Building Men & Women of God

'These commandments... Impress them on your children.' Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV

A great preacher once said, 'When times are troubled we cry, God, give us men to match our mountains. In reply, God gives us children and says, Here's the building material.' We are expected to nurture them so they develop unto men and women of God. Here's a Bible blueprint. First, 'These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts'. Parent, if you don't practice Scriptural principles, your children won't either. Indeed, if you don't live what you preach your words will fall on deaf ears and create rebellious hearts. You don't have to be perfect, but you must be genuine. Secondly, 'Impress them on your children'. You must emphasize, stress, prompt, make clear, drum in and imprint. Nothing passing or passive there! It's to be a deliberate, thorough, active and repeated process. Thirdly, 'Talk about them'. Your kids won't catch the
truth by osmosis. You have to talk, not in religious-sounding tones they don't understand, but in natural language, in natural ways, at natural times. 'Talk about them when you sit at home', in the comfort of familiar surroundings. 'When you walk along the road', in the easy give-and-take environment on the way to the park or to school. 'When you lie down and when you get up', watching for opportunities, because teachable moments come and go unannounced.
Carpe diem! Parents who 'seize the day' discover that God has equipped them to mould their children into men and women of God.

Success God's Way

'...the Lord...has pleasure in [our] prosperity.' Psalm 35:27 NKJV

God delights in seeing His children succeed; what good parent wouldn't? Jesus said, 'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!' (Matthew 7:11 NKJV) David wanted to build the temple, but God chose his son Solomon instead. Sometimes our desires differ from God's, so we need to consult Him before we make a move. Usually God reveals His plan one step at a time. If your desire for something persists, it's an indication that God is leading you. So look for the signs, listen to the Holy Spirit, prayerfully evaluate everything, cultivate an instant response to God, reject all feedback that breeds doubt, ask God for wisdom and expect it. And don't be selective about who you're willing to receive wisdom from. After all, God once spoke through a donkey and changed history. The Bible says, '...Ask...God, and He will give it to you.' (James 1:5 NLT) Wisdom is the ability to see and interpret things through God's eyes. What an advantage! The Psalmist says, 'The entrance of Your words gives...understanding...' (Psalm 119:130 NKJV) When God saves you, He renews your mind because that's the drawing-board for your future. Mind management should be one of your top priorities: '...Whatsoever things are...good...think on these things.' (Philippians 4:8 KJV) Don't justify failure another day; refuse to stay bogged down; stop placing blame on others. Instead circle today's date on your calendar and declare that the best days of your life are beginning-right now!

Why we Need Each Other

'...encourage the fainthearted, help the weak...' 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NAS
A mouse looked out through a crack in a farmhouse wall and was distraught to discover a mousetrap. When he went to tell his buddies, the chicken said, 'Sorry, pal, not my problem.' The pig said, 'I'll pray for you.' The cow was busy and said, 'Come back later.' Dejected, the mouse was left alone to handle his problem. That night, a poisonous snake got caught in the mousetrap and when the farmer's wife went to investigate she got bitten. She developed a raging fever, and everyone knows you treat a fever with chicken soup. So the farmer took his axe to the barn for the main ingredient! As his wife's condition deteriorated and neighbors gathered, he had to butcher the pig to feed them. Finally she died. So many people came to the funeral that he ended up slaughtering the cow to make dinner for them all. In the end, everybody lost!The Bible says, '...encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.' It only takes one thing to be an encourager: a willingness to '...bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.' (Romans
15:1 NAS) Before deciding somebody else's problem has nothing to do with you, read this: '...If
one member suffers, all the members suffer...' (1 Corinthians 12:26 NKJV) You can't sit on the
sidelines while someone's hurting; tomorrow it may be you! We are told to 'Share each other's burdens...' (Galatians 6:2 NLT) When one of us is threatened we're all at risk. Our lives are woven together for a reason; each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry. That's what God's love truly is....

Patience

'...Let...patience...do a thorough work...'  James 1:4 AMP
Larry Moyer tells the story of a prison warden who asked a man on death row what he would like to eat for his last meal. He said, 'A huge piece of watermelon.' The warden said,
'You must be joking! This is December. Watermelons haven't even been planted, let alone harvested.' The inmate replied, 'That's ok, I don't mind waiting.' So here's the question: do you mind waiting? How do you act when things don't move fast enough for you? Graciously, or not so
graciously? A well-known minister writes, 'I happened to be in a store and had waited a long time in a slow-moving line to pay for one little item. The people in front of me had stacks of items. Then I was overlooked while somebody else was served ahead of me. When it was finally my turn, the sales assistant looked at me and said, Thank you for waiting. Are you who I think you are... that preacher on TV? I knew the minute you walked in that it was you. I thought
to myself, What if I'd been angry and mouthing off because I wasn't served in the proper order? Impatient behavior can adversely affect our witness.' When you view life's irritations through God's eyes, it changes how you feel about situations that are testing your patience. You begin to see them as friends, not enemies. You realize that God permits them to help mature you. So, ...Let...patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be...perfectly...developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.'

