Thursday, March 31, 2011
Office Posters I'd Like To See
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sins of The Fathers (Part 3)
1 Corinthians 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy."
What does that mean to you, and what does it have to do with the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children?
This scripture deals with a family who has one parent who is saved and one who is not. That describes a large portion of the church world today.
What is meant by this sanctification that is passed on from one person to another?
A believing spouse will do their best to teach the ways of God and uphold the standards of righteousness to the rest of the family. They may not always succeed and they may never reach the place where they are living the way that they would want to, but how much better is the family because of their belief in God.
The unbelieving spouse will surely be affected in some manner, or they will leave the family, one or the other. God’s spirit and God’s Law, through his Word will constantly work on them and it will have an effect and accomplish something in them to either change or run away.
The believing spouse will keep the house in such a manner that honors the Lord. They will do their best to train up their children in the ways of the Lord. They will take every opportunity to lift up the name of Jesus to their family.
The net result of all this is that the family is sanctified somewhat by the believing parent. They will have a cleaner life, a more stable home environment, and a better view of what a normal home should be like.
As a result, at least some of the righteousness of God is passed along, and some day, the unbelieving spouse and the children could come to know Jesus as Lord too.
The righteousness of the fathers can sometimes be passed along to their children if those children accept God’s ways, but the sins of the fathers are always passed along to their children because the nature of that child is to follow the paths of sin to begin with.
What are our children learning from us?
Are we passing our sins to our children, or are we passing our faith to them?
One day, we will all face the judgment of God! I pray that we are found faithful in teaching our children about Jesus so that they will enter Heaven’s gates.
God forbid that any of us would have to stand before God and watch our children be cast into hell because we failed to teach them the ways of God and tell them about Jesus.
Will the next generation in your family benefit from the example you give?
What does that mean to you, and what does it have to do with the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children?
This scripture deals with a family who has one parent who is saved and one who is not. That describes a large portion of the church world today.
What is meant by this sanctification that is passed on from one person to another?
A believing spouse will do their best to teach the ways of God and uphold the standards of righteousness to the rest of the family. They may not always succeed and they may never reach the place where they are living the way that they would want to, but how much better is the family because of their belief in God.
The unbelieving spouse will surely be affected in some manner, or they will leave the family, one or the other. God’s spirit and God’s Law, through his Word will constantly work on them and it will have an effect and accomplish something in them to either change or run away.
The believing spouse will keep the house in such a manner that honors the Lord. They will do their best to train up their children in the ways of the Lord. They will take every opportunity to lift up the name of Jesus to their family.
The net result of all this is that the family is sanctified somewhat by the believing parent. They will have a cleaner life, a more stable home environment, and a better view of what a normal home should be like.
As a result, at least some of the righteousness of God is passed along, and some day, the unbelieving spouse and the children could come to know Jesus as Lord too.
The righteousness of the fathers can sometimes be passed along to their children if those children accept God’s ways, but the sins of the fathers are always passed along to their children because the nature of that child is to follow the paths of sin to begin with.
What are our children learning from us?
Are we passing our sins to our children, or are we passing our faith to them?
One day, we will all face the judgment of God! I pray that we are found faithful in teaching our children about Jesus so that they will enter Heaven’s gates.
God forbid that any of us would have to stand before God and watch our children be cast into hell because we failed to teach them the ways of God and tell them about Jesus.
Will the next generation in your family benefit from the example you give?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sins Of Our Fathers (Part 2)
Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
We often use this scripture as a basis of hope for the repentance and salvation of a wayward child when we know that we did our best in teaching them the Word of God and we did all we knew to do to bring them to Jesus.
But what we often fail to realize is that this scripture carries a double meaning. If we train up our child to walk in the paths of sin, to hate the church, to ridicule those who live for the Lord, to stay away from the House of God, to ignore the Word of God, and to only focus on the good times and worldly pleasure and riches of this world, we will also reap what we have sown here too. Those children will grow up to believe that the way we have taught them is the right way and they, too, will not depart from it.
Just walk into any school in our community right now and you will see how much the training of the children has affected their children. If you really want to see the difference, just go to a middle school. I would like to take you on a tour with me just once. You would be appalled at the attitude of today’s youth. Oh, we may have some attitudes around the church to deal with, but they are nothing compared to the attitudes of those who have no knowledge of God in their lives.
With each passing generation, the sins of the fathers are visited upon their children. But the sins of each passing generation only become stronger, more evil and more destructive. Then the sins of the fathers are passed on again, and again and again.
It is no surprise that this world is growing more evil everyday. Mankind is bringing about his own judgment for sin. The only thing that can stop this cycle of sin from generation to generation is for someone to find the Lord and their Savior and be born again.
