What Do The Children See?

 I read long ago that a parent should never do anything on their own. From grocery shopping to going to the bank a parent should always take at least one child. Life is filled with many unexpected teaching opportunities that cannot be taught in a lecture but are taught by modelling. Parents teach by example and there is no better example than how we interact with people in our community.

We often believe that what we say to our children will have the biggest impact but the loudest thing we say is said with our actions. Children are watching our response as that crazy driver cuts us off. They see what kind of respect we give to the new bank teller. They read our body language as we wait in the grocery line as that dear old soul counts out her change.

Our children are going to become what they see in us. They will use the same words we use. They will exude our attitude toward people. How often do you hear your parents' words coming out of your mouth? How often do you see your parents' attitude in your actions? Do we need to choose better words and a better attitude?

I try to remember to bring my children along but sometimes I fail and go with the fast route instead of the slow one, but yesterday I remembered. I took my six year old son on the dog walk. We walked. We talked. We enjoyed each others company. And he observed my actions without me realizing it.

I have a habit of trying to leave the world in better condition than I found it. For this purpose I carry extra dog bags on me to clean up where someone else failed to. My son was a few steps ahead of me when I stopped to clean up someone else's mess. I didn't think he noticed. But when we got home he announced to his mom, "Alison didn't go poo but dad used a bag to clean up another dog's poo". My wife gave me a look that conveyed "good job". But it's not just children who are watching.

Last year I was walking with the dog past our local park. There was a lot of litter so I picked up a few pieces and put them in the garbage. When I turned around I almost bumped into a man who was walking with his children. I hadn't seen them walking behind me but he had seen what I was doing. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Because they were walking faster than my dog they went ahead of me. To my surprise the dad suddenly stooped down and picked up a discarded coffee cup. He said something to his kids who suddenly ran ahead and started picking up garbage. I thought, "Wow!"

This is the world in which we live, raise our kids and minister. We are told not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. But it can seem overwhelming. It can make us feel powerless and insignificant. We are only one person so what are we compared to all that? But Father did not tell us to do all that. He told us to be faithful to what he has given us. I can't impact my whole town but I can impact my children and the people I meet today. I may not be able to preach but I can demonstrate Father's heart by the way I honour and value people. I may feel insignificant but I can do significant things by doing the next right thing as defined by Father.

This is the attitude and the demonstration that will most impact our children. I can tell them I love Jesus or I can show them in the way I treat their mother, our neighbours and the workers in our community. I can demonstrate it in the way I talk about leaders in the church and politics. I can demonstrate it by living an attitude that tells them people are more important than possessions. My children may forget my words but they will remember what they have seen. To Father, there is nothing more important in our lives than people. They are the objects of his love and I want my children to see this reflected in my actions.

The children are watching. They are suppose to. It is how they learn. What are we teaching beyond our words?

Possessing Without Being Possessed

What do you want out of life? Do you want success? Enough money to be satisfied? A spouse with a couple of children? Do you want a job that will challenge you but still leave you enough time to do what you want? What are your dreams, your ambitions, your goals? They tell a lot about a person and their relationship with Jesus Christ. Then again I forget that most of us don't take him into consideration when planning our lives.

Sometimes things can look legitimate to us, having purpose and a place. By any means of measurement they are normal and just. But when measured against the Kingdom they suddenly appear small and unimportant. The whole thing depends on what measuring rod we are using to determine importance.