Watch What You Think About!

'What I feared has come upon me...' Job 3:25 NIV
Nick was a tough guy with a bad outlook. He worked on the railways. One night after all his fellow workers had gone home he accidentally locked himself in a refrigerated carriage. Worried that the temperature was below freezing, he yelled for help, but to no avail. The more he thought about his situation the colder he felt, until eventually he started shivering uncontrollably. Convinced he was dying, he wrote a letter to his family outlining what had happened. The next morning they found Nick's body. An autopsy revealed that he had indeed frozen to death. But the investigators discovered something puzzling. The carriage in which Nick was trapped was out of order and had been disconnected. The night he froze to
death the temperature in the boxcar was just below room temperature. But because he expected to die, he lost the battle in his mind. What you believe about your life is more important than what anyone else believes. Job said, 'What I feared has come upon me.'
Be careful what you anticipate; negative expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies. God has promised to help you, but you get the deciding vote. By focusing on the negative you're agreeing to let Satan defeat you. Jesus said, 'According to your faith will it be
done for you.' (Matthew 9:29 NIV) Another translation puts it like this: 'Let it happen...just as you believe...' (GNT) So get into agreement with God's Word and focus on His promises instead of your problems. When you do, your faith will take you to new levels of victory. But it's up to you to take the first step!

When the Time Comes

'...You will...be led...with peace...' Isaiah 55:12 NAS

Have you ever felt 'checked' in your spirit when you were about to do something? Chances are, God is trying to get your attention. His promise is, '...I will make you wise... show you
where to go...and watch over you.' (Psalm32:8 NCV) A Christian couple were buying their first home. When it came time to sign the papers the wife said, 'I couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness. My husband had the same sick feeling in his stomach, so we decided not to go forward... A few months later my husband died in an accident. I wouldn't have been able to make the payments and support a new baby and myself... Our lack of peace was the Holy Spirit calling time out...' We don't know the future, God does, and He directs our steps by the way of peace, or lack of it. The Holy Spirit acts like a referee. When the players stay within the boundaries, they're free to move about. But when there's trouble, or the ball goes out of bounds, the referee blows the whistle, stops play and restores order. The absence of peace can mean 'the heavenly referee' has blown the whistle. Sometimes the ball gets kicked out of bounds by unexpected adversity; at other times we step out of bounds by giving way to temptation and sin. If we're smart, when we hear the whistle we'll wait for God to restore our peace. The Bible says, '...You will...be led...with peace...' Does that mean you'll always feel certain about your decision? No, but the right decision will be accompanied by a sense of God's peace.

 



Controlling Tempers

'A quick-tempered man acts foolishly...' Proverbs 14:17 NKJV

It's normal to get angry, but uncontrolled anger can cost you dearly. When Nabal refused to feed King David and his soldiers, David's anger almost drove him to murder. Only
Abigail, Nabal's wife, saved David from the destructive potential of his own unchecked emotions. Looking back, David told Abigail, 'Blessed is your advice...because
you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed.' (1 Samuel 25:33 NKJV) Our anger is often rooted in pride. Naaman the leper felt insulted when Elisha told him to dip seven times in the Jordan River. '...Naaman became furious, and went away and said, Indeed, I said to myself, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.' (2 Kings 5:11 NKJV) The Arizona Republic, a US newspaper, reported that when Steve Tran of Westminster, California, closed the door on 25 activated bug bombs, he thought he had seen the last of the cockroaches that shared his apartment. But when the spray reached the pilot light of the stove, it ignited, blasting his screen door across the street, breaking all his windows and setting his furniture ablaze. 'I wanted to kill
all of them,' he said. 'I thought if I used a lot more, it would last longer.' According to the label, just two canisters of the pesticide would have solved Tran's roach problem. The blast caused over $10000 damage to the apartment building. And the cockroaches? Tran reported, 'By Sunday, I saw them walking around.' Yes, 'A quick-tempered man acts foolishly.'