Who Is Richer?

 The longer that I live, one thing becomes clearer as the years roll on. Both of my children are both better off than my wife and I ever were. My son and my son in law are both successful in their corporate careers. My daughter is a school principal's secretary. My daughter in law is an occupational therapist. They have nice houses and nice cars. And maybe they might stay married as long as my wife and I did. We were married for 40 years when she died.

My parents were better off than either of my children though. I grew up in an average middle class home with a nuclear family and a stay at home mom. Neither of my children could live on one income. I grew up with neighborhood friends. My children do not know their neighbors. I graduated with a high school diploma that is worth more than some bachelor degrees today. My parents were good people until their marriage and my world fell apart.

We have to make the best of the hand we are dealt in life. We cannot spend our days wishing it was different or wishing life wasn't so hard.

BTW, both of my children are married and have children. I have four grandchildren.  Only one of my grandchildren is engaged to be married. None of my grandchildren are married and have children yet. 

Who is richer, me or them?

Two Lessons Learned

 I learned two interesting things today. One thing I learned at church, the other thing I learned from a friend. 

The first thing that I learned about were what someone calls corporate nuns. These are women who have decided not to marry or have children and instead they devote themselves to their corporate careers. They are as devoted to their companies and to their calling as nuns are to their orders. They have decided that succeeding in the corporate world is a prize worth pursuing. And they pursue it with their whole heart.

The other thing that I learned comes from my corporate friend. In his years as a professional airline pilot he interacted with flight attendants on a daily basis. And he tells me that over and over again he heard from these professional women the voice of regret. These successful women wished that they had decided to get married and have children instead of having a career. Being successful left them longing for something better that was now lost to them.

Unfortunately, we make decisions in life that we do not see the consequences of until much later in life. You can still get married later in life, but you lose the years of growing up together with someone who you are learning to love. And for women, your child bearing years do not last forever.

It's never to late to change your mind, even if it is too late to change the outcome of your life choices.

A Change Of Mind

 I used to think that animals did not have human like emotions. They are animals, not people. And as I looked into this I realized that I was wrong. I used to think that domesticated animals and pets exhibited human like attributes because they lived around people. And as I looked int this I realized that I was wrong about that too.

I do not understand this at all. Animals run on instincts, not reason. Animals seek food and water not friendship or satisfaction. And yet I cannot deny that animals do show human like behavior.

Will there be animals in Heaven? I don't think so. But I could be wrong. Pets are a part of this life, and eye has not seen what the next life will be like. I do not read about pets in the Bible.

See, you can teach this old dog some new tricks. But I still do not want the responsibility of owning a pet and loving a pet and having it die. 

Trust Is Important.

 Trust is the bedrock of human relations. It is the glue that holds people together in social connections. It seems to be a quality that is in short supply today.

Trust is relying on someone to do what they said that they would do. Trust is a character issue. If you can be trusted you are trustworthy. If you cannot be trusted you are soon cast off as useless.

Trust is one of those things that if lost is very hard to regain. Failure to keep your word is not exactly lying. But it is close.

Trust is critical in marriage. When you say I do, you need to keep your word. It's not just about right or wrong. It is about being trustworthy as a husband or wife.

Trust is the basis of faith. We obey God because he is trustworthy. He will do what He said He will do.

Conference is based on trust. People come to our conference because they trust us to take good care of them. They trust us to have good preaching. They trust us to have a seat for them to sit in.

How many people backslide because they feel that God has not been trustworthy? How many people leave our church and go to another church because they judged us to be untrustworthy. 

Those who have stayed with us and stayed by the stuff do so because they trust us.

It's important to have right doctrine and solid teaching. But trust is just as important as good preaching.

Worship That Works

 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

I saw a video today asking if it is important how we worship. I did not watch the video, but it did make me think about the question posed by it. It is important that we worship God. We must worship as saints. God expects it and even looks for it. So it is important how we worship.

The Bible, especially the New Testament, has zero information on how a Christian worship service is supposed to be run. The Old Testament temple was filled with music and musical instruments played skillfully. But the book of Acts tells us nothing about worship in the early church.

Fortunately we do not have to reinvent the wheel to come up with a liturgy that works. We have church history to guide us. We have the Prescott church to guide us. We have our mother church to guide us. What has worked for hundreds of years will no doubt work for us today.

Worship must involve the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Worship songs ought to be Bible based and God focused. Worship includes lifting our hands to God. We clap to clappable songs just because it's fun to clap along.

So as long as you involve the Spirit and the truth you will have the kind of worship that the Father is seeking.

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord..." Psalm 100:1

This Is That? Really?

 The local weatherman keeps warning us of heavy rain and flooding. It's going to be bad they said. But so far no rain where I live. The experts haven't given up hope of lots of rain yet. But they keep pushing back the time when it is supposed to be here. At this point it might not rain in my neighborhood.

Preachers can fall into the same trap if they are not careful. It's bad and getting worse they warn us. Jesus is coming, look that the condition of the world. Surely the end is near. But life goes on like normal. My life it peaceful and quiet. I don't listen to conservative talk radio so I don't ingest a diet of gloom and doom.

The Bible covers a long time and a lot of circumstances. When the prophets spoke they were addressing the situation as it was back then. That doesn't mean it never applies again and that it isn't useful to us for instruction in how God works. But you had better be right when you stand up behind the pulpit and declare, this is that!

Don't become the boy who cried wolf.

God Still Speaks

 "A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." Prov. 18:2

I had someone call me recently to see how I was doing. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then he dove right in to tell me how he was doing and what he was doing. And when I read this Proverb it reminded me of him. Some people only concern themselves with what's good for me or with what benefits me. It's good that they think about others. But they have a short attention span.

"He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him." Prov. 18:13

It is obvious to some when you are listening or not. Not everyone is a good listener. They like to hear themselves talk. My friend is this kind of person. That's why I get tired of being around him. Shame on him for not listening to me.

You think that the Bible isn't relevant to today? Read it and you will be amazed how the Bible speaks to us. God has not lost His voice. He still speaks.