The Halloween HOPE

This time of year is unlike any other in many respects. Every shopping center and grocery store is filled with all sorts of candy, costumes and colorful decorations. Tomorrow children will parade up and down the streets disguised as their favorite characters chanting “Trick or Treat” and hold out plastic bags or molded plastic pumpkins in hopes of collecting vast amounts of candy. This will, of course, result in a stomach ache the next day and some may miss school. (watch this vid)

For Christians, Halloween is perhaps the most difficult holiday with which to deal. Its darker side is so disconcerting, yet it holds a bit of charm for us as we remember our own childhood experiences with the day. A myriad of questions surround Halloween. Should we participate? Accommodate? Or vigorously denounce Halloween?

When I first researched Halloween I discovered hundreds of web-sites with articles, sermons, or editorials condemning the observance of this holiday. In fact, many Christians have taken a very strong stance in opposition to Halloween on the grounds that it supports Satan-worship and pagan gods. This places many people, especially those with children, in an uncomfortable position. How should we, as Christians, respond to this holiday? Is it sinful and evil or just fun and games? Is it a problem or a potential opportunity? To answer such questions, it’s helpful to view Halloween from the perspective of history. So let’s begin this morning with a…

• HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

First, we ought to recognize that the American celebration of Halloween draws heavily from Scottish and Irish folk customs that can be directly traced to pre-Christian times and is indeed rooted in the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain (sah-ween). Although modern Halloweens can be viewed as nights of rollicking fun and eerie games, its pagan beginnings were not so innocent.

Originally, Halloween was a celebration of the Druids in honor of Samhain, whom they believed to be the Lord of the Dead, and whose festival fell on November 1st.

The Druids believed that on the eve of this festival, Samhain, the Lord of the Dead, called together the wicked souls that within the past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. The veil, they believed, between the present world and the spirit world, or the world beyond, was pierced, releasing the dead to harass the living. 

Interestingly, they thought that the cat was sacred because they thought that cats, especially black cats, had once been human beings whose spirits were transferred into the cat as a punishment for their evil deeds—which makes you wonder why they were sacred :)

There was a prevailing belief among many nations that at death the souls of good people were taken by good spirits and carried to paradise, but the souls of wicked men were left to wander in the space between the earth and the moon, or consigned to inhabit animals. Typically, the Druids believed that on this one night of the year, the eve of the Samhain festival, the spirits of the dead returned to their original homes along with other ghosts and goblins.

In order to protect themselves or make themselves immune to the attacking dead spirits, people disguised themselves as goblins, and ghouls—from wince we derived the custom of wearing costumes for Halloween. They also attempted to ward off evil spirits by carving scary and grotesque faces on various gourds illuminated with candles (including pumpkins, of course). 

In order to pacify the evil spirits they offered a variety of treats—fruits, vegetables, and other types of food usually. If the dead were satisfied, it was believed they would leave you in peace. But if they were not satisfied—if you didn’t offer any treats or your offering wasn’t good enough—the ghosts would trick you by casting a spell on you and reeking havoc in your home. Thus the tradition of “trick or treat” was born.

Despite its sinister origins, however, I think we can learn a lot from how the early Christians responded to this Samhain festival. As Chrsitianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and Europe, many pagans and even Druids converted to Christianity, but they were still very superstitious. They didn’t have Bibles back then and most of them were illiterate anyway. So, without proper education, many of these new believers brought their old superstitions with them into the church—including their belief in ghosts and goblins.

In order to establish a rival celebration and to better educate new believers, the church designated November 1st as All Saints Day. Rather than fearing the onslaught of evil spirits who had been condemned during the course of the year, All Saints Day celebrated and honored all the saints, or martyrs, who had died that year. The mass held the evening prior to All Saints Day was called All Hallowmas. And October 31st itself became known as All Hallow E’en (Halloween). Literally then, the word Halloween means Holy Evening. Thus, All Hallows Eve was an attempt on the part of Christianity to overwhelm the tradition of ghouls with the truth of the gospel! So, with this historical perspective on Halloween in mind, let’s get a…

• BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

Obviously, you can’t look up the word Halloween in a concordance and expect to find a Scripture reference to it, but there is one passage of Scripture that is very relevant to the subject.

“Accept into your group someone who is weak in faith, and do not argue about opinions. One person believes it is right to eat all kinds of food. But another, who is weak, believes it is right to eat only vegetables. The one who knows that it is right to eat any kind of food must not reject the one who eats only vegetables. And the person who eats only vegetables must not think that the one who eats all foods is wrong, because God has accepted that person. You cannot judge another person’s servant. The master decides if the servant is doing well or not. And the Lord’s servant will do well because the Lord helps him do well.

Some think that one day is more important than another, and others think that every day is the same. Let all be sure in their own mind. Those who think one day is more important than other days are doing that for the Lord. And those who eat all kinds of food are doing that for the Lord, and they give thanks to God. Others who refuse to eat some foods do that for the Lord, and they give thanks to God. We do not live or die for ourselves. If we live, we are living for the Lord, and if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:1-8 NCV)

The Apostle Paul addresses two specific issues here that are relevant to Halloween—meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods and holidays.

First, there were many new Christians who, as I mentioned earlier, brought their old superstitious beliefs with them when they became Christians. Some, who had converted from paganism, even though they had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir, still believed in the gods of Roman and Greek mythology. Therefore, they refused to eat any meat that had been sacrificed to those gods because they saw it as a form of worshipping those old gods. Other Christians, who were more mature in their faith, realized that gods such as Zeus or Hermes or Athena didn’t even really exist—they’re just myths and fairy tales. Therefore, they had no problem eating meat because they knew those gods arent  even real.

Furthermore, some Christians wanted to celebrate special days or holidays, such as the Passover or other Jewish celebrations, while other Christians believed that every day was the same and there is no need to celebrate a holiday (or holy day) unless God specifically commanded us to do so.

To all of these Christians, Paul says, “warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified” (Romans 15:7 TLB).

Now, if we take these two examples and put them together, we get a clear Biblical perspective on the controversy over Halloween. Halloween is a holiday (holy day) that was once dedicated to a pagan god. Some people understand there is no such thing as ghosts or goblins and have no problem participating in the modern celebration. Others believe that Halloween’s dubious origins make it something in which Christians should not be involved. 

I believe Paul would tell us exactly what he told the Romans—if it bothers your conscience, then don’t participate; if, on the other hand, you can celebrate Halloween in a way that honors and glorifies God—like the early Christians did—then go for it! Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. 

Don’t forget that both Christmas and Easter have their origins in lascivious pagan festivals as well. That doesn’t, however, prevent Christians from captivating their children with tales about Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. Halloween is no different. Just because it centers on themes of Halloween rather than furry woodland creatures and jolly fat men doesn’t put in some other category—as long as we understand the difference between reality and fantasy and we communicate that difference to our children.

