Are you Cheating Yourself?

A woman tells the story of how she and a group of other women were working out with a fitness instructor.  The instructor gave them things to do - like, run to the fence 3 times or, do 15 push ups.  The lady noticed that one group of women weren't running full force to the fence, but stopping part way and counting it as "1".  Were they hurting the fitness instructor?  Not at all!  They were cheating themselves out of the benefits of the exercise!

When I heard this story, it made me think of my own life and consider the times where I may have been cheating myself out of some good stuff.  When I don't spend time in prayer, I'm cheating myself out of telling my heavenly Father my deepest concerns, thanks and praise.  When I don't read my Bible, I'm cheating myself on hearing what God has written for me.  When I only attend Sunday morning worship, and skip out before Bible study or don't come back for Sunday evening services, I'm cheating myself out of not only the worship time, and learning but also out of the fellowship and relationships I loose by not being with my fellow Christians.  When I fail to respond to the gospel call, I cheat myself out of all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 3:1)

Choosing to "work hard" and be fully engaged in every activity will help us to not cheat ourselves from the great blessings God has for us.  So, don't be a cheater!

Teach Your Children Well

Teach Your Children Well

 

The Crosby, Stills & Nash song begins by saying, “You who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by” and then in the chorus “Teach your children well”.  Here we have a hummable or singable reminder that, as parents on our journey to heaven, we are responsible for shaping our children’s minds.  Of course the Bible has already given us that instruction, “You shall teach them (these words) diligently to your children” Deut. 6:4-9.

As parents we have many things to teach our children, but most importantly we must teach them the Bible.  We begin when they are very young and build on simple truths and Bible stories laying the building blocks for a faith they must grow on their own.  A bonus to this at-home education is the church Bible school program.  It is here that children are exposed to someone other than their parents teaching the same truths, however the Bible school program cannot do it all.

In order to teach our children well, we must be aware of what they are being taught.  While there are many good literatures available, some contain denominational teachings or subtle references to unscriptural things.  If you’re not sure what literature is being used in your Bible classes, find out!  Ask to see a teacher’s manual & student work book and study it to make sure the truth is being taught.  The word of God does not need to be made into a watered-down comic book.  Children need to learn to read from the Bible and know that they can read the Bible. 

Mothers understand the reference to babies in 2 Peter 2:2 “as newborn babes, desire the milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”  Babies thrive and grow on milk.  We can also understand that children cannot go from only milk to a T-bone steak, there are stages in between.  Likewise, children need to be taught the basics and then challenged as they grow.  If all we teach our children is Noah’s ark and the creation, when will they be ready to learn of Paul’s missionary journeys or the gospel or the conversion stories in Acts? 

God has blessed us with amazing children who can learn His truths and can understand.  Remember with each day to teach your children well.

Is This the "New" Normal?

During the Olympics, NBC used their monopoly of television coverage to push and promote their upcoming show for this fall called "New Normal".  It's about 2 homosexual men and a woman who is carrying a baby for them.  That's about as far as I got into the explanation of the show to realize I will not be watching it. 

My children and I like to watch a few competition shows on both HGTV and Food Network.  Most of the time, the participants don't mention their choice of lifestyle and I'm content not knowing.  However, I was quite floored when watching a recent show and seeing a beautiful woman mention her "wife".  I looked at my son and said - "Did she just say what I think she said?" 

My husband and I talked about this and how you can barely watch anything without having at least 1, but more than likely, multiple homosexual characters.  I asked if it were really such a commonplace thing, to have homosexual families?  My wise husband reminded me that the media wants us to believe that it is common, that a family with 2 mommies or 2 daddies IS the new normal. 

Satan has been working hard and for many years at reaching this point.  Satan has worked hard at destroying the home that God wants us to have.  He may be subtle and deceitful, but Satan's work is constant.  Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  There is a battle going on. 

Interestingly enough, our Wednesday evening Bible class has begun a series on "The Home".  Last night's introductory class was called "The Home Under Attack".  In this class, our teacher mentioned several quick areas in which Satan is attacking our homes and the simple answer in safeguarding our homes is to have one which is Christ-centered. 

Before Joshua and the Israelites settled into the Promised Land, he made a profound statement about what they would be facing.  Joshua 24:14-15 Now, therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt.  Serve the LORD!  And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which  your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

We need more families in today's world standing up to serve the LORD.  We need families who are willing to serve God in sincerity and TRUTH putting away the evil things that have become normal to our lifestyle the past 50 years.  We need more families to draw closer to Christ.  A Christ-centered home is THE normal.