BRINGING UP DAUGHTER

"To her, the name of father, was another name for love..."

                                                                      Fanny Fern

Part 3 of 'THE FAMILY SERIES"

When I first started this series of family, earlier this week, I knew it would be easy to write about something I knew about - boys. As a father and a follower of Jesus Christ, I know what He expects of men. Therefore it is easy to pass that on to younger men or just people in general. Yesterday's blog got some major feedback from significant folks who blessed these efforts and provided more encouragement to proceed.


Raising and leaving a Legacy through a teenage daughter (through the eyes of this father) is another story. From time to time on this week, I could not help but analyze how to approach this, in a meaningful way....and came up with no major revelation!


Any mom, from across America, Canada, Australia, Finland or South Africa (where this blog is read) can do a better job than I could, explaining my own daughter Sarah. In fact, what I am noticing more and more on the internet or social media etc. is that the most popular blogs and websites, for families, are run by moms!

I have yet to come across any site run by a dad dedicated to raising girls. In my case, while I wish I had two or more daughters to raise, the one teenager we have at home now is quite a handful. At the same time, what a joy she is! What I have noticed, for the most part of daily life, no matter how the day went, at the end of each day, our daughter goes through this wonderful routine of hugs and kisses before bed with both my wife and I. This underscores not just our love as a family, but the impact we would appear to be having on her as parents.


Spending time with Sarah is uniquely different from the boys...and as it should be! I have been doing more, going on more shopping dates or movie dates with her, since our two sons got older and part-time jobs to pay for their car maintenance! Since way before Christmas, we have gone to fashion shows; teenage stores in the mall; fancy yogurt shops with her BFF's and the one that shocked me the most - the best World War II movie I ever saw - REDTAILS! In fact, I would not have even gone to see that movie if she didn't bug me to take her on opening night. Sure enough, she was one of the very few girls there in a large theater packed with men and a few wives!


Of course, all of the physical issues of growing from my baby 8 year old to preteen to teenager, are handled by Vicki, but developing this once in a lifetime relationship with my daughter has become one of the most exciting things of this past year! She is loyal and very strong-willed.  Just like her brothers, she was saved as a young child. Unlike most adults, who claim to be saved, she can remember when it happened and can discuss the Gospel in real terms. Just this past week, I was explaining what  Cessationism is, after she revealed a certain incident that happened in a class last weekend.


To me, this is an overflow of walking with the Lord and growing children up in the church, the correct way. The incorrect way leads to rebellion against God and Christ by pastor's kids (PK's) who long to bust free, because their parents have to appear a certain way, all the time. What we have raised our own children to do, with fine-tuning (depending on the kid), is to think for themselves and never force them to attend this or that extra-church event. What we have since discovered is each of them are now stepping up to read Scripture aloud or sing a gospel song or discuss the error of baptismal regeneration!


I like what John Gregory Brown said here "There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself".

My wife and I are not wealthy people but what we are is rich in love and the sense of the Christian family. We would never trade that for anything in this dying world. In practice, ours is a faith which reaches out by its love, but nevertheless, is grounded in Truth. We believe telling people the Truth is  love. What we're doing here is allowing God's little daughter, whom He placed in our care, to blossom into one day, the woman I may be forced to give away down a wedding aisle! But that too, will be a legacy.

Because of the time spent walking, talking, praying with and in discipleship with her, neither my wife nor I ever felt the need to read any book about "Bringing up Daughters". For discipline, grounding her from her friends is all that's needed to alter a certain shortcoming.

During my difficulty of two surgeries, about 3 years ago, when I was laid up for a total of 8 weeks, my favorite nurse was my then 11 year old Sarah! Still, I know both her and her mom have these long drawn out discussions. When these things happen, I turn immediately around and leave the room! This is the way it will be until Sarah is in her 20's and sees things a little differently.