We are encouraged to use holidays such as Easter and Christmas as opportunities for outreach, and, personally, I would suggest the same thing for Halloween. So, understanding the historical and biblical perspective let me share a…

• PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

In my opinion, the worst thing Christians can do on Halloween is turn off the lights, lock the door and pretend no one is home. Jesus said that his purpose in coming to earth was to “seek and save the lost.” That’s our mission too. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Let your lights shine before men in such a way that they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16 NASB).

So let’s heed the words of our Lord and Savior and let our lights shine—both our spiritual lights and porch lights—on a day that is typically known for its darkness. How can we use Halloween as a way to glorify God?

1. Don’t turn out the lights and ignore it. Halloween won’t go away. So if you don’t support this holiday, determine to turn a negative into a positive.

2. If you’re staying home: buy some candy, answer the door and when you put candy in the children’s bags include some information about the church.

3. Instead of playing scary music, play Christian music really loud.

4. Buy a pumpkin and carve a cross in it, placing a candle inside to symbolize that Jesus is the light of the world.

5. PRAY! Pray for the safety of the children who will be out on that night, but more importantly pray that the Gospel will go out that night as well—and that through God’s word some lost soul might come to know Jesus. 

Here's what we do every year. We set up a cookie decorating table out in our front yard. Just some sugar cookies, some icing and few sprinkles. Believe me... kids LOVE decorating cookies (and then eating them right away)

As a matter of fact parents have told us how much their children look forward to going to "Cookie Decorating House". That's special to us.

We also have a TV out front paying a Veggie Tales cartoon about 'what to do when I'm scared' or we have another cartoon video titled "Monsters & Me" starring Toby and how Jesus helps him when he's scared.

Kids love sitting in front of that TV watching the show. We love that it's displaying a great, God honoring message. This year instead of a TV we're gonna put up a Big Projector Screen and enlarge the show :)

Now here's the real story behind this....

Think about all the neighbors who live in your neighborhood that you've never had any contact with at all or maybe just a wave as you pass by in your car. Neighbors 10 houses down, four streets over, maybe on the complete opposite side of the neighborhood. 

We just don't get opportunities to develop relationships with any of them or even meet them all of them because there are so many.

But on Halloween they are all coming over to your house. They're showing up at your doorstep - you didnt even invite them. They just come.

So what are you going to do with this opportunity to be a light to your neighbor. How can you share the LOVE of Christ with all these people showing up at your house.

Do you see how great this is? 

Cathleen and I revel in the opportunity to begin discussions with so many parents of these children and the fact that they are decoration cookies and watching the cartoon gives us ample time to talk. And we have had some wonderful God discussions on Halloween night.

And that my friends is what it's all about.

What could you do to Advance the Kingdom of God on Halloween night?

Watch Joe Parks teach this message at Focus Church: The Halloween HOPE 

How to FLOURISH in Tough Times

Well, it's something to be here in a community where people are struggling and the economy has taken a nose dive, and we hear bad press not only on the news, on the television and the radio, & in the papers. People are afraid, and we're dealing with tough times, and there's a real concern about job loss and income lost and hours lost and territory lost.  There's a real concern about pensions and savings going away.  There's a real concern, and I'm going to say it, there's a real fear.  

And the tendency that most have when times like this come upon us is to pull in and pull back and shrink back and hang on and try to ride it out and hope somebody else does something…

How do you live in tough times like this?  You know, it's a legitimate question. It really is.  What should we do?  How should we respond?

The Bible has hundreds of references to money. Every civilization has used some form of currency for the exchange of goods and services. Every culture has had its wealthy and its poor people. Deuteronomy 8:18 states that it is God Who gives His people the power to get wealth, and it is God Who has promised all sufficiency in all things always, as 2 Corinthians 9:8 teaches.

There are many keys in the Bible that can be learned regarding accumulating honest wealth and the correct stewardship of it. This is vital to understand: God is owner of all, and He gives His people the opportunity and privilege to become good stewards.

Trusting God in hard times necessitates good stewardship. Affluence can give rise to laziness and financial carelessness, which may make it challenging initially when it's suddenly time to tighten the belt. Poverty can induce people to be greedy and stingy, and even to steal, and hard times can fuel that wrong thinking. Whatever background someone may be struggling with, Biblical principles can be learned and we can discover how to prosper and flourish in hard times.

First things first. God is the source of all provision, so “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9, 10)

It’s kinda funny how some folks will just pick & choose what pieces of scripture they want to follow or abide by. And when it comes to tithing especially or money matters they will claim that ‘tithing’ is an O.T. Principle and not for today. Right? As if we get to choose what scriptures actually matter.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some pieces of scripture we can appropriate to the specific ‘times’ of which they were written. Such as the principle in 1 Cor. 14 of women being quiet in the church--

Is a great example of writings specific to the Corinthian church which was dealing with multiple issues. That piece of scripture can be designated to a specific time - however there are still many principles written in that chapter & book that apply today.

With that said, the principle of money matters and giving to God first doesnt fall into that category - not even close - it is found all throughout the Bible.

This scripture in Prov. 3 says give to God first and you’ll live in abundance. 

You know what other scripture is in Prov. 3 that we claim today, v.5&6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

God was setting us up in these verses 5&6 to prepare our hearts for verses 9&10.

Plus Jesus said in Matt. 6:33 Put God 1^st and everything will work for your best.

I promise you He was including your finances. He’s talking about everything. 

Right? Or is it that we can put God 1^st in some areas of our lives and not others? (http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/7379/God-Pie) 

Malachi 3:8-12 addresses tithing, which continues to be a rock-solid key to prosperity. Even unbelievers and non-Christian business people understand and practice charitable giving and the principle of return they see in their lives and business’ 

Bottom line folks, for us to flourish in hard times, in any time is to put God 1^st in everything.

Giving is a joy, and there are always people less fortunate to share with. There can never be a harvest without sowing seeds. A generous attitude and a cheerful giver is something God can really bless. 

“God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7

Christ followers should not fearfully hang on to every penny they have, but be like the Macedonian believers who had taken up an offering for another church in need, recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:3 and 4, “they gave as much as they were able and even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it. But they begged and pleaded with us to let them share in this service for God's people.”

That’s the heart of a cheerful giver. Are you a cheerful giver?

A good steward will value their own time as well as others' time. “Those who work their land will have plenty of food, but the ones who chase empty dreams instead will end up poor.” (Proverbs 28:19 New Century Version)  Colossians 3:23 teaches Christians to put their whole heart into their work. This will bring satisfaction and God's blessings. - put your nose to the grindstone. Get after it - don’t lie around w/ a whoa is me attitude 

In hard times, the good steward controls spending and learns to live within a budget. This is not motivated by fear or uncertainty. It is motivated by love for one's family to take thoughtful, preventive actions so life and Christian service is not interrupted by self-inflicted crisis. 

(1 Timothy 5:8) says it gently...

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”  

“Wise people's houses are full of the best foods and olive oil, 

       but fools waste everything they have.” (Proverbs 21:20)

Being a good steward requires a budget… 

If at all possible, have a savings plan. Again, it's not out of fear, but with a purpose. “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” (Proverbs 13:11 NIV) It may be for a vacation, or education, or an emergency fund. Even saving a little, is a little more than nothing.

