Pity the man who falls and has no one to pick him up

Recently I have been assessing my relationship with Christ. I feel that this is something that is necessary with every follower, on a frequent basis. As I considered it there are some passages of Scripture that I believe come together to point to a way that our relationship should work. I highly doubt any of this is revolutionary, however I do feel obligated to share.

When the Bible talks about people doing things, they are typically doing them in pairs. From Genesis in the beginning with Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:18), to the disciples (Luke 10:1) and Paul's ministry (Acts 13:4) going out by two. This concept of it's not good for man to be alone, is not simply for emotional well being. I believe this is for spiritual well being. This concept of the accountability partner. Think about it. When we are surrounded by Christ followers we are going to be digging deeper, drawing closer to Christ. We need this fellowship in order to have a deeper relationship with Christ.

When I say fellowship though we aren't talking about our current modern idea of fellowship, where we all get together "to relax and enjoy ourselves." The fellowship that I speak of is New Testament fellowship, where believers met together to worship God, through song and the studying of Scriptures. They enjoyed doing this so much, they found such joy in this, that worshipping was their fellowship, it wasn't all fun and games like modern Christianity has turned it into.

As Christians, if we could grasp the need to hold each other accountable, the idea of being in constant connection with Christ, no telling the change we could make.

Defined

So I spent a majority of my day today preparing to apply for internships.  Specifically with Compassion International .  I felt during the day like I had accomplished nothing.  This lead to a succession of thoughts for the rest of the evening.  (Just so you know once I finally submitted three applications, I felt that I had accomplished something).

What we do defines us.  We have heard it a thousand times (or at least I have).  I know that I am a person who enjoys ministry, the outdoors and being with people.  So when I am doing things that are the opposite of that, I feel like I am accomplishing nothing.  I feel this way because it's not who I am.  If we allow busy work (school, jobs, ect) to be all that we focus on and do, then that is what we become; Students, workers ect.

So what does this mean.  Well first as Christians, this should mean that we are Christ like; in everything. However, a majority of the time we settle, at least that's what I do.  We do what is convenient for us, (based on the worlds standards of course).  If we were followers of Christ first in our lives (which is what should be our first definer)  then the rest of our life will follow suit, in accordance to what God wants.

I think this is why I enjoy ministry so much (for as much as it frustrates me).  I believe that if I wasn't so excited about ministry, I would not be excited about Christ, and vise versa.  This would in turn cause me to be the work and school focused person, that is no longer defined as anything.

Seven Canons and how they relate to Christianity

I'm writing this for extra credit for class.  I'm going to take the seven canons of journalism and see how we should apply them to our lives as Christians.  I believe this will not only be thought provoking but also a new perspective on how the seven cannons and our Christian walks.

1. Responsibility-Must Consider Public Welfare

This is by far one of the more important canons as it relates to our Christian life.  We are called as Christians to be responsible.  God placed us here to take care of the land and animals, though not our main calling (that being worshipping Him) one of our secondary purposes in our lives is to be stewards of the earth.

We are also called to watch out for the public.  In James it speaks of taking care of the widowed and orphaned.  The church and Christians are supposed to be about watching out for everyone.  We are called to reach everyone, and I would say that this canon right here pretty much fills out that purpose.

2. Freedom of Press-First Amendment Rights should be guarded as vital and unquestionable

For Christians in America I feel we miss this canon some.  There are several things that have happened within the past five years or so that have limited things that were allowed before in relation to religion that have been taken away now, because Christians have not guarded their First Amendment Rights like they could have.

Some would argue that separation of church and state should be present and that is why these things have happened.  Granted this may take part in it, however Christians could at least have stood for the freedoms that they had, however they pretty much just let them slip away, with just small cries against it.

3. Independence-from sources, politics, and advertisers

Politics particularly fit into the Christian side of this.  According to research done for the Fermi project by Barna Group, outsiders (nonChristians) believe that Christians are too political.  I personal believe that politics should stay outside of the church.  I believe that Christians should vote for who God wants them to, but I don't believe they should push their agenda on other people, especially outsiders, seeing as it is a turning point in their focusing on Christ.

