Search Results

“Sid, come to my office. We need to talk.” As Sid sat there wondering what was happening, the school official said, “Sid, I really like you. I believe in you. Yet, your grades aren’t cutting it here. You know it and I know it. Here is the good news. People with your character and values go on to be the CEOs of the straight A students. Yes, I am kicking you out of this college. Good luck.” Here is the irony to Sid’s story. Sid is now one of the largest donors to that school. He ended up being that CEO. In fact, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. It wasn’t his grades that made him successful. It was what his parents put into him as a kid while he was in school that made him successful. 1: Read, read, read and when in doubt, read to your kids. Successful is… Sid was asked to leave his school because of his low grades. But he was a success because his parents taught him a love of learning and good life skills. A successful student isn’t defined by the grades on their report card. A successful student is one that: enjoys learning, is self-motivated, and connects the dots about others, like gratitude. Learning is a life-long journey. Life skills out-perform good grades. Reading is the Building Block Want to be an Attorney? You will have to read a lot. Want to be a Doctor, an Engineer, an Actor, or a Salesman? You will have to read a lot to be successful in your career. As my friend, Jeff Brown of Read to Lead, says, “Readers Lead and Leaders Read.” If you want to succeed above and beyond, reading is necessary. Encourage Reading by Reading Andrea’s favorite afternoon activity with her young children was to read a book for 20 minutes as she fell asleep on the coach. The kids joke that mom would read and start to slur her words as she fell asleep. The point is that Andrea made a routine to always find time to read, no matter how tired. Andrea would let the kids decide which books they wanted to read. (For full disclosure, the book, “Go, Dog, Go” was accidentally left outside during a thunderstorm and ruined, so she didn’t have to read it anymore.) When teaching reading to the kids, let them struggle and do it themselves. It will drive you crazy at times to help them with the word “that” for the 10,000th time their reading skills will grow much faster. When your child reads to you, overlook the mispronounced words. They will eventually get it. Better they believe they can read and enjoy the experience at a young age. Support Creativity by being Creative Crayons are cheap. Paper is cheap. Creativity is priceless. Give your kids lots of object to be creative with. Our kids love using the toilet paper rolls for all sorts of creative projects. It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive for it to be fun to your kids. Your response to their projects is important to encourage them to explore more. Hanging the project on the wall or refrigerator is way more important than a perfect looking home. The tablet and phone will grab your children’s attention if this is what you grab first to entertain your kids. Grab crayons and craft paper first. Dream with your kids and watch them take off. Action Steps Find a time and create a habit to read to your young kids. Define a successful student as someone that loves reading and learning. Let them choose books that they want to read. Encourage them to practice reading and let them struggle through the words. Get crayons and craft items for your kids to create works of art. Parenting Tip/ Pocket Answer Readers will flourish. 2. Don’t buy a ticket to the Homework Dog and Pony Show How often did Dr. Leman help his kids with their homework? How often did Dr. Leman ask his kids if they finished their homework? His answers make sense, but do they really work? Find out in this episode. Dr. Kevin Leman never asked if his kids finished their homework. He keeps the tennis ball of life on their side of the court. So, they learn to be responsible for their own work. 1. It is their life and it is their homework, not yours. Let the teacher be the authority to get the work done. Your children will learn that they will be responsible for their work by others than mom and dad. When the report card comes home, Dr. Leman recommends saying to your kids, “I have a hard time understanding why, they send me YOUR report card. This is your report card. How do you feel about this report card?” I’ll never know if my kids are doing good or bad in school, if I don’t ask. Your kids want you to be engaged in their life. They will volunteer information about their school work. Your job is to show interest in their work. If they volunteer information, be positive and keep it their homework. Feel free to call the teacher and ask how you can help support the teacher to insure his school work gets done. What do I do if their grades are poor? The next time, they want to do or go somewhere, say, “Nope, we need to have this conversation about your grades. Within 4 years, a person will look at your grades from High School and will make inferences about you from those grades. If those grades are poor, they won’t want to accept you into college or a job. Are you happy with those grades? What do we need to do to get them up?” 2. School first, play second. Set the school first culture early. Get your child their own special spot to study. Set it up with their favorite pencil, good lighting and their touch. Set a specific time that homework starts, like 4 pm. This gives your kids the routine that I have my place, my stuff and a set time that school work gets done. Give your kid some time to play or decompress when the first get home from school, then encourage them to go to their spot and do their school work. Early on and later, put up their “work” on the frig. Show off their homework. 3. Don’t load the wagon so full. Make sure your child has enough time for the important things of life as well as the extra activities. Does your child have time to simply enjoy life? Does your child have time for his friends to come over? Does your child have enough time to get his school work done? Be pro-active in evaluating what does on the family wagon, so you kid’s can do the important things. Summation of podcasts by Dr. Leman. Used by permission. www.birthorderguy.com/podcast/046-3-no-brainer-ideas-to-make-your-child-a-successful-student/

