My thoughts

4/11/08

Why do we have to leave our houses in order to relax? Is it because we’ve burdened ourselves with responsibilities at home that we cannot escape unless we go somewhere else? I think so.

4/3/08

“I’m building a bigger house so we can entertain, have people over for Bible Studies, etc.” – This is something I’ve heard people say and something that I have said but in my opinion, this is a cover up so we don’t have to say I’m building a bigger house so I can have a bigger house. I am guilty of this.

Success is NOT how I’m doing compared to others.

Delayed Happiness from “When I’m, then thinking” is STUPID. When I’m skinny, then I’ll be happy. When I’m richer, then I’ll be happy.

God commands us: Do not covet.

Note: some of the above came from a message by Chip Ingram at livingontheedge.com

March 19, 2008
What does it mean to make Jesus the Lord of your life?
The Gospel is simple. However, the Gospel is NOT cheap. Jesus died on a cross so that we may have a relationship with the Father and the ability to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Ephesians 6:1-3 (Children and Parents) it reads: 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
As a child, your parents are your (or at least should be) your mentor. What good would it be for a child to read this and accept it but when asked to do something by the parent they reject that part of the package.
Can I make Jesus the Lord of my life without doing what He asks of me?

March 14, 20008

Putting all my thoughts together.


Topic: Do we really want to be like Jesus?

If so, plan for the world to hate you – John 15:18-19

If so, plan on not being rich – James 2:5

If so, plan on caring for those in need – Matthew 25:31-46

If so, plan on denying yourself and taking up your cross daily – Luke 9:23, Matthew 16:24-26

If so, plan on putting your hope in God rather than things – I Timothy 6:17-19

If so, plan on spending time with God in prayer – John 17, Mark 14:38, Colossians 4:2, Matthew 6:5-13

If so, plan on being a missionary – Matthew 28:19

If so, plan on looking strange to the world – Romans 12:2

If so, plan on not worrying – Matthew 6:25-34

If so, plan on forgiving – Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 23:34

If so, plan on being with Him in Heaven one day – John 14:2


Topic: Purpose

From the book “Revolution” by George Barna p.30, the answer for me is given: The reason is simple: Every human being was created by God primarily to know Him, love Him and serve Him. All other activity is superfluous.”

Topic: Envy

From a discussion on Envy/Favoritism from Genesis 37, Brother David stated “Envy means your mad at God, causing a bitter spirit b/c you think God hasn’t been as good to you as somebody else.” He went on to say: “we don’t appreciate what we have b/c we are worried about what we don’t have.”

This topic was discussed again by Brother David on 9/16/07 when he said, “stop comparing yourselves to other people” and “how about Christians stop acquiring things that make others envious.”

My thoughts: I am in complete agreement. However, is being envious completely bad? I wouldn’t mind if someone was envious of me for the time I spend with my family, for my knowledge of the Bible, for the way I put others before myself, etc.

Halloween 2007 - High School Musical Style

For those of you not familiar with High School Musical which I can't belive there are such people; Graham is Chad Danforth (i.e. Corbin Bleu), Jack is Troy Bolton (i.e. Zac Efron) and Cohen is the basketball. Conan was often mistaken for a pumpkin as well as being a girl but I have to admit he is darn cute and kind of looks like a pumpkin. Kim made their jerseys and had their names (Danforth and Bolton) on the back. Kim and I dressed up as Harlem Globetrotters but those pics are not yet available. Below are some more pics from Halloween.

The Motto of our home is: “Live Pure, Speak True, Right Wrong and Follow the King”, which emphasizes the basic tenets of Christianity. We are going to live morally upright lives, speak the truth all the time, correct the wrongs in society and tread in the footsteps of Christ the Saviour.

I am reading a book titled "Raising a Modern Day Knight" and it is incredible. It is challenging to me as a Dad b/c I was never shown what it is to be a man. If you have sons or you are a grown man who feels you could use some guidance, I encourage you to read this book.

I have three sons that I pray for nightly that they will grow up to be strong Christian Men but I have forgotten that I must show them what this looks like through my walk.

The greatest single cause of atheism...

Brennan Manning reflected upon this thinking when he said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

We are in need of a revolution. It's time we wake up and realize what it is all about. Please pray that Christians will be the light that leads a lost world to Christ.