There really is no advise to give anyone about raising a daughter! I will leave that to all the dear women who raise 2,3 or even 4 daughters and still keep smiling and driving that mini-van around to soccer or volleyball practice! In this celebration of family this shortened week, it is an honor to celebrate the life of our only daughter....who is now bringing us more joy. Just a few days ago, I was back in the Indoor Soccer rink for the first time in over 7 years, as yet another kid took up indoor soccer! It felt great to be back with that kid-like enthusiasm and joy we get from cheering on a loved one!

In conclusion, when I lay on my dying bed and look at our kids, I would want to be as completely satisfied as I am right now, that I represented my Father in Heaven, to my little Sarah, by being her father here on earth. That will be, most certainly, the greatest legacy any person can hand off to the next generation!

In Jesus' Name, amen.

BUILDING A LEGACY THROUGH SONS

PART TWO IN THE FAMILY SERIES

Webster's dictionary define's Legacy as "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past". In other words, Legacy is sort of like "passing the torch" from one generation to another.


Many of us who are parents (of any age), most likely, did not grow up in a household where this was taught or expected. It may have been implicitly known, but never formally recognized and never made a ceremony. Societies of old, even some in agrarian America (pre-1800's Industrial age), practiced rites of passage where a young person is transitioned from a teen into adulthood. 


In the purely honorable and biblical sense, this is a good thing. The Jews bar-mitzvah their boys where on the boy's 13th birthday wherehe is required to start keeping the 'mitzvos' or Laws of God. The new teen is now a "son of the Commandment"! All Jewish men must keep these. Of course, in essence and truth, no one can keep all 613 Laws and commandments. The Catholic and mainline equivalent of this is Confirmation, but it is nothing compared to a Bar Mitzvah!


I did not grow up in any of these systems, except for the Confirmation part. Being one of six children, I was very close to my father until he died suddenly of a heart attack at the young age of 51. I was only 11 and it basically wrecked my life for decades. For most of my life, I had no positive male influence after that, except for my youth group leader who, thankfully, took me on missions trips and youth events. My male relatives' favorite hobby was not the Word of God (except for Christmas and Easter morning church), but drinking and partying.


At the Catholic prep school I attended, I began a search for the meaning of Life. Existentialism and Albert Camus attracted me. I looked into all religions and found them all wanting. I thought manhood was a form of religion and then, mostly wine, women and song. Fortunately, my family and school-trained morality never allowed me to pursue a life of wanton lust. When I was finally saved in 1988, by the Spirit of the Living God, and  gave up fleshly pursuits, I still had nowhere to turn. I remember sitting in a chapel on top of a mountain, going "what now, Lord"?! I took time off work, as my encounter with the Living Jesus was at 4am August 16, 1988 on a work day!


Fast forward to 1996 and my first Promise Keepers event at Soldier Field in Chicago and am in a new thing called a small group, where men are supposed to confess their Father Wounds and talk and pray about it. This did not freak me out, as long before I was saved, I was briefly part of the charismatic Catholic movement of the early 1970's.  But it was still new. I had no Father wound, having no father to speak of, after age 11! 


What followed was years and years of going to men's conferences and seeking advice or counsel from older men, who could or would teach me the Ways of the Lord.

MENTORING & FATHER IN THE FAITH

For the most part, I still had and have no real mentor but the Holy Spirit. He has led me to the Knowledge of all Truth and Wisdom in Christ. He has counseled me... upbraided me... disciplined me... brought me low... led me to my knees...had me on my face...and more! I do have a wonderful older brother in faith, a retired pastor named Doc, who speaks Truth and Prayer into my life for years now....and whom I trust with my life!  Every man should have an older man as his spiritual guide, brother and friend, to whom he can turn, at any time!


Through it all, God has given me a passion and zeal for Jesus and the Bible which NO ONE and I mean nobody, can take away! Jesus is my First and Second Nature now.


All of this is a long introduction to say, I am like every other man who had no formal introduction to becoming a Man of God and neither was I given a Legacy. But when God saved me and then gave me two sons, He expected me to start one of my own -BASED ON HIM!


