September 16, 2010

Christians and grudges - they shouldn't mix

Because this month’s theme is forgiveness, it seems only appropriate to discuss what happens when we don’t forgive. A grudge is having resentment or ill will towards someone who has wronged you. Holding a grudge can create a lot of internal bitterness, anger and resentment towards others and even towards God.

Many times in our Christian life we are faced with working on our relationships. Christians are commanded to love those around them, as God loves them; and they are to use their relationships on earth to point others to having a relationship with God. John 13:34-35 repeats Jesus’ command, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

By holding a grudge, a Christian is not loving a person enough to demonstrate forgiveness towards them and are ultimately not showing their love for God and their thankfulness for what He has done for them.

What does all of this mean? It means love those around you. Don’t keep a record of wrongdoings, life is too short for relationships to be weak because of grudges. Of course it won’t be easy because it is human nature to hold on to injustice. However, any time a person considers holding on to hurt, they should remember how much Christ did for them. Everything else pales in comparison.

September 09, 2010

The Ultimate Example of Forgiveness: Jesus

Last week, we talked about what forgiveness meant. To recap, forgiveness, simply put, is releasing someone from their debt. Jesus demonstrated this principle to the fullest extent when He released believerʼs debt of sin by dying on the cross.

People sin. That sin separates them from having a relationship with God, because He is holy. Because of that sin, there is no way that anyone could earn their way to heaven. No matter how “perfect” a person may seem, even one sin, perhaps an impure thought or selfish action, will prevent them from being able to earn their way to heaven. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”

In order for the relationship between God and man to be restored, someone had to pay the debt of sin – which is death. Romans 6:23 explains this further, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This debt has to be paid by someone who had never sinned and who could handle the enormous weight of the worldʼs sins. There was only one person qualified for this near impossible job – Jesus. Philippians 2:7-8 talks about what Christ did so that the world could be saved, “but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”

When it comes to forgiveness as a believer, Jesus set the standard for forgiveness because he paid the ultimate price; through him, people can have a personal relationship with God and have their penalty for sin removed. Christ paid off the worldʼs debts with an attitude of love and humility. Believers, in return, should be able to forgive the debts of offenses against them which fade in the comparison to what Jesus withstood.

September 02, 2010

What is Forgiveness?

Forgiveness comes from the Greek word, “Aphiemi”, which means “to let go, give up a debt, forgive to remit, keep no longer.” The Webster dictionary defines the world “forgive” as “to grant relief from payment of.” Forgiveness is excusing a debt that someone owes you. For example, if a criminal goes to court and the judge wipes clean his record of wrongdoing, that criminal has been forgiven. Christ did this for believers, he forgave them by wiping away their sins or “debts” with His blood.

Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of the Holocaust, gave the illustration that Godʼs forgiveness of our sins was like He was throwing the record of our transgressions into the deepest sea and putting out a “No Fishing” sign. That meant He wonʼt hold those sins against believers.

Because we are all sinners, no one deserves the gift of salvation. The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not as results of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Because of Godʼs immeasurable love for us, He sent His only begotten Son to pay off our debt of sin. We will talk about this more in depth next week, but itʼs important to know who has wiped away our stained record and made us clean.

Godʼs act of forgiveness is an example to us for how we are to treat others. God commands believers in Mark 11:25-26 to forgive others lest their heavenly Father not forgive them. It is simple: because God has forgiven us much, we ought to forgive others when they offend us. We are never more like our Father in Heaven then when we demonstrate to others the grace of forgiveness. Forgiveness can be one of the best witnessing tools because it points people to what Christ did for us on the cross.

August 26, 2010

Modeling Obedience to Children

When people think of obedience they might think of children needing to obey their parents. In fact, Deuteronomy 5:16 may be one of the most quoted verses among parents. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” However, everyone, regardless of age or status, needs to understand the godly principles of biblical obedience.

One of the best examples of obedience to authority in the life of an adult is found in the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends were Israelites taken from their home land to be trained for service to the king of Babylon himself. The Bible describes these four men in Daniel 1:4, “..young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the kingʼs palace.”

The king instructed the officials in charge of their training to give them food from the kingʼs table and teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. However, Daniel was a man of God. Although he was miles away from his own parents and religious leaders, he made a promise to himself. Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

Right from the beginning, Daniel was resolved to not only obey God but also respect the foreign and rather pagan authority placed over him. God rewarded Danielʼs resolve by granting him favor from those in charge of him. God also gave him knowledge and understanding of everything that was taught and He even gave him the ability to interpret dreams.