Matthew 7:12-14

12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I John 1:6

6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Matthew 5:13-16

Salt and Light

13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Whose money is it anyway?

I believe in making an offering of at least 10% and that God truly owns 100%. We have the tendency to say this with our lips but not live it in our walk. Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" I believe it was John Wesley who made the statement: "any Christian who takes for himself anything more than the plain necessities of life lives in an open, habitual denial of the Lord." I think most Christians, including myself, need to consider that what I see as a necessity may be considered as a surplus to God. We claim to be blessed by God but what are we doing with those blessings? Are we sharing them or are we hoarding them?

Not only that, but is the Church hoarding the funds it receives. Isn't the purpose of the Church to equip the saints to reach the lost? While writing this, please no that I am as guilty as anyone. If I'm pointing a finger, it's in the mirror. Have you ever wondered how many LOST people we are reaching as Christians? Are we meeting the lost where they are at or are we launching programs and the like which only seem to attract other believers who are excited by a new program? My family is guilty of this. We left a Church and worship at our new Church for many reasons including their love for kids and the women's program, to name a few. We are an increase in numbers but were not lost. When I give it seems more like I am giving for services rendered (for childcare, music, a sermon, fellowship, etc.) There is nothing wrong with these things but should that be what a tithe is used for. My point is that even those that do tithe are actually giving as a “fee for service” rather than as a biblical directive. So if you are not tithing, not only are you robbing from God but you are also not paying for services rendered AND you are stealing from the poor. This is a hard pill to swallow, but it is reality. And, those who do tithe are basically underwriting the others who are there who don't. Should your tithe go for a fellow believer to be there that has made a decision to not give. People never want to talk about money in Church but I think the reason is because it steps on so many toes. I could go on and on but I will stop here. Thanks for reading.

An Author, Tony Campolo, made a quote that has stuck with me. Here is what it says: "I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or disease related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a s**t. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said s**t than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."

Below are some Bible Verses I've found relating to this topic:

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

I John 3:17-18(NIV) If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Proverbs 19:17
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Luke 13:23-30
23Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' 26"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' 27"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' 28"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

The Jones Boys

One down, two to go. I've always heard that once they start school it goes by so fast but I had no idea. Jack married??? Well not really. He was the groom (Mr. Q) at the Q U Wedding for his kindergarten class. Q and U were married b/c they are always together anyway and it seemed like the right thing to do.

For those of you who know me, President Carter would not be my first choice of presidents for my son to dress up like but once Kim told Jack that Carter won the best award (the Nobel Peace Prize) his mind was made up. We even bought a military coat from Goodwill and was going to have him go as Roosevelt but he would have nothing to do with it. I have to admit, he makes a good Carter with his peanuts, nobel peace prize and baby powder/gray hair.

GOAL, GOAL, GOAL !!! Yes Graham is playing soccer and loving it. In his second game he scored 8 goals. He was on fire. It is very entertaining to watch 6 kids chase one ball around while parents are yelling to make sure they kick it in the right goal.

Cohen and Amelia, maybe they will be the next to get married. This was Conan's first play "date". Amelia's parents are dear friends of ours and she is a real cutie. God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams with 3 healthy, awesome kids; wonderful friends and great families.

Life is Simple - Eat, Sleep, Camp !!!

What a fantastic weekend we had at Jellystone Campground in Cosby, TN. The trip started with a visit to the Waffle House, we then moved on down the road to Knoxville where we stopped at Chuck E Cheese and ate pizza and played games. We then got back in the car and headed to Pigeon Forge where we raced go-karts on the Wild Woody and rode in bumper cars. Jack is a racing maniac (i.e. Metal Maniac)! Graham and Dad ruled at bumper cars. We then got back in the car and headed to Jellystone. Our cabin was awesome, the camp rangers were the best and the activities were endless including putt-putt, basketball, playground, crafts, candy bar bingo, scavenger hunt, movies every night, a hey-hey-hey ride and don't forget SMORES. For those of you paying attention to the picture, yes I do have a mohawk. I wanted the kids to have one as well but Mom thought otherwise. Cohen (aka Conan) stayed behind on this trip. He and Nana had a blast as well.