To that end, I have raised my sons - Bernie (19) and Sam (16) - to be men of God. Not only have they grown up in the church, but for years, I took them to Promise Keepers men's events with me, where 13 and 11 year old boys got to hang out with Jesus loving, Spirit-worshiping men of God in the open and then eat out at at IHOP in St Louis or Peoria!


My sons have gone with me to several parades each time for many years, passing out hundreds of gospel tracts and still do when I ask. They minister all the time now with us at senior homes and in the churches we are invited to over the years. But still, that is not enough. I am not a pastor, even though I am must be the only licensed Five Fold Southern Baptist minister I know, who can preach in either a Baptist, Bible, Nazarene or Pentecostal church! God has made a way.


Our boys - Sam and Bernie - can do all the "Christianese", which have led many a PK (Pastor Kid) astray, and still not be walking with the Lord. I know that too well, since with the Spirit's leading, I had to bring myself up in the Ways of God over 20 plus years!


I wanted my sons to be real Men of God! So how do I do that? Where do I turn? Fortunately, before I became the President of Business Men in Christ, a powerful and growing men's ministry here in Central Illinois, I was part of a movement which came out of Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock, Arkansas. Developed by Dr. Robert Lewis, this movement - Mens Fraternity -really changed my life, starting in 2001-2002.


My good friend and our youth leader at the time was a man named Bryan McKenzie, who was once a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, and had the same burning fire for Christ. He brought this new thing to us called THE GREAT ADVENTURE, and this did it! I not only stopped chasing windmills or reading books about Jesus, but found out how He wired me for His Word; found myself in Him and the Bible only and have been flying high on the Holy Ghost since!

Now, 11 years later, I can't wait for the next day or the next event to pass on to my sons....or to share the Truth with someone else. I met Dr. Lewis, who created this now worldwide phenomenon in the men's ministry movement at the Southern Baptist Convention (I left the Catholic church a couple decades ago now). Dr. Lewis took one look at me and with a huge smile on his face said "you're living the Great Adventure, aren't you?"! This was in 2006 and I love that guy!


AUTHENTIC MANHOOD - LEGACY OF THE SON...for my sons.

Long before the Lord led me to the woman, who is now my wife, I promised Him if He ever gave me kids, I would give them back to Him. Therefore, I am now in the process of so-doing and it is now in a different phase. I wanted Bernie and Sam to live the Great Adventure too! So I got the Father/Son Version of it to bring the three of us closer together as Authentic Men of God.


We are now not just Father and Son but co-inheritors of the kingdom.


What I have done over the past almost six weeks and sessions of this curriculum is have Dr. Lewis teach us on DVD what an Authentic Man really is. This is not just Four Pillars of a Man's Heart stuff. This is bold in your face manhood - from the Bible.


What my sons and I are growing into as a knowledge of not just how the First Adam screwed up royally in the Garden, by watching a stinking serpent deceive his wife and then sin with her, but how the Second Adam - JESUS - corrected all of that perversion for eternity!


The best gift a Father can pass on to a son is Jesus and WHO they ARE in HIM. We have enough bibles in this house to supply half a village...and have done so through a ministry called Love Packages (which sends used bibles to Third World countries). What boys need to learn from their elders and dads mostly, is how to WALK out all that talk in the Bible about David and Paul and Peter etc!


We have learned the Four characteristics of a man - the Warrior, King, Friend and Lover. 

We have learned the following four Attributes of an Authentic man of God:
- An Authentic man is NOT like Adam, so he rejects Passivity and will not stand by and watch everyone or everything God has given us to be stewards of, go down the drain!
- An Authentic man accepts responsibility! Through a couple fender benders and now part time jobs as well as school, both sons are learning not just money management but a level of responsibility to family.
- An Authentic man leads courageously! Long before the movie Courageous came out, we were walking that road. But by taking the kids to see it, the message of Courageous manhood, fathers and more has been driven home to them, fearlessly!
- An Authentic man expects God's greater reward! I am not talking about what awaits us in heaven, in our Father's House. The reward is a life lived well RIGHT NOW! The minute one is saved, eternity begins! Many in the church don't see it because to their stuffed shirt pastors, that sounds like charismatic stuff! Well, it ain't! The moment we are now fully a saved and rescued follower of Christ, we are brought into the Eternal Kingdom and can access everything from eternity past as we await eternity future! This is when the Bible comes alive! This is when what Moses wrote in Genesis speaks loudly of His Wonderful matchless Grace! This is Authentic Manhood!

