Sunday, February 24, 2013

Do you have a game plan???????



Good morning guys and gals. Are you a parent? If so, do you have days or maybe weeks when you feel you are failing at it? Sometimes feeling like whatever you do it is wrong and you’re messing up. Well, I am having one of those weekends. After I finally got the kiddo's bedded down for the night I laid in bed and read and prayed. I prayed that God would show me how to be the father/daddy that He desires me to be. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what today's Bible verse tells us.........

Bible Verse: Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

This sounds easy right? Not!!! I think parents have been struggling with this since Cain and Able and you know how that worked out. I think back to my childhood and wonder why I am not a bank robber or something else crazy. I am not dogging my parents but, I wasn't raised in church nor in a house that taught about God. Saying that, I know my parents believed in God. They didn't get involved in going to church until I left for the military. I am telling you all this because it is so important these days to train our children up to know and yes, fear God. See, these days everything that's not nailed down, the devil is tearing up. Heck, even if it is nailed down, the devil is pulling nails as fast as he can. We must get in the trenches in raising our children, sometimes making hard decisions or being the bad guy or girl. I don't think it say's anywhere that you have to be always your child’s bestie! In the long run your children will thank you for having rules and lines that they are not allowed to cross. This sets up how they will be for the rest of their lives.

I hear some parents say "I am just tired of fighting them all the time." I get it, but if we fight the battles early and in the beginning. Then they will not be as epic as when we wait till they are teenagers. Today's Bible verse says it all. Ok, I will break it down Barney style for ya. If you get a puppy, do you wait till it is two or three years old to start house training it? Duh!! Of course not, you start when it is young. Takes a little bit of work in the beginning but, it usually sticks when they are older right? Now, we get to another hard part. People are going to possibly disagree with you or think maybe you are being too hard or have too many rules. They might even say that you need to be your children’s best friend and not they're dictator or rule maker. That takes me back to the days with my best friend in school. We were constantly getting in trouble with each other and doing the wrong things. We were still best friends though! I could go on for hours writing about this stuff but, if you have children or plan to have children. Look ahead at what you want from them and for them. Plan your parenthood as much as possible. Think about how you might deal with certain situations if they arise. If you have a game plan before they game, it makes play calling much easier during the game. Last, but definitly not least, PRAY!!!! Have a great day and God bless!
















Friday, February 22, 2013

Do you have a pretty heart?????



Good morning everyone! Today is Friday!!! Are ya ready for the weekend? I got off yesterday morning after working 6 13 hour days. Totally ready for a day off. Picked the kiddo's up yesterday and we just chilled for the whole night together. Sure did miss them an awful lot. While I laid in bed last night before I went to sleep I was thinking about our eyes and how we see things. How we see beauty and worth. I think we go about it all wrong. Let's dig into some of the good stuff and see what it can show us..........

Bible verse: Proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

What makes a person hot? Or beautiful? Think about that for a second. Is what you think makes a person hot/beautiful what society thinks? Who formed or created these ideas? Is it the media, TV, magazines, billboards, etc.? How much are people judged by these standards? Are you judged by these standards? Do you judge by these standards? Why or why not? Are these standards healthy to live by? Now, I am going to ask you a tough one. What would God think about these standards? What is the average person more concerned about the outer appearance or the inner appearance? That's kind of an easy one. Almost every person that I talk to if they are honest. It is the outer appearance. So, let's look at the Bible verse in proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, First of all back in the day the people who compiled these proverbs were Hebrew and swine or pigs were considered unclean animals. So, putting a jewel of gold or gold ring in a pigs snout was pretty much a waste or just plain dumb!
Look around at a lot of the people that society thinks are hot / beautiful. Some of these people are drop dead gorgeous on the outside, but plumb ugly on the inside. Like they fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch. We so often don't look past the surface. Some may not match the outside. Physical beauty without character will wear out after a while. It is not bad to take care of your body and care about what you look like but, it should not be at the expense of your inner self. Let's look at Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Guy's, what produces these traits? It is the Holy Spirit. These are the traits found in Jesus. So, if we want these traits in our lives, we must join our lives to Christ and be more Christ like everyday. Have you ever thought which one of these traits you would like to have the most?

I am closing today with this. People and society in general are consumed with outer beauty. But, the bottom line is that God is only looking at your heart because this body of ours is only a shell that we have for a short period. Who you are will last forever! God wants you to invest in your inner beauty. Maybe that is spending more time with Him in Him Word. Maybe you need to improve a friendship. Maybe even volunteer or spend some extra time helping someone in need, Have a great day and God bless!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

To fear....Or not to fear???????


Good morning. Have you ever had coffee from a French press? I have always seen them in the movies and a couple of weeks ago while shopping I saw one on the shelf. So, I thought "I do like coffee" and threw it in the cart. I have to say it brings out a so much more from the coffee. I say that because I will make a press full and spend some quiet time reflecting. I have had a lot of solitary time lately and have to say I don't do it well. I do so much better with people and family around. Well, lately God has been wearing me out with today's verse. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it shows us.........
Bible Verse: Hebrews 13:5 "...for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you."

