Are you on the list?

Blessed Assurance ~ Third Day

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
   Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
   Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
   Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
   • Refrain:
     This is my story, this is my song,
     Praising my Savior all the day long;
     This is my story, this is my song,
     Praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
   Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
   Angels, descending, bring from above
   Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
   I in my Savior am happy and blest,
   Watching and waiting, looking above,
   Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

11 Ways for a Man to Keep Pure ~ Neil Kennedy

11 Ways for a Man to Keep Himself Pure

NEIL KENNEDY

Staying pure is a difficult challenge men face on a daily basis. 

When societies lose the directional parameters of purpose, they cast off all restraint. The 1960s sexual revolution ushered in a degrading of America's young people. Now, the first generation of men who grew up with unlimited access to pornography are suffering unexpected collateral damage—porn-induced erectile dysfunction.

Put aside the spiritual and moral argument for a moment and simply look at the psychological and emotional effects. Young men are reporting an incredible disconnect with the women they are physically intimate with. Rather than truly experiencing the moment with her, they admit to fantasizing about porn while they're personally with a young woman. They're mixing their virtual reality with reality. The result of such mental and emotional compounding is delusion.

The Max Planck Institute found actual evidence that pornography greatly impacts the brain. The more pornography men consumed, the smaller the brain striatum, which is the reward center of the brain.

Professor and author of Your Brain on Porn, Gary Wilson argues, "The result in some internet porn users is higher brain activation to internet porn, and less arousal to sex with a real person."

The evidence is clear. The more exposure to your eyes the less reaction in your flesh.

Job said, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman" (Job 31:1). Your relationship with your wife will never flourish if your eyes are not fixed upon her.

With unrestrained access to pornography, and semi-pornographic images blasted at us daily, how can a man keep himself pure? What's the answer? Do we put the burden on women? Cover them head to toe in black sheets? Veil their eyes?

A FivestarMan is gallant in his relationships with women. He treats an older woman as his own mother, peers as his own sister, and a younger woman, as his own daughter.

Solomon, a man who knew women far better than most, gives us powerful principles for keeping one's self pure:

1. Pay attention to wisdom (Proverbs 7:1-5). Wisdom is like a sister that gives you insider information about women. She says, "Listen, I'll protect you from an affair with an immoral woman and her deceptive flattery."

2. Keep your distance from seductive women (Proverbs 7:6-8). Sin requires proximity. Create boundaries.

3. Don't give an ear to seductive words (Proverbs 7:5). Don't allow a woman to whisper in your ear.

4. Go home after work (Proverbs 7:9). Men make bad decisions when they don't have direction.

5. Bounce your eyes from the brazen look (Proverbs 7:13). Follow the example of Job. Make a covenant, a spiritual promise, with your eyes to not look lustfully. We've all seen the guy who looks googly-eyed at a woman. Imagine if you saw a man looking that way at your wife or daughter. Don't be that guy!

6. Know the difference between lust and love (Proverbs 7:23). Lust is manic, obsessive, and uncontrolled desire to take something or someone. Lust takes while love gives. God is love—God is Holy; therefore, love must be holy. Contrary to popular culture, love is confined to righteousness established by God.

7. Honor another man's wife (Proverbs 7:19). We should practice a man-code. Job recognized that looking upon a woman lustfully opened the door for his wife to serve another man (Job 31:10).

8. Don't be persuaded (Proverbs 7:21). Seduction comes from flattery. Flattery is a type of witchcraft. It's a manipulation by deception.

9. Understand that impurity is a trap (Proverbs 7:22). Men often say, "I'm a grown man, I am free to do what I want." In reality, sexual sin is addictive and is a trap that enslaves men.

10. Remember that the immoral woman will embarrass you (Proverbs 7:26). You will be victimized. You're better than sexual sin. Your purpose is greater than fantasies.

11. Consider that the immoral woman will escort you to your death (Proverbs 7:27). There's nothing to gain in your life in the secret chambers of porn.

A man who stays within the parameters of his purpose doesn't have time for trivial pursuits. Take the energy and time that pornography demands and invest it into a real relationship and fulfill your purposes as an authentic man.

Keeping yourself pure is not easy, but the rewards of doing so are immeasurable. The sexual relationship with your wife will become a celebration of your lives together. Your physical connection will be more enjoyable. Your emotional connection will be passionate. Your spiritual communion will be ecstatic.

10 Things Visitors Want to See at Your Church ~ Greg Stier

10 Things Visitors Want to See at Your Church

By Greg Stier

It takes more than just smiling faces and handshakes.