4. Sincerity, Truthfulness, and Accuracy-should be the foundation of journalism


I believe this should be the foundation of Christianity as well.  If we are not sincere in what we do then outsiders won't want anything to do with what it is that we believe.  If we are not truthful about what we do then we just feed the "hypocrite" connotation that was also strongly reinforced through the work done by the Fermi Project.  If we are not accurate in what we believe then outsiders will have a hard time believing us as well.  Lee Strobel points out that if Christians had been accurate in what they believed that he would have probably believed a whole lot sooner than he had.


5. Impartiality-News should be free of bias and opinion


I feel sometimes Christians are too impartial. This brings back my assertion in canon number two about loss of freedoms.  If we lived more partial lives that pointed toward Christ then we wouldn't have to worry about many of the other things mentioned below the canon's.  If we stepped up and cared about our beliefs, but weren't insane about it, we would affect the world in a mighty way.


6. Fair Play-Opposing views should be solicited and correct mistakes


Though I feel that we are too impartial, I also feel that we miss fair play a lot.  I think we are impartial with culture but don't enact fair play with other religions.  We see only what we believe and won't entertain the thought of other religions.  This would also point to the main reason why Christians did so poorly on the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey. Simply because Christians won't take the time to learn about other religions and how to effectively relate to them.  If you learn to relate, then people begin to appreciate.


7. Decency-Avoid dirty details


I believe sometimes we try to sugar coat faith.  This canon I believe we should be the opposite of.  I believe that we should throw all the details in we can about faith.  The more a person is able to know the details about their beliefs the better they will be able to communicate it to other people.  This is how others will be able to be effectively reached for the Kingdom.


These seven canons can relate to Christianity.  They are specific to Journalism but can be used for so much more.  I think that looking at them this way not only spices them up, but they also put a new perspective on how we need to be as believers.

Dead and Gone

So I really should put down my ideas on what I want to post.  I can't for the  life of me remember what it was that I was going to write about tonight.  So here I am thinking and pondering on what it is that I had in mind to blog about and I really don't know what direction to go in.

I believe I will tie some of what we were taught last night at London into some other thoughts that I have and see what happens from there.

So everyone has a past.  If they didn't have a past then they wouldn't have a way of getting here today.  Our past effects how we are today, however those experiences can also have no bearing on what we do in our future.

Sometimes I feel like we ponder too much of the past when we should be looking forward into our futures. Now granted Christ warns against us planning ahead for our lives.  However we do have to have some form of consensus vision of what he wants for us.  If we are lacking a vision then we are lacking direction as well.

Our past can have to different impacts on us, it can empower or enslave.

Our past can empower us to change the future.  Empowering can help us see where it is that we need to head in our lives, and realize our need to enact change into situations.  If we have a positive and flourishing past, or even a negative past that we learn from, then we will feel empowered to make a difference and a change in our future.

Our past can enslave us to our current lifestyles.  We may feel that we are caught in a rut.  Like we can't move and are stuck in the same process repeating ourselves.  Being slaves to our past is a constant let down, if we don't overcome our past then we will not be able to move on in our lives.

To no longer be a slave to our past we must realize that our past is our past.  We can't change it, but what we can do is change our future.

To move on, we must see as Christians, that God's grace supersedes everything in our past.  This means we no longer need to worry about our past.  It has been forgiven, and no longer affects our lives.

Study, Study, Study

So I just finished studying pretty hard for a test that I had today.  A test actually for the class that I'm writing this blog for.

As I studied and studied and then studied some more.  I thought, as college students, as Christians in general, what if we studied the Word like we studied for a test?

Are we prepared to ace basic questions about our faith? If we studied the Word the way that we study for our classes I believe we would be.  Linked in this post is a recent study released by pew forum.  According to the study Christians are lacking in basic knowledge not only of their beliefs but of the other major religious beliefs as well.

If we started learning and understanding what it is that we as well as opposing religions believe we would first be more rounded individuals but we will also be drawing ourselves closer to God.  We would be building our knowledge base of our beliefs.

So the question is, are you ready for the largest test of your life?

Transformation

So I'm not rich by any means. I mean I am a college student.  But within the past year I have noticed and even documented how I have succumbed to the American culture.  This culture of pleasing self.

As I began to notice this I began to take preventative manners.  I pledged in March to not purchase any new shoes for myself until I had no more shoes to wear.  Before that I decided that due to the amount of cloths that I wear I would no longer purchase any article of clothing that caught my attention, unless it was less than $10.