You know what else the Bible tells us… it’s advisable to get out of debt. “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) Having a financial plan, making menus and shopping lists, and having a debt payoff strategy are all good steps to take. The good steward is diligent and conscientious, watching over all details of their household. It takes a little extra time, but the payoff… literally is HUGE. 

Can I tell you there was a time in our marriage when money matters, I’m talkin about the poor financial decisions we were making were the biggest argument in our marriage. Our financial decisions were creating a lot of strife & frustration. All of that went away… folks here me this morning, all of that went away when we diligently created a monthly budget.

And what is a budget? In the words of Dave Ramsey it’s

Telling your money where to go instead of wandering where it went.

It’s a great line.

So with that I would encourage you to utilize the tools available at DaveRamsey.com 

On that website there are budgeting tools & forms and apps and much much more.

Start there. If you’ve never attended FPU… I would encourage you to attend that course - our church has provided it in the past and we’re gonna do it again - when we do, attend, especially if you never have or maybe go through it again if you feel you need a refresher course.

The only reason I mention this website and course is b/c I know personally it has helped my family tremendously.

What do you need during these tough times?

In conclusion, what have we learned thru scripture in Surviving Tough Times?

“Is any of you in trouble, he should pray.”  

 James 5:13  (NIV)

The foundation of all the help that we get from God is that we pray and we add to our faith.

How can I create “more” space for God in my life? - surrender?

What Are you focusing on? The pain, the difficulty, the hurt or the Healer?

Trusting God in hard times necessitates good stewardship.

We must put God 1^st in ALL things

Giving is a joy and God will bless the cheerful giver

We must value our time as well as others' time - be diligent 

And.. the good steward controls spending and learns to live within a budget

All of these principles folks are rooted in God’s Word

Now it’s time for you and me to apply them to our lives 

And when we do that, not only will it help us greatly but we will shine.

Others will want to know how we are so stable in these tough times and we can tell them…

It is the Lord. It is the Lord.

video version: http://www.sermonconnect.com/mediapreview.php?id=20121014081006E6410C

A Deeper Love for Others

Not to long ago I wrote about the difficulty of 'loving others' as Christ as called us to love them. The question in it all was "how do I love some people when I don't even like them?"
Well I shared a very valuable key for all of us in exactly "HOW" we can do that.
Here's a link to that blog to discover that key: Sep. 5th blog entry

Today I'd like to push that a little further.........

I love this city! I am so grateful the Lord has planted my family and I here. I also recoginize that there are so many people in our city who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior.
They just don't. They're walking blindly throughout the streets of the city, in stores, at the gas station, sitting in the stands of High School football games, living next door to us in the suburbs........ everywhere.
It breaks my heart.

When I read the statistics of our city (Houston) I discover that 50% of the people who live here attend church services.
Now I guess that's supposed to be a LARGE number. This is the 'South' right? Aren't we a part of the Bible Belt? I thought the # would be higher.....
So with a little research I find that other cities rank much lower - here's a link:
State of the States

You see to me that's not acceptable!
I can't stand the thought of 50% in my city do not have a real relationship with Christ.
I'm not even gonna venture down the road of the 50% church attenders who really consider themselves true Christ followers okay.
The thought of HALF, half of the millions of people in this city will spend eternity apart from Christ if the world were to end today.
It breaks my heart.

So what can we do..........?

The answer folks is to PRAY.

To pray for the 50% Pray that they will come to know the loving grace of Jesus Christ.

So will you join me in praying for them.
Here's something that helps me.... Every time I go into downtown or pass by our beautiful skyline just driving along a freeway, it prompts me to pray for all those I mentioned earlier. Maybe now, it will prompt you to as well :)

4 Prayers to pray over your Children right now

Concluding Love Powered Parenting I realize that when it comes to parenting, for some of you it’s going well.  Others of you, you think it’s going well but it’s not, you’re going to find out pretty soon.  Some of you you’re not sure what to do next.  Some of you, you’re ready to pull your hair out.  Some of you feel that way.  You feel all different ways.  So let’s do something about it right now.  We’re going to pray our way through this.

 In your mind pray this: 

Lord, help us to work together.  

As adults in this child’s life, as parents, parents and friends, parents and family, help us to work together for the best, for the good in their life.

If we’re going to work together it’s going to take what Romans 15:5 talks about.  It’s going to take unity.  That verse says “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.”

That’s what we’re working together for.  “Lord help us to work together.”  If we’re not working together it’s obviously not going to be for their best.  

The truth of the matter is, we all know this, this is true with our kids from the moment they’re born.  The goal of your child is to divide and conquer you as parents.  They want to make sure they get you disagreeing because the minute you disagree they start to win.  Their goal is to divide and conquer.  Your goal as parents is to partner and prevail.  That is what you want to see happen.  

If you’re a single parent that means you’ve got to have other people in your life.  Other family, other single parents.  Whether you’re a single parent or not, you can’t do this alone.  We need other people.  If you try to do this alone, they will wear you down.  No doubt about it.  You may think “I’m smarter than they are.”  But they have more energy and more time than you do.  They’re going to wear you down!  You’ve got to partner together as husband and wife.  Or partner together with other friends, other family in raising this kid.

But also you’ve got to partner together with other people in our church.  Being part of a church family is one of the most important things you could do for your family.  We’re working together to raise our kids, with the same values, same hope, same faith, same love.  In fact, it’s important for your children and it’s important for you.  Being part of a church family is important for them and it’s important for you.

Then pray, Lord, give them the right friends.  

The Bible clearly tells us what some of us already know from experience:  

1 Corinthians 15:33 says ‘Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

  

The Bible says the people that we spend time with are going to influence our character for good or for bad.  So it’s so important what friends our kids are hanging out with.

We all know this.  I’ve heard parents talk about it over and over and over.  I’ve heard parents fret about it and stew about it a lot.  That’s the temptation for all of us.  What we need to be doing is praying.  We need to be praying that they will have the right friends.  

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”  

We need to be praying that our kids will have friends that will encourage them and build them up and that they will BE a friend that will encourage and build up others. 

One of the tough things that is hard to admit during the teen years is that we are no longer the number one influence of the daily decisions in our kids’ lives.  For instance, how many of you have teenagers that say, that’s the way mom and dad dress – that’s the way I want to dress.  Or, that’s the music and the movies that mom and dad listen to – that’s what I want to listen to.  

No.  It doesn’t work out that way.  It drives us crazy.  We want to be the number one influence in every decision of their life.  But it doesn’t work that way in the teenage years.  

The truth is you may not be the number one influence in their daily decisions, but you are still the number one influence in their life.  You can still be.  

One of the things you have to be intentional about is spending time with them and their friends; you try to be around them. Some of you are looking at me like, you don’t understand.  This is the thing that they don’t want – for me to be around them and their friends.  