The Reward of an Authentic Man of God is watching his Legacy - his sons - grow into their destiny as they become their OWN men of God, because you brought them up in the way they should go! The great disciple John said this "Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:2-4 ESV)


Finally, as we go through this Legacy building, I plan a ceremony where my two sons and I will be sealing this knowledge into our hearts. This is not going to be some medieval rites of passage! I actually plan something they can do with their own sons someday, if Jesus has not yet returned.


I am gathering two of my older bibles; writing letters to them and getting them a compass and some other personal items that mean a lot to me. I have obtained certain audio teachings called Affections of a Godly man....or how a real man loves God (through Jesus).These items will placed in a box for each son. I will take them to the best barbeque restaurant in town where we will hang out in a private booth and well, the rest will be all Spirit led! Amen!


Have any of us arrived? No! But we have arrived at a moment in time, where we either seize it or throw in the towel. I refuse to let my life go by, without passing on a blessing and legacy to our children. You too can do this. If I am able to assist anyone interested in learning about Authentic Manhood or men's or senior's ministry, feel free to drop me a line here:
Bernie@businessmeninchrist.com


To God be the Glory, through Jesus Christ the King, amen.




FRIDAY: BUILDING A LEGACY THROUGH MY DAUGHTER
SATURDAY/SUNDAY: THE FAMILY - LIVING FOR GOD!

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 27

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 27
GOD IS ABBA (FATHER)



A childless couple adopts a baby, let us say, around 1960. Then the baby grows up to be a great kid, with straight A's in school and plays shortstop on the Varsity baseball team. His name is Scott.


After graduating, he goes to the local Junior college where he excels both in math, chemistry and still plays baseball for their team. After transferring his credits to the big four year state college, he graduates Magna Cum Laude and decides to accept a job offer with a local bank, whose manager has seen his name in the town weekly, ever since he played High School baseball. 


This young man then falls in love and marries the boss' daughter, around say 1985. They have three kids, buy a home in a new subdivision and live happily ever after!


Now, Scott was adopted. The first thing his permanently new parents did was give Scott THEIR last name, because he belongs to them as a member of their family. Scott has all the rights, privileges and yes, responsibilities of being a legitimate member of that family. He is no less loved by Jack and Diane Smith, than if they had their own biological twins. 


Scott is no less a member of the Smith family than Kristen, their miracle daughter who was born five years after Scott was adopted. In fact, no one would have ever known Scott was adopted until he himself mentioned it, when he became Mayor of his little town in 2010 and was honoring his dear parents!


Scott is us. His natural born sister, Kristen, is the Jewish people whom God called His chosen people. We are now all the same family in God. When God sent Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah and they rejected Him, the second part of God's plan was revealed - save the rest of the world.  Jesus sent one of His disciples biggest persecutors - Saul - to accomplish that job. Christ did that when He knocked him blind, off his horse when Saul was heading to Damascus to kill more Christians.


Saul met the Living Jesus in the Third Heaven, as he said, and promptly became Paul - the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen. Here is what Paul wrote about his OWN adoption (and ours) into God's family, as a result of his Conversion on the Road to Damascus:
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17 ESV)


That is correct - we are adopted sons and daughters of God and He is our Abba - our Daddy! The word Abba represents the father side of the equation of the father-child relationship in a family. It literally means just that - Dad! This Spirit of adoption which Paul talks about is the Holy Spirit - the Comforter - Who descends into us. The Spirit does that once we are saved and moved from a child of hell, to being a child of the Real God, sealed with the Blood of Christ, Which washed us clean!


