Worshipping With Jumper Cables
By Cindy Beall
This week's topic: Reaching Our Children
I'll never forget one Christmas eve, my husband and i were driving separate cars with a boy in each, heading out to our church. Not necessarily decked out in my nice clothes, but definitely a little more jazzed up than my usual Wal-Mart attire, I was ready for an hour full of amazing music and a message to keep me centered on the reason we celebrate this season.
Before we even hit the stop sign at Midwest and Waterloo, there was a delay. Not sure, at first, what it was, I inched up further along on the asphalt to take a gander. And what to my wondering eyes did appear? A stalled SUV with flashers blaring as if to say, "Will somebody please help me?"
Car by car made their detour around the man and woman as they frantically attempted to turn the key over just one more time. Now it was my turn. With my 10-year old in my car learning from my every move, I had to decide: Do I go around this hindrance in order to make sure that my nicely pressed outfit would remain intact for the church service I was headed to? Or do I toss the plans out the proverbial window in order to be a Samaritan to someone I may never see again?
Rolling down my window, I yelled to the distraught woman, "Do you need some help?" Her affirmative reply was followed by a sigh of partial relief. Shortly after that, I whipped my Honda Pilot around and pointed my hood to theirs as my handsome hubby worked his magic with our old set of jumper cables.
"Give it some gas," he hollered to me. Nothing happened.
Continuing to apply my three-inch black heel to the accelerator, I started to pray, "Father, please help this couple. Help their car to start so that they can get home. Help them..."
Vroom, vroom, vroom.
"Thank you so much for your help," the man said. "And Merry Christmas!" Quietly watching the entire occurrence, Noah said, "That was nice." I agreed with him and told him that I could have just driven around them to make sure that we wouldn't miss church because we wanted to worship Jesus.
"I think Jesus wanted us to help them more than he wanted us to go to church today, Mom," came his wise reply.
With tears beginning to sting my baby blues, I nodded and said, "I couldn't agree more."
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for allowing us the opportunity to be your hands and feet. And for creating a tender heart in our sons that will know how to love you by loving others.
Scripture Of The Day: "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Cindy Beall is a Christ follower who uses her gift of exhortation by writing and mentoring women. She uses her past experiences, including the near death of her marriage, to encourage people that God truly does redeem. For more information about Cindy, log onto http://www.cindybeall.com
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Growing Olives, Growing Children
Growing Olives, Growing Children
By Kimberly Webb
This week's topic: Reaching Our Children
The Bible states that our children will be like olive plants around our table. I wondered why God would use an olive plant to describe children. I began researching olive plants and found that they are rare plants that can grow well in coastal climate environments, such as the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia and some parts of California.
They grow slowly and require a long, hot growing season to properly ripen. Olive plants can grow when neglected, but they don’t grow very well. A deep, monthly watering is recommended for maximum growth potential. As a result of researching olive plants, I began to see the reason God used them in His word to describe our children.
Olive plants, like children, grow well in the right kind of environment. And as their parents, we are responsible for creating that environment. This is a key parenting principle because our environment colors the view we have of ourselves, others and the life around us. Therefore, parents must spend the time necessary to create an environment where our children receive the Word of God, prayer, encouragement and affirmation needed to grow and flourish, thus producing good fruit themselves.
Honestly, we all have been guilty of not spending enough time with our children or doing something else while we are supposedly spending time with them. But we are being held accountable for what we are pouring into our children. No one should have more influence on a child than God and that child’s parents.
You may be saying, “But I don’t have time, I’ve got too much on my plate.” Then maybe it’s time to clean the plate. Don’t get me wrong, I‘m not saying that you have to drop everything that doesn’t involve your child. But I am saying that it is your responsibility to remove the unnecessary things that fill up your time. You and I are responsible for creating an environment where our olive plants can grow and thrive, reaching their fullest potential.
You may be thinking, “Where do I start, how do I begin?” The best place to start is in the Word of God! Ephesians 6:4 states, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord.
Begin by speaking love to them. If you do not already do so, begin by saying you love them every day. Reinforce that love by spending some real time with them. This may mean you need to turn off the TV and reconnect with your children. Find out what they are interested in, start building a relationship with them, and make a conscious effort to show that you care about them and their interests.
Here are some suggestions for growing your olive plants:
1) Review your day. Determine how much time your olive plant spends alone, with others, or with the TV. Then determine how much time you spend with your olive plant. Set a daily goal to spend quality time with your olive plant either doing an activity, or just talking.
