All you need to prove is that Christ rose from the dead

If God rose from the dead, then that is all that matters.  If He rose from the dead, then you have to accept that He was God's son.  (1 Corinthians 15:14-20)

We make things so complicated looks at things like...
- why does God allow bad things to happen?
- what about people who don't hear the gospel, do they go to hell?  How is that fair?
- how can all roads not lead to God?

But we must not allow ourselves to get sucked in to all this thinking.  It is okay to investigate, but we must not allow these questions to distract us from the truth?  IN THE END, IF GOD ROSE FROM THE DEAD, THEN ALL THESE OTHER QUESTIONS ARE JUST DISTRACTIONS!

If we are just an accident, that happened through evolution, then....

1.  What is the purpose of life?  There is none?

2.  How do we have moral understanding of right and wrong?  By evolutionary definition, if evolution is true, then we would do whatever we want and wouldn't care about morality.  We would just care about getting ahead, getting stronger, being the fittest and surviving at all costs.

3.  If this life is all there is, then this is very depressing.  There is no hope.  I am so thankful for the hope found in Jesus.  The hope of purpose here on earth, and hope of eternal life.


If God is not real, then where is there any genuine hope in this world?

I don't understand everything.  There is mystery, but there has to be.  There has to be because He is the Creator, and I am the created.  He is infinite, and I am finite.  If I could understand everything, if I could understand all His ways, then that would mean that He and I are on the same level, and if that were true, then that would mean that He isn't God.  He can't be God if we are on the same level.  Because He is God, there is no way that I will understand everything.

How sad it is for people to be deceived into thinking that they will only follow Jesus once they understand everything.  All that matters is whether or not Jesus rose from the dead.  Prove that, and you've proved that He is God, and that we can't understand all His ways, but that we must trust Him.  If we don't trust and accept Him then He was very clear that we will spend eternity apart from Him because we are choosing to deny Him and the messages of truth and salvation that He gave us.

"To live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phillipians)

Because of this verse, it proves that Jesus has provided the only meaningful hope in the world.  You can test this by filling in the blanks to the above verse with what we as people usually find hope in.  For example....

To live is to gain money, to die is to lose it all.

To live is health, to die is to die.

To live is serving, to die is gain only if you have Christ (serving is something God calls us to, so it is of Christ)

To live is to win at all costs, to die is those wins don't matter.  You can't.take them with you.

Healthy marriages & sexual perspectives

This world tells us that love and lust are the same thing.  The Bible tells us a very different story....

-1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us that love is patient, kind, etc..  This is the proper view of love that will bring lasting joy.  We need to get this drilled into our thinking because the world is all around us telling us a very different story.  The story they tell is all about lust.  Lust gets you into trouble and steals your joy.  It can even less to death (see Proverbs and the stories about "the immoral woman").  The Bible on the other hand, it teaches us how to make love a wonderfully beautiful thing that is centered on Christ and that brings true joy and happiness.  It starts by following what 1 Corinthians says, and ensuring that its teachings become the way we think so as to truly change our behaviour.

-we need to teach the kids these truths.  I think one way to do it is to continually point out where the world.i s wrong on this topic.  We can instead point them to what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians, and many other passages, to show them the Truth.  To show them what God says and why He says it and to show them how very wrong the world is.  We need to also show them what will happen when we follow the world and its way if thinking, and then contrast that with the joy that comes from following God and His way of thinking.

What I want my kids to know about sexual sin.

1.  It is a unique sin that has consequences which stay with you for good.

2.  You must keep the line way back from what is wrong.  God does not want you to get hurt, and once you cross the line, there is a ton of pain.  You should set guardrails that are well back from the line and feel discomfort when you come even close to the guardrails.

3.  The world sends a much different message than the Bible in regards to sexual sin.  And the world will trsmplr on you when you cross the line, even though they condone the sin.

4.  Be unique.  Don't be like the rest of the world and have to deal with their problems.  There is tremendous joy in staying clear from sexual sin, and the world will respect you greatly for it.  Maybe not at first, or at all times, but they will respect uohnfor it, because all of God's ways are always best.

4.  There is tremendous joy in staying pure.  Don't make unwise decisions thdt will lead to consequences that you will have to deal with for the rest of your life.  Instead, make good choices that will lead to positive rewards that you will be able to deal with for the rest of your life.

Eagerly anticipating heaven

I need to properly anticipate heaven.  While it is good to want to be with my children here on earth, I must not allow that desire to prevent me from being absolutely excited about seeing Jesus.

I exist for Him and His Kingdom.  If inwas to die, that would be the best thing for me.  I can trust the Lord to take care of my family.  After all, it is Him taking care of them even while I am here on earth.

I must eagerly anticipate seeing Jesus.  If I am not absolutely pumped and excited to see Jesus' face, then I don't have the view of Jesus that I should.

God's perfect will & permissive will

God has a perfect will - that which cannot be changed.  God has a permissive will, whereby He allows for various things to happen and uses those things to further His Kingdom and His glory.

It is important when looking at God's perfect wil vs his permissive will, that I always seem to honour Him regardless of my circumstances.  A big part of this is accepting whatever He allows, or does not allow in my life.  I must NEVER wrestle against the Lord.  I must never seek my will, but rather, my desire should always be for His will to be done.  I must totally be surrendered to Him.  If I am not content in my circumstances then I am not surrendered.

In regards to His permissive will, I believe it is okay to seek His help and guidance in doing your best to accomplish goals that you have.  However, it is imperative that I do a couple of things when doing this.  First, it is important to seek God to ensure that the thing you are pursuing aligns with His will for your life.  Second, you must accept whatever the results of your pursuit is.

When pursuing goals that are honouring tonthe Lord, it is very important to ensure that I never wrestle against God.  I am definitely not surrendered if I do so.  I should seek His guidance and help when striving to do my best, and striving to accomplish things, but I should never wrestle with God for those things to happen.  It is always way out of line to try and make God do what you want.  It shoes incredible disrespect and shows that you are not surrendered.

While itnis never okay to wrestle with God, it can be okay to wrestle for God.  For instance, it can be okay to wrestle at trying to become more like Him and serve Him better.  This type of wrestling is me partnering with God, relying on His strength, and seeking Him as I work to become more like Him, serve Him, and further His Kingdom.

How to breakaway from the ways of this world

From Andy Stanley "Breakaway" series.

If I don't want to live a boring life thatnfalls into the patterns of this world, I need to do the following....

1. recognize that God is working in every circumstance I find myself in.  I need to therefore be seeking Him for how He wants to use me and be seeking to be a light for Him.
2.  Realize that my beliefs are what lead to my decisions and therefore outcomes in life from those decisions.  I therefore need to allow God to transform the way that I think.
2.  Realize that God always knows best.

3.  Do not follow my heart.  Follow God's wisdom and Word.  My heart will fool me and lead me astay.

4.  God has a purpose for my life.  I need to live in a way which is obedient to Him so as not to miss His plans and purposes for me.

5.  Be honest with why I want to do the things I do.  This will help me make wiser decisions and not justify poor ones.  Don't be foolish by justifying bad decisions which are sinful!

Have a new kid by Friday parenting book notes by Kevin Lehman

1.  Let reality be the teacher.  No need for anger and lectures, let authentic consequences be the teacher.

2.  When you ask them to do something, no need for reminders or hounding.  If they don't do it, then simply provide meaningful, authentic consequence and walk away.

3.  Respond rather than react.  Don't get angry and make a mountain out of a mole hill.