As a “traveling evangelist,” I’ve had the privilege of preaching in churches from coast to coast. And until I have the microphone on over my ear, most people have no clue that I’ll be the preacher that day, so most treat me like a first-time visitor. Over the course of many years of visiting churches, I have had great experiences as a guest along with some not-so-great ones.
And lately, my trips to new churches have accelerated in my own city. I hate to use the term “church shopping,” but that’s what we’ve been doing as a family for the last several months. The church we’ve been attending as a family for several years is a great one, but it’s a 35-minute drive away. So my wife and I decided in September to start looking for a home church in the Arvada area. All the churches we have visited so far have been pretty good.
As a result of my visits to churches over the last several years and, with my family, over the last few months, I did notice some things about how first-time visitors must feel when they walk into a brand new church.
Speaking as a visitor, here are some suggestions I would give to pastors when it comes to creating a context that is just the right amount of welcoming.
1. Equip your parking lot team to wave us in with a smile.
The last church we visited was a true blessing. Although it was their very first service as a church, they seemed like old pros. The silver-haired parking attendant in the orange vest waved our car in, pointed to the space where we should park, and chatted it up with me and my family when we got out of the car. From square one we felt welcome.
2. Have people greet us at the door and offer to answer our questions.
It takes more than just smiling faces and handshakes. Walking into a new church with kids hanging on both arms can feel overwhelming. We don’t know where the kids go, where the bathrooms are or even where the church auditorium is. In most of these churches, I felt a bit like cattle, meandering toward the right meadow instead of gently being shepherded by the greeters to our proper destination.
A question like, “May I answer any questions for you?” could go a long way to making a wide-eyed family feel welcomed.
3. Put up dummy-proof signs that are easy to read and understand.
Just this last month, I was preaching at a church in Houston I had never been to before. From the time I pulled in I knew exactly where I should park. The signs were big, clear and designed for first time visitors.
Visiting a church creates a certain amount of tension, a low level angst if you will. Good signs, both inside and outside the church, help alleviate that a bit. The last thing you want to do visiting a new church is to screw it up by parking in the wrong space or walking in the wrong door or whatever.
4. Don’t point us out in the service.
Speaking of angst, when it comes to welcoming the visitors, my wife and I could feel the blood draining from our faces when we thought the announcement givers at these various churches were going to have us stand and recognize us as visitors (thank the Lord none of them ever did!). I don’t know whose idea it was to have visitors stand in a service to be “welcomed” in the first place, but, whoever you are, it was a bad idea. We don’t want to be pointed out. We don’t want to wear a special colored name tag. We just want to check your church out and talk to friendly people along the way who make us feel welcome.
5. Give the gospel clearly enough for us to understand and believe.
OK, OK, I have already put my faith in Jesus (along with the rest of my family), but I listened to every service with the ears of a lost person. I asked myself, “If I were to come to this service as an unbeliever, would I hear the gospel clearly enough to understand the gospel.” In most churches, there were brief overviews of the gospel, but I would say it was only in one church where the gospel was clearly and completely given in a way that unbelievers could easily understand and put their faith in Jesus. This doesn’t require an “altar call,” but it does require a call from the altar for unbelievers to put their trust in Jesus based on his finished work on the cross for the salvation of their souls.
6. Have a check-in system for kids that is hassle-free and quick.
Most of these churches we visited had a quick process for checking in our kids. Some were really quick. Others made us fill out semi-extensive information. Yes, I know this is a must for legal reasons, but I would encourage children’s ministries to make it as quick and painless as possible for newcomers.
Think about it. If it’s your first time at a church, you usually show up a few minutes before the service time is scheduled to start. But if it takes 10 minutes to check in your kids, you will miss the opening of the service and risk feeling like you are interrupting. All this can make visitors feel uneasy.
7. Beware of weird Christian things.
Over the years, I’ve witnessed a lot of weird Christian happenings in churches across America. And because I was new to most of these churches, I witnessed them from a visitor’s vantage point. I’ve seen leaping, leotard-clad, banner-waving dancers flood the aisles during worship. I literally had no idea what was taking place and could only imagine what an unbeliever would be thinking if it was their first time in church. More recently, I watched a lady awkwardly jerk and move (dancing?) across the back of the auditorium during the service. The people around me tried to ignore her but it was hard for us, as visitors, to look away. In other churches, I’ve heard incessant “ameners” who say “amen!” about anything and everything (even during announcements and at the parts of the sermon where a hearty amen doesn’t make sense!). I’ve heard church leaders close the service in prayer and go WAAAAAYYYYY long trying to impress the audience with their use of the old English language. Dost thou knowest what I meanest?
Beware of weird Christian things. I know we’re not of this earth, but we need to make sure that we’re not doing things in our services to perpetuate stereotypes that make Christians look needlessly kookie.
8. Give visitors a pass on the offering plate.
The last church we went to asked the visitors NOT to give anything in the offering plate except a completed information card (name, address, phone number, email, etc.). The pastor reassured the visitors that giving was for their regular attendees only. This gave us a pass when the offering went by. Another way some churches did this was by not passing the plate at all. Some had offering boxes at the exits that church members could put their gifts into on the way out of the service.
9. Don’t get too aggressive with the church follow-up emails.
OK, I know this can be a sensitive one because we definitely want to follow up with newcomers. But one church I visited literally was relentlessly sending me emails, almost daily! That’s way too much. Nobody wants spam from a church, either at their annual potluck or in their email box.
10. Call us after, ask about our experience at the church and invite us back.
Not one time at all my church visits was I ever called and invited back personally. That seems weird to me. In every church, we registered our kids and wrote down our names and phone numbers as first time visitors. But not one time were we called and followed up. A phone call is more personal than an email. A simple phone call would go a long way in making me think about coming back a second time.
Hopefully these 10 things will help you create a more welcoming church environment for first-time visitors.  