During Danielʼs service to the king (Nebuchadnezzar at the time) the king had a dream. None of the kingʼs wisest advisors or “magicians” could interpret the dream, but Daniel was able to, thanks to the abilities God had given him. He immediately gave glory to God, “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.” (Daniel 2:19)

Later, in chapter three, the friends of Daniel were put to the ultimate “obedience test.” Nebuchadnezzar had built a statue of himself and had wanted everyone to bow down and worship it. He instructed that if anyone refused to worship, they would be thrown into a furnace. However, Danielʼs friends told the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

It turned out that they were thrown into the furnace, and God did rescue them. While most situations will not have consequences of fiery furnaces, the principle of obeying Godʼs laws remains. Adults need to obey God, regardless of the cost or hardship. Parents especially need to model this kind of respectful obedience in their lives for their children to observe and imitate because they are training the next generation of God followers.

August 19, 2010

Obedience: Jonah and the Really Big Fish

Charles Spurgeon once said, “We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.” The way Christians demonstrate their love for their Savior can be summed up in John 14:15, ʻIf you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” To a Christian, Godʼs Word should be more than just a book cracked open on Sunday mornings. The Bible is an action plan that if carried out can transform a personʼs life and it is meant to be obeyed.

There are many stories of obedience in the Bible. However, one in particular, as unusual as it is, stands out as one that illustrates the need to obey God – Jonah and the “great fish.”

Jonah got his own book in the Bible, which should prove to the reader how much God values obedience. He lived during the time of Israelʼs history when God was using prophets to preach His word to the Israelites. Jonah was unique in that God wanted to send him to the city of Nineveh, which belonged to the great nation of Assyria. Assyria was one of Israelʼs worst enemies and were known for their particularly cruel treatment of war prisoners.

God gave Jonah a direct command in Jonah 1:2, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” However, because Jonah didnʼt want God to spare the lives of his enemies, he fled on a boat in the opposite direction to Tarshish. God intercepted Jonah, had a fish swallow him in the water (Jonah 1:17), and had the fish spit him back on dry land. God once again gave him the direct command in Jonah 3:2, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.”

Jonah obeyed the second time and issued Godʼs proclamation. He told the people of Nineveh that God was going to overthrow them in 40 days. When the king of Nineveh heard this, he instructed the people to fast and repent. The king says in Jonah 3:9, “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” God did have mercy on the Ninevite people and he did not destroy them. The story goes on to explain how Jonah did not like Godʼs decision, and how he sat outside the city and begged God to kill him. God explained to Jonah that He had compassion on Nineveh just like he had compassion on Jonah.

The moral of the story is that God expects us to obey. Period. When Christians obey, they are telling God that they trust and love Him enough to follow His commandments, even when they donʼt understand it. 1 John 2:3-5 says, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ʻI have come to know Him,ʼ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the ruth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this
we know that we are in Him…”

August 12, 2010

Obedience and Christianity

“Stop it.” “Get down from there.” “Donʼt make me stop this car.” These are a few phrases that parents will find themselves repeating over and over during those fundamental years of child-raising. Naturally, parents would love to have children who sit quietly reading their Bible, never scream “Nooooo!!” after being given an instruction, and whose only goal is to honor and obey their parents. Unfortunately, thanks to humanityʼs innate sinful nature, there is no such thing as a “perfect” child or a “perfect” parent.”

As a Christian, parenting becomes more than just teaching kids to respond correctly to commands. Christian parenting goes beyond, “because I told you to.” Ultimately it becomes “because God told you to.” In the last blog post, we emphasized the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and mother...” (Deuteronomy 5:16). While parents may like to think of that command as the best one, God gave another command that He emphasizes as being the most important of all commands.

Mark 12:28-29 says, “One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing He had answered them well, asked Him, ʻWhat commandment is the foremost of all?ʼ Jesus answered, ʻThe foremost is, Hear, O Israel! The Lord Our God is One Lord; And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.ʼ

God thinks obedience towards Himself and the act of expressing that obedience through every outlet (i.e. the heart, soul, mind, strength) is the most important thing a Christian can do. Of course with a heart of obedience towards God comes a heart of obedience towards parents since they are Godʼs appointed authority over children.

One way to teach obedience towards God to children is to ask them why they think they should obey. Their reasons shouldnʼt be just to please their parents or to not get in trouble. It should be to give glory to God through their actions. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether, then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

When obedience becomes more than just “punishment avoidance,” children become more reciprocal to their parentʼs instructions. Children who are obedient because they are trying honor God are the ones who will most likely remain strong-fast in their faith throughout their life. Even when the parents arenʼt there to “monitor” them, children will continue to make correct choices because their faith is now their own and not their parents.

