THE TRIP OF ALL TRIPS

I have been on some amazing trips and have seen some incredible sights, but nothing compares to where I went and what I saw at the age of eleven, nothing. I’ve stood at the White House and day dreamed for hours. My feet have rested on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the famous “I Have A Dream” speech. I have been to the Washington Monument and traced my fingers over the names on the Vietnam Memorial. I have walked the halls of all the Smithsonians. My knees have felt the ground next to the grave of John F. Kennedy and I’ve stood by the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But none of that compares to where I went and what I saw at the age of eleven, nothing. I have looked down on the Grand Canyon and up to the snow covered peaks of volcanic Mount Rainier. On a clear day I’ve gazed upon the Cascades and marveled at the Olympus Mountains. I’ve stood over Niagara Falls as well us under it; deafened by its roar and soaked by its mist. I’ve stood on our old war ships and toured our new ones. I’ve walked the sacred grounds of the Civil War. I have floated in the Pacific and waded in the Atlantic. But nothing compares to a trip I took when I was eleven, nothing.  At the age of eleven I walked down a church isle and knelt at Mount Calvary. I looked up and saw an old rugged cross. To my horror and shame all my sins - past, present, and future, were nailed. There I experienced forgiveness and release of all my sins, gone. The Man who created the tree upon which He would be crucified, with outstretched arms,  asked for my life. I gave it to him. My destiny was changed for eternity. I was eleven years old that day. Nothing compares to that trip, nothing.

TOP 10 REASONS GOING TO HEAVEN WILL BE A BLAST

1. GET A NEW BODY
2. CUSTOM BUILT HOME
3. EAT GREAT FOOD
4. TALK WITH BIBLE CHARACTERS
5. REUNITE WITH LOVED ONES
6. LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD
7. IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME WE FALL
8. BECAUSE OF THE “NO MORES.” no more death, pain, sickness, sorrow
9. AWESOME WORSHIP SERVICES
10. WE WILL SEE JESUS

ATTITUDE

A business man on his deathbed called his friend to his side and made one last request of him: “Steve, when I die, I need you to promise me that you will make sure that my body is cremated.” Steve replied, “What would you like for me to do with your ashes after I carry out your request?” He replied, “Just place them in a large envelope and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service and please write in red ink …Now you have everything!”

Paying taxes and experiencing death are the two inevitable events of life according to Mark Twain. How you approach both says a great deal about your attitude and the level of faith where you are living your life.

A quote from author, Charles Swindoll. “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think, or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…. A church…. A home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will react a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play upon the one ‘string’ we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

DID YOU KNOW PETER QUIT - part 1

John 21 is the story of Peter being brought back into ministry. When you think about it, this is an amazing fact. Really, you could say that humanly speaking the furtherance of Christianity had been placed into Peter's hand. But now he has abandoned the call. 

Peter was unquestionably the leader of the disciples. Every time the disciples are mentioned in the Bible he is always mentioned first. He is the outspoken one. he is the one who answers question when no one has asked any. He dives in when the water is shallow. And he makes promises that he doesn't keep.

This is why he is fishing for fish and not men in John 21. He has quit. The reason seems obvious - he promised Jesus he would go all the way, even death, and soon after denied that he even knew Jesus. He gave up. He quit and returned to fishing.

Peter makes the announcement in verse 3 when he simply says he is going fishing. Here is the part we miss with the english translation - Peter spoke in the aorist tense meaning this was a continual habitual action. He wasn't saying he was going fishing for a while, but that he was returning back to fishing on an ongoing basis. Peter was quitting his calling as a disciple. 

That's the first tragedy. The second tragedy follows in verse 3 when six other disciples said they were going with him. That's usually how it happens when someone falls and goes astray - others fall too. We now have 7 disciples who have left their calling as disciples and Peter was leader of the pack.

 Crossing of the Red Sea

There's plenty of debate over exactly where God parted the waters for the crossing of the Red Sea (and even if it was a different body of water altogether), but based on best guesses of archaeologists, it's a pretty cool visualization:


--The crossing path was probably ten miles long and at least a half-mile wide to accomodate over 2 million people


--They would have walked downhill for a mile or two, then flat across the bottom for a few miles, then uphill to the other side


--At the bottom, the walls of water could have been over 5,000 feet high on either side of them! For comparison, the tallest building in the U.S. is Chicago's Sears Tower at 1,700 feet (including steeple/antenna). It would takethree of them to equal the height of the water that was parted for the Israelites as they walked across the sea floor.