2) Each day, ask your child about their day. For example, "What did you learn?" "Who did you play with?" Or if you have teenagers, just ask “How was your day?” Now, you may have to probe deeper in order for them to give you some information. But if you have younger children, starting with this pattern of talking about their day engages them and causes them to develop a closer relationship with you. It becomes a normal routine for them, so when they are teenagers, those lines of open communication have already been established.
3) Encourage scripture memory. Encourage them to memorize one scripture a month, and find ways to use that scripture weekly. Talk with them about the scripture, and remind them of the scripture when dealing with issues they are facing. Always remind them of God’s love. As we discussed earlier, this can be started as young as 2 or 3 years old.
Scripture Of The Day: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants, all around your table." - Psalm 128:3 (NKJV)
Kimberly Webb is the author of The Making of a Joyful Mother: A Spiritual Journey for Women Experiencing Infertility and founder of Kimberly Webb Ministries. Kimberly is an inspirational speaker who leaves an indelible mark on all those who come in contact with her. For more information visit her website at http://www.kimberlywebb.org.…
By Kimberly Webb
This week's topic: Reaching Our Children
The Bible states that our children will be like olive plants around our table. I wondered why God would use an olive plant to describe children. I began researching olive plants and found that they are rare plants that can grow well in coastal climate environments, such as the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia and some parts of California.
They grow slowly and require a long, hot growing season to properly ripen. Olive plants can grow when neglected, but they don’t grow very well. A deep, monthly watering is recommended for maximum growth potential. As a result of researching olive plants, I began to see the reason God used them in His word to describe our children.
Olive plants, like children, grow well in the right kind of environment. And as their parents, we are responsible for creating that environment. This is a key parenting principle because our environment colors the view we have of ourselves, others and the life around us. Therefore, parents must spend the time necessary to create an environment where our children receive the Word of God, prayer, encouragement and affirmation needed to grow and flourish, thus producing good fruit themselves.
Honestly, we all have been guilty of not spending enough time with our children or doing something else while we are supposedly spending time with them. But we are being held accountable for what we are pouring into our children. No one should have more influence on a child than God and that child’s parents.
You may be saying, “But I don’t have time, I’ve got too much on my plate.” Then maybe it’s time to clean the plate. Don’t get me wrong, I‘m not saying that you have to drop everything that doesn’t involve your child. But I am saying that it is your responsibility to remove the unnecessary things that fill up your time. You and I are responsible for creating an environment where our olive plants can grow and thrive, reaching their fullest potential.
You may be thinking, “Where do I start, how do I begin?” The best place to start is in the Word of God! Ephesians 6:4 states, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord.
Begin by speaking love to them. If you do not already do so, begin by saying you love them every day. Reinforce that love by spending some real time with them. This may mean you need to turn off the TV and reconnect with your children. Find out what they are interested in, start building a relationship with them, and make a conscious effort to show that you care about them and their interests.
Here are some suggestions for growing your olive plants:
1) Review your day. Determine how much time your olive plant spends alone, with others, or with the TV. Then determine how much time you spend with your olive plant. Set a daily goal to spend quality time with your olive plant either doing an activity, or just talking.
2) Each day, ask your child about their day. For example, "What did you learn?" "Who did you play with?" Or if you have teenagers, just ask “How was your day?” Now, you may have to probe deeper in order for them to give you some information. But if you have younger children, starting with this pattern of talking about their day engages them and causes them to develop a closer relationship with you. It becomes a normal routine for them, so when they are teenagers, those lines of open communication have already been established.
3) Encourage scripture memory. Encourage them to memorize one scripture a month, and find ways to use that scripture weekly. Talk with them about the scripture, and remind them of the scripture when dealing with issues they are facing. Always remind them of God’s love. As we discussed earlier, this can be started as young as 2 or 3 years old.
Scripture Of The Day: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants, all around your table." - Psalm 128:3 (NKJV)
Kimberly Webb is the author of The Making of a Joyful Mother: A Spiritual Journey for Women Experiencing Infertility and founder of Kimberly Webb Ministries. Kimberly is an inspirational speaker who leaves an indelible mark on all those who come in contact with her. For more information visit her website at http://www.kimberlywebb.org.…
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Dreaming for Your Kids
Dreaming For Your Kids
By Ron Luce
This week's topic: Reaching Our Children
We hear Joel 2:28 in church and think about how revival needs to come to the younger generation. But, instead of concentrating on that part of Joel 2:28, I want to draw your attention to the “old men will dream dreams” phrase.
