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 TRAIN UP A CHILD
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and
when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs
22:6
Children are not born with
value systems or principles or emotional boundaries. They do not have any notion
of what is correct or incorrect behavior. It is our responsibility as
parents to instill these things in them. Often we as parents make the
mistake of not recognizing behavior that must be curbed and
corrected. I remember
as a child, my mother never allowed us to quarrel or fight. If at any time we treated
one another with disdain or anger, the punishment was swift and
harsh. We were never
allowed to yell at one another or strike one another in a fit of
temper. Such
transgressions brought punishment on both offenders, regardless of
whose fault the argument was.
We were taught to understand that anger never solves
anything. This type of
training carried into adulthood can be the foundation for correct
emotional behavior.
Proverbs also states that “He
that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken
down, and without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28). When we allow anger to rule
us and dominate our relationships the end can only be negative. We are left open to the
powers of hatred and darkness.
Unchecked negative emotions can only open the door to
sin. This is what we
must teach our children to avoid. I have seen so much anger
between people who have not made the effort to control their
feelings toward one another, so many outbursts of bitterness and
railing, all because a lack of control that should have been
instilled at an early age.
Parents, I encourage you to train your
children when they are small.
If they grow up having learned no temperance, and having been
wont to allow anger to drive their interactions, they will be out of
control as adults.
It is very likely they will not learn respect or
consideration for others, because they have been slaves of their own
emotions and desires.
Do not think it is too early or that there is no danger in
childish tantrums and disrespect and fighting. I have seen so many children
speaking and striking out in anger, children beating up and bullying
each other and even striking out at their own parents. Do not let your children go
into adulthood with these terrible habits. They may seem like just
childish behavior now, but childish habits in an adult can be deadly
and damaging. Seek God
and do not be afraid to teach them the right way. Love your children and help
them to grow in the way God wants them to grow. If you don’t they can only
bring you shame and heartache, and you will be out of the will of
God for neglecting your parental duties.
WHERE IS GOD?
"It is in the power of my hand
to do you hurt; but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight
saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or
bad." Genesis 31:29
Where is God when people
mistreat one another? Why doesn’t He step in and make things all
right? If you have wondered about such things you are not alone.
There is an answer. There are two facts we must remember.
Fact Number 1: When God
created Adam and Eve He gave man dominion over the earth.
Fact Number 2: God created man
with a free will, to make his own choices, to be the shaper of his
own future.
It would be mankind’s choice
to live or to die, to work or to be slothful, to make peace or to
make war, to create, or to destroy. Some people say God allows
things to happen to us for a reason. That is only partly true.
Things happen to people, but not because God wills it. God allows,
not willingly, things to happen because He gave people a free will.
People exercise that free will in the way they treat other people.
They don’t always use it to do good things to others. Because of the
fallen nature, people often exercise their free will to do harm to
other people. If God intervenes and controls every situation, if He
steps in at every turn and changes what people choose to do, he
takes away our free will and we are no longer that which he created
us to be, a free agent. God created us in His own image. God has a
free will; therefore, we have a free will. But do not be deceived.
Do not think God is pleased with man's inhumanity to man. Do not
think God ignores anything that happens, for His eyes are ever and
always on the righteous. Even as Laban purposed to harm Jacob, God
spoke otherwise to him and warned him against doing wrong. Laban
chose to obey God’s voice. God still speaks to the heart of every
person regarding what he is about to do. But people don’t always
listen to God’s warnings. They do what they will. And in the end,
they will be held accountable. Vengeance belongs to God and He will
repay. Unless they repent and change their ways before it is too
late, every person who has wronged others and mistreated them and
abused them will face His wrath. It will be a terrible thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.
But the free will must be
preserved, not only because God created us so, but also because when
the time comes that He speaks salvation to our heart, our choice to
turn to Him must be our decision. Otherwise it is not a true
choice.
Those who have been wronged
need to know always that even in their affliction God is with them;
God loves them and mourns as they mourn. He weeps as they weep. The
Word of God says blessed are they that mourn for they shall be
comforted. In the midst of our affliction and suffering we must lean
and depend upon the Lord, for He will keep our hearts and minds and
souls unto the day of eternal rest. In all things, God will be
glorified. And in the final analysis, God has all the
power.
CAN YOU LOVE YOUR ENEMIES?