Greg Stier

Greg Stier is the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, which is mobilizing teenagers across America to share their faith.

Where Did God Come From?

Biker Believer ~ Jeff Larson

Nothing Between ~ Revelation of Hope Singers

NOTHING BETWEEN

1. Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
   Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
   I have renounced all sinful pleasure;
   Jesus is mine, there’s nothing between.
   • Refrain:
     Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
     So that His blessed face may be seen;
     Nothing preventing the least of His favor;
     Keep the way clear! Let nothing between.
2. Nothing between, like worldly pleasure;
   Habits of life, though harmless they seem,
   Must not my heart from Him ever sever;
   He is my all, there’s nothing between.
3. Nothing between, like pride or station;
   Self or friends shall not intervene;
   Though it may cost me much tribulation,
   I am resolved, there’s nothing between.
4. Nothing between, e’en many hard trials,
   Though the whole world against me convene;
   Watching with prayer and much self-denial,
   I’ll triumph at last, there’s nothing between.
5. ~Charles A. Tindley, 1905

The Unshakable Love of a Godly Husband ~ John MaCarthur

“Scripture is not describing love only as an emotion. This sort of love is active, voluntary, dynamic—something we do, not something we passively feel.”

Imagine how precarious your relationship with Christ would be if He only loved you when it was convenient for Him, or only when you were most attractive to Him. Everyone knows what it’s like to be loved imperfectly—and, if we’re honest, what it’s like to love someone else imperfectly.

Believers ought to be perpetually grateful that God’s love for us isn’t conditional, and that He loved us even while we rejected Him (Romans 5:8). In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote about God’s transcendent love for us in the midst of our rebellion.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. … Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-6)

So moments later, when Paul penned the instruction for husbands to love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25), he was not speaking about God’s love in vague terms. His original audience understood that he was not telling husbands to love their wives if the wives deserved it, or if the husbands felt like it.

He gave an absolute command. Biblical love is a willful commitment to self-sacrifice, and it is not at all based on how we might “feel” at any point about the object of our love.

Sacrificial Love

A husband who is unwilling to sacrifice for his wife does not even know what true love is. Those who regard their wives as servants under their sovereign headship haven’t begun to appreciate the true biblical pattern for marriage and family. Selfish husbands therefore will never know what it is to have a fulfilled marriage and family. True happiness in marriage is possible only to those who follow the divine pattern.

Properly understood, Ephesians 5:25 demands that the husband die to self. In effect, he is called to crucify himself for the sake of his wife. It’s not talking about some petty sacrifice, such as helping with the dishes now and then. It means the husband must devote his entire life—and quite literally even be willing to die—for the good of his wife.

Remember, genuine love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5). The man who is concerned only with getting what he can from marriage is sowing the seeds of destruction in his family. To love your wife as Christ loved the church is to be preoccupied with what you can do for her, not vice versa. After all, Christ loves us not for selfish gain, but because He is a gracious Lord who delights to bestow His favor on us.

Protective Love

The love of a godly man for his wife is not only sacrificial, it also safeguards her purity. Paul said Christ’s sacrifice for the church had this ultimate object in mind: to sanctify and cleanse her “that she would be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:26–27). Her purity was His primary concern.