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." - Joel 2:28
I used to overlook that part of the verse most of the time, thinking, “I’m not going to be old for a long time yet, so I’m not going to talk or think much about the old men dreaming dreams.” But it is the older people in our society who dream dreams for the younger generation; and so it must be the parents who dream dreams for their children.
They Didn’t Ask for This Garbage
Looking at the culture barrage hammering our teens, whether it’s what is sold to them, written to them––movies and music––or the point-and-click pornography available to them, there is one thing we can all agree on: Our children are not the ones who invented these things.
Just about every one of these social influences, media entertainment, technological inventions or opportunities on the Web destroying kids, have been dreamed up by the older generation. These older dreamers prey on young people because they have plenty of money. They appeal to young people’s most corrupt desires to get them to empty their pockets.
The fact is, the kids didn’t ask for this garbage; they were sold it by people trying to make a lot of money without any thought to moral consequences. Of course they will tell us, “If people didn’t buy it, we wouldn’t make it” as if it’s a moral obligation to sell people things that will destroy them just because they buy it.
Here’s the question: Are we not dreamers? Cannot we, the people who love God, dream a dream for the young people in our churches? Is it only the secular culture that has a dream for our children?
You can protect your kids from the disaster of being shaped by a confused generation of adults selling media, but it will take deliberation. It will take sweat. It will require emotional and mental engagement with your kids, starting when they are at a very young age.
Dream for Your Kids
Dream a dream for your kids. You can determine if they will be entertainment oriented or service-to-others oriented; constantly appeasing the flesh and desiring the next thing to engage and tantalize them, or those men and women who lay down their lives as a sacrifice for others? As you dream for your kids teach them how to think critically and pursue growth in their relationship with the Lord. If you sacrifice now, you’ll reap a blessing for the rest of your life; and the world will never be the same.
Not only must we be the dreamers, but we must also teach our kids to be the dreamers for their own generation. These will soon to become the leaders who will soon determine the culture and morals of America. You can help them get a vision of how God could use them to change their generation and make a difference in the world.
Every time we allow our kids to watch, see, feel, touch and embrace this culture, they become a part of a dream belonging to someone else. The fact is, we must either be the dreamers or we will be a part of somebody else’s dream.
Merely giving birth does not make you a parent. Sacrificing while your children are small, laying down your “deserved” freedoms and deeply thinking about how you’re shaping your children will ensure their lifelong freedom from the chains of slavery to our culture. It’s called loving your children.
It’s called being a parent.
Scripture Of The Day: "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." - Joel 2:28 (NIV)
President and founder of Teen Mania Ministries, a Christian organization reaching millions of young people worldwide, Ron Luce passionately declares the Gospel through Acquire the Fire TV broadcasts, youth events, camps and media resources, challenging teens to take a stand for Christ. For more information about Ron, log onto http://www.teenmania.org…
By Ron Luce
This week's topic: Reaching Our Children
We hear Joel 2:28 in church and think about how revival needs to come to the younger generation. But, instead of concentrating on that part of Joel 2:28, I want to draw your attention to the “old men will dream dreams” phrase.
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." - Joel 2:28
I used to overlook that part of the verse most of the time, thinking, “I’m not going to be old for a long time yet, so I’m not going to talk or think much about the old men dreaming dreams.” But it is the older people in our society who dream dreams for the younger generation; and so it must be the parents who dream dreams for their children.
They Didn’t Ask for This Garbage
Looking at the culture barrage hammering our teens, whether it’s what is sold to them, written to them––movies and music––or the point-and-click pornography available to them, there is one thing we can all agree on: Our children are not the ones who invented these things.
Just about every one of these social influences, media entertainment, technological inventions or opportunities on the Web destroying kids, have been dreamed up by the older generation. These older dreamers prey on young people because they have plenty of money. They appeal to young people’s most corrupt desires to get them to empty their pockets.
The fact is, the kids didn’t ask for this garbage; they were sold it by people trying to make a lot of money without any thought to moral consequences. Of course they will tell us, “If people didn’t buy it, we wouldn’t make it” as if it’s a moral obligation to sell people things that will destroy them just because they buy it.