May 25, 2007 "But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44
There’s a thing we say, that
some people are harder to love than others. There is another thing
we say, that some people are easier to love from a distance. The
reason we say things like that is this: the kind of love that is
based on emotion is a self-serving love that expects
payment-in-kind. It wants to be congratulated for expressing itself.
It wants to feel that no time or energy is wasted in loving someone,
that somehow there will be an immediate gratification in the
returned expression of affection. This kind of love makes it
difficult to love others because there isn’t always that personal
reward of returned affection. That’s not the kind of love Jesus was
talking about. He was talking about the agape love of God. This is
the kind of love that does not expect payment. It’s the kind of love
that seeks to do what is best for others, regardless of the outcome
of the situation or the quality of the relationship. It rises above
that need for personal gratification and looks for the common good.
That’s the kind of love that can cause us to bless, and do good, and
pray for people who we know are not giving the same back to us. We
can do it because we want good for them, that they will come to know
God in the pardon of their sins. People who mistreat other people do
so because they don’t know God. We do what is best for them,
therefore, by taking actions and attitudes that will change their
hearts, their attitudes, and consequently the situation. It
may not happen immediately, or overnight. That's not the
point. The point is that we must remember that we were once
enemies of God, but He blessed us and did good to us and we one day
stepped out of darkness into His light. Let us love one another, not
only that others may know us as the disciples of Jesus, but also
that we may be in line with God’s will. God is perfect in the love
He shows to us; let us be perfect in the love we show to others.
Jesus commanded it, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is
perfect" in the end of this statement he was making to the
disciples. Above all, we must keep ourselves in the center of God’s
perfect will.
"Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an
abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting." Isaiah 1:13
The children of
Israel were playing a dangerous game. They performed the sacrifices;
they called the assemblies; they even preached the Word of God. But
their hearts were not in line with the will of God. This is the same
dangerous game Christians play today. They carry the title of
Christian—that is a title invented by man. There is an implication
that man recognizes that people who are called Christians are
supposed to be a certain way. To be called a Christian means that
you are expected to be godly. The world outside the church doesn’t
use the word "godliness." But it is implied. To carry the title and
not the nature puts us in the same category as the people referred
to in the book of Isaiah. Even their assembling together became sin
(iniquity) because it was a lie, an exercise in hypocrisy. It is not
possible to worship God in spirit and in truth when godliness is not
embedded in the spirit and active in one’s life. One cannot worship
in truth when truth is not a part of the spiritual makeup. Godliness
represents two things – a relationship with God and a resemblance to
God. The first condition is represented in the First Commandment of
the New Testament...."Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and mind and body and soul...." The second condition r evolves
from the first. When you love someone you emulate him or her. You
dress like them; talk the way they do; even take on their
mannerisms. How can we say we love God and not want to be like Him?
How can we be born again of the spirit and not live according to the
Spirit? This is a game not to be played with God. Pursue godliness
that you may be known just as a "Christian" but also as a child of
God. Live so that he may know you when He returns, because you will
be like Him.
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A WORD
ABOUT PROPHETS
Sometimes when
people in the church start telling you "thus saith the Lord" it's
hard to know if they are really speaking for God or just out of
their own minds. There are some simple principles that you can
rely on:
1. If they speak concerning
the future, of things that must come to pass, the thing they speak,
if they are true prophets of God, will surely come to
pass.
2. The word they speak will
fall in line with the Word of God, the Bible, for God will never
contradict Himself.
3. The word they speak will
glorify God, and not man, for a prophet must speak the will of God
only.
4. God will surely bear
witness to a true prophet.
5. A true and faithful prophet
is never silent concerning the will of God.
Be wise and vigilant
concerning the will of the Lord.
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For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind....2 Timothy 1:7
When you stand at
the mouth of a long dark tunnel, where you cannot see what is
inside, or what is at the end, sometimes fear can creep
in. I was talking with my granddaughter once about fear of the
dark. She made a remark that she was not afraid of the dark,
but she was afraid of what may BE IN the dark!
