Study For Yourself

We have been encouraged for the last couple of services in my church to be sure and take notes from the messages which have been preached. This is something that years ago I did very well, but have fallen off in the past years. One more of the "little foxes" that has been spoiling my vine I'm sure. Time to fix that, and chase off that fox.

As I was reading in 2 Timothy today I came across this passage in chapter 2 verse 7, take a look at it with me here: "Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things." Paul is encouraging young Timothy to think about the things that he had been instructing him, and that while he was thinking about them, the Lord would help him to understand them.

Do you study the Bible on your own? Have you even thought about doing that? Some people I know think that in order to understand the Bible you have to go to Bible School. Well not according to this passage of Scripture. Paul says if we will think about what has been said, the Lord will help us to understand it.

Taking notes at church is a great thing to do, but an even better thing is to take those notes and go over them later in the day. Begin to think about what was said, because that is when the Lord will help you understand them. I heard Pastor David Emigh say for years that the amount of thought and study you give to the Scripture is the amount of power and virtue that will come back to you. It's the principle of sowing and reaping.

We cannot expect men and women of God to feed us, and that be the only place we will find nourishment. Like a shepherd leads sheep to green pastures to eat, he doesn't get down with the sheep and put the grass in their mouths and force them to chew. No, the shepherd is in charge of getting the sheep to the food, but it is up to them to eat it. Just like that, it is not the Pastor's job to feed us, but to get us to where the food is. (His messages.) It is up to us to follow him there, and then to begin to eat. (Think about what his message says, and let the Lord help us understand these things, then apply them to our lives.)

If you are not taking notes when the Pastor is preaching, and going back over your notes later to let the Holy Spirit begin to talk with you about those things, then maybe you should consider doing so. You may be an anemic sheep, and not even realize it. Let's study to show ourselves approved to God, what's say? Strength and honor!

Don't Discipline Your Kids Just Because You Are Embarrassed

"Spare the rod, spoil the child." As the old saying goes, but what does that exactly mean? And is it something that we should be doing in today's society? This topic has been so misunderstood, and misused it is not even funny. It's kind of like the old joke I heard about a very devout Christian mother who would wake her children every day by taking a wooden paddle to their backsides as they lay in the bed sleeping. The kids would cry out, "Mom! Why do you spank us every morning?" Her reply was always the same, "Proverbs 22:15 says foolishness is bound up in the heart of the child, and the rod of correction will drive it far from him. I'm driving the foolishness out of you."

Now why that is some what humorous, or disturbing depending on how you were disciplined as a child. This one area has been attacked in our modern era and we are now reaping a harvest of poor citizens because of it. Children can be a handful that much is true. And being in the retail environment, I have seen just about every type of kid you can imagine. And let me say right here and now, there are no bad children. There are children that have never been corrected or trained which causes them to act out a certain way, which most of the time makes people cringe, but the kids themselves are not inherently bad.

What we really have is a parenting problem, not a kid problem. Just today, I had a rather attractive mother with two kids come into my store and begin to shop around to see what they could see. The little boy, about two years old I'd say was getting into all types of stuff, something typical for this age child to do. He reached for a package of shoe laces that are on a little counter I have and almost knocked it over and spilled all the laces onto the ground. Notice I said, "almost".

What happened next is why I decided to write this blog. Her voice rose in pitch as she began to scream at him and say to him, "Come on we've got to get out of this store before you tear it down!" "Hold my hands, both of you, stop that, don't touch that, quit it!" And they were gone.

The sad thing about this scene is that the children didn't walk away from this encounter having learned something that will make them better people. The little boy may grow up and have a phobia about shoelaces, but he didn't learn to control himself, because his mother didn't control herself. This really wasn't a spanking offense, and the real reason that mommy got so mad is because the little boy had embarrassed her in the store. And embarrassment is never a reason to discipline your child in any fashion.

We used wooden spoons on our kids when they were little. We would tell them no, then if they continued doing whatever we had told them no about, we would very calmly say, "No." again, and then spat their behind with the wooden spoon. That is until they got big enough that we would break the spoon, then we moved on to a wooden paddle. On a side note, here's a funny story about wooden spoons. Every year for Christmas since Cheryl and I have been married, my mom has always made her a mother-in-law box. This is something that was started by my Grandmother, and she gave to my mom.

