Consider This...

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. (Luke 12:34 NLT)

Look at your check book and categorize the amount you spend on the necessities of life: housing, cars, utilities, food, clothes, taxes, insurance, etc. Now, consider where the rest of your income is spent and put those totals in broad categories: recreation, investments, church, etc. Any Christian willing to look honestly at how their money is spent will soon discover why they love some things more than others. They'll also see where lots of money is wasted on excessive, temporal pursuits when they could be laying up treasures in Heaven.

Consider This...

That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"...Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. (1 Kings 3:5, 9, 10 NLT)

Wisdom is the ability to see life from God's point of view so you can plan/respond according to eternal values, not temporal ones. Your choices/circumstances will look so much different when your perspective on them changes! In all your asking be sure to ask God for His jewel of wisdom. He loves giving it to His children (James 1:5)!

Consider This...

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:21 NLT)

True wealth isn't measured in dollars and cents, but in the depth of our relationship with God. If our walk with Him is "poor" there's no amount of money that'll make up for the spiritual losses we'll experience. Make your greatest investment in your "relationship with God" and you'll be rich...no matter how much money you have in the bank!

Consider This...

Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character. (Psalm 105:19 NLT)

When God gives you a dream, it's likely that you'll not see it fulfilled until you've first had your character tested. Remember, though, that Joseph's testing wasn't meant to tear him down, but to build him up. He was preparing him for the day his dream would become reality. God doesn't need to test us to find out what we're made of. He's the omniscient One that already sees the character of our inner man, but we need the testing to strengthen our spiritual "metal" and remove the impure" dross" that could undermine our God-given dream!

Consider This...

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12 NLT)

If you go east you will always be going east. If you go west you will always be going west. The two never meet! That's what God wants you to know about the forgiveness of your sins. Once they were removed through the blood of Jesus Christ, you never have to fear meeting them again. The opening words of the old children's song says it well, "Gone, gone, gone, gone...yes, my sins are gone!" Now, that's a great reason to celebrate today...and every other day, too.

Consider This...

Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. (Proverbs 13:24 NLT)

If for no other reason, children need structure and discipline because it says to them that they are loved. Parents sometimes mistakenly think that by overlooking their children's bad behavior and failing to give them boundaries that they are demonstrating tolerance and teaching them restraint. Actually, the message that unsupervised and undisciplined children receive is that they are not that important and not that loved. Show your children you care and correct them when they need it.

An anti-bullying bully

Over the past few years, many anti-bullying organizations have done some good work in many of our communities. I certainly agree that no one should be bullied and people should be civil and respectful of others.

What is hard for me to fathom is why some leaders in “anti-bullying” organizations feel it is acceptable for them to demonstrate the very characteristics they say they decry.

One such occasion occurred recently when Mr. Dan Savage, founder of, “It Gets Better Project” was asked to address a large group of high school students at the National High School Journalism Conference. He was invited to specifically give a speech on anti-bullying! But, rather than speak against bullying, Mr. Savage used a 3 1/2 minute segment of his speech to deliver a vulgar, expletive-filled tirade against the Bible and those who believe in it. Many Christian teens in the audience stood and walked out. And what was Mr. Savage’s response? He cursed and shamed them. He did the very thing he was suppose to be warning others against!

It's to be expected by followers of Jesus that there will be persecution against them and increasingly so as we get closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! But, should we simply overlook anti-bullying organizations/personnel that "bully" others with whom they have disagreements? Clearly the answer is "no!" Had Mr. Savage made the same comments about Islam I believe he would have been excoriated by the media and society in general. Christianity, however, is increasingly open game for many forms of attacks and hate speech without hardly a word spoken by those that are quick to expose "bullying" on every other front.

We can disagree with one another and make our arguments for our perspectives without resorting to name calling, cursing, and belittling other people. Mr. Savage clearly does not understand the scripture he purports to know and used it repeatedly out of context in order to belittle and bully Christian young people in attendance at the conference. And...the crowd that cheered him on is just as wrong as the speaker for not walking out themselves in support of those that were being bullied. Even if they agreed with the speaker's basic beliefs about homosexuality being an acceptable lifestyle, they should have rejected the tactics of the speaker to bully the Christians that were present.

I include below the link to the YouTube video that documents the manner in which this speech was delivered. I ask that only mature adults watch the video as it is filled with expletives and other demeaning content. I have also included a link to an excellent resource addressing some of the issues that Mr. Savage misrepresents about the Bible. Nothing that he says is a new attack on scripture and has long since been answered scripturally/logically by those that truly want to understand these issues.

I don't personally believe that Mr. Savage has the desire to discover the truth about what the scripture teaches. It seems from this video that his primary emphasis is to confuse and attack Christian young people that he perceives as his enemies. Let's remember what scripture teaches us about this kind of persecution...

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way." (Matthew 5:11, 12 NLT)

________________________

PLEASE BE WARNED...THIS VIDEO IS LACED WITH EXPLETIVES AND OTHER FOUL LANGUAGE. IT IS INCLUDED SO THAT PEOPLE WILL SEE THAT THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED! IT IS DISTURBING AND SHOULD ONLY BE WATCHED BY THOSE WHO ARE MATURE ADULTS. I BELIEVE THAT MORAL MINDED PEOPLE WILL BE APPALLED! 

As I mentioned above, this book is an excellent resource for those who want to discover what the Bible actually teaches on some of the matters Mr. Savage assumed it taught. Always remember the #1 rule of Bible interpretation: A (biblical) text used out of its context is a pre-text for error! Mr. Savage should leave biblical interpretation to those who undertand the most basic principles of hermeneutics.

Consider This...

Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. (Proverbs 12:18 NLT)

People's words are either "healing" or hurting those around them. If you find yourself with people that are constantly making "cutting remarks" towards you and/or others, it's time for you to make some better friends. We need to hang around the "wise" because they will make our lives better...just by listening to what they have to say!

Consider This...

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” (Luke 7:47 NLT)

If we stop to remember the magnitude of God's forgiveness toward us it should only heighten our love for Him. The problem is that too many people don't think of themselves as being all that bad before they met Christ. However, loving God more deeply will involve seeing Him more fully AND seeing ourselves more honestly. If you think of yourself as one of the "good ones" God saved...then that explains the reason you show Him only a "little love."

Survivor (Part #1)

2 Kings 18:1-8

This series introduces us to an Old Testament character by the name of Hezekiah. He is one of the “giants” of the Old Testament, but he is not as well know as some of the other Old testament patriarchs, kings and prophets.

There are three extended passages dealing with the life and work of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32; Isaiah 36-39).

He is described as being the BEST King since the time of David and Solomon and was the twelfth King over the southern kingdom of Judah.

The central story of his life is one of survival! There are at least four separate events that Hezekiah survived during his period as Ruler of Judah.

Only two other kings were given the kind of accolades Hezekiah enjoyed: Asa (1 Kings 15:11) and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2).

Hezekiah is one of only nine kings that is said to have done what is, “right in the sight of the Lord.”

The statement that the Lord was with Hezekiah is only made about one other king: David ( 2 Samuel 5:10)

Hezekiah continued the legacy of his ancestor, David by doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. It was David who was described as a man after God’s own heart. ( 1 Samuel 13:14)

His father Ahaz was corrupt during his reign:

• He was an idolater and promoted idolatry in the nation (16:4).
• He made an agreement with the Assyrian king (16:7).
• He raided the Temple (16:8).
• He had a special pagan altar built (16:10).
• He closed down the Temple (2 Chronicles 28:24).
• He offered some of his children as sacrifices (16:3; 2 Chronicles 28:3).
• He wasn’t allowed to be buried in a royal burial place because of his wickedness (2 Chronicles 28:27).

Hezekiah broke free from his family history and did not follow in his father’s footsteps. He knew that just because his father had made foolish choices didn’t mean he had to make them too.

Lessons to be learned from Hezekiah’s survival of his dysfunctional family:
1. A dysfunctional family life doesn’t have to result in a dysfunctional personal life.

Hezekiah grew up in the palace of Ahaz his father. Ahaz was one of the most wicked of the kings to rule and introduced the southern kingdom of Judah to pagan idolatry and much evil...even offering some of his children as sacrifices to pagan gods (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chronicles 28:3).

Never-the-less, Hezekiah survived his father’s spiritual apostasy and despicable conduct. Here is a case when, “like father, like son” didn’t materialize, as it so often does.

In this story we have a good son (Hezekiah) that comes from a bad father (Ahaz) and a bad son (Manasseh) that comes from a good father (Hezekiah)! It’s about choices, not just environments!

2. Evil around you doesn’t have to become evil within you.

Public sentiment was clearly on the side of Ahaz, idolatry and vice. Evil was popular in his day! Peer pressure was against following the true God.

There were plenty of opportunities for Hezekiah to adopt the practices of his father’s idolatry and paganism. He probably walked through the streets of Jerusalem smelling the incense burning to the pagan gods, as well as seeing other unspeakable acts. But, he didn’t succumb to these ways or choose them for himself.

3. The choices others make don’t have to become the choices you make.

Not everyone was embroiled in the paganism that Ahaz promoted, but probably most were participants in some fashion. Even though many around Hezekiah chose to follow the evil of their king, Hezekiah made right choices rather than easy choices.

cf. Proverbs 1:10-19

4. A few good influences can overcome a society full of bad influences.

There were at least three good influences around Hezekiah that had an impact on his being a survivor of his father’s apostasy.

Who influenced Hezekiah:

A. His mother: her full name was Abijah

Hezekiah’s name means: “Strength of Jehovah.” His mother’s name (“Abijah” - 2 Chronicles 29:1) means “my Father is Jehovah.”

“The cause of God has always owed much to mothers.” --James Smith

(cf. 2 Timothy 1:3-5; 1 Corinthians 7:14)

B. His distant cousin: Isaiah.

Isaiah was his spiritual mentor/advisor (2 Kings 19:2, 5-6) and the one he called on in difficult times for guidance from God.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah was a well-educated relative of King Uzziah (Hezekiah’s Great-Grandfather). Jewish tradition says that Isaiah’s father was King Uzziah’s brother. That would mean that Isaiah would have been a distant cousin to King Hezekiah.

C. His access to the scripture.

With his father as King in Jerusalem, Hezekiah lived in the palace that Solomon built. That meant he had access to the Psalms of David and the Proverbs of Solomon when he was growing up (Proverbs 25-30).

Also, if his mother’s father was a priest, as some believe, he may have had access to more than just the Psalms and Proverbs, but also to other portions of the Law of Moses. He certainly knew what God expected in his sweeping renewal of religious life that took place during his rule.

The impact of the scripture on our lives is inestimable. (cf. 2 Timothy 3:14-17)

Central thought: Your past doesn't have to determine your present or your future.

• You can chose to follow God instead of following the crowd.
• You can let the scripture guide you instead of the current trends/culture.
• You can follow your Heavenly Father and not follow your hellish, earthly family.

Hezekiah’s life boldly challenges the notion that your circumstances are the supreme determining factor in your life and shows that a person can rise above those circumstances.

Your dysfunctional family doesn’t have to become your dysfunctional future.

God is in the business of altering people’s temporal and eternal destinies. (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)