I'm sure I've probably saved some money doing this.  But that's not the point.  There are several other points.  Saving money is just a byproduct of these actions.  First off as God's children we are called to be stewards, and following up with that we are called to care for those in need.  So as I considered these things, and I have been considering them a while, (I wrote something along these lines back in my freshman year as well) I realized that this is a really positive thing to do.

I'm not saying this to blow myself up, because there are still things where I am living the American lifestyle in, for example, disc golf.  As I have grown into the sport I have spent money on it an so forth.  It's really grown on me, but at a monetary price that I am slightly ashamed of.

Today I was approached about attending a conference.  Also Catalyst is this week.  I am also actually attending a separate conference this weekend (which I get to attend free). But I was considering how much that conference would cost.  As I considered this I realized that really I should probably spend that money on something more productive, then going and experiencing a ton of great worship, and hearing speakers that I have already heard before.

This mindset, is a transformation for me.  I believe it could be a transformation for many people.  As you can tell I'm still working on it.  However, I think that if Christians today could grasp this simple point, that we would see a radical difference within the church and within outsiders perceptions of us.

All that is inside me Screams..

There is something about the thought of leading a congregation in what the Lord wants that is daunting.

It can leave a person feeling empty inside and wondering if they are where they need to be in order to deliver a message.

People on the outside say pray, have faith, ask for grace.  God's grace is sufficient.  Sure God's grace is sufficient.  But what about the cheap grace that Paul warns us of in Romans.  What about the passage in James that talks about knowing what to do and then not doing it is evil.  What if the person isn't doing what God wants of them and in consequence isn't near enough to God to hear what it is that He wants in Him?

People don't think about that. People think that if you are at the point where you are willing to stand up and talk about your faith, that you have everything together.  What I don't think the majority of "Christians" know, is that people in ministry struggle with sin just as much as they do.  People in ministry might even struggle more, because Satan would rather see them fail then one of the sheep.  Cause if you take out the shepherd, then you have free reign on the sheep.  Crazy thought right?

What needs to be realized is that all Christians are the same.  All sin is weighed the same.  Which is really crazy if you think about it.  However, that means if I'm dealing with a sin of lust and you are dealing with a sin of forgetfulness, they are the same.  I'm not sinning more.  Sin is sin and it needs to be dealt with.  

As Christians we are all called to the same mission.  Pastors don't have a "higher" calling.  We are all called to actively advance the gospel in every shape and form.  Some are called to do that through leading a group of Christians others through being a light in the work place.  But, if you are not holding up to your end of the bargain, well this is where that verse in James comes in, it's pure evil, cause you know what you are supposed to be doing, but you aren't doing it.

We are supposed to be growing continually closer to Christ.  We are supposed to be in the world and not of it.  Instead we worry about what car we are going to purchase next, or where we are eating after church.  If we are close enough to Christ, we will know the answer to both of those questions.  God will be so present in our lives that we will know exactly what is of Him and what isn't.

ReFuel

So recently I've been reading this book by Doug Fields.  It's been a really good source of insight into the struggle of a daily relationship with Christ and steps to take to draw close to him.  Everything that I've read have reaffirmed thoughts that I have had on the subject.  Christ strives for a daily connection with us, he yearns for it, more than we can ever imagine.  There is this song, called "How He Loves" (lyrics) that starts off saying "He is jealous for me" and that's so true, Christ longs for that connection with us.  The thing we need to realize is, that it doesn't always come in the form of reading the Scriptures.

We can connect to Christ in things other than reading the scriptures.  We can connect through worship, prayer, evangelism, art, nature, the list goes on...It's a revolutionary thought, conveyed in depth in the podcast "Wind" from Mosaic church.

Connecting with Christ doesn't have to be something that takes 30 minutes of the day, it can be longer, it can be shorter, Christ just longs for that connection.  Sometimes we have to take small steps to get to the big stuff, so perhaps between tasks on the computer we stop to thank Him for providing for us, or maybe we do just stop for a moment and meditate on the daily verse that you get emailed to you everyday.  If we are looking through the small stuff for ways to connect to Christ, he will reveal himself to us, cause he is constantly wanting to be connected to us.

