Things (the lies) we tell our kids....

I recently heard about a conversation about a family who likes to whatch the show "Survivor" together. The mother of this family told another person about how they explain the gay contestants on the show to their kids. I was dumbfounded and anstonished at the explanation. The parents would tell their kids the two men on the show were brothers who really loved each other. I understand they are trying to protect their children's innocence and probably circumvent having a conversation about a topic they are not comfortable with themselves. Just for those reading this post, it is not about homosexuality, but here is a my quick view on the subject. Homosexuality is wrong in God's eyes. This doesn't mean I hate gay people. I love them and have several gay friends, but if God calls it a sin, then it is. Moving along to my main point, we lie to our kids and feel it is okay if we feel we are protecting them. We don't want to hurt their feelings, lose their trust, or like in the example I gave, we don't want to have to explain other people's sin. Lying is so destructive, God made it one of his commandments. He loves us and knows how destructive lying can be to us. He told us not to, to protect us.

Exodus 6:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Simply put, Don't lie! Being a parent to three boys, the ten commandments are taught and explained a lot in my house. It has been the topic of dinner time discussion many times, either in part or as a whole. This past Christmas made me realize how we lie to our kids and the frequency at which we do it. It was alarming. I had probably lied to my 3 year old at least 8 times about Santa Claus. I'm all for the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus, but inadvertently we lie about Santa being real to our kids. Yes, this goes for the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Eight times I lied to protect a fictional characters falsehood. It seems silly doesn't it? Yet, we lie to our kids. When a child learns the truth about Santa Claus they feel hurt and they lose a bit of trust from us. When we cover up someone's sin, it is lieing. Like the story above, our kids lose trust in us and we make them feel like we are not being open to them about sin. Sin is shameful and yes it is hard and sometimes very awkward to explain, but covering it up with another sin only makes the situation worse. When the time comes to explain a sin to your kids, be truthful. You don't have to explain it in detail, but do it in love and compassion for the child and the sinner.

Explaining sin to a child in love and compassion takes a deep breathe and patience. For instance, the child sees someone stealing something. The first thing you want to do is tell them why stealing is bad. Maybe ask the question "Would you want someone to steal from you?" Tell them what God says about stealing and that it breaks one of his commandments. If we tell our kids, the person stole whatever it was that they stole for some "good reason", we lie to our kids. The story of Robin Hood comes to mind. I know the moral of the story is so kind to help those in need and who are being oppressed, but it is still stealing. One sin does not okay another sin to reconciliate the first one. All in all, I believe as parents and with some of us leaders to our kids we need to realize, change, repent, and reconcile the damage we have done so far.

Faith through Desperation Pt. 3

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

We don't know how far Jairus' house was or if the crowd followed them to the house, but we do know only 6 people went in the house. Jesus, Jesus' closest friends, and the mom and dad went in, but why only them? It was a time to shut out all the chaos and have a moment of quiet. At the time of someone's death there were professional mourners. They were people who would wail and cry to make a spectacle over someone's death. Jesus makes a very direct command for them to stop wailing and tells them the girl is only asleep. This is the yet another time in this passage we see people have a lack of faith in Jesus, even though they have witnessed his power. Have there been times in your life that you have doubted Jesus' power, even in the strong times of witnessing his power? I know I have. We get this thought in our head that "There is no way God can pull off a miracle like that. No way!" But I am sure you would agree with me, Jesus always pulls off a miracle when we need it the most. Here is something I have noticed in many of the miracle stories, maybe you have noticed it too. Before Jesus speaks to someone, he touches them before speaking to them. Jesus gives us comfort not only through words, but action as well. He took the little girls hand and then spoke to her.

We know the girl was dead. Verse 55 tells us her spirit returned. Without a spirit we are dead. We are the only thing on the planet with a spirit. Your cat or dog does not have a spirit, a soul yes, spirit no. We have a body, mind, soul, and a spirit. Jairus' daughter has her spirit returned to her. She was fully restore. She got up immediately, she wasn't stiff or unable to move, but fully restored. Though she was restored, she may have been weak yet, giving us why Jesus told her parents to feed her something. Jesus' last bit of instruction is for them to not tell anyone what happened. To be honest, I don't know why he told them that. There are plenty of ideas, but not one I am sure with, so I conclude this series with this. Pray and study that you may be given wisdom of why Jesus told them not to speak of the miracle they were blessed with.