August 06, 2010

Obedience: How to Fix the Heart Not the Symptoms

The ten commandments. Has any one human been able to obey and keep all ten throughout their entire life? No. The only person who was ever able to live an absolutely perfect life was Jesus Christ. Everyone else has lied, cheated, coveted, stolen, disobeyed and worshipped idols at one point or another. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (NASB)

A person may become discouraged because no matter how hard they strive for perfection, they will fail. However, if that person is a Christian, there is hope. Christians are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with HIm, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” (NASB)

Because Christians are no longer slaves to sin and are instead “instruments of righteousness to God,” (Romans 6:13) obedience becomes a very important aspect of the Christian walk. Obedience, done with the proper heart motives, is an act of worship towards God.

One of the more obvious human relationship that emphasizes obedience is that of a parent/child relationship. Children struggle to obey their parents because their sin nature resents the idea of submission to authority. The fifth commandment, probably the most quoted verse among parents, says, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16, NASB) This is the only commandment in the ten that gives an incentive for obeying. The Lord promises a long life, filled with blessings, to those who honor their parents.

Why does the Lord emphasize the need for children to obey their parents? The parent/child relationship is a direct reflection of the Christian/God relationship. In teaching children to honor and obey parents, we are actually teaching them to obey God. Because of this, It is important to not just focus on “behavior modification.” Instead, parents need to focus on addressing a childʼs sin nature and teaching that obedience comes from a submissive heart to the ways of God. By only correcting the symptoms of sin, (i.e. lying, cheating, yelling fits) a parent cannot properly reveal to their children the deeply rooted evil that lies in every personʼs heart.

The next time a child acts up, their parent should sit them down and start guiding them back to the root of that problem - their sinful heart. By addressing the childʼs heart motives and not just the sinful results thereof, a parent can cultivate true obedience in their childrenʼs lives.

July 28, 2010

Developing Faith in Children

How do you instill faith in children? It can be difficult and time-consuming among all the ins-and-outs of daily living to teach kids the lessons that are worth knowing- lessons of the Christian faith. However Proverbs 22:6 proclaims the rewards of a parentʼs hard work during the developmental years of their childʼs life. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

For this reason, Faith-building should be incorporated into everyday activities. You donʼt need to wait for Christmas to teach about Godʼs gift to mankind. You donʼt need to wait for VBS to teach your kids about the armor of God. These things can be reviewed in the kitchen while cooking dinner.

Here are some suggestions for developing faith in young believers.

  1. Make sure you are right with God. Parents may become so focused on their childrenʼs spiritual walk that they forget how vital it is that their walk with God is vibrant and growing. Children watch what their parents do and if the parentsʼ actions arenʼt matching their words, their words loose strength. Have a daily quiet time with God. Confess sins. Be honest. Children are looking to their parents for a Godly example.
  2. Have family prayer time. This becomes a time where families can share whatʼs going on in their lives and encourage each other in prayer. Make this a priority because it not only bonds children to God, it bonds them to the parents. Parents will know all of their childʼs struggles and hopes through their honest prayer. While theyʼre young, prayers may only consist of “Dear Jesus, thanks for my crayons, I love you, Good night.” But remember that these prayer times are creating lifetime habits.
  3. Commit to going to a strong church every week and get involved. By establishing the importance of being involved in a local church body, parents are showing their kids how dedicated you are to your faith. Demonstrating that an strong Christian will do what it takes to work on their relationship with God gives children a good example for them to follow with their future families. Serving in a ministry is a great way to show kids what faith means. When kids see their parents serving faithfully in church, they learn how to act out their faith. Faith becomes more than just a word on a Sunday school chalk board. It becomes an action.

Donʼt lose heart, building faith in children is hard work. It takes perseverance, patience, and the ability to laugh at your mistakes. If a parent become downhearted, they need to remember that God gave them these children because He knew that they were the best person for the job. God will continue to give them the tools to shape His children and He might just teach the parents a couple lessons about faith along the way.

July 22, 2010

How to lead a child to Christ

“I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.” Spoken by a child, those may be the most treasured words of any loving parent or teacher. While the process of planting the seeds of the gospel and cultivating the right atmosphere of biblical teaching can be a long one, the reward of being able to see a young person commit their life to Christ is worth all the effort.

That being said, itʼs important for youth workers and parents to know how to correctly guide a child through the process of salvation. There are several things to be cautious of when a child approaches you with questions.

First of all, make sure that you are letting them make this decision. Even though it is very exciting to see a young person come to Christ, we cannot make that decision for them. Ask them what it is exactly they are wanting to do. Encourage them to explain why it is that they feel the need to be saved. Even though being saved from the punishment of hell is a huge motivating factor, it should not be the primary reason to commit oneʼs life to Christ. We arenʼt selling fire insurance. The reason to become a Christ follower is because we are sinners and cannot redeem ourselves.

