Christian

I was thinking tonight about the next generation. Oh, I know, everyone thinks I’m going to complain about their dress, or attitude, or some other such thing, and while I would agree that those things can be annoying sometimes, that isn’t what I’m thinking about tonight. What came to my mind is the simple fact that at some point we will be passing the baton to this next generation.

Many people would cringe at the very thought, and when I think about some of the kids I see, I might have a tendency to join them in that. But we really can’t judge the kids by what they are today, because tomorrow, when responsibility hits them full force, they will change in a moment, just like we did. There isn’t one adult today, who can honestly say that their parents liked the way they dressed, the music they listened to, or the friends they had. They might have liked some things, but not all. And what parent hasn’t made mention of the dreaded next generation and scowled.

Well, just as we were that dreaded next generation and we changed into the establishment of today, so they will become the establishment of tomorrow, and they will look at their children and their friends as the next generation. And they will hope that as they changed into responsible adults, their kids will do the same.

As we did, most kids will grow into responsible adults. If we can instill in them the values we were raised with, and couple that with love and a respect for their feelings, most kids will blossom into adults that we can be very proud of. Kids are looking for approval…from someone. Now I don’t say to pretend that you love their clothes or music or attitude, but when they do something worthy of praise, don’t forget to praise them for it. If you don’t give positive reinforcement, they will act out to get your attention. We can’t be absent from their childhood and expect them to be great adults. We must love and encourage our kids, and most importantly keep their lives in prayer, because that is the most important thing we can do for them.

A couple of months ago, I lost a pin that I really liked. It had 2 Calla Lillies on it and it was delicate and beautiful. I searched high and low for it, at work, in my car, and at home. I couldn’t find it anywhere. Being a Christian, I believe that the devil has no right to steal things from me. I believe that God takes care of me and my things. His word promises me that I have power over the devil, and since the devil came to steal, kill, and destroy, what was happening to me was wrong. I prayed over my pin, telling God that He knew where it was and asked Him to reveal it to me.

During the next couple of months, I thought about my pin often, but it still had not been returned to me. I had not had to stand this long for a lost item before, and I wondered what to do about that. I know faith works, and I didn’t want to pull back my faith, and yet, I had no pin. I just kept putting it out of my mind.

Yesterday as I was getting some things out of my car after work, my attention was caught by something at the back edge of the driver’s side seat. There, staring me in the face, was my pin. I was ecstatic!! I wanted to jump up and down. I knew God would never let me down, so if the pin had never been returned, I would have to face the fact that I had failed in my faith stand. I really hadn’t much thought about the pin, and certainly not enough to be pressured to pull back my faith with some silly remark about how I guessed it wasn’t going to be returned. I had simply put it out of my mind for the most part. But, God is faithful. And words are alive. The words spoken in faith two months ago, were not forgotten by God, He didn’t put it out of his mind by saying it was too hard. No, God and I are in covenant, and He never takes that lightly. I, His child, had spoken in faith, and managed for two months not to pull back my faith, so God in His never-changing, perfect sense of responsibility and obligation to perform His word, did His part and brought it to pass.

My pin returned, I went about the rest of my day with a lighter heart and an ever growing understanding of how true to His word my God is. Thank you Father, for your faithfulness to me. I know that my God loves me and cares about every area of my life, from the biggest to the smallest detail. How awesome is that? I can roll the care of anything in my life over onto God, and He is faithful to supply every need, and even cares about my desires. Every little thing in my life is important to God, because He loves me and we are in covenant together. God always keeps up His end of the bargin.

Have you ever noticed that when you don’t think you like someone, even if you don’t really know them, your thoughts constantly fall in the realm of the negative? And the more negative thoughts you think toward them, the more you don’t like them. And not only that, but the more you think those negative thoughts, the more the person actually becomes like your thoughts. It’s hard to explain how that could happen, but I’m sure it has something to do with how those thoughts transfer into our attitude, our conversation, and if that isn’t enough, they keep us thinking more negative thoughts toward that person. Pretty soon the relationship is beyond repair.

This same scenario can play out in the lives of our children if we are not careful. Children can be frustrating at any age, and when we think angry thoughts toward them concerning their rebellious ways, and those thoughts turn to feelings that we display toward our children, they can begin to think that they never do anything right, or that we hate them or are disappointed in them. So they can rebel further, and a cycle begins to take shape. Sometimes kids think they can’t ever please us, so why try.