Only the Christian, born-again through the Lord Jesus Christ, can legitimately claim to be an Adopted Daughter or Son of the Living God! Only we have the right to cry out to Him "Abba, Father"...and know He will hear us! Now, aren't you glad you are His?!


So Father, in the Name of Jesus, YOU are my Father in Heaven! You are my Daddy! You are my Creator; Provider; Protector; Nourisher; Healer; Banner...in fact I can go on and on until the end of time and still find amazing names to call You! You, oh God, are my All in All!


My Father in Heaven, hallowed, holy, righteous, pure and GREAT is Your Name! I thank You Lord for calling me out of the darkness which the Power of Sin had me living in, into the Kingdom of Your Marvelous Light.

I thank You, Lord, that You sent that Light, Jesus Christ, to be Savior of the World, because YOU, Oh God, are the Father of Lights Who giveth all good things to all Your people.


I thank You, Lord, that You sent the Spirit of that significant event of my salvation through the Cross. That Spirit is not only purely God, but wholly and Holy You! He not only testifies to the Truth of the Gospel and the Full Counsel of Your Word, He has sealed me until the Day of Redemption, when Jesus my Advocate stands before You as my Kinsman Redeemer and says "this one's Mine"! WOW!! PRAISE YOU, PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME!! WOOHOO!! AMEN!


I thank You, Lord, that this same Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption as well as my Teacher and Guide because He testifies daily that I am truly a member of YOUR family...of YOUR Kingdom...and that I  am truly saved by YOUR Son - Jesus, the King!


I thank You, Lord, that because of that Adoption, You have made me a joint Heir with Christ in the Eternal Kingdom where we will live together, learning and rejoicing and worshiping and thanking You forever and ever!  Amen!

Thank You, Father, for just being You and loving me, even when I am at my most unlovable as Your adopted son, according to the Love and Works and Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom all perfection and glory resides...and it is in His Name I pray, amen.

TOMORROW: GOD IS, WELL, EVERYTHING!

(image by google images)

THIRTY DAYS OF PRAYER - DAY 26

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 26
GOD IS EL SHADDAI


Whenever you see the word "EL" used as a prefix before another Hebrew word in the Bible, it is there for a reason. Those two letters mean God and come from a root word whose meaning is "power, might and strength"!


God is saying this about His Own Name: "you in the world have all your pagan gods but I AM THE ALL POWERFUL, THE ALL MIGHTY and THE ALMIGHTY GOD....and I can and will do anything I want!" When you read through the Old Testament, this is how the way it was....and still continues today...and will be through eternity!


Some examples of how the letter EL are:
El Echad - THE ONE TRUE GOD
EL Hanne'eman - THE FAITHFUL GOD
El Emet - THE GOD OF TRUTH and so one.


Just briefly, today EL SHADDAI means "The All-Sufficient God ALMIGHTY"! In Genesis 17:1 God says to Abraham " When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty (El SHADDAI); walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly".


The word Shaddai is a combination of "Sha" (who) and "DAI" (enough). In other words, God is saying He, and He along is sufficiently powerful enough set up the system for Abram (Abraham), in the passage above. He is saying "I am all powerful" but I can do just whatever I want...and I am choosing to make this Abrahamic Covenant with you, Abram".


This Almighty God can do the same for you and I today as He did for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 4000 years ago! He is still in the business of Salvation, Protection, Provision and Nourishing us - those who believe in Him, through His Son Jesus Christ. 


El Shaddai has given us the past 2000 years and until He comes, to get things in order, not just for our souls if we repent, make peace and are saved by Him. But He also gives us our Daily Bread and health and everything we have. We did not get this on our own. We may be the ones who earn the paycheck. But He got us that job. The house we live in, did not get here accident or the safe travel on the highway to and from work. That was all God. So pray with me right now....


