"For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth." -Psalms 71:5 (NKJV)
I had an amazing thing happen to me the other day as a father. Olivia and I were just hanging out at the house, and I decided it was a great time for some ice cream. (Like there's ever a bad time!) What happened next was wonderful. She simply asked, "Do you want to go outside and talk?" So that's exactly what we did, we sat out on my front deck, ate ice cream, and just talked. Now, that may not seem like much, but trust me- times like this are HUGE in our children's lives! Every time we take a minute to just slow down, and enjoy the everyday little moments that pass by all too quickly, we are laying another brick in our legacy as a parent. I am so grateful to God that He has opened my eyes to see these opportunities, and I pray the same for you.
In a couple of my recent posts, I have been telling you about the Fresh Air Fund, an organization that takes children from the urban city in New York, and places them in "host" families in rural areas to discover what a true summer vacation is all about. I recently received an update from the FAF, here's part of what they had to say: "You've helped support the efforts of our local volunteer leaders to recruit more dedicated host families...we were able to spread the word to other potential supporters...THOUSANDS of Fresh Air Children embarked on free summer vacations this summer." Wow- what a great report to hear!
Here's where I'm going with all of this. Our faith and trust must rest solely in the hands of Jesus Christ. Our next obligation as parents is to extend that same love to our children. But it doesn't stop there. If we are truly the hands and feet of Christ, then we must reach out to those who are in need. God gives hope to the hopeless, and He's a Father to the fatherless. Our job is to remain in Him and reach out to a lost and dying world. To all of you who helped in one form or another to the Fresh Air Fund, thank you so much! Dads, I'm gonna talk to you specifically to close out here. YOU are the head of your kids, stay connected to God as your Father, and He will lead you in the direction you are to go. I often think back to what kind of dad I would have been to Olivia had I not accepted Jesus into my life- I'm here to tell you today that not only has He made me a better father than I ever thought possible, He has given me the tools to pass on to my children necessary to keep a godly legacy intact; and the same is available to you. I simply love this quote from Maria Edgeworth: "If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves."
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Remembering September 11th, 2001
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." -Psalm 33:12 (NIV)
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all."
Well, tomorrow marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. In those ten years we have experienced many ups and downs as a country. We have been in a seemingly never ending war in the middle east, watched as the housing market bottomed out, elected a new president, and bit our nails over the stock market. We have also begun to rebuild a new World Trade Center- bigger and better than ever before and have proceeded to still lead the world in so many ways that only the USA can- for the better. But, have we REALLY changed as a nation?
I remember when that awful day unfolded. I was on my way to a job interview and wondering if World War III was beginning. I also remember in the days that followed the radio commercials, the fund raising, and how this nation all of a sudden came together. We truly were ONE nation, and God was our center- for about three months. American flags flew off of every house top, car, and building- no one was going to divide us! Then the emotion started to fade off in so many ways and all of a sudden there were attacks on Muslim citizens, gang shootings, and back to the usual mayhem that we were accustomed to. Here's my point: if God truly IS our center, not just as a nation, but as individuals- why would we fall back to our old ways? Simple, we are fallen people living in a fallen world. As the Body of Christ, we are to RISE up over these circumstances to lead and evangelize- not wait for a national tragedy to bring them to us.
Jesus cleared the path for us to not only have complete freedom from our sins, but to bring a love to this world that the world itself does not recognize. I'm challenging any and all so-called "Christians": do not wait to act, be the hands and feet NOW! America loves to still call itself a Christian country, built on a rich heritage with God stamped right in the middle. Yet, we back off on certain topics and issues, or we don't stand up the way we should. I am speaking, of course, of approaching these circumstances in a Christ-like way, built solely on the Word of God. John Hagee said it once before, "If the Body of Christ would rise up and stand together, we would be an unstoppable force!" Everyone, the clock IS ticking, and time is running out. We watch as the end times prophecies unfold before our eyes, yet often fail to grasp the severity of the situation and start winning souls. If we want to truly be one nation, we must be ONE Body- functioning on all levels.
Pray. Spend time in God's Word and ask Him to place you where He wants you to be. Remember Jesus' words, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand." -Mark 3:24 (NASB) Let's keep this nation as great and strong as ever before- but it MUST be built on the Rock of Jesus Christ, any other way and we will divide ourselves. GOD BLESS THE USA...AMERICA BLESS GOD!!!
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all."
Well, tomorrow marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. In those ten years we have experienced many ups and downs as a country. We have been in a seemingly never ending war in the middle east, watched as the housing market bottomed out, elected a new president, and bit our nails over the stock market. We have also begun to rebuild a new World Trade Center- bigger and better than ever before and have proceeded to still lead the world in so many ways that only the USA can- for the better. But, have we REALLY changed as a nation?
I remember when that awful day unfolded. I was on my way to a job interview and wondering if World War III was beginning. I also remember in the days that followed the radio commercials, the fund raising, and how this nation all of a sudden came together. We truly were ONE nation, and God was our center- for about three months. American flags flew off of every house top, car, and building- no one was going to divide us! Then the emotion started to fade off in so many ways and all of a sudden there were attacks on Muslim citizens, gang shootings, and back to the usual mayhem that we were accustomed to. Here's my point: if God truly IS our center, not just as a nation, but as individuals- why would we fall back to our old ways? Simple, we are fallen people living in a fallen world. As the Body of Christ, we are to RISE up over these circumstances to lead and evangelize- not wait for a national tragedy to bring them to us.
