus 4:22-23

N. T. Wright, in The Lord and His Prayer,  writes that

“When Jesus tells his disciples to call God ‘Father’, then, those with ears to hear will understand. He wants us to get ready for the new Exodus. We are going to be free at last. This is the Advent hope, the hope of the coming of the Kingdom of God.” (p. 4)

Jesus proclaimed that He was ushering in the Kingdom, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17

With that Kingdom in our hearts and spirits, God’s will is being accomplished, and His name is being revered and hallowed in our lives. It’s a process. We’re still in the desert on our way to the Promised Land.

“I think the Lord’s Prayer is a very powerful prayer. And the prayer of St. Francis.” – Dennis Kucinich

Jesus is supplying us with our daily spiritual and physical needs, for He is the manna from heaven, the Living Bread, the Bread of Life. John 6:51

We’re still stumbling in this wilderness, and we sin.

We cannot pay the debt we owe for the wrongs we have committed against God, for one sin deserves death. Our Savior, Jesus, took our debts, our sins, upon Himself and paid the price for our debts.

“He himself, the carpenter, was called to take wood and nails to accomplish the real Exodus, the real defeat of evil.” (N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer,  p. 6)

Jesus was a carpenter. I wonder if Jesus thought of the cross each time He took a piece of wood in His hands to carve a yoke for an oxen or create a table for a family’s home? I wonder if He winced when He hammered a nail into that wood?

“The third clause of the Lord’s Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intentions of letting any will be done except their own.” – Aldous Huxley

Jesus Christ gave His all for us on the cross. How can we not forgive the debts of others? Jesus paid the price for their debts, too. Eternity awaits … eternity with my Savior and Friend.

“I still say the Lord’s Prayer every day. It covers a lot of ground in our relation to the world.” – Rupert Sheldrake

Jesus is taking His friends, His followers by the hand and keeping us in His right hand as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. Although we may be surrounded by darkness and evil, He prepares a table before our enemies. He will not leave us, and He is praying for us. He will not lead us into any trial or temptation that we cannot withstand, and He will keep us from the evil one.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.

For God’s is the kingdom; His is the power, and His is the glory forever! Amen.

What has The Lord’s Prayer meant to you? If you have a favorite quote on the Lord’s Prayer that we haven’t included in this list, please feel free to share it with us on our Facebook or Google+ page.

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Are Ofsted inspections of Sunday schools really the answer to tackling extremism?

Are Ofsted inspections of Sunday schools really the answer to tackling extremism?

“The Counter-Extremism Strategy says that out-of-school religious institutions teaching children would be forced to register so that they can be inspected.

“Let us be clear: we strongly support Government efforts to defeat terrorism. Any terror attack should lead us to pray. The Bible also tells us in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for “all those in authority”.

However, an outcry by Christians over plans to register and inspect Sunday schools is forcing the Government to “tread carefully” over the matter earlier in this year.

“The British Government consulted on giving Ofsted legal power to investigate any setting in England that provides instruction to children for more than 6 to 8 hours in any week. The consultation closed on Monday 11 January 2016.”

Ofsted in Churches

Many churches will be caught because children can attend multiple events in one week. In addition to Sunday school, a particular child could also attend a baptism or confirmation class, choir practice, and even a youth group. The time across all groups will be added together (‘aggregated’) to give the total time a child spends under instruction by the church. One-off events such as holiday Bible clubs would also be counted.

“Breaches could lead to groups being closed down or individuals being banned from working with children.”

If a  child may exceed 6 hours’ attendance every week, or just for some weeks of the year registration is triggered in both cases. This results in all activities, including the Sunday school, being subject to potential ongoing inspections.

We are concerned that these misguided responses to extremism threaten to take away vital freedoms from law-abiding people, and seriously undermine the religious liberty of Christians.

Equality Oath

The Government and Parliament have an extremely difficult job ahead. There is no doubt that Islamist terrorism poses a very serious threat.

We strongly support efforts to combat terrorism and the ideologies which underpin it, but it is vital that the Government’s political response is focussed on the root cause of these attacks and that Christian freedoms and the civil liberties of innocent British citizens are not jeopardized.

The Government before the election was considering introducing an ‘Equality Oath’ that doctors, social workers, teachers, and other public office holders would be forced to swear, pledging to uphold ‘British values’.

But forcing people to sign up to a particular Government’s view of equality would be dangerous and illiberal.  Sections of the press have already warned that it would deny the right to dissent.

Ofsted Inspection U-turn

“Christians have already been urged not to celebrate Sunday school inspection u-turn too soon.”

Simon Calvert, deputy director for public affairs at the Christian Institute, said:

“If the government wanted to go ahead with some kind of regulation and inspection system, it could do that without the need for a counter-extremism bill. We have to be on the alert.”