Me. Myself. And I. The three people we tend to care about the most in western civilization. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the sickness of self-absorption has infected all of humanity, but it has particularly affected segments of the population that have adopted cultural values that revolve around the preservation of personal happiness. We are narcissists. In their book, The Narcissism Epidemic, psychologists Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell explore the rise of narcissism in American culture… Understanding the narcissism epidemic is important because its long-term consequences are destructive to society. American culture’s focus on self-admiration has caused a flight from reality to the land of grandiose fantasy. We have phony rich people (with interest-only mortgages and piles of debt), phony beauty (with plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures), phony athletes (with performance-enhancing drugs), phony celebrities (via reality TV and YouTube), phony genius students (with grade inflation), a phony national economy (with $18 trillion of government debt), phony feelings of being special among children (with parenting and education focused on self-esteem), and phony friends (with the social networking explosion). All this fantasy might feel good, but, unfortunately, reality always wins. The mortgage meltdown and the resulting financial crisis are just one demonstration of how inflated desires eventually crash to earth. So how do you know when you’re a carrier of this deadly disease? Well, first of all, you are. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.– I saiah 53:7 NLT Obviously, some of us are affected by the narcissism more than others. There are plenty of people in our society who commit selfless acts of kindness on a daily basis and even heroic self-sacrificing deeds on occasion. We support causes, give to charity, and try to protect the people we love. But on the whole, we’re still highly concerned with protecting and providing for ourselves above anyone else. Thankfully, narcissism is a disease with a cure. But few people will discover the antidote and among those who hear about its healing power will be willing to swallow it entirely, having counted the cost of doing so. The cure for our narcissism epidemic is found in the cross. Jesus put it this way: Jesus told his disciples, “The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.” Then Jesus said to all the people: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? Luke 9:22-25 CEV Practice self-forgetfulness. Take up your cross. Daily. Follow Jesus. That’s it. Stop focusing on your own wants and desires above all others and instead, embrace your cross on a daily basis and follow the example of Jesus in every possible way. And what does it mean to take up your cross? Well, it’s not about trying harder, doing better, or improving self. That’s all junk that came from our narcissism to begin with. Taking up our cross is a choice we must consciously make, but the cross we bear isn’t ours to choose. Just as Jesus submitted himself to every single detail of the painful plan of God for his life down to the last drop of blood he spilled on the cross, so we must choose to recognize that God himself is the very center of our universe and His will supersedes ours in every way. Whether life or death, happiness or suffering, taking up our cross involves us saying, as Jesus did in the garden on the eve of his death, “whatever you will, God.” Think of it this way. You don’t fly to Chicago. You can try, but your arms will get rather tired. What you can do is decide to get on the plane and allow yourself to go where the pilot takes you. Furthermore, the choice to take up our cross and follow Jesus is both a one-time decision as well as a daily series of decisions. I’m still learning to follow Him. I’m still fighting the remaining effects of the disease of narcissism. Thankfully, when I fail, I get to fall on the inexhaustible grace of God, look back to Jesus, and start following him again. The antidote is within reach. It’s free for the taking. Salvation is a gift from the Father of the One who died to make our redemption possible. Re-printed from www.brandoncox.com. Visit www.gracehillschurch.com.

Guest Author: Dr. Faydra Shapiro Introductions are funny things – sometimes it’s what is unsaid, what is assumed, that can tell you the most. Several years ago I gave a talk at a church in North America about Israel and Jewish-Christian relations. The listeners were very encouraging and as the talk drew to a close I felt I had really done a superb job of teaching and inspiring the audience. Until the moment when one elderly gentleman stood up to ask me a question. He said: “Thank you very much, Dr. Shapiro. That was a great talk. But one thing you didn’t really speak about was the role of your faith in Jesus Christ”. “Oh, dear”, I thought, my heart sinking. Clearly I had done a brilliant job, but I had missed an essential point. Since that day I take the time to state it plainly and for the record: I am a Jew. Admittedly a Jew with an out-of-the-ordinary interest in Christianity and the New Testament, but still, simply, an “Orthodox” Jew. That doesn’t necessarily matter much, but it’s always useful to know where a person is coming from. Today I want to discuss an issue that comes up often in my conversations with Christian – almost always evangelical – friends and students. This is the matter of “having a relationship with God”, and the belief that this is one of the benefits of the Jesus path. While I do recognize that the whole rhetoric of “relationship not religion” is a product of 1970s popular American evangelicalism, it is an attiude that has important implications even if it might not be mobilized by many Christians. Now again, let’s pay attention to the unsaid. Having a relationship with God as opposed to what? The other (clearly undesirable) option is “religion”. So with Jesus one can ostensibly have something true and immediate – a personal relationship with God, whereas Jews only have “religion”. Let’s unpack this a little. “Relationship” is understood to refer to something intimate, experiential, mystical, personal, friendly, deep, spiritual. “Religion” is ascribed the associations of being rule-oriented, man-made, legalistic, formal, distanced and superficial. Given these resonances, clearly having a relationship is something desirable whereas religion is something to progress past. And it is not uncommon for Christian readings of the gospels to assume precisely this – that what Jesus offered people was a personal (intimate, deep) relationship with God specifically in distinction to the Jews who only offered (formal, sterile) religion. You can imagine the impact that this kind of slogan has for Christian understandings of Judaism. It’s also interesting how this emphasis resonates with the current wave of people who insist that they are “spiritual, not religious.” The fact is that Judaism takes the idea of the individual’s relationship with God very seriously. It is obvious to Jews that both fear of God and love of God are important, and that emphasizing one over the over leads to an unhealthy imbalance. But the Jewish love of God and personal relationship with Him ends up looking quite different than that of contemporary evangelical Christianity for several reasons. First, most Jews find popular evangelical lyrics and expressions like “My Saviour, my closest friend” and “Jesus take the wheel” to be far too casually intimate with the Holy One Blessed be He, to be comfortable. The concern is that this approach casts the sovereign, powerful, Master of the Universe into a being dangerously much like ourselves. Second, Jews believe that doing His will is the highest expression of love, gratitude and clinging to God. In short, good relationships are expressed in action. Because performing mitzvoth (commandments) often looks so foreign to outsiders, it is very difficult for Christians to recognize things like keeping the dietary laws or Sabbath observance for what it is supposed to be – a declaration of love for God. I believe that the ideal for both Judaism and Christianity is a balance and an integration of heart and hands, relationship and religion, informal and formal, spontaneous and fixed. Our challenge is to look for the unseen behind the slogan, and behind our assumptions – to learn to see the “spiritual” in Judaism and the role of “practice” or “holy living” in Christianity. Soon Jews around the world will be marking the holiest day of the year – yom kippur (the Day of Atonement). It is a powerful day, dedicated to intensive prayer and fasting, with some of the most profound and moving liturgy of the Jewish tradition. Several times on that awesome day we will describe our relationship to God with these words: For we are your people, and you are our God. We are your children, and you are our Father. We are your servants, and you are our Lord. We are your community, and you are our Portion. We are your heritage, and you are our Lot. We are your flock, and you are our Shepherd. We are your vineyard, and you are our Keeper. We are your work, and you are our Maker. We are your companions, and you are our Beloved. We are your treasure, and you are our Friend. We are your people, and you are our King. We are your betrothed, and you are our Betrothed. From www.eteacherbiblical.com