Faith through Desperation pt. 2

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

These verses show us compassion in the midst of chaos. The crowd is pressing and pulsating at the events of Jairus pleading with Jesus to heal his daughter. Some people would be shouting and yelling to make room and to stop pushing while the others added to it, yelling their questions, and maybe even some would be mocking and jeering those in the crowd. Jesus is addressing Jairus, when he feels someones faith has drawn on his power. It is good to remember that Jesus is man, not God while he is on Earth. He has the full perfect power of the anointing of the Holy Ghost to perform the miracles he does. The woman was enough faith to draw from that power to heal her. This, I believe is how we know Jesus knows when we are genuine and pure in our motives. All of those people bearing down on him, but one faith filled woman drew on his power for healing.

Jesus asks "Who touched me?" which would seem to be a ridiculous considering the circumstances of events. So, why would Jesus ask the question? We have to encounter Jesus. We can't just sneak in from the side or try to be lost in the crowd and hopefully no one notices that we believe in Jesus. We have to be front and center before Jesus. It is the most intense unsure moment of our life when it happens. Many people won't come before Jesus because their shame, guilt, and pride holds them back. The woman approaced Jesus trembling before the crowd of people. She was unsure of what would happen next. Her bloodied garments were a giveaway, it was her reason to touch his garment. The crowd would have parted at the very sight of her. Her only choice was now to lay it all down at his feet. He did his part and healed her, it was her turn to make that true confession of faith. Jesus in absolute gentleness calls her daughter. She was not only a friend but someone considered close family; a sibling. Jesus tells her "look, you aren't just anyone, you are more than a friend to me, you are my closest family!" The woman's faith heals her, but also brings her into Jesus' family as a believer. Jesus tells her to go in peace. He tells her to relax and that once you leave me everything will be okay!

Faith through Desperation pt. 1

Luke 8:40-42

40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

These three verses show us the intimate nature Jesus had even within the largest of crowds. No matter the circumstances or situations Jesus was met with desperation fueled by faith. The people knew who Jesus was, because he returned and the crowd welcomed him. They expected him, if he had left the area of the Gerasenes he would have been close to Capernaum, which was Jesus' home base, he would have had a lot of friends and acquaintances. The crowd would have known about Jesus' miracles, healings, and teachings, but they gathered more out of curiosity then conviction of faith. Jairus pushed and weaved through the crowd to get to Jesus, because his faith compelled him to do so, his little girl was dying. I have three sons and if one of them was ill to the point of death, you can best believe I will do all it takes to get them what they need for healing. Jairus, a synagogue leader would have been like a bishop for the synagogue. He would have been the rosh ha-ceneseth, the one who takes care of the building maintenance and direction of spiritual services. Jairus' status meant nothing to the people in the crowd. They all pushed in and pushed forward to get closer to Jesus.

Luke 8:43-48

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[c] but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

The verse tells us Jesus was almost crushed by the crowd so it gives you a idea of the intensity of the scene. I have been in my fair share of moshpits when I was younger, so I have a bit of a idea of what the pushing and shoving would be like and maybe you do too. People were nearly on top of each other. A unnamed woman is in the crowd with uncontrolled bleeding. Bleeding which had last for a large part of her life. This gives you yet another small glimpse at the ferocity of the crowd. If the woman was bleeding, by Levitical law she would have been unclean. No one would have touched her or they too would have been unclean. She was taking a great risk. Leviticus 15 tells us anyone she touches, she makes unclean. She could be punished for her blatant disregard for the Law, but it didn't stop her from reaching out for healing by the one who she knew could heal her. The smallest touch and she was made whole. Her healing gave her newness of life. She could be near people. She wouldn't have had a job because of her condition. She was probably very lonely, but Jesus changed that for her. She could find someone to love and they could love her back. She could go to the temple and by the law it would be the first place she would go for confirmation of her cleansing by a priest. The amazing part of the mircalous healing is it happened immediately. In the blink of an eye, the snap of two fingers, the woman was healed by Jesus through her faith. Sometimes it is our desperation that fuels our faith and sometimes it is our faith that fuels our desperation.