That’s the key to turning your family around. But the answer is not just in accepting Christ for yourself, you have to train the next generation to follow the Lord or nothing will change for them. That’s where your faithfulness to God, your commitment to his Word, his work and his church are so very important.
What’s the best way to train a child – by your correct example! They will see what you do more than they will hear what you say!
Who is training your children today? (This if for parents, grand-parents and even great-grand-parents for we carry this responsibility to the grave and even beyond by our legacy)
Are you training them or are you allowing the world to train them by default?
Are you training them by your example or are you allowing their friends in the world to do the work for you?
Are you really teaching them to go in the right way, or are you just hoping that somehow it will all turn out right?
Will the sin of their father and mother be visited upon them?
Will they one day face the curse of God for what you have taught them, or for what you are teaching them now?
Will they accept the ways of the world, and the way of sin and rebellion against God’s commandments as the normal and right way to live?
Or, will they really know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and God as their refuge?
The answer lies in what we are teaching them today!
We often use this scripture as a basis of hope for the repentance and salvation of a wayward child when we know that we did our best in teaching them the Word of God and we did all we knew to do to bring them to Jesus.
But what we often fail to realize is that this scripture carries a double meaning. If we train up our child to walk in the paths of sin, to hate the church, to ridicule those who live for the Lord, to stay away from the House of God, to ignore the Word of God, and to only focus on the good times and worldly pleasure and riches of this world, we will also reap what we have sown here too. Those children will grow up to believe that the way we have taught them is the right way and they, too, will not depart from it.
Just walk into any school in our community right now and you will see how much the training of the children has affected their children. If you really want to see the difference, just go to a middle school. I would like to take you on a tour with me just once. You would be appalled at the attitude of today’s youth. Oh, we may have some attitudes around the church to deal with, but they are nothing compared to the attitudes of those who have no knowledge of God in their lives.
With each passing generation, the sins of the fathers are visited upon their children. But the sins of each passing generation only become stronger, more evil and more destructive. Then the sins of the fathers are passed on again, and again and again.
It is no surprise that this world is growing more evil everyday. Mankind is bringing about his own judgment for sin. The only thing that can stop this cycle of sin from generation to generation is for someone to find the Lord and their Savior and be born again.
That’s the key to turning your family around. But the answer is not just in accepting Christ for yourself, you have to train the next generation to follow the Lord or nothing will change for them. That’s where your faithfulness to God, your commitment to his Word, his work and his church are so very important.
What’s the best way to train a child – by your correct example! They will see what you do more than they will hear what you say!
Who is training your children today? (This if for parents, grand-parents and even great-grand-parents for we carry this responsibility to the grave and even beyond by our legacy)
Are you training them or are you allowing the world to train them by default?
Are you training them by your example or are you allowing their friends in the world to do the work for you?
Are you really teaching them to go in the right way, or are you just hoping that somehow it will all turn out right?
Will the sin of their father and mother be visited upon them?
Will they one day face the curse of God for what you have taught them, or for what you are teaching them now?
Will they accept the ways of the world, and the way of sin and rebellion against God’s commandments as the normal and right way to live?
Or, will they really know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and God as their refuge?
The answer lies in what we are teaching them today!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sins of the Fathers (Part 1)
Elisha, God’s man for the hour, anointed with a double portion of Elijah’s calling when the mantle of Elijah fell upon him as his mentor was taken away in a chariot to Heaven, was coming through Jericho on his way to Bethel.
God performed a miracle for Jericho by healing the bad water in the area and making the land fertile for them to grow crops for food.
If only they had accepted the worship of the God of Israel as easily as they accepted His blessings. God’s grace could still have made Jericho and the land of the Benjamites a blessed place to live. If only they had allowed God’s love and His Spirit to possess their hearts and change their lives, God’s mercy would have been poured out on them, but it was not to be. If only they would have trained their children to love the God of Israel instead of hating him, things could have been so different.
Their wickedness and the attitude of rebellion against Israel, against the God of Israel, and against the prophet of the God of Israel was going to come back to haunt them with a vengeance. We cannot mock God, we cannot sin against God, and we cannot continue to come against the chosen people of God for long without God’s justice falling upon us.
As Elisha left Jericho, the children, most of them were probably teenagers or a little younger, were roaming the highways in a form of a Bible times gang. It is certain that they were up to some mischief.
When they saw Elisha they began to ridicule him and persecute him. They cried out, “Why don’t you leave us alone, Baldy? Get out of our city, Baldy!”
Can you see the sins of the fathers being visited upon these youth? Can you see the results of allowing sin to remain in the camp against God’s will?
It wasn’t just Elisha that they were ridiculing now they were also ridiculing the God of Israel who had called Elisha.