Why do kids lie? They start early. It’s hard to trust again after a child has started habitually lying. How can you be sure he won’t lie again? How do you break him of the habit? Because once he starts, it’ll only get worse. If you’ve got a child who’s started lying, here are some things you may want to know. Kids lie for two basic reasons. One is for wish fulfillment . Some kids will come home and tell you they scored three goals in soccer…and then you find out they didn’t play at all. The second is out of fear . “Did you break that vase?” you demand. “No, I didn’t do it! Little Joey did it!” your seven-year-old claims. Most children lie out of fear. in order for there to be a relationship between two human beings, it must be based on trust otherwise the lying will become a mountain and get between them. So if your child lies to you, he needs to be caught in that lie and told that lying is not acceptable. There also needs to be a second consequence for lying. Let’s say that, a couple days later, your child says something like, “Can I go next door and play with Ronnie?” Your answer needs to be a matter-of-fact “No.” “Buy why?” your child asks. “You always let me go.” Now’s the teachable moment. “Honey, I don’t have any assurance that you’re going to be where you said you’ll be. Remember Wednesday night, when you told me you were going to be at Susan’s—and you weren’t?” Do you beat the kid over the head with the lie? No. Don’t drag it out long term. But saying something like that two or three times makes a memorable impression on a child that lying isn’t what you do. It doesn’t gain you anything, and it breaks down trust between the two of you. Children need to see and feel that immediate result. Remember the age old admonition: “You won’t get in trouble if you tell me the truth.” That needs to be true of your family. If your child tells the truth she can know that you’re unhappy, but she should not be punished for telling the truth. In those situations, you’ll need to think carefully before you open your mouth. How you respond to such a situation directly relates to how comfortable your child is in telling you the truth. Kids can be as dumb as mud and will do stupid things, but if they own up to them and say they’re sorry, they need to know that life will go on and you won’t beat them over the head for years for their mistake. Lastly, parents too have to be careful about their own lies; even those pesky little white lies are still lies. If you say to your child, “If someone from work calls, I’m not here,” and it’s not the truth, your child is smart enough to know it. And then your kid thinks, If it’s okay for you to lie, it’s okay for me to lie. Don’t forget, if you value honesty, you must also model it for your children. And that goes for any bit of character you’d like to see develop in your child For more on raising kids, Have a New Kid by Friday is a valuable resource! Purchase Have a New Kid by Friday HERE . – See more at: www.birthorderguy.com/parenting/liar-liar-pants-on-fire/

As a parent, have you ever had the feeling society is working against you in raising your children – particularly in regard to sexual matters? If you have, you might just be right. Let me begin by setting the stage with information from the 2014 National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Survey which no doubt supports your desire for the very best for your children. The survey found: · Tremendous support among young adults (18 to 24-year-olds) for waiting longer to have sex. · Virginity is widely accepted and respected among young men and women, including those who have already had sex. · Pressure to have sex is common, but the pressure comes more from within than from others. · Many young adults want the media to show more and varied portrayals of those not having sex and they want the media to improve the way they portray young adults’ sex lives. The survey also found: · Most teenagers have not had sex. · Most sexually active teens wish they had waited. · Most young adults think it would help teenagers wait longer if they knew most of their peers are virgins. Note: All Aim For Success abstinence programs conclude with the following statement… MOST TEENAGERS HAVE NOT HAD SEX! BUT NOW . . . The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is encouraging pediatricians across the county and anyone else who will listen, to consider LARC as America’s first line of defense against teen pregnancy. If AAP has its way, the use of birth control pills and condoms for reducing teen pregnancies will soon be a thing of the past. So what is LARC ? It stands for Long-Acting Reversible Contraception which includes IUDs and Implants . Both provide a high degree of protection from pregnancy for up to three to ten years. Ironically, up until recently, IUDs were not considered safe for teenage girls, but now they are being touted as: Easy and Invisible Nothing to Remember Freedom for Girls Get It and Forget It Never Interrupt the Heat of Passion Again! In the September 24, 2014 issue of Pediatrics, AAP provided pediatricians with an eight page policy statement, Contraception for Adolescents, as a means to promote LARC and an instruction manual on how to talk to teenage patients about protecting themselves while having sex. The following is the information on avoiding sexual activity: “Counseling about abstinence and postponement of sexual intercourse is an important aspect of adolescent sexual health care. Abstinence is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy and STIs and is an important part of contraceptive counseling. Adolescents should be encouraged to delay sexual onset until they are ready.” The remainder of the eight page policy is devoted to instructing pediatricians about the various forms of contraception along with details on how to work around those pesky parents who might interfere with their Child’s Confidentiality Rights . (Note: The policy states, “In the setting of contraception and sexual health care, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that policies supporting adolescent consent and protecting adolescent confidentiality are in the best interests of adolescents.”) This approach might be beneficial in lowering teen pregnancies in those teens with no parental involvement or support. But let’s face it, in your home where you are trying daily to help your children learn to make good decisions and build strong character in order to achieve the most from their lives, the ability to go behind your back under