Likewise, in marriage, it is every husband’s solemn duty to guard his wife’s purity. No one would ever deliberately defile someone he really loves. How could a loving husband ever delight in something that compromises the purity of the one he loves?

On the contrary, the husband who loves his wife as Christ loves the church will naturally hate anything that defiles her. He will guard her from anything and everything that might dishonor her, degrade her, demean her or tempt her to sin. He will never knowingly lead her into any kind of sin, but protect her against any threat to her virtue. He won’t deliberately provoke or exasperate her so that she succumbs to anger or any other temptation. And he himself will be an example of purity, knowing that whatever defiles him will ultimately defile her too.

Notice the primary way Christ maintains the purity of the church: “by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26). Husbands have a duty to ensure that their wives are regularly exposed to the cleansing and purifying effect of the Word of God. The husband is to be the spiritual leader and priestly guardian of the home. It is his duty to make sure the Word of God is at the center of the home and family. He ought to lead his family in participation in a church where the Word of God is revered and obeyed. And above all, he himself needs to be devoted to the Word of God and proficient enough in handling the Scriptures that he can be the true spiritual head in the marriage (cf.1 Corinthians 14:34–35).

Caring Love

Genuine love also involves tender care, and Paul expressed that idea this way: “Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:28). We take care of our bodies constantly—giving them whatever food, clothing, comfort, recreation, relaxation or rest they need. We’re attentive to our own bodies, concerned with their needs, sensitive and responsive to whatever they desire.

That is the kind of love Paul commanded husbands to show their wives. Notice, once again, Scripture is not describing love only as an emotion. This sort of love is active, voluntary, dynamic—something we do, not something we passively “feel.”

It’s only reasonable that a man would love his wife the way he loves his own body, because in marriage, “the two … become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31). That is the way God designed marriage. Paul was actually quoting fromGenesis 2:24, which describes how God first ordained marriage itself. It applies universally and it has been true from the beginning. Husbands ought to love their wives with the same care they give to their own bodies because, after all, the two are one flesh.

Enduring Love

Since the husband’s love for his wife pictures Christ’s love for the church, it must also be the kind of love that outlasts every trial and overcomes every obstacle. When Christ was questioned about divorce, He quoted the same verse Paul referenced from Genesis, then underscored the permanence of the union: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6).

Every marriage is consummated in an earthly sense by a physical union: “The two shall become one flesh.” Children conceived by that union will literally bear the genetic pattern of two people who have become one flesh. But marriage also involves a spiritual union. God is the one who joins husband and wife together. Marriage is the union of two souls knitted together in every aspect of life. Their emotions, intellects, personalities, desires and life goals are inextricably bound together.

Naturally, then, God also designed marriage to be a permanent union, unbroken and uncorrupted. The biblical terminology of Ephesians 5:31 stresses the permanence of the marriage union: “A man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife.” The word translated “be joined to” is a Greek term (proskolla) that literally speaks of gluing something together. It describes a permanent, unbreakable bond. That is an apt description of God’s ideal for marriage. It’s a union held together by lasting love that absolutely refuses to let go.

Christlike Love

Scripture is clear: God’s plan for the family begins with life-long monogamous marriage, which is grounded in sacrificial love. Why is this of such supreme importance? Paul gave the answer in Ephesians 5:32: “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” In other words, the husband’s love for his wife is a sacred duty because of what it illustrates.

Christ is the heavenly Bridegroom and the church is His bride (Revelation 19:7–8; 21:9). Because marriage pictures that union, the husband must be Christlike in his love for the wife, and she must be submissive to his headship. Otherwise, the divine object lesson is destroyed.

What higher motive could there be for a husband to love his wife? By loving her as Christ loved the church, he honors Christ in the most direct and graphic way. He becomes the embodiment of Christ’s love to his own wife, a living example to the rest of his family, a channel of blessing to his entire household and a powerful testimony to a watching world.

____________________

John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California

Trust God & Love People

Kippalive ~ From Israel

Ed's Note:  Wow...unusually good.  These Israeli's, Kippalive, sing a homeland song a capella.  The bible says they will never be removed from their land; ...Israel is to be theirs forever!  What do you think?