I understand that.  So we’ve got to be strategic about this.  I’m not saying you interject yourself into every situation, but be available. Be available for:

rides, 

to host a part - kids will come for free food, 

go to their games, 

chaperone their field trips, 

go to orientation. - I know you’ve heard it all at the zillion orientations you went to before but go. It’s not about what you know it’s about them knowing that you came. They pay attention. In the love languages book we talked about last week it falls under the ‘gift of self’ category. You don’t have to do anything when you’re they, say anything, they probably won’t even sit with you but they’ll know you cared enough about them to come. Period. That will likely define much of your teenage years with your kiddo - just be there.

Lord, teach them your wisdom.

There are a number of ways God gets his wisdom into our lives.  Deuteronomy 4:9 talks about one of the most powerful ways we learn God’s wisdom.  It says “Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the Lord do for you.  Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and your grandchildren.”

One of the ways we learn wisdom is through telling the stories of what God has done.  What God’s done in our life.  Telling the stories of the times when I’ve trusted him and telling the stories of the times when I haven’t trusted him, and I’ve found him still to be faithful.  When you tell the stories of what God has done, people learn wisdom.  Your kids have the opportunity to learn wisdom.

For us a couple of the major stories would be the story about how God brought us to Texas - we never saw this coming. Or the story of how God healed Cathleen of degenerative disc disease when she was 22... or the story of how God healed her heart after her miscarriage by gifting us with Allison. Just remembering those things.

So what is it for you?  What are the stories for you?  How has God worked in your life?  Think about it.  Sometimes we just let it go.  We need to go back ourselves.  Then tell your kids.  Maybe you’ve told them before, but just keep telling them and telling them and telling them. Tell them till their eyes roll, and then you’ve accomplished your goal.

We learn wisdom through telling stories of what God’s done.  Another way that we learn wisdom is through discipline.  We learn wisdom through the discipline of the circumstances of life, through the discipline of our parents.  We can’t talk about parenting without talking about discipline.  

When we talk about discipline, you have to remember God disciplines us as well.  He allows the circumstances of our life to teach us lessons about life.  The Bible says in Proverbs 3:12 “The Lord corrects those he loves, as parents correct a child of whom they are proud.”  

It would be awesome if I could learn wisdom just by reading a book.  But you know in your own life much of the wisdom, the great wisdom that you have is through a mistake that you made and the lesson you learned through that mistake.  If we could learn wisdom just by somebody sitting down and saying, let me tell you what I learned, none of us would ever make mistakes.  But all of us make mistakes because we learn wisdom through experience.  We learn wisdom through the discipline of life.  

We actually learn wisdom through pain.  That’s what the discipline is.  When discipline brings some kind of pain in our lives and for our teenagers, the pain of a loss of something, the pain of circumstance not turning out the way they wanted it to, that pain creates wisdom.

How do you get that wisdom?  Through pain. 

So for your teenage student, they’re going to get wisdom sometimes as you take privileges away from them.  They’re going to get wisdom sometimes as you have to have a long talk with them.  The last thing they want is to have a long talk with you.  It’s a great pain inducer in their lives.

But let us just talk about one particular area.  As they get older, more and more of the wisdom, the discipline they get isn’t going to come through you.  It’s going to come through the natural consequences in life of some mistake they’ve made, something they haven’t done and some other adult is going to be involved.  Some teacher, some coach, someone else.  This can be tough for us as parents.  It can be tough to allow the natural consequences for their actions to occur in their lives.

The problem is we want to rescue. Now I know that sometimes our kids may have been severely wronged and they actually need rescuing.  But most of the time it’s that we need to just step back and support them, encourage them, but let them face those natural consequences. If your kid is tardy for A period because he was just too slow getting out of the house and this is the tardy that will result in some kind of consequence like; detention or whatever and you get a call from the school office that says something like, ‘Hey, this is Carol in the attendance office and I just wanted to touch base with you. Your kiddo was late today and this is the “big one”. Without a note from you, we will end up issuing a detention so I just wanted to see if he was with you and you guys were just in a hurry and forgot the note or should I go ahead and set up the detention?’ - what’s your response? Or you see your daughter’s homework on the table after she’s left for the day. It’s gonna be a zero. She’s gonna loose a privilege in class. Do you take it to her or not? Don’t get me wrong. I know that there are times that we help. But there are more often times that what we think is helping is really hurting because they aren’t learning from their mistakes. 

The truth is that none of us want our kids to get burned. But it’s better to have a little burn that heals and to have learned from that experience than to have long term damage from something. Make sense? In the midst of all of this be praying that they will learn wisdom sooner rather than later. 

We certainly don’t know all the answers or all the reasons even for the hurt that you’re now facing with one of your kids.  We do know how much it hurts.   

But I do know that you don’t find the strength to parent in yourself.  And God’s willing to give you a strength that’s above and beyond yourself.  I do know that God’s grace and goodness will take you through this season like he’s taken you through every season.  And I do know you don’t have to face this alone.  You parent together with Jesus, you parent together with others.

That’s what God does for us.   As you do it you ask him to give you rest when you’re weary.  God, carry this burden that’s too great for me to bear.  Help me to receive your encouraging strength.  You pray, Lord, give them your wisdom, even in this mistake that they’re making.  I’ve learned wisdom through mistakes, you’ve learned wisdom through mistakes.  God, even in the mistakes that they’re making let the other end of this be that they learn wisdom through this.

Then there’s a fourth prayer that you and I can pray together, 

Lord help me to let go.  

Help me to let go.  You have to especially pray this prayer during the teenage years but actually this starts from the moment they’re born.  At the beginning, you hold them in your arms and they can’t go anywhere.  But pretty soon you have to let go and they’re crawling around on the floor.  Then you have to let go and they’re walking around outside.  Then you have to let go and they’re walking down a hall on their first day of kindergarten.  You have to let go and all of a sudden they’re in a car driving off to high school.  You have to let go and they’re on a jet plane flying off to college.

This is the process of parenting, it’s this process of letting go.  In one sense, it never ends.  Let’s just be honest about that.  

It’s hard.  It’s just hard to let go.  Sometimes it’s a matter of perspective.  I have Jessica in my house for about 10-11 more months. That’s it. Then she’s off to college. Am I releasing my children to this big scary world?  Or am I releasing her into God’s plan for her life? 

That’s the difference.  Who are we releasing them to?  What if my child isn’t following God?  They’re going toward the world.  

God’s still in control.  God knows them.  They may not be pursuing God but he’s pursuing them.  And he loves them even more than you do.

Psalm 139 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

What your child is going through right now is no surprise to God.  What they’re going to face in the next five, ten, fifteen years of their lives, God already knows.  God already knows exactly the choices they’re going to make, good and bad.  And he’s going to be there for them.  We can release our kids to his care.

So praying our way through this, just one more time in your mind, just pray through these things in your mind.  For your kids, for some teenager that you know, some parents that you know.  Lord, help us to work together; Lord, give them the right friends; Lord, give them your wisdom; and, Lord, help us to let go.

I want to end this by praying for our kids.  Praying, if you’ve got a teenager in your home, pray this for your kids.  If you don’t have a teenager in your home, you may not even be a parent,  I want to encourage you to pray this for some teenager in your life.  Somebody in your family, somebody who lives on your block.  