That's what the future is like for some. Not knowing what's in
the future can cause a great deal of fear and worry. But
when you are in Christ, you know that God holds your future in His
hands. God is the one person you can trust to take care of you
and put your well-being first. When you are walking in the
will of God, there is no need or place for fear, because fear is
generated by the thought of anything that threatens our
well-being. That's why some fear the future. They don't
know whether the future contains something that will threaten their
well being. In Christ we know that nothing the future
holds can destroy us; therefore, there is no need to fear the
unknown. Whatever comes our way, we can turn to God for
protection and guidance. Our only concern should be to live
today the best in Christ that we can and let God take care of
tomorrow. Our worrying cannot shape tomorrow, but God
can. Therefore, let us seek His kingdom and His righteousness
today and let tomorrow rest in the Hands of the
Almighty.
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2 Corinthians 8:11
Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness
to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye
have.
We are approaching
that time of the year when people set their sights to the future.
2005 is ending and another year is about to begin. We begin to
examine ourselves and decide what it is we should do to be better
people in the coming year. Many promises are made; made New Year
resolutions are born. Plan after plan is conceived, and many dreams
are dreamed. But what happened to the dreams of this year? Did they
come to pass? Did we do the things we felt we needed to do? Did we
succeed in reaching the goals we set for ourselves in the beginning
of 2005? As we come to the close of the year let it be not only a
time to look forward but also a time of reflection on our past
performance. Where did we succeed? Where did we fail? What caused us
to fail or succeed? Was God included in our plans? If not, why not?
Did we seek the Lord in setting our personal goals or did we lean to
our own understanding? If we are to be the people God is calling us
to be, we need to be especially constant in prayer as we approach
this time of new beginning. God will set the goals and we will
succeed if we abide in Him. God never sets a goal that His people
cannot reach. He never writes a program His people cannot execute.
God makes all things possible. All we need to do is trust, listen,
and obey, and we can expect nothing but success in the coming year.
We get the benefits, and God gets the glory!
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'As many as desire
to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be
circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross
of Christ." Galatians 6:12
It is a
tragic thing that there are people for whom Christianity is a source
of embarrassment. They want to be Christians but not according to
the Spirit. They want to follow Christianity in a way that does not
set them apart from the world. They don't want to be seen as
different from the crowd, for fear they will be treated differently.
They want a type of Christianity that allows them to compromise and
be accepted by people who don't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.
They may even pray at home, and read their Bible behind closed
doors; they may even go to church, but it's all a ritual, because
they claim to believe on the outside they do not believe
on the inside. And so, because they are afraid of missing out on the
acceptance of the world, they are in danger of missing out on the
acceptance of God. For Jesus said that anyone who denies Him before
men, him He will deny before His Father. He said that anyone who is
ashamed of Him before men, him He will be ashamed of before His
Father. Let us examine ourselves. Are we living in such a way that
people know in whom we believe? Do we respond to situations
according to what we think the world wants to see and hear or do we
respond according to the Spirit that supposedly dwells within us? I
hear so often people asking the question, 'What would Jesus do?" But
if we have the Spirit abiding within us, if we abide in the Word of
God and if His Word is engraved upon our hearts, why do we always
speak of Jesus in the third person as if He were not a part of our
personal makeup. He is not a stranger, but a friend and brother and
leader. When the world looks at us, whom does it see? Have we
stepped up to the standard of God, or have we lowered the bar so we
can be comfortable? Remember this, when we begin to lower the
standard, it is no longer God's standard, but it becomes the
standard of man; there is no way we can enter into heaven by
applying the standard of man, for all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. When we are persecuted for our beliefs we should
count it all joy, for so persecuted they the
prophets. The devil may not want
you to be saved but he certainly cannot stop you! Stand up and
be counted for Jesus!
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Hebrews 10:25
And let us consider one another, provoking unto love and good
works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the
manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more,
as ye see the day approaching.
What happens when
you assemble with the people of God? Where is your focus when
you go to church, to Bible Study, to Sunday School? Do you
approach prayerfully, asking God to open your spiritual eyes and
ears that you may see where you can be of service? Or do you
get caught up in worldly conversations, discussing tonight's dinner
or tomorrow's work, or what you think is someone's bad attitude, or
how someone is dressed? Is there a cute baby who has
caught your attention, or are you paying attention to the move of
the Spirit? I hear people say they don't get anything out of
going to church, and maybe you've said the same thing at one time or
another. But what if God wanted to use you to improve the
church service you think is so bad, but couldn't do so because you
weren' paying attention? What if He tried to inspire you to do
something to help, but you couldn't hear him because you were caught
up in thoughts about things that had nothing to do with the church
service that you were sitting in the middle of? What if you
were day dreaming instead of listening for the voice of God?