Here’s the question: Are we not dreamers? Cannot we, the people who love God, dream a dream for the young people in our churches? Is it only the secular culture that has a dream for our children?
You can protect your kids from the disaster of being shaped by a confused generation of adults selling media, but it will take deliberation. It will take sweat. It will require emotional and mental engagement with your kids, starting when they are at a very young age.
Dream for Your Kids
Dream a dream for your kids. You can determine if they will be entertainment oriented or service-to-others oriented; constantly appeasing the flesh and desiring the next thing to engage and tantalize them, or those men and women who lay down their lives as a sacrifice for others? As you dream for your kids teach them how to think critically and pursue growth in their relationship with the Lord. If you sacrifice now, you’ll reap a blessing for the rest of your life; and the world will never be the same.
Not only must we be the dreamers, but we must also teach our kids to be the dreamers for their own generation. These will soon to become the leaders who will soon determine the culture and morals of America. You can help them get a vision of how God could use them to change their generation and make a difference in the world.
Every time we allow our kids to watch, see, feel, touch and embrace this culture, they become a part of a dream belonging to someone else. The fact is, we must either be the dreamers or we will be a part of somebody else’s dream.
Merely giving birth does not make you a parent. Sacrificing while your children are small, laying down your “deserved” freedoms and deeply thinking about how you’re shaping your children will ensure their lifelong freedom from the chains of slavery to our culture. It’s called loving your children.
It’s called being a parent.
Scripture Of The Day: "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." - Joel 2:28 (NIV)
President and founder of Teen Mania Ministries, a Christian organization reaching millions of young people worldwide, Ron Luce passionately declares the Gospel through Acquire the Fire TV broadcasts, youth events, camps and media resources, challenging teens to take a stand for Christ. For more information about Ron, log onto http://www.teenmania.org…
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Who Do You Have?
Who Do You Have?
By Bishop Donald Hilliard
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
Who protects you? When the Christians in Jerusalem wanted nothing to do with the newly converted Saul of Tarsus, Barnabas acted as his advocate. You don’t have enough voices. You need others to speak up for you.
Who shares your tears? Mary of Bethany was the only person in the room who understood what Jesus was going through as He came closer to His hour of death. She alone shared His tears.
Who’s close enough to you to pick up on the signals, to sense when fears and tears need to be shared? Yes, there are times when we need a pep talk or a shot in the arm, but there are also times when we need to be encouraged to lie low, to process our emotions. Who does that for you? Who rebukes you?
Even with 20/20 vision, one pair of eyes is not enough. You have blind spots. Satan is always ready to remind you of your good qualities. But a true friend is the one who exposes and challenges your self-seeking, self-pleasing and self-dependence, and helps you to restore to God the authority you’ve robbed Him of.
Who plays with you? Does this sound unimportant, even carnal? No! You must never let the seriousness of life override your need for recreation, a word that’s only understood when it’s hyphenated, re-creation. Who seeks God with you.
Praying together keeps us honest. It also keeps us dependent on God. We’re reluctant to open up, to get real about our areas of struggle. Yet it’s only in the honesty of shared prayer that we draw closer to God – and to one another.
Scripture Of The Day: “Two are better than one.” - Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV)
Bishop Donald Hilliard, Jr. is the Pastor of one church in three locations in New Jersey: Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, Cathedral Assembly by the Shore in Asbury Park, and Cathedral Assembly in the Fields in Plainfield. For more on Bishop Hilliard’s ministry, visit http://www.thecathedral.org.…
By Bishop Donald Hilliard
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
Who protects you? When the Christians in Jerusalem wanted nothing to do with the newly converted Saul of Tarsus, Barnabas acted as his advocate. You don’t have enough voices. You need others to speak up for you.
Who shares your tears? Mary of Bethany was the only person in the room who understood what Jesus was going through as He came closer to His hour of death. She alone shared His tears.
Who’s close enough to you to pick up on the signals, to sense when fears and tears need to be shared? Yes, there are times when we need a pep talk or a shot in the arm, but there are also times when we need to be encouraged to lie low, to process our emotions. Who does that for you? Who rebukes you?
Even with 20/20 vision, one pair of eyes is not enough. You have blind spots. Satan is always ready to remind you of your good qualities. But a true friend is the one who exposes and challenges your self-seeking, self-pleasing and self-dependence, and helps you to restore to God the authority you’ve robbed Him of.
