Finding a Voice: When God Changes the Plan

Excellent thoughts on service.

tarajohnsonauthor

I sprinted behind my son, attempting to wrap his dripping hair in a towel. Wrestling him out of the bath had worn me out. Wrestling him into pajamas was even more difficult. Now he had broken free and was running down the hall. He squealed in delight as I huffed, “Boy, when I get a hold of you…”

We rounded the corner and I stopped short, blinking in surprise.

My husband stood in the living room, a big grin on his face. His hands gripped a beautiful violin and bow. The irritation with my wayward son melted away. 

My breath caught as I walked in slow steps towards him, an amazed smile tugging my lips. “I don’t understand.”

“Happy Anniversary, honey.”

I studied the way the beautiful instrument caught glimmers of light. I ran my fingers across the gleaming wood.

“I’ve always wanted to learn to play one. Ever since…

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Spiritual but not religious people are boring

Good presentation on spiritual and religious.

David’s Charge to His Son, Solomon

David’s Charge to His Son, Solomon

I Kings 2:1-12

Key Verse: “Be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the LORD Thy God,” I Kings 2:2, 3.

David was a man after God’s own heart. Very simply that did not mean that David was without sin. It meant that when he did sin, he turned to God for forgiveness. He knew that forgiveness began with God. David was a sinner and committed some heinous sins. He confessed those sins to God and received forgiveness.

Now comes the time that all men experience. Death. He wants to leave some advice to Solomon who will follow David as King of Israel. “Be thou strong.” A simple piece of advice. Strength is what is needed to live life to its fullest before a righteous God. There are many trials and tribulations in this life. Strong living does not mean that we will not mourn events, be broken hearted, or suffer grief and indecision in this life. It means we will lay all our cares upon the LORD and depend upon Him to restore us to the Joy of serving God and living a life of honor.

Notice the part of the passage that says, “and shew thy-self a man:”. David knows that the man was given responsibility to guide the household in a Godly manner. He wanted Solomon to take his place before God and fulfill his duties to his family and nation in an appropriate manner. That means to lead the nation in a Godly manner and to take the lead in the family in worship in the house of God and in family devotion. I am always happy to the man take the lead in service and worship in the church. He then is shewing himself a man.

“Keep the charge of the LORD thy God.” The LORD has given us many instructions for life, living, and serving Him. To the lost, its repent and believe on my Son for everlasting life. For those that are save and heaven bound it is live a life that is an imitation of Jesus Christ while he walked this earth. We have some excellent pointers from the sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, 6, 7. Matthew 5:1-12 gives us how our relationship with God and our relationship with man should be. The rest is directions for our life and how we should live. This was given to the church. A charge to be faithful and tell others about a Saviour is a charge that each of us should keep.

Thought – “A wise man will hear and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Proverbs 1:5).

James Candler

Wile E. Coyote Parenting

Great thoughts on raising children.

The Daddy Blitz

Wile E. Coyote is one of my favorite characters from Looney Tunes. Why? Because I can identify with him. When I parent, I am Wile E. Coyote.

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The Evidence of True Wisdom

Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Key Verse: James 3:17 – “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

In these verses, James, guided by the Holy Spirit, gave us two contrasting types of wisdom. One is with bitterness, envy, dissension and selfishness. The other is pure, peaceable, gentle, approachable, merciful, fruitful, practices equality and is genuine. Is there any doubt where each one originated?

Earthy, sensual wisdom prompts us to feel superior, falsely important and causes us to think we are always right. People with this type of wisdom are difficult to live and work with. Nothing ever pleases them no will they sacrifice for others. Their wisdom is devilish.

On the other hand, wisdom from above will point away from self. Godly wisdom will cause our actions to be mindful of Christ, his love and sacrifice for us as well as others. Nothing, not even our feelings, will be more important than giving God the glory and telling the good news. It will blind our eyes to nationality, wealth or age and cause our Christian walk to be fruitful and genuine. Unbelievers will see Christian living as peaceable, gentle and merciful.

Thoughts: Live for Christ – practice godly wisdom.

Live for self – practice devilish wisdom.

Beverly Barnett

GOD GIVE WISDOM TO THOSE WHO ASK

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Notice how this admonition comes right after the thoughts in the previous verses about temptations and patience? These are real trials in our everyday walk in the faith once delivered unto the saints. James is giving us some practical insight about our testimony to others when pressed beyond measure.