So Lets Forgive E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E, E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, ALL THE TIME

          This week has been an interesting one for me.  I have been getting to know people that I've been around for a while and with that they have been getting to know me.  This is an interesting thing if you think about it, getting to know someone.  The reciprocal action is just as interesting, people getting to know you.
          Friendship should be transparent, but it isn't necessarily.  I read in my Intro to Comm class that relationships are like onions with many layers.  I think this is an interesting thought, with each part being removed you're getting to know someone alittle bit better.  If relationships didn't work this way, people would know who a person was, the moment they started talking to them.  Instead though we spend hours, days, months, getting to know people, getting to understand their thought process, peeling deeper into the onion so to speak.
          As I've gotten to know people, they peel deeper into my life, but because each person is different, they peel into different sections of the onion.  Essentially different people learn different things about me.  Why doesn't everyone know everything about me?  Because it'd be uncomfortable, people would JUDGE me.  That's an interesting thought, people judging, when if they were solid Christians, they would know that judging me is a sin.  If they aren't a Christian, then typically they don't judge, they live and let live.  Now why does this happen?  Maybe that's a question for another blog.
          We are supposed to be about love, we aren't supposed to be about judging.  Instead people are afraid to be open, cause they will be judged.  I'm afraid to be open about my life because I will be judged.  So this is the thought, why not be like Christ?  Isn't that what we are called to do?  Christ loved people no matter who they were.  Now I'm not implying that I'm a horrible person, I'm not implying that I'm hurt cause people judge me, that's their problem.  I'm just saying that things need to be different.

Because It's Always Winter, but Never Christmas.....

So this past week has been different for me. I've been in a very reflective mode.  Probably cause I just finished reading the book "Through Painted Deserts" by Don Miller.  It really makes me just want to go and live somewhere different for a while, you know just drop everything and prove to myself that I can live outside of this Bible Belt Bubble, where life is handed to me on a silver platter.  Do we ever think about how good we have it here?  Tonight I bought two girls roses just cause, I can sit here and purchase whatever I want (within limits) and still be able to eat tomorrow (I have a meal plan, cause school is paid for).  I am able to come back to my room, in the sleet and rain and junk, and still be warm.  I don't think that people realize what it's like, what steps we need to take in showing our daily devotion to Christ.  I don't think we realize the implications of what it would mean if we truly took the time to figure out what it meant to be SOLD OUT to Christ.  I know that I really don't know the full effects of that, but I'm trying.  I spend my days walking from one thing to the next, praying, thinking, about what Christ expects of me, and being constantly reminded that I can't meet those expectations on my own, it's only through his help that this happens.  So this is the second time this week I've posted at some crazy hour, so I think I'm going to go to sleep now, cause I need it, and wake up in the morning and finish my homework for the week.  Hoorah for college snow days...which reminds me, I need to work on a bulletin board as well...hoorah for work! Goodnight

While His Friends Slept, Jesus Wept, and it's No Wonder Why...

Well it took me forever tonight to get the internet to work.  Sometimes I wonder about the Tech system. Anyway, I've had some stuff on my mind recently and something that I encountered today served to reinforce it.  We as "Christians" (whatever that's supposed to mean) need to not settle, we need to be constantly moving forward in our walk with Christ.  What happens is we get into a routine, where all that is required from us is Sundays, maybe Wednesdays, and if we're lucky Tuesdays (for BCM'ers).  Other than that, we live our lives, emphasis on OUR lives.  We are focused on US instead of CHRIST.  Now I'm mulling over some other thoughts that I may talk about in the next weeks, though currently I'm sticking just with the thought of settling.  At London the staff kinda has this saying, Don't settle for good when you can have great, or something along the lines of the 4-H motto, "To Make the Best Better."  Why can't we do this?  Why can't we live a life where as we sing to Hillsong lyrics we let Christ actually "Take it all"  No we sit here, happy with our lives as we know it.  That's not what it's about, if we are not experiencing growth, if we are not seeing life change, then we are not fulfilling our duties as "Christians" which means "Little Christ" but most of the time we are far from being little Christ's.  It kinda irks me, yes I need work, I admit it, send me to REHAB anything but get us out of this.  Here's the thing, today, we did Super Summer Arkansas interviews (online apps found here )  we are short guys, in a BIG way.  We have plenty of girls, but we need guys, like alot, but the probblem is guys settle, guys believe that they have to have jobs and do things in order to advance themselves in the world.  Guys don't buy into a life patterened after Christ, they buy into a "church" mentality, one where they show up for church and that's as deep as they get, so what I leave is with this, how to we get guys, how to we get MEN to buy into Christian lifestyles, where they see the need to do more than just show up for church, and actually become servicing members.