Who plays with you? Does this sound unimportant, even carnal? No! You must never let the seriousness of life override your need for recreation, a word that’s only understood when it’s hyphenated, re-creation. Who seeks God with you.
Praying together keeps us honest. It also keeps us dependent on God. We’re reluctant to open up, to get real about our areas of struggle. Yet it’s only in the honesty of shared prayer that we draw closer to God – and to one another.
Scripture Of The Day: “Two are better than one.” - Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV)
Bishop Donald Hilliard, Jr. is the Pastor of one church in three locations in New Jersey: Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, Cathedral Assembly by the Shore in Asbury Park, and Cathedral Assembly in the Fields in Plainfield. For more on Bishop Hilliard’s ministry, visit http://www.thecathedral.org.…
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Family: Your Greatest Asset!
Family: Your Greatest Asset!
By Dr. Frederick K.C. Price
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
Unity in the family of God is of utmost importance to our Heavenly Father. His heart’s desire is that we be one; love each other, encourage each other, fellowship and that we come to each other’s aid. By doing these things, we become a stronger, more powerful entity in this earth realm. Only through unity can we really rule, reign, and advance in the will of God.
One thing that is intimately connected to this idea of unity is that, as the minister and his family go, so goes the church. The minister and his family should be a replica of the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the head and all of us as family members in the Body of Christ. Spiritually speaking, if the pastor does not have his life together it is going to show up in his ministry. He cannot suppress it. It is going to leak out and his congregation is going to become a reflection of whatever he really is.
When there is dissension, hard feelings, envy, selfishness, a struggle for power and all other manner of evil within the Christian family, God cannot operate as He would like to in that family – congregation. God cannot manifest His works through a Body that is filled with garbage! The flow of His Word is thwarted, and many lives are lost to sin, sickness, and poverty – lives controlled Satan.
Recently I dealt with ministers, stalwart men in the things of God, who have taken a misstep and faltered in their outward progress. The fact that these ministers faltered has in turn, adversely affected people in their respective churches. Ministers of the Gospel cannot afford to play games, yet I know too many ministers who are doing just that.
Ministers especially have a tremendous responsibility to walk by the Word, not by what the world allows. They represent God and Jesus and have a mandate from God to be what they preach. Christians ought to be so transparent that the world can look right through them! Too many ministers are playing roles much like an actor. These preachers need to realize that they are not performing a movie screen test. They are in the real world!
Part of living in the real world is being cognizant of the fact that all of us – ministers and laypeople alike – are supposed to be examples to the world on how to live. We are supposed to let our light shine before men (Matthew 5:16). The Body of Christ is a model for how our individual families should operate. The Christian family should set the standard for families in general. The lifestyle of our families should not mimic the world, but rather the Family of God.
Likewise, no book other than the Bible can adequately instruct man or woman how to be a good spouse or a good parent. For the most part, people are just jumping into life not knowing if they will sink or swim. Unfortunately, too many people sink! But Christians, you do not have to sink! Christians, you do not have to follow the ways of the world because we have the Word of God!
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no temptation has overtaken us except such as is common to man. Nearly all of us have lived in families. Chances are that most of us will marry and raise families of our own. And, all of us will certainly be tempted.
I encourage all Christians to take a personal assessment of your own homes and make the necessary changes – now!
Scripture Of The Day: "Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father." - Proverbs 17:6 (NKJV)
Dr. Frederick K.C. Price is the founder and pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center West in Los Angeles and CCC East in Manhattan. To obtain more information about his ministry, please call (800) 927-3436 or visit http://www.faithdome.org.
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By Dr. Frederick K.C. Price
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
Unity in the family of God is of utmost importance to our Heavenly Father. His heart’s desire is that we be one; love each other, encourage each other, fellowship and that we come to each other’s aid. By doing these things, we become a stronger, more powerful entity in this earth realm. Only through unity can we really rule, reign, and advance in the will of God.
One thing that is intimately connected to this idea of unity is that, as the minister and his family go, so goes the church. The minister and his family should be a replica of the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the head and all of us as family members in the Body of Christ. Spiritually speaking, if the pastor does not have his life together it is going to show up in his ministry. He cannot suppress it. It is going to leak out and his congregation is going to become a reflection of whatever he really is.
When there is dissension, hard feelings, envy, selfishness, a struggle for power and all other manner of evil within the Christian family, God cannot operate as He would like to in that family – congregation. God cannot manifest His works through a Body that is filled with garbage! The flow of His Word is thwarted, and many lives are lost to sin, sickness, and poverty – lives controlled Satan.