Child Confidentiality Rights and provide a message contrary to your values is anything but helpful. However, for those whose ultimate goal is to prevent teen pregnancy, this must seem like the long awaited silver bullet. But here’s a question to consider: With the Nothing to Remember mentality and the ability to circumvent parental involvement in issues pertaining to sexual health – what are the odds of a teenage girl returning to the doctor every year to get tested for STIs? Considering about half of the 20 million new STIs in America each year are contracted by 15 to 24 year olds and the fact that teenage girls are far more susceptible to STIs than anyone else, shouldn’t there be serious concerns about an upcoming rise in the teen STI epidemic? It’s also important to remember the only way to prevent STIs is for two people to remain faithfully committed to each other for life. However, the terms – “marriage”, “lifetime partner” or even “long-term relationship” are not a part the AAP’s policy. They do, however, explain that latex condoms reduce STI transmission. But then they go on to state, “Condoms require commitment at every sex act which tends to drop off over time.” If the concern of STIs is included in the equation of IUDs, and IUDs provide no protection against STIs, then the silver bullet is looking rather tarnished. The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) – not to be confused with AAP – weighed in on the controversy with the following statement: “Even when contraception is used, early sexual debut has been associated with negative consequences including multiple sexual partners, sexually transmitted infections, increased likelihood of psychological injury (feelings of regret, depression, suicidal attempts), greater substance abuse, and lower academic achievement. Delaying sexual activity, ideally until marriage, has been associated with improved emotional and physical health, higher achievement and a more stable marriage.” Dr. Den Trumbull, president of the American College of Pediatricians, went on to state, “Our primary message to adolescent patients must not be contraception, but rather the tremendous physical, psychological and even future marital benefits in delaying all sexual activity until after marriage. Anything less is a compromise.” We at Aim For Success believe your children consist of far more than a body filled with raging hormones. They have a brain, abilities and the potential for a bright future. They also have the ability to develop self-control, self-respect and self-discipline. The AAPs mentality of “not having sex until you’re ready” is nothing more than allowing hormones to dictate the outcome of your child’s life and hoping for the best. Aim For Success is committed to empowering teenagers to build strong character and to save themselves for one lifetime partner inside marriage. This lifestyle provides freedom from pregnancy before marriage, STIs and painful memories. It also paves the way for the freedom to enjoy fulfilled dreams and goals. All parents would be wise to have a conversation with your children’s health care provider to make sure your family values are not being compromised when the doctor closes the door and leaves you sitting outside. So with all this said, do me a big favor – keep reminding your teenagers of the previously mentioned survey that found: · Tremendous support among young adults (18 to 24-year-olds) for waiting longer to have sex. · Virginity is widely accepted and respected among young men and women, including those who have already had sex. · Pressure to have sex is common, but the pressure comes more from within than from others. · Many young adults want the media to show more and varied portrayals of those not having sex and they want the media to improve the way they portray young adults’ sex lives. The survey also found: · Most teenagers have not had sex. · Most sexually active teens wish they had waited. · Most young adults think it would help teenagers wait longer if they knew most of their peers are virgins. And don’t forget – All Aim For Success abstinence programs conclude with: MOST TEENAGERS HAVE NOT HAD SEX! References: http://thenationalcampaign.org/sites/default/files/resource-primary-download/virgin-territory-final.pdf http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/24/peds.2014-2299.full.pdf+html http://www.acpeds.org/promoting-the-myth-of-safe-sex

I would like to introduce David Jenkins, Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries as a guest author of this powerful article. Read his insightful thoughts: Recently a new survey commissioned by a nonprofit organization called Proven Men Ministries and conducted by the Barna Group took a national representative sample of 388 self-identified Christian adult men. The statistics are alarming and paint a picture of the serious problem that is addiction to pornography. The statistics for Christian men between 18 and 30 years old are particularly striking: 77% look at pornography at least monthly 36% view pornography on a daily basis 32% admit being addicted to pornography (and another 12% think they may be) The statistics for middle-aged Christian men (ages 31 to 49) are no less disturbing: 77% looked at pornography while at work in the past three months 64% view pornography at least monthly 18% admit being addicted to pornography (and another 8% think they may be) Even married Christian men are falling prey to pornography and extramarital sexual affairs at alarming rates: 55% look at pornography at least monthly 35% had an extramarital sexual affair while married These statistics are alarming; in fact they can be downright discouraging. The porn addict lives in a world where they go through a cycle of feeling sorry for what they did, but never coming to see the horror and complete depravity of what they have done. The statistics, as I stated earlier, paint a disturbing picture. They demonstrate that we need to help porn addicts understand the seriousness of their sin, the nature of true biblical repentance, and turning away from sexual sin to Jesus Christ. 6 Ingredients of Repentance The great Puritan author, Thomas Watson, once said there are six ingredients for true repentance. 1. The first is sight of sin, whereby a person comes to himself (Luke 15:17) and clearly views his lifestyle as sinful. If we fail to see our own sin, we rarely, if ever, are motivated to repent. 2. The second ingredient for true repentance is sorrow for sin (Psalm 38:18). We need to feel the nails of the cross in our souls as we sin. Repentance includes both godly grief and holy agony (2 Corinthians 7:10). The fruit of repentance is revealed in genuine, anguishing sorrow over the offense itself, not just the consequences of it. Sorrow for sin is seen in the ongoing righteous actions it produces. True repentance lingers in the soul and not just on the lips. 3. The third ingredient is confession of sin. The humble sinner voluntarily passes judgment on himself as he sincerely admits to the specific sins of his heart. We must not relent of our confession until all of it is freely and fully admitted. We must pluck up any hidden root of sin within us. “Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit” (Deuteronomy 28:19). 