In my opinion this is one of the most encouraging verses in the entire Bible. Now, in my studies I read what Greek scholars tell us about this sentence, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," really has five negatives in it.  Now some say a double negative is bad English and in the south we say them a lot but evidently it wasn't bad Greek.  In the Greek Version of it reads: "I will never, no not ever, no never leave you nor forsake you."  Now check this out, which should take the fear out of what is in the future. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

In the commentary I was reading it spoke of a preacher that was visiting a grandmother in his church, trying to comfort her in her old age.  I bet she knew the Lord better than he did! But, this preacher took out his Greek New Testament and was reading this verse to her, explaining there were five negatives there.  The grandma said, "Well, God may have to say it five times for you Greek boys, but once is enough for me." That sounds like some of the older people I know. 

So, my question to you today is why are we in fear so much? I really think we fear because we're afraid we're going to have to face something we don't understand, and not only that, we'll have to face it alone. The bottom line is, God wants us to walk in faith, not fear, because He is always with us! He dwells within us! Believe that!!!
On the other hand, do you fear being forsaken, lonely? I sure do. Heck, most of us do. We would be lying if we said we weren't. Yet we have the companionship of His presence.  We fear our friends will leave us. Doctors say the greatest need we have on earth is not material but the ability to love and be loved. The Lord has said, "I will never leave you." We must believe this promise. Do you? Is God speaking to you?  Are you listening?  Let's write Hebrew 13:5 down and try to remember it throughout the week! Have a great day and God bless.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Are you fatherless??????




Good morning all! I went to a meeting last night in Knoxville and as people shared around the room I listened intently. I heard so many saying that their children were pretty much fatherless. The fathers of their children weren't around or didn't have time for their children. I have to say that it broke my heart. The reality of it is that the world is filled with this. As I drove home, I prayed that these children would find comfort somewhere. Then as I lay in bed, my mind was flooded with the thought "There are so many "Fatherless" people everywhere. Not just of an earthly father but, of a heavenly father also. That brings me to today's Bible verse. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it can show us.........
Bible Verse: Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

You may be reading this and have never gone to church. And when I say you can have a heavenly father it sounds like a different language. So, what does it mean to be God’s child, to be able to legitimately call Him father? Here's the thing, too often Christianity is presented as a contract or a set of rules between a person and God: “Just sign here, here, and here, and all your sins will be forgiven and you can go to heaven when you die.” Man, it’s much more personal to God than that. He’s not a used car salesman selling something we need. He’s not looking for buyers. What He is looking for are children. He has given us the “Spirit of adoption.” He’s looking to fill His family with lost kids and adults by making them His kids.
Aside from Jesus, God has no biological children. Now, some of you may have grown up in the church nursery, but you were not born into God’s family just by being born. I know that some feel that they were raised up in church so they are good to go. I am sorry to tell you today that, that won't cut it. We have to be adopted to become a child of God. We have to accept Him as our Savior and once we were in the family, He gave us the right to call Him “daddy.” Is that something you can do today? Can you call Him "daddy"?

I am reading a great book by J.I. Packer "Knowing God". This is a bit from it that might help. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. … Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption. (pp. 201—202). Have a great day and God bless.



Friday, February 1, 2013

Rambo ain't got nothin'..............




Good morning everyone. I have had a ton on my mind lately. I don't understand why I am constantly amazed by God sometimes. Man, just as I said yesterday He is the Shepherd. He will not leave us nor forsake us. You may be thinking while reading this that "Tony just doesn't know what's going on in my life. Why would God allow me to go through this?" Hey, I get it. Heck, I've said it. I guess what I want to tell you is sometimes you must go through some really bad stuff to get to some really good stuff. Remember Job???? He got double of almost everything back that Satan took from him for staying the course. That brings me to today's Bible verse. We should scream His name from the roof tops! Let's dig into the good stuff............. 
Bible Verse: Mark 16:15 "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

Man, I am way more blessed than I deserve. God is allowing me to share His gospel again tonight with a group of teenagers. I guess He's just not done with me yet. Can I tell you what I think our problem is? Yes, I said "our" mine too! If I had to identify the major problem with us believers today, it would be that we spend too much time getting out of trouble with God, instead of getting into righteousness!

A lot of the time we are living on the defensive instead of the offensive. We need to move beyond the defensive line of Christianity, and move on to the offense. We need to be advancing the Kingdom, fulfilling the Great Commission, and telling others about Jesus. Our Shepherd will never lead us where His strength cannot keep us. He will never lead us down a path that He hasn't first walked down Himself. I want to be the tip of the spear! I want to be the point man on the S.W.A.T. team. I want to be the first through the door. I want to be the first person to ever share Jesus with someone. Now, don't think I am one of those Rambo type's but, us Christian should lead from the front. We shouldn't be sitting in the back of the bus with our mouths shut and heads down. If we can get to work and do this, Rambo won't have anything on us!!!
Are you sharing His love and words of salvation with someone who's lost? If not, cowboy up and begin today to move beyond your comfort zone and see the hand of God move. Have a super day and God bless!