We should see that wisdom is required to live this life as a life a victory in overcoming the many different temptations in this world. When we overcome the temptation with wisdom, we honor God and bring glory to His Son. This wisdom brings the patience to get through this life overcoming the temptations and thereby having the joy of overcoming. We could say that wisdom brings joy to the christian life by overcoming the temptations that so easily beset us.

Christians should live with joy as a constant companion. We experience death of loved ones, heartache of sick children, sorrow of a loved one that strays; but with the wisdom of God we have that precious joy the each trial and temptation in life we have gone through and overcome and been the christian example that brings glory to God and the best example to the world of our sustaining faith.

Pray to God and ask for that wisdom of His that is so uncommon today. God’s wisdom is above the wisdom of this world. This wisdom is not in every garden.

THE SOURCE OF TRUE WISDOM

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding,” Proverbs 2:6

Our society hungers for knowledge. We go to great lengths to obtain it, but somehow we miss getting wisdom because true wisdom comes from God. He generously gives wisdom to those who seek it (like a child looking for a hidden gift).

God, who made Heaven and earth, created the stars, perfectly positioned the sun and the moon in the expansive heavens, took “the dust to the ground” (Gen. 2:7) and formed the first man, filled his lungs with the breath of life and made him a living soul, then anesthetized him without drugs, removed a rib without leaving a scar, formed woman so perfect that Adam called her the “mother of all living,” offered us common, ordinary , fallible people His wisdom.

However, some shun God’s wisdom for the knowledge of a college professor, who has a finite mind and a possible IQ of one hundred fifty and who might not be sure there is a God. Whoever possesses godly wisdom will reverently and worshipfully love and respect God.

Reflection: I totally agree with having a college education when possible, but I would rather take advice from a graduate of high school whose wisdom is from God than from a graduate of Harvard whose only wisdom is from books.

Beverly Barnett

ANOTHER FOREMAN’S FABLE

ANOTHER FOREMAN’S FABLE

Parson to Person

William Andrew Dillard

The appearances and effects of sin in human life are myriad. In fact, Every bad thing in the universe of mankind is attributable directly or indirectly to sin. This is apparent in domestic disputes and their ultimate fruitions. Such is also the cause of unkind words and deeds directed toward brethren of the same faith and practice. (Biting and devouring is how the Bible puts it.)

Addressing this issue in another of his classes: Ministerial Practicalities, Dr. L. D. Foreman, former President of Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas shared yet another of his well thought out and grounded fables for his students to seriously consider. He said, “Students, all of you have witnessed a big dog trotting down the street. The dog has a destination in mind and continues steadily toward it. However, as he progresses down the street, every little dog on the block will come out to bark at him. Now if the big dog is distracted enough to stop and bark back at every little dog that barks at him, he will never reach his destination. Consequently, he ignores the little dogs and their barking, and continues his journey.”

Foreman went on to make practical application which by this time had become obvious. Any devoted follower of Jesus will not be treated better that was Jesus in His ministry. He will be controversial on the basis of Bible convictions, and he will attract the attention of a number of “little dogs” who come out to bark. Like the literal big dog, the minister must know who he is, what he is about, and where he is going. With those things settled in place, it is very unwise to stop and bark back at those who cast objections, however frivolous those objections may be. The object is not to debate one another, but to serve the Master by carrying out his holy Will for your life.

Of course, it remains that there are those whose thrill of life, and apparent calling (not of God) is to object to everything, however holy, that may rub against their self-imposed comfort zone. Because this is true, one must determine early on to be on a mission, or to bark at everyone else who is.

Top 20 Values to Teach Children

Excellent guide

The Daddy Blitz

Below is a list of values that my wife and I are constantly trying to instill in our children. This is not an exclusive list, and many overlap, but these are the top items on my parenting agenda (my wife may have others) as we shepherd our children.

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JESUS BRING WISDOM

KEY VERSE: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord,” I Corinthians 1:30, 31.

Two little boys debated whose father was smarter. Jon said his father was smarter because he discovered a medicine that stopped hair from falling out. Brad said his father was smarter because he discovered a medicine that caused hair to grow back. Both fathers were bald. This is about the amount of our earthly wisdom.

Jesus gives us heavenly wisdom that does not end when we die. God’s wisdom is Christ and Christ in us. We are given wisdom through Christ Jesus as the Holy Spirit tutors us in the love story of God. This story is so simple it confuses a genius but gives wisdom to an illiterate because he accepts it by faith. That message is this–God so loved the sinner that He sent His sinless Son to die in the sinner’s place.

REFLECTION: In Christ, one has His wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; so if one is outside Christ, what does that make him?

Beverly Barnett