Through out the year, my mom collects little knick knacks that she thinks Cheryl will like, and puts them into a box. On Christmas day, Cheryl opens the box and goes through all the things in it. This is one of the highlights of Christmas, especially since my mom started hiding cash in the various packages inside the box. Well one year, Cheryl pulled out a package of wooden spoons, and exclaimed, "Wooden spoons, great! I have broken all of mine on the kids, and I need new ones!" My mom grabbed the package and took it away from her saying, "Not on my grand babies!" We all had a laugh, and Cheryl promised to not use them on the kids. That's when we switched over to a wooden paddle.

The thing about paddling your children that you need to know is that you don't spank when you are angry or embarrassed. Spanking your children is a disciplining technique you use to modify the behavior of your child. So before you spank, your kids should know the rules about what they may get spanked for. For instance, if your child spills milk at the breakfast table, this is not a punishable offence. If, however your child throws the glass of milk across the room, then that is.

Before you spank your child, make sure that you are in control of yourself and calm. Take them aside, and talk to them about what they've done. Ask them to repeat to you what they did wrong. After you are sure that they understand, then turn them over your knee and paddle their bottoms with two to three swats. These need to be hard enough to make an impression, but not so hard to bruise. Also, it is good to know what the laws are in your state concerning paddling. In Oklahoma, it is okay as long as you don't bruise the child, bruising your children is a misdemeanor.

Remember, you are wanting to change the behavior, not the spirit of your child. Don't crush their little hearts by blasting away at them. They don't know a lot yet, and we as their parents are supposed to be teaching them the right ways. Also, never use your hands to spank your children. Our hands were made to hold and to love our kids, not to hit them. Using a paddle makes your son or daughter fear the rod, not you. Also, after you have finished spanking them, let them cry for a minute or two, it won't hurt them. Then afterwards, pray with them and help them learn how to ask God to forgive them according to 1 John 1:9, then be sure they know that you have forgiven them too. Then love on them and go about your day.

There is a lot to parenting, but you can do it as long as you stay calm and remember that our jobs as parents is to help train up the next generation to be the best they can be. You can do this!

I Had A Meltdown This Morning

I arrived at work early this morning so that I could accomplish a few things before the crush of helping customers was upon me. As I checked my bank statement online, I was greeted with the lovely sight of overdraft charges. These always seem to brighten my day and I love how the banks act as if they can't help but make this free money for themselves off of the backs of their customers.

"Well I will have my paycheck today, so that will be handled in a little while. No need to get upset, just deal with it David." I thought. Then my phone rang. It was my landlord for the shoe store and she wanted to ask if I was having the air conditioner units at my store serviced regularly. I said, "No." Thinking that if the shopping center is owned by my landlord then surely it is their responsibility to take care of "their" air conditioners. Apparently not. It seems that in my lease I am responsible for the maintenance on their property. "I'll be sending you the bill for $170.00 for the service our air conditioner man did for your air conditioner." she informed me.

I hung up the phone, and what rose up from my inner most being was not the Word of God. It was a little bit more colorful, and if any women or children would have been around they would have been shocked. (Okay, I tell you this not to brag, I was being an idiot and I know that, I tell you in the hope that if you can identify with me, you'll get the help that I did.) I went on a tangent, spewing all manner of idiocy from my mouth, and you know as it started to come out, it just flowed and flowed and flowed. (All of this happened for about two minutes.)

As the torrent of words subsided, and a level of resignation came over me, due in part to being an idiot and letting my flesh get the best of me. I stopped for a moment and just sat there, numb. Then up out of my belly came the thought of 1 John 1:9 which says, that if we will confess our sin, God will forgive us of that sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I did that right away, asking God to forgive me of my sin of saying the wrong things and letting my flesh get the best of me. Thank God He forgives and still loves me despite all of the stupid things I've ever done.