DEALING WITH DEMONS

EPHESIANS 6:10-24

Far too long the church has been made up of sissies. This is the one group that it seems ok to push around, make-fun-of, and dismiss. This is not to be an army of weak, wimpy Christians.  

The command from verse 10 is to be “strong” in the Lord. The word “strong” literally means to be clothed in strength (dunamis). This word is the one from which we get our word dynamite. Does that give you a clue? 

This is written in the present tense which  means to be continually strengthened - ongoing. It is also written in the passive which means though you are to be continually strengthened, you cannot do it your self. It is the kind of strength you must rely on another to possess. Yet, you are commanded to have it.

The same verse then gives us the word “power.” This is the Greek word kratos. It denotes strength and might and control and power. Again, it is a power we do not possess in ourselves. It is a borrowed power or a transferred power.

Ok sissy Christians, get a feel for what Paul wants to say by grasping the three macho words in this one verse: strength, power, and might. These are battle words; they are Marine types of words. If you get the idea there is some kind of battle for which Christians are to be prepared, then you are correct. 

Did you hear about the WWII soldiers who were still bunkered down years after the war was over? They hadn’t heard they were no longer at war. Just the opposite is true for so many Christians, they haven’t heard there is a war in full rage. Here’s what you can mark down, if you do not know you are in the midst of an all out battle, then you are seriously getting your butt kicked and do not even know it. You are losing!

Let’s keep going with the passage. Verse 11 says to put on the whole Armor of God. This is the process of getting spiritually dressed. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you are automatically clothed with spiritual armor. The opposite is true. Also notice there are no pieces for the rear, only the front. Christians are not to be sissies who are running away. This is a full force ahead endeavor.

The reason for the armor is made very clear at the end of verse 11. It is the schemes of the devil. Did you know the devil has schemes? Did you know these schemes are designed specifically for you? Did you know that all of your weaknesses, either picked up or passed down from family, are considered in Satan’s schemes? Satan has designed schemes just for you and the end goal is to trip you in your Christian walk and cause you to fall and take others with you.

Verse 12 may be the most difficult to swallow of all. It clearly states that our battle is not with flesh and blood. Do you believe that? Stop it because you don’t. Neither do I most of the time. I’ll prove it to you. Then why do you get into arguments with your spouse or kids if your battle is not with flesh and blood?

Our true battle happens in the spiritual realm. Paul is very clear our everyday battle is with demons. Ok, don’t freak out. But neither do I want you to misunderstand me. I did not say we battle Satan. I said demons. Satan can be only one place at one time; Satan is not omnipresent. Most of us have never even come across Satan. If he, let’s say, in Iraq, then he is not here.

Consider these words in verse 12: rulers, authorities, powers, forces. What do you notice about each of these? It is that they are all plural. That can’t be Satan, he is not plural. He certainly is the general overseeing this war. But day-to-day encounters are carried out by his demonic forces. Specifically, these are references to a demonic hierarchy in the spiritual realm. This is where our battle takes place. No wonder so many live defeated lives, they do not even know who the enemy is. Imagine going out to battle and not have the enemy identified. What are your prospects of winning that? Slim.

“Therefore”, which is how verse 13 begins, “put on the whole armor of God.” That’s Paul’s answer. Based o the fact that we are in a spiritual battle with demonic forces, put on the armor.

Let me quickly identify the purpose of each piece of armor. The Helmet of Salvation protects your mind and thinking. The Breast Plate of Righteousness protects your heart which is the seat of your emotions. It is to protect you emotionally. The Belt of Truth is to remind us of the truth - who we are in Christ. The Scandals of Peace refer to walking in peace as peacemakers where ever we go. The Shield of Faith is our faith in Jesus and His faith which we stand behind to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy. Finally, there is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We use the Word of God in a defensive manner by throwing scripture back at temptation. Also, it is an offensive weapon which we use to lead others to Christ.