A Whitehall source was quoted by the Observer newspaper as saying the bill was “sinking without a trace” and it’s understood the proposed legislation will be quietly set aside.  A Home Office spokesperson said: “Legislation to tackle extremism is being considered within Government. We will consult fully on any legislation before it is introduced.”

‘Keep Historic Freedoms’

Christians need to contact their MPs and urge them to defend the historic freedoms this country was built on.

In the year ahead let’s do as the Bible says and pray for “all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”.

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Cultivating a Gratitude Attitude

Gratitude Attitude 2017 #22

54 years ago today my future was being shaped. I was sitting in a 7th-grade study hall. At that time our new high school was almost finished – but not quite. So a mixture of 7th through 12th graders was spread throughout an auditorium.

A rustling of papers. A note being slid onto a desk as someone went to the restroom. A brave soul walking up on stage to ask the study hall teacher a question.

“A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” ~ JFK, 1957, Profiles in Courage

The ticking of the wall clock. The big hand loudly clicking into place. Marking time in our lives until we could talk in the hallways on our way to the next class. I know it was loud because I had spent lots of time in that auditorium – boy scout meetings with the active dad and brother, minstrel practices every winter I can remember in this life, a joint Easter sunrise services, dance recitals, choir concerts, band concerts, fair activities”¦”¦ That auditorium was one of the hubs of our community.

But on this particular day, the clock stopped. The everyday noise that a group of people makes while going about their business, stopped as well. Where I sat, the color of the wall, the dark curtains that hung on the windows, the utter silence of the room frozen in place. An announcement. A voice that cracked as it spoke.

“In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces, if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.”  ~ JFK, Profiles in Courage

l don’t remember the words our principal used that day. I remember the import. And somehow – in that 7th-grade developing brain – I realized life would be changed forever. When you grow up in Camelot and see a hole shot through the garden wall, the ground shakes beneath the feet – the sun dims – the birds stop their song – the world holds its breath.

It is a strange thing to write a Gratitude Attitude about a tragedy on the Thanksgiving Eve, and yet – every year as this date rolls around, I remember that 7th-grade study hall. I remember reading the president’s books after this day. Listening to his speeches. Starting a new questing path.

Seventeen days before he died, President Kennedy issued his Thanksgiving proclamation. He wrote,

“Today we give our thanks [to Providence], most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers–for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate.”

Gratitude Attitude is not always for the easy things, the common things. Sometimes it is being thankful for the hard things – the scary things – the things that make us sit in front of a small TV black-and-white screen to watch a riderless horse with the stirrups turned backwards – a small girl kneeling in front of a casket – a smaller boy saluting a casket – the pictorial book as the torch was passed.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings–let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals–and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.” ~ Nov 5, 1963, JFK,Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have difficulty with bitterness, selfishness, self-pity, negativism, or pride? An attitude of gratitude can change those things and literally transform your life.

Gratitude is “the dance of being in the moment,” of appreciating during even the stormiest moments, the simple act of taking a life-affirming breath. Michael Bowyer Community pastor, Compass Point Bible Church

Tomorrow is a day for family, parades, football and card games, but most of all, it is time to give thanks to God – to Providence – to the God of Nature – to the Great Spirit for all these blessings. Remembering the past, enjoying the present and walking forward into the future.

“I thank Him who has given me strength, Christus Yeshua. our LORD”¦”~1 Tim 1:12  

 

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Why Is the Bible So Important?

Why Is the Bible So Important?

The Bible is the single most important book ever written and is essential for knowing God and His will for our lives.

It is impossible for any human mind to exhaust one truth or promise of the Bible. One catches the glory from one point of view, another from another point; yet we can discern only gleamings.

#1: THE BIBLE HAS TRANSFORMED THE WORLD

It is not too much to say that the events recorded in this book are claimed by a significant percentage of people who have ever lived on this earth to be the most important events ever recorded in the history of the world.

The full radiance is beyond our vision. As we contemplate the great things of God’s Word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision widens; stretched out before us, we behold a boundless, shoreless sea. Such study has vivifying power. The mind and heart acquire new strength and new life.  

Most of the Bible was written in what is modern-day Israel (Asia). But some passages of Jeremiah were written in Egypt (Africa) and several New Testament epistles were written from cities in Europe.

#2:  PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO DIE FOR THIS BOOK

This experience is the highest evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible. We receive God’s Word as food for the soul through the same evidence by which we receive bread as food for the body. Bread supplies the need of our nature; we know by experience that it produces blood, bone, and brain.

Apply the same test to the Bible; when its principles have actually become the elements of character, what has been the result? What changes have been made in the life?

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 #3: IT CONTAINS A LIFE-CHANGING MESSAGE OF FREEDOM

In its power men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan have been transformed into the image of God.

4: IT CONNECTS YOU TO HISTORY’S MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE

The change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We cannot understand it; we can only believe, that, as declared by the Scriptures, it is

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development.  