I don’t mean to say than we shouldn’t discipline our kids. They need rules and limits, and it would be wrong not give them these things. But once we have done so don’t think harsh thoughts about them. Think good thoughts about them again. They will know that you love them and are proud of them, in spite of their mistakes.

In a world of instant gratitude, being patient is not well received. We want a diet pill that instantly makes us thin. We charge things so we don’t have to save for them. We want instant income, instant fame, instant expertise, and the list goes on and on.

In The Message version of the Bible, Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?” God want’s us to be content with what we have, and patient enough to wait for him to bring blessings to us. When we get “let-me-help-itis”, we get into trouble.

Being patient is important in everyday life too. We have to work to get where we want to be, and most times the road there takes a while, but isn’t a worthwhile goal worth the trip? There is such a sense of satisfaction when you finally reach a goal you set for yourself. You can be proud of what you have achieved.

The goal of being debt free is such a great goal, and it is Biblical too. Not many people get there, but with hard work and patience it is a goal that can be achieved. Of course the first move to make is, stop charging! Begin to save up for things you want, and pay as much as possible on existing debt. As cards are paid off, add that payment to remaining payments to pay everything off faster. The beauty of this is that you get to spend more of your own money when you aren’t paying interest to other people.

These are just a couple of goal setting ideas, and reasons to take this journey. I’m sure you have goals you want to reach. Be patient and work toward your goals. You can do it, if you don’t give up.

In church today, we sang one on my favorite songs. The song goes like this. “I’m consumed by the cry of Your spirit. I’m consumed by Your calling on me. And may my life forever be, consumed by Your fire in me.” The service went on this way, “What consumes you?” I began to think about the things that we allow to get in the way of our walk with God. Oh we always think we have a “really good” reason for skipping church this week. I mean we were up late last night, we were so busy getting things done around the house, it’s my only day to sleep in, I have a cold, and…well, the list goes on and on. I wonder what God thinks of our excuses. And just how would we feel if God suddenly had some excuse as to why He couldn’t be bothered with our “petty little lives” today. You see, we always expect God to act on our behalf…whenever we call on Him that is, because, well He’s God, and that’s His job, that’s what He is there for.

But, is that really a “relationship” with our Loving Father, or are we simply “going through the motions” and hoping no one will notice that our Faith Walk really leaves something to be desired. Our God is a loving God, and if we turn and call on Him, He is faithful to help us, but as we choose to step further and further away from a true “relationship” with Him, we begin to get to a place where we call on him less and rely on worldly advisors more and more, and when we really need to press into the Lord, we suddenly find that He has stepped back and let us go our own way. You see, God is a gentleman. He doesn’t force His way on any of us. He gave man a “free will” when He created us, and if we choose to go to hell, well He will stand up for our right to do so. But it will be the last thing He wants for us. It breaks His heart to see it. We are His children, His family. He wants nothing more than to have a real relationship with His kids. He is no different than any other parent in that way, but His love, and a relationship with Him offers us so much more than any earthly parent, because with God, there is only Love. Even when we are in sin, even when we turn our backs on Him, even when we refuse to listen or even give Him 1 hour of our “precious little pathetic lives” each week, He still loves us. He still LOVES us!!! How can that possibly be? Well, it’s because He is the God of second chances. He keeps taking us back, even when we don’t deserve it. It makes me feel very ashamed of myself for the times that I have let the silly, worthless, unimportant cares of this world get in the way of my relationship with my God, my Father. And Father, for those times, I ask your forgiveness.

The really good news is that when we ask His forgiveness, He is faithful to take us back and treat us like kings again. So today I want to ask you this question again, “What consumes you?” Is it God and His love for you, a loving, perfectly wonderful relationship with a Father who only wants the very best for you, or are the cares of this world, and the cares of your little life so far more important that you can’t be bothered…can’t even take 1 hour out of your week; and maybe a little bit of time to read your Bible; to spend time with your God…who gave you your very life. Think about that…..

