Jan. 9th, 2016 1 Peter 1:3-9

1 Peter:1:3-9 (NLT)

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad.[a] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

I really enjoyed the message version this morning but didn't think it fully captured the GLORY of this verse...

It was so perfect today for me....

1) Because I can not begin to tell you the number of people I have spoke to this very week who are dealing with these 'trials'. Yet as I keep encouraging them, this verses proves that they have something to still rejoice for!

The Trial is now, but it isn't permanent. It may seem like it won't end, that the sorrow doesn't go away, but there is a SALVATION and a HOPE that we can focus on in Jesus' eternal home for us.

2) Because as I was reading it a song was playing on my Spotify list... "Bless the Lord" by Will Reagan. It just repeats on the chorus "Bless the Lord oh my soul and let all that is within me SHOUT OUT!!!"

What if? What if in your sorrow you choose to SHOUT OUT to God with PRAISE?

What if? What if you focused on HIS saving Grace and Hope of eternity and not on your present trail?

If your focus was not inward but OUTWARD would that change your position? Would that change your posture of praise?

There was a time that Mandy and I were experiencing a deep trial in our life. We knew we were on the journey God wanted us on... but it was not easy.

One day someone told us, in fact it might have even been in a sermon... I can't recall... but they challenged us to pray over our past and ask God to show us all the times he SHOWED UP for us!

As we did we began to step through our lives chronologically. We had things like our marriage, our first born etc... but along the way an amazing thing happened...

You see we remembered things that we had forgotten.

As a child I spent some time in the hospital. The doctors had come down to only one possible cause and that was the word "Lukemia". How scary for a young child. I can still see my mother standing next to the dr. crying.

But then I remembered that God healed me. It became something as simple as an allergy to Red Dye #40!

Then we walked down life further and God reminded us of Skylar.

You see our first ultrasound of Skylar we found that her heart was on the wrong side of her body. Now there is a anomaly where all organs etc are reversed but it was only her heart. Thus outside the womb her blood would flow in the wrong direction and she would not survive. It was like this for multiple ultrasounds... BUT GOD showed up and healed her!

HOW DO WE FORGET THESE TIMES WHEN GOD SHOWED UP?

It's like the Israelites who continually SAW GOD but then turned and forgot him or cursed Him.

We are so FICAL as humans...

We get so focused on our CURRENT issues the we MISS how much GOD LOVES US!

What do you need to do today to be reminded about WHO GOD IS and HOW HE HAS SHOWN UP IN YOUR LIVES?

Book of Life Recovery by Arterburn and Stoop

            Many of us know friends and family who have had to go to recovery for different things.  Some for Alcohol  others for eating disorders, etc.  Best selling authors Stephen Arterburn and David Stoop have joined together to write a book that uses stories, examples and Biblical Wisdom to help guide anyone through the Twelve Step process of Recovery.

            Here is what the publisher had to say about this title:

Do you struggle with addictions or dependencies, or do you want to help someone who does? From the authors of the popular Life Recovery series that has guided millions of readers back to health and wholeness, now comes the ultimate recovery book--written from a Christian perspective. As authors and counselors, Stephen Arterburn and David Stoop walk readers through the Twelve Steps of recovery. They share real-life personal stories from survivors as well as Biblical stories and verses to support readers in their journey. Whether using the book alone, or as a companion to the popular Life Recovery Bible, this is an essential resource for anyone wanting to walk closer with God through recovery, as well as for their counselors, pastors, and loved ones.

            This is a well written book that will help anyone through Recovery as it points them to the true BIBILCAL source of their strength.  

            If you are a pastor, a teacher, a consoler, a parent, a friend, a human… then you should purchase this book.  It may just provide the resources you need at just the God ordained time to help a friend or family member who is in need.

Teaching Children when to Cry

I recently received a book from Childpress Books.
The boy who cried at Everything.  by Betsy Childs.

I have to say it was an okay book.  The theme behind the book was to teach a younger child when is it okay to cry and when isn't it okay.

As a father of 4, and soon to be 6, children under the age of 10; I understand what this title is trying to do.  I have a three year old son who currently wants to cry at everything.  "I want a Drink"  "In a min." "I WANT IT NOW!!" and the tears begin...

The premise of the book was great.  The illustrations while simple did make the point.  Yet I am left feeling as though I just had the salad and I am still waiting on the steak.

The book, don't get me wrong, may work for a older child who understands better and who can visualize and understand the hurt that is portrayed that shows when it is okay to cry.  Yet for a younger child like my 3 year old he just cried that he wanted it read again...

So again: If you have an older then 5 year old this book may work for them depending on their personality and experiences that they have experienced.  Maybe it isn't a bird, but a cat they loved that died or was ran over.  Maybe they have experienced the loss of a family member. 
Yet to a younger then 5 who doesn't fully have the capacity to distinguish between hurt, pain, grief or just plane want... this book does little to help address the issue...

Now if you buy the hardcover and you hit them over the head with it... JUST KIDDING!!