Our attitude is the result of choice, not a condition. When things are not going well and you feel like throwing in the towel, how is your attitude? When difficult situations arise in our life we either respond with the right attitude or react with the wrong one.

When a doctor gives you medicine to fight off a cold and your body doesn't handle it well it is said that you have a negative reaction to the medicine. If your body is getting better from the medicine it is said that you are responding well. Our attitudes should be responsive not reactive.

The best way to have an attitude worth catching is to make sure the inside is healthy. Matthew 15:18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you... So, we have to think differently. In other words, our attitudes are an indication of what is on the inside. Other people don’t create your spirit, they only reveal it.

Chuck Swindoll sums up attitude best when he says, “The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts, it is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, 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, it will cause a church to soar or sink. It will be the difference between a happy home and home of horror. It’s attitude and the remarkable thing is, you have a choice everyday regarding the attitude you will embrace for that day. We can not change our past, we can not change the tick of the clock we can not change that march toward death, we can not change the fact that people will act a certain way, we can not change the inevitable. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I respond to it.”

Question: If attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching today?

Philippians 4:8 . Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Have you ever taken your child to a wedding?  You know the weddings where a family member is getting married and the whole family needs to be there?!  Some of you may be thinking right now, “Only if I have to.”   I think of our Family Sundays a little like taking our children to a wedding. 

As a church we celebrate on the 5^th Sundays in a month, baptisms, communion, baby dedications and extended worship.  Pastor Marty refers to these as “next steps” for many.  There are those who want to be baptized and make a public declaration of an inward decision, a family who has had a child they want to dedicate back to God and all of us who want to take a moment to reflect on what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross, through communion.  Then together we celebrate in praise and worship to the Father for who He is!

When we include our children on Family Sundays, we deposit into them what to look forward to and we model to them our expression of our faith.  Much like a wedding, our children observe vows, see what “could be” and begin to think about what is to come. 

When they see peers or others being baptized, they begin to ask questions of what does it mean, or should they do the same?  When they hear someone share on what communion is; it gives you as the parent the opportunity to have communion with them and to answer questions they may have about it.  When they see a baby or small child being dedicated, it gives you as a parent the opportunity to share with them how they are a gift from God to you and how you have given them back in surrender for them to grow into who God has created them to be. (Such great conversation starters I think!)  And finally your child has a place to worship side by side with you and the entire congregation, seeing many forms of expression.

In Champs, we have worship on a weekly basis, this is where we are teaching and exhorting them about what worship is.  On our family Sunday it is reinforced.  Be encouraged parents, as we partner together to lay a spiritual foundation in the lives of your children, take advantage of these intentionally planned Family Sundays.  You never know the next time your child may ask to be baptized or share on communion.

Pastor Julie

As most of you know I recently went on a Missions Scouting trip to the Dominican Republic and to the Nation of Haiti.  It was a great trip that brought a lot of education and insight.

As a hobby I like to take photographs.  Over the years I have invested in a Nikon camera and a couple of really good lenses.  Trying to capture culture and tell stories of people through a camera lens has become a favorite past time of mine, especially on the mission field.  When I feel at a loss for words, a photo often will do the trick.

When we arrived in Haiti, I of course asked permission to take photos of the places we were visiting.  I was instructed to NEVER take pictures out of the vehicle we were driving in and to always ask before taking a photo out of consideration of people’s privacy.  My first reaction was of course.

I was only in Haiti for three days.  On the third day, we were driving around seeing more of the area outside of Port au Prince when it hit me!  I so wanted to take pictures out of the window to capture the life of the people of Haiti.  But…I was told not to.  Instantly something rose up in me that I did not like at all.  Does the story of Adam and Eve come to mind?

I quickly recognized how human I am and how much I don’t like to be told “NO.”  Just like Eve in the garden when God said you are allowed anything and everything EXCEPT to eat of the tree of good and evil.  And what did she do? The very thing God said no to.  I had lots of yes’s given to me in terms of taking pictures, I only had ONE no and I found myself tempted to break that rule. 