Father in the Name of Jesus, what do I have that You, in Your Power and Strength did not give to me?  The very clothes that I wear...the very food that I eat...the very car that I drive...the very home I live in...the very job I work at...the very spouse and children in our home... they are ALL from You, Abba Father.


You are the Maker, Provider and Sustainer of all things.  You ordain, create and then nourish all things and all people. You gave Grace to the humble, but You also give good things to the entire world and especially those who do not believe in You and may even blaspheme You! In Your Power and Grace, You have mercy on the World, prospering and blessing them with good things, that some may be saved. Lord, they continue to deny Your very existence, but I know You, oh Lord!


The time is coming soon, when all this will end, when the world systems will be destroyed under the Power and Might of Your Word and when the Lamb returns to deal with those who have misused Your gifts of life and temporal happiness.


But Lord, I, choose to thank You, knowing where my very existence and provision come from - You...and You did because You could and wanted to. So this day, I bless You, in the Name of Jesus. 

May I bless others as well, from my own family and our children and if You allow it, my children's children. I bless them like the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49. I bless that mightily - "up to the bounties of the everlasting hills" (verse 26) and may that blessing be upon their brow....and may this blessing extend to all who read this and all my extended family.

Lord, I only do this because I have been touched by You, called by You and loved by You to serve and anoint others with Your Goodness. El Shaddai, oh God Most High, I love You, worship and I adore You, now and forever more, in Jesus' Name, amen.

TOMORROW: GOD IS FATHER (ABBA)

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 25

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 25
GOD IS COMFORTER


A comforter is a person or thing which provides consolation. A comforter is also an encourager or even, a counselor! A comforter is one who runs to our side and picks us up when we are down. 


In this life, you and I may have such a person in our lives - a spouse; a mentor; a brother or sister in the Lord; a sibling and more. You can call that person in the middle of the night, when things are down....when tears are in your eyes...and you need a friend...you can count on them to be your friend, your sounding board, your bridge over troubled waters!


Do you have such a friend? Do you have someone who would fight for you...and advocate, if you will? Every man or woman should have a trusted friend of a mature age, on whom we can count. If you do not, I pray the Lord sends you one!

Jesus is such a friend. When He went back to heaven, Hebrews 7:25b says "He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf (our behalf...we who are saved)" It says Jesus "intercedes" for us. That means He is our Advocate! He stands up for us and pleads our case in Heaven before Father God...even now!


However, He did something more and this is the mystery of our Faith which no other cult or religion can come close to matching...because those other things do not exist! Jesus sent His Personal Representative be His Liaison from us, to Him!


The Holy Spirit - the actual Spirit of God - when He comes to reside in the live and spirit of the Believer, is in us for several reasons...and number one is Comforter.


In John 16:7, Jesus says "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you".


Jesus knew His saints, His true saints, will face persecution and hard times all through Christian history. Being God Who became man, He also knew the human condition and our tendency to drift away or say and do stupid things. The Apostle Peter is a prime example! Peter was bombastic and boastful. He walked on water with Jesus....then sank when he took his eyes off him. Peter boasted he will not allow Jesus to go to the Cross. Jesus told him "Get thee behind me Satan". Peter cursed and denied Jesus three times. Yet Jesus chose Peter to be the Rock and the Head of His church!


So we have not been through things which others have not endured before. This is why the Holy Spirit - the Comforter - was sent to us. Jesus called Him our "Helper" because Jesus knew, man, these people are going to need so much help that only God Himself could help them!

Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our Counselor. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke Aramaic and this verse from Jesus in John 14:26 is from the Aramaic Bible itself as it perfectly translate what the Lord actually said....as opposed to our modern English Bibles "But He, The Redeemer of the accursed, The Spirit of Holiness, whom my Father sends in My name, He will teach you all things and He will remind you of everything whatsoever I have told you.”


That is powerful, my friends! When we don't know where to turn - Holy Spirit knows. When we don't know what to do - Holy Spirit knows. When we don't know whom to trust - Holy Spirit knows. When we don't know what His Will is - Holy Spirit does. When we don't know how to pray - Holy Spirit does. He just does...this and more.


