Just a note…not sure why I’m getting people signing up as users…there isn’t any benefit to being a user unless I’ve asked you to write on the site (new users don’t get that privilege by default, I have to grant that anyway). So I’ve removed all the users who have signed up…I think it’s actually a script or program signing up random people but I could be wrong…
(JP)
Well, after a 2.5 week vacation we are home. It is always good to be home! Today I was reading in Hebrews about falling away and encouragement to stay with your faith. The writer talked about the Israelites and how even though they were together with God coming out of Egypt, they fell away, disobeyed and were not allowed to enter His rest in Canaan.
I was thinking that we sometimes need to be encouraged to get our priorities straight and get aligned with what God is calling us to do. So my encouragment today is to take some time to think about what God would most want you to work on in your walk, in your family, or in yourself! Then do it!
(JP)
Happy Fathers day!
To me it is sad when I watch TV or movies…the world seems to be doing it’s best to erase gender as much as possible. The problem is, that this is not God’s design and also isn’t good for anyone when this is done. Fathers are portrayed as immature boyish people who take orders from their wife, and don’t know how to interact with their kids. In movies add in a sense of irresponsible and a high sex drive and then you have what our society seems to want our children and us to believe is what a Father is today.
Don’t believe it! And don’t put up with it! A Father is called by God to be the driving force in a family leading them through the craziness of life, the one that has the answers, or is willing to find them, the one that takes the weight of his family on his shoulders, and puts them and their needs first! The world is amazingly stupid when if comes to how the makeup of a family should be!
The sermon yesterday was great! It talked about how there is so much from the world telling your kids to do stupid things (sex, drugs, alcohol, etc) and who to be (don’t have gender differences, certain lifestyles are supported, etc) but the one thing that has is more strong in their lives (even if they don’t want to admit it) is YOUR VOICE! A Fathers voice and instruction, care and support can win out over all the world has to offer, especially when you have God on your side!
My challenge today is to Fathers, go and be who Christ calls you to be! God is our Father, not our mother (there is a difference). Look on the horizon of where you family is going, or where you want them to go and be the driving force with Christ on your side to get them their! It’s hard work and isn’t often recognized but one day you will stand before Christ and have to take responsibility for how you lead your family (or lack thereof), make that a good day!
(JP)
The sermon this past week was all about how key the home battle ground is. If you don’t think that the world and the devil are after your child you are greatly mistaken! It’s a lot for kids to take in and if we as parents don’t arm them correctly they will succumb to the world and all it’s “wisdom”.
The two biggest lies the world tells us Christian parents that I have observed are:
These are lies! Don’t believe either of these, Christian parents can arm their children to wait for sex for marriage and should be happy with NOTHING less! Sex before marriage is so damaging and counter-productive to what God wants in our married lives this is a battle that we as Christian parents can not loose! Fathers, make sure your daughters know you love them, parents, get the heart of your children before they grow up, model good Christian behavior before their eyes, don’t just tell them, and for goodness sake, stay consistent!
Christian parents, don’t feel bad that you tell little Johny that there are consequences for his actions, rather ENSURE that you find situations while the price is cheap to let your little ones learn the fact that the world isn’t fair and that there are consequences for their actions! A missed ice cream cone or dessert today due to bad behavior or poor decisions are so cheap compared to the decisions & consequences teens face about drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. Get them in the habit of making decisions early and let them experience the consequences of bad decisions; small bruises from a fall, tears from sadness or a hurt, and missed treats are soooo cheap in comparison, let them learn! (of course, don’t let them step in front of a bus or anything really damaging like that).
My challenge to all Christian Parents is to not believe what the world says about how you should parent and what is acceptable. BE DIFFERENT! I once read a book (yes, my wife would most likely ask if it was an audio book 
that says “the church did the most for the world when it was least like it”. The Bible says we are aliens in this world, Christ expects us to be different, don’t let Him down, and don’t let your kids down! Get out there, get your hands dirty, and dig your heals in and don’t believe the world, be Christ in your homes, that is where it all starts!
(JP)
Just a note to stop and think about what God has given you, how He has blessed you.
My challenge to you is to take a moment and thank God for what you do have! Whatever that is good and wonderful in your life and even the discipline you have gone through in order to grow closer to Him!
(JP)
My reading continues in Jeremiah. Today I read through chapter 39 “The Fall of Jerusalem”. The focus was the difference between those who disobey and those who obey God. The king even though specifically getting private counsel from Jeremiah, knowing he was the true prophet knew exactly how God was going to deal with him and yet he didn’t change. The commentary in my Bible talked about how satan is really good at blinding people with their sin so much that we willingly walk directly into hardship. It’s so true, a seasoned Christian will typically know exactly what is sin, and what is not but still we will walk directly into it causing hardship for ourselves and those around us.
This compared to Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech who stood against overwhelming odds and stood of for God’s way who were at the fall of Jerusalem rewarded and spared for doing so. Even if reward doesn’t come in this lifetime to those that stand up for God and His ways, it will come.
There is a verse…I can’t think of it now but in general it says “if God is on my side, what can man do to me?”. Of course “man” can kill the body, but that isn’t going to last anyway as much as we want it to.