Jesus spent his life, possessing nothing, to bring the Good News to the people of Israel. He healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk, cast out demons all while he taught about the Kingdom and spread the Good News. He had a different set of priorities, a different perspective, a noble purpose. His measuring rod was far different than the people who surrounded him. Then one day a voice out of the crowd shouted:

"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13)

In the midst of his selfless giving this must have struck Jesus as odd. Here he was offering eternal life, freedom from everything that possessed the heart and mind, yet this person was only concerned about a family inheritance. Maybe that doesn't strike you as odd. Maybe it seems quite reasonable to you, but when you are faced by Jesus, do you really think possessions are the priority? Jesus first answered the man:

"Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" (v.14)

Then he said to the crowd, giving insight into the priority of the Kingdom:

"Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." (v. 15)

I know none of us think we have a problem with materialism but that's because we are comparing with people around us. We figure we don't have very much so it can't apply to us but when we compare it to the Kingdom we begin to see some things we may not want to see. I sit here and think "I don't own a lot" because I live in a small apartment and don't own a car. However, I own two desk tops, a laptop, four tablets and three cell phones. I also have three large screen TV's (some were gifts), and a nice camera. I own about eight bicycles. I could go on. According to certain parts of the world I am a very rich man. But the real danger is not in the possessing but being possessed.

Nothing belongs to us; it all belongs to Jesus. We died with Jesus so we no longer own anything in this world but are stewards of all that is in our possession. They have a purpose and need to be used for Jesus' glory. Sometimes he moves his resources around and we must be willing to let go of anything we have been taking care of for him. But too often we don't want to let go. Too often we can't let go because those things have defined us, they bring us great pleasure and we can't imagine living without them.

This is the real danger, when possessions take the place of Jesus in our lives. Our delight and pleasure should be found in our Lord. He defines us. He gives us purpose. He possesses us. We should be willing to let go of anything he requires because it belongs to him anyway, but it is a difficult attitude to measure. We almost have to take an inventory and consider if we could live without the various things currently in our lives. It also takes a tremendous amount of honesty because all of us are quite good at lying to ourselves.

We live in a society where material possession means wealth and most people I know would like to be wealthy. But we belong to a Kingdom that values spiritual wealth above everything else and when possessions are possessing we may hear our Lord saying, "Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, then come follow me." Perhaps it is a good time to do some self-evaluation to know where you are in relation to all of this. Are you Kingdom centered as good stewards of the Lord's resources? Or are we earthbound, anchored to possessions that have no real value in the new order? What do you want in life?

He Gave Himself Completely So You Could Be Completely God's

Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. (John 17:17)

The things you think you need to make your life complete, you don't really need. What we really need is food and clothes, and even these Jesus told us not to worry about. Shelter would be good, some companionship but Jesus said that not even he had a place to lay his head.

Truth be told, our priorities are in a mess. Kingdom values are all mixed up with earthly values. It is hilarious to hear how much they say it costs to raise a child today. Sure, if you are going to buy them all over-priced name brands and fall for all the marketing gimmicks of food and toys. All we are doing is re-enforcing the values of this world in the minds of our children. According to the experts, I would have to be a millionaire to raise the 11 children who share my name. 

It is when we are lost in these wrong values that the value of the highly important gets lost. How are you sanctified, set a part from this world, for God's purpose? By the gospel of Jesus Christ. God's Word is truth and by this Word, the truth that Jesus brought forward, we are made completely God's. Hear Jesus' prayer:

Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. (John 17:15-16)

We don't belong. Look at your credit card bill and repeat those words, I don't belong. Look at your long term goals for your life, your family and repeat the words, I don't belong. Look at your attitude toward your boss, your neighbours and repeat those words, I don't belong. When you are standing in a crowd, is there anything about you that let's people know, you don't belong?

We are in this world but not of it. We don't belong. We are not here for our benefit, for our pleasure, for our self-seeking, but because we have been given a mission. We don't belong. The gospel of Jesus Christ, God's Word, has sanctified us, set us a part for his purpose, not our own. We don't belong.

I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth. (John 17:18-19)

That stings a bit. Jesus gave himself completely so that we could belong to God completely. How does your life reflect this truth? Are we living to honour the price Jesus paid? Does our living demonstrate that we belong to God completely, or are we living as part-time warriors?

Sanctified.

