Continual Praise

I am sorry for the lack of posting on this blog. It is harder than I thought it would be to continue to update regularly. I have had the desire to update but have not done it. I am such a slacker. Oh well, now is the time that I will give to do this and I will pray that God will lead me to continue to be regular in updating as a part of my ministry to the youth.

I was chastised by some of the youth in the church about not updating in a while and so I promised that I would get this done by tonight. But I was unsure about what I was going to blog about. I had a few ideas the last week or two, but those topics have kind of come and gone in other conversations so I never got the time to post them. But tonight on our way home I was reminded of something by my oldest son that was on my heart this morning from my Bible reading.

Psalm 34:1-3

I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt his name together.

How often is this not true of us? David, writing this song to the Lord is expressing his heart in continually praising his God. But that is so hard to do.

I have been trying to teach my little ones that we are to be content and happy with the place that God has put us in. Whether we have or do not have; whether God has given or taken away; whether we are rich or poor; whether we are in sickness or health; whether we are in peace or persecution we are to be content with were God has us and with what He has given to us. My son has been a little preoccupied with the thought of "things". He wants and does not have. Tonight on the way home he told me that he had decided that he would be content with the house that we live in because he and his brother had decided that we could have an "amusement park" in our yard. With this he would be content with what God had given to us.

After laughing, I had to explain that God does not want us to be content with where He will lead us and with what He will give us, but that we are to be content with what we have now. It is wonderful everytime that we receive new blessings from our gracious God, but if we are not able to be full of joy in the place that we are now, then we will not be content when He gives us more. It is our duty to praise God in the good and the bad of our lives. It is He that gives and takes away and He does this because He knows what is best for us, but mostly because it will bring the most glory to him. We must have the attitude of David in that we will continually praise God. That His name will be on our lips at all times. That there will be no one that we come in contact with that will not know that our true love is our Lord and our God.

Are you content with where God has put you and with what He has for you right now? Not with what you think or hope that he will give you. Not with where you think or hope he will lead you, but with where you are at now? I pray that you are and that you will praise Him for what He has accomplished in and for you.

Spiritual Leadership

It is amazing how a sermon on Sunday morning can trully speak to your heart. I had been thinking about some of the things that Pastor talked about this morning in the recent past, but had done nothing about it. This afternoon I was trying to think about who my spiritual leaders were and how I have emulated them.

It was then that I realized that a spiritual leader does not have to be someone that is older than you. Pastor talked about a leader being someone who teaches the word and lives it out in his or her own life. I understood that Elizabeth and I share a spiritual leader and mentor. Tyler. He has been a blessing in my life tremendously. I am definately way older than him and I have been a Christian for longer as well. I remember the camp when he came to know the Lord. It was a beautiful time, and God really had a work for him to do. He really showed me how to grow. I had not grown much in the Lord and had taken the path of least resistance since my coming to Christ. I had just said "Look isn't it wonderful that I am saved and will go to heaven", but I never worked at changing and growing. But then when I saw Tyler changing and growing, I realized that that is what a Christian should do. That is when I started changing. I have watched him grow and that is what I have emulated.

I pray that I can show others how to grow in Christ as well. May God bless us all with being a spiritual leader and mentor to someone. I know that it is a true blessing to see the youth listening on Wednesday when I teach, but it is infinitely greater when I see them acting out what they have heard and seen in my life and Tyler and Jake's lives. My prayer is that you will all be able to see others emulate you in following in Christ's footsteps.

Sin

This is just a beginning and since I didn't have a lot of time to come up with something as an opening, I thought I would just use something that I have said before. I used this illustration during my lesson a couple of Wednesday nights ago and thought it would be appropriate as a starting point. I know a few of you really liked this and there were some of you who were not there so here it goes.

"Do you guys know how much it costs to go to a lot of these theme parks? They are not cheap. I looked up a couple. Cedar Point in Ohio for one day is $42.95. Six Flags for one day is $47.00. Silver Dollar City for one day is $48.00. Disney World for one day is $71.00. Then when you get there, when it is busy what do you do? Stand in long lines. I have heard of lines being an hour, two hours, or more. So it costs a lot in money and time. You stand in line for 60min or longer and then what do you get? You definitely get a thrill. You get enjoyment. You have a lot of fun. But how long does it last? A short time, right. The ride lasts 2 ½ minutes. Some even less. Isn’t this just like sin. We have fun and enjoyment for a little while. We get a quick thrill. But the cost is high.

Satan always seeks to sell us on sin in a way that makes a crooked used car salesman weep with envy. Satan always seeks to maximize our estimation of the benefits of sin, and just as busily engages in attempting to convince us that the price of sin is minimal. In the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve into believing that she could actually become like God, and that partaking of the forbidden fruit would not really result in death. When we choose sin, we do so believing Satan’s lie. We think we can “use” sin, while retaining full control over it. The reality is that sin quickly gains control over us, and we become its slaves. Whenever we are tempted and contemplate choosing the path of sin, let us remember what the Bible teaches us about the economics of sin: the price is too high, and the ride is all too short. Sin does not pay.

In the Service of Christ,

Chris