 One of the great ways to pray is to pray Scripture back to God.  The Bible is God’s will.  So when you’re praying Scripture you know you’re praying God’s will every single time.  

Father, help my child to understand what you want them to do; make them wise about spiritual things; and let the way they live always please and honor you, so that they will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time they are learning to know you better and better.  I am praying, too, that they will be filled with your mighty, glorious strength so that they can keep going no matter what happens—always full of the joy of the Lord, and always thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the Kingdom of light.  

From Colossians 1:9-12 (TLB)

It can be easy to 'not like' people sometimes huh? If Jesus told us we are love others..... does that mean I have to like them?

If you spend enough time with people eventually they will start to get on your nerves......
Heck, it may not even take any time at all for you to roll your eyes at a specific person while under your breath saying, "Gimmie a break."

Football season is upon us. America loves it's Football. By far the most watched and enjoyed sport in this country. So with the start of the season out come the crazed & outlandish fans screaming and posting on Facebook how their team is the best and your team is lousy.

It's pretty humorous to me, bordering on ridiculous - don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of my teams and I want them to win.... I just don't have the urge to tell other people that their team is going to be lousy, even if they are or aren't.

Which takes me back to annoying people.
If Jesus told us we are love others..... does that mean I have to like them?

This all began when Jesus was answering the Pharisees, the chief religious sect of that day, when they asked Him about the greatest commandment in the Law.
So He says, "Love God with everything in you, I mean all that you have and love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36-40 - my paraphrase)

Jesus was summing up all the law in these two statements. If we love the Lord God with everything in you, all that you've got, then loving our neighbor is the natural result.
The question then is, who is our neighbor, and how do we love him or her?

Our neighbor is much more than the guy next door. It's anyone in the neighborhood, anyone in the community for that matter. To make it real simple..... it's anybody you come in contact with.

So how are we to love them?
How do you love yourself? You take pretty good care of yourself don't you? I mean you are 'very high' on your priority list.
Now I have to say, don't feel bad like I'm trying to bring a little humility into your life.... hahaha - really we all feel that way.... it's just natural to place ourselves high on our own priority list.
So... if I'm supposed to love others as I love myself.... taking care of them, thinking about them, wanting the best for them seems fine until I remember....
I DONT LIKE some folks!!!!!
Some people are rude, nasty, mean, and couldnt care less about me............
How in the world do I love THOSE people?

When we love the Lord God with everything in us, with all that we've got, we grow to recognize that everyone is part of His creation.
And God loves all creation and wants all creation with Him for eternity.
In reality folks "Love your neighbor" is not as hard as it looks on the surface.

You wanna know the secret?.................
It begins with your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Your relationship with Jesus Christ is the KEY.

If you are truly developing and cultivating a real relationship with Jesus Christ then you already know how easy it is to love the mean, nasty, unlovable people that you know or run across from time to time.
Your relationship with Jesus Christ is the key.

Are you ready for the real tough question.............?
If there are people who annoy you so, make you angry, fill your mind with hateful thoughts towards them....
Do you love them? Do you? I didn't say "like" them - I'm not talking about hanging out with them every weekend. But do you love them? Do you pray for them? For their own lives to get better and improve (like you pray for yourself and your family).
Do you long for them to know Christ themselves so they to will spend eternity in heaven?

Okay that wasn't even the tough question.... that was easy.
'Cause if they're are people in your heart that you can't stand. I mean you really despise them and you wish they would fall off the earth and be gone forever and your thoughts are if they spend eternity in Hell apart from God forever then thats their own fault for living the life they've chosen......... if that's how you feel then the tough question is.........
Wouldn't that make you question your relationship with Jesus Christ?

"For God so loved the WORLD...." that includes everyone right.

Here's the final thought: People matter to God, therefore people matter to me"

What do you think?


"We should be happy that [Jesus] did not say, 'Like your enemies.' It is almost impossible to like some people." --Martin Luther King Jr.

What do Kids need from Their Parents?

This is always such a prevailing question isnt it.... 

What do Kids need from Their Parents?

I know you think the quick & easy answer is money..... "Why yes I do, my children are always asking if I have any money? Yeah I DO." Oh dont you dare your ask your children "why?" Oh if you ask why it's 98% probable you're gonna regret asking that question.

"Well me and sissy (your oldest daughter replies) wanted to head over to the mall to look around, maybe get a pedi & a mani, possibly get a bite to eat and who knows maybe catch a movie."
Your simple response.... "how much money were you thinking you wanted?"
"Oh I dont know... maybe $100 (at that moment sweat beads begin to form & that ugly vein on the side of your neck starts bulging out as your face gets redder and redder... then she concludes her sentence) ........each."
"Each! did you say Each? Each, no way! I thought $100 was too much to share between the 2 of you." You respond at a bit higher octave.
"Oh ok" she says, "We'll share $100."
As you hand her the money you begin wandering to yourself ..... mmmm.... was that their plan all along????

Maybe......

Regardless of how moments like that may occur more often than not, Money is NOT the answer. So what do they need from us? 

The first one I want you to write down, it’s very important.  What kids need is belief.  

Actually your belief in the value of being a parent.  It is essential.  The belief in the value of being a parent.  If you don’t believe that you play a significant role in helping kids understand and embrace purpose & fulfillment in life then you’re in trouble.  You’re a significant player & if you dont believe this then you will become nothing more than a shift manager at your own bed and breakfast.  

My dream is that some day those of us that have relationship with God and we understand this big picture and we understand that kids are a gift from God that when somebody asks us what we do for a living, we wouldn’t put the value of our paycheck higher than the value of our parenting.  Because we always answer with what we do for a career.  Subconsciously, in our world, we’ve taken the value of parenting and pushed it down.  

What if the next time someone asks you what you do for a living you say, “That’s easy.  I’m in charge of socializing two homo sapiens in the dominant values of the Judao-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments in the transformation of the social order into the teleological described utopian inherent in the echelon that God prescribed.”  Then, after you say that, you say, “And what do you do?  Just a lawyer?”

Folks, I wanted to start with this one because it’s big.  If you don’t believe in the value of your role as a parent you won’t value your role as a parent.  And the consequences of your unbelief will sabotage your kids.  That’s a biggie.

The second thing I want you to write down that kids need is they need presence.  

I know there’s another way to spell this – with a T and that’s what most of them want.  But there’s also another way to spell it – like this: TIME.  One of the major contributing factors to healthy kids points back to present parents in their life.  

Let me tell you something I’ve learned from kids.  Parents, they’d much rather have your presence than your money.  They’d much rather have your time than your career.  

Presence matters.

And actually this idea of presence, this is a biggie to God.  Think about this, theological framework is that God’s presence started all this.  God’s presence brought all this into being.  Then God said, I want them to know Me so much that I’m going to go to earth and be present.  That is Jesus.  John 1:14 says God became flesh and lived here among us.  Then if you’re a Christian if you’ve said yes to God, you’ve stepped across the line and opened your heart to God and said I want You to be Lord, the CEO, the president of my life and God resides in you, what happens?  He gives you His Holy Spirit.  As it says in 2 Timothy 1:4 “With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.”  notice the “within us.”  Meaning God’s presence is with us.  Presence is a big deal to God.  Because we have God’s Spirit in us it can help us be better at being present in our relationships.  