Jesus cleared the path for us to not only have complete freedom from our sins, but to bring a love to this world that the world itself does not recognize. I'm challenging any and all so-called "Christians": do not wait to act, be the hands and feet NOW! America loves to still call itself a Christian country, built on a rich heritage with God stamped right in the middle. Yet, we back off on certain topics and issues, or we don't stand up the way we should. I am speaking, of course, of approaching these circumstances in a Christ-like way, built solely on the Word of God. John Hagee said it once before, "If the Body of Christ would rise up and stand together, we would be an unstoppable force!" Everyone, the clock IS ticking, and time is running out. We watch as the end times prophecies unfold before our eyes, yet often fail to grasp the severity of the situation and start winning souls. If we want to truly be one nation, we must be ONE Body- functioning on all levels.
Pray. Spend time in God's Word and ask Him to place you where He wants you to be. Remember Jesus' words, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand." -Mark 3:24 (NASB) Let's keep this nation as great and strong as ever before- but it MUST be built on the Rock of Jesus Christ, any other way and we will divide ourselves. GOD BLESS THE USA...AMERICA BLESS GOD!!!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Once Saved, Always Saved? -Part 3
"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." -1John 5:11-13 (NKJV)
We are going to finish up the discussion of whether someone can or can not lose there salvation today, for now. I'm sure I will be adding more to this discussion as time goes on. In the previous post, I brought up the question of why do we still continue to struggle with certain sins, even after we are saved? Galatians 5 tells us that the flesh and Spirit constantly wage war on each other, and 2Cor 10 tells us that we have the ability to demolish "strongholds"- something that is much harder to break off that other parts of the flesh. The absolute best answer I can give in response to breaking free from any of this bondage is CONSTANT submission and quality time spent in the Lord's presence. One thing is for sure- you can always count on the assurance of God's Word and His faithfulness!
We know God's Word to be true and the standard by which we should live from several key verses: John 1:1-2, 14; and John 14:6. Jesus is the Word Who has been with God from the beginning, became flesh, and dwelt among us. He confirms both the Truth of God and the one and only way to salvation in 14:6. If He's the Truth and the Word, then God's Word is absolute truth- period. (I will be writing a blog on this soon as well.) Another assurance of salvation is found in John 10:27-30. We belong to Christ, follow Him, and He gives us eternal life. Jesus and God are one, and no one will snatch us out of Their hand. We can not be stolen, but I DO believe we can make the conscious decision to forfeit our eternal home- even if it's so gradual (one of the enemy's specialties), we don't even notice it. That's the part that scares me for so many Christians. They are so convinced that they are "in", the give up on their walk. Salvation is very real and is given for everyone, that part is true. However, do I think it can be lost? Yes, at what point I do not know. The question is- God has done everything to already clear the way for us and give us the abundant life Jesus speaks about in John 10:10, so why would we ever want to let it go in the first place?!? Once again, constant time with God will reveal so many questions and answers that only He can provide.
Paul reminds us in 1Cor 6:20 that we have been "bought with a price", meaning the shed blood and death of the Son of God. He follows it up in his letter to the Ephesians: "And you were also included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked with Him in a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of His glory." -Eph 1:13-14 (NIV) Take your salvation and run with it; live the life God had predestined for you before time even began. Yes, you will experience trials, testing, and temptations- but NO weapon that is formed against you will prosper, you will stand against any judging tongue, for this is your inheritance from God and your righteousness is from Him! (See Isaiah 54:17)
We are going to finish up the discussion of whether someone can or can not lose there salvation today, for now. I'm sure I will be adding more to this discussion as time goes on. In the previous post, I brought up the question of why do we still continue to struggle with certain sins, even after we are saved? Galatians 5 tells us that the flesh and Spirit constantly wage war on each other, and 2Cor 10 tells us that we have the ability to demolish "strongholds"- something that is much harder to break off that other parts of the flesh. The absolute best answer I can give in response to breaking free from any of this bondage is CONSTANT submission and quality time spent in the Lord's presence. One thing is for sure- you can always count on the assurance of God's Word and His faithfulness!
We know God's Word to be true and the standard by which we should live from several key verses: John 1:1-2, 14; and John 14:6. Jesus is the Word Who has been with God from the beginning, became flesh, and dwelt among us. He confirms both the Truth of God and the one and only way to salvation in 14:6. If He's the Truth and the Word, then God's Word is absolute truth- period. (I will be writing a blog on this soon as well.) Another assurance of salvation is found in John 10:27-30. We belong to Christ, follow Him, and He gives us eternal life. Jesus and God are one, and no one will snatch us out of Their hand. We can not be stolen, but I DO believe we can make the conscious decision to forfeit our eternal home- even if it's so gradual (one of the enemy's specialties), we don't even notice it. That's the part that scares me for so many Christians. They are so convinced that they are "in", the give up on their walk. Salvation is very real and is given for everyone, that part is true. However, do I think it can be lost? Yes, at what point I do not know. The question is- God has done everything to already clear the way for us and give us the abundant life Jesus speaks about in John 10:10, so why would we ever want to let it go in the first place?!? Once again, constant time with God will reveal so many questions and answers that only He can provide.
Paul reminds us in 1Cor 6:20 that we have been "bought with a price", meaning the shed blood and death of the Son of God. He follows it up in his letter to the Ephesians: "And you were also included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked with Him in a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of His glory." -Eph 1:13-14 (NIV) Take your salvation and run with it; live the life God had predestined for you before time even began. Yes, you will experience trials, testing, and temptations- but NO weapon that is formed against you will prosper, you will stand against any judging tongue, for this is your inheritance from God and your righteousness is from Him! (See Isaiah 54:17)
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