I'll become even more Undignified than This

So Friday was spent at the International Bazaar at Henderson. When watching something like this, there are so many things birthed inside of me to talk about. It's amazing the things that we can learn from different cultures, if we could just open up our eyes to see it.

One of the things I noticed, is there are ways in every culture that we use to express ourselves. Dancing, this is used to convey certain emotions and feelings. Dancing is also done in story form.

What is it that makes us want to do this for expression? Even the Bible talks about dancing, to show our joy in Christ.

Psalm 149:2-4 (New International Version)

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.

3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

4 For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.

We are to rejoice in our maker with Dancing, and the Lord will take delight.
Now the dancing that I am talking about, from foreign lands, has nothing to do with anything like that, or at least what I saw last night didn't, it was all comprised of either 'story' dances as I mentioned, or this dancing that we would see anywhere else, things that most people would deem "inappropriate." I think this is because, when Christ formed us, we were made to dance, we were made to express ourselves. But in our sinfulness, and life separate of Christ, we have begun to express those things that we get excited about, that are not of Him. What we need to realize is that there is a way to dance that is worthy of being called worshiping Christ. There are no set instructions on "how to dance in worship to Christ" but dancing is mentioned thirteen times in the Bible, twelve in the old testament and once in the new testament. Here is a distinct example of when people danced in their joy of Christ's sovereignty; this is from Exodus:

Exodus 15:19-21 (New International Version)

19 When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.

They danced for they had been delivered from slavery in Egypt. Should we not also dance in rejoicing of Christ's deliverance of us?

Lately I have loved listening to the song "Undignified" sung by David Crowder Band. The bulk of the song goes "I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King, nothing Lord is hindering this passion in my soul" Shouldn't we live this way? Free to express our passion for Christ in any way that we want?

I think that by saying, we shouldn't dance at all, because of the way that this world is dancing is wrong.
I think that we should be open to dancing in a way that glorifies God.

You'll Need Something More To Guide Your Heart, as you Grow into a Man, Let Mercy Lead, Let Love be the Strength in Your Legs

So in the past few days I've been reading in "unChristian" and then today in my Intro to Business class it was brought to my attention again, not by what was said, but because what we were talking about was something that my parents had helped me with nearly two years ago.
As is fashion in recent notes, I have brought the entire chapter; tonight is no exception Proverbs 4 been brought into the note, because this is written by a father (King Solomon) to one of his sons.
Yes, I admit it now, here I am, writing a note on Parenting a freshman in college. (and dad's like.....took ya long enough....you've been parenting since you were three....)

But this isn't about me. This is about all the Christian parents out there, raising their kids the way they need to be raised.

Here is Proverbs for chewing on, while you read the next part of the note.


Proverbs 1:8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Proverbs 4:1 Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction;pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother,
4 he taught me and said,"Lay hold of my words with all your heart;keep my commands and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,and the years of your life will be many.
11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot sleep till they do evil;they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left;keep your foot from evil.

There is so much about not just parenting, but how to live life in this Chapter that it's alot to swallow. Instead of bringing back in the verses, I'm going to refer to the verse number when I talk about it.
As in 1:8 and verse 1, "Listen", I know that sometimes, especially with kids and their "social issues" that it's hard to keep kids focused, but in all reality it's not just about children hearing your instruction, it is about you acting upon the words you say. It is about the parent actually doing what they are telling their kids to do, if you tell them to brush their teeth every morning and every night, they better be seeing you brushing your teeth every morning and every night. If you are telling them to read the Bible everyday, and you aren't reading the Bible everyday, then what is going to make them want to read the Bible? This is the same way with our Christian walk,(sorry this is off, but it was in the chapter before the one I'm in now in "unChristian") if we are talking all this talk, about how you shouldn't curse, and you should be so involved in church, and such, you had better be doing it, otherwise you are hurting your witness, and people are at a point in today's time, that they don't want your Jesus, if you are just like them. You have to be transparent with someone, whether it be your child, or someone you are trying to bring to Christ. You have to point out to them, that we are saved by God's grace, and we are striving everyday to be more like him, and that yes we may mess up, but God forgives, and still loves us. We aren't perfect, nobodies perfect the only way that things are perfect is together, through Christ.