What if you were talking instead of praying? There is
plenty of time for us to socialize outside of worship service.
We should remember that worship service is just that.....worship
service. We assemble to praise God, to worship Him, to find
out more about His will and how to perform it, that we may grow in
Christ, and become more able to exhort one another and lift up the
Name of the Lord, that others may be drawn unto Hiim. As we
assemble together for church, let us assemble with a mission in
mind, to do God's will, to worship Him, to focus on Him, to allow
the move of the Spirit for the benefit of the people, and to make
ourselves available for His use.
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Galatians 6:1:
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted."
When we see a
brother or sister in Christ who is doing wrong, when we believe a
person is not performing according to the will of God, our first
desire sometimes is to give correction and perhaps even rebuke. But
before we speak we must ask ourselves whether we are in line with
the Word of God. Are we indeed "spiritual" as the Scripture
requires? Are we qualified to correct? Are we spiritually able to
correct someone with causing damage? If that person repents of his
or her wrongdoing, can we accept them in the Spirit of Holiness and
the love of God? If that person does not repent, can we still show
them the Love of God and continue to pray for them. Can we continue
to show the unqualified love that God has shown us when we were
doing wrong. We have freely received; can we freely give? That,
brothers and sisters, is the mark of a spiritual
man.
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I Thessalonians
5:18: "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you....seid Dankbar in allen Dingen, denn
das ist der Wille Gottes in Christo Jesu an
euch."
This Scripture is
often misquoted, because people will say "FOR everything give
thanks." It is not logical to thank God for sickness and
sorrow and trials and tribulations. It is not logical to thank
God for being mistreated and having problems day to day. But
that's not what is written. We thank God IN everything, IN
every situation, for it is His will in Christ Jesus that we
recognize and appreciate Him who keeps our feet on the path of
righteousness and does not suffer us to be destroyed as long as we
obey His will. The Scripture has never said we will not
suffer. But it has said that we will overcome. When we
remain thankful to God for victory and salvation, it keeps us from
being bitter toward God for trials and tribulations. In
sickness, we can thank Him because we know He is the ultimate
Healer. In sorrow we can thank God for joy that cometh in the
morning. In trials we can thank God for bringing us through
them victorious. In tribulation we can thank God for emerging
stronger in Him, steadier and more established in the knowledge that
He can and will deliver. We can thank Him because our patience
is strengthened and enables us to wait on Him, that patience that
is grounded in faith. Some people believe that patience
comes from tribulation, but I guarantee you, that if you don't
already have a measure of patience going into a tribulation, you
won't have any more patience once you've gone through; you won't
have grown and you won't have learned anything. In everything
we can and should thank God, for "there is no temptation taken you
but such as in common to man. But God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with
the temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it." I Corinthians 10:13
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Romans 10:14 "How then shall they call on him in whom
they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom
they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher?"
Many there are who don’t want
to go to hell but they don’t want to do what it takes to get to
Heaven. And so they manufacture their own righteousness, deceiving
themselves that they are in good standing with the Lord. Satan has
tricked them into thinking they will go where they want to go, and
they have received his lie. But there is a remedy. Those whom God
has anointed to teach and preach His truth must be diligent in their
work. We who have been commissioned by the Lord must honor that
commission with all of our hearts and minds and souls and being.
These are critical times, and we have a critical mission. It is
imperative that we present the Word of God in its fullness, not
watered down, not adulterated, but full and powerful and immutable,
as God is full and powerful and immutable. We have a responsibility
to make sure people know that God’s will is sure. We cannot allow
anyone to think they can do anything they want, live any way they
want, and still get into Heaven. God has a standard that everyone
must meet. There are no exceptions. God is holy; we must be holy.
Many pastors will fall because they have allowed a fear of the
people to turn them out of the way of salvation. Many pastors will
fall because their hearts are far from God while they worship Him
with their mouths. Many preachers will fall because they preach to
please carnal minds and itching ears. Many laborers in the vineyard
will suffer eternal torment instead of eternal rewards because they
have sown to the flesh instead of to the spirit; they will reap the
whirlwind. Let us be faithful in our work! Let us preach the whole
truth and not forbear! Let our mouths be opened that the waters of
faith be poured out upon the people! Let us stand under the banner
of the righteousness of God and Jehovah Nissi will call the people
forth unto salvation! Let God arise and let His enemies be
scattered!
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