Let’s go practical here.  Let me give you some things to at least think about.  

First, you have to consider your personal sacrifices.

What’s something you’re currently doing that is taking time away from your kids?  

What might you need to sacrifice so that your kids aren’t sacrificed?

Here’s another one to write down that I think you ought to consider.  Career sacrifices.  

What’s something you are doing in your career that you don’t need to be doing to survive? 

Here’s another one.  This one’s going to push your buttons.  

You ditch the cell phone in the car with your kids.  

I recently made a commitment to do this.  I’m not pretending this is easy.  But a lot of you, you get in the car and you think you’re with your kids.  You’re not with them, you’re on the phone.  When you’re by yourself, use up all your minutes!  Do all that.  But when you’ve got your kids in your car and you’re thinking, “We’re going to the game.  I took my kid to the game.”  No you didn’t you were on the phone talking the whole time.  You weren’t there.  When you’ve got your kid in the car turn the phone off.  There was life before mobile phones.  

What you don’t realize as a parent you have your kid trapped.  That is the time to talk and laugh and sing and point things out and if you have a teenager it’s the time to use one-word sentences.  Enjoy those moments.  Try it it’s not as easy as you think it might be to ditch the cell phone.  

Another one is focus, face them and give feed back.   

Your children need you, they really do need YOU.

They need you to believe that and be present.... really present.

Do You Have Money Issues?

Ever see Dave Ramsey billboards? Or listen to his talk show? He’s all about ridding yourself of debt - become debt free - budget well - build wealth & give as much as you can away - Cathleen and I have been thru his 13 week course, attended a live 1-day seminar... we like and believe and practice what he teaches.

Today I'd like to venture down that road of Putting God FIRST. I’m gonna be a bit bold and speak this to each of us, myself included and that is “If you’ve have a money problem, you have a God problem.”

Because God doesn’t have a money problem & I’m not a hyper-prosperity preacher, but I am a bible preacher.

...and God has no problem providing... If it’s His vision, He’ll provide the provision.

I have stated this about our church from the beginning... this church is God’s idea, not Joe or Cathleen’s  - His vision imparted to us therefore He’ll provide the provision for us.

If it’s His vision for you and your family to live debt-free, build wealth and give as much as you can away, He’ll provide the provision.

Exodus 13:1-2

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

now down to vs. 12

“you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.”

In our talk today of Putting God FIRST,  the 1st fundamental truth we see is:

1. The Firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed

Let me explain this, If your animal had a 1st born, if that animal was a clean animal, the 1st born had to be sacrificed. If it was an unclean animal it had to be redeemed w/ a sacrifice of a clean animal - you trackin w/ me - all the clean of the 1st born had to be sacrificed, and the unclean had to be redeemed w/ a sacrifice of the clean.

Let me ask you a very simple, theological question - were you born clean or unclean? - You were born unclean, all of us were born into sin, you don’t have to teach your children to be bad, right?

It comes naturally, some a little more than others...

So we were all born unclean... what about Jesus? clean or unclean? Clean - The Clean had to be sacrificed so that the unclean could be redeemed - if there were ever a time for you to say AMEN, this is about as good as a time there could be - I’ll say it again - The Clean had to be sacrificed so that the unclean could be redeemed.

You see this is a principle in God’s Word.. a fundamental truth - now this also works in our finances - the tithe belongs to God, like the 1st born belongs to God - so when we give the 1st, the 1st born of all our animals (or our source of income) the rest were redeemed & blessed - when we give the 1st of our fruits the rest is blessed - this is a principle

You see the tithe is much more than the 10% I know tithe means 10% but there’s more to it than that - it is giving the 1st to God.

It is putting God 1st in the area of your finances and every other area in your life - so the 1st born must be sacrificed. - here’s the 2nd 

2. The First Fruits must be Offered

“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God.”  Exodus 23:19

“Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 

So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.”  

Proverbs 3:9-10 

Now I already know that many people are well aware of the principle of tithing - they know it, but I wonder, b/c of my past, in all the years I grew up in the church and were taught principles such as the tithe, I knew it, but it wasn’t in my heart.

I wasn’t living the principe day in & day out - there came a point in life where I had to have this heart change... so ... I could stand here today, not just as your pastor, but as a believer in God’s Word and every principle of truth.

Here’s what I know, if I can’t stand up here and teach it, where are people going to learn these truths? The Credit Card companies - don’t leave home w/out it - NO, the church, we have to disciple it.

The 1st fruits belong to God - Do you remember what God said about Jericho?  When the Israelites went into the Promised land God said give me all of the silver and gold from Jericho.

How could He say that?  Why didn’t He say give me 10%?

It’s very simple, b/c Jericho was the 1st city.

Here’s what God is saying, “You give me the 1st and the rest will be blessed.  That’s what tithing is

Some people have asked the question of Cain and Abel’s offering - why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? I had always answered in the past, well... God looks at the heart and He saw the true meaning behind each offering - which is true but there’s more - there’s more when we understand the principle of the 1st fruits - let’s read this together:   Gen. 4:3-5

“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering.”

One tills the ground, one tends sheep - Abel brought of the 1st born, Cain did not bring of the 1st fruits.... and God... sees this

see this here w/ Cain - God cannot accept an offering that’s not 1st - it’s just the leftovers.

He is the Creator of the Universe, He is before all & above all - He gets our 1st fruit - let me say it this way, if God plays 18 holes of golf, His score is 18 - He cannot hit the ball and it not go in the hole - He cannot do it - He will always be #1

So listen guys, the truth for us is we may be giving 10% and still not tithing - 

here’s the 3rd Fundamental Truth

3. The Tithe must be First

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.”  Leviticus 27:30

Example: owner of a landscape business & did my backyard all nice and pretty. I paid them $1000 for it - now they have $1000 - how much is the tithe? $100

Which one is the tithe - 1st $100 - you’re saying that because you’re paying attention, that’s good - how do you know which one is the 1st one? the one on the left, middle, right?

It’s the 1st one that leaves your hand - it’s the 1st one you spend - so check this out - don’t give the tithe to the electric co.

The Electric co. doesn’t have the power to bless your finances - they can turn on the power to home and that’s it - what we need to get into our hearts is that God can to and a whole lot more - you trackin? - The 1st one we spend goes to God - now listen I’m not legalistic about this - any of you who know Cathleen and I know that we are far from legalistic - 

When we create the monthly budget in our home, the 1st line on top is the tithe - that is factored in 1st before anything else - it is the 1st check written before anything else. Now if we sit down and put this together and Cathleen went grocery shopping earlier in the day, I don’t say, “Oh that’s great honey, were cursed for a month” because you wrote a check to HEB before I could write the tithe check.