Recently I dealt with ministers, stalwart men in the things of God, who have taken a misstep and faltered in their outward progress. The fact that these ministers faltered has in turn, adversely affected people in their respective churches. Ministers of the Gospel cannot afford to play games, yet I know too many ministers who are doing just that.
Ministers especially have a tremendous responsibility to walk by the Word, not by what the world allows. They represent God and Jesus and have a mandate from God to be what they preach. Christians ought to be so transparent that the world can look right through them! Too many ministers are playing roles much like an actor. These preachers need to realize that they are not performing a movie screen test. They are in the real world!
Part of living in the real world is being cognizant of the fact that all of us – ministers and laypeople alike – are supposed to be examples to the world on how to live. We are supposed to let our light shine before men (Matthew 5:16). The Body of Christ is a model for how our individual families should operate. The Christian family should set the standard for families in general. The lifestyle of our families should not mimic the world, but rather the Family of God.
Likewise, no book other than the Bible can adequately instruct man or woman how to be a good spouse or a good parent. For the most part, people are just jumping into life not knowing if they will sink or swim. Unfortunately, too many people sink! But Christians, you do not have to sink! Christians, you do not have to follow the ways of the world because we have the Word of God!
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no temptation has overtaken us except such as is common to man. Nearly all of us have lived in families. Chances are that most of us will marry and raise families of our own. And, all of us will certainly be tempted.
I encourage all Christians to take a personal assessment of your own homes and make the necessary changes – now!
Scripture Of The Day: "Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father." - Proverbs 17:6 (NKJV)
Dr. Frederick K.C. Price is the founder and pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center West in Los Angeles and CCC East in Manhattan. To obtain more information about his ministry, please call (800) 927-3436 or visit http://www.faithdome.org.
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Keeping Families Strong
Keeping Families Strong
By Taffi L. Dollar
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
You don't have to look far these days to notice that the traditional family, as we have known it, is under attack. According to a 2001 Census report, nearly 1 of 5 adults has been divorced at least once. The Barna Group reveals that Christians are as likely as any other group to divorce. This raises serious concern. Satan is attacking our families, and we must fight back!
We do not have to stand by and accept defeat as the norm! The enemy has come only to steal, kill and destroy. This has been his intention from the beginning in the Garden of Eden. But Jesus has come so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Abundant life is a life of peace, with nothing missing or broken. God wants the best for you and your family.
The enemy uses specific tools disguised, and often innocently packaged, to tear families apart. One of his devices is selfishness. When parents become absorbed in their own activities, not only will children adapt to a selfish lifestyle, but they will also feel neglected and unloved. Often children try to replace that love with other people and activities that may not be good for them. The aftermath of selfishness then becomes a domino effect. This is why the basis for family structure should be anchored in unconditional love.
God is love and love never fails, because God never fails. Love is patient and kind. It is not irritable or prideful and does not insist on its own way. When love is not the foundation, the family structure will crumble. As a family member, whether you are a single parent, married with no children or married with children, you have a responsibility to love everyone in your household unconditionally.
Each person plays a role; children can show their love by obeying their parents and doing their chores and parents can acknowledge their children's feelings, and make them feel valued. Consider each other's concerns, and take them seriously. When family members fail to love, the entire household becomes vulnerable to satanic attack.
Distraction is another blow to families; it is a direct spin-off of selfishness. Sometimes when we become overly involved in other relationships, activities and events, we can easily drift away from God and our families. This is when balance and direction from God is needed.
Miscommunication is yet another tactic Satan uses. Many times we feel we have communicated effectively with members of our households, only to later find out that something we said was misconstrued.
It is important that you communicate effectively with your family. Always consider your motives before expressing your feelings. Also, when you are talking to someone, make sure that person understands what you are saying. Be sure to give your family members your undivided attention when they are speaking to you. Love and understanding are keys to effective communication.
Despite the enemy's attacks, your family can remain strong. Let God's Word be your foundation at all times. When you have a problem, search the Word for your answers. Remember, it is through skillful and godly wisdom a house, life, home and family are built.
Scripture Of The Day: "He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children" - Psalm 78:5 (NKJV)
Taffi L. Dollar is the vice president of World Changers Ministries, president and CEO of Arrow Records, and overseer of the Women’s Fellowship at World Changers Church International. For more information, visit http://www.taffidollar.org.