Be encouraged this morning to stand up for what is right. I don’t care if everyone even “Christians” think differently, if you are standing on the Bible, then you have God on your side! Stand up for what is right in your family, in your church, in your town, in your country! The most solid ground you can stand on is Holy ground so be sure to be rooted in the Bible!
(JP)
Jeremiah 37
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the LORD ?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
I came across this verse in my reading this morning…after Jeremiah told the king what God’s word was he was put back under arrest, etc, etc. It hit me this morning as I read this how true it is that we don’t always want to know what God is saying. We don’t want to hear that God has “bad” news for us, or that we are going to have a consequence for our sinful living.
If the word from the Lord is good, that our lives will be enriched and we will prosper then we are quick to believe it, but if it’s hardship that is on it’s way and discipline is coming, we would rather ignore it or plead our way out of it even though we most likely deserve it. I do the same thing, although I do pray that I will get better!
Lately I’ve been thinking about the up and coming presidential elections…frankly I don’t like any of the top 3 candidates. For the past several election rounds I’ve felt like I’ve had to pick the “lesser of two evils” (that is an expression, I don’t feel Bush or others are actually “evil”) and I’m sick of voting that way! I really want a candidate that makes me excited to be an American, that energizes ME to get out there and do something instead of telling me what THEY are going to do for me and then never do it. I’m almost worried that America is going to have to go through more hardship and discipline/correction before we will get better.
In reading through Jeremiah, it’s amazing how similar America’s situation is compared to Israel’s. We are veering away from our Christian forefathers roots, we are readily accepting sin in our culture, cities, towns, churches, and even homes! If America is ever going to have God’s blessing on it like it has in the past we need to have a change of heart, and we need to repent of all the compromises we are making and of all the sin that is legal and supported. Not to be a pessimist but I don’t see that happening without some serious correction/discipline from God. I wonder if we are just like king Zedekiah who didn’t want to accept that his country was going to be handed over to the king of Babylon and that Israel was facing 70 years of exile for their sins?
My challenge to you is to not be afraid to face the correction and discipline God is going to put in your life (and I need to take on my own challenge just as much as anyone else, if not more)! Embrace it, learn from it, and be a better Christian coming out of it! I don’t know how much I can do about the way our country is going or what is to come but I know I have a great deal of influence over how I live my own life and how my family lives, and so do you!!
(JP)
Well, I just started my final quarter at college. I signed up to take two classes thinking one was an easier class and a second one I was expecting to be difficult. It turns out they are both going to be hard…but God will get me through, and as a bonus I’ll only have to worry about work for Summer so it will literally feel like a huge vacation!!
Amber has been gracious enough to support me and buckle down for the next 10 weeks because in large part she will be doing most of the Seth and House things…
God is good, we continue our search for a home church here in Colorado. We visited a nice church today, very friendly and we are planning to go back when mom is out next weekend.
Nothing huge and meaningful for this post, just wanted to put something up since I have been lacking in consistency posting!
I could talk a bit about the sermon though, it was emphasizing that Christ if our friend and will always be there for us. John 15 talks about the greatest commandment being love and that there is no greater love than someone laying down their life for you. In our current state as a country and as people we do seem to have less attachment to people, “friends” can be thrown out when the first difficulty comes which is really sad. We often think of how certain people or situations will inconvenience us too much and shy away from commitment when Christ has called us to instead of shying away to move closer, to be the arms holding the mornful, to be the shoulder to those that need to cry. We are supposed to be Christ’s here on earth!
My challenge to you today is to instead of shying away from a uncomfortable situation or person that needs the love of Christ in their life, draw close, to cancel the activity you wanted to do, turn the TV off, and be there with them, show Christ to them, be Christ to them!
(JP)
First let me say that I’m horribly sorry I haven’t been posting here! If I were to show you my timecard it would help explain my life for the past 4 months (I have averaged over 70 hours a week) and at least a small reason why I haven’t had the time.
I’m reading through Jeremiah lately…it’s taking a while…that is a long book! But it is great! It’s hard not to parallel it with what is happening with the United States these days. I’ve been impressed with how strong Jeremiah was to be able to stick to the message of “doom” and not go the way of the false prophets telling God’s people how things are “ok”…it’s also amazing to see the zeal Jeremiah had, I pray that I will have that each day!
My encouragement to you is to pray for the strength to stand on the truth, to stand on what Christ is telling you and instructing you in. Don’t listen to the world, it is lost and is about “not offending” people! The truth can be offensive! That isn’t any reason to not stand on it!
(JP)
Thanks Walt for your quote from Meet the Robinsons. Though our God had really said it 1st in other ways
Christmas has its way to bring up your past memories good and bad, but the best is it reminds us how much we need a Savior. I kept feeling like a Scrooge this year and God gave a word to my wife that sums it up.
For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:20 NASB)
Basically our spirit “can” stay stagnant during this time. We keep learning as we grow more in Christ. We must celebrate Christ every day and it IS Christmas everyday! So the worldly Christmas doesn’t have that “Christmas spirit” as it use too. That’s a good thing!!!! That means your growing and understanding the verse above or His gladness is in your heart and you don’t need a season to have it!
Hopefully my point is made, I am not a writer or a reader but, Jesus has done some mighty changes in me