God is not a legalistic God - He looks at our heart - so the 1st one has to go to Him - so when people catch the principle of giving to God 1st, praying to God 1st in the morning, serving God 1st, asking God 1st about something instead of the dimwit in the next cubicle (how do we trust these people w/ our lives over God I’ll never figure that out) - spend time in His Word 1st before my show comes on @ 9 o’clock tonite - If we can get this down it will change our lives!

Putting God 1st

My Grandfather was an amazing man - He was a staff pastor for over 30yrs. all the while working in construction and raising a family including my mother.

I loved to talk bible with him - he’s a stubborn ol’ geezer that’s for sure, but the wisdom is unparalleled.

some time ago, We start talking about tithe, I say absolutely I give 10%  - you too right? I mean c’mon you give 10%? He said, well, no... no we don’t - I immediately begin breaking out the Word of God to show him what I’m talkin about  - he stops me after a while and says, ok, ok, ok if it means that much to you I’ll start giving 10% if it’s that important to you, I’ve been giving 25% but if it’s that important - and once again I come to a place I often find myself w/ the dunce cap on - the realization that my grandparents are much, much wiser than I.

My Grandparents are huge givers. They have lived a very modest lifestyle with plenty of money, but they just gave it away. Someone’s car is brokedown, they’d fix it, have it fixed or buy them another car. My grandfather has probably purchased 20 plus cars but not for himself - I wanna live like this - this is what Dave ramsey is talking about - this is what God is talkin about.

3 Levels of Giving in scripture:

Tithe

Offering 

Extravagant Offering

did you know they are 3 Levels of Giving in scripture:

Tithe

Offering 

Painful Offering

I remember early in my marriage we really didn’t have much money and our church was doing a capital fund raiser to purchase land w/ existing buildings that could be remodeled for church - they asked the congregation to pray about giving to that campaign in a 1 time pledge as well as monthly giving - 

Cathleen and I did not have much money and are praying about what we can give as a 1 time and monthly pledge - in our prayer we both believed that God asked us to give this crazy amount of money (atleast it was to us at that time in our lives) and we thought maybe He forgot how poor we were... so we asked again.... same thing though

So we just did it - we wrote the check and started think about what we were going to cut back on financially... no more food or electricity - I dont know - 

We were staff pastors at the church (not paid/volunteer) but we also were invited by other churches to come while they had week long revivals or one night special events and do children ministry for them so all their folks could attend the event - 

These churches would typically have a predetermined amount on a check already written for us - sometimes it could have been a ‘love offering’ that was taken for us - sometimes it was more of a ‘like offering’ or a ‘not like offering’ 

But after we wrote that check for our church fund-raiser we did the children’s min. during a Christmas party for another church.

They gave us check at the end of night, but the Pastor took that check & went away (to office I suppose) and came back with a different check - we it opened on our way home - it was exactly.... exactly that crazy amount God asked us to give in pledge.

God is amazing!

He blesses those who put Him FIRST - it’s a fundamental principle, 

a fundamental truth in God’s Word.

Do Children Really Need to Learn Responsibility?

Do kids need to develop responsibility? 

Well... if they don’t develop responsibility in life then none of these qualities are even possible...  Confidence, Character, Conviction, Compassion, & Competence if they don’t have responsibility.  Working with children, I see the lack of responsibility manifest itself in three primary ways.  They’re really easy to remember – ABC.  Watch for them.  

Where do you see the lack of responsibility?

A - Apathy.  “I don’t have to care about being responsible.”

B – Blame – “I don’t have to take responsibility because it’s never my fault.  It’s always his fault!”

C – the Care-for-me mentality.  “I’ve been cradled my entire life.  Someone else will figure it out.”

What do you think today’s generation of kids is going to tell their kids about today’s culture?  I don’t think it’s going to be like our parents told us about having to walk to school.  up hill, both ways, barefoot, in the snow, after milking the cows.  Right?  No.  I think today’s generation of kids are going to go, “Life is so tough!  One time my parents made me oversee the housecleaner.  And if I was hungry I had to go to the kitchen and speak directly to our dietitian.”  How do we as parents or significant adults in the life of kids, how do we breed irresponsibility?  How do we move them towards apathy and blame and the care-for-me mentality?

Apathy.  What do we do as parents?  We solve all their problems.  We’re always picking up for them, not making them do anything.  We make money too easy and not valuable enough.  So what kids have learned is that they don’t really need to do much, nor care.  That’s apathy.

Blame.  Why do kids always blame? How about this example: At a soccer game the referee stops the game and sends a girl off the field.  A sixteen year old girl because she had jewelry on.  She gets off the field and the coach jumps on her a little bit.  She replies, “It was the referee’s fault.  He’s supposed to check before the game!”  

Perfect!  What do we do as parents?  We tell our kids they do nothing wrong.  “Sweetheart, you got a bad grade in that class because your teacher just doesn’t know anything!”  or “Son, you’re not getting playing time on that team.  It’s not your fault.  You’re better than every kid on that team.  Your coach is just lame!”  or “Your ears are not big.  Kids call you Dumbo because they like Disneyland.”  Or whatever it might be.  

We tell our kids they do no wrong.

What about the Care-For-Me mentality?  The care-for-mentality happens when we as parents never force our kids to carry their own weight.  What happens is they haven’t moved from this infantile dependence to a healthy independence.  They need to carry their own weight.  That’s part of being a responsible human being.

Here’s the action step.  Allow consequences.  What if they forget their cleats?  Then they miss a game.  And in the scope of life that’s not that big a deal.  Chances are they’ll never do it again.  But when you bail them out all the time and they never take any responsibility for themselves, they’ll never experience any consequences.  

Proverbs 27:12 says “A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions.  The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”  Folks, when we don’t allow kids to experience fair and natural consequences they will remain a simpleton and they will never develop a sense of responsibility. 

So you tell me.... do we really need to teach our kids responsibility?

What does "Hurt" do to you?

When you're hurt by someone what do you do? Do you allow it to make you bitter.... or better? Remember it's your choice on the direction you move. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Amazing Night in Lafayette

As I am about to leave LA. gotta tell you about my 1st night - walking out to my car @ 6pm, in the lobby I recognize a man... it's my neighbor 2 doors down - he's on the phone, I say "hi" he says "I need to talk to you, my father-in-law just passed away, he was my best friend" he asked me to come back in 20min. after phone call - when i returned he was outside at a table mourning, sobbing loudly, I walked up put my hand on his shoulder why he continued.... eventually he calmed and I sat at the table with him for about an hour - we talked.... about anything - towards the end he was very appreciative that I sat with him during this difficult time.

How cool is our God!

That 2 neighbors not knowing that each other was going to be in Lafayette at the same hotel at the same time and tragedy strikes one of them who is absolutely alone and by way of the Sovereign God of the Universe, He orchestrates a friend to be in place during a time in need.
WOW!

STAND

If Jesus said, “Stand firm & you will gain life” - what does that mean exactly? Stand firm how? Stand firm why? and what’s the benefit or purpose of it all?
We’re going to talk about that today.
We do see people taking stands on issues around us all the time, don’t we? - we have any Ron Paul fans in the house?