Keep turning the pages of this remarkable book.  Read it with an open mind and open heart. It contains pure truth about God, about life, the nature of mankind and our own hearts as human beings.

Then Christian Bible is described: made up of 66 books, two ‘Testaments’ (39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament). It’s been translated into over 500 languages and over 5 billion copies have been sold; the best selling non-fiction book ever. For Christians, it is God’s word, full of guidance and wisdom, containing everything you need to know about salvation, about being right with God. The Bible is a complicated book; its many stories need applying to the modern world.

 

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Through Hope, In Faith and By Prayer

I think that sometimes when we don’t see results we can sometimes feel that we are praying in vain. That our prayers are not always heard. It’s a human response to feeling that you are praying your last prayer, due to sheer exhaustion, because of what is happening in your life or the situation you are praying for. I have been told many times to give up and almost as many times I have been told that there is always hope.

I don’t know if I even have the ability to give up hope. I’m not sure it is part of who I am or ever will be. For me to give up hope would be like giving up on my faith, admitting that there is nothing to become, to look forward to nothing to love. Hope is never giving up on what you love, to not believe the impossible can happen when you are surrounded by everything that someone once told you was impossible.

In this life I have had to learn so many difficult lessons and I don’t think that learning and growing will ever end for me. Some of those lessons came easily while others were, each time I went through something, I thought was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Forgiveness took me over 40 years to learn and it was a struggle every time I had to do it but now it comes easier through hope, my faith and a lot of prayers while kicking and screaming all the way.

“If you try and lose then it isn’t your fault. But if you don’t try and we lose, then it’s all your fault.” ’- Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game

I’ve had to learn to take responsibility for my actions and for my inaction. I had to look at myself, be honest and move forward without answers. Then I think the hardest was having to go back to revisit forgiveness of everyone, everything and myself. I had to see that I wasn’t perfect, people aren’t perfect and situations and decisions have consequences. I learned to be ok with all of that through hope and faith that I could do better and be praying for help and strength.

My oldest son has problems and I don’t know if they will change. I don’t know if he will change. I see the issues, I know the solution and there is nothing I can do to change any of it. All I can do is have hope that there is a piece of the boy I used to know deep inside, have faith that he will be the man he has been raised to be and pray that one day he will feel the love and compassion that God has for him. That what seems impossible is possible because he has been forgiven and anything that is wrong can be made right through hope, in faith, and by prayer.

August 3, 2017 8:17am ~ Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful day and the chance to do your will and read your scriptures. Thank you for having the blessing of another day to do your will and worship you.

Today more than ever bless and watch over Ja.G. as he is released form jail entering into evil temptations. May he find his way to you to find peace and salvation. May he find the desire to be forgiven by you Lord Jesus, to desire your blessing of the Holy Spirit.

Give his family the ability to forgive him and to find your love and desire to worship you and receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

Bless us as we go through our day. AMEN!

John 5:5-9 ~  One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”    “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”    Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”    At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

Be well and get up, always.

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Pride

A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.  Pride will kill you, forever, and is the sin most likely to keep you from crying out to God in times of need.

As dangerous as pride is, it’s equally hard to spot. Satan fell because of his ambition to be equal with God. He desired to enter into the divine counsels and purposes, from which he was excluded by his own inability, as a created being, to comprehend the wisdom of the Infinite One. It was this ambition  that led to his rebellion in heaven, and by the same means he seeks to cause the ruin of man.

“Too Many People Spend Money They Earned..to Buy Things They Don’t Want..to Impress People That They Don’t Like.” ’- Will Rogers

Sin originated in self-seeking. Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired to be the leader in heaven. He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from God, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to dethrone the loving Creator.

“Through Pride We Are Ever Deceiving Ourselves. But Deep down Below the Surface of the Average Conscience a Still, Small Voice Says to Us, something Is out of Tune. ” ’- C.G. Jung

Had Lucifer really desired to be like the Most High, he would never have deserted his appointed place in heaven; for the spirit of the Most High is manifested in unselfish ministry. Lucifer desired God’s power, but not His character. He sought for himself the highest place, and every being who is actuated by his spirit will do the same.

“Proud People Breed Sad Sorrows for Themselves.” ’- Emily Brontë

We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in ourselves. Whenever pride and ambition are indulged, the life is marred; for pride, feeling no need, closes the heart against the infinite blessings of Heaven.

“It Is Better to Lose Your Pride with Someone You Love Rather Than to Lose That Someone You Love with Your Useless Pride.” ’- John Ruskin

Pride of heart is a fearful trait of character. “Pride goeth before destruction.” This is true in the family, the church, and the nation.