By Taffi L. Dollar
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
You don't have to look far these days to notice that the traditional family, as we have known it, is under attack. According to a 2001 Census report, nearly 1 of 5 adults has been divorced at least once. The Barna Group reveals that Christians are as likely as any other group to divorce. This raises serious concern. Satan is attacking our families, and we must fight back!
We do not have to stand by and accept defeat as the norm! The enemy has come only to steal, kill and destroy. This has been his intention from the beginning in the Garden of Eden. But Jesus has come so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Abundant life is a life of peace, with nothing missing or broken. God wants the best for you and your family.
The enemy uses specific tools disguised, and often innocently packaged, to tear families apart. One of his devices is selfishness. When parents become absorbed in their own activities, not only will children adapt to a selfish lifestyle, but they will also feel neglected and unloved. Often children try to replace that love with other people and activities that may not be good for them. The aftermath of selfishness then becomes a domino effect. This is why the basis for family structure should be anchored in unconditional love.
God is love and love never fails, because God never fails. Love is patient and kind. It is not irritable or prideful and does not insist on its own way. When love is not the foundation, the family structure will crumble. As a family member, whether you are a single parent, married with no children or married with children, you have a responsibility to love everyone in your household unconditionally.
Each person plays a role; children can show their love by obeying their parents and doing their chores and parents can acknowledge their children's feelings, and make them feel valued. Consider each other's concerns, and take them seriously. When family members fail to love, the entire household becomes vulnerable to satanic attack.
Distraction is another blow to families; it is a direct spin-off of selfishness. Sometimes when we become overly involved in other relationships, activities and events, we can easily drift away from God and our families. This is when balance and direction from God is needed.
Miscommunication is yet another tactic Satan uses. Many times we feel we have communicated effectively with members of our households, only to later find out that something we said was misconstrued.
It is important that you communicate effectively with your family. Always consider your motives before expressing your feelings. Also, when you are talking to someone, make sure that person understands what you are saying. Be sure to give your family members your undivided attention when they are speaking to you. Love and understanding are keys to effective communication.
Despite the enemy's attacks, your family can remain strong. Let God's Word be your foundation at all times. When you have a problem, search the Word for your answers. Remember, it is through skillful and godly wisdom a house, life, home and family are built.
Scripture Of The Day: "He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children" - Psalm 78:5 (NKJV)
Taffi L. Dollar is the vice president of World Changers Ministries, president and CEO of Arrow Records, and overseer of the Women’s Fellowship at World Changers Church International. For more information, visit http://www.taffidollar.org.
Monday, June 21, 2010
It's All In The Family
It’s All In The Family
By Bishop Vashti McKenzie
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
All of us have relatives, whether we like it or not and whether we know some of them or none at all. There are the relatives we point to with pride, and the ones we’d rather not acknowledge at all. There are the ones who are a Godsend, and those who come from …well think of a place you don’t want to spend eternity.
It seems that all families have some of these. There’s the historian who knows all the family secrets, and the communicator who tells it all. There’s the talker who doesn’t know when to keep quiet, and the joker who laughs too loud at his own jokes. There is the one who makes sense most of the time, and one who has no sense at all. There is the family member who tries too hard, thinks too much, says the right things, makes the right moves, the nurturer, the lover, the risk taker, the detail tender, the cold fish, the late bloomer and the user.
Rick Brinkman writes that behavior in a family can be varied and diverse. Some of our relatives may be cautious, while others are carefree. He concludes that some are only there when you want them, while others are never there when you need them. Some, he notes are easily offended, while others are offensive. Some family members make sure you know how they are suffering because of you, and there are the ones who come and go like the wind without realizing the mess they leave behind. In any case, it’s all in the family.
The Bible is filled with relatives and their actions. Cain killed Able; Jacob tricked Esau; Laban switched brides on Jacob; Abraham took his son up a mountain to be sacrificed; Isaac pretended that Sarah, his wife, was his sister to stay alive in the land of the Philistines; and Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him and ended up selling him into slavery to a passing caravan. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi; sons are a heritage and children are a reward from God. Men must leave their parents to cleave to their wives. Fathers and mothers are to be honored. The Bible is filled with relatives. Just spend some time among the begats!