As I became quiet, I heard these words rise up from my spirit man. It was God speaking to me and He said, "Be still and know that I am God." The cynical side of me started to speak up and contradict what He had said to me, but my spirit man resisted that part and I began to be still. While I was receiving pressure from all around me concerning finances this morning the Lord is at work on my behalf because I am a tither, and all I have to do now is be still and let Him work.

I reminded Him of His word in Malachi where He tells us to test Him and see if He won't open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing that we don't have room enough to contain it. Praise God, I am a tither, and despite what my checking account is trying to tell me, or my landlord surprises me with, there is a blessing poured out for me and my family, so much in fact that we cannot contain it all. I just have to trust God at His Word and be still and know that He is God, and is working on my family's behalf.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating here, the fight of faith is the fight to believe what God's Word says is true, even when all the evidence around you tells you otherwise. We're believers, that's what we do, we believe. So no matter what has happened to me today, I choose now as an act of my will to believe what God has promised me in His Word, regardless of how the things around me try and say otherwise. Thank You God for Your Word!

What Ever Happened To Integrity?

I haven’t kept up on the scandal surrounding the media outlet News Corporation and their hacking of voice mail accounts, but I did see a report on Yahoo! today about the owner of the company, Rupert Murdoch and his son James giving testimony before Parliament. But here is something that did jump out at me as I read the article:

“When asked flat out if he (Rupert Murdoch) considered himself personally responsible "for this fiasco," Murdoch replied simply: "No."

Asked who was, he said: "The people that I trusted to run it (News Corporation), and then maybe the people they trusted."

Rupert Murdoch is eighty years old. He owns the company, while the article states his son James is the heir apparent. What I found interesting is that the father just bailed on his responsibility. Ultimately, if you own the business and there is a problem, then you are to blame. Maybe he’s not the one who actually ordered the voice mail accounts to be hacked, but as the owner of the company he should stand up, take his licks and assume the responsibility. Then he should find out who gave the order and turn them over to the police.

What I saw as I read that article is one more time that integrity was not to be found. Is it any wonder that so many people are cynical about news media and all of their various outlets? The funny thing is that had this man stood up and claimed responsibility for his business, people all across the world would be applauding him for his integrity. What bothers me even more is the fact that this man is eighty. He is supposed to be from the era where integrity was king. Yet, he passes the buck as quick as it was handed to him.

We should own up to who we are, and not try to skirt the issues. Yeah, it’s tough, but since when did doing the right thing ever prove to be the easy thing? Integrity is the issue here. What this world needs are more people who are willing to do the right thing regardless of the consequences. I cannot think that Mr. Murdoch was thinking of anything other than his bottom line while he was passing the buck to those beneath him.

Seems I read about that in the Bible one time, yeah in the book of Genesis. God asked Adam what he had done, and Adam blamed Eve, Eve turned around and blamed the snake. And if they had only owned up to their responsibilities, God would have made a way to have fixed it where they could have stayed in paradise. But because of their unwillingness to take ownership of the problem, look where we are today.

Let’s be people of integrity. Let’s show that integrity to our families, friends and those around us. Don’t ever let people wonder what you would do in a tough situation, let them know. I’d love it if whenever I’m in a tight spot, the people around me would say to each other, “I know that David will do the right thing, after all he is a man of integrity.” Oh how I hope that is what they would say.

What To Do When You Don't Feel Like Doing

I don't know if you have ever found yourself in the place where you didn't want to do anything at all before. I find myself in that place today. Longing for something transcendent instead of the daily grind. Hoping that my mere existence isn't just a cosmic waste of time. And questions, I have had so many questions running through my mind today, that I think I would like to scream!

I can't seem to figure out the relationships that I'm in, my place in this world or even what I really want to do with the rest of my life. It is a frustrating place to be sure, and the worst part of it all is that God seems distant to me today. Actually, He has seemed distant for quite a few days now. I know that He is there, because the Bible says that He will never leave me nor forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5) I just don't sense His Presence, and that bothers me to a degree.

I'm not depressed, but I do feel like crawling back into bed and going to sleep. I hate it when I'm like this too, but what to do in order to bring me out of this funk just eludes me. Is this an attack of the enemy, or just laziness on my part? Do I just need to draw my sword and charge the field? Today I'm not feeling so much like William Wallace, as I am the guy back in the third row with a pitchfork who just wants to leave the battlefield and go home.

