From generation to generation

Rules were made to be broken, or were they?

We grow up with this saying thinking that rules are bad, guidelines are restrictive, and by following something like God, we are freaks who are weak.  God's disciplines are for our benefit and are meant to enrich our faith and grow as believers in our families and the church community.  

There are times we want to give our kids the best of everything and we forget that sometimes the best advice is to give them room to grow in their faith as children of God.  We give them kudos they don't deserve, we shower them with the top of the line technology they didn't earn, and we are way too lenient with rewards when they aren't ready to handle the responsibility.

With our good intentions, we teach them the lazy, convenient and comfortable ways of faith without teaching them to seek God first in everything, surrender to Him with all parts of our hearts, and don't hold the standard of purity high.  We should be teaching them to have a fear and respect of a Holy God, our Creator and that the blessings of life can come in storms of adversity.  To praise God for all opportunities that come to grow our faith and experience His power.  

Let's not forget our life of faith is all about God.

We need to teach them to run to God first for everything instead of the Internet.  That God is more than the "Big Guy" that we call on when we need a miracle.  This isn't about how to make our children strong and independent.  This is about freedom that comes from knowing the truth about God and living within right disciplines as disciples.   

An outlandish faith will outlast this world filled with sin.  This kind of faith will build a strong community of believers by experiencing God in our daily lives.

God's word reminds us that in His sovereignty, God gives us freedoms and disciplines out of His love for us, for our safety and for our protection against the world and the sins that so entangle our hearts.   These disciplines are established for our good, not from His anger or restrictive ways.

Our calling as God's sons and daughters is to point the way to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, the Life.  We are not to be do-gooders with our plastic-lives-of Christianity but to be the light of God's truth.  We are to share love to everyone around us.  True love comes from the Father through Jesus by faith. 

John 15:9 says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I love you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you."

To really love our family in the ways of faith, we live a kingdom-minded life complete with a fresh hunger and thirst, seeking after God with an intense pursuit and passion. 

We seek God first, in every way, every day, in all areas of life.
We treasure God's holy standards of purity.    
We love the Lord our God with all our heart, end of story, no idols allowed.  

We mentor our community by living out our faith.  

We need to cooperate with God by obeying Him.  

Faith is the very fabric of our lives in every way, every day.  We live the life of holiness, a life set-apart for God when we let Him work in and through our lives to change the world around us.  Living this legacy will last, and it will overflow to others.  

When God has total rule in our life, His rules won't be broken.

What’s God calling you to purposely give to the next generation?

If We Had Coffee Today...

If we were having coffee today, here's what I would tell you...

Someone loves you.

Not just by those people around you.  But by a Awesome Someone, who knows you well.  

With the breath of Heaven, there is One who thought of you today, and said "you're good".  In His very first exhales...an image was created.  A special, unique and vibrant life.  A Creator's creation.   You. 

You might say these are fancy words...

But know this...God is for you.  Even if it doesn't feel like it.

Because you are loved by a perfectly wonderful and holy Craftsman, that means its only His love that satisfies.  We look for that fulfilling love in many of the wrong places.  We so easily give our fragile hearts to things that don't love us back.  We lend our hearts to things that don't matter.  We often consume ourselves with the quest of finding satisfaction that we forget to guard what was so innocently created.  

Pouring you another cup...

Stop looking for a love in stuff when that stuff can't love you back.  Don't be consumed by your quest to give your love away at first temptation.  Protect the purity that God has blended into your being.  

You are loved by a God who knows how you struggle with your self-approval and worth.  God sees you with His worthy eyes.  So don't live for God's approval but from His approval.  I heard that in church Sunday and it is still dancing around my thoughts.  That's love in it most beautiful form.  His holy death gives you a life of love.  

Yearn for His holiness not that false sense of approval from people.   

He is dying for you to know Him and love Him like He loves you. 

I will always find what I really need in the One who will never leave me wanting.  

You want to be loved.  I want to be loved.  We all do.  

I love you enough to tell you that you ARE loved by God...just believe it, you don't need to understand why or how.  His love goes beyond our clumsy sin-filled hurting hearts.     