All of us have relatives, even Jesus. There was Mary, a young girl betroved with no outstanding achievements on her resume who submits to the favor of God and becomes the earthly mother of Jesus. Jesus’ earthly father could have embarrassed his mother but didn’t, and went on to raise another man’s child. There is his Aunt Elizabeth who gives birth in her old age. There is good ole Uncle Zechariah who initially has a problem naming the late-in-life child, John.
The gospel of Mark records that one day Jesus was conducting a revival. The family of Jesus concludes that enough was enough of this preaching and teaching. They go to the house where he was and demands that Jesus stop all this foolishness and come home with them. They acted like the relatives Brinkman calls meddlers – in everybody’s business but their own.
Jesus settles the issue by redefining the meaning of relatives. He widens the family circle by declaring that anyone who hears and does the word of God is His relative. Inclusion is not based on blood or adoptive relationship. Connectedness has nothing to do with rights or privileges granted by the laws of the land. Belonging is predicated upon obeying the word of God. This is the invitation to the family reunion.
Whether we are the family member folk love to see come or love to see go; the one who comes to the rescue of other members of the family of God or the family member constantly needing a bailout plan; we’re in, as long as we hear and obey the word of God.
Scripture Of The Day: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” - Mark 3:35
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the presiding bishop of the 13th Episcopal District of the AME, and serves as a guiding example for women and church leaders throughout the country. For more on Bishop McKenzie, visit http://www.13thame.com or hear her messages daily at http://www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com.…
By Bishop Vashti McKenzie
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family
All of us have relatives, whether we like it or not and whether we know some of them or none at all. There are the relatives we point to with pride, and the ones we’d rather not acknowledge at all. There are the ones who are a Godsend, and those who come from …well think of a place you don’t want to spend eternity.
It seems that all families have some of these. There’s the historian who knows all the family secrets, and the communicator who tells it all. There’s the talker who doesn’t know when to keep quiet, and the joker who laughs too loud at his own jokes. There is the one who makes sense most of the time, and one who has no sense at all. There is the family member who tries too hard, thinks too much, says the right things, makes the right moves, the nurturer, the lover, the risk taker, the detail tender, the cold fish, the late bloomer and the user.
Rick Brinkman writes that behavior in a family can be varied and diverse. Some of our relatives may be cautious, while others are carefree. He concludes that some are only there when you want them, while others are never there when you need them. Some, he notes are easily offended, while others are offensive. Some family members make sure you know how they are suffering because of you, and there are the ones who come and go like the wind without realizing the mess they leave behind. In any case, it’s all in the family.
The Bible is filled with relatives and their actions. Cain killed Able; Jacob tricked Esau; Laban switched brides on Jacob; Abraham took his son up a mountain to be sacrificed; Isaac pretended that Sarah, his wife, was his sister to stay alive in the land of the Philistines; and Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him and ended up selling him into slavery to a passing caravan. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi; sons are a heritage and children are a reward from God. Men must leave their parents to cleave to their wives. Fathers and mothers are to be honored. The Bible is filled with relatives. Just spend some time among the begats!
All of us have relatives, even Jesus. There was Mary, a young girl betroved with no outstanding achievements on her resume who submits to the favor of God and becomes the earthly mother of Jesus. Jesus’ earthly father could have embarrassed his mother but didn’t, and went on to raise another man’s child. There is his Aunt Elizabeth who gives birth in her old age. There is good ole Uncle Zechariah who initially has a problem naming the late-in-life child, John.
The gospel of Mark records that one day Jesus was conducting a revival. The family of Jesus concludes that enough was enough of this preaching and teaching. They go to the house where he was and demands that Jesus stop all this foolishness and come home with them. They acted like the relatives Brinkman calls meddlers – in everybody’s business but their own.
Jesus settles the issue by redefining the meaning of relatives. He widens the family circle by declaring that anyone who hears and does the word of God is His relative. Inclusion is not based on blood or adoptive relationship. Connectedness has nothing to do with rights or privileges granted by the laws of the land. Belonging is predicated upon obeying the word of God. This is the invitation to the family reunion.
Whether we are the family member folk love to see come or love to see go; the one who comes to the rescue of other members of the family of God or the family member constantly needing a bailout plan; we’re in, as long as we hear and obey the word of God.
Scripture Of The Day: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” - Mark 3:35
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the presiding bishop of the 13th Episcopal District of the AME, and serves as a guiding example for women and church leaders throughout the country. For more on Bishop McKenzie, visit http://www.13thame.com or hear her messages daily at http://www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com.…
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