WATCH: The most beautiful song about the ingathering of the exiles

An a cappella band sings about their journey home to Israel – called “Aliyah” in Hebrew, meaning “Ascent”

Kippalive always put out awesome songs, but this one is on a whole other level. “We Are Home” is a remake of “500 Miles” by Hedy West.
Lyrics:
Left it all to be with you
Distant dreams have now come true
Walked the streets of legends told
We’ve come home

We’ve come home

We’ve come home
And we’ll never stand alone
After 2000 years, we are home

Not a native of this land
Bring me up and take my hand
Sapphire seas and golden sand
A place called home

We’ve come home
We’ve come home
To a land of our own
After 2000 years, we are home

זאת ארצי, מולדתי
על אדמתי צעדתי
עברי עתידי
זה ביתי

We’ve come home
We’ve come home
And we’ll never stand alone
After 2000 years, we are home

We’ve come home
We’ve come home
To a land of our own
After 2000 years, we are home
After 2000 years, we are home
We are home

What is the Jezebel spirit?

From: http://www.gotquestions.org/Jezebel-spirit.html

Q: What is the "Jezebel" Spirit?

Answer: There is a variety of opinions about what constitutes a Jezebel spirit, everything from sexual looseness in a woman to the teaching of false doctrine—by a man or a woman. The Bible does not mention a Jezebel spirit, although it has plenty to say about Jezebel herself.

Jezebel’s story is found in 1 and 2 Kings. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre/Sidon and priest of the cult of Baal, a cruel, sensuous and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel and led the nation into Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31). Ahab and Jezebel’s reign over Israel is one of the saddest chapters in the history of God’s people.

There are two incidents in the life of Jezebel that characterize her and may define what is meant by the “Jezebel spirit.” 

One trait is her obsessive passion for domineering and controlling others, especially in the spiritual realm. 

When she became queen, she began a relentless campaign to rid Israel of all evidences of Yahweh worship. She ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 13) and replaced their altars with those of Baal. Her strongest enemy was Elijah, who demanded a contest on Mount Carmel between the powers of Israel’s God and the powers of Jezebel and the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18). Of course, God won, but despite hearing of the miraculous powers of the Lord, Jezebel refused to repent and swore on her gods that she would pursue Elijah relentlessly and take his life. Her stubborn refusal to see and submit to the power of the living God would lead her to a hideous end (2 Kings 9:29–37).

The second incident involves a righteous man named Naboth who refused to sell to Ahab land adjoining the palace, rightly declaring that to sell his inheritance would be against the Lord’s command (1 Kings 21:3;Leviticus 25:23). While Ahab sulked and fumed on his bed, Jezebel taunted and ridiculed him for his weakness, then proceeded to have the innocent Naboth framed and stoned to death. Naboth’s sons were also stoned to death, so there would be no heirs, and the land would revert to the possession of the king. 

Such a single-minded determination to have one’s way, no matter who is destroyed in the process, is a characteristic of the Jezebel spirit.
So infamous was Jezebel’s sexual immorality and idol worship that the Lord Jesus Himself refers to her in a warning to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29). Most likely referring to a woman in the church who influenced it the same way Jezebel influenced Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus declares to the Thyatirans that she is not to be tolerated. Whoever this woman was, like Jezebel, she refused to repent of her immorality and her false teaching, and her fate was sealed. The Lord Jesus cast her onto a sick bed, along with those who committed idolatry with her. The end for those who succumb to a Jezebel spirit is always death and destruction, both in the physical and the spiritual sense.

Perhaps the best way to define the Jezebel spirit is to say it characterizes anyone who acts in the same manner as Jezebel did, engaging in immorality, idolatry, false teaching and unrepentant sin. To go beyond that to describe the Spirit of Jezebel,  is to engage in conjecture and can possibly lead to false accusations and divisiveness within the body of Christ.

Personalizing the WORD! ~ Joe McKeever

“Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

“Whosoever surely meaneth me.”  —Gospel song by James E. McConnell, 1910.   

“He included me.”  —Gospel song by Johnson Oatman. 1909.

Personalizing ....?

Every Christian I know does this, and I do it too. And yet there seems to be no easy explanation for it.

In Scripture, we will be reading where God is telling Israel how much He loves them, how He has loved them from the first, how His love is endless and that He has big plans for them, and what do we do? We copy off those words and plaster them around the house, memorize them and write them into songs of inspiration. We put them on bumper stickers and coffee mugs and t-shirts, and we build sermons around them.

We revel in those words.

We do this not because we are so impressed by God’s love of Israel nor touched by their closeness. We do it for another overwhelming reason.

We insert ourselves into the story.

We interpret that Scripture as God saying He loves us that much.

And I find that truly astounding.