Hebrews 11:40 "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

In verses two through four it talks about holding to your fathers instruction, about how King David instructed his son King Solomon, to listen, and he essentially wouldn't die. Now we all hope that our kids won't die, but we find that there is some instructions that you give to a kid that can potentially save him from killing himself out of ignorance. I mean if as a child, we weren't instructed that those fast moving things out on the pavement won't stop for you, how many of us would have run out in front of a vehicle and nearly died? Also how many of us as young adults, when instructed by our parents, or worse by an officer of the law, that we needed to slow down, or we could get hurt. I mean these are simple things, that have been known to happen, because of all the years that there have been vehicles on the roads.

Verses 5-9 Wisdom, now this is coming from the wisest man to ever walk the earth. I would think we need to be listening to everything he says, but I mean honestly. If he says be wise and act on it, we should, I mean isn't that the same thing that our parents say to us? "I don't think it'd be best if you touched that stove." or "If you don't stop you'll be grounded." A child may not stop the first time, but I'm sure that if you are adamant and fulfill your word, someday they are going to change. If a child doesn't heed wisdom then what is going to happen? Their years are going to be few, or at least that's what I'd think, cause it says if a child heeds wisdom, his years will be many, and the opposite of many is few. This is what verse ten says.

Verses 11-19 talk about our journey through life growing up, and then even once we are grown. If we heed the wisdom of our parents, and stay on the right path. Nothing bad can happen. Our parents have our back and so does Christ ( I say this assuming that our parents have shared Christ's love with us also). It even tells us what will befall us if we don't listen to our parents, we will essentially be wicked and violent. Isn't that reminiscent of "problem children" today? I mean the ones who don't have any mental problems, the ones who are just straight up defiant. Why are they this way? Because they don't listen to their parents. Why don't they listen to their parents? Because their parents don't stay true to their word, they don't act on their words.

Verses 20-22 reiterate the need to keep the instruction of your parents close to you. For this will bring you ultimate life and health. Many will tell you, after they have strayed from what their parents have instructed, and done immoral things, that it would have been better if they had just listened to their parents. Why do you think this is? Because your parents instruction will bring you true life and health, through Jesus.

Verse 23 oh what I would give to have listened to my parents on this one. If I had guarded my heart, I would have a better testimony for myself to give to my future wife. But this alas is where I have slipped, and I do say that my parents were right. For some reason, when they instructed me not to go out with one person, I listened. But with another I didn't, and what I would give to have gotten out of that sooner. (Laura, you better do a better job!)

Verse 24 don't curse and think bad things. I mean honestly, we have been taught this our entire lives. Why is this bad though? For several reasons, one in the future professional world, you are going to be hired on how you carry yourself, this includes the words that come out of your mouth. Then the bigger one. If you are cursing or talking about inappropriate things, it hurts your Christian testimony. I was actually walking to the caf tonight with two friends who are solid Christians, and a fourth guy who isn't, both of them have been working on befriending him and showing him Christ, but one thing that I noticed as we walked, was what was talked about in conversation. They were talking about another person from our dorm and how he is. In what was talked about, was not something that should have been mentioned in front of a guy who is questioning why he should have Jesus, because we are no different from him (well other than that we don't smoke and dip.....). Let alone talked about in front of other Christians.

Verses 25-27 Just re-iterate how important it is to keep ourselves focused on Christ, and his glory. To not stray from the path. I can honestly say, I strayed from the path for almost a year, and it was not good, I feel like I lost such valuable time, that I could have been using for God's glory. Not to mention all the relationships I hurt during that time.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

I bring in Colossians because it cautions against parents overdoing it. I have seen this several times, where parents have been very strong towards their children about how they should act, and how they shouldn't be involved in things, and they didn't care. The children wanted everything to do with it, because they were constantly pressured not to.

Psalm 37:25 I was young and now I am old,yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;then you will dwell in the land forever.