You can have His revelation. You can also stifle and quench and shove Him in the background. Because He is a gentleman, He will not force Himself on you. However, if you wish to have the best life possible, free from chains, bondage and confusion, it is my joy to tell you -LET HOLY SPIRIT do it! Let Him have full reign of your life, because He knows you better than you know yourself and He knows what Father God has in mind for you. He knows as Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope". Amen


So let us pray:
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I come to You now in all sincerity and truth to express my wonder, amazement and complete gratitude that You, the Eternal God of Heaven, would even consider to allow Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Holiness and Truth, to descend from Heaven after Christ saved me, to live inside of me.


Father, we know all believers have the same Spirit of all Excellence, of all Truth, of all Majesty and of all Holiness. 


We know You sent Him to be our Counselor when we doubt. Our Comforter when we are without and our Advocate when useless prayers we spout.


We know we can shove Him aside so we can enjoy, no matter how temporary, the fleeting things of this world.


We know that many of Your people are not taught the true Attributes and Power of the Spirit because modern religion has become another business or means to empower a few.


We know because of that, many cannot access that dunamis, that Dynamic Power which You have given us in all Your Wisdom, Father.

So now, this day, in the Name of Jesus, I ask You activate my Spiritual Heart for Truth! By activating it, my spirit will be lined up with the Person and Power and Presence of Holy Spirit Who lives RIGHT NOW in me! By activating it, I can see the ways and wonders You have in store for me. By activating it, I can grow into the person YOU designed me to be. 


Lord and not just activate it, but set my spiritual heart on fire! Set it on fire for You! Let me burn with the Fire of Your Holiness to shine the Light of Christ all around me in a dark and evil world. Set it on fire that many may see and want to know the same God You sent to live in me Who represents You!

I am ready, Lord God. I am ready to be set on fire for You. I am ready to fight the good fight. I am ready to finish the race and bring glory to You, in Jesus' Name amen!

TOMORROW: GOD IS EL-SHADDAI

THURSDAY'S CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION BY MARTHA!

Martha Murdy Orlando

Mary, how DID you know?!


Luke 1:38
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

After a horrendous labor which results in an emergency C-section, I am recovering in a semi-private room. I count myself fortunate that I am its only occupant at the moment. I rest gratefully and ponder the miraculous delivery of my healthy, perfect baby boy. I'm anxious to the nurses to bring him to me so I can hold him, feed him, gaze upon his face.

I am deep in reverie when the door opens.

"Daniel?" I ask eagerly.

"Not just yet," a cheerful nurse announces.

She wheels a young woman into the room and heads directly for the bed next to mine. Politely, I turn my head away while the nurse helps her onto the bed and makes all the necessary adjustments.

It isn't until she leaves that I look over at my roommate. She is lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her face is expressionless. Almost stoic.

This is NOT the look of a happy mother.

And, she is very young. Seventeen? Eighteen, maybe?

Not wanting to seem unfriendly, I decide to acknowledge her.

"Hello."

"Hi," she responds weakly and turns away toward the wall. Her back faces me.

I get the message . . .

Anyway, I am busy with visits from family, friends, and my beautiful new baby.

So absorbed in my own cloud-nine world, I barely notice that she has no visitors. And, no baby. A premie? A still-born? I wonder, not without sadness for her.

It is not until late in the night, right after the nurse has come in on her rounds, that I hear her. Softly sobbing. Crying into her pillow.

I take the plunge.

"Are you in pain? Do you want me to get the nurse again?"

"Yes, I'm in pain," she moans, pitifully. "Pain the nurse can't help with and neither can you. You get to keep your baby."

I am stunned. Who could be so insensitive as to place this grieving, unwed mother in the same room with a happy married mom?

With her tears continuing to flow, so does her story. Boyfriend deserts her. Parents are mortified. Want her to abort. She refuses. Insist she give the baby up for adoption. Will kick her out otherwise. Won't pay for college.