Untold numbers of Christians claim as their own personal word from Heaven something God said to Israel in Babylonian exile, something meant both to rebuke their presumptions and calm their anxieties. “I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord. Plans for your shalom and not for destruction, to give you a future and a hope.” You love Jeremiah 29:11 the same way the rest of us do.

It’s a great promise, unlike anything else in all the Bible.

How did we come to this, appropriating to ourselves a promise made to another people in an ancient time and a foreign culture? Jeremiah lived in the 6th century B.C., and yet his words may as well be published in this morning’sNew Orleans Advocate or delivered in today’s mail.

The text that awakened me two hours ago was given about the same time to those people needing reassurance that God was not finished with them yet. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Then, there is this from Isaiah 43:1, delivered nearly two centuries earlier: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name and you are Mine.” 

God’s people today read that and conclude He is talking to us in so many words.

And He is.

That’s the amazing thing about it.

And we have this: “Do not fear for I am with you; do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you. I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Was God speaking to His people in the 8th century B.C., a people called Hebrews, or to His people called Christians in A.D. 2015?

We answer with a hearty, “Yes! Both!”

As young Christians, we were told that in reading John 3:16 we should insert our own names, making it read, “For God so loved (my name), He gave His only begotten Son, that if (my name) believeth in Him, (my name) should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The logical question—the one no one ever seems to ask—is how is it that we appropriate these promises to ourselves? How did this happen?

Are we being presumptuous? After all …

… We don’t read the love letters of Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd and come away with a warm glow, singing about how “Abe loves me; this I know for his letters tell me so.”

… We don’t read Napoleon’s letters to Josephine, Washington’s letters to Martha Custis, or for that matter Harry Truman’s letters to Bess Wallace, and come away inspired that Bonaparte or George or Harry loves us. We read them as history and little else.

So, how did this happen?

Can our faith in Christ and our relationship with His Scriptures withstand a little analysis?

Have we made an overwhelming assumption here, that what God said to one group He says to all? Or at the very least, that what He said to one group of the faithful applies also to the next?

Is there a preacher on the planet who has not sermonized on 2 Chronicles 7:14 as applying to God’s people today? “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

King Solomon said the Lord appeared to him at night and told him this, among other things, during the days of consecration of the new temple. The words were addressed to Israel in the Promised Land.

So, how and when did we decide this applies to us?

Are we reading other people’s mail and calling it ours?

Taking verses out of context seems to be the national pastime for God’s children today.

To some, that is the cardinal sin. To them, context is everything.

And yet, they are mistaken.

Context is not everything.

What a scripture writer (“holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Spirit” —2 Peter 1:21) understood by the words he declared may have little connection with what God was saying, then or now.

The prophets frequently said more than they knew.

Listen to this. “The prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. … It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you concerning things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things” (I Peter 1:10-12).

Don’t ask those prophets what their words meant. And—buckle your seatbelt!—neither should you ask the angels. They don’t know either.

“God having provided some better thing for us” is how the writer of Hebrews puts it in 11:40.

God intended it this way.

When Matthew repeated Isaiah 7:14’s remarkable words about how “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they will call His name Immanuel” in his gospel (1:23), he did not feel bound to what the Old Testament prophet understood by that. In context, Isaiah is rebuking a wicked king for his lack of faith and obedience.

Frankly, the rest of Isaiah chapter 7 is of little interest to anyone but seminary professors and Bible students with a love for history. Isaiah 7:14 is a golden nugget in an otherwise unremarkable field. (Matthew 13:44 comes to mind.)

This is for us, as well as God’s people through the ages.

We are not being presumptuous when we respond to Scripture with faith and love.

He knows my name. He loved me before the world began. Jesus died for me.

The Gospel may as well have come special delivery from Heaven with my name on the cover and requiring my signature at the front door.

It’s that personal. It’s that wonderful.

“He includeth me” is the title of a well-loved gospel song from an earlier time. One verse goes: “‘Freely come drink,’ words the soul to thrill. O, with what joy they my heart do fill! For when He said ‘Whosoever will,’ Jesus included me, too.”

The morning after my brother Charlie prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior, I found him lying up in bed waist-deep in the book of Revelation. He said, “Now that I’ve gotten in on this, I want to see what’s going to happen!”

I’m in on this.

I’m all in.

This is the family story.

When we read the Holy Scriptures, properly instructed by the Holy Spirit, we are reading mail from home.

No wonder we get all teary-eyed and take it to heart.

Letters from home will do that to a person.  