4. The fourth ingredient for true repentance is shame for sin. The color of repentance is blushing red. Repentance causes a holy bashfulness. Ezra 9:6 says, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.” The repenting prodigal was so ashamed of his sin that he did not feel he deserved to be a son anymore (Luke 15:21). Sin makes us shamefully naked and deformed in God’s eyes and puts Christ to shame, the One who took the scorn of the cross on Himself. 5. The fifth ingredient in repentance is hatred of sin. We must hate our sin to the core. We hate sin more deeply when we love Jesus more fully. Repentance begins in the love of God and ends in the hatred of sin. True repentance loathes sin. 6. Finally, the sixth ingredient of repentance is the turning away from sin and returning to the Lord with all your heart (Joel 2:12). This turning from sin implies a notable change, “performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20). “Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations” (Ezekiel 14:6). We are called to turn away from all our abominations, not just the obvious ones or the ones that create friction in others. The goal of repentance is not to manufacture peace among others with perfunctory repentance, but rather to turn to God wholly and completely. This repentance most importantly is not just a turning away from sin. It also necessarily involves a turning in “repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Here is the joy that is found in repentance. “It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance” (Romans 2:4). We rejoice that Christ has done so much for us and continues to do for us. By understanding the seriousness of sin and biblical repentance, we can come to understand that there is hope and freedom for the captives. Jesus came to set the captives free. While we live in a world that is full of bad news, in the midst of the bad news of our sin there is hope and healing from sexual sin. Look to Jesus—He is the cure for sexual brokenness. Jesus is in the business of setting the captives free through His finished work. No matter your sexual history, Jesus alone can make you pure again. Turn to Him, and trust in Him. He is all you need.

According to researchers, the vast majority–a whopping 75-98 percent–of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. In fact, fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than thirty different hormones! Today our culture is undergoing an epidemic of toxic thoughts that, left unchecked, create ideal conditions for illnesses. Remove bad thoughts and wire in new ones (Lamentations 3:23). This is called neurogenesis. You have been designed for deep, intellectual thought (Psalm 139:4). You are wired for love, and fear is a learned and not a natural response. (2 Timothy 1:7). You have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). You are made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27). All of this knowledge will help you realize these truths: Happiness comes from within and success follows-not the other way around. You can learn how to learn and deepen your intellect. You can overcome learning issues. You can get the chaos in your mind under control. You don’t have to walk around in guilt and condemnation. If you wired those toxic thoughts in, you can wire them out. You don’t have to get stuck in bad habits; you can change them. You can overcome feelings of rejection and hurt. Forgiveness is not the battle that you think it is. You don’t have to worry about things that are out of your control. You are not a victim of the things you shouldn’t be doing. You don’t have to fear that if a condition runs in your family that you are going to get it (for example, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or depression). You can balance your over-thinking and over-analyzing mind. You can overcome and control depression and anxiety—some scientists re showing You can even control and overcome schizophrenia and OCD. You don’ have to keep digging into the past to get free from it. You can be happy and filled with peace regardless of your circumstances. Summary of: SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN: THE KEY TO PEAK HAPPINESS, THINKING AND HEALTH. Order from Amazon today! Used by permission of the author.

Understanding the distinctive characteristics of your offspring because of their birth order can dramatically affect your parenting. Here is a concise description of unique birth order qualities. I hope you will see your children in a new way. First Born Newscasters and TV talk show hosts tend to be first born or only children. Prominent examples include: Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, Oprah, Donahue, Geraldo, Arsenio Hall and Rush Limbaugh. Over half of U.S presidents were firstborns. Clearly, firstborns are natural leaders. They also tend to be reliable, conscientious and perfectionists who don’t like surprises. Although, firstborns are typically aggressive, many are also compliant people pleasers. They are model children who have a strong need for approval from anyone in charge. Only Children Only children are firstborns in triplicate. They are even more responsible and even bigger perfectionists. They usually get along better with people older than themselves. Middle Child These kids are the most difficult to pin down. They are guaranteed to be opposite of their older sibling, but that difference can manifest in a variety of ways. Middle children often feel like their older brother gets all the glory while their younger sister escapes all discipline. Because the middle child feels that the world pays him less attention, he tends to be secretive; he does not openly share his thoughts or feelings. Middle children may not feel they have a special place in the family so friends and peer groups become much more important. They can usually read people well, they are peacemakers who see all sides of a situation, they are independent and inventive. If a firstborn is a company’s CEO, the middle child is the entrepreneur. Last Born Babies of the family are social and outgoing, they are the most financially irresponsible of all birth orders. They just want to have a good time. Knowing that these kids love the limelight, it’s no surprise to discover that Billy Crystal, Goldie Hawn, Drew Carey, Jim Carey and Steve Martin are all lastborns. While lastborns may be charming, they also have the potential to be manipulative, spoiled or babied to the point of helplessness. The last born is the one who will probably still have a pet name although he’s 29 and has a masters degree. Exceptions? Some variables can affect the above descriptions. For instance, if there are several years between the first and second child, the second child will have some characteristics of a firstborn. Or, if the firstborn is a girl and the second a boy, the son will have some first-born characteristics because he is the family’s first male offspring. Sibling deaths, adoptions and blended families can also upset the traditional birth order. Children are all different and have to be parented in different ways. You need to parent kids differently depending on their birth order. Parenting The First Born Don’t Be an Improver: Your child already feels the need to be perfect in every way. “Improving” tasks your firstborn attempts on her own will only increase the pressure she places on herself. For instance, let’s say you ask your oldest son to make his bed. Being a firstborn he will, of course, seek your approval and want you to see the finished task. If you tell him it looks good but