Isn’t that just like our kids?  How many times have we said they just want the things they can’t have?  I told them they could have all of these things, I’ve moved things out of the way, picked up and they still try to climb up to get it, I put a toy in front of them and they don’t want that, they want this thing which they can’t have.  Being on the other side of parenting young children, I wish now I had did better at saying YES to as many things as possible (not just when it was convenient) and no to only a few things!  I wonder how much less “fighting” and “disciplining” I would have had to face if I would have pushed for the yes?

I know this is long, but so worth the read! 

Question: What are we doing as parents to prepare our children to have a solid answer?

HERE IS ONE FOR YOU TO PONDER........ 

In hopes that all our college students are able to articulate this well.

In a College classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson.......

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.'

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then

asks one of his new students to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.. '

'Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment.

'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you

can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

 Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could.

Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.

'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer,

even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can

you answer that one?'

The student remains silent.

'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water

from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's

start again, young fella. Is God good?'

'Er..yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters. 'From God'

'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil

in this world?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'

'Yes'

'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created

everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to

the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'

Again, the student has no answer.

'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible

things, do they exist in this world?'

The student squirms on his feet.

'Yes.'

'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.

'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer

breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

'Tell me,'

he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice betrays him and cracks.

'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to

identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir.. I've never seen Him.'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'

'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus?

Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for

that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't..'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol,

science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science

has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of

His own.

'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'

' Yes.

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.  The

room suddenly becomes very quiet.

The student begins to explain.

'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat,

unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have

anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero,

which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no

such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest

-458 degrees.

Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits

energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.

You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.

We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because

heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of

it..'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom,

sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if it

isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence

of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light,

flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing

and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define

the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to

make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will

be a good semester.

'So what point are you making, young man?'

'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to

start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed?

Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains..

'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad

God.

You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we

can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses

electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood

either one.

To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact

that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the

opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor. Do

you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man,

yes, of course I do.'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes

where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and

cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you

not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a

preacher?'

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion

has subsided.

'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student,

let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around

the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the

professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there

anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the

professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one

appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of

empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no

brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain,

how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent.. The professor just stares at the student, his

face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man

answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with

life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?'

Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it

Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.. It is

in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These

manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it

does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is

just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe

the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what

happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's

like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that

comes when there is no light.'

The professor sat down.

If you read it all the way through and had a smile on your face when

you finished, mail to your friends and family with the title 'God vs

Science'

PS: The student was Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein wrote a book titled God vs Science in 1921...

Retraining the Heart

It’s amazing how transparent children can be when you take time to actively hear what they have to say. After listening for a while, it’s often possible to identify some key thinking errors that perpetuate the child’s problems.

Take some time to study your children. What weaknesses do they have? What lies do they believe? What are some of the unproductive things they’re saying in their hearts? It can be helpful to simply make observations and write them down. 

Ask yourself: What does he say when he’s arguing with me? What does she say when she’s angry? What does he mumble under his breath in his room or as he stomps down the hall? How does she report offenses to her friends? How does she rationalize and justify her mistakes? As you listen to your child talk, you’ll get a bigger picture of beliefs, values, and impressions that are guiding behavior.

Matthew 12:34 says, “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” As you learn to listen to your child’s heart, identify target areas that you sense are a problem. Behavior indicates what’s happening inside, so when you see a particular weakness, jot it down on a piece of paper. You might list things like procrastination, pride, fear, gloom and doom, or lack of confidence.

You’ve probably known these character weaknesses were causing problems. By identifying the misconceptions at the root of the behavior, you’ll be ready to do some deeper work in your child’s heart. Once you identify a heart issue that concerns you, then you can develop a strategy or action plan to help your child grow.

Do you follow the rules?  This question makes me cringe!  I follow the rules most of the time, but I do have a rebellious streak that cuts right through me.  Ask my mom how fun I was to raise between the ages of 13 and 16 when that rebellious streak was in full force!  Now that I am a mom, I think a lot about setting a good example for my son and that includes following the rules! 

Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  We should teach our children what is right and wrong when they are young so that they will have a foundation to stand on throughout their life!  Deuteronomy 6:7 says “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  In other words, we are ALWAYS teaching our children.  Every moment of the day can be turned into a teaching moment!

This also poses a dilemma for parents.  If every moment is a teaching moment, what are we teaching our children when WE don’t follow the rules?  Here are some examples:  Do you talk or text on your cell phone (without a hands-free device) with your kids in the car?  Do you book hotel rooms saying there will only be 2 people in the room, rather than pay the extra rate for having 3 or more people in the room?  Do you let your kids use sparklers or set off fireworks on the 4^th of July or New Year’s Eve if your city/county prohibits it?  Do you bring outside food/drink into a movie theater even if it is prohibited by the theater?  Do you get the free “water cup” at restaurants and put something other than water in it?

So, what do we teach our children when we intentionally break the rules?  We are teaching them that it is okay to pick and choose which rules to follow!  We are subtlety sending a message that rules don’t always apply to us.  As parents, we need to set a better example to our children and that starts with us following the rules.

A guest blog from Brenna Sandeen Round

Kevin DeYoung gives a fairly typical example of what gospel-centered attempts at parenting can look like in action:

Me: What’s the matter son?
Child: I want that toy and he won’t give it to me!
Me: Why do you want the toy?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: What’s going on in your heart when you desire that toy?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: Think about it son. Use your brain. Don’t you know something?
Child: I guess I just want the toy.
Me: Obviously. But why?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: Fine. [Mental note: abandon "why" questions and skip straight to leading questions.] Do you think he is having fun playing with the toy right now?
Child: No.
Me: Really?! He’s not having fun? Then why does he want that toy in the first place?
Child: Because he’s mean.
Me: Have you ever considered that maybe you are being mean by trying to rip the toy from his quivering little hands?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: What do you know?
Child: I don’t know!
Me: Nevermind. [I wonder how my brilliant child can know absolutely nothing at this moment.] Well, I think taking the toy from him will make your brother sad. Do you like to make him sad?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: [Audible sigh.]
Child: He makes me sad all the time!
Me: Well, I’m getting sad right now with your attitude! [Pause, think, what would Paul Tripp do?  Thinking . . .  thinking . . . Man, I can't stop thinking of that mustache. This isn't working. Let's just go right to the Jesus part.] You know, Jesus wants us to love each other.
Child: I don’t know.
Me: I didn’t ask you a question!
Child: [Pause.] Can I have some fruit snacks?
Me: No, you can’t have fruit snacks. We are talking about the gospel. Jesus loves us and died for us. He wants you to love your brother too.
Child: So?
Me: So give him the toy back!

Then I lunge for the toy and the child runs away. I tell him to come back here this instant and threaten to throw the toy in the trash. I recommit myself to turning down speaking engagements on parenting.

Read the whole post, which is encouraging. A couple of lines that stood out: the quip cited by Alistair Begg: “When I was young I had six theories and no kids. Now I have six kids and no theories.” And from Kevin’s church secretary: “Most moms and dads think they are either the best or the worst parents around, and both are wrong.”

Here is Kevin’s upshot:

I just know that the longer I parent the more I want to focus on doing a few things really well, and not get too passionate about all the rest. I want to spend time with my kids, teach them the Bible, take them to church, laugh with them, cry with them, discipline them when they disobey, say sorry when I mess up, and pray like crazy. I want them to look back and think, “I’m not sure what my parents were doing or if they even knew what they’re were doing. But I always knew my parents loved me and I knew they loved Jesus.” Maybe it’s not that complicated after all.

I am writing this guest blog after I heard an unbelievable statistic at a women’s retreat I attended this past weekend.  I talked to my mom after the retreat and told her that this statistic would make a great blog post.  She said that I should write a guest blog about it.  She thought that my experience as a young mom and former teacher would bring a slightly different perspective.

So, what is this statistic?  According to the Centers of Disease Control, 42% of first to third grade girls in America want to be thinner.  That means that nearly half of all six to ten year old girls wish they were thinner.  I was completely taken aback when I first heard this statistic. 