We can pick on the preacher all we want. We can cut down on the leadership of the church all we want. We can complain, grumble and gripe about what goes on at the church all we want. We can gossip, spread lies, and even try to discredit our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord all we want, but at what point does our action become an offense to God? How long will God allow our attitude and our sin to go unpunished?
Matthew 18:6, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Mark 9:42, "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."
Luke 17:1-2, "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
Elisha may have been an old gray haired, balding prophet of God, but he was still one of God’s “little ones”. God will not tolerate the persecution of his own children forever. Sooner or later he will rise with vengeance and every debt of sin will have to be paid in full.
Under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, Elisha looked back at these youths who were ridiculing him, and blaspheming the God of Israel. He cursed them by God’s command and then God sent two she bears into their midst.
Perhaps these youths had taken the bear cubs of these mother bears because they came out with fury and killed 42 of the youths before they could escape. That night there were a lot of families in Jericho who mourned for the loss of their children.
Mothers and dads who had taught their children to hate Israel, to hate the God of Israel, to love the idols of Jericho, and to fight against anything that Israel stood for, now began to cry and weep for those same children.
God performed a miracle for Jericho by healing the bad water in the area and making the land fertile for them to grow crops for food.
If only they had accepted the worship of the God of Israel as easily as they accepted His blessings. God’s grace could still have made Jericho and the land of the Benjamites a blessed place to live. If only they had allowed God’s love and His Spirit to possess their hearts and change their lives, God’s mercy would have been poured out on them, but it was not to be. If only they would have trained their children to love the God of Israel instead of hating him, things could have been so different.
Their wickedness and the attitude of rebellion against Israel, against the God of Israel, and against the prophet of the God of Israel was going to come back to haunt them with a vengeance. We cannot mock God, we cannot sin against God, and we cannot continue to come against the chosen people of God for long without God’s justice falling upon us.
As Elisha left Jericho, the children, most of them were probably teenagers or a little younger, were roaming the highways in a form of a Bible times gang. It is certain that they were up to some mischief.
When they saw Elisha they began to ridicule him and persecute him. They cried out, “Why don’t you leave us alone, Baldy? Get out of our city, Baldy!”
Can you see the sins of the fathers being visited upon these youth? Can you see the results of allowing sin to remain in the camp against God’s will?
It wasn’t just Elisha that they were ridiculing now they were also ridiculing the God of Israel who had called Elisha.
We can pick on the preacher all we want. We can cut down on the leadership of the church all we want. We can complain, grumble and gripe about what goes on at the church all we want. We can gossip, spread lies, and even try to discredit our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord all we want, but at what point does our action become an offense to God? How long will God allow our attitude and our sin to go unpunished?
Matthew 18:6, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Mark 9:42, "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."
Luke 17:1-2, "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
Elisha may have been an old gray haired, balding prophet of God, but he was still one of God’s “little ones”. God will not tolerate the persecution of his own children forever. Sooner or later he will rise with vengeance and every debt of sin will have to be paid in full.
Under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, Elisha looked back at these youths who were ridiculing him, and blaspheming the God of Israel. He cursed them by God’s command and then God sent two she bears into their midst.
Perhaps these youths had taken the bear cubs of these mother bears because they came out with fury and killed 42 of the youths before they could escape. That night there were a lot of families in Jericho who mourned for the loss of their children.
Mothers and dads who had taught their children to hate Israel, to hate the God of Israel, to love the idols of Jericho, and to fight against anything that Israel stood for, now began to cry and weep for those same children.
They learned the hard way that we will reap what we sow. They sowed hatred, rebellion, and blasphemy into the hearts and minds of their own children and now those same children had faced God’s judgment. They parents had no one to blame but themselves.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Great Debate
I really do miss the days when things were simple and not so complicated. I have seen changes in people in the past 5 years that I never thought I would see. Sometimes it's rather frightening because instead of people getting closer to God, they seem to be drifting further away.
Anyway, there are some things that I will never be able to stop and that's what creates the great debate about church in the day that we live. We do so many things out of tradition of men that we overstep our heritage as believers. That's the problem that I am having in my mind and really need some prayer to help me understand how to change that thinking. Here's the great debate:
-On one hand the Bible says that we are not supposed to be men pleasers (Ephesians 6), but we are supposed to do all things that are pleasing to God. Paul writes this to the bondservants, but says the same thing is applicable to their masters as well. However, if we don't please men today and do exactly what they want they get mad, leave the church, and try to ruin your reputation.
How many pastors out they will say "Amen!"
-Another is that we do not let the traditions of men superseed the directives of God, but no matter what you do somebody always wants to stop the direction of God if it changes what they consider to be their personal property. Paul again said in Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
-Lastly, the Bible says that God wants us to bring Him our best gifts or more easily understood, our best efforts. Numbers 18:29 says "Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it." However, I talk with pastors all the time who find their congregations are satisfied with mediocrity and are not willing to present their best gifts to the Lord.