 

Decision Making Made Simple

There are a lot of decision we have to make in a day. Some of them are as simple as turning right or left. Others seem to be of greater importance, like which courses of study to choose or whether to buy that house you visited yesterday. But sometimes the simple choices can have a far greater impact on our day than the big ones. So how do we know? How do we choose?

I may not have the answer to that for you but I know what works for me .I bring it all down to one common denominator that I can understand in all circumstances: Choose Jesus.

Everyday I am faced with all kinds of circumstances that I have no control over. For example, last night my phone froze at 1:48 am. It has never happened before. I had no control over it. The problem is that my phone is my alarm clock, so when I was suppose to be getting up at 5 am I kept sleeping. At 6:15 am I woke up but by then I was already 15 minutes late opening our family store. Without thinking I went into action and got myself out the door. I was left with a decision: do I complain about it and allow it to ruin my day, or do I choose Jesus, trust him that all will be well and allow that joy to continue in me. I choose Jesus.

Then, after opening our store late, I discovered that the water had been cut off in part of the city because of a mistake a construction crew made. I had no control over it. I had a choice: let this provoke my earlier frustration and declare it to be a horrible day, or, choose Jesus and ask him for encouragement and support. He reminded me that I had bottled water so I could continue making coffee. But I didn't need it because he arranged to have the water back on before it became a problem. I t always works out when I choose Jesus.

There are hundreds of circumstances in our day that we can either allow to rob us of our joy and peace or that give us the opportunity to increase our trust in Jesus. We have no excuse for declaring that a day is horrible. In fact, it is rather embarrassing as we demonstrate our lack of faith and trust.

Now this is a bit different than deciding to choose left or right, or which courses to take, but if we continue practicing our faith and trust in Jesus, we will become more sensitive to right decision in the Kingdom. Jesus told us not to chase after the same priorities as the world does. Kingdom values are different. He told us to chase after the things of the Kingdom, in other words, choose Kingdom values. When we base our decisions on these things, choosing Jesus, we will soon begin to recognize which decisions honour our Father.

If you don't care about honouring the Father then you go right ahead and do whatever you think is best for you. But if honouring the Father is at the center of your day and decision making, practice choosing Jesus in the circumstances of your day and when it is time to make the big decisions you will know exactly what you need to do. Have an excellent walk with Jesus today and my your living glorify him.

Dying To The Principles Of This World

Some of you are participating in the 21 Day Fast Event that is taking place in the Church around the world. Good. It is a good thing as we start off the new year with a desire to increase our intimacy with God. We need to do this to remember that we are not from this place. We need to remember that our life is not based on the principles of this world; we are not governed by its philosophies. A fast strips everything away and leaves us alone with God. The Word warns us:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

You would be surprised how quickly the values of this world can overpower the values of the Kingdom. We are constantly bombarded with them every day. It is like an ocean in which we are drowning. Too many Christians think they can sail through with little effort and not be affected by these values. They honestly believe that they are serving Jesus when they are actually serving themselves.

We should always take a little survey when we are considering the things we are involved in and the decisions we are making:

1. Why am I doing this?
2. Who does this benefit?
3. What value is it based on?
4. Does it have any eternal value?
5. When I am standing before Jesus will I be proud of this moment?

One very simple principle of the Kingdom is that our life no longer belongs to us. Jesus bought us at great price and because of his love we are glad we belong to him. Not belonging to ourselves means that we must live in Jesus, taking on his priorities, his values, his loves. If we do not understand and fail to act upon this one very simple principle, we will never be in step with the Spirit.

Unfortunately we never quite grasp how much we have been deceived because the further we get into it the more we are convinced we are okay. In the beginning there are some nagging doubts but soon the fog covers our eyes and all is well, or so we think. Fasting has a way of clearing that fog and bringing the principles of the Kingdom into sharp focus. It brings a clarity of thought and wellness to our body. There is a clearing out of our entire being. It reminds us of what is important.