Here is our war. Here are the enemies. You can’t see them, but they are there. You do not have to succumb to their strategies. You are expected to live in victory. Your keys to success are clearly set before you in this marvelous passage.

Raising Children or Eating Them

Ephesians 6:1-9

In the animal kingdom, parents often eat their young. Have you ever felt that way? OK, maybe a little extreme, but sometimes you feel a little extreme when it comes to parenting.

The Part We Miss - We understand the part where children are told to obey their parents. But in that sentence there is an implication we miss. Do you see it? Look at it and think for a moment. Give up? OK, here it is.

This letter called Ephesians, like the other letters of the New Testament, were written under God’s supervision by people like Paul. They were then sent where? They were sent to the local churches of Asia Minor - the area around modern day Turkey. These letters were then read to the congregation by the local pastor. Figured out where we are going? What this mysterious implication might be? Let’s keep going then.

This was the method of distributing God’s Word because there were no printing presses and individuals did not have a copy of the letters in their homes. So the church would receive it, read it, sometimes copy it, then send it on to the next church in line. Almost there - neither could most people in this day read. It would have been useless to have individual copies as a result. Therefore, and that is a huge therefore, to hear God’s love letter called the New Testament, where did the people have to go? Yep, to church. One more step.

Ephesians 6:1 was a command give to whom? Children. Where were the butts of these children planted when the Bible was read? In the church. If Paul is speaking directly to children in 6:1, where were these children? In church! So, the implication is two-fold: One, have your kids in church to hear God’s Word. Do you see that underlying implication? There is no substitute for this. Second, there is a place in the actual “big” church for kids. Do you think there is something important about the entire family gathering together for the reading of God’s Word? That seems to be how it was done in the New Testament days. I am not suggesting we do away with nurseries and children’s programs, but maybe, just maybe, there are times the church should gather entire families from little Billy Bob to PaPa Joe for the reading of God’s message. Why not have special occasion when everyone filled the auditorium and heard the Bible read? For get the noise of little ones - or should I say over look it. This is one family experience I see implied in Ephesians 6.

Now The Bible Study - 

CHILDREN - What’s the age limit? When does a child come out from under this command to obey their parents? Is it when they are teens? Is it at 21? Perhaps when they move out of the house? Maybe when they get married and have a family of their own. Honestly, any answer would be supposition. But may I throw an opinion at you? As long as your child is depending on you, then this command applies. As soon as they are independent of you and your wallet, then they are on their own.

I think you can actually prove this by understanding the culture in which this passage was originally written. Off spring actually lived at home until they were grown and married. That doesn’t mean the older children did not make any of their own decisions, they did. That’s a part of training.

OBEY YOUR PARENTS - Big question for parents - This command for children to obey their parents is most difficult on whom, children or parents? The answer is parents. Why is that? Because it takes a lot of gumption and consistency to see to it that your child knows you are in charge. They may throw fits and cry and try to intimidate you, but you better be up for the challenge and win. If you do not, you will have hell on earth.

How about a Greek word lesson? The word for obey is hupakouo. It carries the idea of one who is obedient to another because they are inferior. In the home, Dad and Mom are the superior in case you were wondering. Children are required to obey their parents. This is what God says.

Children must be trained to obey and that’s the parents job. The little nerds do not always want to line up with their rules, but that doesn’t give them a pass. God requires obedience. It is necessary for their spiritual and psychological health.

Colossians 3:20 says children are to obey their parents “in all things.” That doesn’t mean if your parents want you to violate God’s word, but otherwise obey.

HONOT YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER - This is more about ATTITUDE where obey is more about ACTION.  

Three motives for obedience:

1. Fear - if I don’t I’ll get a spanking.
2. Want - If I do this then I will get that.
3. Respect - this includes love and honor. This is real obedience. This is what all parents are after.

“Why did you do that son?” SOn says, “Because I just love you dad.” 

The word for honor in the original language is timao. It means to value, esteem highly, respect and regard. So the action is to obey. But the attitude that counts is respect and honor.

How big is this to God? So big that He attaches a promise of a long life to those who follow. Whenever I hear of a person living to their 80s and 90s and 100s I think they must have obeyed their parents.