I remember that King David had days like this, he wrote them down in the book of Psalms. I also remember that King David encouraged himself in the Lord when things looked rough too. Since I have an hour and a half drive ahead of me later today, I will be doing just that, encouraging myself in the Lord.

So there's that, another day in the life of Gods First Knight...

In Support Of My Friend Chad Stewart

My church has lost its Pastor. He had been gone since December, and now with his death, we are left with a void. This is not to say that our church staff hasn't done an amazing job in his absence, they have. Our associate pastor Chad has taken the reigns, not so much out of his own desire but really much more out of necessity.

It's like in those old westerns, where the reigns of the stagecoach gets cut, and all of a sudden someone has to jump in and bring the stage under control at great risk to themselves trying to keep it from crashing. That is the situation Chad has found himself in.

I can honestly say that I would not want to trade places with him at all. He has been put into a very tough and challenging position, yet has risen to that challenge in a most admirable and noble way. Hired in to be our college and career pastor, he had the added responsibility of youth pastor when ours left, and then when Pastor David left, our church board tapped him to become our associate pastor, all in the course of a year's time, and I might add that none of this had been discussed when Pastor David hired him. Oh, and don't let me forget, he also got married in that time as well.

Chad has had to fill some pretty big shoes when it comes to teaching and leading my church, but he does have what it takes to fill them, and I see that growing with each passing week. This is not his first dance so to speak, he helped to pioneer a church in Missouri and was an associate pastor on staff there. It was after leaving that church that he decided to go to Bible School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. God has been leading him on a path laid out for him before the foundations of the world. I know in my heart that Chad has been placed at my church for just such a time as this.

God does have a handle on what is going on at Word of Life. Nothing in the last several months has caught Him off guard, and He for sure didn't say, "Well, I didn't see that coming." Pastor Chad is at Word of Life because God wants him there. The best thing we as a church body can do right now is to support his leadership, get behind what he is doing and stay humble before the Lord.

I know that people tend to want to give their opinions about what should or shouldn't be done in these types of situations, heck, I've even been known to be kind of opinionated from time to time. (Ha!) But right now, we should keep our opinions to ourselves, pray (A lot.) for the staff and the board for the decisions that they have to make concerning our church's future and listen very closely for the Spirit's voice about what our part is to play at Word of Life. (And then do that.)

I wanted to write this blog this morning in the hope that it might help bring knowledge to others so they would support Chad Stewart in the job that God has for him at Word of Life. God has great things in store for us as a church, and we will see the continuation of Pastor David's vision for reaching people grow and grow. So let's not worry about what the future holds, let's just get behind Pastor Chad now and follow where he (By the Holy Spirit) leads us.

Wham Whams, And The Passing Of An Era

This morning I was hungry as I began my daily rituals, so I went to the refrigerator to see what we had to satisfy my hunger. As I pushed things around inside, I noticed the newly purchased cans of biscuits and decided that they would do the job. I looked at the instructions to determine what temperature to set the oven, grabbed a cookie sheet and the cooking spray, then I began to peel back the paper covering on the ready to cook biscuit dough.

As I hit the tube on the counter, causing it to make a "whamming" sound I was reminded of what my bride's Aunt Peggy referred to these type of baked goods, "wham, whams". She is from the old school of cooking and always makes biscuits from scratch. I will admit, they are very delicious and with butter and chocolate gravy on them, let me just say they are sure to be served in Heaven.

I remember one time we were at Aunt Peggy's house and she was making biscuits and the comment was made that I ate canned biscuits growing up. Now understand this, I like bread in just about all of its forms, and canned biscuits rank right up there for me in the bread category. Aunt Peggy laughed her down home, loud and joyous laugh and asked, "You like wham whams better than real biscuits?"

"Wham whams?" I asked. "What are wham whams?"

She informed me that canned biscuits are called wham whams because of the sound the can makes as you whack it on the edge of the counter to open them. I laughed at that, and said, "Well I do like a good canned biscuit." She berated me good naturedly about that and said there was not any wham whams that could compete with her biscuits. And this of course is true.