As I mentioned before, I am a former teacher.  I did not, however, teach elementary school.  For six years, I taught seventh, eighth, and ninth grade.  As a middle and high school teacher, I was used to dealing with girls who had body issues.  These issues were expressed in all sorts of ways: makeup, super baggy or super tight clothing, piercings, tattoos (you’d be surprised by how many high school students have them), etc.  I tried my best to combat these body issues, but as a teacher who saw these students for 45 minutes per day, I could only do so much.  What I failed to realize, however, was just how early some of these issues took root.

I nearly cried after hearing how many little girls wish they could change their bodies.  These are little ones who are just blossoming into an understanding of themselves and they have already found something in which to be dissatisfied.  Where have we, as parents, teachers, and a society, failed these girls?

I am sure most of us are aware of just how body conscious our society is.  We have dolls like Barbie that are held up as the epitome of beauty, but if Barbie was a real woman, she would be well over six feet tall, have a 19 inch waist, and would be missing a few ribs and several feet of intestines (On a side note, some parents were recently outraged that Mattel made a collector’s edition Barbie that had tattoos.  Really?  We are outraged by tattoos but not the fact that Barbie’s head and waist would have to be the same circumference if she were real?).  We are constantly told we need to wear make up to make us look older or younger, depending on our age.  We are implored to buy certain types of jeans or undergarments that will smooth away any imperfections we might have.  How can we as parents and teachers combat this?  What can we say to our little girls that will act as a counter-balance to all of these images? 

For starters, we must teach our children about what God says about our bodies.  Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  We need our children to know that we are the very image of God!  1 Samuel 16:7 says “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  We need our children to know that God is chiefly concerned with our heart, not our appearance!  Lastly, for our girls, Proverbs 31:30 says “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”  Our girls need to know that charm and beauty can be taken away, but walking with the Lord will always be praised!

I know that at the age of 28, I am by no means an expert in this, or any, field.  My hope is that I will be able to learn from others so that by the time I am dealing with my own teenage children, I will have some wisdom to pass on.

If you pay attention to the news much, you will generally hear two types of governments mentioned. These government systems are democracies and monarchies.   Like seen in America, a democracy is where the people rule and as seen in countries like Dubai a monarchy is where a one person rules (a kingship). Your family will often reflect one of these systems of government.

            First, and very often found in the family is a monarchy. Previously, in the 1950’s this would have been the father leading the family and making the decisions. As times have changed the father has ruled the house hold less and less, replaced by the kids. In  America, most families are run by the kids and what the kids desire. Mom runs 24/7 trying to get kids to soccer practice, get them to the video game store and convince them to do homework. Dad works overtime so he can afford the soccer cleats, the video game system, and new clothes for school that the kids demand. At the end of the day Dad and Mom don’t have time to read their Bible and they don’t have the energy to invest in a relationship with God.         

            Next, we can take a look at a democracy. When both the parents try to rule the house and let the kids have their input everyone tends to take sides. The house quickly becomes a hostile place as everyone is fighting to make a point. Taking a “family vote” tends to turn into a family argument (at least it often did in my house). Thankfully, these two systems are not the only options.

            3,000 years ago in Israel there was a very different government system. Instead of one person taking charge, they was a theocracy. A theocracy is a government where God rules, were God has the ultimate authority. When a decision needs to be made, you don’t take up a vote, you seek the Lord.

            You can make your house a theocracy. You can put the focus back on God in your house and do only what God wants you to be doing. However, it takes everyone actively investing in a relationship with God. In Israel, when there was a theocracy, God put judges to be leaders to the people. You (the parents) are the “judge” in your house, but it is your responsibility to lead your house in the way that God desires, not by how you feel or what your kids want. You have to be willing to doing everything it takes to follow God, and be an example to the rest of your family.

Here are some simple examples of how our mindset can change so our houses can be under God’s rule:

-  Instead of allowing your kids to make decisions based off what they want, you and them both spend time in prayer and decide based off of what God’s will is.