Facebook Fights!!!

If you are a person of faith I am sure you have witnessed a Facebook fight at sometime or another. These "fights" also happen a lot in the comments sections of Youtube videos. The fights I am speaking of are the battles of religion and beliefs. Wars of words to defend your faith. When these happen they can be spiritually deadly for all parties involved if they are handled poorly. We need to be able to answer them, but with the right attitude and in love. 1 Peter 3:15 states "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," Gentleness and respect are key to making the gospel known, but don't let gentleness be a reason for them to push you over. Stand firm in Jesus.

Several months ago I unknowingly made a comment on a friend's Facebook status and before I knew it I had spent an entire Saturday engaged in a battle to defend my faith against a nonbeliever. The guy I was having words with is a friend of mine who I skate with and we enjoy our friendship, but religion, especially Jesus, is a hot button issue. With that being said, I want to help people approach these fights with some pointers. It is not really to win, but to get the gospel of Jesus Christ in front of the person or people you are communicating with. Remember this, you are not going to save anyone! Only Jesus can save them! So here is the deal with dealing with these battles.

First: PRAY! Pray for the person or people you are messaging. Do a committed prayer for the person, the message you are sharing, and for the Holy Spirit to be at work in you and them.

Second: Put the scripture you know to work. There is nothing stronger than scripture. You can answer in your own words, but tie it to scripture so your answer is anchored down. There will be instances where the conversation will start to go in circles, stick to scripture. Repeat the scripture if you have to. Be gentle, yet firm! Keep @ Timothy 3:16 in mind "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"

One thing to consider is, is it worth having this battle of faith through social media? Is there a way to meet this person face to face? Do you know this person? Is the person some random guy in the comments section of your favorite Youtube video for Thousand Foot Krutch or Lecrae? Does the person know Jesus? Always consider who you are messaging. Build God's kingdom! In this age of technology you are going to see these things happen. You have to be prepared. Technology has given us the chance to reach and change the lives of millions of people, this same technology can destroy just as many people. Please be careful and be prepared. Talking about being prepared read the post before this one about reading God's word daily. (It has a connection to technology too.)

How do you read this thing? Taking time.

How much time do you take reading the Bible? Do you take 5 minutes, 15 minutes, enough to read a chapter, daily, weekly, not as much as you should? What time do you read your Bible? Do you read in the morning, evening, lunch break, before bed, before sunrise?

These are some things to consider. It should be a daily effort to read at least a few verses. If it is only a few verses. Read them. Pray them. Apply them. If you have a set time you read and if you have more than 15 minutes I make this recommendation. Find a commentary you can read and understand. A Christian bookstore will be a good place to find one that works for you. I like William Barclay. He is informative and gives historical, social, religious, and governmental context to the verses you study. He paints a picture to explain the importance of how those things relate to the verses. There is also Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, John MacArthur, among many others.

Take notes! Write down words you don't understand and verses you want to try and cross reference later. Use a highlighter to mark important or relevant verses. Make notes if your Bible if you need to.

Here is the part where I call you to the proverbial carpet about reading your Bible. You most likely have a cellphone and on that phone you have apps. I would hope one would be a Bible app. You are now busted! Everyone takes time to check their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and email on their phone. Why not check in with the Word of God? In the time it takes to scroll through Twitter you could read a hand full of verses. Biblegateway has a great Bible app, as well as, Youversion. Look them up in which ever app store you use. It's a new year and a great time to commit to reading daily. You can get notifications with some Bible apps to make sure you get your fill daily. Biblegateway has plenty of options for emails and notificvations on their phone app and website. I personally read several of their daily emails. In a world of technology we now have the oppotunity to have the Bible at our fingertips at any given moment. Read the Word, live the Word, share the Word!