As I reflected on that conversation this morning I began to realize that we really have begun to see the passing of an era. Times nowadays more often than not families find themselves cooking from a can or a box, rather than from scratch. There are more prepackaged meals on the shelves today than ever before, and not too long ago I read that grocery stores were putting in sections to have already cooked meals that can be purchased and taken home to be eaten right away, because of the needs of today's modern families.

Times they are a changing, we now more often than not are running here and there to do all that we think is needed to be done, grabbing something to munch while we go from place to place. We spend more time eating in our vehicles than at our dining room tables. Which as long as we are talking and sharing the time with our kids may not be so bad. But more often than not, we've got them watching some DVD while we are chatting up our friends on the way to the next baseball game or whatever.

While I will never give up eating wham whams, I think when the fall starts back and the kids are at home more often I will try and set aside a little bit more time to spend around the kitchen table with them. We may still cook from boxes and cans, but the time spent with family is the main thing, that is one thing that I do not want to see pass away.

There And Back Again...A David's Journey

I don't know if you've ever read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien before, but if you have you know the pure joy of the story about a little hobbit who gets swept up into an adventure of a lifetime and comes to realize that there is lot more to him than he ever imagined.

The story is set in a fantastical land where dwarves, elves, men, dragons and a whole host of other very inventive characters live. But what I find the most intriguing, is that Tolkien uses characters which are in fact make believe, yet which have the very same personality traits that you would find in all the kinds of people that we come across in our daily lives.

I finished reading The Hobbit earlier this year, but when I saw the first pictures of the actors who are playing some of the dwarves in their costumes, for the upcoming Hobbit movie that Peter Jackson (The writer, producer & director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.) is making, I was blown away and decided that perhaps I should read it once again.

I can honestly say that this is the one book (Besides the Bible.) that I can pick up and read and immediately I am swept up into the story, and no matter how many times I read it I enjoy it just as much as the very first time that I read it. Not many books can lay claim to that in my library, but this one sure does.

A couple of years ago, I read the book with the mindset of really following the main character Bilbo Baggins. What I mean by that is that every time as I was reading the story and it involved Bilbo, I watched his reactions, his demeanor and what he was thinking about himself a the time. While I did this, a very interesting thing happened, I began to see Bilbo as a type and shadow of my Christian walk with God. Now I know that this is not a Christian book in the sense of using chapter and verse, but the Lord did use it to show me some things about myself. And if he could use a talking donkey in the Bible, why not a Hobbit in another book?

Since I don't want to spoil the story for any of you that perhaps have not read this book, I will not tell you what I found out. If you are curious to know, email me at godsfirstknight@yahoo.com and I'll be happy to tell you. The first of two movies is due to be released in 2012 click here to find out more about that. Let me just conclude by saying, if you have not read this book, then I highly recommend it. If you have read it, then what about picking it back up and giving it another read? I think you'll be glad you did.

Watch Out! Your Enemy, The Devil Is Trying To Get You!

We are admonished in 1 Peter 5:8 to stay alert for our enemy the devil, is looking for someone to eat. I like that Peter doesn't say that the enemy is eating up people, but "looking" for people to eat. He then goes on to say that we are to resist him in the faith, and not to be surprised that Christians all over are going through the same thing.

And this is not an isolated incident either. This is an all out attack on the believers in Jesus. And the devil is not even subtle in how he is going about it, no he is patiently waiting and watching for us to slip up somewhere so then he can attack and have us for lunch. One of the biggest problems that I see lately is that most Christians don't even act like the enemy is real, much less that he is working hard to devour us.

Today if you talk about the devil and what he is doing, most of the time people just roll their eyes and say, "Oh man, you're one of those wacky Christians." People just want to dismiss the fact that we have an enemy and that he is trying to steal, kill and destroy. They will chalk up bad things happening to circumstances, being in the wrong place at the wrong time or just coincidence. I think the saints in the Bible had a little bit better grip on this subject than we do.