then proceed to fluff the pillow and straighten out wrinkles in the bedspread, you send the message that he could have done better. Take Two-On–One Time: “Firstborns respond better to adult company than children of any other birth order. Firstborns often feel that parents don’t pay much attention to them because they’re always concentrating on the younger ones in the family. Make a special effort to have the first born join you and your spouse in going out alone for a treat, or to run some kind of special errand. Don’t Pile On Responsibilities: Older children often feel as though they do much more work around the house than their younger siblings. Share the duties and errands as soon as young children are capable. And, stay away from making your first born the family’s instant baby sitter. Check with his schedule, just as you would an outside babysitter. Parenting The Middle Child Make Time To Listen: Remember that middle children tend to avoid sharing how they really feel. Although it’s important to set aside time to talk to all of your children, it’s particularly important to make this happen with the middle child because he is least likely to insist on his fair share of time. Allow Child to Make Decisions: Empower your middle child and make him feel special by allowing him to make choices such as who gets to bowl first or what the family will eat for dessert. This will help alleviate feelings of always being overshadowed by older and younger siblings. Update the Family Album: This may sound silly but it truly is important. There tend to be a billion photos of the firstborn and about six of the next child. To a child flipping through the family album, this is a sure sign that he’s not loved as much. Be sure to have photos of the middle child alone, not always paired with the older sibling. Parenting The Last Born Stick to the Rules: The saying “he gets away with murder” is based in reality. Statistics show the lastborn is least likely to be disciplined and the least likely to have to toe the mark the way the older children did. You can be sure your older children are watching you closely! Hand Out Responsibility: Lastborns often wind up with less to do around the house for two reasons. One, they are pros at ducking out of work. And two, they are so little and “helpless” that the rest of the family decides it’s easier to do the work themselves. You want to raise a confident, self-reliant child so don’t promote this helpless image. Applaud Accomplishments: Lastborns are well known for feeling that nothing they do is important. Make a big deal out of accomplishments (you may have seen two other kids learn to ride a bike but it’s the first time for your baby) and be sure he gets his fair share of “marquee time” on the refrigerator. Parents’ Birth Order We’ve been discussing children’s birth orders, but it’s important to realize that parenting style is also influenced by the parent’s own birth order. Parents subconsciously identify with the child who holds the spot in the family they occupied themselves. A lastborn dad might think his youngest antics are cute while mom sees them as irresponsible. Also, firstborns are perfectionists their whole lives. As parents, they may set standards that are difficult for a child to reach. This makes them frustrated and their children unhappy. Find the valuable resources Kevin Leman offers at www.drleman.com/store/.

If the church doesn’t read the signs of the times, we will be right where we evangelicals were after Roe v. Wade—caught flat-footed and unprepared. Thankfully, the Catholics were there to supply an ethical framework and a sense of justice until some evangelicals—such as Francis Schaeffer and Jerry Falwell—emerged to rally for the lives of the unborn and their mothers. So what should we do? Well, precisely what we should have done before and after Roe. We should recognize where the courts and the culture are, and we should work for justice. That means not simply assuming that most people agree with us on marriage. We must articulate, both in and out of the church, why marriage matters, and why its definition isn’t infinitely elastic. We must—like the pro-life movement has done—seek not only to engage our base, those who already agree with us, but to persuade others who don’t. That doesn’t mean less talk about marriage and sexuality but more—and not just in sound bytes and slogans but in a robust theology of why sexual complementarity and the one-flesh union are rooted in the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 5:22-33). We must—also like the pro-life movement—understand the importance of a Supreme Court that won’t will into existence constitutional planks by force of its own will. That requires a persuasive public witness, and a long-term as well as a short-term strategy. That means fighting—as we are doing—for the Court not to invalidate state definitions of marriage and for the culture to recognize that a state that can force people to participate in what they believe to be sin is a state that is too big for the common good. Above all, we must prepare people for what the future holds, when Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality aren’t part of the cultural consensus but are seen to be strange and freakish and even subversive. If our people assume that everything goes back to normal with the right President and a quick constitutional amendment, they are not being equipped for a world that views evangelical Protestants and traditional Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews and others as bigots or freaks. Jesus told us we would have hard times. He never promised us a prosperity gospel. He said we would face opposition, but he said he would be with us. If we are going to be faithful to his gospel, we must preach repentance—even when that repentance is culturally unwelcome. And we must preach that any sinner can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. That means courage and that means kindness. Sexual revolutionaries will hate the repentance. Buffoonish heretics, who want only to vent paranoia and rally their troops, will hate the kindness. So be it. Our churches must be ready to call out the revisionists who wish to do away with a Christian sexual ethic. And we must be ready to call out those who tell us that acknowledging the signs of the times is forbidden, and we should just keep doing what we’ve been doing. An issue this culturally powerful cannot be addressed by a halfway-gospel or by talk-radio sloganeering. The marriage revolution around us means we must do a better job articulating a theology of marriage to our people, as well as a theology of suffering and marginalization. It means we must do a better job articulating to those on the outside why children need both a Mom and a Dad, not just “parents,” and why marriage isn’t simply a matter of court decree. It means we must start teaching our children about marriage “from the beginning” as male and female when they’re in Sunday school. It means we may have to decide if and when the day will come in which we will refuse to sign the state’s marriage licenses. Long term the prospects for marriage are good. Sexual revolutions always disappoint, and God has designed marriage, biblically defined, to be resilient. But, short term, the culture of marriage is dark indeed. That’s why we have a gospel that is the power of God. This post originally appeared at Moore to the Point.