“All Men Make Mistakes, but a Good Man Yields When He Knows His Course Is Wrong, and Repairs the Evil. The Only Crime Is Pride.” ’- Sophocles, Antigone

Removing the Chains of Pride

How does one move from the chains of pride and self-obsession to the freedom of humble self-service?
  • A Harsh Spirit –  Those who have the sickness of pride in their hearts speak of others’ sins with contempt, irritation, frustration, or judgment.
  • Superficiality –  When pride lives in our hearts, we’re far more concerned with others’ perceptions of us than the reality of our hearts.
  • Defensiveness –  Those who stand in the strength of Christ’s righteousness alone find a confident hiding place from the attacks of men and Satan alike.  
  • Presumption Before God –  Humility approaches God with humble assurance in Christ Jesus. If either the “humble” or the “assurance” are missing in that equation, our hearts very well might be infected with pride.  
  • Desperation for Attention –  Pride is hungry for attention, respect, and worship in all its forms.
  • Neglecting Others -Pride prefers some people over others. It honors those who the world deems worthy of honor, giving more weight to their words, their wants, and their needs.    

Think of these as three facets as the jewel of genuine Christian humility

  • Who is the focus of your service?
  • Whose sin are you focused upon?
  • What is the focus of your joy, security, and contentment?

God’s people should be subject one to another. They should counsel with each other, that the lack of one be supplied by the sufficiency of the other.  

“Learn of Me,” Said Christ; “For I Am Meek and Lowly in Heart: And Ye Shall Find Rest unto Your Souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

Maybe more of us struggle with pride than we thought.  There’s good news for the prideful. Confession of pride signals the beginning of the end for pride.  

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart! Try Me and Know My Thoughts! And See If There Be Any Grievous Way in Me, and Lead Me in the Way Everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

In the end pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.

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Thanksgiving Day – Relearning and Reliving That Day in History

In the year 1620 A.D, 102 English settlers, called the Pilgrims, and their crew of about 30 men, arrived at Plymouth Rock, what is now Plymouth, Massachusettes, on their ship, the Mayflower.   These people had a deep faith in God, and believed that they were on a mission from God.   In spite of the cold weather and the lack of food, they gave thanks to God for the safe journey across the Atlantic Ocean. and for the freedom from an unjust government. It was a very harsh winter, and by Spring only 52 Pilgrims were still alive.

The Mayflower Was an English Ship That Famously Transported the First English Puritans, Known Today as the Pilgrims, from Plymouth, England to the New World in 1620

The Native American Indian chief, Squanto, had pity on these settlers and befriended them.   He and his tribe taught them what things to grow, gave them seeds and told them when to plant them.   By Fall they had a bountiful harvest.   In gratefulness to God, they had a worship service, and then they had a feast and invited their Indian friends to join them.   Five of the remaining women made the meal, and there was joyful celebration of friendship. Two hundred and fifty years later President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

The Word “Thanksgiving” Comes from the Old Anglo-saxon Term That Meant “Thinkfulness”.

If you can’t think of anything to be thankful for, you have a very poor memory!   Psalm 103:2 says,

“Bless the Lord, O My Soul, and Forget Not All His Benefits.”

The psalmist is saying:

“God Has Given Me So Many Benefits That I May Forget Some of Them, But Don’t Let Me Forget All of Them.”

A story is told of a gifted preacher who suffered a nervous breakdown.   A friend told him that, by God’s enabling, he could overcome his depression. The key was to practice thanksgiving, in obedience to God’s Word.   He suggested that the minister think of all the people who had a special influence on his life over the years. Then he asked, “Did you ever thank any of them?”   The down-hearted man confessed that he couldn’t ever recall doing so. His friend challenged him to think of one person and write to him, expressing his appreciation.   The pastor took his advice, and when he learned that his letter had greatly encouraged the person, his heart was lightened. So he jotted down a list of all who had helped him, a list of over 500 names, and he wrote a letter of appreciation to each one. As he counted his blessings, the depression left him. Realizing that God had been showering him with encouragement through these individuals, he began thanking God daily for His love and goodness.  Let’s take the advice of hymn writer, Johnson Oatman, Jr.

“Count Your Blessings, Name Them One-by-one: Count Your Many Blessings, See What God Hath Done.”

Psalm 92:1-2 says,

“It Is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord, And to Sing Praises to Thy Name, O Most High; To Declare Thy Lovingkindness in the Morning, And Thy Faithfulness by Night.”  

Thankfulness is good for us because it leads to a deeper fellowship with God, to growth in godliness, and to wholeheartedness in daily living.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,

“Rejoice Always, Pray Without Ceasing,  in Everything Give Thanks,  for This Is God’s Will for You in Christ Jesus.”  

Remember, God never gives a command without providing the desire and the power to obey it.   His grace is always sufficient if we humbly depend upon Him completely, and confidently ask Him to supply it.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!   May every day of your life be Thanksgiving Day!

 

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