Look at the lion in the picture I put in my blog. Do you notice how well he blends in with his surroundings? I mean you can see him there, but if you just took a casual or quick glance you might actually miss him. That is how the enemy works too. He blends in with society in such a way that you can actually miss him at work. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us how the enemy works; he steals, kills and destroys, that is what he does.

We were told by Peter to stay alert for our enemy. Staying alert does not mean take an occasional glance, it means:

1) to watch

2) give strict attention to, be cautious, active

a) to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.

We have to be the ones looking for the enemy, no one else can do it for us. And this is not to say that we have to be cowardly, or fearful while looking for him. After all we have the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to counteract the works of the devil. But we have to be watching for him to be able to confront him, and not be caught

unaware.

We need to pay a little bit more attention to things in the spirit, and not get caught forgetting to pay attention to this fact that we have an enemy and that he is trying to trip us up. We are most definitely in the last days, and the return of Jesus is closer than any of us probably realize. But this does not mean that we need to go into a docile, holding pattern mentality. We need to stay alert, and be on guard for the attacks that the enemy will try on us.

While the enemy may have a bulls eye on our backs, we don't have to be his victim. Spend time in God's Word daily, pray and seek the face of God and then listen for the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit to make you aware of what is going on around you in the spiritual realm. The enemy cannot get us if we are aware of him coming. He is a coward, and chooses not to face us directly, because he knows that in a full out frontal attack on a Christian he will be withstood. But if he can trip us up and cause us to sin, then he can pounce on us once we are down.

And listen, if you've slipped up and sinned, don't stay there. Get up, turn to 1 John 1:9 which says that if you will confess your sin to God, that He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Doing that puts you right back on your feet and in right standing with God which keeps the enemy from munching on you.

Understand this too, once you have confessed your sin to God, he forgets it and will not remind you of it again. But when you hear that condemning voice in your head telling you how bad a person you really are, and how much you blew it this time, know that that is the enemy trying to trip you up again. You need to forgive yourself as well. The devil would like nothing better than once you've asked God to forgive you, for you to continue to beat yourself up about what you did. It's forgiven, now dust yourself off and go get back out there.

Our enemy the devil may be like a roaring lion, but that's all he can really do, roar. He can only eat up those who will let him. Get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip the enemy today!

Know Thyself, And To Thyself Be True

Something that I have learned from experience, is that no matter who you are, God can use you. I had a conversation with a person who had entered into a new phase of ministry not too long ago. As we talked, I asked them how they were finding their new role to be, to which they replied, "I've not been to bible school, so I can't really do much." (I'm paraphrasing the conversation here.) I will say that this sent up red flags in my mind however, and that "Don't tell me!" spirit on the inside of me began to rise up.

Many years ago I contemplated going to bible school. I sought the Lord concerning whether or not I should go, and in a comical way (I love it when the Lord does that.) He answered my prayers through a travelling minister who came to our church. This man operating through the gifts of the Spirit said to me, "Just as I've used ignorant and unlearned men before, I will use you." There was a lot of laughter, and even the minister was a little taken aback by what the Lord said through him, but that word from God answered my prayer about bible school, and I've been used by God ever since.

One thing that I've noted over the years is this thought that if a person hasn't been formally trained by attending bible school, then they don't have as much to offer the body of Christ. And please understand me, I'm not saying that people shouldn't attend a bible school, they should do whatever the Lord leads them to do, they just shouldn't think they are not as capable if they haven't attended bible school.

Look at the men that Jesus chose as His closest disciples. These men didn't appear to have formal religious training. They were; fishermen, tax collectors, a doctor, a thief, etc. Yet Jesus saw something in each of these men and He called them to follow Him and become His disciples. And it is in this, (Becoming a disciple of Jesus.) where you will find those who are doing the will of God. It is following Jesus as a disciple that is the most important thing, and that does not always include going to bible school.

I think so many people have been cheated out of their place in the Kingdom of God because of them thinking that since they are not formally trained, they cannot do much for Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and our Guide. He is the One Who instructs us, and that can be done from your living room floor while you read the Bible and pray. God speaks to the hearts of men, and has been since the beginning of time, if you are willing to take the time and listen for Him to do so.