Understanding Today's Youth ~ Paul Robertson, Youth Specialist

Related: Understanding "TEENS & SEX" ~ Paul Robertson

Ed's Note:  I recently (May 2016) attended one of sixteen parenting seminars (by that I mean that there are 16 in the series) taught by Paul Robertson, a christian Evangelical and Youth Worker.


One of Paul's seminars describes teens this way: 

"Everyone knows teenagers are perplexing, fascinating, and energetic creatures. What confounds most adults is what is going on in their brains. There is no doubt how a teen thinks and acts is still a work in progress.  They may look like adults but their brains are still very much adolescent."

The session I attended was titled, "Understanding Their World, Hearing Their Cries".   Paul is from the Toronto area and travels around North America helping parent's understand the Youth of Today.  Paul bills himself as a Youth Culture Specialist  and he's been doing this work for over 40 years, 33 years of which were spent with Youth Unlimited.
See Paul's bio.

His website introduces his passion for helping understand youth:

"If you're over 25, you can't understand what it means to be a teenager today...  You can't understand it because they can't either.  No boundaries. No families. No innocence. No truth.  No time to be a kid."  ~Paul Robertson  ~ from http://paulrobertson.ca/main.html

Paul is constantly in-touch with researchers who assist him in updating his material so that it remains relavant and thus allows us accurate information.

I want to share my seminar notes with you, as much of it came as new information to me and is a gateway to a world that I know little of, or should I say not as much as I'd like to know. As I enter my 60th year, so much of today's world is so different to that of mine so many years ago when I began school in 1962.  If you are experiencing difficulty in relating to your teen, a visit to one of Paul's seminars may be quite valuable to you. Learning strategic interactions with your teens is necessary to assist them getting back on track after a train wreck or better yet learning preventable strategies that will help both of you before the train leaves the track.

At the seminar, Paul asked each of us to sign-up for a free newsletter at:  http://www.cpyu.org/
This is an organization that Paul recommends and works with.

This is the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding , PO Box 414 , Elizabethtown, PA 17022
CPYU is all about "Helping Parents, Youth Workers, Educators, Pastors and others understand and reach today's youth culture"

~ regards, St Mark
________________________________

Understanding Their World, Hearing Their Cries 
(Notes from: Paul Robertson)

• Surprisingly perhaps, yet to bring his starting points to the forefront in the least amount of time, Paul started out his presentation with an example of how today's youth are being manipulated and bombarded by the media.  He showed us an ad that appeared in the popular youth culture "Seventeen" magazine and then we discussed the techniques & message that this (representative) company,"Amethyst Jeans" was using in marketing their product and the message they were sending to teens. 

  


The Power of a Picture:

Media/Ads/Marketing

• While I couldn't find the exact Amethyst Jeans ad online that we actually used in our discussion, the above ads I did find are virtually similar in context & purpose. Carefully look at this picture for a moment and see if you can spot the "lies".   This company is selling products (so they think) that will make you the life of the party, give you the perfect butt, and you will be happy, instantly attractive, successful and desired by all; especially to those of the opposite sex.  Happiness is just a purchase away.  These ads recognize disappointment in who you think you look like and seek to sell you "salvation" by showing you how you can look....if you buy their product. The messages are subtle and seek to identify with youth, thereby drawing them in. Notice the subtle "hand-placement" of the youth's hands in the background people.  The ads are bombarding our kids and convincing them to fork over $80 (plus) to revelutionize your life???  
• Happiness is just a purchase away!  (hmmm really?)
• Ads can lead our youth along
• Ads sell "disappointment" with who you are.
• narciscism = "It's All About You"

• When we start seeing through our eyes devoid of a conscience or moral absolute, we reconstruct and reconfigure reality to fit our own desire.  This is a dangerous phenomenon in our time.   ~ Ravi Zacharias, Christian Apologist

Hearing Their Cries

1. The Cry of the Changing Family

• Divorce: in the 1970's, divorce really started to take-off.  Children NEVER recover from DIVORCE!
• ANGER is carried into Adulthood.
• Almost 45% of new marriages fail, BUT that is not the only problem, because WAY LESS people actually get married today (by choosing to co-habitat/shack-up); so when you say 45% of new marriages fail it masks the huge relationship problems we are discussing.
• so lets discuss it another way; 80% of homes are headed up by Single Moms!!! 
• (FATHER/DAD is MISSING!!!)

Really the "Cry of the Changing Family" is the Cry for RELATIONSHIPS!