I love this verse, because it tells parents how important it is to live like Christ. IF you live for Christ your children will be blessed! Your Children! I mean isn't this the best gift that a parent can give their child?


So parents. You know how to instruct your children. You don't need to hear it from me, but maybe there was some insight you missed that I have pointed out. What I do want to offer to you, is that it works. I may have strayed some, and who knows, it may happen again (though I don't plan on it). But really your hard work pays off! Have faith. Here is the reason why I wrote this note. In reading the chapter "Get Saved" in unChristian, there was a staggering statistic. A person's view on faith is shaped by the time they are ten. So if you haven't showed your child Christ, if you didn't start out in the beginning raising your child towards being a Christian. Then you are going to have a tough time getting them to grasp Christ once they are grown. Only one out of six people become a Christian after the age of twenty, and somewhere around ninety percent of those, have spent at least a three month consecutive period in church before the age of ten. So the hope of anyone becoming saved after college is slim, and it's even worse if they have had no church experience.

The only thing that I have to say that I find is a let down from my upbringing is that my parents did not start daily devotions soon enough. I believe if you start daily devotions as infants with your children, and continue til they leave the house. There will be an expectancy there that is un-paralleled.

I have to say from my experience growing up that there is nothing in my upbringing that I would change, and I have several college friends who would say the same about how they were raised...some even who may have had to write Proverbs 4 when they were in trouble.......I know I have had to.....

Rachel, maybe sometime soon I'll write about grand parenting.


Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

Are your parents the pride of your life?

(Title From "Let Mercy Lead" by Rich Mullins)

"There's Probably No God"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1126226/Atheist-theres-probably-God-campaign-did-NOT-breach-advertising-code-rules-watchdog.html?ITO=1490

The above link is to the story about Ad's that Athiests have put on London's buses
The below link is one of the campaigns that Christians have put on London's buses, these ran during Christmas time

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.bus.adverts.declare.good.news.to.londons.commuters/21981.htm

I'm having a hard time finding the ad campaign that was talked about that went on during the summer months. But I find this very interesting, something I would consider along the lines of atheists fighting to get the ten commandments off of public property... The two sectors are "fighting" for lack of better term, back and forth combating each others ads. But what I find even more interesting is the way that the atheists worded their phrase "There's probably no God" they're leaving themselves open, I mean they are saying "We really don't know if there isn't a God or not," I mean don't atheists believe that there is no God, or at least God in the sense that we believe in.

This is something that is key though, transparency is something that everyone needs to have.

(Wow it's all coming together now, this is soooooo crazy, if you read what I wrote last night, you'll see that I nearly wrote along the lines of what I'm about to say on Sunday night, but that wasn't the right time, all because this is when God wanted me to write about it.)

This is the main reason that outsiders, don't want to come to church. Because we aren't open with who we are, we try to hide behind this mighty "I'm righteous" persona that no one wants to be around. Simply because the atheists are willing to admit that they aren't sure if there is a God or not is a big deal. It would be along the lines of Joel Osteen standing up on National Television and saying "I'm a pastor, but I have committed *insert sin,* and Jesus still loves me. Or us putting an ad up apologizing for not being transparent enough like "Yes people sin, but we strive everyday with Christ's help to be more like him."

I watched this movie Sunday, about an Amish man who goes to Hollywood as a missionary. He ends up in the t.v. business, and starts going to parties and what not for "promotion" in the end, after months of doing so, he ends up messing up, getting drunk, and other things. The girl he is in love with is devastated, he says "I messed up, everyone messes up sometimes" and she says "not you" and leaves him, well he ends up with a job as a guy in a hot dog suit, and while standing out there, he realizes that he still has Christ with him, and that Jesus still loves him, and that he needs to keep carrying out His work. So he begins preaching there on the street corner, gets arrested, and this girl that he loves comes and bails him out. She realizes that yes everyone messes up, and at least he was transparent enough to let her know that, and that he isn't going to get drunk or anything else.


If Christians were transparent, and loving, and not self righteous people who hold their faith above the people who have "messed up" there would be a whole lot more openness to the Word.
If you read that first news clip, you'll see that the Methodists have encouraged the atheist ads because it will make people think about God, and whether or not they believe in Him. If we would be transparent with people who aren't sure, and not condemn them for being outsiders, then people would be a whole lot more receptive to the Word, and Christ's love.