If God is telling you to go to bible school that's great, you should go and give it everything you've got. But if He isn't saying that to you, don't feel that you aren't able to do anything for His Kingdom. Find out what it is that He has for you to do and go and do that with all of your heart. Just know who it is you are, and then be true to that, not short changing yourself in the process.

God will use you if you will let Him. I guess my question to you is, will you let Him? Get 'em up folks, there is a whole world of people who needs us to help them out there, so stop wondering if you can do anything and let God show you that you can!

How Will You Be Thought Of, Or Will You?

In 2 Chronicles 21:20 it says, " Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one's regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings." How would you like that said about you? That you passed away, to no one's regret? In the words of George Takei, "Oh my."

I don't know about you, but I want to be well thought of once I've passed on. I'd hate to find out that only a handful of people showed up, and that they only did so because they felt like they needed to be there for my family's sake. Wouldn't that be an awful thing?

I guess that begs the question then what do we do to keep that from happening? How are we living in the here and now, and what kind of influence is our life having on those around us? I think this needs to start at home personally. If we aren't loving those around us well, then how could we possibly be loving anyone else?

This goes back to the thing that Jesus taught, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself." If we love God first, and our neighbor second, then everything else will line up in the way that is should. With everything the Lord shows me, it all goes back to love. If we will love well, then we will be loved well. And when you are loved, then you won't be like Jehoram, who passed away to no one's regret.

Let's love well people, loving others just as we ourselves wished to be loved. Get 'em up folks, we've got a world to love out there...

Are You Doing Evil?

I was doing my daily Bible reading this morning and came across the story of Rehoboam, Solomon's son. The interesting thing that stood out to me was verse 14; "He (Rehoboam) did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord." "He did evil..." jumped off the page at me like 3D and I stopped long enough to write it down on a piece of paper.

In the title today I asked the question, "Are you doing evil?" I'm sure that the answer most of us would give would be, "No." But in light of what I read this morning I might have to reevaluate my answer. The Amplified version of verse 14 states; "And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek (inquire of, yearn for) the Lord with all his desire." Rehoboam did evil because he did not inquire of the Lord. Well now, that makes me wonder about myself, do I inquire of or yearn for the Lord? Not always, no.

When we think of evil, we think of people stealing, killing or destroying things. And that is very true, that is very evil indeed. But even as evil as that is, it seems here in this Scripture that not seeking the Lord is also evil. I'll be honest here, there are times when I get ready to lay my head on my pillow at night and I realize that I have not included the Lord in one thing all day. That makes me an evil person right there according to this Scripture, and that is something that I do not like at all.

Why is it do you wonder that God thinks it is evil? Possibly because when we don't seek Him we end up doing what seems right in our own eyes, and that very rarely is the right course of action. He did tell us in Isaiah 55:9 that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours after all. I think it is because He desires relationship with us so much that it is hurts God when we don't include Him.

Just like those of you who have children, we always want the best for our kids don't we? Does it hurt when they do something without seeking counsel from you and things go bad for them? I know that the hardest thing that I've ever done as a parent is to sit back and watch one of them make a mistake that I could have helped them prevent. That is what I think God is feeling when we don't include Him in our day too.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to try and do better at not doing evil. Father God, forgive me where I've missed it in this area, and Holy Spirit remind me please when I'm out there just trying to do things on my own. In Jesus Name, amen.

Our 21st Century Colosseum

First off, I have watched none of the Casey Anthony trial, as a matter of fact I had to go look up the girl's name before I started writing this. I am not going to talk about whether she is guilty or not either. What I want to observe today is the people who are worked up over the verdict against her, and how it parallels to first century Rome's Colosseum. Here is a brief rundown about what the Colosseum is:

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, dramas based on classical mythology and the deaths of many early church Christians.

Our society here in the 21st century is truly not that far from where Rome was back in the first century. We live in a time now where we are ever drawn into the drama that unfolds on our television screens. Whether it is a movie, sitcom or reality show, the population of America hardly goes a day without watching something on t.v. We actually have three televisions in our house, not to mention computers too!