Our Response:

1. Give them BOUNDARIES.  Paul Robertson told the story of Goldy.  Goldy was a goldfish that he purchased at the local pet store for an object lesson.  Paul brought Goldy to a high-school assembly of hundreds of kids, placed a white table-cloth on a small table, then put Goldy and his fish-bowl on that table.  He announced to the assemby of teens, that he was going to "set Goldy free"....he would be free of man-made fences, free of his silly bowl, free of all rules & finally free of the things in his world that have been restraining him from who he felt he really was.  With that announcement, Paul then reached into the goldfish bowl, grabbed Goldy and tossed him flopping onto the white tablecloth.  The girls gasped in horror; the boys howled in laughter while Goldy flopped around helplessly. Paul just stood there with a blank expression, plainly showing in his object lesson the value of boundaries.  (He claims finally enough was enough and actually tossed Goldy safely back into the bowl when he felt he'd pressed his point with the teen crowd).  Lesson learned: Give your teens BOUNDARIES that they need.
2. Give them (Youth) your UNCONDITIONAL LOVE (We're still there for them when they "blow-it").
3. Give them Your TIME.  (Put your phone away - Open up your schedule; Remember no tombstones say "wish I'd spend more time at the Office!").
4. Give them your ATTENTION.  (Be emotionally connected; -i.e. get involved/connect in their hobbies & interests/sports! ; Spend time with them/Eat together often!) Studies show that kids who have 5 meals/per week with family do much better in life!
5. Give them CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE. (Not Punishment!  Why not Punishment?  ...Because DISCIPLINE BUILDS CHARACTER!!!)
6. Give them TWO LISTENING EARS.
7. Give them your WILLINGNESS TO ADMIT YOUR FAULTS
8. Give them a SPIRITUAL HERITAGE!

2.  The Cry of Media Influence

“The top 4 Most Influential Social Institutions Influencing Youth by Decades”

1960’s	1980’s	2000 to present
Family School Friends Church	Friends Family Media School	*Media Friends Family School

·         So lets go back to our opening points.  Those ads that your teen is being hit with in a big way in the various media have had a huge influence on him/her!   The lifestyle that is portrayed in the  ads equally influence our teens.

·         Note:  So perhaps you think, “ Yes, but my teens go to church and this is an enormous difference compared to other teens, right?”; While “church” is indeed important, Be careful with how much weight you put into that thought,  In this basic study, you will see that “Church” drops out as “not-significant” from this list in the 1980’s.

Really the "Cry of Media Influence is really the cry For Understanding and Direction!  So...

Our Response:

1. Everything you hear and see has to be EVALUATED!
2. AVOID EXTREMES
3. Examine yourself - Pray & be an EXAMPLE
4. Become a CULTURAL COMMANDO ~ Understand & Take charge of the Culture and how it affects your family!
5. Be Proactive with your kids! Watch & Listen together ~ Play "Find the Lie".  Teach them how they are being manipulated in their thinking (Show & discuss the lies in the ads we talked about earlier in these notes)
6. Develop Media Guidelines ~ LEARN TO SAY "NO" To your kids.
7. Have Patience!  ~ this is a process ~ You will win some battles; You will lose some battles ~ Your job is to win the war.

3. The Cry of Postmodern Moral Relativism

• Today's teen culture believes now that there are no rules & no boundaries...including physically!
• Paul Robertson quote:  "Today's so-called First-Base is deep kissing, (now known as tonsil-hockey) plus groping and fondling "this & that!, if you know what I mean"; Second-Base is oral sex; Third base is going all the way; Home-Plate is learning each other's names" 
• Tom Wolfe's book "Hooking-Up" is recommended reading to learn more about teen culture in this regard.
• Narciscism = "It's All About You"
• Before 1960, there were zero teen suicides in Canada.
• In the 1960's ...Photo's were Black & White; TV was Black and White; Morality was Black and White!
• #1 issue today is "Anxiety & Stress" in our schools.
• When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. ~ Psalms 75:3

Our Response:

1. Live an authentic Christian life IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN - It begins with YOU!
2. Use ALL OF LIFE TO TEACH TRUTH to your kids. (Deuteronomy 6 ~  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.)
3. Talk to them ABOUT SEXUALITY AND MORALITY; Studies show that only a third of christian parents talk about sex.
4. Help them to SEE PAST THEIR FEELINGS.
5. For their Career & Future, Encourage them to HAVE A DREAM BASED ON THEIR GIFTING. In their career path, Encourage them to do what they are passionate about and good at.
6. BE THE GATEKEEPERS OF THEIR HEARTS and MINDS when it comes to MEDIA.
7. Go To cpyu.org & sign up for the Newsletter (Bottom of page).