We need this. So many of you have expressed that you want 2013 to be a year of greater intimacy with Jesus. Good. Now do something about it. I would go so far as to suggest that you do more than just the Daniel's Fast; try doing an entertainment fast as well. For 21 days turn off the TV, don't watch any movies, turn off the music, except what you use for worship. Stay away from YouTube, FaceBook, Tumblr, except for the ways you use it to communicate with friends and family. Get your thoughts off the principles of this world and for 21 days bathe yourself in prayer, the Word of God, worship and service.

This is hitting a reset button. After the 21 days you will need to figure out how to maintain a closer walk with Jesus while swimming in the vales, principles and philosophies of this world but at least start with the reset. If you didn't start on January 1st it is okay, much of the Church is not starting until January 6th, the first Sunday of the new year. The important thing is not when you start but that do start at some point. Don't expect it will be easy. To withdraw from the values, principles, and philosophies of this world is like coming off of a drug. For the first little while your body and mind will scream for a "fix" but if it does then you know you were in a bad way. This should fortify you even more to go to the end of it.

I pray this will be a fantastic year of growth in your relationship with Jesus but also in your service for the Kingdom. I pray this time of fasting will bring clarity to who you are in Jesus and to the principles that govern our very being. God bless you in your desire for Jesus to increase and for you to decrease. To God be the glory, mighty warrior.

Paying Attention To The "If's"

There are some who think that because they said a magical prayer they are free to go on living however they want. To them Jesus is some kind of insurance package. They accepted him as Saviour but never as Lord. They take the deal of eternity but do whatever they want here. But it doesn't work that way. Jesus is far from an insurance policy. He must be Saviour and Lord, which means our desire is to live as he lived, to be controlled by the Spirit, to live a life that brings him glory.

A couple of days ago I was writing about how we are holy in God's sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Regardless of how you feel, you are covered by God's grace. That is a hard thing for us to accept because we want to beat ourselves up for our failures but God has this attitude where he picks us up, dusts us off and tells us to get on with it. But there is an "if" to this thing that Jesus does for us:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:22-23)

You see that, right? IF you continue in your faith. Can you imagine running a 12 hour marathon and giving up with a mile to go? All that training; all that time; all that effort, wasted. I think anyone who has trained that long and hard is going to make every effort to complete the race. Many Christians don't.

They don't because they were not established and firm. They called themselves Christian, went through all the motions but they set aside the Word because they didn't have time; they worshiped only at church; they never involved Jesus in anything of any importance in their life. So when the winds of trial and destruction hit, they had no root and were blown away.

Or, because they did not maintain a great relationship with Jesus, neglecting him and leaving him aside, over time their faith was worn away.I little here, a little there. They started changing their mind on things. Sin began to take control and cloud their mind until they were lost again in the depravity of sin. We think it can't happen, but when we do not stay connected to the vine, failing to remain established and firm, it is amazing how quickly we change.

This is very important in this age we are living. Things are changing quickly. Values are evaporating before our eyes. What was once considered sin is not acceptable and what once was acceptable is sin. What once was wrong in this world is right and what was right is wrong. In four short years the public opinion of Americans has flip flopped on homosexuality. Where the majority of people saw this as wrong, today the majority now sees it as right. Just one small example of hundreds of values that are changing.

If you are not established and firm in your faith, standing on the Word of God, possessed and controlled by the Spirit, madly in love with Jesus with a desire to obey, then you will be swept away in the changing tide. You will be sidelined from your faith and will soon be lost, failing to finish the race. We cannot afford to neglect our relationship with Jesus in these darkening days. We need to get as close as we can, increasing our faith, not decreasing. We have to be sure of where we stand and refuse to move as long as we are standing on the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Many will claim to follow him while doing what they want. Many will try to use the Word to win the case for their selfishness. Many will try to convince others that sin is no longer sin to excuse their own attitude. They will approve of other people's sin so they can be free to sin as well. They want both eternal salvation and to live a selfish existence here, but it doesn't work that way. We need to pay attention to the "if's" in the Word of God.