God's love remains.  Even when we don't.  It's the only love that does.

Romans 5:8  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Let this love dwell in your heart and dwell on it.  God.Loves.You.  Don't harden your heart to His love.  

Ready to believe it now?    More coffee please...

What's The Deal With Purity?

Best picture I could find that would represent purity

Purity.  What's the deal with it?  Isn't that just for single people or those who have claimed a life of celibacy?

Usually when you hear that word it's used in the same sentence as a youth ministry Wednesday night lesson.  It certainly is a battlefield that seems to have few victories in the lives of teens and singles.   But in my study of this word, I had to accept the fact that purity isn't meant for a selected few.    

...I must lead a life of purity.

God calls us all to lead a life of purity in all things.  So what does that mean?  It means ALL are responsible to seek it.  In the widest, deepest and most real day to day living of a holy life.  The book of Titus is power packed with purity truth!  

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.  Titus 1:15

“ . . . that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.”  Titus 2:5

“ . . . in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine . . .”  Titus 2:7

“ . . . our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself up for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession . . .”  Titus 2:13-14

Living a life of purity means that we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the ways of God.  It's about a moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour, day-to-day offerings of obedience in doing right and godly behavior.  It's about honoring God with our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions.  It's about choosing the path of righteousness and fleeing from the stumbling blocks that the enemy so easily entangles us with.  It's about not looking temptations in the face and saying your stronger.  It's about turning your back on what you know is the wrong thing to do, it's about saying "no", for the first time and again and again.  

It's about not being broken over pleasure but about being broken for purity.  

It's about learning the truth about purity, what it means to live it and then applying purity truth to your life.  It's about the life-changing truth of God's Word transforming you to be a vessel of holiness.  It's replacing bad behaviors of sin and breaking the chains of sin defiling your soul, and allowing God to give you a new life of cleanliness.  

Starting right now.  

It's about resisting and not giving your innocence away.  It's about keeping it close for God to guard and protect.  It's about renewal, restoration, and sanctification.  It’s about resisting the enemy’s schemes to tempt us back toward the impure, ungodly behaviors, in all its forms.  It's about not flirting with the things you know you shouldn't have.  It's about confronting your ungodly behavior like King David did, and then once hearing the truth of what he had caused, changing and not turning back.  It's about repenting your sins and making a new start.  It’s about taking our minds that were once defiled and renewing them with the purity of God's Word.  It's about the enemy not stealing our innocence.

Purity is the spiritual fabric that reaches our souls.  Sin is sin.  Once sin taints it stains.  Impurity sets in one small tiny shift at a time.  It escalates fast and soon becomes slippery slope of darkness that you want to keep secret and hide.  And it infects with underlying deceit that erodes our soul, affects our walk with God and dims our witness for Christ.  It’s an incredibly high standard that Christ calls us to live, and in knowing that, HE knows we can't do this on our own He gives us His word to show us the way.  

We can't live a life of purity without Christ.  We can't live a life of purity apart from Christ.  And in finding Christ we find purity, and the fellowship of Holiness.  So press forward towards purity. 

So where do you start?  Read Ephesians 5.

Write out a list of your sins, your struggles, your weakness, your temptations.  Ask God to show you truth that confronts it and defeats it.  God will reveal His answers so that you can make changes, because HE desires your purity!  It's His will for your life that you find satisfaction in Him.  

Not in the inappropriate images you are tempted to look at.  Not in that ungodly relationship you know you should end.  Not in the approval of your parents that they will never give.  Not in the next chocolate bar you want to eat because you feel shunned by your friends.  Not in any house, technology gadget or trinket this earthly life can offer.  Not in your bottom line finances or stocks, bonds and 401Ks.  Not in the false sense of security or fame.  Not in anything this world has to offer.  Nothing in this ungodly place we dwell.

We seek to fill ourselves with all the wrong ungodly goop that kills our quest for purity. 

Pray through Ephesians 5.  Over and over.  If you need something to pray for..pray for a purity passion that penetrates to your deepest parts.  So that you may know the perfect, good and pleasing will of God our Father.  A Holy life waits.