-  Instead, of reacting to your children’s disobedience with anger you take a moment in prayer and act in the way God desires.

-  Instead of spending your entire day driving your kids around, you spend your entire day focused on and worshiping God, which might include taking your kids places.

            Before you get excited about this, let me assure you, allowing God to rule your household is not gonna be easy. The Israelites struggled with having a theocracy. Countless times they failed and turned away from God. They had a very rough time. However, if you do push through and keep God at the head of your home, he will bless you for following him.

“Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart”

- Psalms 119:2 ESV

In Sunday School one morning a child raised his hand and proceeded to ask a question that had perplexed him for some time.

"Teacher," said the little boy, "there's something I can't figure out. According to the Bible, the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea,right?"

"Right."

"And the Children of Israel beat up the Philistines, right?"

"Er, right."

"And the Children of Israel built the Temple, right?"

"Again you're right."

"And the Children of Israel fought the Egyptians and the Children of Israel were always doing something important, right?"

"All that is right, too," the teacher agreed, "So what's your question?"

"What were all the grown-ups doing?"

This story was recently shared with me via email and when I read it I was stuck by how this story is a perfect argument for “community” and how we are better together!  It also supports one of my favorite quotes; “Preach the gospel, if necessary use words.” Francis of Assisi

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him.  

It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace...and waited.  

 The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone; then he sat back in his chair, still silent.  

 The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.  

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.  

 As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon; I will be back in church next Sunday.'  

 We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.  

Your children represent eternal souls in need of salvation, and you have a part in ensuring that they know God.

by Jim Mhoon

I remember the moment when, as a young father, I awoke in the middle of the night and realized, my little girl is completely dependent on me to provide for her needs. At the time, I was 24 years old and barely getting by paying bills and learning about life.

My anxiety grew with another thought: She is an eternal soul who must come to know God to know everlasting life. Am I up for this? What have I done?

That is the ultimate question for all parents. Our children have eternal souls in need of salvation, and we have a significant role in ensuring they know and love God. Many parents clearly grasp this reality.

But many other parents don't seem to understand the eternal questions regarding their children. Their actions are passive and distracted. They cannot articulate how or what they are doing to ensure their children know God. They abdicate responsibility for spiritual training to their church (as though an hour a week in Sunday school will do the trick). In short, they lack a vision for their children and have failed to prepare them for the future.

Looking ahead

Parents must establish a vision for their children. When children are adults, who will they be? Will they serve God? Will they have the capacity to love others? Will they be equipped to pass on a spiritual legacy?

There was a time when parents understood the stakes. They knew they were establishing a legacy of faith that would live for generations, eventually encompassing thousands of people in their family tree. Today, I fear we've lost the perspective of time and tend to view our lives only in terms of our immediate family and personal ambitions.

Perhaps that's why we have an epidemic of divorce, fathers abandoning their families and parents who prioritize only those things that offer their children a competitive advantage in life. Here's my challenge to parents: Teach your children the laws of God as commanded in Deuteronomy. Train them as instructed in Proverbs. Lead them to fulfill God's Commandments; call them to the Great Commission.

To do so, first capture a Godly vision for your family then aggressively pursue His call on your lives.

Where to start:

• Passionately commit yourself to God.
• Teach your children to develop healthy relationships with other people. If you want your children to possess good relationship skills, you must provide them with a model. The best model is your marriage. Even with all the evidence on the negative effects of divorce on children, divorce rates continue to rise. Even more distressing is that the divorce rate among Christians is no different than from unbelievers!
• Discipline. Here's what Dr. Dobson says in his book The New Dare To Discipline:

When properly applied, loving discipline works! It stimulates tender affection, made possible by mutual respect between a parent and a child. It bridges the gap which otherwise separates family members who should love and trust each other. It allows the God of our ancestors to be introduced to our children. It permits teachers to do the kind of job in classrooms for which they are commissioned. It encourages a child to respect other people and live as a responsible, constructive citizen.