No matter what I do I can't seem to find what I need to answer these questions in this great debate. Do we let down the standard and just let things slide just to keep the peace? Do we say that certain things don't really matter anymore in the sight of God because we don't want to deal with junk? Or do we fight the influence of the enemy and hope for the best no matter what happens? Yes, the great debate rages on.
So, where do you stand on this issue? My last statement is very simple and really says where I'm at with this thing. I don't want to stand before the Lord on the Judgment Day without knowing that I did my best. My prayer is God don't traditions of men stand between me and Your will for my lift and don't ever let me give less than my best effort. If I can't give my best effort then God don't let me be a stumbling block to others. Just help me to do the best I can and through my efforts influence some else along my journey.
Anyway, there are some things that I will never be able to stop and that's what creates the great debate about church in the day that we live. We do so many things out of tradition of men that we overstep our heritage as believers. That's the problem that I am having in my mind and really need some prayer to help me understand how to change that thinking. Here's the great debate:
-On one hand the Bible says that we are not supposed to be men pleasers (Ephesians 6), but we are supposed to do all things that are pleasing to God. Paul writes this to the bondservants, but says the same thing is applicable to their masters as well. However, if we don't please men today and do exactly what they want they get mad, leave the church, and try to ruin your reputation.
How many pastors out they will say "Amen!"
-Another is that we do not let the traditions of men superseed the directives of God, but no matter what you do somebody always wants to stop the direction of God if it changes what they consider to be their personal property. Paul again said in Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
-Lastly, the Bible says that God wants us to bring Him our best gifts or more easily understood, our best efforts. Numbers 18:29 says "Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it." However, I talk with pastors all the time who find their congregations are satisfied with mediocrity and are not willing to present their best gifts to the Lord.
No matter what I do I can't seem to find what I need to answer these questions in this great debate. Do we let down the standard and just let things slide just to keep the peace? Do we say that certain things don't really matter anymore in the sight of God because we don't want to deal with junk? Or do we fight the influence of the enemy and hope for the best no matter what happens? Yes, the great debate rages on.
So, where do you stand on this issue? My last statement is very simple and really says where I'm at with this thing. I don't want to stand before the Lord on the Judgment Day without knowing that I did my best. My prayer is God don't traditions of men stand between me and Your will for my lift and don't ever let me give less than my best effort. If I can't give my best effort then God don't let me be a stumbling block to others. Just help me to do the best I can and through my efforts influence some else along my journey.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Say What?
It's raining outside today and the weather is bleak. So after so many theological statements in the past month, I decided to go with two days of fun things to bring a smile to your heart. I hope you enjoy this on as much as I did.
A teacher in fourth grade in Ventura County, California gave her students the beginning of a list of famous sayings and asked them to provide original endings for each one. Here are some examples of what her students submitted.
A teacher in fourth grade in Ventura County, California gave her students the beginning of a list of famous sayings and asked them to provide original endings for each one. Here are some examples of what her students submitted.
- The grass is always greener when you leave the sprinkler on.
- A rolling stone plays the guitar.
- The grass is always greener when you remember to water it.
- A bird in the hand is a real mess.
- No news is no newspaper.
- It's better to light one candle than to waste electricity.
- It's always darkest just before I open my eyes.
- You have nothing to fear but homework.
- If you can't stand the heat, don't start the fireplace.
- If you can't stand the heat, go swimming.
- Never put off 'til tomorrow what you should have done yesterday.
- A penny saved is nothing in the real world.
- The squeaking wheel gets annoying.
- We have nothing to fear but our principal.
- To err is human. To eat a muskrat is not.
- I think, therefore I get a headache.
- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry, and someone yells,
"Shut up!"
- Better to light a candle than to light an explosive.
- It's always darkest before 9:30 p.m.
- Early to bed and early to rise is first in the bathroom.
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a blister.
- There is nothing new under the bed.
- The grass is always greener when you put manure on it.
- Don't count your chickens -- it takes too long.
Friday, March 25, 2011
And this is why we go to the doctor?
The following statements are reported to have been found on patients' charts during a recent review of medical records. These statements were written by health care professionals, including doctors and nurses, at major hospitals:
- The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
- She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until 1989 when she got a divorce.
- She is numb from her toes down.
- When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
- Patient has been married twice, but denies any other serious illnesses.
- The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
- Patient experiences difficulty swallowing tires easily.
- History: Patient was shot in the head with .34 caliber rifle.
Chief complaint -- headache.
- Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year-old white male, mentally alert but forgetful.
- The patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
- On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
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