“[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” Romans 8:1

Before we were saved, we were lost in our sin and condemned to Hell. We had no hope, but God, who knew that after the fall of Adam we would not be able to keep His laws, loved us anyway. Our world had come under the control of Satan, and we were separated from God; condemned. God had to find a way, within the laws that put our world into being, to bring about the atonement that would restore man’s relationship with God. Since the wages of sin is death, and the only one qualified to reverse the curse that had been brought upon mankind, was someone who was sinless and yet human, God had to find a way to bring a sinless person into this world. It would take a long time to find a man on the earth who was willing to partner with God to bring this to pass, because God was now outside of His creation looking in. God would partner with Abraham to bring about a race of people who would be His special treasure and the ancestors of His Son, who would soon put off His Heavenly glory to take on an earthly body, in order to go to the cross to buy back God’s people. He would pay for us with His earthly life, beaten and hanging on a cross, which was the most humiliating way to die in that era. But Jesus loved us and willingly made this sacrifice for us.

Jesus would enter our world, having given up all the privileges of His status in Heaven, as the Son of God. The cross was so much more than simply the shedding of blood. There was a covenant made between God and Jesus, the Son of Man. Blood covenants in Middle Eastern culture are forever. Jesus had taken our sins, our sicknesses, our separation from God and through the shedding of His blood, He paid the price required to buy our freedom from the curse and condemnation. All that was left was for us to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and our lives would be forever changed. We would walk after spiritual things and be free from condemnation forever. The sacrifice Jesus made is free for anyone who will receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Lord, thank you for the atonement for my sins that you have freely given. Now I am a new creation. I am no longer condemned, but an heir to the throne. I receive your salvation in Jesus name. Amen

I am reading a book right now that, were I not a Christian, could put fear in my heart instantly. It is a book by John Hagee called “Can America Survive” and it concerns the end times and America’s place in them. In my head, this book is very hard to read, and my head wants to fear over what I read here, but God’s word says that many things will happen in the end times that could bring fear, but that we are to “fear not” so that is what I will do. Many of the things in this book are happening in this country as I write this. And they are things many of us don’t give any thought to. We often take our freedoms for granted, and too often offer our freedoms to those who have no right to them, because they aren’t even citizens of this country.

That said, I want to address first the issue of the claim that the Muslims make, that they will take over America. If you know anything about their faith, you will know that they are allowed to have as many as 4 wives, and birth control is not an option for these women. So many of them have 15 or more children. So potentially each Muslim man can contribute 60 or more new members each in their lifetimes, and that is just by having children. If they actively try to convert people from other religions, the numbers grow. That said, 1,000 Muslim could grow the Muslim faith by 60,000 or more people in a lifetime, and with that number and how many children they could have…well, you get the picture. Christianity is growing too, but are our numbers equal to those of the Muslims? Probably not.

Another issue to give thought to is our freedom of religion. We in America believe that each person has the right to choose, and that the church should be protected. So as a way of hiding all of their radical activities, the Muslims build mosques. We are not allowed to search these places, or even enter them. So, here on American soil there are places where they can hide guns, bombs, etc, and they are safe from our eyes.

So, what am I getting at? After reading this book, I have come to the conclusion that the Christians in this world must pray for the Muslims people to receive an awakening to the one true God. We all know that we are to pray for them, but we also know how hard that is when they are out to kill us. So, I say, pray for them to have an awakening to the one true God, as an act of self defense…and defense of our nation.

My second point is that the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders. I know that many of you are struggling with this issue concerning our current president, as many of us believe that he is not a citizen of this country and that he is Muslim. Again, I say that Barack Obama (or Barry Soetero) must be prayed for to receive an awakening to the one true God.

I know how hard this prayer request will be for many of you. It will be as hard for you as it was for me, but in the defense of our country and our way of life, and most importantly in defense of our God, we must pray for salvation for these lost Muslim people, our president, and any other leaders federal, state and local that are not saved. The end times are near, and God’s plan will be fulfilled. Every prophecy will come to pass, and our prayers will not change the outcome of the end times, except that maybe, just maybe a few lost Muslims who would have gone to Hell, will end up in Heaven. It makes our prayers worthwhile, don’t you think?

Bob and I sold our elliptical today. So, we have been trying to take it apart for easier transfer to it’s new home. Do you think we can find any instructions? Of course not!! Why is it that when you have something that you know might be important later on, you put it somewhere “safe” and when you need it, it is so “safe” that you never find it again. I seem to have this problem a lot. Somewhere in my house, there is a very secret stash of really important stuff staying very, very safe from ME!!! That is just wrong!!!

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