Here’s someone taking a stand-look at this on the screen

Ron Paul supporter cited 4 times in Minn.
An 18-year-old Republican's enthusiasm for presidential hopeful Ron Paul could cost him more than $550.
Cody Hauer has been cited four times in one week for displaying a 13-inch-by-40-inch "Ron Paul Revolution" decal in the rear window of his car. The problem is that such decals are illegal if they obstruct the driver's view.
"I support Ron Paul, the city police department doesn't," he said. "They gave me a DWR — driving while Republican."
Hauer said he'll argue in court that the law violates his First Amendment right to free speech.
"To be honest, I'm probably not going to win, but I'm going to go down fighting," he said.

any of you ever had your order messed up in the drive-thru of some fast food joint?

Iowa man charged with Taco Bell chalupa assault
A man who claimed he didn't get the taco he paid for has been charged with assault for allegedly pelting a Taco Bell clerk in the face with a chalupa.
Nancy Harrison told police she was working the drive-through Thursday night when Christopher Lame, 24, ordered some food.
He later came into the store, complaining he didn't get the taco he had ordered, police records say. Harrison said that when she asked for a receipt, he went back to his car and brought back the bag.
Harrison said she told him the store was closing, and as she turned away, a chalupa hit her in the face near her right eye.

Now if Jesus said, “Stand firm & you will gain life” I do not believe He was speaking of incidents like these.
So what is Christ asking us to stand firm for?

1. The reason for standing is freedom.

Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

God asked us to stand to solidify what has already been done.
Jesus Christ gave His life for us. He was innocently condemned to death, but He did it for all of us, all of humanity. He was beaten & bruised for all our mistakes, screw-ups, and sin.
Nailed to a cross for our redemption. Listen, He died for our freedom and He is asking us to take a stand! To stand up for what he has done not only in our lives, but the lives every person on the face of this planet. That’s why we stand for Christ.

We stand for freedom, what Christ has already done.
How do we stand for Christ?

2. The requirement for standing is fierceness.
fierceness = wild determination, unrestrained zeal (now, don’t throw a chalupa in anybody’s face) how? bible tells us,

Ephesians 6:14-18 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

a. The Belt of Truth - this is our foundation, it’s our character, & our integrity
b. The Breastplate of Righteousness - 2 types of Righteousness:
1. Inputed or given, when you gave your life to Christ, became a Christ-follower you were given the Righteousness
of Christ.
2. Chosen - it’s choosing to change & allowing God to work. choosing righteousness of our foundation, the Truth. choosing not to sin - not entering into corruptible convo - the things we take in, TV, movies, or substances, we choose righteousness.

c. The Gospel of Peace - shoes = surefooted - live a life of stability in Christ - this is what we display for the world to see. are you living a life of stability? or is it so full of ups and downs people really ? who you are or what you’re all about - do people know what you’re all about? or is it up in the air? This gospel of peace is surefootedness (i think i just made up a word) People see the peace of God front and center in your life.
d. The shield of Faith - The shield that Paul had in mind here is not the small, round buckler, but the oblong, door-like shield, measuring 4' x 2 ', curved to the shape of the body and carried by the Greek and Roman soldiers. When joined together, these large shields formed a wall behind which a body of troops could hide themselves from the rain of the enemy's missiles.
These military shields were made of wood, covered on the out- side with thick leather, which not only deadened the shock of the missile, but protected the frame of the shield from the fire-tipped darts used in the artillery of the ancients.
So, faith is the shield of the Christian soldier, defending him from the fierce attacks of the foe from within and without. The shield of faith is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. This shield cannot be pierced or destroyed by the fiercest fires of hatred or malice. The arrows of the evil one, though flaming with cruelty, & intent to harm are stopped by the shield and extinguished.
We are to stand in faith! Our faith in God that regardless of whatever is thrown our way, marriage troubles, job or work difficulties, children driving you crazy... whatever it is we are facing... no matter how big it is... God is bigger! and we have faith He is sovereign, He is in control and will lead us out of the mess. So we stand w/ the shield of faith.
e. The Helmet of Salvation - Why? b/c while standing the battle is in your mind. protect it!
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.” Eph. 4:22-24 How do we do that?
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Col. 3:2
The battle is in your mind, so put on the mind of Christ.


f. The Sword of the Spirit - what is the sword of the spirit?
1. Word of God. v.17 “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
Again, the word of God is our foundation. W/ the word we can battle all the temptations of life - that’s why it’s so important to get in the Word daily - build up your offense against the enemy - Jesus tempted in wilderness - what did He model, what did He do to attack or battle temptation? The Word of God. read Matt. 4:1-11 at 11 the devil left Him. The devil left b/c Jesus broke out the sword of the spirit. Now check this out, if Satan went after Jesus, will he come after you? That’s why we need to get in the word daily to stand against him.
2. Prayer v18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” - we are to pray daily as well. pray what? read again - about everything
We are to stand in fierceness, wild determination. b/c you will be tempted. You will come under attack. You will face challenging dilemmas. Will you stand?
The requirement for standing is fierceness. wild determination, unrestrained zeal - we have many ex. of men & women in scrip. standing for God - Daniel, Stephen, Esther, Joshua, Caleb, Jonathan.... and we have many ex. today - how many of you remember April 20th, 1999? That was the day of the Columbine H.S. tragedy - it was also the day that when faced with a life and death ? regarding her belief in God, Cassie Bernall said YES.
Stood fierce - does it get any fiercer than that?
She was a Christ-follower who walked the talk (vid)

Just like Rach, Shac, & Benny - As they faced death for their belief in God - they said YES and then said,

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Dan. 3:16-18

That’s standing fierce! that’s walking the walk - we are to stand fierce why, b/c of freedom. To solidify what Christ has already done.

3. The results of standing is fullness

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents--which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.” Philippians 1:27-28

a. Jesus gets the credit - we cannot stand on our own - it is only by the power of God. that’s what we share.
b. Enemies are destroyed - the temptations, the attacks that come our way, when life is beating you up - STAND - and the enemy will leave. The strongholds, the bondage, the enormous pressures you feel b/c you you just can’t get over the hump, can’t kick it - listen, when we stand now God is taking the reigns & He holds the key to destroy what is dragging us down.
c. You get to see the power of God - you get to see the supernatural take place, right in front of your eyes. - how many of you have stories you could share w/ us of God turning around what appeared to be an impossible situation, what appeared to be a dead-end in life, that He turned for good.
d. Other Lives will be affected
You get the benefit of becoming a Christ-like example for others.
We have no idea the number of lives that can & will be changed when we stand for Christ. As others see us standing, the H.S. begins to work in their lives in a whole new realm, b/c you stood for the Truth. Just like Cassie Bernall, just like many others in scripture, just like someone you may know.

I want to introduce someone to you that I know.
Angie Chandler
stood for Christ and has witnessed the results of standing in her life.
Will you please welcome Angie....

What an amazing story! What portrait of beauty! A Portrait that God wants to paint in each of our lives.