A few minutes after the verdict was read in the Casey Anthony trial, Facebook literally blew up with posts about it. (And I'm not going to go into that here, just the fact of all the posts on Facebook.) In just under one hour I counted 59 posts about this trial. That's just on my Facebook account, and there are now millions and millions on Facebook, so I think that it is fair to say that this trial has been watched by many, many people.

We no longer crowd into the Colosseum to watch the blood sports which distracted that first century populace. They weren't aware that their leaders were trying to seize more control. You see, if you are in power and can effectively divert people's gaze onto something other than what you are doing, then before the people realize it, they have lost a little bit more of their freedom.

The interesting thing about the television (And don't get me wrong, I love to watch t.v.) is that it has enslaved more people than any of the Caesars ever thought about. Willing slaves too, who allow themselves to be shackled, and more often than not lock those same shackles with their very own hands.

I think what has bothered me the most about this trial, is the fact that all it has really done is work men and women up, and put money into the pockets of the owners of the news media outlets. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but have any of these news shows reporting on this case done so without commercials? I don't think so. The news people see something here that will capture the hearts of the population in a way that will force them to come back time and again to see what the latest information is. I saw one person post on Facebook, "I'm on the road, please let me know what the jury says."

Whether this is a travesty or not is not the real story in my opinion. The real story is how the media has once again worked up something to such a fevered pitch that they can sell advertising space and get a premium dollar for it. That's what the news media is really about after all, money. Oh the reporters may in fact have gone to school with a desire to report the truth, but if you've watched any news lately it is all about the dollar. And the news stories are just the vehicle to get you to their true purpose...the advertisements, which line the owner's pockets with cash.

The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Don't be fooled into thinking that the media is presenting this national court case because they think we need to know about it. They are doing it because their bosses want more money in the bank. This is the same reason that we have the never ending election cycle now, but that is a whole different story.

Misunderstandings and Social Media

Nobody likes to be misunderstood. At least I've never met anyone who does. But in the world of social media, misunderstandings happen more often than in any other area of social contact. This is mainly due to the fact that when reading something, a person cannot hear the inflection or tone of the comment, and invariably they will misread the intent of the writer's heart. Emoticons were created to try and help people assess what mood the person writing is in.

I have had more than my share of individuals getting upset with me for some perceived infraction against them while writing or being a little playful online. I am amazed at how people misunderstand what in fact I am actually saying. Once I made a statement, really more of an observation about a person that came into my shoe store, and was lambasted for my comment, vilified and labeled as a horrible person because of it. However had the people that were slamming me actually heard me voice my statement instead of just reading it, they would have realized how I was being sarcastic and not just making fun of a person.

I think one of the main things to remember when using social media and reading comments that people write, is to give the writer the benefit of the doubt. Don't just jump to conclusions which may cause a rift between the two of you. After all again, I don't really believe that anyone sets out to be misunderstood. And Jesus teaches us that love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter4:8)

So what do we do to avoid this? I am a very opinionated person, always have been, and what I have learned that helps in this area the most is to choose my topics wisely. If you want to know what I believe, I'll tell you, and I've not always been the best at waiting for someone to ask me either, I am willing to share my point of view with anyone. Sometimes that is not the best thing to do, and can cause rifts between friends. (Which has actually happened to me.) So now I'm a little more cautious about what I actually write about.

I think the main thing to remember is that without being able to see a person's eyes or hear their voice, it is very possible to misread the content of the message. Just because a person writes something down may not actually mean that is where their heart is. As I have found many times, the person may actually just be quoting a line from a song. (Which is very confusing for this old man sometimes.)

If you think that someone is saying something that is derogatory or in poor taste, take your concern to them privately and work it out. More often than not, you will find out that they were just trying to be funny and it came out wrong. Or they may actually have no idea that they have offended you. The devil loves to use this type of stuff to cause or continue rifts between people. We shouldn't let that happen, we should be aware of his devices.

I love social media, it has brought more people into my life than I have ever had before, and those relationships that I have made are precious to me. I just have to remember that just because I hear inside my head what I am saying, and how I am saying it, this doesn't mean that the person reading what I wrote will. Let's use this tool to help us grow together and not apart. Get 'em up folks, we've got a Kingdom to enlarge...