• Introduce your children to the Savior. The reason God commands parents to teach their children His laws is because nobody can reflect God's love and purpose to children better than their parents. Attending church, Sunday school and youth camp are important parts of a family's faith experience, but they are no replacement for parents who follow Christ and intentionally disciple their children to know Him.
• Prepare your children to become influencers in the world. While it's easy to focus on the financial benefits of a good education, we've often lost sight of God's priority. God does not call us to riches (although some of us may become rich); rather He calls us to service. When your children enter the marketplace as accountants, stay-at-home moms, soldiers or building contractors, they need to know their occupation is wrapped in their ultimate calling: to be ambassadors for Christ.
• Call other parents into action on behalf of their families. Encourage, coach and equip others to parent well. Busy families struggle to find time for every expectation thrust upon them these days. The good news is you cannot go wrong praying with your family. Nor can you fail when teaching them Scripture or life skills. The trick is to prioritize your parenting responsibilities, then be as intentional as you can.

The Evidence is There

May 10, 2011

In 1993, I received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion at an award ceremony in Buckingham Palace. I represented the thousands upon thousands of Prison Fellowship volunteers and staff who are offering the hope of new life in Christ to prisoners around the world.

I was honored to stand next to Prince Philip when he gave me the medal. We were surrounded by dignitaries. Then the Prince asked me, “Mr. Colson, what can we do about juvenile crime here in England?” I told him: “Send more young British children to Sunday school.” He smiled, thinking I was joking. I think I shocked some of the dignitaries, who no doubt thought I was being a bit cheeky.

I was deadly serious. I told the Prince, “Professor Christie Davies at the University of Reading conducted a study that showed when Sunday school attendance was highest in England, crime was lowest. Conversely, when Sunday school attendance declined, the crime rate increased.” So I said to him, “Send young boys to Sunday school so they can be taught the basics of Christian morality.”

“Pretty good idea!” Prince Philip replied.

A pretty good idea, indeed. And it’s an idea that is being proved right again and again. In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, the eminent social scientist James Q. Wilson reviewed Baylor professor Byron Johnson’s new book, More God, Less Crime.

In researching his book, Johnson looked for every study “that measured the possible effect of religion on crime” published between 1944 and 2010. In case you were wondering, there were 273 of them.

Wilson noted that according to 90 percent of those studies “more religiosity resulted in less crime.” While Wilson cautioned that a lack of statistical controls makes these numbers hard to evaluate, Wilson wrote that the sheer number of studies showing the positive effect on religion offsets their potential weaknesses in methodology.

Wilson, the preeminent man in the field, pointed to a landmark 1986 study conducted by Harvard economist Richard Freeman, who found that “going to church is associated with substantial differences in how young men behave. More churchgoing, less crime, less alcohol and fewer drugs.”

And, Wilson suggests, among studies of actual prisoners the “strongest results” come from Prison Fellowship, particularly Johnson’s own study of our InnerChange Freedom Initiative in Texas.

When you compared a group of similar Texas prisoners to the InnerChange Freedom Initiative graduates, you see that after two years the post-release re-incarceration rate is 8 percent for our graduates against 20.3 percent for the matched comparison group.

These results, and the mountain of evidence showing that religion makes a difference, are enough for great scholars like Wilson to take notice.

Unsurprisingly enough, it’s not enough for many of our secularist, academic elite. Johnson was dismissed some years ago from the University of Memphis because his research on crime and religion -- and his Christian views -- meant that he “simply didn’t fit in.”

But what Johnson’s book More God, Less Crime shows so clearly, is that we’ve been right all along: The Gospel changes lives, and it’s the best hope for keeping men and women out of prison.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I want to share the text of the Sermon spoken at the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine today.  There are so many profound truths in this message, I believe we ALL need to be reminded of what we said yes to (if you are married).  The first quote is powerful in it's own right!  The prayer written by the couple should be echoed by all of us!

The Bishop of London's Sermon

29th April 2011

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.  

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but the hope should be fulfilled it is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely a power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

“Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,

Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon.”

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practice and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.

In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.