Initially, the child needs admit that they are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We cannot save ourselves because of our sins. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NASB) The consequence of our sin is death, but God provided a sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NASB)

Next, they need to know what being a Christian actually means. Being a Christian means having a personal relationship with God. Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (NASB)

If the child knows that they are a sinner, separated from God, and agrees that they are ready to commit their life to serving God, they are ready for this decision. Remember that while the “sinnerʼs prayer” is an important step in the Justification process, the prayer is not what “makes you a Christian.” Itʼs the sacrifice of Jesus and the commitment of oneʼs life that seals one into the Kingdom of God, not the prayer. John 1:12 says, “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” Lead the child through a prayer of commitment and acknowledgment that Jesus is the one true God and worthy to follow for the rest of their lives.

After they make the commitment, discuss with them about how to live out their decision. Going to church, fellowshipping with other believers, serving the Body of Christ, confessing sins are all part of being an active Child of God.

There are many verses that describe how to live, how to worship, how to glorify God, etc and it can be all very overwhelming at first. The key part to being a Christian is to live oneʼs life according to how God called you to live. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [things we worry about] will be added to you.” (NASB)

Finally, encourage the child to tell their parents about their decision and try to connect the family with a church if they havenʼt already found a supportive Body of Christ to fellowship with.

Sunday School Idea:
A good way to help children understand about why they need Christ is to have them make booklets explaining the process and having them take it home. This gets their parents involved and gives them time to think about what they need to do. Have you ever lead a child to Christ? What was your approach? We would love to hear from you!

July 15, 2010

Sunday Schoolʼs favorite word: Faith

Faith. We say the word all the time, but do you actually know what having faith means? The word “faith” comes from the Greek word "pistis,” which means “to believe.” To have faith means to put your entire trust and belief system in something. Because you are putting your entire trust in that entity, it is very important that what you are having faith in is the right thing.

If you tell a kid to have faith, what are you telling them? You are telling them to trust. For example, kids have trust (i.e. faith) in their parents that they are making the right decisions for them and their futures. Kids are known for how trusting they can be, hence why people call pure trust, “childlike faith.”

In todayʼs world, kids have faith in many different areas. They have faith in the school systems to give them a good education which will help them eventually get a job and provide for a family. They have faith in their friends to help them get through tough situations. They have faith in their video games, computers and T.V.s to help entertain their minds. The reason kids put their faith in these relationships or objects is because they are relying on them for a result. Kids trust their parents for protection. Kids trust their friends for encouragement. Kids trust their entertainment for “good times.”

None of the above mentioned things are wrong necessarily, but they have one thing in common...at one point or another-any earthly relationship or possession will fail. Yes, even if a person is the “worldʼs best parent/teacher,” they will at one point or another fall short of their studentʼs expectations or standards. Perhaps a promise will go unfulfilled, or a responsibility may be neglected. Because these things and people will eventually fall short of the faith placed in them, one might wonder, “is there anything that wonʼt break my trust”? Indeed. If you open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 1:9, it says, “God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ or Lord.” (NASB version)

God is faithful and He never sins, which means he also never fails our trust. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.” Itʼs pretty reassuring to trust a perfect person because you know they wonʼt fail.

Not only do we need to have faith in God, the Father, but we must have faith in His Son, Jesus, who laid down His life for the sin of the world. Jesus proved His trustworthiness by making the ultimate sacrifice, giving us the reason to believe. He provided the way to have a relationship with God. In the Bible, John 14:6-7 says, “Jesus said to him, ʻI am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know HIm, and have seen Him.ʼ” (NASB)

How do we develop faith in our children? While that will be explained further in the next couple weeks, the simple answer can be found in Romans 10:16, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (NASB) Faith comes by developing that relationship with God which is done by reading the Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with fellow believers.

Children are very capable of being some of the most faithful members of the body of God, because their heart motives are usually more pure than that of an adult. That is one of the reasons why it is so important to instill faith in the next generation of God Followers.

Sunday School idea: To teach kids a valuable lesson about what itʼs like to have faith in a perfect God here is a good illustration. Grab a solid, sturdy chair. Ask a kid to sit in it. Once the kid plops down in it, ask why they were so quick to trust it. Probably, the answer will be because it had never fallen apart before. The chair had “demonstrated” faithfulness and trustworthiness.

God has proven his faithfulness to us over and over and over in the Bible and in each and every one of our lives. He will never fail us, and He is the only one who is worthy of our faith.

Note: If you are a parent or a teacher, and you want to point kids to the God who will never fail them, you have come to the right place! Theo Presents is dedicated to reaching the world with the Gospel of Christ and we want to help you in your service to Christ! Check out our Web site: www.theopresents.com.

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