I am studying this week for a Mother’s Day Sermon I will be preaching. When I start the message prep process, I always begin with prayer and then find a text in the Bible that I will preach. Since I am preaching on Mother’s Day, I did a study on all the passages of scripture that I might want to preach for a sermon about mothers. The best sermon ideas come from scripture. So here are some Mothers Day sermon ideas for you. My hope is that this list will be helpful to save some of you the time of having to find the passages on your own. Mother’s Day Bible Verses Note: All scripture below is from the ESV translation. Jesus Takes Care Of His Mother John 19:25-27 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. Honor Your Mother Ephesians 6:1-3 6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Exodus 20:12 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Consequences For Disobeying Your Mother Deuteronomy 27:16 16 “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Proverbs 20:20 20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. Proverbs 30:17 17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. Characteristics Of A Great Wife And Mother Proverbs 31:10-31 10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Let The Lord Build Your House Psalm 127 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Proverbs for Mothers Proverbs 1:8-9 8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. Proverbs 6:20-21 20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. Proverbs 14:1 14 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. Proverbs 14:4 4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 15:20 20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Proverbs 19:26-27 26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.27 Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. Proverbs 22:6 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 23:22-25 22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. Proverbs 29:15 15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 13:24 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. A Mother’s (and Father’s) Responsibility For The Spiritual Instruction Of Children Deuteronomy 4:9-10 9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 10 how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Paul’s Surrogate Mother Romans 16:13 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Hannah Prays To Get Pregnant And Dedicates Her Son To God 1 Samuel 1 1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. Praise God Who Answers Prayers For Children Psalm 113 1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! No Mother Is Perfect, But Love Will Overcome Mistakes 1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. How To Love Others 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Solomon Identifies The Real Mother 1 Kings 3:16-27 16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” This isn’t an exhaustive list of scripture for Mother’s Day, but I hope this helps you in your sermon preparation! Re-printed from www.pastors.com . Used by permission

Is Christianity Dying? Christianity is dying. At least, that’s what major newspapers are telling us today, culling research from a new Pew Center study on what almost all sociologists are observing these days—the number of Americans who identify as Christians has reached an all-time low, and is falling. I think this is perhaps bad news for America, but it is good news for the church. The lead editor of the report tells The New York Times that secularization—mainly in terms of those who identify as “nones” or with no specific religious affiliation—isn’t isolated to the progressive Northeast and Pacific Northwest. He notes, “The change is taking place all over, including the Bible Belt.” This is precisely what several of us have been saying for years. Bible Belt near-Christianity is teetering. I say let it fall. For much of the twentieth century, especially in the South and parts of the Midwest, one had to at least claim to be a Christian to be “normal.” During the Cold War, that meant distinguishing oneself from atheistic Communism. At other times, it has meant seeing churchgoing as a way to be seen as a good parent, a good neighbor, and a regular person. It took courage to be an atheist, because explicit unbelief meant social marginalization. Rising rates of secularization, along with individualism, means that those days are over—and good riddance to them. Again, this means some bad things for the American social compact. In the Bible Belt of, say, the 1940s, there were people who didn’t, for example, divorce, even though they wanted out of their marriages. In many of these cases, the motive wasn’t obedience to Jesus’ command on marriage but instead because they knew that a divorce would marginalize them from their communities. In that sense, their “traditional family values” were motivated by the same thing that motivated the religious leaders who rejected Jesus—fear of being “put out of the synagogue.” Now, to be sure, that kept some children in intact families. But that’s hardly revival. Secularization in America means that we have fewer incognito atheists. Those who don’t believe can say so—and still find spouses, get jobs, volunteer with the PTA, and even run for office. This is good news because the kind of “Christianity” that is a means to an end—even if that end is “traditional family values”—is what J. Gresham Machen rightly called “liberalism,” and it is an entirely different religion from the apostolic faith handed down by Jesus Christ. Now, what some will say is that the decline in self-identified Christians is a sign that the church should jettison its more unpopular teachings. And in our day, these teachings are almost always those dealing with pelvic autonomy. First of all, even if this were the key to success, we couldn’t—and wouldn’t—do it. Christianity isn’t a political party, dependent on crafting ideologies to suit the masses. We received this gospel (Gal. 1:11-12); we didn’t invent it. But, that said, such is not the means to “success”—even the way the sociologists define it. The Pew report holds that mainline denominations—those who have made their peace with the Sexual Revolution—continue to report heavy losses, while evangelical churches remain remarkably steady—even against some heavy headwinds coming from the other direction. Why? We learned this answer 100 years ago, and it reminds us of what we learned 2,000 years ago. Two or three generations ago, Christians who held to the Virgin birth of Christ were warned that their children would flee the faith unless the parents redefined Christianity. “If you want to win the next generation,” they were told, “you have to make Christianity relevant, and that means dispending with miracles in favor of modern science.” The churches that followed that path aren’t just dying; they are dead, sustained by endowments and dwindling gatherings of nostalgic senior adults with a smattering of community organizers here and there. People who don’t want Christianity, don’t want almost-Christianity. Almost-Christianity looks in the mainline like something from Nelson Rockefeller to Che Guevara at prayer. Almost Christianity, in the Bible Belt, looks like a God-and-Country civil religion that prizes cultural conservatism more than theological fidelity. Either way, a Christianity that reflects its culture, whether that culture is Smith College or NASCAR, only lasts as long as it is useful to its host. That’s because it’s, at root, idolatry, and people turn from their idols when they stop sending rain. Christianity isn’t normal anymore, and that’s good news. The Book of Acts, like the Gospels before it, shows us that the Christianity thrives when it is, as Kierkegaard put it, a sign of contradiction. Only a strange gospel can differentiate itself from the worlds we construct. But the strange, freakish, foolish old gospel is what God uses to save people and to resurrect churches (1 Cor. 1:20-22). We do not have more atheists in America. We have more honest atheists in America. Again, that’s good news. The gospel comes to sinners, not to the righteous. It is easier to speak a gospel to the lost than it is to speak a gospel to the kind-of-saved. And what those honest atheists grapple with, is what every sinner grapples with, burdened consciences that point to judgment. Our calling is to bear witness. We don’t have Mayberry anymore, if we ever did. Good. Mayberry leads to hell just as surely as Gomorrah does. But Christianity didn’t come from Mayberry in the first place, but from a Roman Empire hostile to the core to the idea of a crucified and resurrected Messiah. We’ve been on the wrong side of history since Rome, and it was enough to turn the world upside down. The future of Christianity is bright. I don’t know that from surveys and polls, but from a word Someone spoke one day back at Caesarea Philippi. The gates of hell haven’t gotten any stronger, and the Light that drives out the darkness is enough to counter every rival gospel, even those gospels that describe themselves as “none.” _________________________ For more on this, see my new book Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel. Re-printed from www.russellmoore.com. Used by permission.