And, she is not allowed to see this baby. The one she carried for nine months. The one she longs to hold. The one she longs to keep. The one she loves as only a mother can . . .
~
Unwed motherhood, even in most of today's cultures, carries the stigma of shame. In Mary's day, the consequences were devastating. Divorce at best. Stoning at worst.

Yet, Mary's absolute faith in God allows her to place all fear aside. She believes the angel when he tells her "with God, nothing is impossible" (Luke 1:37). She trusts He will break through the cultural barriers of her time. That His will will be done.

And, it is.

And, we are saved.
~
Have you ever known an unwed mother? How did her family treat her and the situation? What was your reaction?

Will you pray with me?
We are so grateful, Father, for Mary's "yes" to your will for her. Our culture can trap us in so many misconceptions and assumptions. Erase those from our hearts and minds. Allow us to see how You see and love how You love. Help us to have the unwavering faith of Mary. Amen.

Readings
Psalms 72 or 111, 113
Isaiah 28:9-22
Revelation 21:9-21
Luke 1:26-38

THINK ON THESE THINGS - SUNDAY MESSAGE

THE FATHERS!

How the Hero Fathers are our patterns!

The new movie COURAGEOUS has just been released by Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia and is showing in your local theater nationwide. Sherwood are the creators of the powerful FIREPROOF and FACING THE GIANTS movies. This new production revolves around four county deputies, who are also Fathers in different seasons and places with their children. It is such a powerful drama that it will take you on a roller-coaster of emotions - from laughter to tears - all in less than two hours!
However this is not a review of the movie.  What I wish to key in on is the INTANGIBLE which each of these Four Flawed Fathers filtered to their children. This intangible is their Faith.

The four law enforcement men in this movie have a lot in common with the heroes of Hebrews 11. These men of verses 20-22 are called the Patriarchs - or fathers of an entire people. It is written: ²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 
²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
²² By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.


Fathers today seem to be under a lot more stress and duress and what a mess we have as the society demands things from men, which God never intended. BUT, God has a standard which very few in Bible times exhibited to such a degree that the Lord had them included in Scripture. However, what He did for us, is to give us these examples to follow as men like us, who long to be the best fathers we can be!

So, just briefly, let's look at the Treasures here to fire us up for the week ahead!
VERSE: (2O) 
BY FAITH ISAAC BLESSED JACOB AND ESAU CONCERNING THE THINGS TO COME: 
Here, Abraham's son passed on to all his twins (Jacob and Esau) the foundation of a new Nation and People - the Hebrews. How can you or I use this, no matter how weak our walk was, to bless the future of our kids? We do that by blessing them now and praying for them and THEIR children, starting tonight!


VERSE 21
BY FAITH, JACOB WHEN HE WAS DYING,HE BLESSED EACH OF THE SONS...
For us, I wish to point out a couple or three things we SHOULD NOT DO!! Let us resolve not to wait until we are dying to bless our children. Let us actively teach them Worship, Prayer, Bible reading and the basics of living the Life for God. Jacob was not the best father in the world. He played favorites etc...Let us - you and I - focus on our responsibility as parents and then administer love and blessings equally, yet liberally, to those whom we love.


Verse 22 is about Joseph and looks back on how the Prophetic Escape from Egypt, the Exodus -was handled because his bones had to returned to the Promised Land. 


These golden nuggets and more, can be found, accessed and downloaded into your heart by the makers of Courageous the Movie. If you get a chance, go see this movie. The writer of Hebrews used some of the choicest words; references and Scripture to illustrate what God meant to say. 


These heroes of the faith made a resolution by Faith to the Future of their children. WE should NO less and even double up on our efforts to serve God without that! 
WE SHOULD RESOLVE TO HAVE THE FAITH OF THE FATHERS, AS LISTED IN OUR PASSAGE TODAY! 


May God continue to richly bless you and yours as you continue to obey and serve Him, in Jesus' Name, amen!