Share 0 The Tolerance of Jezebel in Thyatira (Rev. 2:19-24) people? 19 ‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones. 20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (Rev 2:19-20) The followers of the Jewish Christ in the congregation in the city of Thyatira were situated in a very interesting place. This particular congregation was told by Christ Himself that he knew their works. God’s knowledge of the people of Thyatira could have been a dreadful beginning of a merciless charge; instead, this knowledge justified Jesus’ praise. The list of their works is fairly long and explicit. Jesus took notice of love, faith, service, and endurance in their congregational life in very difficult circumstances. He also praised them for increasing the level of their commitment to righteousness. Nevertheless, verse 20 somewhat unexpectedly tempers this celebration by words of stern warning. The image of Jezebel is evoked and it is not easy to untangle the chain of logic. For Israelites, “Jezebel” was a code word for the events associated with her and her husband Ahab. After the split of the Israelite Kingdom into South (Judah) and North (Israel) we are told “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) He had the distinction of being the most wicked king who ever reigned over Israel. For political expediency and because of his deep distrust of the Lord God of Israel, he married a daughter of a Sidonian king – her name was Jezebel, which in Hebrew ironically means something like “he will trash.” (1 Kings 16:31) Ahab’s excessive ambition for power was coupled with his extreme weakness in the face of the manipulative strategies of his pagan wife. Though Jezebel appears in variety of stories, one of the greatest achievements of her wickedness was her introduction of the worship cults of Baal and Ashtoreth to Northern Israel through her dedication to the program of religious education and temple construction under the watch of Ahab her powerful and, at the same time, reluctant husband. During Ahab’s reign, all the faithful prophets in Israel went into hiding. Elijah was the only prophet who had the courage to oppose Ahab and Jezebel publically, in spite of the threat to his life. The Lord took care of Elijah and God’s people, but he judged both Ahab and Jezebel with violent and dishonorable deaths. (1 Kings 22:34; 2 Kings 9:33) It is not possible to know what or who exactly was referred to by this warning in this passage in Revelation. What was the identity of “Jezebel” who practiced wickedness without opposition or deterrence from the congregational participants in Thyatira? However, what she is accused of doing (deceiving people into sexual immorality and forbidden food consumption by her teaching) matches perfectly with all the previous negative addresses to the other congregations in the letter of Revelation that we have already witnessed. Incidentally (this will become important later) sexual immorality and worship of idols were, according to the ruling of the Jerusalem Council, among the major things forbidden to non-Israelites in Christ. (Acts 15:28-29) 21 I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds. It is doubtful that we have here a case of a woman who was simply sexually promiscuous. It is likely that the idea of sexual promiscuity is symbolic of idol worship. We see this clearly in Hosea 1 when immediately after the calling of Hosea, the God of Israel directs him to take a symbolic prophetic action: 2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.” (Hos 1:2) From this, we see that the harlotry of Hosea’s wife symbolized Israelite idol worship practices at the time of Hosea’s ministry. Just like Jezebel, in this passage in the book of Revelation, Israel’s enticer to sin is given time to repent. (vs. 21) Just like Jezebel, the woman in view (vs.22) will meet a violent death. 23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease (lit: I will kill with death), and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve. Jesus also threatens not only to judge the Jezebel figure, but also to judge all those who followed her. As in all the other cases prior to this, it is likely that the honoring of the Greco-Roman gods is in view here alongside the worshiping of Israel’s God in Christ. All those who promoted this kind of worship – Israel’s-God-in-Christ-plus-other-key-Roman-deities approach – would be judged swiftly and publicly. Everyone would receive what they deserved; both those who did well and those who did evil. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you. 25 However, hold on to what you have until I come. It is likely that the “deep secrets of Satan” taught by the Jezebel figure in Thyatira and the things that were discussed under the category of “Nicolaitans” in Pergamum and Ephesus (Rev.2:6, 15) are essentially the same. These are most probably literary ways to refer to the professing followers of the Jewish Christ that were not fully committed to the Lord God of Israel in the context of the Roman Empire’s god-congested universe. Visit eTeacherBiblical.com. Used by permission.